It is indeed a privilege for me to address the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport and Distinguished Members of the Committee on the occasion of 2016 Budget Defence. Permit me to state here that the Policies and Programmes of the Federal Government under the Marine Transport are implemented by the Federal Ministry of Transportation and six of its Agencies namely:
Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)
Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)
National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA)
Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC)
Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron, and
Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).
2. The following Agencies viz: NIWA, MAN Oron and CRFFN derive their funding from both the National Budget as well as their Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs). In the case of the NPA and NIMASA, they rely exclusively on their IGR to fund their budgets, while the NSC gets its funding from the IGR and 2% Port Development Levy (PDL) paid by shippers and collected by the Nigeria Custom Service on behalf of the NSC.
3. The Federal Government remains committed to radically improving Port Service through
i) Improved operational efficiency of the Ports and increase in cargo throughput;
ii) Improved provision and maintenance of Port terminal infrastructure;
iii) Deepening of Port channels and berth draughts has enabled the reception of larger vessels in Apapa, Tin Can Island and Onne ports through the establishment of Joint Venture Companies with Channel Management Companies.
iv) Availability of 24-hour operations in Lagos Port.
v) Automation of Port services through implementation of the Oracle e- Business Suite, Electronic Document Management System; Revenue Invoicing Management System (RIMS), e-Payment System; Electronic Ship Entry Notice (e-SEN), Customs NCIS Integration Platform and Port Control Management;
vi) For the long term, the Federal Government is making concerted efforts towards ensuring the development of Deep Sea Ports in the Country.
4. With regards to the Inland Waterways Development, in order to sustain and utilize the dredged Lower River Niger Channel, the Ministry through NIWA had procured some ferries for use on dedicated routes using the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
5. A number of River Ports are being developed at various locations. The Port at Onitsha has been completed and commissioned while the process for its concessioning is in progress.
6. In the area of Maritime Safety and Security, efforts have been intensified to secure our maritime domain and beyond through the deployment of security boats, software and personnel. This is done by NIMASA in partnership with service providers in the private sector in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy who are statutorily responsible to bear arms during such operations.
7. In capacity building, the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) is making steady progress as over 2,600 cadets have benefited from the programme. Currently, a plan for training 300 more is underway.
8. The Ministry is proposing to set up a National Carrier on a partnership basis that will eventually absorb the Nigerian Seafarers currently been trained by NIMASA. The proposed National Carrier will also afford the Nigerian cadets the opportunity of seamlessly getting sea time training.
9. Skill gap in the Marine Sector is being addressed by Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN Oron which is responsible for human capacity development in the industry. It offers professional courses at National Diploma (ND) and Higher Diploma (HND) levels. Efforts are on-going to upgrade the Academy to a Degree awarding Institution.
10. The Nigerian Shippers’ Council which is the economic regulator of the ports, has commenced work on modalities to:
Set, monitor and enforce standards of service delivery, ensure stability, accessibility and adequacy of services;
Provide Guidelines on Tariffs and Charges;
Establish accessible and modern dispute resolution mechanism;
Minimize Cost of doing business and its inflationary effect on Nigerian economy;
Monitor and ensure compliance, by all parties, with the provisions of Port Concession Agreement.
11. In an effort to decongest the seaports and encourage trade within the Hinterland, an implementation strategy is being developed for declaring the six Inland Container Depots (ICDs) (more appropriately called Inland Dry Ports) approved by the Federal Government in six locations are Isiala-Ngwa in Abia State, Ibadan in oyo State, Kano in Kano State, Heipang in Plateau State, Funtua in Katsina State and Maiduguri in Borno State as Ports in Origin and Destination in order to enhance sustainable funding from the Private Sector using the PPP model.
12. In addition to these, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council facilitated the upgrade of Kaduna bonded terminal of Inland Containers Nigeria Limited to a 5000 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) inland dry port.
13. The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) has produced the Maiden Register of individual and corporate Freight Forwarders as well as the accredited Associations of Freight Forwarders. It also accredited courses of study in Freight Forwarding at Regular Certificate and Executive Diploma.
14. I wish to humbly acknowledge and appreciate your cooperation and understanding and seek your support in ensuring the success of all programmes and projects in the maritime sector. I assure you that the Ministry will keep you informed periodically on all the progress made in the sector.
Thank you.
