In view of the controversies rocking the freight forwarding sub sector of the Maritime industry as to which agency between Nigeria Customs Service and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN)should be responsible for the registration of the freight forwarders, the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi has directed that all practitioners should go back and register with CRFFN within two weeks or lose their licences.
He added that it was not in the capacity of the Nigeria customs to register customs brokers adding that such move was tantamount to breaking of law.
The Minister gave this directive at a two-day conference on Improved Ports Efficiency in Nigeria organised by the Maritime Correspondents' Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON) in Lagos, yesterday.
Ameachi further ordered different freight forwarding associations as a matter of urgency to resolve their differences with the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) or risk being proscribed.
According to the former Governor of Rivers State, the ministry of transportation and the Customs Comptroller General have both agreed to meet, saying that he might be forced to instruct the CRFFN to commence fresh registration of practitioners.
Ameachi said, "Let me talk to the customs practitioners, there is a law that you people are breaking and that law has to do with an agency in my ministry"
"I have met with the Comptroller General of Customs and we are starting a fresh registration of all customs agents and the requirement will be to go and register there (CRFFN) before you can became a customs agent"
"Myself and the CGC have agreed to meet and all I will tell him is to go and announce to customs agents to go and start fresh registration because they must comply to the law",he added.
Speaking further on his keynote address, the minister said that the maritime sector is largely private sector driven with government providing the appropriate policy and regulatory framework.
Ameachi also reiterated the ministry's commitment to partner with the National Assembly to ensure that the four sectoral bills pending before the upper and lower chambers are passed into law and implemented accordingly.
He mentioned the pending bills as the Nigeria Railways Authority bill (2015),National Transport Commission bill (2015),Nigerian Ports and Harbour Authority bill and the National Inland Waterways Authority bill.
The minister added that "the present administration is committed to discourage the long haulage of containers through the highway"
"The gridlock constantly experienced by trucks and motorist going to and from the road to Nigerian ports is unacceptable. "
"Government is determined to revamp the railway sector to further encourage shippers to utilise the railways in order to avoid the proliferation of privately owned and operated road haulage services which has resulted in the unregulated and chaotic situation on roads that lead to the ports"
He also disclosed that the port in Onitsha Anambra State has been completed and commissioned, noting that the process for its commissioning is in progress.
"The overriding objectives of all these efforts are to ensure cost effective and efficient port services comparable to what obtains in advanced maritime nations"
"And also it make Nigeria the maritime hub for movement of goods and passengers between the West and Central African Coastal Regions and the rest of the world"
Speaking earlier, President of MARCON, Mr. Ismail Aniemu said that there have period sectoral conflicts between stakeholders which would appeared the required nexus has been founded on quicksand.
The MARCON boss reiterated that under the ministry of transportation, parastatals heads are majorly on acting capacity which in turn affects quick decision making in terms of efficieny and operation.
Sighting instance,he noted that NIMASA,MAN Oron, NIWA,NAMA are some of the agencies with leadership question mark.
Aniemu added that" the media has regularly reported instances of conflicts between terminal operators and port users such as customs brokers and truckers; duplicating roles of NPA, NIMASA,shippers and shipping lines with the Nigerian shippers"
"MARCON is concerned that leadership positions in some of the agencies under the ministry of transportation are filled in acting capacity and this is affecting quick decision making in terms of efficiency and operation"
"With the present regime's pace of fight against corruption that has affected a number of critical job category in the maritime and aviation industry and we believe the Honourable Minister of Transport is equally concerned and willing to alert President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Executive Council on the need to urgently close the gap, he added.
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