Minister Commend MARCON, Lash Agents and Associations

by Sylvanus Obasi, Eguono Odjegba, Orok Innocent with additional reports from Kelvin Kagbare

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.
While commending MARCON for their unity and Commitment to national development, the minister lambasted othe associations for their selfish pursuits. He asked such associations to either merge with MARCON, copy its blueprint or get organised if they wish to continue to exist.