FG To Pay More Attention To Maritime Sector – ANLCA President

Mr Olayiwola Shittu, the President, Association of Nigerian Licenced Customs Agents (ANLCA), on Friday advised the Federal Government to give more attention to the maritime sector.

Shittu told journalists in Lagos that the government should ensure that more facilities to improve revenue generation were introduced at the ports.

He said that the problem of access roads to the Onne port, which was generating billions of naira, should be solved.

“There is the need to enhance the welfare of the goose that lays the golden eggs.

“There should be efforts to do intervention in the maritime sector like in the aviation,’’ he said.

The ANLCA president also said that the Cabotage fund would have been used to improve inland water transportation if it had been disbursed in 2013.

He said that the fund would have enabled indigenous shipping companies to key into shipping business while waiting for products to be able to buy ocean going vessels.

Shittu appealed to the government to carry stakeholders along in the sector when formulating policies that affected them.

“Government’s policy on used vehicles will have adverse effects on the economy if not properly handled.
“We need to let the government know how many of our members will lose their jobs and how smuggling will increase if nothing is done on the policy,’’ he said.

Shittu said that the 90 per cent of the imports of the terminals built for Roll on Roll Out (RORO) was for used vehicles.

He said that since the price of imported vehicles had risen by 100 per cent, people would have no choice than to smuggle in vehicles.

This, he said, would affect revenue generation by the ports. (NAN)

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