The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has harped on the need to develop an adequate port infrastructure to position the country as a West and Central Africa maritime hub.
The Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Honourable Emmanuel Jime, stressed this while speaking at the breakfast meeting organised by Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN), in Lagos, on Thursday.
He added that Nigeria also needed to strengthen its weak regulatory framework at the ports to make the country’s ports more attractive to global trade.
According to him, adequate Port infrastructure would ensure efficiency in operations at the ports, hence, Nigeria’s aspiration to become the maritime hub for West Africa should inspire the development of its port infrastructures to meet global standards.
His words: “Unless we focus on the development of our infrastructure and make them of international standards, we will not achieve our objective of being a maritime hub.”
Jime who was the special guest of honour at the event also noted that the current mode of cargo evacuation in Nigeria focuses primarily on the road network, stating that this was not the sustainable way of delivering port services in other parts of the world.
“The inland waterways and rail linkages are the significant parts of port operations that should come together for the nation to achieve the ultimate objective of ranking as a premium, proper maritime nation,’’ he said.
The NSC Executive Secretary, who is also lawyer, administered the oath of office to the nine-man newly elected MARAN executives led by Mr Godfrey Bivbere as President.
While inaugurating the new executives, Hon Jime thanked the foremost maritime reporters body for the warm reception accorded him when he was appointed to head the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, and the cordial working relationship they have maintained with him ever since.
He also praised MARAN for taking the initiative to host a breakfast meeting on the deplorable state of infrastructure at Tin Can Island Port, which according to him has brought about a robust discourse aimed at proffering solutions to the issue.
The NSC boss, however, pledged to collaborate with the association in their efforts to finding lasting solutions to the myriads of issues bedeviling the sector, even as he called on the leadership of the association to make him an integral part of their planning for programmes as it makes his work easier as the nation’s Port Economic Regulator.