… concession must involve stakeholders from draft agreement to monitoring
The former Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Mr. Hassan Bello, has said that the government is a major driver of port reforms and must play its critical role.
This is just as he stressed that the future of the maritime industry in Nigeria is hinged on reforming the port.
He also said that concession is a collective process that should involve the stakeholders both at the drafting of the agreement and subsequent monitoring.
Bello was speaking at the 34th anniversary/award ceremony of the Maritime Reporters of Nigeria (MARAN) held on Friday at the Providence Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos, where he was the lead paper presenter.
He x-rayed the theme of the anniversary ‘16 Years of Port Concession: The Pains and the Gains,’ stating that Port reform in Nigeria was necessary but crammed without regard to other sectors.
The maritime expert pointed out that the port is associated with other sectors hence it cannot work in isolation.
He opined that the need for constant review and re-alignment of port concession agreement especially in the light of international trade in commerce is crucial to Nigeria’s maritime future.
Bello informed that reformation entails continuity to derive the needed result, therefore, the country cannot stop or even pause the process though the challenges are vast.
His words: “The maritime industry must be comprehensively executed and strategically run as a fundamental economic factor with the target of contributing massively to the economic growth of the country.
“The challenges are vast and varied but the prospects are enticing.
“The reform is critical, but not comprehensive and stands the risk of being derailed, curtailed, distorted or even reversed. This is because the legal framework is not dynamic and wholesome.
“The government must build and enhance critical infrastructure in which the port reform is anchored.
“Those critical infrastructure must be deliberately sited to make for coordination and linkages, especially inland connectivity. Transport infrastructure cannot be located haphazardly or anyhow.
“The federal government must provide conducive operating procedure, ease the cost of doing business and fight corruption that threatens to put brakes on reforms.
“The regulatory institutions must be assigned specific roles.
“Concession is give and take, the involvement of stakeholders is necessary not only in drafting agreements but in monitoring the tenets of the agreement.”