Stakeholders in the Maritime Industry have expressed enthusiasm for the much anticipated PortNews Summit on Port Reforms which holds on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at Rockview Hotel, Apapa, Lagos.
The Summit themed ‘Port Reforms and Local Content, Has Nigeria Fared Well?’ has in the past two weeks been the focus of discourse among the generality of port users and key maritime stakeholders.
This underscores the importance of the issue at stake to the industry in particular and Nigeria in general.
Any policy or programme of government is liable to be reviewed after 15 to 20 years to know if it functioning or delivering targeted goals.
The Summit will review the port reforms undertaken by the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo between 2002 and 2006 which culminated in the concession of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) port terminals to local and foreign private investors.
Stakeholders from the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN), Association of Indigenous Bonded Terminals and long standing maritime journalists are all excited about expected posers, anecdotes, questions, answers and resolutions gravitating around port operations, cargo management, container transfer from ports to off dock terminals, the mushrooming of terminals around Lagos, Badagry, Epe and lkorodu creeks.
‘Why are terminals owned by Nigerians empty? Who really owns the cargo? How do we situate the NPA, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) in this dispensation?’ These and many more questions are to be answered by the Summit.
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, former federal Minister, Captain Emmanuel lhenacho, and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State will all be seated to listen to a brilliant economist and former Director General of Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industries (LCCI) who is the Guest Speaker, Dr. Muda Yusuf, and respected human rights activist and maritime lawyer, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba’s perspectives on this topic.
Wednesday, 4th December, promises to be a watershed in Nigeria’s maritime calendar.