Maritime
Reps Disagree Over Jonathan’s Import Policy
The House of Representatives on Tuesday threw out a motion for the reversal of the Federal Government’s latest import policy which has opened the gate for the importation of used cars and other items.
But the House also took the Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, to task over the implementation of the 2010 budget saying the Executive had a poor showing especially over capital expenditure.
Mr. Gbenga Onigbogi, from Osun State, had raised a motion under Matter of Urgent National Importance calling the attention of his colleagues to President Goodluck Jonathan’s policy of opening the nation’s ports for the importation of hitherto banned products.
The President had recently lifted ban on cars above 10 years and other items such as furniture, textile materials and other sundry items.
Many Nigerians had condemned the decision to open the gate for foreign products arguing that the decision amounted to directly killing local manufacturing industries.
Onigbogi, presenting his motion, said by lifting ban on the items, Jonathan contradicted his resolve to accelerate the process of rejuvenating the nation’s manufacturing sector.
Specifically, he said the textile industry, which accounted for the employment of thousands of Nigerians in the past had become comatose.
Members of the House who supported Onigbogi’s motion include Isah Umaru, Mustapha Aliu, Kayode Idowu, while the motion was opposed by Hon Ndudi Elumelu, Leo Ogor, Darlington Okereke and others.
Supporting the motion, Hon. Kayode Idowu from Osun State stated that the country needs to encourage local production.
He said, “When we look at the economic policy of this country, you will find out that it is not a productive economy. We have to look into encouraging local production in this country.”
Mustapha Aliu, while contributing to the debate, said the productive sectors of the economy that should be absorbing graduates from various universities was being killed with policies such as the latest one on importation.
“We are graduating engineers year-in year-out, but we are not supporting industries to absorb them. We are killing the industries to absorb them.”
Aliu said as a member of the board of the newsprint manufacturing company in Okuiboku, he was aware the company produced 2000 direct jobs and more than 5000 indirect jobs.
He said with the death of the company, all that had become history.
Isah Umaru said government’s intervention in saving the textile industry from total collapse would be meaningless should the government go ahead with its latest policy on importation.
He said, “Just recently the FG intervened to save the textile by commissioning some textile companies in Kaduna. I cannot understand the intention of government by lifting ban on textile materials. To me, it is a policy summersault.”
Opposing the motion, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, Delta, said the country needed the revenues coming from importation to support the local industries.
“We must open our markets for the purpose of ensuring that we increase the revenue that is accrued to this country,” he said
Arguing further, Elumelu said that most people in the country could not afford new cars hence the availability of used cars will enable workers on minimum wage to own cars.
He said, new cars cost as much as N4 million to N6 million. In my federal constituency, we are very poor, not everybody can afford that amount to purchase one vehicle. So, we must open the market and allow the poor to survive.”
He said the country needed the revenues coming from importation to support the local industries. “We must open our market for the purpose of ensuring that we increase the revenue that is accrued to this country.”
Hon. Leo Ogor also said the government is losing revenues through the ban on the importation as he noted that the same banned items still find their ways into the Nigerian market. “Govt is losing revenues,” he stated.
He submitted that a reversal of the policy would not be in the interest of the common man.
Also opposing the motion, Hon. Darlinton Okereke, the ban on the items leads to loss of revenues.
He opposed the motion and said the products come into the country despite the ban with the country recording loses in revenue.
In his reaction to the contributions of those who opposed the motion, Onigbogi said generations yet unborn would not forgive them for the failure to do the right thing saying though importation might appear attractive now, the long term effect would be disastrous.
The House also queried Federal Government’s alleged poor implementation of the 2010 budget as the Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, came under fire over capital expenditure, depeletion of the foreign reserves and constituency allowances of members.
Those who queried the minister include Minority Whip, Ali Ndume, Hon. Abdul Ningi, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, Jerry Manwe, Tsegbaa Terngu and others.
Admitting lapses in the implementation of the 2010 budget, Aganga assured the lawmakers that the government was serious about making up for the poor implementation in the 2011 budget.
He said, “There will be changes this year in the way capital budgets are implemented.”
The Managing Director of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, has called for increased collaboration between the federal agency and state governments to enhance the safety and security of inland waterways transportation.
Speaking at a one-day consultative forum on safety and insecurities on inland waterways, organized by the Nigeria Transportation Commissioners’ Forum in Ilorin, Oyebamiji emphasized the critical role that safety and security play in fostering a thriving water transportation system.
The forum, themed “Prevalent Safety, Security Hazards and Practices in Inland Waterways: Passenger Transport Safety in Ilorin, Kwara State”, sought to address the pressing issues facing the inland waterways sector.
Oyebamiji acknowledged the ongoing efforts by NIWA to improve safety, such as the recent unveiling of the transportation code for public use, the inauguration of several operational assets including survey boats, gunboats, water ambulances, and a passenger ferry.
He also noted that safety campaigns have been launched across all operational bases, targeting local communities in their native languages.
The NIWA boss stated the support from the National Assembly, including the ongoing discussions on establishing coastal guards and the attention safety and security on inland waterways have received from the House Committee on Inland Waterways.
In his closing remarks, Oyebamiji appealed to the Commissioners for Transportation across relevant states to collaborate with NIWA in areas such as training, safety campaigns, infrastructure development, and financial empowerment.
He stressed that while the challenges are significant, they are surmountable through collective action.
The Federal Government has conveyed its support for the establishment of the National Coast Guard.
The Government also commended the proponents of the bill for having the hindsight to initiate a course of action that, when passed, will be the catalyst needed in unlocking the nation’s maritime potential.
In a statement by the Head of Press, and Public Relations for the ministry, Muhammad Tahir Zakari, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, was reported to have made this known at the National Assembly complex at the 1-Day Public Hearing on National Coast Guard Bill (NCG).
The statement stated that the bill when passed, will guarantee maritime safety, sustainable marine resource development and enhance economic growth.
Highlighting the major need for the National Coast Guard, the Minister identified: Maritime safety; Environmental protection through enforcing environmental regulations and conservation of marine ecosystems; and Enforcement of civil maritime laws to uphold laws governing civil maritime activities and enforce fishing regulations while preventing illegal exploitation.
It also include search and rescue to maritime emergencies and also conduct timely search and rescue operations.
He cited a 2009 publication by the African Centre for Strategic Studies, which noted that 15 of the 21 independent maritime nations in sub-Saharan Africa have dedicated coast guards and identify themselves as such.
Despite this, none of these nations have Nigeria’s population or the extent of its inland waterways and coastline.
While acknowledging the significant role of the Nigerian Navy in safeguarding the Nigerian maritime space following the collaborative effort with the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in the Deep Blue Project, which has shown great results with zero piracy in Nigeria’s territorial water in the last three years.
He, however, stressed the need for the National Coast Guard to complement the efforts of the Nigerian Navy in playing a critical role in preventing accidents, crime, and other threats to maritime activities
“A vast coastline of 850 km, the equivalent of 10,000 km in two ways. It is also a place of rich and diverse economic sources.
“While these opportunities are promising, they also present challenges such as pollution, overfishing, and unsustainable use of marine resources. The proposed National Coast Guard is equipped to tackle these issues”, he stated.
He urged the Senate and the National Assembly to lend their full support to the bill, noting that, “Nigeria Coast Guard will act as a vital complement to the Navy, of fostering a safe and sustainable maritime environment”.
He appealed for the establishment of a flexible, adaptive implementation strategy that would evolve into a midwife for the bill to succeed, while urging those with reservations to see the pressing need of the institution.
Earlier during the hearing, the President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, commended members of the Committee on Marine and Transport for their unwavering dedication in piloting the initiative and advocating for the establishment of the National Coast Guard Bill.
Akpabio, represented by Sen. Akintunde Yunus, said the essence of the bill was to make critical decisions that will guarantee the safety of the nation’s waterways and protect the marine resources.
He stated that “the establishment of the National Coast Guard is not merely a legislative formality, but a dire necessity”.
Speaking also, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine and Transport, Sen. Sanni Eshinlokun, said the Bill was first read in the Senate on the 3rd of October while the Senate at its plenary deliberated on the General Principles of the Bill.
Senator Eshinlokun said, “The Bill was read for the second time and referred to the Senate Committee on Marine Transport for further legislative action.
Former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Barr. Hassan Bello, has charged the Federal Government not to designate any of its agencies as the lead agency to drive the blue economy if it actually wants Nigeria to make progress in the sector.
Bello, who made this call in his remarks at the 10th anniversary, lecture and awards of the Primetime Reporters in Lagos, midweek, advised the Federal Government to avoid the mistake made during the Cabotage era when it designated an agency as lead agency and the rest was now history.
He said for the sector to succeed, it required everyone’s contribution, urging the Minister to allow the private sector to drive the blue economy.
According to him, “Two things which we must be very careful about is to make.mistake, like we did with cabotage. If we remember carefully, Cabotage was coastal and Inland shipping, but that inland shipping was not emphasized.
“It was just for supply of oil and gas to the mother vessel, we couldn’t trade as we were doing from Asaba to Baro in Niger State, or carry cement or even petroleum products. So, we cannot restrict that to customs.
“Secondly, don’t give the Blue Economy to an agency to say it is the lead agency because everybody must have contributions to the Blue Economy. As we want to do, we have seen agencies struggling to have seminars on Blue Economy, it’s not even a government thing.
“Allow the private sector to take over this blue economy, don’t create fantastic departments and overload into the private sector. This is what is our problem.
“When we had the Cabotage, it was a NIMASA thing and when you talk about Cabotage, no! don’t go there, what is your own with Cabotage? So, Cabotage was colonized, the Blue Economy should not be colonized. We should have the ramification of that Blue Economy to make sure that everything trickles down”.
He however, noted that there had been a lot of progress by the various organs of government even before the designation of the Blue Economy Ministry saying, “Blue Economy has always been there just as we had the red economy, which is characterized by China’s quest for export for state directed economy.
“We even have the grey economy, which is that which is informal. We have the green economy and all shades of economy. So, it’s not new that we have the Blue Economy, what has been the call by stakeholders is for us to have a ministry that will cater for transportation and transportation is a cardinal or even the paramount part of the Blue Economy.
“I know we have sustainable use of ocean resources and many other things, but when you talk about the Blue Economy, the central point is the use of ocean and the inland waterways and other resources for diversification of our economy as the Convener has said”.
“We have to be conscious, concerted and even calculated to make sure that it works for us. It’s not just fancy thing that there’s a ministry for blue economy. There must be active participation of stakeholders and the involvement of the private sector to harness the resources and not anything fancy or pretentious. The government must involve the private sector.
By: Stories by Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos