Maritime
Nigeria’s Fish Import Bill Hits N138bn In Nine Months
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The Federal Government has said it spent over N138 billion in fish import bill in nine months in 2023, saying its yearly fish import bill stands at 2.4 million metric tonnes.
Government said such import bill drains the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Director, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Wellington Omoragbon, stated this during a courtesy visit by the National Working Group on Gender and Blue Economy.
He called on government to tackle challenges facing fishery and aquaculture, including dredging activities.
To address the challenge, Omoragbon said government is launching initiatives to increase local capacity, including locally-designed technologies such as storage facilities and inclusion of women and youths in production.
The Director emphasised the need for state and local governments to prioritise fisheries projects, particularly in supporting women and youth as 70 per cent of the population lack necessary support in the fishing industry.
He highlighted the need for market and technology development to reduce reliance on fish imports.
“The government plans to intervene in the fishing sector, signing an MoU with the Ministry of Water Resources to utilise the country’s water bodies for fishing”, he said.
He acknowledged the skill gap in the sector and called for a need assessment to identify targeted issues across fishing communities.
Maritime
Hunger Protest Paralyses Port Activities In Nigeria
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The ongoing hunger protests and EndBad Governance in Nigeria embarked upon by Nigerians have paralysed seaport activities across the six Seaports in the country.
Ports operational activities were shutdown at the six nation’s seaports: Tin Can Island Port, Apapa Port, Onne Port, Rivers Port Complex, Warri and Calabar Port.
Àgrieved Protesters took to the streets nationwide to demand an end to economic hardship and bad governance.
The #EndBadGovernance protests, which began in major cities across the country on Monday, August 1,2024, crippled socio-economic activities and forced shops, business centres and commercial activities to shutdown, including air and seaports.
Following the hunger protests, maritime activities were paralysed as all the busy seaports were deserted by port users.
Ships birthed at the ports were not discharging cargos, neither did trucks load consignment to their destinations and to the consumers.
Seagoing vessels with cargos were stranded at the sea as marine workers were not on duty to carry out their marine operations.
Heavy security presence was noticed at major ports, including Apapa, Tin Can, Onne, and Port Harcourt as operations were grounded to a near halt.
Aggrieved youths, students and civil society organisations stormed major streets in various parts of the country, demanding that President Bola Tinubu should, as a matter of urgency, review or discard some of his harsh economic policies, which have brought hardship to Nigerians.
The protesters armed with various placards chanted solidarity songs, defled heavy downpour to protest harsh governance and hardship in the country.
They called on the President Tinubu government to review its economic policies, saying many Nigerians have been subdued by poverty and frustration since the advent of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
By: Chinedu Wosu
Maritime
Corruption At Ports: Group Writes To Presidency
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National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, has charged the Federal Government to implement the Single Window Environment (SWE) to curb corruption-related problems at the nation’s seaports.
In a letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Amiwero noted that apart from curbing corruption-related problems at the seaports, implementation of the SWE has many other benefits.
The Council listed some of the benefits to include provision of standardised information, single entry point, and reduced malpractice associated with import-export and transit-related regulatory requirements.
NCMDLCA also added that “the SWE will help facilitate the accelerated flow of service in Customs release and Cargo clearance, enhance the availability and handling of information, and harmonise better sharing of relevant data across Government system.
“It will reduce malpractice associated with Import- Export and Transit regulated requirements, provide trade related government information and receive payment of duties and other charges”.
The Council added that the provision of Section (1a) of the Customs Act provide for lead agency and one stop-shop process under the control of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The implementation of SWE is expected to simplify the administrative process, reduce costs, and enhance the availability and handling of information, making trading easier for both government and private sector stakeholders.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic
Maritime
MWUN Boss Reveals Union’s Efforts In Repositioning Seafarers
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Deputy President General of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Francis Abi Bunu at the weekend explained how the union’s efforts have helped to reshape the fortunes of Nigeria’s seafarers (ratings) from job insecurity to permanent employment and enviable National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) recognised by the government.
The DPG, who spoke with journalists on the sidelines of the Success in Leadership Conference and Awards held in Lagos, reiterated the efforts of the union to reposition the profession.
Bunu, who won the Maritime Icon Award, stated that seafarers who were victims of job insecurity now have a formidable voice that speaks for them.
According to him, seafarers used to earn stipends without hope of pension or payoff after many years of service, but added that the union has been able to secure a golden Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)for the seafarers which makes them no more vulnerable.
He enthused that Nigeria’s seafarers have some bargaining agreements that their foreign counterparts do not have, and that some of the Nigerian seafarers now have better pay package than the foreigners do.
In his words, “Some of you may not know seafaring business, I am a seafarer and I know what I was earning when I was at the sea. I worked with both foreign and Nigerian owned vessels which are some of the biggest vessels in West Africa in those days which are owned by Nigerians.
“We are happy for the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria to form the union because seafarers had nobody that was speaking for them before now.
“When I was at sea, my salary was N25 thousand but today, some of the seafarers are earning in dollars equating our foreign counterparts who are with NLNG Tetracycline and many others.
“In some of the vessels that we unionized, some ABs are earning up to 600 to 700 thousand naira as seafarers today.
“The union has done a lot when it comes to seafarers. Today, you cannot just sack a seafarer at will the way it used to be and you cannot treat a seafarer anyhow because you are an employer because there are rules and regulations right now. The union ensures that the laid down rules are strictly adhered to.
“As of today, there are some benefits that Nigerian seafarers enjoy that foreign seafarers do not enjoy.
“I can tell you that the era of hire and fire by employers is gone because seafarers now have job security, permanent employment.
“For instance, in NLNG, GAC, BW Gas, NYK, all those companies give seafarers permanent employment and we also have a pay off that when we grow old, we have something to fall back on”.
Continuing, Bunu reiterated that “Today, we have a saving scheme for NLNG, GAC, NYK and BW Gas. Those savings schemes are not contained in the conditions of service anywhere in the world.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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