The amendment of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act should be able to give the agency more and strong commercial regulatory powers in the maritime sector to address decades of ills and abuse in the ports system, the Founder, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) , Dr. Boniface Aniebonam has said.
Aniebonam said the new focus of the amendment is a welcome development in view of what the sector has suffered in the hands of some shipping service providers.
The NAGAFF Founder who spoke to SHIPPING DAY said the new Act should give enough powers to the regulator to be able to bark and bite.
According to him, the NSC has experienced and capable personnel to regulate the sector , but added that what is lacking is strong powers to deal with some perpetrators in the ports system.
He pointed out that the issue of illegal charges can only be addressed with strong powers given to the regulator.
He opined that the new Act should spell out clear penalties and other consequences for service providers who go against the provisions of the law.
He also called for a tribunal to be set up to try offenders in the ports, adding that this was among the ways to check certain ills in the ports system.
Aniebonam however advised on the need to be careful in handling the new NSC act to avoid conflict with the Customs and Exercise Management Act (CEMA) and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Act.
He said that bringing the Customs and CRFFN to be regulated under the new act may not work.
He explained that this was because the Customs deals with revenue while the CRFFN has the mandate to regulate freight forwarders as a private professional regulatory organisation.
The House of Representatives Committee on Shipping Services and Related Matters at a public hearing had told industry stakeholders that the new Nigerian Shipping and Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill which is now before the National Assembly is to check all sorts of illegalities in port charges and other activities in the maritime sector once passed into law.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki, told newsmen after a Public Hearing on the repeal of the Nigerian Shippers Council Act to give way for the new bill that so far what the Committee is doing is to collate memoranda from all stakeholders before presenting the report before the House of Representatives for a third reading.
He explained that what the Bill seeks is to repeal a law which prevents the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) from enforcing a presidential directive which deals with port economic regulation.
