The Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has setup a reform Agenda for the Maritime industry, saying the critical areas that the NNPP led government will focus on include transport logistics and freeing of port access roads among others.
This he said would form the party’s Blueprint for the development of the economy.
Kwankwaso spoke at the Prime Maritime Project (PMP) stakeholders Town Hall meeting in Lagos, where the party revealed its agenda for the sector.
He said that he may not have gainfully be involved in the sector to understand its nitty-gritty, but that his experience over the years as the Deputy Speaker, House of Representative, former governor, minister and former Senator had afforded him to some extent the basic understanding of the sector, and especially some of its challenges.
“I have listened to the wonderful audience and I have noted your expectations, I can assure you that I am aware of the challenges in the sector presently. One of such instances is on the port access road in Apapa,” he said.
Kwankwaso promised that the NNPP government would embark on reforms of some government agencies like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to perform efficiently and effectively.
He said the high level of corruption in the system would be tackled in order to enhance productivity in the ports, stressing that measures would be taken to check smuggling across the borders and other security implications.
He noted that his findings revealed that a lot needs to be done in the maritime sector and therefore requested the support of stakeholders for his emergence as the winner of the 2023 general election.
“I would like to request that the stakeholders form the nucleus of the group that would be responsible for the designing of a workable and actionable maritime sector template,” he said.
The presidential candidate stated that the arrangement should include clearance of goods arriving at the Nigerian ports within 72 hours as done in other countries.
According to him, tackling piracy within Nigerian territorial waters and the entire Gulf of Guinea, and clearing the ports of pollution because of discharge from ships.
Kwankwaso disclosed that his government under the NNPP would, if elected in 2023, ensure ease of evacuation of goods from the ports by constructing a rail line from Apapa to Tin Can port.
He said that in order to decongest the Lagos ports, his government would open up more seaports and also take measures to make the ports of Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar functional and attractive.
He said a situation where non-professionals would be made to handle maritime issues would no longer suffice as the professionals in the sector would take charge of the sector.
“I want to assure you that it will no longer be business as usual under our watch, professionals will take charge of the maritime industry.
“The operators of the maritime industry know where it pinches the most and certainly have the insider perspective on how to revamp the sector,” he said.
He promised that the maritime sector, being an important sector, must be back on its feet and must be given the chance to support the growth and development of the country in the overall interest of economic development.
“It may interest you to know that in one of my visits to Lagos some time ago, I was in Apapa and stared at the spectacle of articulated trucks lining the Ijora Bridge. To me it was unacceptable, and an eye sore in 20th century Nigeria,” he stated.
He, however, stressed that such smacks of lack of planning for the future on the part of the government.
“A port system originally designed for a population of less than 50 million people in the 1950s with less than 2.0 million cargo throughout has remained almost the same for more than 200 million population in 2022.
“When a country’s population is increasing at geometric progression and port infrastructure remains static, the resultant effect is chaos,” he noted.
He commended the Prime Maritime Project, the initiators of the stakeholders meeting as well as applauded the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), the initiator of NNPP for powering the novel idea.
According to him, it is the visionary and patriotic thinking of NAGAFF that maritime trade should deserve a better pride of place in the polity that resulted in the emergence of the NNPP in 2001.
Kwankwaso also appreciated Dr.Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam, the founder of NAGAFF and NNPP and the Chairman of the NNPP Board of Trustees (BoT).
Earlier in his welcome address, the Coordinator of the PMP, Mr Asu Beks said the Town Hall Meeting, was the first in the series, being arranged by PMP, to invite the presidential candidates of the 18 political parties to undertake a social contract with critical maritime stakeholders, congratulating the NNPP for leading the way in the novel move.
Also, speaking, the chairman of the day, Otunba Kunle Folarin said that the maritime sector needed a rescue plan that would make it to be on the surface, while noting that the sector was estimated at about N1 trillion and could boast of no fewer than 15 million eligible voters.
His words, “We want a total port reform and local participation in policies,” he said, saying that the, “Stakeholders standing here don’t just want to look, they want to take part in the fortunes of the maritime sector.”
He added that the maritime stakeholders want, “A workable direct investment policy.we want incentives in the maritime sector. We want you to revisit the landlord model of port modernisation among others.”
Speaking also the Chairman and the Spiritual Father of the NNPP Board of Trustees, who is also the Founder of NAGAFF and NNPP, Dr Boniface Aniebonam noted that there was a system collapse and that when there is a system collapse, tactics take over.
His words, “We have a child of God, ordained to provide desired leadership for Nigeria, and that is no other person than Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso”.
He said the maritime sector was one of the most critical sectors of the economy both in terms of contributions to the gross domestic product, and a sea of prospective voters.
Aniebonam boasted that the presidential candidate would win the 2023 election, without the maritime stakeholders’ votes.
He assured the stakeholders that whatever social contract entered into with the party remained sacrosanct.
