The Nigerian Shippers Council has moved to increase patronage in the nation’s ports by sanitising the activities of practitioners.
The South East Zonal Coordinator of the council, Mr. Chimezie Osita Christian, stated this yesterday in Abakaliki during a sensitisation campaign in the state.
He said that in the past, businessmen were importing goods through neighbouring countries because they lacked confidence in the country’s ports and how it was run.
“But today, the situation has changed as the council has made sweeping changes which have seen the stakeholders returning to the ports”, he said.
He said the ports have the capacity of generating huge incomes for the country, especially now that the country’s major source of revenue, the oil sector, is dwindling.
Chimezie said contrary to insinuations from some stakeholders in the shipping industry, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) is not a toothless bulldog as it has in the past sanctioned practitioners for various sharp practices.
According to him, the council has come up with procedures in the ports which have brought sanity to the hitherto chaotic situation in the industry.
He also debunked accusations by the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) that the council does not have an enforcement unit.
“Nigerian Shippers Council is a regulator and we regulate all those agencies that have something to do with cargoes, ports. So, we have an enforcement power given to us. In fact, we have an enforcement power in council that monitors compliance and enforces sanctions on those that err,” he said.
Director General of Ebonyi Broadccasting Corporation (EBBC), Timothy Nwachi, promised to with the partner the council to educate and sensitive the people on the maritime industry and the benefits therein for prospective practitioners, especially as regards the services of the council.
Acting General Manager of NTA, John Ebanyi, said the council has a key role to play as its activities at the ports impact on the international trade of the country which impacts on the economy.
He equally assured the coordinator that the station will partner with the council to sensitise the people of the state.