Stories by Isaac Anumihe
The move by the Nigerian Navy to make Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) contribute one per cent of its revenue to enhance the security of the Nigerian waterways has drawn the ire of maritime stakeholders.
At a one day public hearing on “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act, No. 17, 2017, to increase the functions of the agency and for related matters (HB, 1131 & 1178), before the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, a former Director General of NIMASA and the President, African Shipowners Association, Mr. Temisan Omatseye, said the proposal contravenes all international conventions of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Similarly Chairman, Ports Consultative Council, Otunba Kunle Folarin, used the platform to call on the authorities to exercise caution in amending any bill that may jeopardise the future of Nigeria in the global maritime sector.
“NIMASA’s efforts on regional co-operation should be consolidated, rather than trying to usurp some of its functions as it will affect its day-to-day operations in carrying out its mandates,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, a representative of the Association of Marine Engineers and Surveyors (AMES), Emmanuel Ilori, condemned the moves by the Nigerian Navy to usurp the roles of NIMASA by way of seeking amendment to the bill.
According to him, the Cabotage fund should not be used to fund another agency of government that already has a budget from the Federal Government. He called on the navy to seek for more budgetary funding from the right source and not from NIMASA as both agencies have their jurisdictions regarding budget and expenditure.
“NIMASA is already investing in infrastructure that will lead to a total coverage of the maritime sector, hence the need to encourage them for the good of the maritime sector. At this critical time, it is premature to seek any form of amendment and we need to support NIMASA on this.”
Other stakeholders who also condemned the proposed bill include, the President of the Stevedoring Association of Nigeria, Mr. Bolaji Sunmola; a representative of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association (NMLA), Mrs. Oritsema Tosa; Lagos State Coordinator of the Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA), Captain Taiwo Akinpelumi; Director General, NISA, Oliver Ogbuagu; Secretary General, Abuja MoU, Mrs. Mfon Usoro, among others.
The new amendment proposed by the Nigerian Navy stipulates that 1 per cent of the maritime fund be subjected to the maritime security fund under Section 7 of the Maritime Operations Coordinating Board Act, while the amendment to Section 22(1) is by insertion after paragraph (q), new paragraphs (r) and (s) which read thus: (r) encourage the development of expertise in local and global maritime and security awareness of maritime information and communication technologies for the Nigerian maritime industry and (s) monitor, regulate and co-ordinate maritime-related communication between persons, objects or craft within Nigerian maritime environment.
Although NIMASA Act empowers the agency to collect 3 per cent levy from shipping operations on the Nigerian maritime space, it supports Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, with it, maintains the waterways, provides infrastructure and administers the office.
The paucity of funds has not allowed it to perform its responsibilities very effectively and so additional responsibility will constitute a serious problem in the affairs of the agency. Recall that as a revenue-generating agency, NIMASA is not receiving budgetary allocations. With the huge budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Defence, the allocation to the Nigerian Navy should be enough to secure the Nigerian waterways. It beats the imagination of every curious observer to discover that in recent times, securing the Nigerian waters has posed a serious problem to the Navy to the extent that the Nigerian waterways have been declared high-risk areas. The implication is that before vessels will call Nigerian waters, the crew members, cargoes, vessels and even the captains on board the ship must adequately be insured. This is because it is assumed that they are going on a suicide mission. The result is that not many vessels call Nigeria.
So, vessels meant for Nigeria are diverted to neighbouring countries of Togo, Ghana and other West African countries. To this effect, Nigeria loses revenue in terms of import duties and levies and this impacts negatively on the economy. Nigerian Defence Ministry has always been one of the four sectors that get the highest budgetary allocations. In five years, the total budget for national security is in the excess of N4.62 trillion. But securing the nation has posed a herculean task to the sector. If the allocation is not enough, the relevant authorities responsible for the allocation should ensure that the ministry gets more. Against the backdrop of the huge budget for the Navy vis a vis its unsatisfactory activities, industry watchers still believe that the extra 1 per cent it is seeking from NIMASA will still not make any difference. But the Director General, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, had promised that his agency will always encourage collaborations rather than acrimonies.
He spoke through his Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Ahmed Gambo, saying, “it is national interest and issues of global best practices that are topmost; it is not an issue of NIMASA versus the Nigerian Navy.” However, the fact remains that the Navy should look elsewhere if it thinks its allocation is inadequate.