By Steve Agbota
A Lagos-based group, Nigerian Maritime Renaissance Network (NMRN) has said that the new Nigerian Shipping and Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill 2023, which is currently being considered by the House of Representatives, may suffer setback like the previous ones because it lacks clarity in addressing its core purpose and how it will add value to port operations in the country.
The President of NMRN, Temple Isomah, said his group watched with discomfort as the hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on Shipping Services and Related Matters deviated from achievement of the presidential policy on reduction of the cost of governance to overloading the new agency emerging from the Bill with functions of other agencies and more.
“The first fallout of the Bill is the evolution of a mega-agency which will be enmeshed in agency capture in view of the powers given to it to oversight the operations of other agencies in the sector. This situation will engender dirty competition and politicking that will undermine growth of the industry.
“In its present form, the Bill will produce a Port Economic Regulator that would be more powerful than even the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in the same way that we have a state oil company that is richer and stronger than its mother ministry and industry regulator. This should be avoided,” he said.
He also noted that the Orosanye Report, which the Federal Government has cleared for implementation, recommended the mergers of agencies and parastatals whose functions overlap and constitute duplications.
The Bill, he said, should strike a delicate balance between reforms and creating a level playing field that ensures competitiveness that will unlock substantial opportunities for the country.
He enjoined the National Assembly to explore further dialogue among agencies in the industry to provide clearer guidance on the appropriate articulation of their roles which would be embedded in the Bill before its passage.
Isomah explained that the speed with which sponsors of the Bill are pushing for passage suggests a quest by some individuals and groups to put their interests ahead of that of the nation.
Similarly, the President of the National Council of Managing Director of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero said the Bill will fuel conflict and create obstacles on implementation, adding that existing legislation should not be duplicated or overridden by provision.
“The Bill contains clauses that conflicts with other agency especially NPA by usurping the powers of licensing of port service and facilities,” he said.
He said the power to license must rest with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), which owns the port.
Recall that on Monday, May 27, 2024, the House of Representatives Committee on Shipping Services and Related Matters held a public hearing on repealing the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) Act (Cap N133, LFN 2004) to pave way for passing the Nigerian Shipping and Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill to give legal backing to the role of the NSC as port economic regulator.