The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Barr. Pius Akutah, on Sunday gave account of his stewardship one year after his appointment.Akuta who spoke in Lagos at a media engagement to mark his one year in office disclosed that the Council has so far been able to save the country about N46bn in trade disputes as well as charter party agreement.
He said that while the Regulatory Services Department of the agency saved the country N40bn by confirming fees and charter party agreements, the Compliant Unit saved the Country the sum of N6bn that would have been lost as legal fees, orders to ground ships, among other activities in the industry.
He disclosed that the huge sum was saved as a result of the App developed about nine months ago to “automate our system that ensured settlement of disputes over freight charters,” among others.
According to him, “The economy could have been worse off if the money was not saved.
“The economic repercussions could have been huge if the money was lost.
“We not only saved money, we have improved the quality of trade through amicable resolution of conflicts through the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR).”
The NSC boss also disclosed that that the Council is currently spearheading ports economic regulatory reforms targeted at achieving increased productivity and efficiency in the ports sector.
He said, “ the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in the last one year, has made significant strides towards transforming the maritime sector. We have managed to push forward initiatives that many considered critical to the progress of our sector.”
He identified the Nigerian Shipping and Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill of 2023 as one of such efforts, expressing optimism that when passed into law will give NSC the required power to carry out revolution in the ports industry.
He said the Bill which has since been passed by the House of Representatives is now before the Senate for concurrence.
He said that the Council has been operating under the Act of 1981, which is very old and which has limited what the Council can offer to the industry and the nation.
The current bill when passed, he affirmed , will enable the Council to introduce reforms that will improve on efficient service delivery in the sector.
He disclosed that the current bill now before the Senate is “one of the major initiatives by Mr President to reposition the sector for economic growth.”
Akutah also said that the Council is willing to collaborate with agencies of government to ensure trade facilitation.
He added that the NSC wants a situation in which the manufacturing industry grows with more capacity in production so as to take advantage of the opportunities in the African Free Continental Trade Area(AfCFTA).
He pointed out that the need for Nigeria to take advantage of the AfCFTA which according to him has
opened the African market to 1.5bn people with a market size of over $4trillion.
He affirmed that the Council will continue to do everything to improve on shipping services considering the importance in contributing to Nigeria’s economic growth.
He was full of praises to the stakeholders for their continued collaboration with the ports economic regulator.
Akutah also commended the staff of the agency for the support they have accorded to him since he assumed office.
