Cargo clearance delay: NSC organises training for maritime police officers in Rivers
Barth Ndubuwah, Port Harcourt
Worried by the incessant interferences in cargo clearance at Nigerian ports,owing to activities of unnecessary groups at the ports, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) in collaboration with the Maritime Police Command have organised a one-day training workshop for police officers in the maritime industry in Port Harcourt , the Rivers State Capital to curb the menace.
Addressing participants at the event, the Executive Secretary(ES)of NSC,Hon Emmanuel Jime said long dwelling time of cargo clearance in our ports has assumed an alarming proportion and calls for concern.
This, he said creates congestion, thereby increasing cost of doing shipping business and by extension lead to high price of goods and services in the country.
Represented by the South South Zonal Director of NSC, Mr Glory Onojede, the Executive Secretary said it is disturbing that a cargo that takes 6 hours to clear in Singapore,7 days in Lome, takes as much as 21 days to clear in Nigeria.
“Long dwelling time of cargoes in the ports renders our ports inefficient, creates congestion, increases costs of doing shipping business and ultimately leads to high price of goods and services.
In fact, slow delivering processes at the ports and high transit of time cargoes to its destination, among other factors are responsible for the abysmal ranking of Nigerian seaports in global perception of ease of doing business,” Jime said.
He attributed the delay to undue interference by groups that are not supposed to be in the ports.
Jime accused these undesirable elements of extorting money from consignees, thereby increasing cost of operations at the ports, which is contrary to the policy of Ease of Doing Business of the Federal Government.
The ES said while cargoes are unnecessarily being delayed in Nigerian ports, other ports in the world are advocating for smart ports that are fully automated and digitalised to ensure timely delivery of cargoes.
This process, he said will create employment, develop the economy and attract investors.
Jime who said the theme of the training workshop was apt and reflected the desire of the NSC and the Police to build capacity of police officers for better understanding and administration of their statutory roles in the maritime sector and as such will be regular.
He stressed that the maritime police and indeed, Nigerian Police are saddled with the responsibility of handling maritime related cases, in addition to ensuring security in the industry.
Also speaking, the Assistant Inspector General(AIG), Maritime Police Command, Ibrahim Kaoje said that the maritime industry has emerged as a significant priority sector in the nation’s economy, hence the gains derivable from the sector should not only be sustained ,but improved upon.
Kaoje who spoke through the Commissioner of Police (CP), Eastern Ports Police Command, Evelyn Peterside stressed that since the ocean holds the key to a fast evolving economy globally, there is need to protect and secure it.
The AIG said the pockets of crimes in the maritime domain calls for training and retraining of maritime security operators, which he said the police is a major stakeholder.
He lauded the NSC, organisers of the training, for its efforts to train the police in the maritime sector and called on other well-meaning Nigerians and organisations to emulate the NSC’s gesture and train security operatives locally and internationally for exposure and more efficiency.
“Full benefits of maritime resources can only be explored when security is in place,” Kaoje noted.
The one-day training workshop with the theme, ‘Understanding the role and impact of the police in the maritime industry’, also featured paper presentations by seasoned experts in the maritime industry.
