Revenue leakages: Halt $5bn paid as freight to foreign ship owners — LCCI tells FG
The Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on the Federal Government to halt over $5 billion paid as freight to foreign ship owners.
In a letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President of the Chamber, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole while commending the President on some of its steps to cut down on the cost of governance, called the attention of the administration to halt the revenue leakage of more than $ 5 billion paid as freight to foreign ship owners.
The Chamber said its perspectives are in tandem with the Government’s need to check the over-bloated and inefficient workforce of the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
According to statistics from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian shippers paid a total sum of $9,087,585,117.5 as freight for dry and wet cargo to foreign ship owners in 2015.
In 2016, Nigerians also paid a total of $7,551,304,167.12 to foreign owned ships while a total of $8,601,881,176.08 fright charges were lost to foreign vessels in 2017.
On the number of vessel call, the NIMASA data shows that in 2016, a total of 2,047 vessels brought in dry cargo import; 987 vessels lifted dry cargo export while a
total of 2,468 vessels lifted wet cargo import and export cargoes.
In 2017, a total of 1,967 vessels of dry cargo import were received at the port; 1,145 vessels of dry cargo export while a total of 2,294 vessels of wet cargo import and export were handled in Nigerian ports.
Previously, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Bashir Jamoh revealed that the agency is boosting the $2.5 trillion blue economy market by sharing the $720 million Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) with shipowners.
Jamoh disclosed this in April 2023 stating that NIMASA is preparing to dole out $25 million each to shipowners to buy ships to provide about 350 million jobs available in the blue economy.
Addressing the proposed merger of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) into the Nigerian Revenue Services (NRS), the Chamber backed the government’s move.
“We understand the Government’s arguments on the proposed merger, which borders on improving efficiency in collecting all direct and indirect taxes and levies.
“The LCCI supports the Government’s desire to curb the rising cost of governance, its readiness to declare a state of emergency on revenue generation, and its resolve to tackle them headlong.”
The Chamber further urged the federal government to ensure that implementing the proposed merger does not impede the ease of doing business.
“Regarding the merger, we are willing to nudge the Government to embrace critical stakeholders’ engagement and consultation, which we hope will provide further insights into charter-specific responsibilities and possibilities.
“It would also be necessary for the Government to ensure that the fallout of the proposed merger, such as staff rationalisation, realignment of operating structure, accountability, and transparency, are adequately dealt with,” the Chamber stressed in the letter.
LCCI also applauded the President for appreciating and recognising the role of the Organised Private Sector in the realisation of the socio-economic objectives of Nigeria.
