By Godfrey Bivbere & Ifeyinwa Obi

The National Assembly is ignoring the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) in its legislative effort to create a technical regulator for port operations in the country.

The legislative body is working at creating a technical regulator that is approved by industry operators, which will look out for the interest of shippers and other port users.

Speaking to Vanguard in Houston, Texas, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Zainab Kure, said the legislators are not in favour of any of the two government agencies taking over the function of the technical regulator of the industry.

She pointed out that before the bill, which will soon go through second reading would be passed, it will first go to the public for their input.  “We are not going to take any of the existing establishments, it is going to be thrown to the public to decide and whatever they decide will stand.”

She frowned at the fact that there is uniform process for checking arbitrariness of port charges, adding that putting the technical operator in place early enough would ensure sanity in the maritime industry.

On local shipping capacity, Kure said that the law has not been complied with and when asked who was to blame for non-compliance, she  said “I am not going to blame anybody except the economic situation we have found ourselves at the moment.”

She said that the Federal Government should again float a shipping line that will help in the practical training needs of the cadets presently undergoing training across institutions in the country.

The law maker lamented that people are not coming forth to access the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF). When told that operators have actually applied and five Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs) have been appointed to disburse the funds, she said anyone who has applied for the loan and has not been given should write to her committee to enable them take action to ensure disbursement.

She noted that such letter would help them to determine whether the non-disbursement of the fund is “deliberate or is just exigencies of time. We are going to look into it and we will be able to sort it out.”