Stakeholder involvement important to port order – Shippers’ Council

The Government Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Dr Pius Akutah, has acknowledged that stakeholder engagement is crucial to sustaining order throughout the port system and making certain that Nigeria’s ports align with world greatest practices, whereas safeguarding the pursuits of port customers and the nationwide financial system.

This comes whilst Akutah has repeatedly careworn that transport corporations on the nation’s seaports should seek the advice of related stakeholders earlier than elevating tariffs.

Akutah disclosed this on Wednesday in Lagos throughout a stakeholders’ assembly on tariff evaluate for prices by transport corporations, service suppliers, clearing brokers, importers, and freight forwarders.

Akutah, who was represented on the occasion by the Director of Client Affairs on the NSC, Mrs Ify Okolue, defined that the NSC’s mandate is to advertise equity, effectivity, and stability throughout the port system.

“Stakeholder engagement is crucial to sustaining order throughout the port system and making certain that Nigeria’s ports align with world greatest practices, whereas safeguarding the pursuits of port customers and the nationwide financial system,” Akutah acknowledged.

In accordance with him, the function of the NSC shouldn’t be solely to make sure that service suppliers function inside an economically justifiable framework but additionally to guard port customers from arbitrary, unjustified, or anti-competitive prices.

He emphasised that in finishing up this duty, the council is guided by due course of, transparency, stakeholder session, and the overriding nationwide curiosity.

“It is very important emphasise that the mandate of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council is to advertise equity, effectivity, and stability throughout the port system,” he acknowledged.

Akutah identified that the council stays open to dialogue and is dedicated to making sure fairness, regulatory integrity, and the long-term sustainability of the maritime trade.

“Regulation is best when it’s inclusive, which is why this engagement is crucial. It supplies us with a chance to hear attentively to your views, make clear the rationale behind regulatory selections, tackle misconceptions the place they exist, and collectively discover options which might be honest, sustainable, and helpful to all events,” Akutah emphasised.

He acknowledged prevailing financial challenges, stressing the necessity to strike a stability between price restoration and the safety of port customers.

“I want to guarantee all stakeholders that the NSC shouldn’t be insensitive to the prevailing financial realities, together with overseas change challenges, inflationary pressures, and the necessity to preserve Nigerian ports aggressive throughout the sub-region. On the identical time, we should be sure that price restoration by service suppliers doesn’t translate into extreme burdens on port customers or undermine nationwide commerce aims,” he stated.

Akutah described the engagement as a collaborative effort aimed toward strengthening Nigeria’s port system.

“In the present day, we aren’t right here as adversaries, however as companions in progress, united by a typical aim: a port system that helps commerce facilitation, attracts funding, and contributes meaningfully to Nigeria’s financial improvement. The council stays open to dialogue and is dedicated to fairness, regulatory integrity, and the long-term sustainability of the maritime trade,” he stated.

Attending the assembly had been key stakeholders such because the Importers Affiliation of Nigeria and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Business, alongside the Affiliation of Nigerian Licensed Customs Brokers, the Nationwide Affiliation of Authorities Authorized Freight Forwarders, the Nationwide Council of Managing Administrators of Licensed Customs Brokers, and the African Affiliation of Skilled Freight Forwarders and Logistics.

Final week, The PidomNigeria reported that brokers working within the nation’s maritime sector, together with members of the African Affiliation of Skilled Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria and the Affiliation of Nigeria Licensed Customs Brokers, Western Zone, amongst others, shut down enterprise operations on the Apapa workplace of the Mediterranean Delivery Firm over the latest hike in prices by transport corporations, lamenting that it could gas inflation in an already fragile financial system.