/home/kenneth/web/nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/parts/post-single.php on line 153
">
Warning: Undefined array key 0 in /home/kenneth/web/nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/parts/post-single.php on line 153
Warning: Attempt to read property "cat_name" on null in /home/kenneth/web/nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/parts/post-single.php on line 153
Cabotage Law: Which Way Forward
It is lamentable that in the almost seven years of the cabotage law in Nigeria, the nation and indigenous ship owners are still deprived of the needed revenue from haulage of petroleum products which ordinarily should help drive the country’s economy forward.
The cabotage Act was passed into law on April 30, 2003 with the release of guidelines for the implementation of the provisions on June 7, 2004. However, the inability of Federal Government to implement the Act gives foreigners the leeway to invade the country’s waterways to carry out all sorts of illegal shipping activities, which have in turn impoverished Nigerian ship owners.
Vessels owned by indigenous ship operators are considered substandard with poorly trained crew. This provides the ready-made excuse for the oil majors to ignore indigenous operators. In the past when the cargo allocation and reservation principle worked well, a lot of indigenous operators could charter vessels to carry petroleum cargo, but now, most of them simply serve as agents or representatives to foreign shipping companies in Nigeria.
The foreign shipping lines carry petroleum products while the indigenous shippers beg to be given the crumbs. Indigenous operators account for less than 10 percent of the total domestic crude cargo moved through the nation’s coastline of more than 2,000 km, dotted with eight ports.
The discrimination has placed the indigenous shippers at a massive disadvantage to every other flag in the world. Although the indigenous shippers are being over-taken by the better capitalized foreign shipping companies, the contention is that the cabotage laws reserve the haulage of crude oil within the nation’s territorial waterways to indigenous operators.
According to the Act, foreign vessels are not allowed to partake in any domestic coastal trade as obtainable in other developed countries of the world, while it will at the same time, promote the development of indigenous tonnage and establish a Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) and for related matters.
However the Temisan Omatseye led management, which assumed office in July 10,2009, after one year recorded a significant increase of the CVFF from less than seven million dollars in July 2009 to over 55 million dollars in June 2010, representing an increase of 685.7 per cent.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (Nimasa) management led by Omatseye as director general and chief executive officer, in one year recorded increase of 685.7 per cent increase in the CVFF.
The law stipulates that Nigerians should carry goods, passengers by vessel, or any other mode of transport, from one place to the other, either directly or via a place outside the country. It further stipulates that only vessels wholly owned, manned, built and registered by Nigerian citizens, shall be engaged in the domestic coastal carriage of cargo and passengers within the coastal territorial inland waters or any point within the waters of the exclusive economic zone of Nigeria; except a foreign vessel is given waiver by the Minister of Transport to carry out such job.
But seven years after the law was enacted, none of the provisions of the Law has been fully implemented by the supervising agency. Rather, waivers have been granted to foreign shipping companies to do jobs which Nigerians could do.
This has resulted in the influx of foreign vessels into the country, which needs to be stopped. In order to stop the influx of foreign vessels into the country, The Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) embarked on appeals and negotiation.
Since the prospect of achieving result through appeals and negotiations failed, the association resorted to using the power granted it under the Cabotage Laws to fight its cause. Consequently, the association and an indigenous company, Pokat Nigeria, not long ago sued a foreign tanker vessel MT Makhambe, from St Vincent and The Grenades, over illegal coastal trading within the Nigerian territorial waters.
The vessels with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) number 9334612, with 7224 registered gross tonnage was impounded while delivering 10,000 metric tons of petroleum products at Ibafon Jetty 1 in Apapa.
Meanwhile, the case was struck out by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos in favour of the shipping company.
A lot of maritime experts however insisted that in order to rescue the indigenous shippers, there is the need for the Cabotage Enforcement Unit of Nimasa to wake up to their responsibilities because there is an influx of foreign vessels into the country and this should be stopped.
From available statistics, foreign vessels are scattered everywhere in the country doing illegal businesses because their activities are not effectively monitored and regulated. It is therefore advisable that thorough overhaul of the country’s flag administration should be carried out, and that the Cabotage Act should be revisited and simplified for proper interpretation by the court of law.
The Nimasa management is advised on the need to begin to also take critical look at shipping development to see how they could increase Nigerian fleet because without owning ships, the existence of the organization is meaningless.
Furthermore, the CVFF as provided by the law is the only support from the government that would give intending investors the needed leverage in the sector, otherwise Nigerians would continue to play the second fiddle as far as shipping business is concerned.
As a result of high cost of vessels, some banks find it difficult to sponsor shipping acquisition, a situation which is hampering the development of the expansion of fleets in the country.
According to ship owners, cabotage regime was already failing because interested Nigerians do not have the fund to acquire vessels.
For as long as foreign vessels are doing jobs meant for Nigerians ships, most Nigerians that have ships would certainly no longer be able to maintain them, implying that they would rather have to abandon them so that they would be sold as scraps instead of paying their crew members because they have become redundant, observed a maritime source.
He added that,it is lamentable that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is paying huge amounts as demurrage to the foreign vessels everyday because most of the indigenous ships are not in good shape due to their inability to obtain loan or any support from the financial institutions and maritime regulatory body, regretting that the Very Large Crude Carriers which bring in petroleum products into the country do not allow Nigerian ships to come near their vessels.
The Very Large Crude Carriers according to information available to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek bring the refined products and also use their smaller vessels to distribute the petroleum products to the tanks and to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation facilities, which is supposed to be done by indigenous vessels operating under the Cabotage regime.
We regret that because Nigerians do not have good vessels, these foreign ships would stay for two to three months, while Nigeria pays as much as $30,000 to $40,000 daily until they finish discharging their contents.
This would have ended long ago if the Cabotage law was working. Most of the time, the regulatory agencies come up with so many excuses, such as; Nigerian vessels do not have Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance, observes another maritime inside source who stressed that it costs about $10 million to get such certificate, which most indigenous shipping companies in Nigeria could not afford.
However, Omatseye, has promised to do everything humanly possible to ensure vessel expansion in the country is given proper attention, by making the process of CVFF simpler to enable indigenous operators secure loans from the apex maritime body as well as increase local participation in coastal shipping.
According to him, the Agency would make Nigeria’s maritime industry the safest and most secure in Africa, further stressing that the management would equally make Cabotage a reality.
Even as operators and stakeholders continue to applaud the words of Omatseye, they however confess to being skeptical whether it will be another sweet talk as usual, like one of those often rehashed comments of newly appointed chief executives and political office holders as is the tradition in the country. They moreover call on the Federal Government to give the present chief executive officer of NIMASA the freedom to implement his good ideas, which should help move the maritime industry to another level.
Warning: Undefined array key 0 in /home/kenneth/web/nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/parts/post-single.php on line 493
Warning: Attempt to read property "cat_ID" on null in /home/kenneth/web/nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/parts/post-single.php on line 493
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) indicted the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and other ministries over administrative lapses that allowed the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) to operate.
Musa Aliyu, chairman, ICPC, stated that NITDA, alongside the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Budget Office, and other bodies, failed to carry out adequate due diligence and standard operating procedures.
ICPC said however, clarified that the findings pointed to severe internal control weaknesses and administrative negligence rather than active official complicity by NITDA and the other affected agencies.
The briefing followed a 30-day investigation ordered by the president on July 7 into allegations surrounding the purported presidential council.
The commission also cleared the presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of any wrongdoing but blamed institutional lapses in several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Aliyu said investigators established that Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general, was never appointed by the federal government and that the PFIPC had no legal existence.
“As you may recall, on the 7th of July, Mr. President directed the ICPC to conduct an investigation into the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and submit a report within 30 days,” he said.
“Today, exactly within the stipulated period, we have submitted an interim report based on our interactions with all stakeholders involved.”
According to Aliyu, Tinubu directed the commission to make its findings public in the interest of transparency and accountability.
He said the investigation found that Adeyemi’s purported appointment letter was forged.
“It has been established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authority whatsoever,” he said.
“The Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, which sometimes they called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never established by any law, executive order or any valid instrument of government.
“The appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was completely forged alongside similar documents used to perpetuate the illegal activities of the fake agency.”
Aliyu stated that a purported government gazette used to legitimise the organisation was also fabricated.
“If you recall, there was a gazette which he used to support the fake agency. That gazette is an illegal document that never passed through the processes prescribed by law,” he stated.
“Our investigation found that the office used by the fake agency was the office of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. The office was broken into and access was gained illegally. That was how he was able to operate from there.”
Aliyu also revealed that investigators uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by the suspect — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP).
According to him, fake legislative instruments were used to create the agencies and open bank accounts.
Despite the elaborate scheme, the ICPC chairman said the investigation found no evidence that federal government funds were disbursed to the fake council.
“Our investigation found that no funds of the federal government were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC,” he said.
“We also discovered no weaknesses in the systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria during our investigation. The fake appointment letter did not originate from the presidency.
“Our investigation found that some public officers failed to carry out due diligence and failed to comply with standard operating procedures in their ministries and departments. That gave him the opportunity to carry out these illegal acts.”
Nigeria tax system is build on taxing prosperity not poverty, according to Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service
Adedeji, also dismissed the insinuation that the government’s tax reform is aimed at extracting money from Nigerians .
He said the essence of reform is creating an economic environment where individuals and businesses can prosper.
Dr. Adedeji made the clarifications on Sunday night while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he defended the administration’s tax reforms and addressed concerns over rising government revenue amid the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
According to him, the government’s objective is to tax the fruits of investment rather than the investment itself.
“For us at Nigeria Tax, we are not there to extract. Our focus is not revenue. I don’t want to tax poverty. I’m to tax the fruit, not the seed, and I’m to tax the return, not investment.”
Adedeji explained that the government would generate more revenue as businesses became more profitable, without necessarily increasing the tax burden on individuals and companies.
He said a company that made N100 in profit could generate N30 in tax revenue for the government, but if its profit increased to N200 or N300, government revenue would rise accordingly.
“So, if I want to make more, I must work for you to make more. And that is why it is in the best interest of us in Nigeria Revenue Service that businesses are doing well, individuals are doing well,” he said.
He said the approach was consistent with President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda, which seeks to remove barriers to investment and create a more conducive environment for businesses to operate and expand.
Adedeji cited reforms in the electricity sector as part of the government’s efforts to stimulate economic activity.
He noted that the Electricity Act had devolved powers to state governments to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, arguing that improved power supply would boost production and productivity across the economy.
Prof Chidi Oguamanam, Nigerian scholar, has been invited to serve as a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO’s) World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology.
Prof Chidi Oguamanam,
The appointment, which covers four years from 2026 to 2029, recognises Oguamanam’s contributions to the ethics of science and technology and related disciplines.
The invitation was conveyed in a letter from UNESCO on Saturday, which described the commission as an independent advisory body and forum for reflection on major ethical challenges arising from advances in science and technology.
The letter stated, “Recognising your significant contributions to the ethics of science and technology and related disciplines, it is my honour to invite you to become a member of UNESCO’s World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology for a period of four years, from 2026 to 2029.”
Established in 1998, the commission brings together experts from different regions and disciplines to examine ethical issues associated with scientific and technological developments, climate change and the environment.
UNESCO said regional balance was important to the commission’s membership to promote multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary debate on emerging ethical challenges.
According to the organisation, the commission provides guidance and recommendations through its reports to UNESCO, its member states, the scientific community, policymakers, civil society and other stakeholders.
Its previous work has contributed to global normative instruments, including the Declaration of Ethical Principles in Relation to Climate Change adopted in 2017 and the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence adopted in 2021.
UNESCO noted that the commission had recently published reports examining the ethics of quantum computing and space exploration and utilisation.
The organisation said the commission would now focus on new areas identified for its future work programme, including emerging ethical challenges arising from scientific and technological developments.
In inviting Oguamanam to join the commission, UNESCO expressed confidence in his expertise and active contribution to the development of its forthcoming reports.
The organisation also said it expected members to contribute to “horizon scanning” of emerging ethical challenges and help identify issues that should be addressed in the commission’s next cycle.
Oguamanam’s appointment adds to Nigeria’s representation in international discussions on the ethical implications of science, technology and innovation.
He is expected to serve on the commission alongside experts from different regions and academic disciplines during the 2026–2029 term.
Fake Agency: ICPC Indicts NITDA, Others over Inadequate Due Diligence
Tax Reform Built on Taxing Prosperity, Not Poverty– Adedeji
UNESCO Taps Oguamanam,Nigerian Scholar to Advisory Body on Science, Tech Ethics
MTN Alerts Subscribers over Fake 25GB Anniversary MTN Data Giveaway
X Replaces Revenue Sharing wit New Creator Rewards Programme
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
Fact-Check: Elon Musk’s “Tesla Pi Phone” is Internet Rumor
NBC Tasks Broadcasting Stations over 2028 DSO Global Deadline
NBC Scraps Annual Digital Access Fee on DSO
Glo Sponsored African Voices to Feature Netflix’s “The Polygamist” Stars
General News3 days agoGuinness Rewards Consumers with ₦17 Million in First Week of ‘Open for More’ Promo Draw
News3 days agoWorld Bank Debars United Aviation Services, Owner over Fraudulent Activities
E-Business3 days agoNITDA Introduces Cloud Certification Boost Data Localisation Compliance
Telecom3 days agoNCC, Enugu Sign Deal to Operate Digital Industrial Park, Learning Centre
E-Financial3 days agoBOI Opens N250Bn Bond Offer to Fund Businesses
News3 days agoEnugu State Approves Land for ITF’s Digital Fabrication Centre
Telecom3 days agoGITEX Nigeria to spotlight Africa’s $1trn AI economic potential
General News3 days agoMeta Hit With $567m US Court Order Over Alleged Harm to Children