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By Moses Ebosele –
The Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council (NSE), Hassan Bello has advised agencies in the maritime sector to collaborate as part of measures to move the sector forward.
Receiving the ‘Most Effective Agency in the Maritime Industry’ award from management of Global Business Edge Magazine, led by Chief Eugene Nweke, its Editorial Board Chairman, Bello praised the zeal of the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi.
Bello also commended the Minister for embarking on the culmination of Single Window Platform which according to him will capture all agencies in the sector in a single portal.
Bello noted that the National Carrier, Single Window Platform and construction of Standard Guage Railway line across the country will aid Commerce in no small measure.
He said: “They are top priority projects of the Honourable Minister and they are very significant. By the time it is crystallized, Nigeria and the way business is carried out in the ports will never remain the same.”
A statement issued by NSC’s Deputy Director (Public Relations) Eugene Nweke quoted Bello as saying agencies in the sector “should work together, if this is done, a lot of things will reduce.”
Bello appealed to institutions, elder statesmen in the Maritime industry to look for avenues like the Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR, so as to resolve some issues outside the Court, “Due to legal processes, NSC have not been able to perform some functions.
He said: “We could settle some things outside the Court of law as soon as possible so as to not only facilitate trade seamlessly, but also to move the sector forward. If this is done, changes will take place in the Industry”.
While noting that Nigeria is filled with Customs brokers and not freight forwarders which is a specialized profession as is practiced globally, Bello hinted that the Council is working towards professionalizing the industry. “With the way the Minister for Transportation is going, in the next two years or less, human contact at the ports in Nigeria will be totally eliminated so as to do away with corruption which is dwarfing the Sector.
“The Council is developing truck transit parks that will streamline the country’s transport industry in line with international best practices. I call on freight forwarding bodies, truckers and critical stakeholders in the supply chain to come together and form consortium so as to achieve the best the sector can offer. I also call on all to embrace this change that is coming”, Bello added.
Earlier, Chief Nweke, who also is the immediate past national president of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, pointed out that each year management of Global Business Edge Magazine picks out through Vox Pop the Agency that has added value to the Maritime industry supply chain, “and Nigerian Shippers’ Council scored the highest among the other Agencies in the Sector”.
*Contact Editor through Citybusinessnews@yahoo.com
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