Stakeholders of the maritime sector have called for total overhaul of Nigeria Port Systems in order to encourage ease of doing business.
They also called for the harmonisation and simplification of international trade processes and procedures in the African continent to facilitate trade amongst the nations of the continent and beyond.
These were contained in a communique issued at the end of the 17th International Maritime Seminar for Judges held between July 9 and 11, 2024 in Abuja.
Participants at the seminar, which included the Chief Justice of
Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola; other Justices and Judges including the visiting Chief Justice of the Republic
of Liberia Hon Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh, and visiting Justices and Judges from other African countries including Ghana, Kenya and The Gambia; also agreed that the seminar will be made an annual event, instead of biennial as it currently is, in recognition of it (the seminar) being a veritable platform for knowledge sharing and direct interface amongst stakeholders in the maritime sector in Nigeria and Africa.
Other agreements reached at the seminar include: “That there should be a total revamping or overhaul of the Nigerian port system to encourage the enhancement of trade and general ease of doing business particularly in the maritime sector. The need to make the Nigerian ports more efficient and reduce the turn-around time for the clearing of cargoes was highlighted and emphasised giving the example of the port of Tangier reputed to be the most efficient port on the continent of Africa.
“That there is an urgent need to review existing legal regimes to properly position the Nigerian Shippers Council as the regulator of the shipping/maritime sector in the emerging blue economy of the nation. The Seminar noted that shipping and maritime processes are complicated in Nigeria as a result of multiple agency roles in the shipping processes.
Allied to this is the need to evaluate existing legal processes in a manner aimed at driving positive developments in the maritime sector.
“That an efficient and competitive port system that is automated and deploys Artificial Intelligence (AI) in order to optimise service delivery be developed for Nigeria, thus making it imperative for the country to invest significantly in the required technology that will enable Nigeria compete globally and meet the challenges of modern day maritime business.
“That shipping, being an international business and practice, requires Nigeria, as a stakeholder nation, to embrace the global standards of shipping best practices digitization of processes and autonomous vessels’ operation while considering our local realities like likely loss of jobs for seafarers amongst others in the face of the emergence of fully automated vessels.”