‘Maritime Can Generate N3tr Yearly’

• ‘Maritime Can Generate N3tr Yearly’

The Federal Government can make over N3trillion yearly from the maritime sector, if it is well structured, a top Federal Ministry of Finance official has said.

The official, who asked not to be named, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to invest part of the money generated from the sector because of dwindling oil revenue. He said 30 per cent of the revenue generated from the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) and the Tin Can Island ports should be ploughed back into developing the seaports to international standards.

Speaking after the visit of the Senate Committee to the Lagos ports last week, the official said there has been a reduction in the number of vessels calling at Lagos ports, saying the problem has to do with some policies on importation.

“It would be recalled that in 2006, $1 exchanged for about N130, but today it is about N360 to a dollar, which implies a significant decline of about 70 per cent in the value of the national currency since port concession, and that is why the Minister of Transport needs to reposition the maritime sector,” he said.

Customs alone, the official said, could generate about half of the money, if loopholes were blocked and if the government stops the abuse of the waiver clause.

According to the official, the President should review import policies, especially the foreign exchange (forex) restriction on 41 items.

Investigation revealed that activities at the ports were still very low because of the exchange rate policy.

For instance, findings revealed that activities at the RoRo Terminal at the Tin Can Island port in Lagos were still at their lowest ebb.

The exchange rate and the auto policy have impacted negatively on importers, freight forwarders and revenue from government agencies.

The official said in 2012, 11,380 vehicles were imported through the Lagos port, while 251, 375 came in through the Tin Can Island port in the same year.

“The figure increased to 14, 422 and 280,057 at the Lagos Port Complex and Tin-Can Island ports respectively, in 2013,” he said.

The figure dropped below 881 and 124,250 at each of the ports last year.

The official attributed the low vehicles import to the exchange rate and the auto policy.

“The Federal Government needs to diversify the economy by using the money generated from the ports to develop agriculture and other solid minerals to encourage exports so that the economy does not rely on oil export but diversified into other areas,” he said.

The government, the official said, should also encourage Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) for new port projects to come up.

He suggested that the auto policy should be simplified to improve port activities.

“Otherwise, activities at the Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) renowned for vehicle imports would continue to drop. If this happens, Nigeria will conyinue to be losing about N800 million yearly from this source,” the shipper warned.