A maritime expert, Dr Kayode Farinto, has called on the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, to provide a blueprint to make the industry viable.

Mr Farinto said on Tuesday in Lagos that to achieve the blueprint, the minister needed to discuss with technocrats in the industry.

The former acting National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, stated that if the blueprint was achieved, it would give the industry focus.

“With the blueprint, the ministry can create employment for our teeming youths and it will also ensure the industry generates revenue for the Federal Government. The untapped resources underwater will be harnessed,” he said.

He decried that the ministry had not really been harnessed, noting that their intention when they called for the creation of the ministry, was not known. .

He noted that with the blueprint, the government would address some of the challenges facing the sector so that it would be able to harness it.

According to Farinto, stakeholders have many issues and challenges facing the maritime sector and the first is the issue of provision of forex for port operations.

“We appreciate the administration of the current Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, as it has addressed the issue of opening Form M, which anyone can do now.

“Others have to do with the call-up system at the port, which is failing now. It is causing corruption and leading to a hike in the cost of cargo clearance. We hope that the government will be decisive on it by next year.

“The port access road in the western region is even better but the eastern region is in the deteriorating state, very bad. And the government generates nothing less than N50 billion from it daily, and the government seems to be looking the other way,” he said.

He urged the minister of works to look into the issue and see how the access road to the eastern port could be addressed for more productivity at the port.

He noted that for Nigeria to strengthen naira, it needed to address the issue of exportation, adding that there was a need to encourage exporters to bring their cargoes through rail.

“It will discourage a lot of things like extortion on the road, various illegal taxes paid. It will improve the turnaround time for cargo. It takes time to bring a cargo from the North to the port to be exported.

“If we have a cargo train, things can be done in two/three days and this can strengthen the naira and before we know it naira will be competing with dollars,” he said.

Mr Farinto also urged Nigeria’s policy formulators to sit up and look at areas in the maritime sector where this administration could harness to generate revenue.

(NAN)