Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for the privatisation of the maritime institutions in the country.
He made the call at the opening of a
two-day maritime stakeholders’ conference hosted by the Ministry of
Transportation and its agencies in Lagos on Monday.
Obasanjo said, “The institutions that
are important in the country, which have not worked, we have to make
them work. We can use the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company as a
model.
“We should look into these areas and
think outside of the box. Until the Nigerian Maritime Administration and
Safety Agency became a place where people stole money, nobody knew much
about it. Now, everybody wants to work there. Look at the National
Inland Waterways Authority, the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron and
the Nigeria Ports Authority, which we tried to privatise. These are
institutions we can make to work.”
He expressed regrets over the reported mismanagement of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in the last few years.
He said, “I was instrumental to the
reform and establishment of the NNPC from the Nigerian National Oil
Corporation. Had I known that it would be mismanaged, I would have done
something better. I would have privatised it and put it on the stock
Exchange.
“The NLNG didn’t go the way of the NNPC
because of the way it was organised. Fifty-one per cent is owned by
private investors, both foreign and indigenous, while 49 per cent is
owned by the government. In fact, the NLNG has been making money ever
since the initial capital investment. From three trains, we are going to
seven trains.”
Obasanjo recalled that the Nigerian
National Shipping Line failed because of lack of commitment and
professionalism, as well as corruption.
“Whatever we deliberate on at this
conference, we don’t need another NNSL or an agency like the Nigerian
Airways. Our experiences with such were heart-breaking,” he added.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi
Amaechi, said that plans were on for the re-establishment of a national
shipping line, and described the absence of a national carrier as a
mockery of the country’s status as the largest economy in Africa.
“If we are to build a sustainable
maritime industry in Nigeria, then public-private partnership in my view
is a credible option for building the necessary collaboration that will
enable Nigeria to take advantage of its enormous potential,” the
minister said.
Amaechi called for the re-examination of
the implementation guidelines of the Cabotage Act, with the aim of
enhancing indigenous participation in ship building and acquisition.
“Nigeria cannot hope to become a
regional and global maritime power without first been able to dominate
its inland maritime trade. All stakeholders must rise above personal
aggrandizement to establish national consensus that will impose
Nigeria’s supremacy as a regional hub,” he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment