NO JETTY SHOULD OPERATE WITHOUT AUTHORISATION – FGN
Oru Leonard
The Federal Government of NIgeria has directed that no private jetty should operate in the country without authorization from relevant government agencies, a bid to shore up its revenue base and block leakages.
The Transportation Minister, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi made this known at the Presentation of a Compendium on Private Jetties in Nigeria by members of the Presidential Standing Committee on Private Jetties (PSCPJ) in Abuja recently.
He applauded the Committee for its effort, urging it to do more as its report indicates that illegal Jetties still abound despite government efforts to curb the menace.
Speaking on the next step, Amaechi said: “we’ll see how we can summarize the report and present it to the Federal Executive Council (FEC), to look at so that each Minister can have a copy.”
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani stated: “I want to thank you so much for the hard work you have done to present this compendium but at the same time, I’ll like to request that you give us a copy of the executive summary because it would be impossible to take this report to FEC, so you will complete your job by giving us an executive summary”.
Earlier, the Acting Chairman, Technical Sub-Committee, Presidential Standing Committee on Private Jetties and General Manager, Marine Services, National Inland Waterways (NIWA), Engr. Joseph Ororo, in his speech disclosed that this is the first time the activities and data resulting from the work of the Committee will be compiled since its inauguration 17 years ago.
According to him, “this compilation encapsulates the standard operational procedure/guidelines for intending and existing jetty operators in the country”.
Speaking further, Ororo said that the work of the Sub-Committee work has contributed immensely to the increased revenue generation of agencies such as NIWA, Nigeria Ports Authority and Nigeria Customs among others.
Similarly, Ororo pointed our that other derivatives from the work of the Committee is that multi-national companies are no more willing to engage any jetty facility in business if such does not posses valid license duly approved by the Chairman of the PSCPJ.
The highlight of the event was the formal presentation of the 806 page report to the Minister by the Secretary, PSCPJ, Dr. Stella Maduka who stated that the work is an in-depth research on private jetties in the country and prayed that it serves the purpose.
The report presentation had in attendance representatives from the Nigeria Navy, Nigerian Customs, NPA, NIMASA, NIWA, NNPC, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Security, Dangote Group, Office of the Secretary to the Federation among others.
