Amiwero reflects on Nigeria’s maritime sector, clocks 68

By Eniola Idris

Doyen of Nigeria’s maritime industry and President, National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Eyis Amiwero, has celebrated his 68^th birthday in grand style.

Amiwero, a maritime sector activist, celebrated his birthday in Lagos with a sober reflection on the state of Nigeria’s maritime sector.

Rather than throwing party, he gathered top notch clearing agents and Customs personalities to reflect on the industry and charted a way forward for the troubled sector.

Having spent over 44 years of professionalism as a licensed clearing agent, stakeholders at the gathering said Amiwero has made tremendous impact by shaping and reshaping government policies towards growing the all-important sector of the Nigerian economy.

Speaking with journalists at a press conference to mark his birthday in Lagos, Amiwero said: “Myself and the NCMDLCA have changed about 681 government policies in this country. We have made over 50 interventions in Customs rules, so many on Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), among others.

“We changed the first and second Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA). We have stopped illegal auctioning of containers of importers more than six times.

“Rather than celebrating, I decided to make a sober reflection and see how much we have impacted the maritime industry,” he said.

Amiwero said although his interventions have worked positively for the nation over the years, the industry is still in shambles due to lack of political-will by Nigerian leaders.

He said the industry is currently lacking very importation regulations, as the major agencies of government are lacking definite laws, and clear-cut responsibilities.

Nigeria should incorporate a proper port system. We need a law that will define NPA’ role properly. For now, NPA’s law is not well defined.

“It is unfortunate, we have put together a system that is negative to growth. Currently two laws are missing. That of the NPA and NSC,” he said.

Amiwero however bemoaned the Nigeria Customs Service for targeting revenue rather than facilitating trade, and called for reform of the entire service.

“Customs is to promote trade and not to collect revenue. Customs must be reformed. If we don’t reform Customs, we cannot reform the economy,” he said.

Evaluating Nigeria at 61, Amiwero said maritime sector scored zero in performance rating, saying that a lot of things that could have liberated the sector have been neglected by government.

He said: “We have a mix-bag of confusion in the ports. Our economy is shaking. We politisize everything at the expense of our economy. People in position of authority are just using the port to make money for themselves,” he alleged.

By Eniola Idris

Doyen of Nigeria’s maritime industry and President, National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Eyis Amiwero, has celebrated his 68^th birthday in grand style.

Amiwero, a maritime sector activist, celebrated his birthday in Lagos with a sober reflection on the state of Nigeria’s maritime sector.

Rather than throwing party, he gathered top notch clearing agents and Customs personalities to reflect on the industry and charted a way forward for the troubled sector.

Having spent over 44 years of professionalism as a licensed clearing agent, stakeholders at the gathering said Amiwero has made tremendous impact by shaping and reshaping government policies towards growing the all-important sector of the Nigerian economy.

Speaking with journalists at a press conference to mark his birthday in Lagos, Amiwero said: “Myself and the NCMDLCA have changed about 681 government policies in this country. We have made over 50 interventions in Customs rules, so many on Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), among others.

“We changed the first and second Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA). We have stopped illegal auctioning of containers of importers more than six times.

“Rather than celebrating, I decided to make a sober reflection and see how much we have impacted the maritime industry,” he said.

Amiwero said although his interventions have worked positively for the nation over the years, the industry is still in shambles due to lack of political-will by Nigerian leaders.

He said the industry is currently lacking very importation regulations, as the major agencies of government are lacking definite laws, and clear-cut responsibilities.

Nigeria should incorporate a proper port system. We need a law that will define NPA’ role properly. For now, NPA’s law is not well defined.

“It is unfortunate, we have put together a system that is negative to growth. Currently two laws are missing. That of the NPA and NSC,” he said.

Amiwero however bemoaned the Nigeria Customs Service for targeting revenue rather than facilitating trade, and called for reform of the entire service.

“Customs is to promote trade and not to collect revenue. Customs must be reformed. If we don’t reform Customs, we cannot reform the economy,” he said.

Evaluating Nigeria at 61, Amiwero said maritime sector scored zero in performance rating, saying that a lot of things that could have liberated the sector have been neglected by government.

He said: “We have a mix-bag of confusion in the ports. Our economy is shaking. We politisize everything at the expense of our economy. People in position of authority are just using the port to make money for themselves,” he alleged.