Kasim Sumaina
In a bid to shore up its revenue base and block leakages, the federal government has directed that no private jetty should operate in the country without authorisation from relevant government agencies.
The Minister of Transportation, Mr. 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.
Amaechi in a statement by the Director of Press, Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Eric Ojiekwe, 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 will see how we can summarise 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 will 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.”
