Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City
Maritime stakeholders have expressed optimism on the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy where they lauded its creation and called for the injection of more experts in its management to meet its targets.
They stated this at the 14th Annual General Meeting and Lecture of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association (NMLA), which also elected a new leadership for the association.
Delivering the keynote address titled, “Urgent regulatory reform in the maritime industry: Setting the agenda for the new administration,” in Benin City, capital of Edo State, the Chairman, Benin River Port, Greg Ogbeifun, called on the managers of the new ministry to be willing to listen to advice and make the right decisions.
He however said, “They have not started well. We wish industry practitioners were brought into the top leadership to head the place, but again we are grateful that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has set up that ministry. They have appointed the people they want to appoint, but I hope they are ready to understand the sector and take decisions on that. We all have to try and help them but after that first appointments, in the immediate layers, the people there should be professionals.”
He said one of the problems of the seaports in Nigeria is aging infrastructure as there is no opportunity for expansion in the seaports as development has encroached into them and called for regulatory reforms in the sector to fix it.
Earlier, the President of NMLA, Mrs Funke Agbor (SAN) while commending the Edo State government for its support for the meeting, said the association has been at the forefront of ensuring that maritime related legislations and treaties which Nigeria is a signatory are domesticated to boost the industry just as she urged practitioners to explore the opportunities that the new ministry provides.
