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Corruption hampering effective service delivery in Maritime industry, needs attention ─NSC

*The Nigerian Shippers’ Council has declared that corruption, among other challenges in the maritime sector of the economy, is limiting the progress of the vital industry, and suggested the stakeholders should to address the menace currently hindering efficient service delivery

Emmanuel Akosile | ConsumerConnect

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has said that the Council will deliver more quality services when corruption is tackled in the industry.

Mr. Emmanuel Jime, Executive Secretary of NSC, disclosed this development Wednesday, March 9, 2022, when Joan Onwulere, Head of the Technical Unit on Governance & Anti- Corruption Reforms (TUGAR), led her team to visit him in Abuja, FCT.

Jime stated that corruption, among other challenges, is limiting the progress of Nigeria’s maritime sector, and this needs to be tackled, agency report said.

While commending the TUGAR team for the good job the body is doing in the economy, the NSC Executive Secretary pledged the continued support of the NSC to the team to measure sanity of the maritime industry.

He also stated: “Let us also be aware that there are still several ways to go; there is a lot of work left to be done.

”What we do at the NSC,  because of the important role we play of regulating the commercial sector of the maritime domain,  there is no way we will deliver on quality services if those services are mitigated by the incidences of corruption.

“We are together in this and it is a battle that I believe is winable, but we have to carry on with this work to its logical ends.”

He commended the TUGAR delegation for coming, and to assured them that whatever is needed is done as far as support from the shippers council is concerned.

“By way of funding , by way of provision of equipment to the best of our ability that we have been able to do till now,  we can only continue to do and do even more,” said he.

The Executive Secretary of as well noted that the work of TUGAR aligns with the desire of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, and the NSC and every well meaning Nigerians should support it.

As regards implementation of Nigeria Port Process Manual (NPPM), Jime said one of its challenges was that the NSC was the only agency bearing its burden.

He stated: ‘I regret to say that the greatest challenge perhaps you may face going forward is that the shippers council appears to have been bearing the burden of the implementation of the port process manual single-handedly.

“This is supposed to be inter-agency platform,  and so we can use this platform to appeal to all of the other agencies of government that are partners to what we do to also join shippers council in assisting.”

According to him, the NSC does not have the kind of challenge on funding that it is having currently.

Earlier in her speech, the Head of the visiting TUGAR team had applauded the NSC for the level of support it had received in the past and appealed for more support going forward.

Onwulere, the team had since inception and through the support of the council achieved a lot of milestones.

She listed some of the achievements to include training of corruption risk assessors, launch of the corruption risk assessment report, Port Service Support Portal (PSSP), the recently launched NPPM among others.

TUGAR is comprised of the Ministries of Transport and Finance,  NPA, NCS, NIS, NIMASA, NDLEA,  CRFFN,  ICPC and Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

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