No improvement in Nigeria’s AfCFTA implementation — SEREC

Dr. Eugene Nweke is the Head of Research of the Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC). He is also a former President of the Nigeria Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF). In this interview with newsmen, he talks about issues in the Nigerian maritime industry.

TOLA ADENUBI brings the excerpts

How will you assess the maritime industry during the first quarter of 2025?

 the Nigerian maritime industry in the last quarter has as usual shown resilience, with not much increased fraction in cargo volumes and trade activities. However, challenges like congestion, infrastructure deficits, effects of the foreign exchange policy administration, heightened and ever-increasing inflation rate and regulatory bottlenecks persist. Our African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has not received any improvement. There is nothing new happening there. Customs, on its own part, in the first quarter tried to give credence to its policy on economic operators. We saw that it doesn’t carry that weight as such. These are good policies but the bottom line is that a single window has been agreed and for Customs to be a critical agency in that single window platform, it has to improve the robustness of its portal. Because a single window is a central warehouse having one window and several doors. In the first quarter, we also had a public hearing with regards to the tax reform. It’s an ongoing discussion, not yet conclusive, but issues have been joined. It has gone to the executive session and the House is preparing for its own soonest. There was nothing much in the first quarter, but we expect better things in the second quarter. The key industry direction actually happened in the second quarter, following the approval and signing into the law of the marine and blue economy national development policy by Mr. President. This is a key industry administrative policy document that drives the whole gamut of operations.

What are your expectations for the second quarter?

One of the key achievements was approving for implementation a national development policy plan for the industry which has never happened before in any industry. Remember that the national transport policy development package has gone through several series since 2010, 2015 up to 2018. It was not approved by the Ministry of Transportation then. But here we are—a President came, within a short period, created a ministry, stakeholders came together and rubbed minds, reviewed the document as supported by the consultant and then it was taken back to the National Assembly and it was approved by the President. So that means anything you are doing in the Marine and Blue Economy with regards to maritime domain must fall in line with the policy directive. So, it’s a guide. That happened in the early stage of the second quarter, like I said. The first thing that actually made waves in the first quarter was the idea of the Single Window being launched. We are trying to educate the stakeholders which is key, because trade facilitation is a very big issue in Nigeria’s international trading space. In the second quarter, we are talking about the B’Odogwu. We are also talking about maritime policy. These are key issues as far as the maritime industry is concerned. Other issues are the same issues you know and have been reporting.

What motivated the establishment of the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre, and how would you describe its impact on Nigeria’s maritime sector so far?

The centre was established to promote research, capacity building, and data-driven decision-making in Nigeria’s maritime sector. Its impact includes enhanced stakeholder engagement, informed policy decisions, and improved maritime operations. Notwithstanding, it is not in our place to be a judge in our own matters.

From your perspective, what are the most pressing research gaps in Nigeria’s maritime industry that require urgent attention?

Key research gaps include maritime safety, environmental sustainability, digitalization, industry regulatory quests, professionalism questions and economic impact assessments. Addressing these gaps can inform policy decisions and drive industry growth. Explaining each of these factors is as good as dealing with a whole topic presentation.

What kind of data-driven insights has the centre provided recently to maritime stakeholders or government agencies?

The centre has provided and is still providing insights on trade patterns, cargo volumes, policy concerns and port performance, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions. I don’t need to catalogue the centre’s bulletins on key industry issues, because you published and reported our positions over critical industry concerns.

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The Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill of the Nigerian Shippers Council seems to be making some progress, but has not yet gotten Presidential assent.  Following past antecedents, what are your thoughts on the Bill?

The bill’s passage at the national Assembly is a healthy development, because this bill is crucial for regulating the maritime industry. As such, it is not expected that the stakeholders should go to sleep, until Mr. President graciously assents to the bill. We will continue to advocate for the bill enactment to enhance industry efficiency. One good thing that has happened to the maritime industry is a change of a particular region trying to front leadership. No matter how you look at Tinubu’s administration, to a larger extent, it gives room for professional input in certain policy arrangements. Forget about who was appointed whether you are Igbo or Yoruba, they look at the critical issues. I can assure you, I am not an industry predictor or prophet, but you see with the level of explanation made across to Mr. President he is going to accent this very bill soonest, just watch out. So if you are following the trend in the maritime industry, you know that the problem or the bane of this industry has been the supremacy tussle among the agencies. That has brought underdevelopment over the years. And I am very happy with the new tax reform because it tries to bring every other agency legislative enablement into caution especially with regards to revenue concerns, removing it from their hands. The change that is forthcoming in the maritime industry as a whole in the few months ahead will be a surprise to so many people. Let me not go into details.

If you are following the pace of what is happening at the Nigeria Shippers’ Council, the ES/CEO, Pius Akutah has never disappointed in any of his assignments. Go and check. He may not be saying much, but he follows the issue as far as the Council is concerned and he is a goal-getter. He understands as much the importance of having an industry centrally free, an ombudsman. He understands it very well and he is not trying to witch-hunt anybody, but trying to make other agencies understand this. It is just to set the rules and basic industry standards. I don’t want to talk about the manipulation, exploitation, distortion within the shipping line and other service providers. I don’t like talking about that again, because I know what the new policy will do as some of these things will fizzle out on its own. It starts with the policy. And that is why I am very happy with this very marine and blue economy policy. Because under it, we can now go back to look at certain things and tell the government this policy will compromise this very programme. That is implementation.