Sierra Leone to back Nigerian Shippers’ Council

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) on Friday said it would collaborate with the Sierra Leone Maritime Administration to establish the Sierra Leonean Shippers’ Council.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Executive Council of the NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, stated this while receiving a delegation of the Sierra Leone Maritime Administration at the Council’s Headquarters’ in Lagos.
Bello said that the collaboration would enable both countries to discuss on shipping issues with the hope of strengthening African shipping operations.
He said that NSC had been collaborating with the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM) to start with two ships and trade on export products within the West Central Africa sub-region.
The executive secretary said that the partnership with NEXIM was to create shipping link in the regional trade.
He said that Nigeria was an import-dependent nation, adding that there was need to look inwards on exportation to diversify the economy and regulate the cost of doing business.
Bello said that NSC was established in 1978, adding that there was need for Inter -African trade to enable African countries to deliberate on terms of trade.
``If you have a shippers’ council, it is important to have cargo owners in your country because it will assist the establishment of the council.
``We will be inviting you to our seminars to enable you to understand the operations of shippers’ councils.
``I have already invited the Chief Judge of Sierra Leone to attend Maritime Seminar for Judges slated to hold on May 31 and to also assist your legal department on how to attend to shipping-related issues,’’ Bello said.
He said that the Seminar for Judges had been assisting Nigerian lawyers to be familiar with admiralty laws, adding that it had been fast tracking maritime cases at the courts.
Bello said that the NSC, being the Port Economic Regulator, would be focusing on provision of modern infrastructure to facilitate trade at the ports.
He said that before now, truck drivers usually parked indiscriminately on major highways without regulating them, which brought about delays in delivering consignments to owners.
Bello said that the Truck Transit Parks being constructed by the NSC would enable trucks and tanker drivers to operate in a conducive atmosphere and improve their efficiency.
He said that both countries would be exchanging workforce for capacity building in order to be more equipped in shipping operations.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman Board of Sierra Leone Maritime Administration, Mr Lansana Dumnuya, said that Nigeria had been supporting Sierra Leone for many years.
Dumnuya said that the nation was having serious challenges with shipping operations and regulating the stakeholders.
He urged the NSC to assist the country in putting up a formidable Shippers’ association.
``I know that we cannot understand all the operations at once but within a short while, we will be putting things in right order.
``We discovered that only Nigeria and Ghana are operating Standard Shippers’ Councils and we will like to emulate this in our country,’’ he said.
Dumnuya said that he would appreciate if NSC could give Sierra Leone the maximum technical cooperation, adding that the government would back it up with political will.
``Sierra Leone is having problem with shippers and there is no Shippers’ Council to regulate them in our country.
``This has made shipping difficult in our country, we want to see African ship-owners own ship that will carry African flag.
``We want Shippers’ association to be established in our country to boost shipping operations and create more income for the country,’’ NAN quotes Dumnuya as saying.
He, however, said that shipping was a big business, adding that if Sierra Leone was able to get information from NSC, it would solve the problem the country was having presently.
The Executive Director, Sierra Leone Maritime Administration, Alhaji Wurroh Jalloh, commended the NSC’s readiness to exchange ideas with the delegation in the area of shipping operations.
He said that there was shipping department in Sierra Leone, saying that with the support of the NSC, the country would be able to create more departments and understand modern trends in shipping.
Jalloh, however, sought more collaboration with the NSC for Sierra Leone to overcome its present challenges in shipping

Popular Posts

"I once said that I was not elected President of Nigeria to spread poverty, I was elected to generate and spread wealth-Former Pres. Goodluck Jonathan at the Oxford Union

Image
Former Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Monday spoke at the Oxford Union, succeeding US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who spoke at the same event in May this year. Speaking on the theme 'Fostering Youth Entrepreneurship, Dr. Jonathan, whose speech was streamed live, said: "I once said that I was not elected President of Nigeria to spread poverty, I was elected to generate and spread wealth." 'My belief in this regard is that getting a job or being a worker cannot completely cure the disease of poverty. It is only your own business that can provide such security and give you the financial freedom you need to prosper." Dr. Jonathan asked the esteemed audience some questions during his speech which included; "Why are some nations rich and some poor? Why do individuals that grow up in similar circumstances end up differently, with some as successes and others as failures? Is the wealth of nations a result of geography, weather, culture, desti...
Read more

Fabregas – Chelsea players betrayed Mourinho’s trust

Image
Home / Sport / Chelsea players betrayed Mourinho’s trust – Fabregas Chelsea Star, Cesc Fabregas has claimed that Chelsea players let former boss Jose Mourinho down.Mourinho was sacked as manager of the Stamford Bridge last December, after a run of poor results and reports of him falling out with some players including Fabregas. The Portuguese had given the squad extra holiday, after they won the Premier League and Fabregas feels the players failed to repay that trust. “A lot has been said, and many wrong things, about that,” Fabregas explained on Monday Night Football. “I love Jose, and I even consider him my friend. We still keep in touch right now and some of the things said were unfortunate. “But I have huge respect for him, and I think Jose’s biggest problem was that he trusted us too much. He gave us more holiday because we were champions, he believed in us more, he trusted us more, and we let him down. “The whole team, all the players. And that was the m...
Read more