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Nigeria lost about $2.5bn in five years, and $500m annually due to the non-implementation of the International Cargo Tracking Notes, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council, Pius Akutah, said on Monday.
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, who was represented by the Director of Maritime Services, Mr Babatunde Sule, said that though the Federal Executive Council in the administration of Muhammadu Buhari approved the contract, the process of the award was wrong.
The revelations were made during an investigative hearing on the circumstances surrounding the non-implementation of the ICTN and identify challenges faced by the NSC, organised by the House of Representative Committees on Shipping, Excise, Customs, Ports and Harbor and Maritime Safety, Education and Administrations.
ICTN is a mandatory loading document for all shipments to Nigeria determined as a regulation in 2019.
According to this law, every cargo that has been purchased from abroad and transported for commercial, business, in some cases, diplomatic and personal purposes requires a Loading Certificate, otherwise known as ICTN.
Speaking at the event, Akutah said “Nigeria has lost almost $2.5bn within the last five years that Nigeria has not implemented this. Because of some investigations conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, a period of five years passed.
“Within the last five years, they implemented for two years and somehow stopped. In the last five years, they have not done it. We are losing huge amounts in dollars.”
In the words of the Minister’s representative, the process that led to the approval of the contract by the previous administration was flawed.
“Last year, the FEC approved a contract. At the tail end of the last administration, the government approved five companies. I know there was a fake approval, regarding this contract. I’m also aware that it was given to five companies. I also learned that four of the companies signed an agreement, with the fifth not signing. I think that was what stalled this whole process. The process was wrong.
“At the assumption of the office of the minister, he made frantic efforts to resuscitate this contract. We had several stakeholders’ meetings. We even invited the lead partner for a meeting. We had several discussions on this issue. All has not yet been decided. Time won’t let me say what the Honorable Minister has continued to do in his efforts to see that this deal is actualised.
However, according to a statement by the Chairman of the Shipping Lines Association of Nigeria, Boma Alabi, who was not present at the meeting, the proposal is an attempt at money-making by the Federal Government, which does not support the ease of doing business and trading in Nigeria.
“The shipping industry in Nigeria is already overburdened with red tape and certainly does not require another layer of bureaucracy which is what the proposed Cargo Tracking Bill will result in.
“All exporters and importers can track their goods on the website of the shipping lines generally speaking. In addition, the shipping lines have to upload their manifest to the Customs portal which is connected to the Central Bank of Nigeria single window.
“The ICTN without streamlining the existing process will only result in further delays and congestion,” the statement read in part.
Speaking earlier during his welcome remarks, the Chairman of the Committee on Shipping Services, Abdussamad Dasuki noted that the ICTN is far more than an administrative requirement but an essential tool initiated to drive transparency, security, and operational efficiency in the movement of cargo across borders.
He said “Despite its approval and the commitment of various stakeholders, progress towards implementing the ICTN has been hampered by significant challenges. Among these challenges, we believe, are the bureaucratic delays and competing interests among agencies, limited coordination between key stakeholders, and the duplication of contracts awarded for its implementation.
“Today’s gathering is an opportunity to tackle these issues head-on. Our goal is to identify the root causes of these delays, address conflicted interests, improve revenue generation by plugging the loopholes that allow illicit cargo, such as arms and drugs, to slip through our ports, and ultimately unlock the potential of the ICTN to bring Nigeria’s maritime industry in line with global best practices.”
