The Acting Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Haruna Jauro has reiterated the agency’s commitment to collaborate with the Nigerian Custom Service (NCS) to ensure seamless trade facilitation in Nigeria.
Jauro said this when the Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali led members of the Customs management to NIMASA on a familiarisation visit in Lagos.
The NIMASA acting DG said that the agency has put in place a number of innovations like the satellite surveillance system and committed itself to a number of strategic partnerships with the military to enhance security on Nigerian waters with the ultimate aim of engendering a friendly business environment.
Jauro further said that the country needs to facilitate seamless trade in the maritime sector, emphasising that this was even more compelling in the face of dwindling oil revenue.
“NIMASA needs to partner with the Nigeria Customs in order to improve trade facilitation and also ensure that various loopholes through which Nigeria is losing revenue in these areas are blocked,” he said.
He advocated improved collaboration with the NCS especially in the area of information sharing as both agencies have critical roles to play in generating much needed revenues for the government.
Responding, Ali stated that his visit was to strengthen the existing relationship between the Nigeria Customs Service and NIMASA noting that there were various areas of their functions that needed collaboration.
He said that since NIMASA was the major regulator of shipping in the country, there was need to synergise in order to ensure that operators in the sector abide strictly by the laws of the country.
He re-echoed the importance of the maritime sector to the economy of Nigeria saying that the sector must take the lead as the revenue earner for government in the face of dwindling oil revenues.
He said NCS was committed to partnerships that will guarantee this increased revenue.
By Pita Ochai
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