The Federal Ministry of Transportation on Wednesday said that the Government approved about N180 million for Port Standing Task Team (PSTT) to fight corruption and to prevent other maritime crimes across the nation’s seaports.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, who was represented by Babatunde Sule, stated this at the 3rd round table discussion on Maritime Sector Reforms: “Consolidating The Gains,” organized by the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) and Convention on Business Integrity (CBI), said that the Federal Government instructed Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to provide funds and operational vehicles for the Port Standing Task Team.
She said that government agencies were instructed to provide N60 million each for the Port Standing Task Team in order to carry on the anti-corruption crusade across the nation’s Ports.
However, she hinted that port administration policy was such that port users are able to demand, track, and ensure greater compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) by government agencies, and incidences of corrupt demands as it ‘relates to vessel clearance have reduced.
She said that the government’s capacity to establish policy on compliance systems and collaborate with the private sector and civil society to improve trade flows and the ease of doing business are being strengthened.
“The Federal Ministry of Transportation through the NSC, the Technical Unit on Government and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in collaboration with the MACN and CBI, Nigeria have built maritime sector is poised to augment its standing by further institutionalizing and continuously sustain its reforms,” she added.
Meanwhile, the national coordinator of PSTT, Moses Fadipe, confirmed that Federal Government approved N180 million for the operations of the task team, saying that only the Nigerian Shippers’ Council being the leading agency has responded to the government’s instruction.
He revealed that NIMASA and NPA, are yet to respond and the PSTT has not received anything from them.
Earlier in his presentation, Fadipe said the Nigerian maritime sector has made significant progress toward promoting efficiency and transparency in recent years.
For instance, he said the PSTT has played a significant role in transforming the sector through its commendable monitoring and enforcement of adherence to the provisions of the Nigerian Port Process Manual and in its discharge of other ancillary mandates.
“The task team’s interventions have led to a reduction in inefficiencies and corruption, and there has been a positive impact on the economy.
“Strict monitoring and enforcement of joint boarding of vessels procedure, transparency in monitoring, strict monitoring of joint cargo examinations, and the dismantling of illegal checkpoints and extortion points have all contributed to the improvement of the sector.
