Maritime Mergers: Take It or Leave It!

The growing trend in the Nigerian maritime is the move by the Minister of Transport, Hon. Rotimi Achebe to enforce mergers between related associations and agencies and it is a case of “take it or leave it” for the Transport minister.

Rotimi Amaechi was believed to be merely showing traits of someone who loved peace and unity when he started calling for amalgamation of several similar associations as well as organizations in the nation’s maritime sector, nevertheless, Amaechi meant business.

The former Rivers State governor repeatedly stated that he wouldn’t relate with the different factions of similar associations except they merge or form a single integrated committee to act as the representatives of the various factions.

Amaechi succeeded in getting the Nigerian Indigenous Ship- owners Association (NISA) and the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) to form a united committee, although both groups maintain their autonomous status.

The Transport Minister also spent painstaking hours meeting with the heads of the several maritime press associations and even called for a summit with maritime journalists to get the Maritime Correspondent’s Organization of Nigeria (MARCON), Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN), League of Maritime Editors and the Non- Allied Group come together under one umbrella to resolve their differences.

While the Transport Minister has been busy amalgamating, more associations are springing up. For Truck associations, we had National Association of Truck Owners (NATO), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) Coalition of Seaport Truckers (COST) and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN); however a new one known as Truck Fleet Owners Association (TFOA) was launched recently. Should one be expecting a merger?

For the freight forwarding sector, it may be overshadowed by the dichotomy between the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) but there are also several related associations which include the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), the Association of Registered of Freight Forwarders, Nigeria (AREFFN), the National Association of Air Freight Forwarders and Consolidators (NAFFAC), and more. Can these groups ever come together?

The merger of the various maritime press associations still looks unrealistic and merging the freight forwarding looks improbable too, but there is the possibility that when these related associations are made to come under one umbrella, the problems associated with their differences many cause more colossal damages for the maritime industry.

Meanwhile, the Minister has also disclosed that he had received a written approval from President Muhammadu Buhari to commence performance audit and carry out massive reforms in the maritime sector of Nigeria’s economy.

While the appointment of Dakuku Peterside as the Director General at NIMASA is worrisome news for the management team at the agency and many stakeholders, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) remains apprehensive as Amaechi had reiterated that the restructuring of the two agencies would be his maiden achievement as Transport minister.

Amaechi revealed that the investigation and performance audit in the Nigerian maritime sector will also include the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and Nigerian Shippers’ Council as he remains focused on detecting and convicting the influential Nigerians who were benefiting from the maritime sector to the detriment of the Nigerian nation.

By Kenneth Jukpor