The Federal Government’s reliance on foreign ship owners for transporting its import and export products is costing it approximately ₦793.3 trillion ($1 trillion).
Greg Ogbeifun, the CEO of Starz Marine and Engineering Ltd. and a former member of the Presidential Committee on Fleet Expansion, revealed this information during a one-day event with the theme “Ships, Ports, and the Challenges of Infrastructure, Skills Sets, and Tools.”
The event’s chairman, Ogbeifun, stated that the income loss is increasing yearly and that as of 2011, the anticipated loss was over $500 million.
He praised President Bola Tinubu for his efforts thus far, which include the creation of the Marine and Blue Economy, but tasked him with going above and beyond to guarantee that Nigeria acquires ships from the private sector to stop the loss of revenue.
“If I were to just venture a guess, this nation is losing close to a trillion dollars in the shipping industry overall, including human capacity, infrastructure, and cargo carriage,” he said.
He insisted that setting up private platforms would refloat the industry and ensure continuity.
“The new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy can get ahead of others if we get established platforms for its policies, and that is what has called me out back into active Maritime activities,” he said.
“There will be a proliferation of different fleets carrying different cargoes, and these are the areas the government must come in and address.”