The federal government on Monday inaugurated a governing board for the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC, ending nearly three years of ad-hoc management under the supervision of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
The inauguration, held in Abuja by Adegboyega Oyetola, the minister, follows presidential approval by Bola Tinubu, who at the start of his administration in mid-2023, dissolved the boards of all federal agencies.
The newly inaugurated 11-member board is chaired by Ibrahim Shema, former governor of Katsina state. It includes Pius Akutah, the executive secretary of the NSC, as well as representatives of organised private sector groups, including the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.
The delay was ascribed to an alignment of the agency’s goals with the newly created marine and blue economy ministry.
The absence of a board had limited the Council’s room to take major decisions. Its return restores the Council’s full legal authority on key decisions aimed at “reducing the cost of doing business at our ports, facilitating trade, protecting the interests of shippers, and strengthening Nigeria’s competitiveness in regional and global commerce,” according to the minister.
The inauguration comes in time as the federal government launched the NSC’s Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS), a digital system intended to improve internal speed, strengthen information security and deepen the Council’s capacity to deliver efficient regulatory services.
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Shema pledged that members would focus on regulatory efficiency to improve port performance, and support policies that enhance trade and economic activity “in line with existing laws and government policies.”
