The N52bn loss to waivers

THE revelation by the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mallam Habib Abdulahi, that the Federal Government lost a total of N52 billion to import waivers in the last six years raises serious concerns.

Abdulahi had, in a presentation to the House of Representatives Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways, explained that the nation lost $248,238,305 and N3.558 billion (about N52 bil­lion) between 2009 and 2015 to indiscriminate waivers granted on some imports. The losses fol­lowed government’s approval of 50 percent rebate to oil vessels berthing at private jetties, which led to waivers of $248,238,305 and N3.588 billion that ought to have accrued as revenue to the government from 2009 to 2015.

We commend the NPA boss for bringing this hefty loss to waivers to public knowledge. The claim by the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways, Mr. Patrick Asadu, that the na­tion’s maritime sector alone can generate as much as N8 trillion annually is also worth noting and acting on.

But, such a revenue target can only be achieved if all avenues of revenue leakages in the sector, including unbridled waivers, are blocked.

If the maritime sector is well or­ganised and administered, there is no doubt that it can contrib­ute immensely to the economic growth of the nation. It has the potential of being a great em­ployer of labour, if properly har­nessed.

The huge amount of money lost to waivers could have been de­ployed to fix some of the nation’s dilapidated physical infrastruc­ture. It could also have helped in addressing the problems of the power sector or education.

Nigeria can no longer afford the luxury of unnecessary waiv­ers that cause economic hemor­rhage. Some privileged Nigerians should not be allowed to take advantage of the poor manage­ment of the economy through the award of questionable waivers at the detriment of the majority of the people.

It is, therefore, necessary to urgently review the extant waiv­ers regime to address its lapses. The government cannot con­tinue to watch while corporate bodies and individuals abuse its waivers policy with careless abandon, thereby denying it bil­lions of naira in revenue. This avoidable economic sabotage should not be allowed to con­tinue.

Government should also re­view its waivers policy in other sectors of the economy to block the revenue drain pipes. We say this because waivers are not pe­culiar to the maritime sector. All manner of waivers have been granted in different sectors and efforts must be made to recover all the money lost to the ques­tionable ones.

We strongly condemn all the shady deals done in the name of waivers in the country in re­cent years. This is the right time to redress such fiscal reckless­ness.The huge losses to waivers have also drawn attention to the need for port reforms and im­proved cargo handling to reduce the time it takes to clear goods in Nigerian ports.

It is no secret that there is a wide room for improvement in the way our ports are run. They are not among the best ports in the sub-region or the continent. They are not ranked among the world’s best. All these are weighty indicators that all is not well with our ports manage­ment. The earlier these ports are reformed the better for the economy in terms of revenue generation and efficient servic­es.

Let government review its waivers policy and embark on holistic port reforms for more efficient service delivery and revenue generation.

Share on Google Plus

About The Nigerian Blogger

This is a short description in the author block about the author. You edit it by entering text in the "Biographical Info" field in the user admin panel.