Am ashamed Nigeria only maritime nation without Single Window port system—Minister
The Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi weekend revealed that he has always been ashamed over his country being the only African maritime nation without a Single Window platform for port operations.
It was not however, clear if it was on grounds of this and his inactivity in floating a national shipping fleet that he has stepped aside on issues concerning maritime in the present dispensation and wheeled same to the Minister of State for Transportation, Ms Gbemi Saraki.
However, speaking at the 3rd Maritime Stakeholders Interactive Forum in Lagos, he revealed that he had told President Mohammadu Buhari that the Single Window and maritime security would form key areas of focus in his second stint as Minister.
Amaechi decried that “I has always felt embarrassed at regional Ministers conference where am unable to explain why Nigeria was yet to implement a Single Window.”
Though Amaechi failed to give any roadmap on how these would be achieved having shifted maritime attention to not only a junior minister, but one without any prior background in the industry, stakeholders expressed apprehension that none of the two schemes may be a reality at the end of the current administration.
