By Omenihu Alfred
The Maritime Journalists Association of Nigeria (MAJAN), has chalked out plans to hold a one-day seminar on review of activities and policies in the maritime industry, in first quarter of 2021 on Thursday, May 20, in Lagos. The seminar will permit maritime experts and stakeholders to give in-depth assessment of the sector in areas of growth, investments in-flow, revenue collection, job creation, contributions to GDP and foreign exchange earnings, among others.
Hence, in-depth industry stakeholders will have ample opportunity to comment on programmes and policies introduced by government in the first quarter. These include; commencement of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA); the Electronic Call-up system introduced by Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to tackle traffic gridlock on ports access roads; issues of insecurity/lack of safety surrounding barge operations; Customs modernisation project; issues of security on the waterways; and many others.
Stakeholders will also look at how the sector has faired in the first quarter of 2021, the challenges facing the sector and the way forward.
Addressing Journalists in Lagos over the weekend, the MAJAN President, Comrade Ray Ugochukwu, said assessment of the sector is quite imperative, in order to have an overview of the sector in the first quarter.
According to him, “Journalists have a duty to disseminate information to the public. As such, they must have a clear understanding of activities in the maritime sector and the economy at large, in order to give the reading public credible information at all times”.
