Tina Amanda
Admiralty Lawyers Society of Nigeria has called on the government to take immediate steps to contain the hike in fuel prices, as it has dramatically hampered cargo movement on land, air and road businesses.
President of the group, Angus Obinna Chukwuka, who made the call during a two-day maritime course at NBA House Port Harcourt, with the theme: “The Maritime Availability of Fuel for Maritime Transport As Sine Qua Non” lamented that scarcity and high cost of fuel hampers delivery of cargoes from the departure points to the destination points where the consignments can be handed over to the consignee.
He explained the high cost and scarcity of fuel affect the prices of commodities as urgent steps must be taken to ensure the availability of petroleum products to avoid an economic upheaval or crises.
“Fuel is the life wire of multi-model transportation in Nigeria; Fuel serves as bunkers for a ship with which carriage of crews and cargoes on the sea is executed. Trucks are energized with fuel to transport goods and passengers on the roads; carriage by air involving the use of aircraft is also impossible without aviation fuel.
“Nigeria is a cargo-owning county with high importation traffic; through air, sea and land. The significance of this is that the scarcity or high cost of fuel will affect the prices of commodities and, even outrightly, the movement of passengers or the delivery of cargoes from the departure points to the destination points where the consignments can be handed over to the consignee.
“Towards the end of the last year, 2022, a litre of fuel sold up to N300 across the filling station, with the black market rate standing between N600 and N700. We are ushered into 2023 with the filling station rate shooting up to N450, while the black market rates rose to N900, and travellers on the road from Lagos to the East last December were about N45k for a one-way trip.
“Given the insecurity in Nigeria, particularly along the road, and the piratical activities on the sea, many cargo owners prefer to move by air, But the cost of aviation fuel has shut up the air ticket price. The movement of such cargoes is therefore hampered, and where the extra cost is paid, the goods become hyper-inflated.
“This dovetails into severe economic hardship on the citizenry; the government must take immediate steps to contain the hike in fuel prices. They must take steps to avoid an economic upheaval or crisis.
“The talk about deregulation of the petroleum or downstream sector, or removal of subsidy is mere grammar if the citizenry is continually subjected to untold economic hardship. The government should take proactive steps, either way, to convince the citizenry of its sincerity through”
Chukwuka further urged all the political parties and their candidates to address Nigerians on their economic program relating to the maritime sector while calling on Nigerians to demand optimum development of the maritime sector by electing themselves a president through a well-laid out strategy.
“Nigerian presidential election is around the corner; Nigerians must elect for themselves a president through a well laid out strategy; any candidate who is clueless about the maritime potentials of Nigeria is not fit for the political assignment.
“All the political parties and their candidates must therefore address Nigerians on their economic program relating to the maritime sector. Nigerians have a right to demand optimum development of the marine sector, and the time to do so is now.
“Nigerians need a visionary president, who will stop at nothing to transform Nigerian from a cargo-owning nation to a ship-owning nation, who can develop the maritime potentials of Nigerian to open up millions of job opportunities for the teeming youths, and unemployed graduates who have now taken to banditry, kidnapping, cultism, 419 and ‘yahoo yahoo’ out of frustration.
“This lingering fuel crisis which started like a midnight joke last year and has led us to the New Year in pains, should be an eye-opener; our new president must never allow a fuel crisis that has the propensity to cripple our maritime economy. We must all get our PVC and vote wisely; we must get it right now or prepare for the worst”.
