Aminat Isah, Abuja

The Nigeria Shippers Council, (NSC) has lamented that the nation looses about $9billion to other economies of the world in 2015 due to lack of national fleets.

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Barr. Hassan Bello, stated this at a one day seminar organised in Abuja on Thursday.

With the theme: “Optimizing the Full Potentials of the Transportation Industry through Journalism” the NSC’s boss revealed that Nigeria lost between $5 to $6 billion for freight annually to lack of indigenous ship ownership and operation.

Bello said the 0.1% contribution of the maritime sector to nation’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP) is inimical as it can contribute more and finance the country’s budget conveniently if well harnessed as it is a very good sector to start diversifying the economy.

Bello further revealed that in 2015, Nigeria lost $9 billion for freight because the government and citizens of Nigeria do not own ships, saying that no single drop of oil is transported by Nigerian ships but foreigners’.

To put an end to the money Nigeria looses to other countries of the world through lack of fleets, Bello said Nigeria will in three years or lesser own and operate her own ships to enable her trap within the over $5billion which it lost annually.

“In 2015, Nigeria lost $9 billion for freight because Nigerians don’t own or operate ships in international carriage and that’s why it is important we pass through this issue of fleet implementation.

“Nigerian Shippers’ Council is also the chairman of the National Fleet implementation Committee, if we do that, we are going to have that $9 billion come into Nigeria’s economy, imagine the effect that it will have.

He noted that the Council is working hard with the economic team under the Vice President and also the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, (NIPC) to ensure that important incentives are put in place to bring private sectors on board for the actualisation of fleet implementation .