Fuel is the life wire of multi-model transportation in Nigeria, Fuel serves as bunkers for ship with which carriage of crews and cargoes on 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, Carriage by air involving the use of aircraft is also impossible without 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 hamper even out rightly 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 last year 2022, a litre of fuel sold up to N300 across the ling station, with the black market rate standing between N600, and N700. We are ushered into 2023 with the filing station rate shooting up to N450, while the black market rates rose to N900. Travelers on road from Lagos to the East last eagerly N45k for a one way trip.
The cost for carriage of their cargoes equally rose astronmetrically. The entire cost were built into the and foisted on the final consumers.
Again 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 are therefore hampered, and where the extra cost is paid, of the goods become hyper-inflated. This dovetails into serious economic hardship on the citizenry. The government must take immediate steps to contain with the hike in fuel prices. They must take steps to ensure m prices to avoid an economic upheaval, or crises in the The talk about deregulation of the petroleum or downstream sector, or removal of subsidy is mere grammar if the citizenry are continuing subjected to untold economic hardship. The government should take proactive steps either way which can convince the citizenry of its sincerity through
Furthermore, the 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, may not be special enough 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 maritime sector, and the time to do so is now way ahead of the 2023 elections it is now, and not after the votes have been cast, and counted.
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 crises 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 crises 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. On this note I welcome you to this our first maritime course for the year 2023.
We believe you will find the lectures highly stimulating, mentally engaging intellectually enriching, practically enabling and deeply exciting.
Thank you.
Angus Obinna Chukwuka, Esq.
President, ALSN (ADMIRALTY LAWYERS SOCIETY OF NIGERIA)
THE MARITIME COURSE 12TH AND 13TH JANUARY, AVAILABILITY OF FUEL FOR MARITIME TRANSPORT AS SINE
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