The President, Nigerian Association of Master Mariners, Capt. Tajudeen Alao, yesterday, said the federal government's Trade Modernisation Project (TMP) will stimulate quicker cargo clearance at the nation's seaports and airports.
Alao who stated this in Lagos noted that the establishment of the project would also boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and enhance the country's global visibility.
He observed that the world had moved beyond conventional methods of doing business with the advancement of technology.
He said: "More than 30 years ago, when Singapore grew from a third-world country to a first-world country, the president, Lee Kuan Yew, led the drive for technology awareness, and now look at where Singapore is today in terms of technology. Nigeria must make more efforts to keep abreast with technological advancements worldwide," he stated.
He continued, "The establishment of the Trade Modernisation Project would add value in terms of Internally Generated Revenue through improved customs clearance procedures. Consider the time when we had to carry files around; now everything is done through ICT. Nigeria must modernise, and I am glad this initiative is underway. The master mariner emphasised that without trade, growth is impossible and that creating an atmosphere conducive for trade "is essential to reap its benefits."
Alao assured Nigerians of the tremendous benefits that would follow the establishment of the Trade Modernisation Project, adding that master mariners were upgrading themselves globally to remain relevant in the maritime industry.
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He stated that the TMP would enable Nigeria to become a shipping hub for west and central Africa. Alao commended terminal operators for upgrading the access corridors at the port and urged them to enhance other facilities to reduce business processing time.
The general manager of the Trade Facilitation Project, Ahmed Ogunshola, explained the numerous benefits accrued to a nation when the Customs Modernisation Project (CMP) is fully automated.
The federal government and Trade Modernisation Project Ltd. signed a 20-year Concession Agreement on May 30, 2022, to provide best-in-class technology for the implementation of paperless customs at the Nigeria Customs operations. Ogunshola explained that TMP was the automation of the business processes of the Nigeria Customs Service.
He said that the project would simplify and enhance the experience of stakeholders in the trade value chain, making it easy to obtain import and export clearances, pay duties, and obtain the release of goods.
Ogunshola said that the major advantage of the project was the significant growth in the revenue profile of the federal government. "The project will generate more than 250 billion dollars for the federal government over the life of the concession.
"The project will bring Nigeria to par with the rest of the world, in terms of deploying technology to facilitate international trade. "The TMP project will give the economic diversification agenda of the federal government a huge boost by providing further ease of cross-border trading.
"By the time the project is fully implemented, it will cover all areas of customs activities, including duties collection, clearance operations and suppression of smuggling," Ogunshola said.
