NIS enlists support of Senate leadership to get Chartered

Segun Oladipupo |

The Nigeria Institute of Shipping (NIS), has said it is awaiting assistance from the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo Agege to push its charter bill pending before the National Assembly through.

Recall that the bill was has been pending at the National Assembly for about a decade now.

The charter bill is co-sponsored by the Nigerian Institute of Shipping (NIS) and the Certified Institute of Shipping , Nigeria (CISN).

Speaking with newsmen at the weekend, National President, NIS Captain Anthony Onoharigho gave the assurance at the Institute’s 9th Annual General Meeting ( AGM) that the bill had gone up to the second reading before Omo Agege had issues with the NASS in the 8th assembly.

Onoharigho who emerged the NIS President again at the 9th Annual General Meeting for another term of two years, noted that his executive would work harder to ensure the passage of the bill thus move to Institute forward .

“For the charter pending before the National Assembly; it took the bill to second reading then when Omo Agege had problem it stopped but we will reopen that chapter and we are going to do our best and bring back to the senate.

“We will go back to him and see how we can get it back. As a matter of facts, I revived it where it was abandoned eight years ago.

“I am going to take it to where I left it eight years ago to the senate and it won’t be a problem this time around”,he stated.

Highpoints of the AGM was the induction of 50 persons as members and fellows.

While speaking on the lingering traffic congestion on roads linking the Lagos seaports, the NIS president said that there was the need to properly plan movement of articulated vehicles on the roads.

“Government should develop other ports; if cargoes are segregated, those going to Port Harcourt will go there; Lagos, Warri and Calabar will do same.

“We should not drop all cargoes in Lagos as this is part of what is causing the congestion.

“There is the need to make all ports that are not functioning to function again as the concentration of cargoes in Lagos is the major cause of the congestions,” he said.