The Indigenous Ship owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) has urged the Federal Government to allow it to manage the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Unity Line, whose licence was revalidated recently. The Chairman of ISAN, Chief Isaac Jolapamo, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
According to him, the association is ready to manage the ship if the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) will not over-price it.
Jolapamo said that the association was sure that the BPE would not hesitate to hand over the national carrier to it, but it was not sure if the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) would allow it. Jolapamo said that the government should assist the association to float its own carrier if the association’s request failed.
He said ISAN planned to establish a “mega” shipping line that would have the status of a national carrier. According to him, the shipping line will operate side by side with the recently revived national carrier. BPE spokesman, Mr Chukwuma Nwokoh, had quoted its Director-General, Ms Bolanle Onagoruwa, as saying the operating licence of the national carrier had been revalidated by NIMASA.
Onagoruwa said that the shares of national carrier had been slated for sale in line with the reform programme of government. She said that the attempt to re-advertise the national carrier for 100 per cent equity sale would be premised on the some conditions.