As politicking heats up with the 2023 Nigerian Presidential elections drawing nearer, a Maritime interest group, Tinubu/ Shettima Maritime Advocacy Group (TSMAG) has called for position papers on the crucial needs in the sector to be address by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
TSMAG also revealed plans to hold sensitization rallies around the ports, even as the group has outlined several key stakeholders to engage beginning with the Chairman of Apapa Local Government.
Some of these decisions were reached at the group’s recent strategic meeting which held in Apapa, yesterday.
According to the Chairman of TSMAG, Alhaji Aliyu Lameen, the rally will be the mother of all rallies to drum support of maritime stakeholders for the Tinubu/Shettima Presidency, which he argued will bring prosperity to maritime stakeholders.
Lameen who is also the National Coordinator, Compliance team of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) also noted the success stories of the initial flag- off of the APC campaign rally in Jos, Plateau State as well as the Crowd Funding campaign and other events which members of TSMAG attended.
“TSMAG has already gotten the attention of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, the Presidential Candidate of the APC and he has directed his Coordinator on Ports and Maritime activities to liaise with the group to get first hand information on the sector for his program. To this end, the group is seeking the contributions of all the associations and agencies in the maritime sector to submit what they expected the new government to address in the sector in the new dispensation,” he said.
He also expressed optimism that TSMAG could transform into a pressure group irrespective of the outcome of the 2023 polls, insisting that the group is meant to drive the voice of core professionals not listened to in the Nigerian political domain over the years.
”As critical stakeholders that drive not just the economic gateway of the nation by revenue generation, we have core competence of professionals on securing of national assets. Sitting on the fence is no more an option, we are known for hardwork that keeps the nation moving.”
”TSMAG is ready and willing to forge an alliance of maritime stakeholders for the key deliverables for the sector from the Tinubu/Shettima presidency, come 2023 election,” he said.
Presently, the group comprises top executives from various segments of the maritime sector with membership drawn from Freight Forwarders, Maritime lawyers, Maritime Journalists, Arbitrators, Shipowners, Truck Owners, Barge operators, Ship Chandlers, Dockworkers, among others.
