The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC), a Nigerian maritime research, advocacy, and policy consulting organization, has advocated the need for financial transparency, public enterprise accountability and ease of doing business in the nation’s maritime ecosystem.
In a statement issued by the Centre’s Head of Research, Dr. Eugene Nweke, the Centre maintained the nation’s maritime industry had become economically important to operate within a financial accountability environment that the public can only partially see, partially understand and often reconstruct from fragmented sources.
He described the maritime ecosystem as comprising public institutions exercising statutory powers, administering public assets, collecting public revenues, regulating private economic actors, undertaking infrastructure projects, entering contractual and concessionary arrangements and, in some circumstances, accessing or administering significant public financing.
Nweke listed the institutions as including the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Port Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and Ministries, Departments and Agencies operating within the maritime and trade facilitation ecosystem.
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Noting that the demand is not with doubt that these institutions keep accounts as they do, but the SEREC research chief pointed out that with public accountability, this would go a long way in helping the Nigerian public, investors, researchers and the media to be able to measure economic outcomes.
Nweke clarified: “The deeper question is: Can the Nigerian public, investors, researchers, media, industry stakeholders and Parliament readily trace the complete financial journey from public revenue to public expenditure, from borrowing to debt service, from procurement to assets, and from expenditure to measurable economic outcomes?
“SEREC’s answer is that Nigeria must do considerably better. The recent public debate surrounding the growth of Federal Capital Territory debt provides a useful miniature of the broader accountability challenge. The lesson is not that public borrowing is inherently wrong, nor that visible infrastructure should be dismissed”, he added.
According to him, the lesson from this approach is that revenue, borrowing and expenditure cannot be responsibly evaluated without access to the books hence the need to apply the principle to Nigeria’s maritime public enterprises’ operations.
He expatiated: “If a public institution increases revenue, the public should be able to determine how much was collected, from what sources, what was retained, what was remitted and what was spent.
“If a major project is commissioned, the public should be able to establish its approved cost, contract value, variations, financing source, amount paid, outstanding liability and economic return.
“If a public institution borrows, the public should be able to know the amount, lender, interest rate, tenure, purpose, repayment obligations and resulting asset or economic benefit.
“If tariffs and charges are increased, port users should be able to understand the financial and economic justification.
“If an audit identifies irregularities or unresolved issues, the public should be able to see the management response and subsequent corrective action”, Nweke added.
On the essence of SEREC’s proposed “Show Us The Books Doctrine”, the researcher stated that it meant that public money must leave a public accountability trail, adding that the doctrine is not an accusation against any individual agency or management but governance and economic propositions.
He further stated: “Financial transparency directly supports the Presidential Ease of Doing Business agenda because predictable and accessible financial information reduces uncertainty, strengthens investor confidence, improves commercial planning and enables businesses to understand the true cost of operating within Nigeria’s maritime ecosystem.
“Transparency also promotes public enlightenment; strengthens responsible journalism;
improves press probity; enables independent research; strengthens parliamentary oversight;
encourages institutional prudence; discourages financial opacity; improves investor confidence;
supports evidence-based policymaking; and enhances public trust”, the SEREC research leader stressed.
