Lagos- Mr Ayorinde Adedoyin, the Chairman, Planning Committee on 2015 National Maritime Expo (NIMAREX), on Wednesday advocated the establishment of more shipyards in Nigeria.
Adedoyin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the additional shipyards would solve the problem of unemployment because they (shipyards) required a large workforce for operations.
He said Nigeria could adopt the Brazilian example which required ships meant for long-term contracts to be built in the country, adding that the Nigerian Cabotage law should be enforced.
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“Let me use Brazil as an example. The law says categorically that any vessel that would do a long-term contract in Brazil must be built in Brazil.
“See how many shipyards in the world that ran to Brazil to go and set up shipyards.
“See how many thousands of jobs that they’ve created.
“Why do we find it very difficult to enforce the law that we have written?
“If we enforce it, it would be beneficial to us.
“If there is a shipyard, you will have direct workers, you will have suppliers, you have suppliers to supply; you would have food vendors.
“See the chain and it goes.’’
He said that shipyards would give jobs to maintenance engineers, spare parts dealers and several others.
Adedoyin said that many trained seafarers were jobless due to lack of vessels in which they could work.
He expressed concern that the average ship owner in the country begged for jobs that ought to be rightfully theirs. (NAN)