Following the concerns from the ship owners to withdraw their vessels over alleged excessive back charges, President Bola Tinubu has taken steps to bring the issue under control.
The Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Zacchaeus Adedeji, led government officials in an interactive session with shipping stakeholders at the State House in an effort to forestall a breakdown in the chain of ship movement.
At the meeting, Adedeji warned that Nigeria cannot afford not to have vessels move in and out of the country so as not to disrupt the flow of products.
Briefing State House correspondents after a meeting with stakeholders on Monday Adedeji allayed the fears within the oil and gas sector and revealed that an agreement has been reached to avert vessel withdrawal
He gave assurance that a technical committee has been set up to resolve the issues in contention, adding that no vessel would be arrested or detained as the committee works to reconcile the back taxes.
Reports had suggested that at least two ship owners said they were keeping their vessels away from Nigeria after a series of multimillion dollar tax bills were sent out, seeking to recover back unpaid duties from 2010 to 2019
