Author: Saint Augustine

…Seeks regular Stevedores training, handling equipment upgrades at Nigerian Ports A prominent player in Nigeria’s maritime industry, P&H Nova Group has called for the construction of more deep seaports across the country to decentralize maritime activities from Lagos and stimulate economic growth in other regions. Prince Hillary Anekwe, Chairman of P&H Nova Development and Procurement Limited who made this call during a media interaction at the end of a staff training program on Monday, titled, “Effective Maritime Personnel Operations Workshop”, held at the company’s office in Victoria Island, Lagos, noted that the country’s ports often lack the depth to accommodate…

The House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation has assured port stakeholders of the readiness of the committee to collaborate with the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, to resolve the port concession agreement renewal. This assurance was given during the committee’s oversight visit to the terminal of Ports & Cargo Handling Services Limited, a subsidiary of SIFAX Group, at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos. According to Engineer Hamisu Ibrahim Chidari, the Committee’s Chairman, the House of Representatives has given the committee a mandate to ensure that all the federal government’s concessioned assets are performing…

The Minister for Marine and Blue Economy, Hon. Adegboyega Oyetola CON, has advised the freight forwarding associations in Nigeria to merge to form a single group in a bid to actively push for their professional goals. Oyetola, was speaking at the closing ceremony of a 2-day training exercise for freight forwarders in Lagos, organized by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN recently. Despite having five CRFFN accredited freight forwarding associations namely: the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, National Association of Air Freight Forwarders and Consolidators,…

…Exonerates NDLEA, FPIS, MAERSK from dispute …As ICNL pleads for review of percentage The Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC has resolved a complaint over two damaged export containers of Black Eye Beans to Jebel Ali Port, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, shipped from Kaduna Inland Dry Port, KIDP by USBAB MULTI CHOICE Limited (Exporter) who attributed the damage to the delay allegedly caused by Inland container Nigeria Limited, ICNL (forwarding agent) and MAERSK Nigeria Limited (carrier). In a letter of complaint received via the Council’s Office in Kaduna, the Managing Director of USBAB MULTI CHOICE Limited, Mr. Usman Baba Ahmad stated that…

In furtherance of its mandate to train and educate the freight forwarding profession in Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN, on Friday, began a two day training programme for select freight forwarders in Lagos. The training themed, “Optimizing Nigeria’s Blue Economy Potentials Through Logistics Performance”, was put together for 20 selected members of the five CRFFN accredited freight forwarding associations namely: the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, National Association of Air Freight Forwarders and Consolidators, NAFFAC, Association of Registered Freight Forwarders Nigeria, AREFFN and…

The African Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria, APFFLON has paid a courtesy visit to the Zonal Director of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC Mr. MT Wetkas. The visit which took place in Lagos recently, was part of the association’s ongoing efforts to strengthen collaboration with key government agencies in addressing pressing issues affecting the freight forwarding industry in Nigeria. The President of APFFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, during the meeting, highlighted the challenges faced by his members and the freight forwarding practitioners in general, particularly regarding unjustified charges imposed by shipping companies and terminal operators…

Leading financial institution in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc, has assured its customers of unwavering commitment to upholding the highest level of ethical standards in all dealings with customer data. The assurance comes amid allegations by the Nigerian Data Protection Agency, NDPA against the bank relating to data breach. While reiterating its commitment to strong corporate governance, Fidelity Bank, in a statement signed by its Divisional Head, Brand & Communications, Dr. Meksley Nwagboh, maintained that it has conducted its services with highest ethical standards by ensuring full compliance with extant laws on data protection. Giving a breakdown of its dealings with…

The Director General and Chief Executive of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke has reiterated the need for a comprehensive approach to building collapses in Nigeria to prevent repeated incidents from occurring in the future and to ensure the safety and integrity of structures across the nation. Okeke made this assertion in regards to the frequent spate of building collapse across the country and the wanton destruction of lives and properties on each occurrence. He stated that compliance to Specifications and Codes of Practice in the Standards by regulators and service providers in the sector plays an…

A front line candidate for the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA Board of Trustees, BoT election, Otunba Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila has said that contrary to opinions in some quarters, he is not running for the association’s BoT slot with the intent to become the Board Chairman or Secretary. Mukaila who stated this in a chat with newsmen on Tuesday disclosed that the only thing motivating him to vie for the position was service delivery and the urge to continue to contribute his quota to the growth and development of ANLCA. Citing Section 13 of the ANLCA constitution, Mukaila…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA has been urged to consider reviewing its stance when drugs are found on board ships, as shipowners in most drug bursts do not have any connection to importation of the drugs. This was canvassed in a paper presented by Mr. Suresh Prabhakar, Director, Operations, Pacific Basin Shipping Limited, Hong Kong at a maritime security conference organised by Maritime Security Providers Association of Nigeria, MASPAN and the Alumni of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, AMANO in Lagos on Thursday. The event with the theme “Drugs & Human Smuggling/Trafficking: The Evolving Maritime Security Threats To…