Author: Saint Augustine

…Speaks on Onnoghen’s suspension By Abuchi Onwumelu The Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, His Lordship Most Rev. Dr. Paulinus Ezeokafor, has identify massive voting as the only true way election rigging and manipulation of results could be checkmated even as he urged Nigerians to turn out en masse to cast their vote and equally ensure that their votes count. The outspoken Prelate advised Nigerians to vote wisely and vote according to their conscience to enable the best crop of leaders to emerge. The Catholic Prelate who stated this at St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Awka while speaking on the forthcoming general…

The Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN) has called on the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Mu’azu Zubairu to ensure the arrest and prosecution of Doku Ojo, Olawale Ojo and two others allegedly responsible for the gang rape of a 15-year old girl somewhere in Gberige, Ikorodu, Lagos. According to a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by the National Coordinator of the group, Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, NOPRIN was in possession of distressing information alleging gang rape of a 15-year-old girl by the said culprits now at large. The statement noted that NOPRIN was informed that the heinous criminal…

…Challenges President on integrity, sense of justice The Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to demonstrate his integrity and sense of justice by reviewing the arbitrary, unjust and unwarranted punishment meted to the 38 senior Army officers wrongfully retired by the Army authorities in June 9, 2016. The National Coordinator of NOPRIN, Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, in an open letter to President Buhari noted that the 38 Senior Army Officers who were wrongfully dismissed by way of compulsory retirement on June 9, 2016 had been subjected to a deliberate pattern of abuse including denial…

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has blamed the multiplicity of Customs checkpoints and units on the inability of the importers and their agents to comply with import guidelines and trade procedures. The Coordinator of Zone A, ACG Katherine Ekekezie who stated this while playing host to the leadership of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) who paid her a courtesy visit in her office in Lagos last Friday said that the checkpoints were created to enforce compliance among customs officers, importers and agents. According to her,” These things were set up because people are not complying. There must…

The Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) has advocated for the Certificate of Competency (CoC) being issued to Nigerian seafarers by the authorities to be authenticated and revalidated every five to ten years to eliminate the incidences of forgery that is now becoming the order of the day in the shipping industry in Nigeria. The President of the association, Capt. Tajudeen Alao who made this call while speaking with our correspondent in Lagos recently said that Nigerians now go to Liberia and other countries to forge the certificate adding that effort should be intensified in order to get rid of…

The Managing Director of the Cowrie Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu has said that the agricultural sector dominated the economic performance in the year 2018. Chukwu who made this assertion in an interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos recently acknowledged that there were some sectors like the transport sector that recorded very significant growth. He however added that because those accounted for very inconsequential size of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), they would not form the basis for anyone to really say that they had material impact on the economy. “So, if you want to look at the sector…

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema recently urged aviation workers, especially those in the airline arm of the industry, to imbibe the virtues of hard work, humility, honesty and integrity to save their organisations from going down. Onyema made the call during a reception held in honour of retiring Air Peace Flight Operations Manager, Mr. Olawale Amos Olajide in Lagos. The Air Peace boss decried the increasing trend of dishonesty among airline staff, saying a lot of carriers had been destroyed by their workers’ lack of integrity and disloyalty. He described Olajide as a dedicated, hardworking, honest…

The Chairman of the Governing Council of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Alhaji Tsanni Abubakar has announced the appointment of Barrister Nwakohu Samuel as the new Registrar/ Chief Executive Office of the Council. Speaking during a Session of the Governing Council members meeting recently in Abuja, Alhaji Tsanni said that his appointment was made in line with the provisions of Section 11 sub-section (1) of the CRFFN Act Number 16 of 2007 which endeared the Governing Council with powers to appoint substantive Registrar/CEO to oversee the administrative activities of the Council as when due.…

After several warnings, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has commenced clampdown on vessels that do not comply with the provisions of the Cabotage Compliance Strategy introduced last year to ease the implementation of the Cabotage Act 2003 in Nigeria. The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has said the Agency will no longer encourage the application of any form of waivers under the Cabotage Act, particularly from the oil firms operations as such does not help the growth of the Nigerian maritime sector and economy at large. “Our laws forbid foreign vessels operating in our territorial waters…

…Advocates workable strategies to curb rice smuggling The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has called on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to consider re-opening of payment of duty on imported vehicles that have already find their way into the country through unapproved routes. The National President of the association, Chief Tony Iju Nwabunike who made the appeal while on a courtesy visit to the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in-charge of Zone A, ACG Kaycee Ekezie at the Zonal Headquarters in Lagos on Friday however suggested that such payment should be made through a dedicated channel at the Federal…