Author: Saint Augustine

Mired by the recent ban on vehicle importation through the land border, the National President, Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria, (AREFFN), Dr. Frank Ukor had express his displeasure over government’s policies which he said were anti people. Speaking in interview with Primetime Reporters, Ukor decried the spate of ban of importation of traded goods from the borders which he said had put the government on the losing side as it ended up making money for security agents who he accused of making brisk business from the bans. According to him,” Government came up the other day and said…

…As NIMASA, NUJ call for media partnership The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has urged the media, especially the maritime press to support the government’s drive to diversify the economy for growth and create alternative opportunities for investments. The NIMASA DG stated this while receiving the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by its National President, Mr. Abdulwaheed Odusile, at the Agency’s headquarters in Lagos. Peterside while noting that the media is the interface between the public and the Government urged them to be professional in their reporting…

Picture 1: The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman receiving souvenir from AIG Zone 2 of Nigeria Police Force, Cornelius Kayode Aderanti MNI, during a courtesy visit of the AIG to MD NPA at NPA Corporate Headquarters, Marina recently. Picture 2: The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman (3rd from Left), in a pose with AIG Zone 2 of Nigeria Police Force, Cornelius Kayode Aderanti, MNI (3rd from Right), during a courtesy visit of the AIG to MD NPA at NPA Corporate Headquarters, Marina, Lagos recently. Send your news, press releases/articles as…

A maritime practitioner, Capt. Tajudeen Alao has harped on the need for the federal government through the Ministry of Transportation to develop a work plan and the timeframe with which to carry out developmental projects in the nation’s maritime industry in 2017. Alao made this assertion in Lagos in a chat with our correspondent. He noted that while a work plan is being developed and a timeframe being attached to it, there should be a continuous stakeholder’s engagement on professional and sector basis so as to build trust as well as encourage people to open up. “In 2017, we need…

A foremost Master Mariner, Capt. Tajudeen Alao has called on the Federal Government to set up the Merchant Navy Training Board to coordinate and streamline the courses and training of the nation’s seafarers. Alao who made this call in a chat with Primetime Reporters in Lagos stated that the board when set would work in conjunction with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) as well as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in drawing up the basic courses to be handled by maritime training institutions vis-à-vis what was on ground. He insisted that there should be an umbrella body to…

The Managing Director, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu has said that the Nigerian economy in the current year, 2017 will not be as bad as that of 2016 even as he encouraged Nigerians to expect some level of improvement in the economy this year. Chukwu who made this disclosure in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos last week noted that some factors were already pointing to that reality as he said that the nation’s external reserve had gone back to about $28.9 billion as well as a noticeable a improvement in the price of crude which according…

Mr. Paul Ndibe is the National Director, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Nigeria. In this interview with our correspondent in Lagos Tuesday, he assessed the performance of the Nigerian maritime industry in the outgone year of 2016, expressing a strong confidence that the transport industry will take a pride of place in the affairs of the Federal Government in 2017. He also spoke on many issues bothering on the activities of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and other government agencies towards giving a hub status to the Nigerian port industry. Excerpts; What is your assessment of the transport industry in…

The National Director, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT Nigeria, Mr. Paul Ndibe has said that unless there is a synergy between the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the Federal Ministry of Work, Power and Housing and the Federal Government to facilitate the Inland Container Depot (ICD) Projects across the country, Nigeria may record little o no success in this regard. Ndibe who made this known in an interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos also said that the synergy was very necessary to see that the rail connections that lead to the ports are free and open so that when the…

Even as the Nigerian Shippers’ Council has continued its push for some landlocked African countries to make use of the Nigerian Ports as transit ports for goods destined for their countries, the National Director, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Nigeria (CILT), Mr. Paul Ndibe has said that the idea will only end up as a dream unless the Federal government restructures the ports in Nigeria. Ndibe who made his position known on the matter in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos said that a cursory look at the nation’s ports, one would discover that the ports had been…

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has urged Maersk Line Nigeria Limited to move their transit cargo through Nigerian ports. The Executive Secretary of NSC, Mr. Hassan Bello, made the plea when the Managing Director of Maersk Line Nigeria Limited, Mr. Gildas Tobouo Tobouo paid a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in Lagos recently. Bello expressed optimism that the utilization of Nigerian ports for transit cargoes would be of immense benefit not only to shippers but the economy in general. He therefore solicited for increase collaboration between the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and Maersk Line Nigeria Limited adding that the…