Author: Saint Augustine

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has highlighted his Management’s determination to make the agency a world class, high performance organisation. Dr. Peterside who said this during the Management Performance Review (MPR) of the agency held in Lagos said that the agency’s repositioning initiative was all encompassing and when concluded would be beneficial to the entire maritime sector. The NIMASA DG also said that the MPR was an avenue to assess the progress being made by the agency viz-a-viz its reform, restructuring and repositioning drive to ensure that the agency’s mandate…

The appointment of the media-savvy Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) may yet instigate a rejig of the Public Affairs Department in content and character, in order to align it with her ideals of the media, according to investigations. Notably, Usman, it was learnt, is an aficionado of new media, bearing in mind that online publications are the global favourites for real time news and other information. However, it was gathered that the NPA boss was dismayed, on assumption of office, to discover the NPA’s backwardness concerning the adoption and…

…To fully enforce the implementation of ISPS Code The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) has again restated its position in ensuring the full implementation and enforcement of the International Ships and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) code in the nation’s ports. The Director General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside stated this at the opening ceremony of a five-day training programme facilitated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in conjunction with NIMASA on ISPS code compliance in Lagos. Dr. Peterside observed that skilled, efficient and talented workers were critical to the growth of the maritime sector assuring NIMASA would continually equip its…

The Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has called for increased partnership and brotherly cooperation as the crème de la crème of Anambra made up of prominent sons and daughters supported by friends and well-wishers converged at the Governor’s Lodge Amawbia in honour of the Governor’s invitation to inaugurate the State’s Silver Jubilee Anniversary with a modest but well attended dinner. The governor made the call in a remark aptly titled “Please let’s do it together,” where he said that it was important for the people to forge a united front and think home especially in the face of increasing…

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said that the agency was not opposed to the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) also serving as chairman of the Board purportedly reported in some sections of the media. The Head Corporate Communications, NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka who made this known in a press release she issued in Lagos also clarified that there was never a time the agency sought to be represented on the Customs Board. Tumaka pointed out that Mr. Momoh Alhassan, who made those statements though a staff of the agency was merely expressing his…

The former National President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Eugene Nweke has described life outside office as challenging. This is even as he said that he had charted for himself what he wanted to do with his life as becoming NAGAFF President was an assignment that was obvious adding that he was done with the assignment. According to him,” So, I go back again, look upon God for further direction and like I will always say, I am a man on the path of destiny and I am yet to fulfill my destiny. So,…

The Deputy Customs Controller, Apapa Area Command, DC Yusuf Malanta Ibrahim has said that 100% examination of cargo at the ports is practically not possible. Yusuf was made this known while reacting to concerns raised at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the command headquarters in Lagos yesterday stated that the highest one could do was to use his discretion to select few containers from those lined up by an importer through his agent for examination. He however opined that even though a customs officer could use his discretion to determine which consignment to be examined, that could not be said…

The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Apapa Area Command, Comptroller Willy Egbudin has said that the incidences of different names appearing on the importer’s form M, Bill of lading and SGD was becoming a problem which the command was trying to contend with. Egbudin who disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the command Wednesday stated that if the trend go beyond the level it was at the moment, the command would have a big problem in its hand. While calling on the licensed customs agents to educate their importers on this development, as he was quite sure that they…

The National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents  (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu has threatened to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over continued diversion of vehicles promptly cleared from Seme Border Command of the Nigeria Customs Service to Idiroko or Ijebu-Ode by the operatives of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone, Ikeja. Shittu who made this known in a meeting with the Customs Area Controller, Seme Area Command, Comptroller Victor Dimka at Seme Tuesday disclosed that vehicles promptly cleared at Seme command were being accosted by FOU officials at Ijebu-Ode and subsequently taken to Idiroko or Abeokuta…

A member of the Association of the Direct Trade Input Operators’ in Nigerian Ports, Chief Emmanuel Nweke has debunked the claims that licensed customs agents were the ones who championed and got the commercial Direct Trade Input (DTI) cafe closed by the Nigeria Customs Service  (NCS). Speaking to newsmen on the recent closure of the DTI cafe in Lagos, Nweke maintained that it was clear from inception tha one could get a DTI for his private use in his office as a licensed customs agent. According to him, ” It wasn’t a new thing, from inception of creation of ASYCUDA,…