Author: Saint Augustine

The Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has given the leadership of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) two weeks to resolve its differences with the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN). It will be recalled that ANLCA had been at loggerhead with the CRFFN and other freight forwarding associations for over eight months now over the Council’s plan to collect the Practitioners’ Operating Fee (POF) from all registered freight forwarders operating in the Nigerian seaport, which will eventually be shared between CRFFN and the freight forwarding associations which ANLCA objected to…

The Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, has called on all stakeholders in the maritime industry to come up with suggestions that would move the maritime sector forward in terms of efficiency and revenue generation. Amaechi made the call at the conference held with maritime stakeholders at Eko Hotel Lagos on Monday. The Minister informed stakeholders that the present administration was in for a total reform of the economy adding that he had promised the President that the maritime sector would contribute substantially to the Nigerian Economy. Issues that dominated the session include the implementation of the concession…

The Federal Government has indicated its intention to review the Nigerian Merchant Shipping Act otherwise called the Cabotage Law with a view to gradual implementation of the law. The Minister of Transportation, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi who made this known at the ongoing African Maritime Conference in Lagos also requested at the instance of the pioneer Chairman of the Indigenous Ship owners of Nigeria (ISAN) now Nigerian Ship owners Association (NISA), Chief Isaac Jolapamo, a copy of the 2012 Presidential Retreat report. The Minister disclosed that there was no such report as the Presidential Retreat on the Nigerian Maritime sector given…

The Federal Government has said that it has set up a committee in the Ministry of Transport to start the process of establishing a national carrier for the country. Also, the Federal Government has disclosed that it would review the concession agreement with the concessionaires of the nation’s ports adding that this would come into effect after the ongoing with the concessionaires. The Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi who disclosed this at the opening ceremony of the African Maritime Conference with the theme:” Financing the African Fleet”, organized by the African Ship owners in Lagos on Wednesday…

The Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has indicated his intention to convene an all inclusive stakeholders’ meeting for stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime industry later this year. The Minister who made this known at the opening ceremony of a two-day Maritime Summit organized by the Tell Communications limited in conjunction with Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) in Lagos on Monday said he would have time to meet with the Executive Secretary of NSC, Mr. Hassan Bello to agree on the modalities for the meeting. Amaechi noted that in the said meeting, he would take time to listen to…

The Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has said that he had set a N500 billion target for all the government agencies under the Ministry of Transportation operating in the nation’s maritime sector. Amaechi who disclosed this at the opening ceremony of a two-day Maritime Summit jointly organized by Tell Communications Limited and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) with the theme: “Exploring Opportunities in Nigeria’s Maritime Industry”, in Lagos on Monday stated that meeting the target was a panacea for which change could occur in the sector. He observed that the set amount if realized in the current…

Captain Tajudeen Alao has identified the inability of the Federal Government to prosecute suspected pirates arrested on the Nigerian waters in the country as a major factor militating against the war on piracy. Alao who disclosed this while speaking with our correspondent in Lagos last week decried the non application of any national rule on the international waters describing it as a major setback for the country in its resolve to make piracy a thing of the past. He noted that since there was no law that says that one should shoot at pirates at sea, pirates enjoy protection under…

A Master Mariner, Captain Tajudeen Alao has picked holes in the use of military forces to tackle piracy on Nigerian waters. Alao who spoke in an interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos last week on the menace of pirates on the Nigerian coastal waters stated that rather than using the military to tackle piracy on the nation’s waters, a civilian outfit supported by the International Oil Companies (IOCs), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and other major stakeholders in the maritime industry could be used to tackle the menace. He noted that this civilian…

The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Seme Area Command, Comptroller Victor Dimka has handed over two recovered vehicles and two suspects to the Head of INTERPOL Lagos, DSP Emmanuel Fadere on Tuesday, 16th February, 2016. A statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Selechang Taupyen gave details of the recovered vehicles as follows; Black BMW X6 Series with VIN No VIN-SUXFG43569L225084, and Italian Masarati GHIBLI, with VIN No ZAMWS57B001112000 while the names of the two suspects includes; Mr. Appah George Gobatran and Mr. Umeh Onyekachi. The statement further disclosed that the CAC had earlier ordered the detention and…

Truck owners under the auspices of Coalition of Ports Dry Cargo Transport Operators (CPDCTO) is warming up to protest the N10,000 registration fee slammed on truckers by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), saying that due consultation was not followed before the implementation. The group is currently working out modalities on how to stage a peaceful protest to ground port operations as part of measures to resist the payment. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said that from March 1st 2016, all trucks without its sticker would not be allowed into the ports as part of measures to enforce minimum standards…