Author: Saint Augustine

The Nigerian Government has agreed to strengthen and expand cooperation between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) on the war against terrorism. President Muhammadu Buhari stated this in a meeting with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, on Thursday in the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He restated his view that greater regional and international cooperation was needed to ensure victory over terrorism in Nigeria and other countries in Africa. President Buhari assured Mr. Ouedraogo that Nigeria would hold further consultations with other stakeholders to agree on a new date for…

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara has called for unity among colleagues to tackle the matters affecting the nation. Mr. Dogara who made the call at Thursday’s plenary after the House sitting was disrupted by some members tussling for leadership positions, urged members to be grateful to their constituents for sending them to the House. According to the Speaker, “let me remind us of the fact that, we are a very fortunate, that out of the 170 million people, only 360 of us were selected or elected to represent the people. ”Nigerians expect us to really…

The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has decried the constant breach of the indigenization policy and the local content law of the Federal government by a number of foreign companies which engage in the business of customs brokerage in Nigeria calling for a stop in the trend. The Publicity Secretary of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto who made this known at a roundtable organized by the Maritime Correspondents’ Organization of Nigeria (MARCON) in Lagos yesterday regretted that the customs brokers in the country had lost their clients to the foreigners who came to do business in the ports thereby…

Nigeria has taken a major step towards concluding the process of domesticating five International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulatory instruments with the submission of the instruments of assent to five protocols of the IMO in London. This feat was achieved through the collaboration of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) being the focal point of all IMO conventions in Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMOT) in a bid to ensure that Nigeria continues to implement the various safety measures and practices as endorsed by the IMO. The Nigerian High Commissioner and Permanent Representative to the IMO, Dr Dalhatu…

… Declares Practitioners’ Operating Fess illegal The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has tasked the yet to be announced Minister of Transport to set as a priority the resolution of the crisis rocking the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) with a view to consolidating the gains so far made in the Council. The National Publicity Secretary of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto gave the charge yesterday at a roundtable organised by the maritime reporters under the aegis of Maritime Correspondents Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON) in Lagos. Farinto who was in the company of the…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved Konga’s acquisition of Zinternet Nigeria Limited (Zinternet) and its mobile money license. The acquisition, which consolidates the apex bank’s cashless policy programme, entitles Konga to a 100% ownership of the company’s assets. Zinternet is an innovative and inter-operable mobile banking and payment provider. Its payment solution, EzPayAfrica mobile payment service allows anyone with a mobile phone to send and receive money, electronically recharge their phone, pay bills and pay for good/services. Responding to news of the acquisition, Sim Shagaya, Konga CEO said: “We are excited to work with our banking partners to…

Stakeholders in the nation’s maritime industry have raise an alarm over what benefit Nigeria as a country as well as the nation’s business community stands to gain as Nigeria begins implementation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Common External Tariff (CET). Speaking at the Launch of the Implementation of ECOWAS CET in Lagos yesterday, the National President, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Eugene Nweke while commending the organizers of the programme expressed his reservation that the workshop did not take into cognizance the expected roles of the Nigerian freight forwarders in the new…

…Lifts ban on furniture, textile import The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Dr. Dikko Inde Abdullahi has assured the stakeholders that the Import Adjustment Tax (IAT) component of the ECOWAS Common External Tariffs (CET) would continue to be gradually phased out until the 2020 deadline when the detailed provision of the ECOWAS CET would be in full force. Dikko who made this known at the official launch of the implementation of the CET in Lagos yesterday, pointed out that members states were permitted to apply temporary provisions which includes the Import Adjustment Tax and Special Protection Tax (SPT)…

A fresh crisis appears to be brewing in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has rejected Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko as chairman of the party’s Governors’ Forum. Fayose has rallied some other governors in the party to kick against Mimiko’s emergence. He has petitioned the national leadership of the party to intervene before the matter degenerates into a full blown crisis. A source at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja was quoted to have confirmed the receipt of the petition against Mimiko. The party’s National Working Committee (NWC) will be meeting the party’s governors…

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday ordered immediate removal of military check points nationwide. This was disclosed to State House correspondents by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Ismail Aliyu, after about five hours defence briefing to the President at the State House, Abuja. He said the police will take over internal security. Aliyu maintained that the Boko Haram insurgency will soon be over. He said the Lake Chad Basin Commission nations are coming up with strategies to tackle the problem of insecurity. He said: “The President has instructed the Chief of Defence Staff to get the Chief of…