Author: Saint Augustine

By  Dr. Eugene Nweke ” In an evaluation issued in 2007, the World Bank in its assistance efforts to the Agricultural development in Sub Africa, for the first time admitted that it should not have advised African governments to withdraw support from their farming sectors in 1980’s  and 1990’s. World Bank wrongly expected that the private sectors would provide necessary support; when that didn’t happen, farmers were devastated, marking the beginning of an  endless economic crises in most  African Countries till date.. .”  ” In most reforming countries, the private sector did not step in to fill the vacuum when…

SIR MIKE IYORCHIR OGWU JUKWE is the pioneer Registrar/Chief Executive of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) from 1st December, 2009 to date. The Council is a regulatory agency responsible for regulating and controlling freight forwarding in Nigeria under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Transport.  Fwdr. Sir Mike Jukwe was born on 2nd September, 1958 in Makurdi, Benue State, he hails from the Etulo tribe in Etulo District of Buruku Local Government Area, Benue State. He is married to Dame Felicia Mngunengen Jukwe, KSS with two children, a boy (Mike Jnr) and a…

Two Freight Forwarding associations in the maritime sector, the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has called for the temporal suspension of the new automotive policy of the federal government. The associations also want the federal government to review the infrastructural deficits that would mar the policy at inception adding that there must be a holistic approach to the policy which should include the fixing of electricity and overcoming the infrastructural challenges first. In a joint statement issued by the two associations recently, they disclosed that they had already…

Stakeholders in the Maritime industry recently rolled out their drums to celebrate one of their own, Chief Adebayo Babatunde Sarumi who turned 70 years on the 6th of July, 2014. Chief Sarumi, a former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Shippers’ Council between 15th of October, 2003 and May, 2007 as well as a former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) executed the federal government’s port reform programme which led to the successful transfer of terminal handling operations from NPA to private companies. The event which held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island,…

… trains maritime journalists Apparently to curb the incidences of network collapse and network failure witnessed at the command, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command on Tuesday commission ed its new Ultra-modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training centre and a communication tower. Also, the command took the occasion to flag off a two-day training programme for Maritime Journalists to further acquaint them with workings of the Service and arm them with the adequate knowledge of customs procedure. In his opening speech, the Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Charles Edike appreciated the efforts of the Comptroller-General…

The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Mallam HabibAbdullahi has called on the management staff of the Authority to remain focused and rededicatethemselves towards attaining the mission and vision of the Organization as to be the leading port in Africa and to deliver efficient port service in a safe, secure and customer friendly environment.   Mallam Abdullahi made this call last weekend while speaking at the opening session of a retreat aimed at fashioning out a five year strategic development plan for Nigerian Ports Authority.   The Managing Director asserted that now is the time for every management…

Following the heavy traffic being witnessed along the major roads leading to the ports in Lagos, many commuters had resorted to water transportation as a viable alternative to roads in their bid to access the ports, transact their businesses and  depart for their various homes on time. Investigations by Primetime Reporters revealed that commuters now spend between two to three hours on the  roads, a development respondents said was not healthy for their businesses as a lot of man-hours are lost while on traffic. It was also gathered that commuters traveled as far as Ikotun, Mile 2, Surulere, Ikorodu and…

Two months after the enforcement of the 35 percent duty on the fairly used cars imported into the country, Licensed customs agents as well as importers have continued to lick their wounds over the new policy. Respondents who spoke to Primetime Reporters on the  matter said that the policy has dwindled the fortunes of the licensed customs agents who are now sitting idle at the ports on daily basis due to the fact that importers whose vehicles were trapped at the ports had refused to come forward to take delivery of them. According to them, others have started diverting their…

Contrary to  media reports that duty on used vehicles had been increased to 70 percent with effect from July  1, 2014, as contained in the new auto policy, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, on Wednesday discredited the reports saying there was no truth in them. Aganga who was speaking in an interview with State House correspondents at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting, where he said the council members were appropriately briefed in order to correct the misrepresentation however stated that the duty on used cars remained 35 percent. The minister further…

Barely two weeks after a twin car explosion rocked the Folawiyo Filling station at Creek road, Apapa, Lagos, the Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) PTML Chapter, Eze Elect Goodluck Onunji has called for the immediate relocation of petroleum depots and tank farms spread across Coconut and Kirikiri areas of Apapa in Lagos. Speaking in an interview with Primetime Reporters in his office in Lagos, Onunji disclosed that the continuous stay of the tank farms and other petroleum depots close to PITML terminal poses a great danger to the security of Lagos state in particular and Nigeria…