Author: Saint Augustine

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has promised to provide meteorological equipment to all pilotage districts within the organisation to assist the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NEMA) in taking care of the entire coastal areas of her operations. Mallam Habib Abdullahi made this comment while receiving the Director General of the Agency, Dr. Anthony C. Anuforom, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office at the Organisation’s Corporate Headquarters Marina, Lagos. Mallam Abdullahi noted that, in recent years, there has been technological improvement in the weather forecast especially in the aviation sector, which could be replicated in the Maritime Industry. He…

The National Automotive Council (NAC) and the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) has signed a partnership agreement that would usher in a new pre-shipment verification of conformity to standards on used vehicles coming into the country. The Director-General, Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Joseph Odumodu, who disclosed this shortly after the signing of an agreement for the implementation of the conformity to standards of used vehicles, said the move was part of efforts aimed at ensuring the successful implementation of the new automotive policy of the government. Odumodu stated that since the Federal Government had decided to make the…

Apparently to douse the tension generated by the said premature implementation of the 35 percent levy on imported vehicles, the National Automotive Council (NAC) has said that the government has not changed its position on the January 1, 2015 implementation date. The Director General of the Council, Mr. Aminu Jalal who stated this in a statement on Tuesday however said that work on the implementation of the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan was on course adding that the government had no intention of reversing certain aspects of the policy as being insinuated in some quarters. Jala noted that the government…

…launches official social media platforms The Nigeria Customs Service has said that the urgent need to curtail the activities of the internet scammers who defraud the unsuspecting public informed the launching of its official social media platform on face book and twitter platforms. The Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Inde Abdullahi who stated this at the launch in Abuja also said that the new social media platforms will complement the existing efforts in the traditional media to combat the scourge of internet fraudster currently duping innocent and unsuspecting citizens. Abdullahi who gave the official pages as www.facebook.com/customsng on Facebook and @CustomsNG…

The Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday recorded another landmark achievement with the seizure of over 10,000 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice. The spokesman of the Unit, Uche Ejesieme said that the seizure was the highest recorded in one operation in the history of the anti smuggling unit. According to him, the goods were intercepted at the jungle of Igbesa creeks, Lusada Area of Ogun State by a patrol team led by the unit’s Controller, Deputy Comptroller Turaki. The team also comprised of Usman, Deputy Comptroller in charge of Enforcement, Orobiyi…

Inadequate funding of Maritime training institutions in Nigeria has been identified as a major setback in their quest to be better positioned to compete favourably with their counterparts across the globe. A cross section of Chief Executives of some Maritime training institutions in Nigeria who spoke with our correspondent in Lagos also fingered poor state of infrastructure as responsible for their ordeals. Speaking on the matter, the Rector, Emdee Shipping and Maritime College, Lagos, Mr. Chigozie Chikere stated that funding had been a common challenge especially to the privately owned institution as the government was not willing to support them.…

The Rector, Certified Institute of Shipping (CIS), Rev. Dr. Alex Okwuashi has blamed the delay in the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on politics. Speaking in an interview with Primetime Reporters at Badagry recently, Dr. Okwuashi wondered why the fund which ought to have taken off earlier before now was yet to take blaming the problem on the conditions spelt out by NIMASA and the participating banks which according to him was too cumbersome for the indigenous ship owners to meet. He regretted that up till this moment, nobody…

Following calls in some quarters lately that the Nigeria Customs Service be granted partial autonomy to enable them function effectively, the President, Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria, Dr. Frank Ukor has kicked against such call describing it as unprecedented. Ukor who was speaking in an interview with Primetime Reporters in his office in Lagos wondered what informed the position of the proponents of such idea demanding further explanation to that effect so as to give a clearer picture to their position. He argued that should the proponents of this idea base their argument on the mere fact that…

The People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), has said that President Goodluck Jonathan was yet to decide the fate of the Vice President, Namadi Sambo in the bill up of the 2015 presidential election. The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, who made this known while speaking with newsmen at a press briefing in Abuja, also said that the President was yet to accept the offer given to him by the party. Metuh who disclosed to the journalists the planned nationwide tour to be embarked upon by the party’s national leadership, where he said achievements of the party would…

Residents of Yola, the Adamawa State capital, on Monday ran for their lives when soldiers on re-enforcement to the troubled Michika and Madagali local government areas of state took them unawares, shooting sporadically thereby causing panic along Yola-Jimeta road. The incident, it was gathered occurred some kilometers away from the Federal College of Education, Yola, where students and other concern citizens were seen scampering in different directions to escape being hit by stray bullet. Students of the Federal College of Education were the worst hit as they thought that the Boko Haram insurgents that attacked the College of Education in Kano…