Author: Saint Augustine

…says it obstructs investment The chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Nigeria has blamed the little or no investment noticeable in the transport sector of the economy on the absence of the National Transport Policy. Speaking in an interview with Primetime Reporters in his office in Lagos, the Acting National Executive Director (NED) of CILT Nigeria, Mr. Paul Ndibe stated that owing to the uncertainty surrounding the policy direction of the government in the sector, investors were apprehensive of exploring the opportunities inherent in the sector to expand their businesses. According to him,” the absence of this National Transport…

When about nine months ago, exactly on the 1st of December, 2013 when the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Dr. Inde Dikko Abdullahi stormed Lagos with his Management team to preach the problem free message of the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) to the Stakeholders at different locations in Lagos, little did anyone envisaged that nine months down the line, the service will be singing a different song. Before December 1, 2013, the Risk Assessment Report (RAR) being issued by the Destination Inspection Agents was the document used for clearing cargoes at the nation’s seaports and because the document…

There was pandemonium at the PTML command of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Tuesday as freight forwarders withdrew their service over what they termed hurried implementation of the 35 percent levy on imported used vehicles by the Nigeria Customs Service. However, Customs authorities said the implementation was not on used vehicles but on brand new imported vehicles. Speaking to our correspondent, the Chapter Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Bola Adeniran said the agents were taken aback when they got to work to see that the 35 percent level had been inputed into the Customs system.…

Following recent calls in some quarters for increase funding for the Nigeria customs, more stakeholders have continued to take different position on the matter, the latest being the Former Chairman, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tincan Island Chapter and the President, Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), Dr. Frank Ukor. Speaking on the subject matter, the AREFFN President, Dr. Frank Ukor stated that there was no need allocating more funding to the Service as the added responsibility they now claimed was part of their job and that already, the service was already collecting 7 percent which…

In its effort to deliver efficient and timely services in the various ports in the country, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has launched the Electronic Ship Entry Notice (e-SEN). The Managing Director of the NPA, Mallam Habib Abdullahi who made this known in an event to mark the launching of the Electronic Ship Entry Notice (e-SEN) and the 2 years of stewardship of the present Management of the Authority under his leadership stated that before now, the Ship Entry Notice processes was done manually with its attendant delays in verification and validation as well as duplication of requests. Mallam Abdullahi…

Contrary to media reports, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has said that it named its New National Secretariat after the Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Dr. Inde Dikko Abdullahi following his transformation agenda in the Nigeria Customs Service as well as his introduction of a home grown clearing process. The Association which made its position known in a press statement it issued on Monday and signed by the National Secretary of the association, Dr. Emmanuel Ogu Oparah said that the clarification became necessary following some unsubstantiated facts coming from some quarters on how the new secretariat came…

…says Nigerian cadets hardly get jobs The President, Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association, Engr. Matthew Alalade has called on the government to expedite action towards bringing back the national carrier as the benefits inherent in having a carrier to any nation cannot be overemphasized. Speaking in an interview with Primetime Reporters in his office in Lagos, Alalade stated that the call was more urgent now that the Seafarers being churned out by various training institutions in the country were having difficulties in getting jobs after their trainings. He observed that Nigeria could not be said…

Contrary to the calls for the discontinuation of waivers owing to the fact that they are being abused by a privileged few, the President, Shippers Association of Lagos state (SAL), Rev. Jonathan Nicol has called for its sustenance saying that it was a necessity in a growing economy like Nigeria. Nicol who was speaking in an exclusive interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos recently however cautioned that while it was necessary to sustain the waiver system in the economy, adequate care should be taken to ensure that the system was not abused by those in authority and their cronies. He…

As the calls for the harmonization of the Customs and excise Management Act (CEMA) and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Act of 2007 thickens, the President, Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), Dr. Frnak Ukor has advocated for the total removal of the licensing powers from the Nigeria Customs Service and hand them over to CRFFN. Dr. Ukor who was speaking in an exclusive interview with Daily Champion in his office in Lagos recently stated that a situation where the Nigeria Customs service licensed the agents only for them to be registered…

The National President, Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association, Engr. Matthew Alalade has cautioned against hasty assessment of the performance of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) recently flagged off in Nigeria by the Federal government through the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). Alalade who was speaking in an exclusive interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos advised the that government should be given a chance to execute the convention adding that the government should be commended for toeing such a path of honour. He disclosed that while many other African Countries were yet to…