Author: Saint Augustine

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…

The Managing Counsel, Forwarders Law Partners, Barr. Valentino Buoro has emphasized the need for the establishment of a Maritime Panel of neutrals and a Roll of Maritime mediation Advocates. Speaking at a one day Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Awareness Programme for Maritime journalists at the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC) in Lagos on Thursday, Barr. Buoro observed that the several Challenges between the various segments of the industry would be best resolved by a structured process where industry disputes were managed by the industry professionals who truly understood the process of the industry. According to him,” there is an urgent need…

Dr. Fred Ajuzie is the Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Apapa Chapter. In this interview with our correspondent, he bares his mind on the efforts of the various government agencies in the nation’s ports to check the incursion of the deadly Ebola Virus into the country through the Nation’s seaports, the recent blasts that rocked Apapa, his association and many more. Excerpt. Going by the growing concern over the Ebola scourge in the West African sub-region and the ports being potential entry points for the carriers of this dreaded virus, do you see the authorities at…

By Chigozie Chikere Importers and Freight Forwarders have continued to lament over the billions Terminal Operators and Shipping Companies are making out of strangling terminal and service charges they impose on importers. Though the concessionaires claim to be collecting their statutory charges as contained in the concession agreement, high demurrage charges stand out as rather inflationary and to some extent illegal. Recently, in Lagos, leaders of Freight Forwarders operating at Lagos Ports urged the Federal Government to stop Port Concessionaires from charging demurrage during weekends and public holidays. This is, obviously, not the first time Freight Forwarders are putting across…

The stakeholders in the maritime sector have attributed the increase in the volume of vehicles imported into the country as contained in the 1st half of 2014 report released by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) recently to apprehension as a result of the new auto policy that was billed to take effect from July 1, 2014. NPA had in its 1st half report for the year 2014 disclosed that the vehicle import in the country in the 1st half of 2014 was up by 16.5 percent with a total of 154, 846 units of vehicles handled in the said period…

After months of intense lobbying and politicking amongst the members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), the dusts appeared to have settled down as the BoT members finally re-elected Chief Henry Njoku to be the board Chairman. Chief Njoku was the BoT Chairman in the last dispensation and with his re-election, he has entered his name on record as a two term Chairman of the Board. Recall that several attempts were made in the last seven months to elect a new BoT Chairman for the association since after their elections that…