Author: Saint Augustine

There was apprehension on Monday along the Nembe-Brass waterways in Bayelsa State as Sea pirates attacked and dispossess the occupants of a passenger boat. The pirates it was gathered, rode on a speedboat, shooting sporadically into the air  forcing  the boat to stop sailing. The gunmen who were said to have raided the boat at Obama Rice Farm, an area located between Brass and Nembe and dispossessed passengers of their valuables thereby causing panic among other boats operators and traders as they temporarily stopped movement of goods and passengers along the waterways. A security source, who would not want his…

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has reassured its commitment to  the welfare of staff, even as it said that it was set to disburse outstanding payments it owed tally clerks and on-board security men currently engaged by the agency. Managing Director of NPA, Mallam Habib Abdullahi gave this indication recently at the National Executive Meeting of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), which held in Lagos. Abdullahi assured the union that payment of outstanding allowances of tally clerks and on-board security men is already ongoing, even as he revealed that the review of financial guides to their conditions of…

As the debate on what is responsible for non compliance to trade procedures rages on, the National President, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Chief Eugene Nweke, has  come out to make case for the Freight Forwarders and agents who he said were often neglected by the government and its agencies in the chain of trade in the ports. Speaking in his paper presentation during the recently concluded 2nd Global trade Compliance Summit organized by the Multimix Academy in Lagos said that freight forwarders cannot help but cut corners in carrying out cargo clearance procedures at the nation’s…

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) recently joined the call on the federal government to rescind its decision on the new automotive policy which it has since started implementing through the Nigeria Customs Service. The President General of the Union, Comrade Tony Nted who was speaking in an interview with journalists in Lagos said that it would not allow the sudden implementation of the new tariff on imported vehicles by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to see the light of the day. Recall that the duty rate of thirty-five percent without the levy component was introduced by the Nigeria…

The federal government, its agencies and the freight forwarders operating in the Maritime industry had been admonished to embrace mediation as  a better option opened for them  to resolve the on-going dispute over the new tariff on imported vehicles in Nigeria.  A Maritime Lawyer, Barr. Valentino Buoro who made this call in Lagos Wednesday said that both the federal government and the freight forwarding industry are losing huge sums of revenue as a result of the recent disagreements between the two parties over the implementation of the new auto policy which have consequently led to the disruption of import activities…

Following the suspension of the protests and the strike action that greeted the partial implementation of the new automotive policy by the Nigeria Customs Service, embarked upon by the clearing  agents at the PTML command, activities at the command has returned to normal. Freight forwarders and agents had a fortnight ago downed tools at the command to register their displeasure over what they called the premature implementation f the new policy that was meant to commence on July 1, 2014. Recall that the Nigeria Customs Service on Monday, the 5th day of May, 2014 commenced the implementation of thirty-five percent…

A front line maritime practitioner, Kayode Farintho has faulted the Nigerian Maritime administration and Safety Agency (NMASA) over its plan to float a national shipping line saying that the idea is not a priority in the industry. Farintho who spoke in an exclusive interview with Primetime Reporters in his office in Lagos Tuesday, observed that findings has shown that the last national shipping line went underground for personal gains and corruption by some government officials. He regretted that up until date, nobody has investigated what led to the disposing off of the national carrier and today, NIMASA is planning to…

Hajia Inna Maryam Ciroma is the Director-General, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA). She visited Lagos recently on a one-day working visit where she spoke to some journalists on some burning issues in the Authority ranging from the ongoing feud between the NIWA and the Lagos state Waterways Authority (LASWA) among other salient issues. Our correspondent was at the parley and filed in this interview piece. Excerpts; You spoke about the feud between NIWA and the Lagos State government. Can you give us an update, at what point are you now? Who has the jurisdiction over the inland Waterways? I think…

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) last week identified the lack of respect to the rules of engagement in all aspects of the national life as the bane of the nation’s trade environment. Speaking at the 2nd Global Trade Compliance Summit held in Lagos by the Multimix Academy between the 21st and 22nd of May, 2014, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Barr. Hassan Bello noted that trade compliance was very important to every business, establishment as well as to every government regulatory agency. Bello who was represented at the 2-day event by an Assistant Director in the Council, Winner Anayo…

…as ANLCA sets to commence Chapters visitation in June The International Federation of Customs Brokers Association (IFCBA) has ended its 2014 Seoul World Conference with a call on the Customs and the Customs Brokers to build capacity towards paperless transactions and trade facilitation. The Conference also advocated  for Customs Brokers of the World to build their businesses through sharing of experiences relating to clients service to brokers’ performance and defining the ultimate customs broker. IFCBA works to bring about improvements in the Customs policies and practices on global basis which benefits both customs brokers and their clients by working together.…