Author: Saint Augustine

Pastor Nlekwauwa Pastor Owen Nlekwauwa is the Senior Pastor, Olivet Bible Church, Festac Town, Lagos. He spoke with some selected journalists recently in Lagos where he bared his mind on a number of issues ranging from church development to the Youths, the nation Nigeria, the World and many more. Our correspondent was at the briefing and filed in the report. Excerpts; The journey so far For Olivet Bible Church, the year 2013 has been a year of consolidation. So much spiritual strength has been built into the church and that is a prerequisite for whatever God wants to do with…

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Zaynab Kure on Monday commended the Rector, Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa-Ibom State, Mr. Joshua Okpo for the pace of development that has taken place between 2012 when they last visited the Academy and now. Kure who made the commendation during an oversight visit to the Academy according to disclosed that the committee was at the Academy to see the level of progress the Academy has made with its on-going projects as well as to see the facility up-grade. Senator Kure who was conducted round the three phases of the academy…

MAAG recalls that about 7 Months ago the service providers reluctantly and hurriedly handed over the destination inspection scheme to the Nigeria Customs Service with inadequate preparation. As was the practice then for the service provider to achieve a daily cargo handling performance indicator operated on an internal MOU with the NCS and APMT for a daily loading of 400 containers on top of trucks designated for scanning operation at the Apapa scanning site so as to mitigate congestion, but the set target never worked, as the operators/service providers operated below 220 container loaded for scanning operations per day. This singular…

The incumbent Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Apapa Chapter, Dr. Fred Ajuzie has been re-elected as the Chairman, NAGAFF Apapa Chapter in a cleanly contested election held at the NAGAFF headquarters in Lagos, Monday. Announcing the result of the poll, the NAGAFF Electoral Commission (NECOM) Chairman, Okey Nerus said that Dr. Fred Ajuzie Polled a total of two hundred and ninety (290) votes to beat his only opponent in the election, Arthur Igwilo who polled a total of fifty-two (52)  votes. According to him,” of the three hundred and fifty-seven (357) votes cast, we have fifteen…

Amidst the ongoing debate over the failure or otherwise of the Nigeria Customs Service Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), the National Coordinator, Maritime Advocacy and Action Group (MAAG), Alhaji Alhassan Dantata has blamed the erstwhile Service Providers for the myriads of problems facing the Customs over successful PAAR implementation. Dantata who was speaking in a telephone chat with Primetime Reporters on Monday observed that the disengagement of the former Service Providers was not done in line with the agreement as contained in the Memorandum of Understanding. He disclosed that a proper handover of the Destination Inspection Scheme by the Former Service…

As members of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) files out on Monday to elect their new chapter executives, the Chairman, NAGAFF Electoral Commission (NECOM), Mr. Okey Nerus has said that all is set for hitch free and transparent elections.   Nerus who made this known in an interview with Primetime Reporters over the weekend disclosed that the election which had been postponed twice would eventually go on as scheduled Monday as the initial set back witnessed earlier had been duly taken care of.   In his words,” we are good to go, come Monday, by this…

Following the persistent worry over the continued interception of duly released consignments from the nation’s ports by the operatives of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A Ikeja, Lagos as against the directive of the Comptroller General of Customs, the Unit has said that as against the usual mounting of road blocks, it now intercept consignment on the road when there is need.   You may recall that during a town hall meeting between the Comptroller General of Customs, Dr. Dikko Inde Abdullahi and the importers at the Trade Fair Complex, Lagos on the wake of the takeover of the…

The Maritime Advocacy and Action Group (MAAG) has frowned at a petition said to have been written by one of its member association to the Presidency alleging the failure of the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) of the Nigeria Customs Service less than four months into its application describing the petition as misleading and ill-timed. The National Coordinator of the group, Alhaji Alhassan Dantata in a press release obtained by Primetime Reporters stated that it was premature for anyone to assume that the PAAR has failed in less than four months into its application. The group disclosed that while it appreciated…

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) have lauded the partnership between I and the Nigerian Navy describing both institutions as partners in progress.  The Director General, NIMASA, Mr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolbkemi made this known while playing host to the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western naval Command, Rear Admiral Samuel Ilesanmi Alade who paid a courtesy visit to the agency’s headquarters in Lagos recently, noted that the relevance of the Nigerian Navy to the development of the nation’s maritime sector could not be overemphasized. Akpobolokemi re-emphasized the commitment of NIMASA to fight piracy, develop human capacity, ensure safety of…

Againstthe backdrop of the continued lamentations by freight forwarders over delays associated with the Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) in the clearing procedures of consignments from the nation’s seaports, the Nigerian Chambers of Shipping (NCS) has described the Nigerian Customs Service initiative as anti local content even as the Chamber is being apprehensive of its success. The Director General of the Chamber, Mrs. Ify Anazonwu-Akerele made this assertion in a roundtable discussions with journalists under the aegis of the Maritime Reporters’ Correspondent of Nigeria (MARCON) in Lagos Monday, even as he urged the customs to go back to status quo…