Author: Saint Augustine

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…

The thirty-seven newly promoted officers of the Nigerian Police Force, Port Police Command has been charged to rededicate themselves to their duty and make hard work their watchword. The call was contained in a statement made by the Commissioner of Police in charge of Western Ports, Kayode Aderanti, last Friday after decorating the officers with their new ranks at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) headquarters in Lagos. According to him, “I will urge you to be dedicated to the service of this country, to be loyal, steadfast and hardworking and with good records more promotion will come your way. In…

The Nigerian Navy Service (NNS) has identified the lack of enforcement by government in punishing offenders as the bane of the nation’s security agencies. The offences according to the Service include sea robbery, oil theft, piracy and other illegal activities on Nigeria territorial water. The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Usman Jubril made this known in a statement in the just concluded Nigeria Maritime Expo (NIMAREX) 2014 held at the Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. The Chief of Naval Staff who was represented at the event by Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ofik said that most…

The Chairman, Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, Hon. Chris Asoluka has called on the Federal Government to evolve an implementation framework to build indigenous shipping capacity in Nigeria. Hon. Asoluka who was speaking in the ongoing NIMAREX 2014 holding at the Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos regretted that although there was a colonial and post colonial policies towards building indigenous shipping capacity in Nigeria, implementation of those programmes had always been a problem to successive administrations in Nigeria. He opined that it was easier for successive governments to come up with policies but more tasking…

The Chairman, Nigeria Maritime Expo (NIMAREX) 2014, Planning Committee, Barr. Margaret Onyema-Orakwusi has said that the NIMAREX under her watch was not owing anybody and will not owe anybody. Barr. Orakwusi who was speaking in an interview with newsmen in Lagos as part of the ongoing NIMAREX 2014 programme holding at the Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos was reacting to an allegation circulating on the social media alleging indebtedness of the Expo to some contractors who worked for it in the past editions of the event. She urged the public to disregard such information as there…