Author: Saint Augustine

As part of efforts to ensure ports efficiency and competitiveness, the ministers of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola; Transportation, Senator Said Ahmed Alkali and Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi met on Monday and agreed that physical inspection of cargoes at the ports must be phased out. The meeting which held at the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy also had the Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, Fidet Okhiria attend virtually. While the thrust of the meeting was to deliberate and actualize initiatives that would not only open up ports but also foster seamless cooperation and…

The Executive Managing Director of the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research, CGIAR, Dr. Ishamane Elouafi has stressed on the need for development partners to invest more in intensive agriculture in Africa and to produce more food for Africa in order to reduce the prevalence of hunger in the continent. Elouafi who made this call during her official visit to the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, IITA headquarters in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Monday, stated that efforts should be targeted at doing more to bridge the yield gap be it in animal, fishery or crops adding that the…

In continuation of its mandate of ridding Nigeria of oil thieves, Tantita Security Services Limited, TSSL, a private security firm, has arrested an ocean-going vessel conveying thousands of metric tonnes of ‘stolen crude’ oil offshore Bayelsa state. The vessel, named MT Kally, was apprehended during a joint operation by the officials of TSSL, owned by Government ‘Tompolo’ Ekpemupolo, and operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, on Friday night. According to Tantita, the engineer and captain of the vessel, who were identified as Promise Eze and Adeboye David, respectively, along with accomplices from some Bayelsa state oil…

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Bashir Jamoh OFR, says the academia has a major role to play in the development of the Blue Economy in Nigeria. Dr Jamoh, who stated this during a courtesy visit by the Management team from the University of Lagos led by the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, noted that the Agency is committed to the development of the Institute of Maritime Studies, IMS located in UNILAG. Dr. Jamoh urged the UNILAG management to develop and implement a five year action plan to make the Institute of Maritime…

The Group Managing Directors, GMDs of Zenith, Providus and Jaiz banks, on Tuesday, honoured the invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to hand over documents relating to the accounts operated by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to the anti-graft agency. A source from the Agency confirmed that the bank Czars departed the Abuja headquarters of the anti-graft agency after the documents were handed over. Multiple sources close to the banks, EFCC and the Presidency clarified that the banks documents were requested by the anti-graft agency to help in its ongoing investigation into the alleged financial impropriety in…

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, has expressed readiness to partner with the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA Secretariat for enhanced trade facilitation in the African Continent. The CGC made this known on Monday, 8 January 2024, when he received members of AfCFTA at the Customs Corporate Headquarters in Abuja. Lamenting the low trade volume in Africa, CGC Adeniyi said the NCS fully understands the importance of balancing trade facilitation and revenue while pointing out that Africa’s share in global trade is around 3–4 percent. He expressed concerns about how the African trade…

…Describes judgment as win-win The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh OFR, has described the Supreme Court judgment reaffirming the authority of the Federal Government through the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA to control activities in Nigerian Inland Waterways as a win-win judgment. Reacting via his official X handle, @JamohBashir, he noted that this should bring to an end issues of ambiguity and multiple taxation; as states will no longer levy investors, being a responsibility of the government at the Federal level; thus…

The Lagos State Government has called on the waterways users and the stakeholders to remain calm and refrain from drawing premature conclusions following the Supreme Court Judgement delivered on January 5, 2024 on the case between it and the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA. LASG, in a statement signed by Lawal Pedro SAN, the Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State in response to a press release by NIWA in the judgement emphasized the need for the public to remain calm and patient during this period. Pedro disclosed that the judgment was not read in open court, and…

Management of Dangote Industries limited has doused the concerns of stakeholders following the visit to its Head office in Lagos by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC saying it was ready to assist the Commission in its investigations. The foremost indigenous conglomerate in a statement disclosed that it received a letter from the EFCC on December 6, 2023, requesting for details of all the foreign exchange allocated to it by the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2014 to the present. Describing the request from EFCC as not being peculiar to Dangote Group, the Company management said, “we…

…Vows to tackle Erosion Menace in Oko Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, has commissioned the Alex Ekwueme Civic Centre in Oko, a deserving honour for the legacy of the former Nigerian Vice President and renowned politician, Chief Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme. The ceremony held on January 5, 2024, was a blend of celebration and commitment, with Governor Soludo praising Dr. Ekwueme’s contributions while simultaneously addressing the critical issue of erosion threatening Oko. Governor Soludo, visibly moved, thanked the people of Oko for honoring a man who is not just a father of Oko and Old Aguata Union,…