LEAGUE OF MARITIME EDITORS CELEBRATES SILVER JUBILEE

 

By Okey IROEGBU 

The silver jubilee of the League of Maritime Editors which took place at the prestigious Lagos Travel Inn, 39/41, Toyin Street, Ikeja has come and gone but the communique that arises from the event remains topics for national discuss. It could be noted that the event which also covered their annual Retreat had two major themes;

Harnessing Nigeria’s potential in marine and blue economy as one and the new Customs act and its implication on trade as the second.   The President of LOME, Chief Timothy Okorocha in his welcome address, urged President Bola Tinubu to provide the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola and his ministry, the needed impetus to make this issue of blue economy which is becoming a sing sung a reality. “We appeal to Mr. President to use his good office to prevail on the relevant authorities to respond to the needs of our industry as there can be no better time than now. We also salute Mr.

President’s bold steps and visionary outlook and do hereby with utmost respect urge to exercise the required political will to push farther by ensuring that the oft routine talk about the rehabilitation of collapsed critical port infrastructure receives urgent executive attention.“As development partners, the League looks forward to the effective participation of the respective agencies in the current administration’s renewed agenda template; and want to see the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) move away

from the ritual of endless talk and lamentable into doing the needful, the reconstruction of broken down asset and infrastructure,” he added.The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi who was represented by Tincan Island Port Area Controller, Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni spoke on the new Customs Act and its implication on

trade. He said “The recent enactment of the Customs Act 2023 brings with it a new focus on trade facilitation particularly in the maritime sector, and addresses emerging challenges in international trade, ensuring better enforcement, regulation and compliance”Comptroller Nnadi mni, who is today synonymous with impacting knowledge at different fora did one of the things he knows how to do best as he went ahead to breakdown some of the new provisions of the Act in sections, especially as it affects modern trade.“The new law introduces tariff incentives for businesses engaging in environmental friendly practices within the blue economy. This encourages the adoption of sustainable fishing methods, responsible aqua culture and friendly shipping practices which is the bane of international trade. It enhances surveillance of

Maritime activities,” he said.Speaking at the event also, the Chief Executive Officer, Kamany Marine Services, Dr. Charles Okorefe, noted that there is a projection of over 100 million jobs through the nation’s blue economy in about 30 years. Dr. Okorefe, who is also a lecturer at the Nigerian Maritime University (NMU), Okerenkoko, stressed that a lot could be harnessed through the nation’s marine system and the blue economy.“Nigeria has been a maritime nation for a very long time. We have been running our port systems beginning from when the Port-Harcourt port was established in 1912 and the Apapa port in 1924. Up till now, we have had several ports doting the landscape of Nigeria where import and export trades take place. But the blue economy is deeper than that.“We are talking about things like biodiversity, ocean exploration, deep sea mining, cable lining, and maritime tourism. These are things that are absent in Nigeria. If you go to some other parts of the world, a small country like Gambia, for instance, marine tourism is the main source of their national income,” he further said.The Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Olujimi Oyetomi spoke on behalf of the Minister, Adegboyega Oyetola CON at the occasion.  “I have given my commitment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR and the nation, that the Marine and Blue Economy Sector will witness a rapid transformation within the shortest possible time. I must admit that my Ministry has been enjoying a symbiotic relationship with the Maritime Editors with agenda-setting for the maritime sector where the Ministry is the leading policy-making body. I wish to add that most of the suggestions of the Maritime Editors were received in good faith by the management of the Ministry,” the Minister said.The President, Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) Otunba Frank Ogunojemite in his speech attributed some of the challenges faced by operators at Nigerian ports to neglect by the Federal Government. “For over a week, freight agents have been having issues due to server failure at the port attributable to the

incompetence of Webb Fontaine, the Customs IT service provider. When the problem is fixed, will there be a compensatory arrangement or waivers for the rent period at terminals?” Otunba Ogunojemite queried. The occasion attracted other dignitaries, maritime journalists and many more stakeholders. Among the guests are Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni, Comptroller Ben Oramalugo, DC Husseini Ejibunu, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, Dr. Charles Okoroefe, Mr. Olujimi Oyetomi and many others who represented their principals. 

ABIA STATE INDIGENES IN BADAGRY HONOUR THEIR PAST LEADERS.

By Sunny Kelly Eke

The Abia State Indigenes residing at the Ancient City of Badagry converged under the Abia state Indigenes Welfare Association to honour their past leaders with certificates of service and Medal of Honor.The event started at about 5:15pm with an opening prayer by the Grand Patron Chief Paul Okorie.The new Chairman of the association, Pastor Okechukwu Iroegbu thanked everyone present and appreciated each and everyone's effort for making out time to attend the event

which also marked the End of the Year's meeting.In his opening remarks, he spoke about how he was able to raise the money for the event despite the short time for planning. He was very grateful to members of his executives and the organizing committee, High Chief Iyke Okpaji, Alhaji Adetona Mubashiru, Superintendent of Customs, Ashinze and Chief Akubueze JP, the immediate past chairman of the association. All for their financial support that made the event great.He also informed members that next year will be very eventful as elderly member will be honoured with traditional retirement (Igboto nma)Goodwill messages where said by members as the Grand Patron, Chief Paul Okorie saw the new regime as the new Government of Governor Alex Otti of Abia State for the type of ideas they are bringing in. He therefore advised that the new government must be ready to always listen to advice from the Elders. Chief Uma Okorie, High Chief Martins Uchendu, High Chief Victor Iroegbu and others spoke also on various important directions but hitting on "the word of the

Elders is the word of wisdom"Certificates and Medals were at this juncture presented to the past Chairmen, the Matron and Patron and a deserving past Secretary. The Chairmen category in sequence are; High Chief Martins  Uchendu, Chief D C E Barah, Chief Darlington Ogonnaya Ajah, Chief Eze David and Chief Jude Akubueze JP. The next set to be honoured are the Grand Patron, Pastor (Chief) Paul Okorie and the Grand Matron, Elder (Mrs.) Jessie Ada Orieke while High Chief Victor Iroegbu was also honoured. Sumptuous entertainment was at this juncture served to members and guests in attendance.The Chairman called on his Vice Chairman Kelechi Ukaegbu to deliver a vote of thanks which he did brilliantly as a veteran on community leadership having served the Spare parts Dealers Association in Badagry for eight years. In his speech, he thanked Chief Okey Iroegbu for such opportunity given to him to speak. In his remarks, he mentioned that the leadership of the association will put heads together in making old members that left to come back to the meeting.The event officially came to a close with a melodious praises as Elder (Mrs.) Orieke gave a closing prayer.

ASIMPIN CELEBRATES DR. ANIEBONAM AS "GOD FATHER OF MARITIME INDUSTRY" AS COMPTROLLER DERA NNADI DELIVERED A WONDERFUL LECTURE

By Okey IROEGBU 

The President General of Association of Igbo Maritime Practitioners in Nigeria, ASIMPIN, His Royal Majesty, Eze Ambassador Damian Emeka Obianigwe, Ksm, Eze Oha 1 of Isi Ihitte Owerri, Orlu,

Imo State on behalf Ndigbo in the maritime industry has echoed the name of Ndigbo in the nation again through the congregation of notable personalities in Igboland and their friends in the maritime

industry to the Iri-ji and end of year celebration of the association. His position has been effectively handled by his Vice who was the Chief Host for this Iri-ji Ndigbo which took place at Arthur Mbanefo Hall, Festival Hotel (Durbar), FESTAC Town, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos on Sunday, the 3rd of December 2023. The Iri Ji and End of the Year Ceremony showcased the rich Igbo cultural heritage as guests were treated to roasted yam with palm oil sauce, Ugba, Ukwa and other delicacies as natural palm wine was relished by many. His Royal Majesty, Eze Damian Emeka Obianigwe, Ksm, who  was in his best of

moods as he ritualistically paid attention to every customary detail, asserting his status as a custodian and repository of the Igbo culture and tradition. The highlights of the event were the paper presentation by Comptroller Dera Nnadi, mni, the Customs Area Controller of Tincan Island Ports Command on "A Unique Capital Incubation: Igbo Model" which was solely hinged on Igbo Apprenticeship

Scheme known as “Igba Boy” and an award presentation and recognition of the Founder of NAGAFF, Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam, as “Godfather of Maritime Industry” by ASIMPIN. The well attended event had in its presence notable personalities like Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam, Founder, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Chief Peter Oge Obih, Dim Ogbuagu, Prince Ozo Chukwurah, Deputy President of ASIMPIN, who was the Chief Host, Chief Emeka

Okonkwo aka E-Money, Prince Segun Odutan, the Vice President of Association of Nigerian Customs Licenced Agents (ANLCA), Prince Ayo Ariyo, and other dignitaries. In his remarks, the Chief Host and Vice President of ASIMPIN, Prince Ozo Chukwurah, thanked everyone for making out time despite their tight schedules to attend the event. These prominent Igbo personalities and revered guests across the country converged on this day to celebrate the New yam Festival of the foremost Igbo Maritime body as well as the end of the year celebration. It was really a show of “Onye aghala Nwanne ya."

DC EJIBUNU LED FOU ZONE 'A' INTERCEPTS 9 TRAILER LOAD OF FOREIGN RICE AND OTHERS WORTH N872M

By Okey IROEGBU 

Keeping to his warning to the Smugglers who are the major economic saboteurs in the nation about his readiness to deal with them ruthlessly during this yuletide period, DC Hussein Kehinde Ejibunu has continued to address the issue since the beginning of the ember months.  Addressing journalists during a press briefing in Lagos recently, the Customs Area Controller of the Unit, DC Ejibunu, reiterated on

the strategic applications and technics in concealment by these dare-devil smugglers. He confirmed that these methods would be thwarted at each time these smugglers apply them as his officers are equal to the task. DC Ejibunu stressed the challenges posed

by smuggling operations which involves employing ingenious concealment methods. He urged collective citizen support in providing timely and useful information crucial for combatting smuggling activities effectively. DC Ejibunu emphasized that these seizures exemplify the unit’s dedication to safeguarding the nation’s economic interests as he outlined the goods that were seized within November as; 5,459 bags of 50kg bags of foreign parboiled bags of rice (equivalent to 9 trailer loads); 18,100 litres of premium motor spirit; 376 bales of used clothes; 1,926 cartons of frozen poultry products; 337 pieces of used compressors; 3 X 40 ft. containers found to contain; 3,838 pieces of used

tyres; 13 used vehicles (Tokunbo) and 396 cartons of frozen fish. According to him, the total duty paid value of the seized goods stood at N872,575,250, while a total of 11 suspects were arrested in connection with some of the seizures. On revenue, he said the sum of N71,254,984.71 was generated thorough documentary checks, followed by the issuance of demand notices (DN) on consignments that were found to have paid lesser amounts than the appropriate Customs duty.  He added that smuggling operations that employ dangerous concealment methods is one of the deceit methods of ferrying very dangerous goods across borders or checkpoints without being noticed. This is peculiar with many of the international borders. It could be noted that items like pineapple and some generally accepted products7 frozen poultry products and illicit drugs. He therefore frowns at this stubbornness of the smugglers and asked for collective action to checkmate it. “This calls for the collaborative efforts of all citizens to support the Service by providing useful and timely information that would aid the anti-smuggling drive. “Ingenious concealment is an activity that plays a significant role in smuggling operations. It allows smugglers to hide illicit goods from detection by concerned authorities. It is important to note that smuggling is illegal and a crime that has negative social, economic, and security implications. “It is our resolve to continuously work hard to improve detection methods with the aid of intelligence. The strategic deployment of officers with intelligence-driven in anti-smuggling operations led to the arrest of a Toyota Highlander with an ingenious concealment of suspected bags of foreign parboiled rice at Iju-Ojuore, Ogun State.

PTML COMMAND COLLECTS IMPRESSIVE N234B, SURPASSES NOVEMBER 2022 REVENUE BY N20.9B

By Okey IROEGBU 

According to information reaching this media through the Customs Public Relations Officer of Port Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command, CSC Muhammad Yakubu had it that the Command has collected a total N234,340,789,594 as revenue as at November 30,2023 thereby surpassing the November 2022 collection of N213,405,461,873 by N20,935,327,721 which represents a 9.8 percent increase. Comptroller Saidu Abba Yusuf, Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Command, disclosed this shortly after a reception ceremony for 'MV Great Lagos, a Grimaldi owned Roll on Roll off (RoRo) vessel. He was very enthusiastic that the command would meet the 2023 revenue target given to the command. The Customs Area Controller reiterated that officers and men of his command worked diligently to achieve this. According to him, “PTML officers are fully deployed to work optimally in line with the assurances they gave to the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, when he visited the command two months ago.” The report further restated that compliance and transparency applied to the work are “keys to faster cargo clearance at all times as customs officers are fully mobilized to conduct joint examination from 9am to 4pm with sister government agencies to avoid the delays associated with separate examinations by the individual agencies.” PTML has gone through many reforms to achieve lesser time in their clearing processes. This could be observed from the Roll on Roll off clearance time which has also helped in decongesting the port. According to the Customs Area Controller, “the command is a model in many areas including a record breaking three hour RoRo cargo clearance time where there is hundred percent compliance.” The report also confirmed that Comptroller Yusuf added that the visit of 'MV Great Lagos,’ a ship with space to carry 2500 vehicles and 2000 containers , 2500 general cargo and equipment, shows the capacity of the command to receive and process increased number of imported cargoesWhile congratulating the Grimaldi Group for the feat, Comptroller Yusuf advised all port users and stakeholders to be compliant at all times as a way to enjoy the lawful benefits of trade facilitation and ease of doing business. Comptroller Yusuf said "Since my arrival, I have been saying a lot of things about the advantages of being compliant. Once you are compliant, you won't experience any delay in cargo clearance. When you declare exactly what you have, and when you pay exactly what you are supposed to pay as your duties we won't delay you. The fastest we have done so far in terms of time release is about 3 hours. When a consignee or a declarant declares exactly

what he has, examination is quickly conducted and release is quickly done. Within 3 hours, your cargoes are out. We don't have any cause to hold on to any cargo as long as the compliance level is 100 percent.“The most important thing, as I always say, is compliance and transparency. When you talk about the harmonization of process, standardization of process, simplification of process, all these entails that there must be transparency. Once there is transparency, it makes our job very easy and the issue of interventions, infractions will be limited and the time release will be so fast. The moment the time release is fast, it attracts more businesses in line with World Customs Organisation tenets which all customs administration are trying to key into,” the Customs Area Controller finally said.

APAPA CUSTOMS AREA COMMAND BREAKS ALL TIME RECORD OF GENERATING N11.3bn OUTSTANDING DAILY REVENUE

By Okey IROEGBU 

The Apapa Command of Nigeria Customs Service also known as the flag ship of all the customs commands in Nigeria has achieved a landmark revenue collection of N11.3bn in a single day on November 22, 2023 beating the existing highest daily collection record of N10bn which was  achieved on August 3, 2023.Commenting on this, the Customs Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Babajide Jaiyeoba, described the collection as a combination of teamwork, diligence, system audit compliance and zero compromise. He therefore urged the officers and men of the command to sustain the tempo of hard work continuously. It could be observed also that the command collected N135bn for the month of October, which presently is the highest monthly collection in its history.These two highlights of the recent daily and monthly revenue collection achievements should be a motivation for officers to do more to justify the confidence invested in the service by the Federal Government. This in turn is expected to meet the expectations of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, in the areas of maximum revenue collection, legitimate trade facilitation and suppression of smuggling. According to a press release from the Public Relations Officer of the Area Command CSC Abubakar Usman, “the CAC also urged members of the Apapa port community like importers, licensed customs agents, chandlers, haulage operators, and freight forwarders to see compliance and obedience to laws as part of their civic responsibility as citizens.” In line with government policy with civil servants, the customs boss gave assurances that his door will always remain open for dialogue and suggestions on ways to improve customs service delivery and achieve federal government objectives. He did not forget the synergy existing between the service and other security operatives and sister agencies. He lauded them for their cooperation while describing customs relationship with them as excellent all geared towards realizing government goals.In many fora, the Customs Area Controller has maintained that the command will definitely meet the annual revenue target. “We are very optimistic about meeting our target for the year. Even though, from the initial part of the year, it was not what was expected but from what we have been recording in the last 2 months, I am very optimistic that we will be able to get there”.“I keep telling some of my subordinates, who want to be discouraged, that it is not over until it is over. I believe it is achievable. What we need is the willpower and the willpower is there. I know that by the end of the year, we will have cause to celebrate.“My counsel to sister agencies is that they stick to their standard operating  procedures, and I want to put on record that other security agencies  have been cooperating with us.“The issue is just with these non-governmental organizations, and we will continue to tell them let’s play the game by the rules. Whether you are an agent or licensed chandler, there is a condition for your license. The condition for every operator is spelt out. If we all play according to the rules of the game, there will be less friction, and we will be able to achieve a secured port environment.“I keep telling people that, we are working because the port is secured .The onus is not only on any of us, but all of us. We should all be able to do what we need to do to secure the port. An agent can discover that some of their counterparts are doing things that can undermine the security of the port. They should let us know so that we will address it right from the beginning before it causes a problem to everyone,” the CAC said.Comptroller Jaiyeoba no doubt will achieve whatever he is out to achieve. It could be noted that the Customs Area Controller while taking over from his predecessor, ACG Mohammed, said he is aware that his assignment is not easy but expressed high optimism to surpass targets and beat expectations. Despite the beautiful records of the highest daily collection record of N10bn which was achieved on August 3, 2023 and later broken by Comptroller Jaiyeoba on assumption of duties on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, the previous months and daily revenue were not very impressive.Prior to the official handing over, ACG Auwal Baba Mohammed the former Customs Area Controller of the command before his elevation to an Assistant Comptroller General hinted that the Apapa Command of Nigeria Customs Service collected N676b as revenue for the Federal Government between January and August 2023.In his acceptance speech, he hinted that he came ready for the uneasy task of collecting all revenue due to the government and promote a culture of compliance at the nation’s premier port of Apapa.It was on this note that he beckon on his officers and men to work hard to achieve the federal government mandate placed on them. Comptroller Jaiyeoba, who until recently was in charge of Oyo/Osun Command, solicited the cooperation of officers and port users to sustain the impressive revenue records achieved by ACG Mohammed while he served as Area Controller before his recent elevation to Assistant Comptroller General Technical Services at Customs Headquarters.The achievements of Comptroller Babajide Jaiyeoba at Oyo/Osun will definitely be replicated at Apapa command.