The Nation Newspaper

Category: Maritime

  • NIMASA to present bill on sea piracy

    TO check sea piracy, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will soon send a draft bill on sea criminalities to the National Assembly.

    NIMASA’s Director-General Patrick Akpobolokemi said the authority needs a strong legal framework for prosecuting suspected pirates.

    “The menace of piracy and armed robbery in our waters is a source of concern, but we are gradually containing the scourge, and our waters have become relatively safer, and we need to do more to ensure safe navigation at all times.

    He said NIMASA was collaborating with the Nigerian Navy and that the public-private partnership of the agency with Global West Vessel Specialists Limited, for the supply of vessels would ensure NIMASA’s presence in the waters and deter sea criminals.

    He said ships and offshore platforms pollution had been a major problem.

    “To give effect to a number of marine environment, legislators domesticated by the National Assembly, 11 regulations were gazetted and form part of our body of laws,” the NIMASA boss said.

    He said the agency was determined to ensure the enforcement of these laws, adding that soon disputes on these statutes would come before the courts.

    “To ensure compliance with the various statutes, which regulate our operations, NIMASA is also taking a stricter position on the enforcement of the Cabotage Law and violations of the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act.

    “ The agency is exploring ways of ensuring the speedy prosecution of breaches, given the impediment which requires us to obtain a fiat from the Attorney-General’s office to prosecute such cases. This issue is made more delicate by the time sensitive nature of shipping and the need, therefore, to strike a balance between commercial imperatives and our responsibility as a regulatory agency,” Akpobolokemi said.

  • Importers, agents hail banks over e-form

    The introduction of electronic foreign exchange form (e-form M) by commercial banks, has earned the praise of importers and clearing agents.

    The e-form, they said, would boost cargo import and facilitate trade at ports.

    The Managing Director, Oguns Shipping Company,Mr Segun Ogunsanu, said the e-form was initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to start single window operations at the port.

    Ogunsanu said the pilot phase for the automation of forex forms on the trade monitoring system, otherwise known as the single window for trade started in seven banks. The banks are Unity Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Diamond Bank, Zenith Bank, Wema Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

    Ogunsanu said: “Any person intending to import physical goods shall process e-form M through any of the commercial banks irrespective of the value and whether or not payment was involved.

    The e-form has six months validity except for plants and machinery, which last one year. Requests for revalidation are to be directed to CBN’s director of Trade and Exchange.

    “Supporting documents would be marked “Valid For Forex or Not Valid for Forex”depending on whether or not foreign exchange remittance would be involved. And applications for goods subject to destination inspection must carry the “BA” code, while those exempted shall include “CB” in the prefix of the numbering system of the form M,” he said.

    Another importer and Executive Director, Bolas Motors, Mr Kayode Agbabiaka, said the requirements for filling the e-form M include the registration of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) at the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); validation of TIN by customers with TIN at FIRS offices and logging on to FIRS portal to register.

    Agbabiaka said importer or his clearing agent is also required to forward his original pro-forma invoice, insurance and other document to bank for approval after which the bank sends e-mail notification to the importer or his agent once the Form M is approved by the bank and also when the Form M is accepted or rejected by the scanning firm.

    Also, the National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, said the introduction of e-form would facilitate trade and boost cargo clearance, adding that it would reduce human contact and hasten cargo clearance at ports.

    To ease cargo clearance, he said, the e-form M should carry a description of the goods to facilitate price verification like: product type and category; mark or brand name of the product; model name or reference number; description of the quality, grade, specification, capacity, size, performance; quantity and packaging.

    The e-form, Shittu added, should be valid for importation only after acceptance by the relevant scanning/risk management provider. Therefore, banks have to confirm acceptance of the e-form M before continuing with other import processes.

    Documents for each import transaction, he said, must carry the name of the product, country of origin, specifications, date of manufacture, batch or lot number and standards to which the goods have been produced like British Standards among others.

  • SON to test imported electronic goods

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has gone tough on imported electronics into the country.

    Its Director-General, Mr Joseph Odumodu, said during a visit to Fouani Nigeria Limited in Lagos that his agency was ready to start the scientific validation and testing of imported electronic products.

    He expressed the displeasure of SON on the poor quality of some electronic products.

    He said the testing was to ensure that the products met minimum standards for safety and performance.

    Odumodu said there was the need to establish a stronger collabo-ration between SON and electronic manufacturers.

    “The ultimate goal is to ensure consumers’ safety and value for money.

    “Today, I have learnt that every LG television set and some of the refrigerators and air conditioners are assembled here in Apapa, Lagos.

    “This also helps us in achieving our objectives because we know the kind of questions and features to look out for in these products.

    “I have seen your assembly plants and I am also looking forward, in the next two years, to see Nigeria manufacturing compressors, condensers and others components because this is the real manufacturing that we need”, he said.

    Earlier, Managing Director of the company, Mr Mohammed Fouani, said the factory had equipped many Nigerians with technical skills.

    “Occasionally, engineers from China come and train our employees, who are mostly Nigerian. I think what is important here is how to make local components in Nigeria so that we can do everything from A to Z in this country. This is the only way the manufacturing sector can grow,” Fouani said.

    He advised the Federal Government to support the manufacturing sector, adding that the company would open a new factory, which would be the biggest in Africa in 2014.

  • Customs targets N150b monthly

    Customs targets N150b monthly

    The Nigeria Customs Service(NCS) monthly revenue is targetting N150 billion next year, its Comptroller of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, has promised.

    He gave the assurance at the just-concluded Comptroller-General’s Annual Conference in Katsina, which was attended by Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

    The service currently generates N100 billion monthly.

    The service, The Nation learnt, generated N28 billion monthly before Dikko became its helmsman.

    He said 2013 would be a trying year for most Customs Area Comptrollers and their senior officers who are unable to meet their target.

    Dikko has urged officers and men of the service to boost revenue generation at their stations, a source said, adding that he asked his officers to imbibe the culture of transparency and integrity in the discharge of their responsibilities.

    Answering questions from The Nation in Katsina on the allegation that officers were not ready to take over from the service providers after the expiration of their contract this month, to provide scanning and risk management support under the Destination Inspection (DI) regime, Dikko debunked the allegation, saying that the Customs have the technical know how.

    Fourteen of his officers, he disclosed, are undergoing training in Canada so that the service would not face any problem after taking over.

    Dikko also said the management of the service had embarked on a modernisation programme to develop the Data Base cargo clearance and Nigeria Integrate Customs Information System (NICIS).

    Nigeria Customs, Dikko added, is partnering with some Customs administrations in countries, such as South Africa, Turkey and the United States for the promotion of mutual administrative assistance for the service.

    He urged members of the National Assembly to review the Customs and Exercise Management Act (CEMA) Cap 45 based on the challenges facing the service.

    He said: “The current level of the Customs Service modernisation requires an enabling legislation in line with present day realities and challenges. It is in this regard that we acknowledge the efforts of the members of the National Assembly to review the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) CAP 45 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

    “We salute them for their vision and courage, and appeal to all stakeholders to understand and support the efforts of the management to leave behind for posterity an enduring legacy.”

    Dikko said the theme of the conference, Borders divides, Customs connects, was chosen to highlight what the Service aimed to achieve through its Single Window project.

  • Abdullahi seeks autonomy for NPA

    As the nation awaits the passage of the Ports and Harbour Bill by the National Assembly, the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Mallam Habib Abdullahi, has advocated a measure of autonomy for the authority in the bill.

    Abdullahi said if the agency is autonomous, it would perform efficiently.

    “No port in the world can exist and prosper without a measure of independence, therefore, autonomy is strategic and required to ensure efficiency in line with international best practices.”

    He said vessels waiting time is now 19 days instead of 28 and that the channels had been dredged to the required draught.

    Many foreign investors, he said, have indicated interest in ports development in the country. This, he said, came to light during the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to New York. He explained that this was an indication of the international recognition of the nation’s maritime potential.

  • Senators laud NPA over facilities

    The Senate Committee on Marine Transport has inspected some facilities at the ports.

    After a two-day tour, Chairman committee of the committee, Hajia Zainab Kure, said they were happy with the usefulness of the funds they appropriated for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and gave kudos to its management.

    “The level of work done by NPA between last year and this year is encouraging. We are happy,” she said.

    She said the performance of NPA would encourage the lawmakers to ensure that funds were appropriated by the National Assembly for the modernisation of ports’ infrastructure.

    The Niger State-born lawmaker said the committee would also visit the Eastern ports to ensure that the level of compliance in projects’ execution shown by the NPA in Western ports is replicated.

    She defended the projects, especially the rehabilitation of the Quey Apron and Queue walls of the Tin Can Island port, saying wear and tear had set in and that there was the need to rehabilitate them to bring the port to standard.

    She called on the NPA to continue to carry the National Assembly along in all it is doing as it has always done, adding that the issues earlier raised by some members of the committee, particularly the contract sums and the operations of the expatriate firms that NPA is partnership with should be attended to.

    She said if the jobs had passed through the procurement law and the jobs awarded by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), NPA had nothing to do with them.

    The projects the Senate committee inspected were approved last year by the National Assembly and funds allocated for them in this year’s Budget Act.

    Their visit was to see the level of work for further appropriation of funds. NPA partnerships in other specialist international firms had been endorsed by the National Assembly.

    The projects the senators inspected were the modernisation of the NPA headquarters, the Eastwest Moles, Apapa port common user road and the Tin Can Island Ports Quey Apron and Quey wall rehabilitation.

  • Katsina border under surveillance

    The Jibia border in Katsina State has been put under surveillance by the Nigeria Customs Service.

    It was gathered that the rate of smuggling of goods from Niger Republic into the country through the border has reduced.

    Investigation in Katsina revealed that Customs had moved to prevent the importation of rice, illicit drugs, vegetable oil, textile, used clothes, confectionery, juices, used bags and other prohibited items from entering the country.

    When The Nation visited the border last week, it found that the warehouse of the command was filled with seized goods and the border post was more organised.

    With the porosity of land borders, investigation revealed that the Customs at Jibia has increased surveillance with a monitoring team in place.

    The Area Comptroller of the command, Alhaji Yusuf Umar, said the surveillance became possible because of the vehicles given to them by the management of Customs.

    Officers of the command, he said, have arrested suspected human traffickers and handed them to the Nigerian Immigration Service.

    About two months ago, he said the command apprehended about 85 people ranging from five, six, seven, 10 and 15 years old.

    The command, he also said, has intelligent officers who give him information on criminals’ movements.

    “We have officers and men who are happy to carry out their jobs and that is why they have been up and doing. We have re-strategised. Also, our men have received training and we have new arms such as AK47 rifles to carry out our duties. When you see our officers on the road, you will notice that some of them have been trained by the Nigerian Army in Zaria and that is why we are very active and pro-active and that is why we have been able to make the seizure you have seen.

    “If your officers are hungry or uncomfortable, they may not be able to do the job as expected. If the environment is not condusive, you will not be able to get what is expected. The Customs service of today is different from the Customs service of four, five years ago because we have a visionary and focused leadership in Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi.

    “His outstanding leadership covers revenue generation, infrastructure and capacity building, among others.

    “I am doing the same thing where I was posted to; to make sure I copy my boss. Whatever he does, I always follow his foot step,” he said.

    He advised officers and men of the service to be diligent in their duties.

  • NPA chief orders ports’ access roads cleared

    NPA chief orders ports’ access roads cleared

    THE Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mallam Habib Abdullahi, has expressed displeasure with the number of trucks abandoned on the ports’ access roads.

    He has directed that the trucks be evacuated to ease cargo movement.

    Traffic gridlock, he said, is a major problem, adding that a committee would be set up to solve it.

    The NPA boss, who toured the ports, hailed terminal operators for their contributions to trade facilitation and infrastructure upgrade at the seaports.

    He said port concessionaires were fulfilling their own part of the concession agreement with the Federal Government.

    Abdullahi praised terminal operators for their investments at Apapa and Tin Can ports.

    “There is, no doubt, when you look at the level of investments in terms of several billions of Naira our terminal operators have sunk here to boost seamless cargo clearance at the ports.

    ‘’We also thank the Federal Government for giving port concession a chance in this country, and you can see the success story today. So, port concession is successful in Nigeria,” he said.

    Abdullahi said he visited the Lagos ports for first hand information on investment and to see some of the challenges facing the sector.

    He said the new management of the authority was determined to succeed and tasked the staff and other maritime stakeholders to come forward with good ideas and suggestions that would promote port operations.

    The Lagos ports, he said, could compete favourably with the ports of Dubai, Singapore and other modern ports, if the government’s efforts to make the seaports the hub in the sub-region were complemented by stakeholders.

  • Govt pegs rice import at $673 per tonne

    The Federal Government has set $673 per tonne as the benchmark price for imported rice in the fourth quarter of the year.

    Sources said the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, gave this directive to the Nigeria Customs Service.

    Sources said the benchmark can be broken down as $613 for Free on Board (FoB) and freight charge of $60.

    Ministry of Finance sources said the price is based on the advice of an Inter-Ministerial Committee.

    The committee, the source said, comprised the Presidential Committee on Trade Malpractices (PCTM), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Customs.

    Others are the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, Budget Office of the Federation and Rice Millers, Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (RIMIDAN).

    The Federal Government reviews quarterly the benchmark price of imported rice.

    The duty is calculated based on this price and the actual FoB price.

    The per metric tonne benchmark price was fixed at $699 for the second and third quarters but dropped to $673 since October.

  • Fed Govt dissolves Council of Freight Forwarders

    Fed Govt dissolves Council of Freight Forwarders

    The Federal Government has dissolved the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN). The dissolution followed the crisis that rocked the organisation after the government directed it to collect transaction fees at the ports.

    The Nation learnt that in a letter the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, has notified Chairman of the Council, Hakeem Olanrewaju of the dissolution.

    In the letter, the Council members were directed to quit their positions.

    Sources at the Ministry of Transport said the Council was dissolved because of a petition written to the Minister by the management of the Nigeria Customs Services (NCS). The September 5 letter signed by the Assistant Comptroller–General of Customs, Mr Musa Tahir, for the Controller-General, said the approval granted to CRFFN to collect fees would increase the cost of business at the ports and cause delays in the clearance of goods.

    Also, the Minister, sources said, dissolved the council because of another petition by the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), claiming that the tenure of officers of the council had expired.

    In his letter to Olanrewaju the Minister noted that the elected council members have a four-year tenure which expired on August, 14. He said any decision by the council after this date was illegal.

    While dissolving the council, sources said the minister accused its leadership of extending their tenure by one year, in contravention of the council’s Act.

    A member of the board, who craved anonymity, told The Nation that though members of other associations had accepted to cooperate with the council, the Customs and ANLCA did not.

    Trouble, he said, started when the government approved transaction fees for CRFFN at the port.

    Under the fee regime, he said, importers are to pay N1.50 per kilo of every air cargo; N1,000 per 20-foot container, N2,000 per 40-foot container; N500 per car or Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) and N1,000 per truck or 20-foot equivalent.

    Others, he said, include N2,000 per truck or 40-foot equivalent; N3.50 per every ton of general cargo and N1.00 per ton of every dry bulk cargo.

    The minister, he added, also approved registration fees for freight forwarding practitioners, including Nigerians and non-Nigerians, ranging from N7,500 to N50,000 annually depending on their category of membership and annual subscription of between N10,000 and N60,000 for members of the council.

    But a senior official of the Ministry of Transport, who does not want his name in print, said the issue had gone beyond transaction fees, noting that the government did not want to deal with an illegal body. He said with the expiration of the board’s tenure, its members lacked the authority to perform.

    Efforts by The Nation to get Olanrewaju on phone proved abortive.