The Nation Newspaper

Category: Maritime

  • ‘How we facilitate six-hour cargo clearing’

    For the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Area Comptroller of Ports Terminal Multiservice Limited (PTML) Command, Lagos, Mrs Florence Olasunbo Dixon, maximum collection of revenue at a model port dedicated to Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) is not negotiable. This, she says, is evident in the command’s increased monthly revenue. In this interview, Mrs Dixon tells MUYIWA LUCAS that blocking leakages and persistent enlightenment against infractions are working for her.

    Your area is one of the country’s prominent Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) cargo ports. What are the specific peculiarities that differentiate this command from others across the country?

    The PTML can be described as a mini port. We deal meanly in RoRo vehicles and containerised vehicles too. We don’t deal much in containerised cargoes.

    What was your total revenue collection for last year? What was your command’s contribution to the Custom’s N1trillion target?

    We made N120,368,433,364 from January to December last year; that is, 22 per cent increase from 2017 when compared to 2018. We actually did not meet our target; which  was N122billion but we managed to make N120billion.

    Appraise stakeholders’ compliance level on a scale of zero to 100 per cent. How are they complying with the rules?

    I will say 75 per cent because you still find some loopholes. We are trying gradually with the enlightenment, collaboration and communication.

    We hold meetings with them, reminding them about the rules and why they must stay compliant at all times. Many are complying but you will still find some minute number of people attempting to do it wrongly but we are on top of the game. Our vigilance is high and will continue to increase.

    How does x-factory price of imported vehicles influence duty calculation and collection at PTML?

    I think it’s the same everywhere. We rely on x-factory price for duty collection on used vehicles mainly. For brand new cars, they require PAAR (Pre Arrival Assessment Report); so, when they get the PAAR, we treat them, but to a large extent, we rely on x-factory price on used vehicle. Sometimes if we notice that there are differences or we are not satisfied, we can query, increase and uplift the value, to prevent revenue loss.

     How did you fare in 2018? What is the value of the seizures you made and suspects arrested, if any?

    This is generally a revenue area. We are not an enforcement area and I can say that we have a high level of compliance by our trading community and stakeholders here. We don’t have any seizures per se we didn’t record any.

    What are your achievements since your assumption of office? What have you done differently from your predecessors?

    Well, I followed in their footsteps because all my predecessors achieved successes, so I followed in their footsteps. But I tried to make a little difference here and there by exceeding my target, particularly in last October, November, December and January this year.

    Customs is fast embracing technology – PAAR and NICIS II. To what extent has this latest Customs technology influenced your operation?

    I will say it makes the work easier and there are  lots of transparency. Because everything is online and it makes the job faster. Actually, it saves time and impacts positively on the overall degree of efficiency here.

    How fast is it to clear a cargo at PTML by a compliant trader?

    I am happy you used that word compliant trader. If you make  honest declaration under six hours, you can get your consignments released. This is why adherence to compliance principles is in the interest of all. It saves time and cost while boosting revenue collection.

    How are you implementing the government’s ease of doing business policy in trade facilitation even with poor access roads?

    We have infrastructural challenge because there is no good access road from Mile 2 end to this place but we are trying in our own little way. We treat jobs promptly, which is encouraging people to come to PTML. We don’t delay work and we engaged our stakeholders, from time to time we meet with them, we try to resolve issues, so generally we are experiencing some peace.

  • Owners, NIMASA clash over burnt ship

    How did the fire on MV ORCIV, a trawler, off the Bonny Channel in Rivers State, occur? Did the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) ignore the crew’s call for help?

    These are some of the posers raised by the ship owners and others who are blaming NIMASA for the incident.

    But NIMASA has absolved itself of any blame.

    Two seafarers are still missing from the incident.

    The Nigerian Trawler Owners Association (NITOA) and the Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA) are accusing NIMASA of negligence.

    A fishing firm lost its ship to the fire on February 6, after what it claimed as repeated calls for help to NIMASA by the crew.

    NITOA and NMNOWTSSA expressed displeasure over what they called the negligence of the Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (RMRCC)Unit of NIMASA.

    Speaking with reporters, NITOA President Akinsola Amire berated NIMASA, accusing it of inefficiency.

    According to him, the gravity of the fire would have been minimised, if the agency had responded on time.

    Amire said the agency did not have the wherewithal to address safety issues at sea.

    He quoted NIMASA as saying it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NLNG on putting out fires, adding: “Instead of NLNG to salvage the situation, it was asking for a contract before it could carry out the salvage operations.”

    Amire picked holes in NLNG’s claim that it went to the location and found that the vessel was beyond salvage.

    “NLNG did not go to the location but asked to sign a contract before the salvage operations could begin.

    “We must call a spade a spade. It is me today, it can be anybody tomorrow. The question is: What are they (NIMASA) coordinating? Is it just to bear the name? What is Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre doing? Just taking reports and doing nothing?” Amire said.

    NMNOWTSSA Secretary-General Comrade Julius Efokpor said: “Based on the information we gathered, we learnt NIMASA did not respond to the situation and it’s against the Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) convention as a regulatory agency.

    “If they sent the right signal around as at the time of the distress call, I believe vessels around would have been able to assist the crew and the vessel in question.’’

    An official of NIMASA’s Search and Rescue unit, who pleaded anonymity, said: ”RMRCC operation is capital intensive and NIMASA cannot shoulder everything to handle issues of safety at sea alone because it is subjected to the will power.’’

    NIMASA, he said, had other stakeholders in the sector that assist whenever there are distress calls based on proximity to the location of a particular incident.

    “We got the alert around 8.30pm and we contacted our partner in that axis but we have network issues.

    “We contacted NLNG to assist and rescue the vessel from sinking,” he added.

  • IMAN impounds N900m goods in two months

    The Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) Special Task Force on Illegal Importation, Southwest Zone, intercepted imported goods worth N900 million between January and February this year, its Chief Operating Officer Prosper Okolo has said.

    The body also sealed five warehouses belonging to Chinese firms for acts of ‘’economic sabotage’’.

    In an interview at the weekend,  Okolo said in the last two months,  10 containers, comprising six 20-feet and four 40-feet containers, were intercepted in various parts of Lagos State.

    These containers,he said, were seized for various infractions ranging from concealments, banned and smuggled goods to duty under payment worth several billions of naira.

    “It will interest you to know that a particular importer paid a paltry N2 million on his import, whereas  the actual value payable on those imports was N18 million, meaning he has cheated the government by N16 million. We have insisted the balance is paid to the government before we unseal his warehouse,” Okolo said.

    Within the period, he further explained, the Task force also received credible intelligence on some warehouses involved in production and importation of fake and sub-standards products without the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) approvals.

    The warehouses, he said, had imported tyres, used clothing, unwholesome products, among others, without the required contravening the regulations and permits in the process, including duty infractions.

    He added that most of the warehouses visited by the teamwhich were  involved in the illicit acts are owned by foreigners, mostly Chinese.

    He listed some of the firms involved in the alleged nefarious activities to include Megachem Nigeria Limited, Kevolinks Digital Limited, Kwikfit Nigeria Limited, Inomek Nigeria Limited and Bosac Nigeria Limited, among others.

    Okolo said the IMAN Task Force is working in partnership with the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) Headquarters to checkmate smuggling, fraud, illegal imports, forgery, concealments and other acts of  sabotage.

    Dispelling any witch-hunt, Okolo said the body is not out to challenge or rub shoulders with any agency of government, but to complement government agencies’ efforts to rid the country of nefarious activities by some Nigerians and their foreign collaborators who deprive the country of legitimate revenue.

    “Our appeal also goes to the importers, clearing agents and manufacturers to please abide by the regulatory and fiscal requirements in line with the law in carrying out their businesses,” he said.

    The IMAN Special Task Force, approved by the Federal Government, has a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Philemon Leha, as its Director-General.

  • Rising to the piracy challenge

    The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) report on piracy and other vices for the first quarter of last year rates Nigeria high on pirates’attacks on vessels. The figures released by the Nigerian Navy on the 34 pirates’ attacks on the nation’s waters in 2018 are also worrisome. But, the Navy foiled 25 of the attacks, writes MUYIWA LUCAS.

    The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) report for the first quarter of last year is sad: Nigeria led the pack in global pirates’attacks on vessels.

    Of 45 attacks, IMB noted that the country had 22, Indonesia, nine, Venezuela, five, Bangladesh, four and Republic of Benin five.

    According to the IMB, “A total of 156 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) in the first nine months of 2018 compared to 121 in the same period in 2017. ‘’

    The 2018 figure is broken down as follows: 107 vessels boarded, 32 attempted attacks, 13 vessels fired upon and four vessels hijacked –although no vessels were reported as hijacked in Q3 2018.This was the first time since 1994 when no vessel hijackings have been reported in two consecutive quarters.

    The IMB further reported: “The number of crew held hostage (112) for the duration of the incident has increased in comparison to the same period in 2016 (110) and 2017 (80).

    “The number of crew kidnap-pings has reduced from 49 in 2017 to 39 in 2018. It is noticeable that 37 of the 39-crew kidnapped for ransom globally have occurred in the Gulf of Guinea region in seven separate incidents. Twenty-nine crew were kidnapped in four separate incidents off Nigeria – including 12 crew kidnapped from a bulk carrier underway 51nm SW of Bonny Island, Nigeria in September 2018.”

    Similarly, statistics from Statista portal, a maritime centre site, butresses the submissions of IMB. The Statista records that the waters off the Nigerian coast recorded the highest number of piracy last year. It pegged the actual and attempted attacks in the country at 48, up from 33 the previous year.

    But these figures has been disputed by some indigenous operators, who said the high figures given Nigeria may be part of plans by the developed countries to paint developing countries in security bad light. When this is achieved, it leads to increase in freight rates and marine insurance.

    Notwithstanding the report, security experts expressed satisfaction with the response from the Nigerian Navy in curtailing the escalation of pirates attacks. They are, particularly, impressed that the Navy, most times, have responded timely, dispatching patrol boats and other necessary security needs as the occasion demands.

    In a report on its activities against pirates and attacks on waters, a copy of which was made available to The Nation, the Navy announced that it recorded a total of 34 pirates’ attacks on the nation’s waters in 2018. Of this figure, nine attacks were successful, while the Navy foiled 25. The report also said Nigeria lost no fewer than 277, 040 barrels of crude oil to illegal refining in 2018. About 23.1 million litres of Automated Gas Oil (AGO) or diesel, 212, 610 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and 1.2 million litres of Domestic Producing Kerosene (DPK) were also lost.

    The “Operation River Sweep”, an anti-smuggling arm of the Nigeria Navy, however, successfully destroyed no fewer than 637 illegal refineries in Niger Delta in 2018, the NN indicated, in addition to arresting 104 speed boats and 340 suspects in connection with illegal bunkering or smuggling during same period.

    The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, said the Navy, through its “Operation Tsare Teku”, recorded a total of 20 sea robberies during the period. Ibas, at a briefing where he was represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Naval Headquarters, Rear Admiral Belgory Ibe-Enwo, Ibas gave an account of operations, which involved air surveillance, insertion of Special Forces by gunboats, pulling down of illegal refining sites with the use of swamp buggies and arrest/destruction of boats and barges found in such locations.

    “A total of 34 pirates’ attacks on ships were reported, with nine successful and 25 unsuccessful. Furthermore, a total of 20 sea robbery attacks were reported in 2018, with six successful and 14 unsuccessful. Additionally, a total of 46 vessels and barges were arrested for involvement in maritime crimes during the period,” Ibas said.

    On maritime domain awareness, he said the Navy carried out round-the-clock surveillance of the country’s maritime space, using the RegionalAwareness Capability (RMAC) and Falcon Eye facilities. The Navy chief said, in addition to the use of vessels and helicopters, the force had 24 Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) centres located across the coastlines.

    “These centres ensure effective surveillance of all vessels in our territorial waters were fitted with Automatic Identification System (AIS) or not,” he said. Besides, Vice Admiral Ibas explained that using the MDA facilities and prompt reporting of attacks of vessels at sea led to foiling of several piracy incidents.

    Vice Admiral Ibas said with arrest of 46 vessels in 2018 by the Navy, he was convinced that the MDA facilities will help to present a complete, clear, detailed and updated maritime situation of the maritime domain and, by extension, the Gulf of Guinea will be involved when the whole proposed sites are completed.

    The CNS, who said the capability of the Navy was being enhanced through acquisition of more platforms, however, agreed that notwithstanding these acquisitions, there was the need to increase NN’s operational capability by acquiring more vessels to enable it respond more effectively to contemporary and future threats.

    He said the Navy remained committed towards improving security around the maritime area, “with the notable achievements recorded so far’’.

    But the Navy is not the body responsible for safety and security on the waters. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) also has an important role in this. Section 22 (P) of the NIMASA Act stipulates that the agency should provide maritime security. But how far has this agency gone in achieving this responsibility?

    Investigation by The Nation revealed that NIMASA, in 2017, awarded a surveillance contract to check rising cases of piracy and other vices in Nigerian waters. Sadly, this initiative seems to be lying in the cooler.

    NIMASA Director-General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, in earlier interactions with the media, explained that security in the maritime domain was work in progress requiring the commitment of  stakeholders to ensure optimum safety of investments in the sector. He explained that the agency was taking the lead on the issue of maritime safety in the entire West and Central African sub-region, noting that safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea has a direct impact on the economy.

    The NIMASA boss noted that there were factors that contribute to the cost of products coming into the country through the seas, which makes it very important to tackle insecurity in the waterways. For instance, Peterside noted that 65 per cent of cargo heading to the region ends up in Nigeria; making the security of the territorial waters requiring the commitment of all stakeholders and neighbouring countries.

    NIMASA, he further revealed, recognises this and, therefore, implementing international regulatory instruments in collaboration with various countries in the region to checkmate criminal activities.

    “We must ensure the security of the Gulf of Guinea because Nigeria is not isolated from whatever happens in the region which may lead to negative economic impact, or increase in the cost of insurance or war premium insurance and, ultimately, lead to high cost of goods and services, which will be borne by the consumer of the goods and services,” Peterside said.

    The NIMASA chief further buttressed: “No maritime crime occurs within a jurisdiction alone. Very often the trend is that maritime crime starts from one jurisdiction and ends in another. The only way we can tackle maritime crime is all of us working together and there have been several regional initiatives in that respect to tackle maritime crime. Apart from the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy, you have the Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy, you have the Gulf of Guinea Commission dealing with the same thing there are several sub-regional and regional initiatives to tackle maritime insecurity so I see a lot of potential in regional collaboration and integration,” he explained.

    Peterside revealed that government agencies understand what collaboration could do to up their games, hence, the renewal of the MoU between NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy as well as partnership with other sister parastals.

  • IMO sulphur cap may increase freight rate by 10%

    Export freight rates for GCC producers could increase by as much as 10 per cent due to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO’s) sulphur cap on fuel content, the Secretary-General, Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), Dr. Abdulwahab Al Sadoun, has said.

    The IMO bunker fuel regulation, capping sulphur content of marine bunker fuel at 0.5 per cent versus the current 3.5 per cent is going to have a significant impact on oil supply chains in the Middle East, he added.

    “With no delays expected for the implementation of the new IMO bunker fuel regulation, from January1, 2020, the new regulation is expected to dramatically alter the global supply chain landscape,” he wrote in a comment for the Saudi Gazette.

    Compliance with the new fuel specification will involve significant costs for the refining and shipping industries, while petrochemical producers could face higher freight rates and changes in feedstock pricing, according to Al Sadoun.

    “The regional chemical industry in the GCC (and globally) will feel the impact on two major fronts: firstly, in the form of higher freight rates related to the transportation costs of its products; and secondly, in its feedstock pricing,” he said.

    Because all six GCC states are signatories to the IMO and because the energy sector is one of the most heavily export-oriented industries in the region, the regional chemical industry has one of the longest and most costly supply chains.

    Around 83 per cent of chemical output in the region is ultimately shipped to over 100 countries worldwide.

    “Transportation costs are estimated to account for five per cent of total chemical sales, warehousing for 3.5 per cent, and additional cost related to supply chain planning and administration accounts for 1.5 per cent, thus, overall supply chain costs take up 10 per cent of total chemical sales,” he said.

    According to Arabian Industry sources, to measure the impact from higher freight rates on chemical supply chain costs, Al Sadoun takes the implementation of mandatory low-sulphur fuel in 2015 at the Emission Control Areas (ECA) comprising northern Europe and the US.

    Maersk Line introduced low sulfur surcharges ranging between USD 15/teu and USD 80/teu, depending on the route.

    “If we take the same scenario for the new IMO regulations, export freight rates for GCC producers could increase by as much as 10 per cent reaching $1,688 on average.”

    As a result, GPCA estimates that transportation cost will increase its share in total chemicals sales to six per cent, up from five per cent previously, while total chemical supply chain costs will increase to 11per cent from 10 per cent currently.

    Given the scale of the change, the entire oil value chain is likely to see high volatility during 2020.

  • Cabotage: No more waiver for erring vessels, says NIMASA

    Vessels which flout the Cabotage Act will no longer be granted waivers, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) boss Dakuku Peterside has said.

    According to him, the grant of waivers to vessels which do not comply with the Cabotage Compliance Strategy (CCS) introduced to ease the law’s implementation cannot help the economy.

    “Our laws forbid foreign vessels operating in our territorial waters save for compliance with the Cabotage Act. There shall be no sacred cow when we commence clampdown on erring vessels. We want to increase the number of Nigerians who participate in the marine aspect of your business and we are working closely with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to have a joint categorisation of vessels operating under the Cabotage Act in order to ensure the full implementation of the Act,” he said.

    To this end, the detention of a Motor Tanker, MT Navigator Capricorn, a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carrier, has been approved for contravening the law. The vessel was first boarded in October 2018 and all infractions of Cabotage non-compliance were noted and communicated accordingly to the charterer/Owners representatives with a 90-day grace to comply. The 90 days expired on last January 31.

    According to NIMASA’s head of Corporate Communication, Isichei Osamgbi, owners of the vessel made an undertaking to remedy the infractions when they got detention warning.

    The vessel, he said, had been moved to Lagos Anchorage to allow space for other LPG vessels to discharge at the NOJ Jetty which talks are ongoing with its owners and charterers.

    In a statement, he said his team met with the Oil Producers Trade Sector (OPTS) in Lagos and urged industry players to draw up a five-year strategic plan for waiver cessation and also pursue the utilisation of Nigerian-owned vessels for marine contracts.

    Last August, NIMASA introduced the CCS to ensure full implementation of the Cabotage Act to secure jobs for qualified Nigerians in the sector.

    Through a Marine Notice, suspended waiver applications on manning for prescribed categories of officers in vessels engaged in Cabotage trade. This means that NIMASA no longer considers applications for waiver on manning requirements for vessels engaged in coastal trade with regards to second officer, second engineer, second  mate down to able seamen, ratings and stewards.

    Osamgbi said, however, that special applications for captains, chief engineers, chief officers, first mate in the absence of qualified Nigerians were considered on merit, but on the condition that such organisation make plan to train a Nigerian and put in place a transition plan to ensure that the Nigerians take over the job within one year.

    “The whole essence of this is to ensure that Nigerians are not deprived of the jobs due them on showing requisite qualifications for the job,” he said.

  • Customs donates 68,000 bags of rice, others to orphanages

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has donated food items and relief materials to some orphanages in Lagos and other Southwest states. In all, 68, 256 bags of 50kg rice, clothing materials and other items will be distributed by the Service.

    NCS National Public Relations Officer, Joseph Attah, made this known during the flag-off of the donations in Lagos.

    Attah explained that the exercise is in line with a Presidential directive to the Service, adding that it  will  bring succour to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) and orphans.

    Attah, a Deputy Comptroller of Customs, told reporters that in compliance with the presidential directive, a seven-man sub-committee was inaugurated by the Comptroller-General of Customs to oversee the distribution of the relief materials.

    The sub-committee is headed by Comptroller Yakubu Salihu with representation from the office of the Service’s legal adviser.

    He said the distribution would take place in the four Customs zones to achieve a fair reach to intended recipients nationwide.

    “You will recall that had earlier announced that the Comptroller- General secured Presidential approval for the extension of relief materials to orphanages. Before now, these items were being given to only IDPs by a National Logistics Committee comprising of various security and regulatory agencies, but with the relative peace in the Northeast and some of the IDPs returning home,the need to extend to other people in need arose,” he explained.

    Attah further said to ensure that these items got to the intended recipients, landing certificates would be signed by recipients after taking delivery.

    “We are giving out 68,256 units of 50kg bags of rice, over 200,000 litres of vegetable oil, tomato paste,  spaghetti, soap, used clothing and other relief materials for Zone A comprising Southwest states.

    ‘’Nine operators of different orphanages in the Southwest have come forward for the relief materials. We are also assisting those without vehicles to convey the items to their areas,” Attah said.

    The NCS had donated relief materials to victims of insurgency in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Edo states in February 2017.

  • IMO to empower more women

    With “Empowering Women in the maritime community” as the theme for 2019, World Maritime Day, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), is working to expand female participation in the industry. To this end, IMO has unveiled a new logo to boost the move.

    “IMO has a strong commitment to helping achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and continues to support the participation of women in both shore-based and seagoing posts, in line with the goals outlined under SDG 5: “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls,” Kitack Lim, IMO Secretary-General, said.

    “This theme will give IMO the opportunity to work with various maritime stakeholders towards achieving the SDGs, particularly SDG 5, to foster an environment in which women are identified and selected for career development opportunities in maritime administrations, ports and maritime training institutes and to encourage more conversation for gender equality in the maritime space,” Lim continued.

    He noted that in 1988, few maritime training institutes opened their doors to female students. However, the United Nations (UN) specialised agencies forged a global programme known as the Integration of Women in the Maritime Sector. This initiative helped to put in place an institutional framework to incorporate a gender dimension into IMO’s policies and procedures, with resolutions adopted to ensure access to maritime training and employment opportunities for women in the maritime sector.

    “Today, IMO’s newly renamed, Women in Maritime programme is going strong. Empowering women fuels thriving economies across the world, spurs growth and development, and benefits all of us working in the global maritime community as we strive towards safe, secure, clean and sustainable shipping,” Lim further said.

    Female graduates of the World Maritime University (WMU) and the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), Lim said, are today working as maritime administrators and decision makers, with a positive impact as role models in encouraging new female recruits. He said the empowerment of women has been supported through gender-specific fellowships by facilitating access to high-level technical training for women in the maritime sector in developing countries.

    The selection of the theme: “Empowering Women in the Maritime Community” will ensure a renewed focus on the IMO women in the maritime programme, and on achieving the goals of SDG 5, throughout 2019, the UN agency said.

  • Apapa trailer park ready soon, says Fed Govt

    The Federal Government has restated its commitment to the completion of the trailer park in Apapa and the Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonsoki-Ojota expressway project in Lagos.

    According to Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing, the contractor is on site and has begun work. The preliminary work, it said, included site preparation, survey work, design work, geothestic investigation, and the site office is also part of it.

    Its Director of Highways, South West, Funsho Adebiyi, during inspection of some roads projects in Lagos, said reinforced concrete pavement was going to be used in place of the former flexible pavement to ensure durability of the construction.

    While inspecting the trailer park in Apapa, Adebiyi said it had been completed to some extent but could not be put to use for safety and security reasons, saying the toilets, restaurant and police station as well as lighting facilities had been completed.

    “The material for the shoreline protection is being imported and to fast track the completion, we told the contractor to move in some of those materials by air,’’ he said.

    In his reaction to the Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonsoki-Ojota Expressway project, Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Adedamola Kuti, said a stakeholders meeting was held with service providers. This was to ensure speedy relocation of communication and electrical cables, water lines and other services in the Right of Way of the project.

    The Federal Government awarded the Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonsoki-Ojota Expressway project to AG Dangote Construction Limited at the cost of N73 billion in November 2018, under a tax credit scheme. It has a completion period of two years.

    In a similar development, after closure of over one year, the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, last week, reopened the Apapa/Leventis Bridge to traffic, after it was closed for emergency repairs in August 2016 after a portion of the bridge deck damaged by fire caved in. The 40-year-old bridge links Nigeria’s premier port of Apapa to both the Lagos Mainland and Island.

    While performing the tape cutting ceremony to open the bridge, Adebiyi said that the opening would ease gridlock on the Apapa axis. “It is my pleasure to open this bridge in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Today we are having a new bridge as well as a new access road. So, hopefully gridlock will end here,” he said.

    Kuti added that government would soon take drastic action against all forms of abuses that could cause damage to bridges in Lagos. He expressed satisfaction that the reopened section of the Leventis bridge will go a long way in helping the Apapa gridlock situation, pending the time that permanent solution would be put in place.

    He thanked residents and commuters for their patience during the period of closure of the bridge and pledged Federal Government’s commitment to continued maintenance of all the roads and bridges in Lagos.

    He listed bridges that had been repaired to include the Marine Beach Bridge, Coconut Bridge and Ijora 7Up Bridge.

  • Port users disagree over NSC’s registration fees

    • It is in order…NAGAFF

    The dust raised by the registration fees introduced by Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) for freight forwarders and other port users is yet to settle.

    Some operators spoke in support of the fees; others rejected the plan.

    The Vice Chairman, Dry Cargo Division of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Inuwa Abdullahi, said it negated the much talked about ease of doing business.

    According to him, the fees make the country’s ports less attractive as it amounts to double taxation.

    “Importers are getting more attracted to using ports of neighbouring countries for cargoes that are consumed by Nigerians. This leads to increasing job loss. It is not good for the country and the economy and it will further make our ports less attractive. There are many issues affecting the ports users that require urgent attention than this,” Abdullahi said.

    National Council of Managing Director of Licenced Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) President Lucky Amiwero described the fees as alien and unlawful. According to him, there is no place in the Act establishing the NSC where such registration fee is provided. He, challenged the NSC to show the public anywhere in its enabling law where it has powers to call for registration fees.

    “The enabling law of Shippers Council, which is an act of National Assembly, under which the council operates gives it powers to protect the interest of shippers and not to add to their problems. It is a simple matter, they should just show us where they derive such powers from their enabling law. The fees is another illegality being foisted on port users and operators,” Amiwero said.

    For Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) Chairman, Remi Ogungbemi, the policy is “dead on arrival.” According to him, the NSC should not capitalise on the fact that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), collected N10,000 per truck from AMATO members for stickers to also perpetuate illegality.

    “What is the fees meant for? Is it to fix the dilapidated port infrastructure? Is it to build parking space for our trucks or to add value to our operations in any way? We need them to come and explain what we are paying that money for. Presently we are burdened by several unofficial payments in addition to the official ones of renewing our vehicle particulars annually and payment of other fees, so this one by NSC will not stand,” Ogungbemi said.

    National Association of Freight Forwarders and Air Consolidators (NAFFAC) President General Adeyinka Bakare, described the fees as an additional cost of doing business which would militate against the presidential directive on the ease of doing business. He said it was only the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) that could make such policy. He explained that the NSC policy is a “dream that will never come true.”

    According to him, with the policy, the NSC is doing another agency’s work. “Registration of agents should be done by CRFFN and is the right of CRFFN alone. No agency, no terminal or shipping line has the right to ask agents to come and register with them. The only person saddled with that responsibility is CRFFN because that is what the Act says.Every agency has the Act that established it and what role each should be playing,” Bakare said.

    But, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) President, Increase Uche, said the fee is in order.

    He said those opposed to it were acting in ignorance as such fees will cover administrative costs for registration and help to profile, identify and cause orderliness in the port environment.

    “Most of us belong to other organisations like CRFFN and we pay the stipulated fees. I don’t see anything wrong with this one. I urge people to comply with it,” he said

    The Director of Legal Services, NSC, Samuel Vongtau, explained that through the registration process, the council would be able to know the number of service providers operating within the sector, adding that it will also help bring sanity to the port environment.

    The registration fee, which is to be paid by clearing agents, shipping companies, indigenous shippers, inland container operators, terminal operators, offdock terminal operators is to help the council weed out touts and quacks from the industry.

    A breakdown of the registration fee released by the council showed that shipping line agencies are expected to pay a registration fee of N100,000 yearly; cargo consolidators – N20,000; dry port operators – N50, 000; freight forwarders and clearing agents – N10, 000; haulers – N10,000; Inland Container Depot operators – N50,000; off dock terminal operators – N20,000; Seaport terminal operators – N100, 000; shippers – N1,000;  shippers association – N5,000; Stevedoring companies – N20,000, and warehouse operators – N20,000.