Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has re-appointed Mr. Hassan Bello as Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers’Council for another four-year term.
A June 9 letter, signed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, S. Zakari, said Prof Osinbajo re-appointed Bello in accordance with the provisions of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act, Cap 133, LFN 2004.
Bello, a lawyer, was first appointed in 2013, following the expiration of the tenure of Capt Adamu Biu.
To achieve the objectives of the Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business, the Federal Government should bridge the infrastructure gap in the maritime sector, SIFAX Group Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Taiwo Afolabi, has said.
At the yearly Maritime Conference organised by his firm at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Afolabi said: “The huge infrastructural deficit, which led to deplorable access roads, faulty cargo scanner, non-existent rail system, non-functional truck bay, among others, has conspired to negatively impact service delivery efficiency.
“These challenges are the major reasons we gathered today to address because our sector cannot continue to reel under the burden of infrastructural decay if we want to contribute meaningfully to the economy and realise the industry’s potential.
“I commed the effort of the Federal Government to reform the maritime industry, especially with the Executive Order signed by the Acting President.
“It is an acknowledgment of the fact that things must be done differently. However, infrastructural deficit will negate the good intentions of the government if the problems listed above are not strategically and urgently addressed.”
He said that one of the key objectives of the conference was to promote the culture of intellectual discourse in the country’s maritime industry, adding that the engagement will also be solution-oriented.
According to him, the conference was created to address the issues affecting the industry, with support of stakeholders, such as clearing agents, shippers, investors, workers as well as the entire maritime community.
He said the International Maritme Organisation(IMO) had compelled the United Nations affiliate responsible for the regulating the global maritime industry, saying that over 90 per cent of world’s trade was transported by sea.
Afolabi, however, said the industry was strategic to maritime nation in terms of its contribution to its economic growth and development.
He said the contributions of the sector to the country’s Gross domestic Product (GDP) was still low when juxtaposed with its huge potential and opportunities.
Chairperson of the occasion, Mrs Margaret Onyema-Orakusi, praised Afolabi for organising the event.
Mrs Onyema-Orakusi, also the Chairman of Ship Owners Forum, said maritime business has some challenges, adding that there was the need to create technological solution to the problems.
“Maritime is a professional industry that accommodates different occupations; that is why we need to accommodate other departments to enable them find solutions to the problems.
“I am asking Dr Afolabi to expand the conference to accommodate other departments to understand maritime operators’ need and stove problem of accessing laon in the maritime industry,” Mrs Onyema-Orakusi said.
Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director, Ms Hadiza Usman, commended the SIFAX for the contributions the conference had made in the industry.
Ms Usman, represented by Assistant General Manager, Business Desk, said she had also created awareness on the importance of the industry in the economy.
She commeded Afolabi for his resourcefulness in improving the business in the ports despite of the recent downturn.
• Osoba hails agency for forstering transparency
To clear waste at the ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) refuse collector has acquired a $4.5 milllion equipment.
African Circle Pollution Management Limited (ACPML) will use the equipment to fight pollution in the oceans, lagoons, ports and waterways.
Speaking with The Nation after the installation of the Oily Water Separator (OWS) plant in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, ACPML Chairman Chief Olusegun Osoba said the equipment, would ensure effective management of water pollution and waste generated from ships.
Over 250 Nigerians, said Osoba, former Ogun State Governor were working with the company.
ACPML, he said, had embarked on initiatives that will reduce ship pollution and cargo residue on the nation’s waters to create cleaner sea for shipping operation in the country.
According to Osoba, the equipment, will enable the firm to tackle pollution and waste generated by vessels.
The equipment, he noted, would enhance ACPML operations as contained in the agreement it signed with the government on waste management at the ports
According to him, the ACPML uses specialised equipment to take liquid waste, including sludge and bilge from ships calling in the nation’s seaports in line with the provisions of International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) 1972, 1973 and 1978 conventions and other related laws
He said ACPML remains committed to safety of the nation’s waterways, adding that the company will continue to support the present management of NPA as it continues to promote the Nigerian economy through the maritime sector.
The former governor disclosed that more Nigerians would be employed and more equipment would be purchased by the company based on the transparent administrative attitude now prevalent in the NPA.
“We have modern and world-class facilities; and highly trained and professional staff to deliver services with internationally accepted quality, safety and environment standards.
“Our company is an environmentally conscious company applying the Best Available Techniques (BAT) and Best Environmental Practice (BEP) to safely collect all vessel related waste in line with the stipulated best international practice.
“IMO does not allow indiscriminate dumping of waste in the oceans and waterways. This is to protect the environment and the Eco system. What we do is to collect waste from the vessels calling on Nigerian ports and waterways, all kinds of wastes including oil.
“We don’t just take this waste and dump them in the dumping site, we treat them and make sure we satisfy the international standard of waste management. That is what the new equipment will assist us to do,” he explained, adding that the equipment is one of the most modern in the entire West coast of Africa.
“We are the most modern because the IMO does not allow incineration of waste anymore. What the IMO requires now is the recycling of the waste in such a way that no harm is dumped in the waterways, the oceans and the lagoons to ensure that the water lives and air waves are all protected,” the elderstatesman explained.
Osoba praised NPA Managing Director Ms Hadiza Bala Usman for institutionalising transparency and efficiency in port operation.“Since the appointment of Ms Hadiza Bala Usman by President Buhari, the first thing I noticed is that she has been able to reduce beaurocracy in the Nigerian Ports Authority.
“The beaurocratic tendencies have been virtually wiped out. The result of this is that more efficiency and transparency have been brought into the business transaction with the Nigerian Ports Authority.
“If anybody is complaining about Hadiza Bala Usman, from our own experience in Africa Circle, it must be that such people are not transparent in our own view. And if you are not transparent and compliant to the rules and regulations of NPA, you will run into trouble water with Hadiza Bala Usman.
“Hadiza is not doing what she is doing at NPA by accident, she is doing it through pedigree and what she imbibed from her late father Bala Usman who was introduced to me by the former governor of Kaduna State Alhaji Barabe Musa,” Chief Osoba said.
ACPML, he said, is toeing the line of NPA to ensure that Nigeria under the present administration of President Buhari fulfill its obligations as a key member of IMO.
According to him, ACPML will not relent in ensuring that it fulfills the provisions of the agreement it signed with the Federal Government through the NPA.
Under the agreement, ACPML is mandated by the Federal Government to provide waste reception facilities at the nation’s seaports in line with the guidelines of IMO particularly marine pollution (MARPOL) 72, 73, and 78.
Investigation revealed that the company has many specially adapted garbage trucks on ground in Port Harcourt, Rivers State; Calabar, Cross River State; and Warri, Delta State.
The equipment is outside with over 1,000 tonnes capacity tank farm at the ACPML waste management facility at Snake Island which was designed to safely hold hazardous waste while waiting recycling.
The company, he said, has the determination to become the leader in comprehensive waste management for the oil and gas industries of Sub Saharan Africa and the whole of Africa by providing the necessary equipment systems and trained personnel to achieve this while delivering the best and most efficient solutions for marine, oil and gas production and shipboard waste disposal.
Osoba noted that before the coming on board of the Usman-led administration it was extremely difficult for the firm to get her money released, a development he said affected the company’s performance and delivery of its responsibilities.
The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), is committed to ensuring efficiency at the ports to make them compete with those in neighbouring countries, its Executive Secretary, Hassan Bello, has said.
Bello said automation of the ports’ services was necessary to drive the change needed to reform the sector to attract more cargoes into the country.
He said ports automation and the establishment of the Truck Transit Parks would increase efficiency and decrease waste, adding that openness would facilitate cargo clearance.
“If it is five days in port A and it is one day in port B, I will rather go to port B because it is the economies of scale that determines which port is used. We have made it possible for us to make that comparison within the sub-consciousness of the national discourse on the economy.
“It is important for our ports to be efficient and our ports are picking up now. Corruption is what we have been talking about and there are many ways to kill corruption and one of them is automation because the moment you have automation, corruption will just disappear. With the introduction of their electronic payment platform, what took place in six days then, now takes place in six seconds.
“Some of the delays have been eliminated by NPA and the agency is also trying to introduce other electronic system of doing things, the same thing with Customs.’’
The NSC boss urged the government to take a deliberate action to address many challenges confronting the port system through consistent and predictable policies.
He said that investors needed certainty and ease of doing business in Nigeria which could be brought about by government intervention, especially in the gridlock at Apapa.
According to him, no matter how efficient a terminal is, if you don’t have the road to evacuate cargos, how can you do it. So there must be some level of intervention.
“The ideas are to have an electronic passage to ensure that a truck is only in Apapa when it is needed to pick or drop cargo. Then the thank farms, we don’t need trailers tanker to go to tank farms because we have the pipeline which is also a means of transportation.
“The moment we have these pipelines pumping to Mosimi and other flow stations, then we don’t need tankers in Apapa.
“We cannot rely only on one access like road; port should be accessible by road, rail, inland water ways and pipelines because the port is not a storage place for cargo at all.’’
Bello also said that NSC is also establishing Truck Transit Parks along major highways in the country to help address the challenges of trucks parking along major roads in the country. He said the project was Public Private Partnership (PPP) aimed at reducing incidences of road congestion and loss of cargos due to indiscriminate parking by truck drivers.
The executive secretary explained that the council, in partnership with state governments, would build modern parks that would have hotels, restaurants, filing stations and garages for repair and maintenance of vehicles.
The implementation of the Cabotage Act is being sabotaged by stakeholders, a university teacher has said.
Mr Dipo Alaka of the Lagos State University (LASU) said the law could be implemented if the agency saddled with enforcing it mustered the political will to do so.
“This is the time for the government to buckle up and see to the implementation of the Cabotage law. But we need to understand the problems confronting the agency before we can say yes, maybe some individuals in government are trying to frustrate the implementation.
“My thinking is that every ship that calls at our port should first declare arrival to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), NIMASA and the Navy. By doing so, it would become easy to implement the law,” he said.
Alaka said: “The agency saddled with enforcing the law does not even need to get to the jetty to arrest a vessel; she can ask a vessel to tell her its point of loading. So, if it is offshore Lagos or offshore Cotonou, the agency can then verify if it is on the list of Cabotage registered vessels.
“Therefore,implementation should not be a major issue. From all indications, there must be a kind of conspiracy between the operators and people that grant approval for foreign vessels to come into the country.”
He said Nigerian ship owners should be supported by the government and banks to buy sufficient vessels to adequately carry out coastal trade.
Rice smuggling through land borders is still high despite its ban The Nation has learnt.
The commodity, which is a staple food in the country, is being brought through the land borders in Lagos, Ogun and part of the North.
From Idi-Iroko to Owode, Alapoti, Atan and Sango Ota, all in Ogun State, smugglers use bush paths to convey the commodity.
The smugglers, sources said, are cashing in on the high price of rice to bring it at a cheaper rate.
Rice is sold for N14,000 per bag. But the smuggled product goes for between N12,500 and N13,000 per bag.
The smugglers are said to be conniving with some Customs officers.
The smuggled rice is transported with motor cycles, buses and specially-refurbished vehicles.
A trader at the popular Lusada Market in Ado-Odo,Ota, Ogun State, who refused to give her name, gave reasons why the trade is booming.
“I lost a lot of money when the vehicle bringing my rice to Lagos was impounded by Customs in April, along Seme border. The period was very bad for me. But in June, my friend introduced me to a man who will help me in the rice business through the Ado-Odo area and I decided to try it. My experience is that there is not much Customs attention on rice in this area, and the profit we make is higher.
“If you use Seme axis, the highest profit anybody can make on rice is between N200 and N250 per 50kg bag, while we make between N500 and N600 on 50kg bags of rice through Lusada,” she said.
She said the demand for rice is high, adding that “business people” continue to travel long distances from inland towns and risk being arrested to smuggle rice.
Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, she said men and women flock to Cotonou and other neighbouring countries to buy rice and smuggle them in, mostly on Sundays.
The Nation investigation revealed that there are no Customs’cheek-points between Agbara and Atan and from Lusada to Alapoti and Ado-Odo Ota.
There is no effective policing of the paths leading to the border by Customs to check the menace.
The Customs, it was learnt, must strengthen its patrol to track down the smugglers.
Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) are partnering to address insecurity and traffic management challenges at Apapa ports.
NPA Managing Director Ms. Hadiza Usman made this known when she received the LSSTF Executive Secretary, Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun, and his team in her office.
She said the collaboration would assist in resolving the challenges of insecurity and traffic gridlock at the ports.
“I must say that this visit is very necessary as it gives us better understanding of LSSTF, considering the fact that the support requested for is of value to the NPA. On our part, we will review what the NPA has done in the past and do it in a sustainable manner.
“I also assure you of our commitment to collaborate with the fund in other areas where the support is necessary to improve the challenges of insecurity and traffic management around Apapa ports.”
Responding, Balogun said the visit was to rekindle the partnership between NPA and the fund. The LSSTF, more than ever before, he said, needed support to help security agencies combat crime in the state.
He said the LSSTF was created in 2007 to source for resources in any form (cash, assets, technical, among others), to equip and support all security agencies in the state.
“As we all know, the well-being and security of the people of a state are the responsibility of the government and that is why the Lagos State government has taken giant strides to see that this is put in place. Today, the state government is the fund’s biggest donor.
“Without the LSSTF, the peace and tranquility experienced in Lagos in the last 10 years would not have been possible, but the Fund has been responding promptly to the needs of security agencies which make them more productive in the discharge of their duties,” Balogun said.
Emphasising that the fund does not receive subvention from the government, Balogun said LSSTF is solely funded by donations from corporate organisations and well-meaning individuals.
‘‘LSSTF has been effective because of its transparency and accountability showing donors that what they put their money into is being expended judiciously in the procurement of vehicles, logistics and other crime fighting tools to the security agencies in the state,” he said.
The Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Lagos has made N2.5 billion from its anti-smuggling activities and arrested 95 suspected smugglers.
The amount was generated between January and last month.
The command, findings revealed, intercepted contraband with a duty paid value (DPV) of N1,295,600,724.95.
The unit also recovered N1,286,730,671.90 from duty payments and demand notices on general goods from importers.
The 95 suspects were arrested over the importation of foreign parboiled rice, frozen poultry products, vegetable oil, smuggled vehicles, Indian hemp, arms, fake pharmaceutical/medicaments and general merchandise.
The Area Controller, Mr Mohammed Uba Garba said the fear was achieved with the support of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd).
He praised the commitment and diligence of his officers and men because of their professionalism and advised them to be diligent in performing their statutory responsibilities; most especially in anti-smuggling operations by making sure all revenue linkages are blocked.
“Smuggling is a global phenomenon,which cannot be curbed entirely but can be brought to its barest minimum. This feat was not unconnected with the courtesy calls I paid to some key stakeholders most especially sister security agencies within our areas of jurisdiction comprising the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Lagos; Commander, 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Cantonment Ikeja; Commander, 35 Artillery, Nigerian Army, Alamala Baracks Abeokuta, Ogun State; Commissioners of Police in Ogun and Lagos states where I sought for their continuous support and cooperation towards winning the war against smuggling, ” he said.
Comptroller Uba called on all the media and the general public to continue to support the service in the advocacy campaign against the evil of smuggling to the nation’s economy and provide necessary intelligence that could assist the NCS in its operations.
Rice smuggling through land borders is still high despite its ban The Nation has learnt.
The commodity, which is a staple food in the country, is being brought through the land borders in Lagos, Ogun and part of the North.
From Idi-Iroko to Owode, Alapoti, Atan and Sango Ota, all in Ogun State, smugglers use bush paths to convey the commodity.
The smugglers, sources said, are cashing in on the high price of rice to bring it at a cheaper rate.
Rice is sold for N14,000 per bag. But the smuggled product goes for between N12,500 and N13,000 per bag.
The smugglers are said to be conniving with some Customs officers.
The smuggled rice is transported with motor cycles, buses and specially-refurbished vehicles.
A trader at the popular Lusada Market in Ado-Odo,Ota, Ogun State, who refused to give her name, gave reasons why the trade is booming.
“I lost a lot of money when the vehicle bringing my rice to Lagos was impounded by Customs in April, along Seme border. The period was very bad for me. But in June, my friend introduced me to a man who will help me in the rice business through the Ado-Odo area and I decided to try it. My experience is that there is not much Customs attention on rice in this area, and the profit we make is higher.
“If you use Seme axis, the highest profit anybody can make on rice is between N200 and N250 per 50kg bag, while we make between N500 and N600 on 50kg bags of rice through Lusada,” she said.
She said the demand for rice is high, adding that “business people” continue to travel long distances from inland towns and risk being arrested to smuggle rice.
Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, she said men and women flock to Cotonou and other neighbouring countries to buy rice and smuggle them in, mostly on Sundays.
The Nation investigation revealed that there are no Customs’cheek-points between Agbara and Atan and from Lusada to Alapoti and Ado-Odo Ota.
There is no effective policing of the paths leading to the border by Customs to check the menace.
The Customs, it was learnt, must strengthen its patrol to track down the smugglers.
Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) are partnering to address insecurity and traffic management challenges at Apapa ports.
NPA Managing Director Ms. Hadiza Usman made this known when she received the LSSTF Executive Secretary, Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun, and his team in her office.
She said the collaboration would assist in resolving the challenges of insecurity and traffic gridlock at the ports.
“I must say that this visit is very necessary as it gives us better understanding of LSSTF, considering the fact that the support requested for is of value to the NPA. On our part, we will review what the NPA has done in the past and do it in a sustainable manner.
“I also assure you of our commitment to collaborate with the fund in other areas where the support is necessary to improve the challenges of insecurity and traffic management around Apapa ports.”
Responding, Balogun said the visit was to rekindle the partnership between NPA and the fund. The LSSTF, more than ever before, he said, needed support to help security agencies combat crime in the state.
He said the LSSTF was created in 2007 to source for resources in any form (cash, assets, technical, among others), to equip and support all security agencies in the state.
“As we all know, the well-being and security of the people of a state are the responsibility of the government and that is why the Lagos State government has taken giant strides to see that this is put in place. Today, the state government is the fund’s biggest donor.
“Without the LSSTF, the peace and tranquility experienced in Lagos in the last 10 years would not have been possible, but the Fund has been responding promptly to the needs of security agencies which make them more productive in the discharge of their duties,” Balogun said.
Emphasising that the fund does not receive subvention from the government, Balogun said LSSTF is solely funded by donations from corporate organisations and well-meaning individuals.
‘‘LSSTF has been effective because of its transparency and accountability showing donors that what they put their money into is being expended judiciously in the procurement of vehicles, logistics and other crime fighting tools to the security agencies in the state,” he said.