FERCSARA Accuses Prof. Monye, Leke Oyewole Of Hijacking Agency’s N750Million Budget

Barely one year after it was floated as an offshoot of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), the Federal Roads Committee on Surveillance and Action Against Roads Abusey (FERCSARA) ?has alleged that political cabals from the President Goodluck Jonathan administration have already high jacked the committee and hijacked its budgetary.

Chairman Special Task Force Zone 2 of FER?CSARA; Chief Austen Kelly disclosed this to the National Economic Management Team during a meeting in Lagos last week.

FG Awards N12bn Contracts For Sea Port Projects In Lagos, Makurdi

President Goodluck Jonathan

The Federal Government on Wednesday approved a 59-million-dollar (N9 billion) contract for the construction of Berth 21 at the Terminal 'E' of the Lagos Port Complex in Apapa.
Also approved was a contract for the construction of the Inland River Port at Makurdi at the cost of N3 billion.
These were some of the outcomes of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The supervising Minister of Information, Mr Nurudeen Mohammed, briefed State
House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting alongside his transport counterpart, Sen. Idris Umar.
Joined in the briefing were the Ministers of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen; Aviation, Mr Osita Chidoka, and Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga.

SHIPPERS’ COUNCIL VS TERMINAL OPERATORS, SHIPPING AGENCIES

Executive Secretary of Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), Barrister Hassan Bello

• Court Upholds Shippers’ Council’s Powers as Economic Regulator
• Orders Terminal Operators , Shipping Agencies To Revert To 2009 Rates
 

 

A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi Lagos yesterday upheld the status of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as the economic regulator of the nation’s seaports.

The presiding Judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba also ordered terminal operators under the auspices of Seaports Terminal Operators of Association Nigeria (STOAN) and shipping agencies under the aegis of Association of Shipping Line Agencies (ASLA) to revert to the various 2009 charges as directed by the Nigerian Shippers' Council.

NIMASA DG; Akpobolokemi Dismisses Tompolo’s Gunboats Acquisition Reports

L-R: Director, Shipping Development, Capt. Warredi Enisuoh; Executive Director,
Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Barr. Calistus Nwabueze Obi;
Director General, Dr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi
 and Executive Director, Maritime Safety and Shipping Development,
Capt. Ezekiel Bala Agaba at the Nigerian Maritime Administration
and Safety Agency (NIMASA) press conference in Lagos yesterday.

...Says they’re fabricated by piracy kingpins

 

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi has dismissed reports that one of its consultants; Messrs Global West Vessel Specialist Limited has purchased seven Norwegian gun boats from Norway.
The Director General, while addressing a press conference in Lagos yesterday dismissed the media report as rumors which he said were fabricated by organised piracy ‎kingpins whose vessel had been impounded by the NIMASA in recent times.
Akpobolokemi said that the purported war ships and gunboats were some of the patrol boats that had been acquired by NIMASA and since commissioned by the agency for the patrol of the waterways by the Nigerian Navy.

Outrage Mounts Over Tompolo’s Gunboat

A Gun Boat INSET: Mr Government  Ekpemupolo

• Itsekiri Group Says battleships may be turned against Rival Tribes
• I’m Being Blackmailed, Boats Handed Over To NIMASA – Tompolo

The alleged acquisition of seven decommissioned Norwegian battleships by a company believed to be owned by an ex-militant; Mr Government Ekpemupolo, has started eliciting anxiety among groups in Delta state, some of which have cried out that the acquisition is capable of fanning the embers of ethnic hostility in the Niger Delta
A pan-Itsekiri organisation, the Warri Study Group (WSG) has therefore asked President Goodluck Jonathan to revoke the maritime security contract granted Mr. Ekpemupolo’s company and place him under watch.

FG Losses N22Billion Port Revenue Annually To Apapa Tank Farms Obstruction

Fresh indications have emerged that the Federal Government of Nigeria may be losing a whooping N22billion annually to the closure of the Creek Road axis of at the tail end of the Apapa Oshodi expressway in Lagos, due to the activities of petroleum tank farms along the axis.

This fact was given last week by a Professor of Transport, Logistics and Spatial Planning at the University of Lagos, Professor Iyiola Oni at a one-day? seminar organized in Lagos.

The Professor who was delivering a lecture titled: "Port Infrastructure: Modernizing Maritime Transport Infrastructure in a Landlord Port Model", observed that the continued closure of Creek

AFTERMATH OF CARGO WAREHOUSE CLOSURE:

• NAHCO, Clearing Agents At War Over Demurrage
• ANLCA Says 75% Of Cargoes Still Uncleared

The Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) on Thursday said 75 per cent of the cargoes at the Cargo Terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) were still uncleared.
The association also accused the warehouse owners of insisting on payment of demurrage on cargoes that were trapped in their warehouse during the recent closure by the Nigerian Customs Service.
The two warehouses are operated by the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) and the Skyway Aviation Handling Ltd. (SAHCOL).

STAON Vs Shippers’Council: Court Adjourns Case Till December 15th For Hearing

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has adjourned the case between the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) and Seaports Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) over issues of charges at the Nigerian ports to 15th December, 2014 for hearing.

Presiding judge, Justice Buba Ibrahim said yesterday that the case should be adjourned to the aforementioned date, even as he urged counsel to co –defendants in the case; the Shippers Association of Lagos State (SALS); Barrister Osuala Nwagbara to submit all necessary documents within 48 hours.

NAIRA DEVALUATION: Customs Tightens The Noose On Importers, Agents

...Increases‎ Duty on Vehicles, Others
In the bid to ensure that its revenue target is not badly affected by the currency devaluation‎ which has caused the exchange rate to stand at about US$1 to N190, the Nigeria Customs Service has adjusted the exchange rate it uses in calculating payable duty on vehicles and other commodities.
Investigations carried out by Shipping Position Daily ‎at major commands of Customs in Lagos on Monday showed that the exchange rate used for the purpose of import has risen to N165 as against the N155 that was hitherto in the customs system.
Meanwhile the development has started generating reactions from importers and freight forwarders who have said that the increase in exchange rate has suddenly caused an increase in duty payable on cargoes, as well as the values issued by the customs.

Minister Says Auto Policy Has Reduced Importation of Cars By 20%

The Minister of Trade and Investments; Olusegun Aganga

• Says Nigeria spends US$ 6billion annually on importation of cars
The Minister of Trade and Investments; Olusegun Aganga has disclosed that the Federal Government’s auto policy has led to a 20 per cent reduction in importation of vehicles into Nigeria.
The Minister who broke this news while unveiling the IVM Fox hatchback and the IVM Umu saloon cars at the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited, in Nnewi, Anambra State, added that, the reduction was because of the policy which is aimed at reducing the dependence on imported vehicles.
Commening the result if the auto policy, Aganga said, “we spend about $6 billion annually importing cars. However since the introduction of this policy, we have experienced a 20 per cent drop in imported cars and have exceeded expectations in a very short period,” he said.

Former Interior Minister, Master Mariner; Capt Iheanacho, Wins APGA Guber Primary In Imo

Former Interior Minister, and master mariner; Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho, on Monday emerged the gubernatorial flag bearer of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in Imo.

Iheanacho polled 972 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Okey Ezeh, who scored 44 votes, while Mr Eze Unegbu got three votes.

Fall In Somali Piracy Pushes Maritime Security Firms To West African Waters

• Charges Could Be As Much As $64,000 For High End Voyages

Apparently cash-strapped and in dire need of patronage, maritime security firms have besieged waters of the Gulf of Guinea, where they have reduced their charges for anti-piracy activities.
 At the peak of piracy in the last  seven years, hundreds of maritime  security firms sprang up  to offer protection to shipping companies, with scores of merchant vessels being boarded and sailors taken hostage in pirate raids off the coast of conflict-torn Somalia.
However, attacks in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean have dropped from a peak of 237 in 2011 to just 10 in the first nine months of this year, the lowest since the piracy scourge began in 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Former CRFFN Vice Chair; Onyemelukwe Faults Registrar; Jukwe On Secretariat Relocation

...Says 'I am still the substantive Vice Chairman of CRFFN'

Even though the tenure of the board of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) had elapsed since 2012, former Vice Chairman of the immediate past governing board‎ of the Council, Mr. Sam Onyemelukwe has said that he remains the substantive Vice Chairman of the CRFFN.

Onyemelukwe also faulted the registrar of the Council, Sir Mike Jukwe on the relocation of the CRFFN headquarters to Lagos, saying that the headquarters has never left Lagos, not to talk of relocating it. He said that the term 'relocating' the secretariat is not correct.

AFTERMATH OF CLASH WITH CLEARING AGENTS: CG Customs Redeploys Murtala Mohammed Airport Controller;Tajudeen Olarenwaju, Re-opens Cargo Shed

After about three weeks of crises and eventual closure of the two cargo sheds, namely; Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) and Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL)  at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport(MMIA), the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Dikko Abdulahi Inde yesterday ordered that they should be reopened.

But, the casualty appears to be the Customs Area Controller (CAC of the (MMIA); Mr  Tajudeen Olarenwaju who have been removed. He has been replaced by the Controller in charge of Ports and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML); Mr Folorunsho Adegoke.

Nigeria Bans Importation Of Vessels Without Local Content

The Federal Government has placed ban on vessels purchased abroad without inputs from local ship builders in Nigeria.

 Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Ernest Nwapa, at the weekend said such vessels would not be allowed to operate in the country from January 2015.

  This policy, according to him, is aimed at developing local capacity in line with the local content initiative of the Federal Government.

Boko Haram Threatens To Attack Apapa Port

‎The Nigerian Police Force has said that it has been issued threats by the dreaded Islamic extremist group; Boko Haram, saying that there is a plan by the group to invade Lagos State and that the seaports in Apapa and Tin Can Island Port are the main targets.

 

Commissioner of Police in charge of Western ports;  Mrs Hilda Ibifuro Harrison raised the alarm at a function in Lagos yesterday, saying that the police had receive an intelligent report and a message sent by the dreaded group threatening to bomb the Western ports.

 

She said that the threat had been issued since October 2014.

At Resume Hearing Of Case Against Shippers’ Council:

Executive Secretary of Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC)
Barrister Hassan Bello

Shipping Companies Say Ministerial Directive On Port Regulation Not Binding
• Court Fixes December 17th For Judgment

The‎ Association of Shipping Line Agencies (ASLA) has described the presidential directive given to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to act as the economic regulator of the port as an ordinary minute of meetings at the Federal Ministry of Transport.
This was part of argument tendered by Lead Counsel to the shipping companies; Mr Chidi Ilogu (SAN) when the case filed by the shipping companies against the Shippers Council came up for hearing at the Federal High Court in Lagos, yesterday‎.
Presiding Judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, after listening to ‎arguments from all parties involved in the case, then fixed 17th of December 2014 for ruling.

Intrigues As Court Adjourns Shippers Council Vs Shipping Companies Case Till Today

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has adjourned the case between the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) and the Association of Shipping Line Agencies (ASLA) till today, Tuesday, 2nd of December 2014.

 

Presiding Judge, Justice Buba Ibrahim ruled in favour of‎ the plaintiff; the Association of Shipping Line Agencies, after its lead counsel, Barrister Chidi Ilogu pleaded for more time to study the fresh application of counter claim that was  filed by the second defendant in the case; Shippers’ Association of Lagos State (SLAS).

 

Barrister Ilogu said that counter claims were filed on Wednesday last week and that the plaintiff did not have enough time to respond to the claims until yesterday morning.‎ He said that he needed time to study the counter claims properly.

AUTO POLICY: Insurance Firms Hike Vehicle Insurance Premium, Discard Annual Depreciation

Even though the National Automotive Policy of the Federal Government is yet to fully take-off, insurance firms have started taking advantage of the policy by insisting on higher premiums on existing automobile insurance packages and also dropping the policy of annual depreciation.
Under the auto policy which seeks to discourage importation of used vehicles, importer will pay 35 percent import duty and another 35 percent levy, making it 70 percent, which invariably shoots up the cost of such vehicles and puts them at par with those assembled locally.
Shipping Position Daily confirmed that, insurance firms have since jacked-up premiums and also jettisoned the statutory business practice of depreciation, which indicates that premiums drop in value as the vehicle gets older.