Rice Farmers Say Smuggling Will Hinder Success Of Rice Importation Policy

Chairman, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), South-West zone, Mr Olusegun Atho, has said that unless smuggling is tackled, the current policy on imported rice will yield no result.
He identified smuggling as the major factor that would hinder any ban on the imported commodity, just as it had adverse effect on local rice production.
According to him, “Government needs to come out and deal with the issue of smuggling, in order to encourage local growers.''
The Federal Government recently announced the plan to ban rice importation by 2014, in order to develop local production of the commodity.
But, Atho said in Lagos on Wednesday that government needed to provide incentives to farmers to become self-sufficient in rice production.

Delta Says Work’ll Soon Commence On $20 Billion Ogidigben EPZ

The Delta Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Mr Omamofe Pirah, yesterday announced that work on the Ogidigben Export Processing Zone, a joint-venture between the Federal Government and the Delta Government, would commence soon.
Pirah made the announcement in Asaba while presenting his mid-term report.
According to the commissioner, the export processing zone, estimated to cost about $20 billion (about N3.12 trillion), is located in the Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta.
He said that the EPZ would house a gas hub, a petrol-chemical plant, a methanol plant, a fertiliser plant, a seaport, a five-star hotel, banks and about 5,000 housing units.
The commissioner said that about 400 hectares of land, of the total 2,800 hectares acquired for the project, had been cleared.
He said also that the stakeholders have met and agreed to cooperate and build a viable export processing zone.
Pirah said that the project would create employment and contribute to the development of the state, the region and the nation.

THREE MONTHS AFTER KILLING12 PIRATES ON BOARD:

Chief of the Naval Staff; Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba.       

Navy Concludes Investigation On Hijacked MT NORTE Vessel

About three months after killing 12 pirates who had hijacked an oil tanker; MT Norte, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, said yesterday that  the Nigerian Navy had concluded investigation on the suspects apprehended in connection with the hijacked vessel.

Ezeoba made this known to newsmen during his 2013 Annual Inspection tour of some facilities of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta.

He said the four suspected sea pirates would soon be handed over to the appropriate quarters for prosecution.

The vessel was salvaged by five naval gunboats and NNS OBULA from the Central and Western Naval Command on Aug. 17.

In the rescue operation, 12 out of the 16 sea pirates were allegedly killed in a gun duel and four others were arrested.

Maersk Line, Others Rescues Lillypond Terminal Back To Life

 ·   Stakeholders Say Terminal Now Bubbling

There are fresh indications that port concessionaires; Lillypond Container Terminal Limited, which had announced intention of closing down its operations as a result of protracted losses, may have had a rethink, as shipping giant; Maesk Line in collaboration with other shipping lines has resumed stemming of containers to the terminal.

Shipping Position Daily investigations revealed that Maersk Line, as well as Pacific International Lines (PIL) were among the shipping companies that have been keeping hope going for operators at the terminal by stemming enough containers to the terminal to boost its operations.

Speaking with our correspondent at the terminal in Ijora Lagos yesterday, a member of the Presidential Task Force of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Mr. Emeka Chidiaka confirmed that at a stakeholders meeting held with the terminal operator, a decision was taken to keep activities going at the terminal.

Sacked Govt Agencies Return To Onne Port

Even though the Federal Government has reduced the number of agencies operating in the nation's seaports from 14 to 7, findings  revealed that about four of the sacked agencies still operate at the Onne port in Rivers State.
Some of the returnee agencies that were visible at the port are: Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Port Quarantine Services, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Shipping Position Daily correspondents at Onne port were told by an official of SON that there is a letter from the presidency which directed them to operate at the port.
The SON official (name withheld) also noted that the Onne port is not as busy as the Lagos ports; therefore there should be proper scrutiny of cargoes at the port.

“Freight Forwarders Will No Longer Be Held Liable For Importers’ Under-declaration”---Custom CG

The Nigeria Custom Service has said that freight forwarders will no longer be arrested for the short comings of their importers, especially as it concerns under-declaration of cargoes discovered on customs examination.

Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Inde Abdullahi gave the assurance in Lagos yesterday during a sensitization programme for Tin Can Island Port stakeholders on the newly developed Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) by the customs for the purpose of clearing cargoes from the port.

Dikko who was represented by Head of ICT Unit of the customs, Deputy Controller Bashar Yussuf assured that gone were the days where clearing agents will be arrested and prosecuted for wrong declaration of cargo by the importer.

He assured that once the customs has fully taken over destination inspection of cargoes at the port by 2014, the practice is going to be abolished. According to him, all the freight forwarder needed to do is to present the owner of the documents and the consignment to the custom service.

American Rescuers and Chinese Seafarer Receive IMO Award for Bravery at Sea 2013

American rescuers and a Chinese seafarer have been presented with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea 2013, during a special ceremony held on 25 November 2013 at IMO Headquarters in London.

Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Randy J. Haba and Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Daniel J. Todd of the United States Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, were nominated by the Government of the United States, for responding to a distress alert from HMS Bounty, during the pre-dawn hours of 29 October 2012, and overcoming the effects of cold, fatigue and ingesting sea water to deliver 14 crew members of HMS Bounty to safety, during Hurricane Sandy.