Wednesday, March 4Nigeria's Authoritative Maritime News Magazine
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Author: Asu Beks

EXCLUSIVE: 2019 Election: 13 APC Govs Reject 50M Naira Levy To Fund Buhari’s Campaign

EXCLUSIVE: 2019 Election: 13 APC Govs Reject 50M Naira Levy To Fund Buhari’s Campaign

Breaking News, Politics
Following news of his purported re-appointment as campaign manager for the re-election of President Buhari, a few days ago, the Minister of Transportation Mr Rotimi Amaechi seems to have some hurdles to overcome. Reports from ALEDEH an online news source authoritatively reports that the APC governors met Thursday 4th of January in Abuja where the Campaign team had requested some contribution from the governors towards a successful campaign. The news organisation gathered that Mr Amaechi had relayed to the governors a decision for each to contribute the sum of fifty million Naira a request that was rejected by 13 of the governors. Those who rejected were of the opinion that they would want to hear “directly from President Buhari” before they will contribute. Two of the governors queri...
Nigeria Customs Service: How We Hit the Hit Trillion Naira Mark

Nigeria Customs Service: How We Hit the Hit Trillion Naira Mark

Breaking News, Business, Port News
The Nigeria Customs Service says it generated the sum of one trillion naira in revenue as against the target of N770, 573, 730, 490 due to measures put in place by the Col. Hammed Ali management. At a breakfast meeting with maritime journalists in Lagos, the National Public Relations Officer, DC Joseph Attah, stated that, although analysts have concluded that the revenue generated for 2017 was inferior to the figure for 2014, they were not conversant with the following economic indices. For instance, in 2014 experienced with 41 items removed from accessing forex. Rice, which raked in N56.8 bullion could not even contribute up to half a billion in 2017. Besides, the volume of imports declined considerably owing to government policy such that in 2014, the duties collected were N122bn, ...
Amaechi, Obaseki commend NIMASA DG’s leadership style

Amaechi, Obaseki commend NIMASA DG’s leadership style

Politics
- “He Has Reduced NIMASA Operating Cost By 50%” The Honorable Minister of Transportation, Rt. Honorable Rotimi Amaechi has described the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside as an epitome of good governance and great character, evident in his leadership style. The Minister stated this in Port Harcourt, River State at the weekend during an event, which was put together by friends and associates of Dr. Peterside to mark his birthday. Hon. Amaechi said the fact that the Management of NIMASA has been able to reduce running cost by over 50% in one year, and significantly improve revenue generation and remittance for the Federal Government is mainly due to the reliable and transparent disposition of the current manageme...
Wither Sarumi’s IMC?

Wither Sarumi’s IMC?

Maritime
It was long in coming but it came all the same: the complete and dramatic dismantling of the illegal Interim Management Committee set up by the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, to reposition the much-troubled and maligned Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom state. The 40-year-old institution had been battling decades-old decay in infrastructure, poor funding, staff motivation, and a rejig of the academic curriculum to serve the needs of an institution that aims to train competent seafarers for the maritime industry. The road to this illegal committee started when Amaechi, upon assumption of office, set up a committee headed by the former Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, A are Adebayo Sarumi with a complement of maritime experts. After Sarumi su...
Omoku Violence: Governor Wike places N200 million Bounty on Perpetrators

Omoku Violence: Governor Wike places N200 million Bounty on Perpetrators

Law
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has placed a N200 million bounty for information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of the Omoku massacre. Governor Wike spoke on Tuesday after he led the Rivers State Security Council on a fact finding/sympathy visit to the families of the deceased. He also visited those injured during the attack. The governor also visited the sites of the crime where he received briefing from the Nigerian Police Area Commander, Mr Mike Nwafor and the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni (ONELGA) Local Government Council Caretaker Chairman, Mr Olisa Osi. He said: "We have placed a N200million bounty for relevant information that will lead to the arrest of all those involved in this unfortunate act of violence. "Anybody who is connected to this crime in any ...
Buhari to commission Kaduna dry port on Thursday

Buhari to commission Kaduna dry port on Thursday

Breaking News, Business
President Muhammadu Buhari will on Thursday commission the Kaduna Inland Dry Port in Kakuri, Kaduna. A statement signed by the Director, Special Duties of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Ignatius Nweke, said the port which is among the seven dry ports being promoted by the Council was built by Kaduna Inland Dry Port Limited and has the capacity to handle 29,000 tonnes of cargoes yearly at the first phase of operation and likely to double when fully completed.  “The Kaduna Dry Port, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria would receive cargo from Apapa Port in Lagos, through the railway or by road and also export goods through the same channel,” Nweke said. According to him, the establishment of inland container depots in the hinterland was informed by the need to reduce the...
NIMASA: A revolving door no godfather can shut

NIMASA: A revolving door no godfather can shut

Business, Misc
By Pius Mordi In its 30-year history since the National Shipping Policy Decree 10 of 1987 set up the National Maritime Authority, over 12 substantive directors general have been appointed to head the agency that in August 2007 became the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). Within the period, about four people had run the agency in acting capacity. Invariably,  at less than 30 months actual time spent in office, it enjoys the unenviable reputation of having the highest turnover of chief executives among all agencies of the federal government. A common feature of the parastatal is that the number of its substantive directors general is directly proportional with the number of ministers of transport appointed over the period. Every new minister of transport always s...
NIMASA Under Peterside: Paradise Lost

NIMASA Under Peterside: Paradise Lost

Opinion
By Ubon Akpan At the Advent of this administration which was sold to Nigerians as a one with a reformist agenda, Dr. Dakuku Peterside was among the very set of political appointees announced by President Mohammadu Buhari. Which invariably means Mr. President had very little doubts and more trust on the capability of the man who flew the All Progressive Congress (APC) flag at the Rivers State gubernatorial elections as a capable hand strong enough to interpret the party’s reformist agenda at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA), a strategic economic arm of the federal government. However, two years down the line, operators and watchers of Nigeria’s maritime industry have been left wondering what has happened to the giant maritime parastatal, which when...
Nigerians tear president apart for appointing dead folks into boards

Nigerians tear president apart for appointing dead folks into boards

Politics
When president Muhammadu Buhari announced the appointment of 209 board chairmen and 1,258 board members late Friday, dead folks also made the cut. It’s an embarrassment that has since gripped the nation and got everyone on social media talking. Chief Donald Ugbaja who was appointed member of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), died on the 29th of November, 2017. Reverend Christopher Utov who was appointed member of the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, died in March of 2017. But that didn’t stop Utov—once the proprietor of Fidei Polytechnic—from getting a job in the president's bureaucracy. Francis Okpozo, a second republic senator and a former member of the BoT (Board of Trustees) of the APC, was appointed board chairman of the Nigerian Press Council. The ...
Celebrating Failure?

Celebrating Failure?

Business, Opinion
You were appointed to change the fortunes of NIMASA by President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2016, having lost the Governorship Election in Rivers State to Mr Project. Rather than do the job for which you were appointed, you decided to embark on a global jamboree unprecedented in the history of any government CEO. As at the last count you have made no fewer than 50 foreign trips in your 18 months in office. Put that in financial context ,and we should be talking about millions of dollars of tax payers money in estacodes, flight tickets and other incidentals. Is that how you would have governed Rivers State if you had been elected Governor? You lost IMO Council seat as a sitting AMAA Chair after an over N300m expenditure by the Nigerian delegation. You also in May this year blew N500m in ...