Breaking News – Page 20 – Shipping World News Magazine

Dec62017 by Asu BeksNo Comments

Customs Burst Another Car Smuggling Syndicate, Seize 64 Bulletproof SUVs

Breaking News

Anti-smuggling operations of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NSC), Ikeja, Lagos, rose to a crescendo in the month of November when the unit intercepted contraband goods worth N2.5billion. The smuggled items include 64 assorted vehicles of two bullet-proof Lexus Jeep, one bullet proof Toyota Land Cruiser, nine Toyota Hilux, eight Toyota Hilux buses, 26 Toyota Corolla, nine Land Cruiser Jeep. Others include five Toyota Camry, one Land Rover, one Nissan Sentra, one Pajero Jeep, one Sienna 2015 model and one Lexus RX 350. The seizures, all 2017 models, were intercepted through intelligence and have a combined Duty Paid Value of N1.4 billion. According to the Customs Area Controller, Mohammed U. G, who stated this at a Press Briefing, 57 of the vehic...

Dec42017 by Asu BeksNo Comments

Onne Port Without INTELS : Is this an omelette without eggs?

Breaking News, Opinion

About twenty years, a handful of colleagues and I went on a visit to a mass of virgin swamp at Onne. We were taken on that visit by Engineer Wali Ahmed who remains in history as the best MD the Nigerian Ports Authority ever had . The visit was a follow up to an MoU the NPA had entered into with NICOTES Nig Ltd on a Build , Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. It was a mass of very difficult terrain isolated by ponds. We had to park our buses several meters away to enable us access the land by foot. My colleagues and I wondered why any right-thinking businessman would take such a risk in ploughing his hard earned resources in a venture which to many of us did not look realistic. But these officials looked optimistic as they took time to explain the great potential this virgin forest had in...

Dec32017 by Our EditorNo Comments

BREAKING NEWS: Atiku Joins PDP

Breaking News, Politics

Atiku Abubakar has formally joined the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, more than a week after he dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress. The former vice-president made the announcement on Facebook within the last hour. He said the complaints he had with the PDP, under which he was vice-president from 1999-2007, had been resolved, laying the groundwork for his return. It is believed that Mr. Abubakar is expected to contest the 2019 presidential election. Details later...

Dec22017 by Asu BeksNo Comments

IMO COUNCIL ELECTION: Again , NIMASA returns without the ‘ trophy’

Breaking News, Business, Maritime

For the third consecutive time, Nigeria yesterday lost its bid to get re-elected into category 'C' of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) which took place in London, scoring a miserable 98 points in an election that saw five African countries of Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and Liberia joining the group. The category C is the executive organ of the IMO that takes decisions in the absence of the Assembly and coordinates all activities of the Organs of the organisation. It has 20 member countries with special interest in maritime transport or navigation. Nigeria's 36-man delegation was led by the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), directors and top ministry offic...

Nov302017 by Our EditorNo Comments

NIMASA DG Bags Award Of Credence

Breaking News, Law

…As Youth Parliament pass vote of confidence on him The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside has bagged the award of credence just as the Nigerian Youth Parliament passed a vote of confidence on him. This award was conferred on the DG during a special advocacy visit and presentation of certificate of credence by the members of the Parliament, led by the Majority Leader, Hon. Umar Etudaye at the Head office of the Agency in Lagos, recently. Speaking at the event, the Leader noted that in the quest of the Parliament to identify with distinguished and reputable personalities, organizations, institutions and public office holders, inaugurated her merit honorarium category as “Icon of Youth Development and Nation Building” a...

Nov302017 by Our EditorNo Comments

News Feature: Nigerians and the Cannibals of Libya

Breaking News, Law, News Feature

By Sylvanus Ekpo, Tina Edogor The slave markets of Libya are abuzz with young Nigerian slaves who are tortured, humiliated and eventually sold off on the auction block for a few, miserable dollars. While some are held in detention centres waiting to be deported, the not-so-lucky ones are roasted as suya and their body parts serve as barbecue for the cannibals of Libya. Once a thriving nation, Libya was ruled by Col. Muamar Gaddafi, who took power in 1969 in a bloodless revolution. He used the oil wealth of his country to improve healthcare, free education, free housing and a strong economy. Millions of impoverished peoples around the world flocked to Libya in search of the good life. Nigerians, tired of bad governance and failed promises, saw that country as the next best destinatio...

Nov292017 by Our EditorNo Comments

Save our ports system from collapse, NAGAFF tells FG

Breaking News, Business, Port News

The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, has called on the federal government to urgently address the issue of high port charges imposed on cargoes by shipping companies in order to save the port system from imminent collapse. It further stated that there were official hindrances deliberately put on the path of ports in the Eastern axis, thus making them unenviable and unattractive. These assertions were made in a memo sent to the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman. In the said letter, NAGAFF stated that the port access roads leading into the Apapa premier port had become a national eyesore. "It is now a national shame that the primary gateway access road to the nation's economy is in crisis and a disaster...

Nov282017 by Our EditorNo Comments

Stakeholders Oppose Amendment to NIMASA Act Seeking 1% Contribution to Navy

Breaking News, Law, Maritime

Stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime industry have opposed moves by the Nigerian Navy seeking amendment to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety (NIMASA) Act to contribute 1% of its revenue to the Nigerian Navy. The move was condemned by industry players during a One-Day Public Hearing on “A bill for an Act to Amend the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act, No. 17 2017 to increase the functions of the Agency; and for related matters (HB; 1131 & 1178), before the House of Representative Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration. Speaking at the event, the President, African Ship owners Association and a former Director General of NIMASA, Mr. Temisan Omatseye pointed out clearly that it will be against all international conventions of t...

Nov242017 by Our EditorNo Comments

Exam Malpractice: Customs Cancels Promotional Exam

Breaking News, Education

THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has cancelled the promotion examination recently conducted for senior officers from the rank of Assistant Comptroller to Deputy Comptroller over irregularities noticed in the conduct of the examination. The Comptroller General of the Service, Col Hameed Ali (rtd), according to an internal circular, ordered the cancellation of the recently conducted promotion examination for officers moving from the rank of Assistant Comptroller to Deputy Comptroller over alleged malpractices. The circular dated November 22, 2017 signed by the Deputy Comptroller General in charge of Human Resources announced the cancellation, while Monday November 27, 2017 has been fixed for a repeat of the examination at the Customs Command at Staff College, Gwagwalada Abuja. ...

Nov202017 by Our EditorNo Comments

Apapa Gridlock Conduit Pipe for Extortion By Taskforce – Survey

Breaking News, Business, Law, Maritime, Port News

Backdropped against the decision by the Lagos State government to institute a joint security task force, it has become apparent that some selfish personnel are taking advantage of their new status to extort the people. As trailers and tankers jostle for space to inch towards the ports or tank farms, a syndicate operating within the "chaotic axis" is busy extorting money from the drivers to pay their way through the logjam. Investigations carried out by Shipping World reveal that drivers pay as much as #50,000 to #100,000 to be allowed to shunt the queue and head straight under escort into the port for business. This often takes place at night when Lagos is asleep. It is not clear if this syndicate has the backing of the authorities in Alausa but there are concerns that the unsav...