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Hadiza was blackmailed out of office —maritime advocacy group alleges —–describes Koko as hatchet man

Eyewitness reporter

A maritime industry advocacy group, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC) has blamed the travails of Hadiza Bala Usman, the suspended Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on her detractors whom the group said were uncomfortable with her uncompromising attitude which made them difficult to bend her to do their biddings.

The Leader of the group, Osita Chukwu Patrick, who made this allegation in Lagos, described Hadiza as a blessing to the maritime industry, considering the far-reaching reforms she has initiated to reposition the industry.
Describing the suspended NPA Chief as the best  MD that the agency has ever had, Patrick said Hadiza was in the class of Okonjo Iweala and late  Dora Akunyili whose types he claimed are hard to come by.
The leader of the advocacy group also accused  Mohammed Koko, the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of the NPA who was asked to step in as the Acting MD, of carrying out a hatchet job against his boss.
Patrick wondered why Koko should be made to benefit from the travails of Hadiza which he believed they should have shared.
“Whatever fraud allegation against Bala- Usman should be a shared responsibility because the acting MD was the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of the agency and whatever transpired could not have been without his knowledge” the leader of the group declared.
 
He accused Koko of eyeing the exalted seat of Hadiza, abinitio, given his lack of scruples to take advantage of the travails of her boss.
“It is the finance where he is that the allegation came from, are you sure he was not used as a stooge to bring this woman down?
“If I were Koko and to show that I was not happy that somebody who is my MD was suspended, I will say no and reject the offer because both of us were together when the alleged crime was committed” he declared.
Patrick lauded the achievements of Hadiza as the MD of NPA, claiming she has taken the Nigerian port industry from where it used to be to where it has never been before.
He noted that if Nigeria had gotten her type, there would not have been a need for port concession in 2006.

Recall that Hadiza Bala Usman was suspended last week  Thursday, over allegations of financial recklessness.

While reminiscing on the achievements of the suspended NPA Chief, the industry activist declared “had it been that this type of woman was there before concession, the Federal government wouldn’t have done the concession exercise.
“She came from a good background, she was well trained and an activist, she speaks for the masses. I don’t think what they are alleging that led to her suspension should be anything to discuss at all”

“The people fighting the woman are people in the Ministry of Transportation and her colleagues because she would never allow anyone to steal money and that’s the only anger’

According to him, the suspended MD incurred the wrath of her detractors because she refused to yield to their request to share public funds

“Quote me, she doesn’t want to give them the money they demanded, she doesn’t want to succumb, that’s why they are looking for a loophole to get at her.

“If you look at what she has done in the port, you will know that she is a goose that lays the golden egg. Go to the port and see what I am talking about. The port used to be dirty but when she came, she fixed the roads by using her ideological concept to make Dangote fix the port road in Apapa.

“The suspension of that lady is a bombshell to those of us that love our nation’s seaport.

” This kind of her person is hard to see in a country” he claimed.
Patrick noted that Bala-Usman is not a saint but stressed that the issues on the ground bothered on the conspiracy theory of some forces in the system.

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Customs

How NPA’ s ETO call- up system hampers seamless export processes at Lilypond Terminal — Customs

Funso OLOJO 
The Customs Area Controller of the Lilypond Export Command, Comptroller Ajibola Odusanya, has attributed the persistent delay in export cargo movement at the command to logistics issues associated with the Nigerian Port Authority’s Eto call-up system, rather than any bottlenecks from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Eto call- up system is a structured movement of container- laden trucks into the terminals meant to decongest Port access road and facilitate quick goods clearance at the port.
It was developed by the NPA and driven by a private company.
However, Comptroller Odusanya, speaking at a Roundtable with members of Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN),emphasized that while the command has streamlined the export process,  lack of available slots for trucks to enter the ports remains a major challenge.
 He noted that despite the command’s efforts, numerous containers remain stranded at Lilypond due to the inability of trucks to secure clearance under the Eto system.
He explained that prior to the implementation of a centralized export processing system, multiple customs units across Apapa, Tin Can, PTML, and Lekki ports handled export documentation.
However, in July 2024, the government directed the full centralization of all export processes under the Lilypond Export Command.
This move, driven by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and backed by agencies such as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), was aimed at streamlining operations and reducing multiple checkpoints.
Odusanya revealed that between January and December 2024, the command processed exports valued at approximately $1.9 billion, a figure that could have been higher if the consolidation had occurred earlier in the year.
He added that in February 2025 alone, the command facilitated exports worth $225.1 million.
He attributed these successes to inter-agency collaboration, with Customs working alongside the Department of State Services (DSS), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and quarantine services, among others.
Despite the improved export facilitation, Odusanya acknowledged that challenges persist, particularly with the Eto call-up system, which has created logistical constraints.
 He explained that export containers often get delayed at Lilypond not due to customs processes but because of congestion at the ports, caused by import containers awaiting clearance.
He pointed out that while Apapa remains the busiest port for exports, the congestion problem is less severe at Tin Can due to the presence of an export processing terminal.
On the issue of the Nigerian Export Proceeds (NXP) form, Odusanya stated that the command has ensured compliance with all regulatory requirements.
 He, however, acknowledged exporters’ concerns about the process and assured that Customs is working to facilitate seamless trade while ensuring adherence to financial regulations.
He urged maritime stakeholders, including the media, to continue sensitizing exporters on the ease of processing export goods through Lilypond, emphasizing that the command operates transparently and does not condone extortion.
He reiterated that officers at the entry points are strictly there to verify processed cargo and not to serve as an additional checkpoint.
Odusanya concluded by reaffirming the commitment of the Lilypond Export Command to supporting Nigeria’s growing export sector, ensuring efficiency in cargo movement, and addressing any emerging challenges in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
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Economy

Dangote group remits N402.3 billion tax to government coffers in 2024

Gloria Odion 
The Pan African Conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited and its subsidiaries, have disclosed that it paid over N402 billion in taxes in 2024, making it the highest taxpayer in the country.
Dangote’s Chief Branding and Communication Officer, Anthony Chiejina, declared during a meeting with some senior media executives who visited him in his Lagos Office.
He said Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) and its subsidiaries, namely, Dangote Cement, NASCON, Dangote Packaging Limited among others, remitted a total of N402.319billion for the out-gone year as taxes as responsible business enterprises.
Recall that Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) had in late 2024 recognised  Dangote group and its subsidiary, Bluestar Shipping as the most tax compliant organizations in the country during its Special Day at the 2024 Lagos International Trade Fair organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
The Federal Inland Revenue Service is Nigeria’s agency responsible for assessing, collecting and accounting for tax and other revenues accruing to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Chiejina told his visitors that as a responsible business organisation, DIL and its subsidiaries have never shieded away from its obligations either to the government in the form of tax payment at all levels or to host communities in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
According to him, the Group’s corporate strategy has evolved just as its businesses have grown, matured and diversified into new sectors and regions over the last four decades.
He noted that Dangote Group has almost single-handedly taken Nigeria to self-sufficiency in cement and refined petroleum products and is expanding rapidly across Africa.
Dangote Group and its subsidiaries were recognised as number one most compliant in tax payment in the country, just as its subsidiary Dangote Cement, the country’s leading cement manufacturer, at another occasion won three awards at the FMDQ Gold Awards in Lagos as the most active business in the Foreign Exchange market.
Dangote Cement Plc was adjudged as the Largest Commercial Paper Quotation on FMDQ and Single Largest Corporate Debt Issue on FMDQ.
 Also, Dangote Industries Ltd also emerged as the “Most active corporate in the foreign exchange market”.
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Headlines

NIWA Chairman charges Oyebamiji to phase out wooden boats from Nigeria’s waterways

Funso OLOJO 
The newly appointed Chairman of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Hon.Musa Sarkin-Adar, has charged the management team of the Authority led by its Managing Director, Bola Oyebamiji, to phase out wooden boats from Nigeria’s waterways.
Musa Sarkin-Adar, who paid a
 familiarization visit to the management team of NIWA in its Abuja liaison office, in a bid to minimize boat mishaps on the waterways.
He believed it would be a lasting legacy for the present leadership of NIWA if accidents could be minimized on the Waterways.
The Chairman’s advice is however in alignment with the NIWA’ s resolve to stamp out wooden and rickety boats on waterways.
However, Musa Sarkin-Adar further encouraged the NIWA team to do more in connecting other states in the water transportation.
He emphasized on the need for the involvement of the private sector in the development of water transportation, as government cannot do it alone.
In his response, Oyebamiji expressed appreciation for the visit and encouraging words of the chairman and pledged the commitment of of NIWA management to make the nation’s waterways safe and secure.
Oyebamiji also commended the efforts of his management team in the development of the Inland Waterways
Transportation sub-sector.
According to him, he is blessed with an experienced and dedicated team which he cannot take the glory alone.
The Chairman’s visit was attended by all the management staff of the Authority.
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