Headlines

Importers continue to shun Eastern ports despite incentives by NPA–Koko

Eyewitness reporter

Nigerian importers have continued to shun the use of Eastern ports despite the number of incentives that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had conceded to attract high patronage to these ports.

Lamenting the low patronage by the importers to the Eastern ports, Mohammed Bello-Koko, the Acting Managing Director of NPA, bemoaned the continued refusal of importers and shipping companies to patronise the Eastern ports.

He declared that even though the decision to ship cargoes to these ports lies entirely with importers, but the NPA has embarked on a number of incentives to attract them to these Ports without success.

“What we did first was to provide incentives for shipping lines for operations at ports of Calabar, Warri and Rivers.

“We gave most to Calabar and Delta. The idea here was to take their vessels into those locations.

“That has worked a bit, we also specified the kind of vessels that would come in and get those discounts.

“We had stakeholders’ engagement to encourage importers to take their vessels to those locations. We provided more marine services to those locations.

“But the usage of those ports depends on the importer. You cannot force an importer to take his goods to Calabar or Warri.

“For instance, a lot of the cargo coming in, the usage of the cargo is in Lagos, so there must be enough incentives for the importer to take his cargo to Warri and then bring it back to his factory in Lagos.

“Some of the issues revolve around the roads also, one cannot import to Calabar and bringing it back to Lagos becomes difficult. We had to write to the Ministry of Works concerning Ikom bridge to encourage people to use Calabar Port”

“Calabar Port is the nearest to the Northeast of the country. So, if we encourage the use of that port, it means that all imports going to the Northeast pass through Calabar”

“The problem there is that it has the longest channel and passing through the channel is very expensive. We are encouraging the use of those ports and we are giving incentives to the shipping companies to bring in their goods to those ports.”

But despite these efforts, Koko lamented that the Eastern ports have not really attracted the kind of patronage that was commensurate with the level of Investments in these Ports.

Reacting to traffic gridlock along Lagos ports access roads, the NPA MD said massive investment that had revitalised the Nigerian Railway Corporation was a “game-changer” in the maritime sector.

“I must commend President Muhammadu Buhari for investing so much into reviving Railway transportation.

” It is really exciting that he has focused on that key sector of the economy.

“I want to particularly thank him for the recent completion of the rail system into Apapa port. We believe it is a game-changer.

“We have been working with the Nigerian Railway Corporation to see how Cargo can be evacuated. The interest is to see how cargo can get all the way to the inland dry port.

“There are meetings taking place between the West African Container Capital in Onne and APMT; this is to assist those inland containers to ensure that it reduces double charges once the cargo comes in.

“The one in APMT, we are hoping to start moving cargo inland by train. This has started but we are working with Nigerian Railway Corporation to give the right window so that once the train comes, the cargo is loaded into the right train without delay.

“There are discussions going on as well to see that railway system gets into Tin can eventually. That is the responsibility of the Nigerian Railway Corporation. They have taken some trains to a few terminals for test run.

“The fact that the railway is already in the port has made the problem half solved. But they need to do a survey to find out what buildings need to come down to create space for the train. The ports are very old, they were not planned for a train going round all the terminals,” he said

Economy

Buhari, Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, Abdusalami, Osinbajo, Atiku, others to spend N13.8billon from N27.5 trillion 2024 budget

Tinubu presentation of 2024 budget to the National Assembly

The Eyewitness Reporter

The Federal government has earmarked the sum of N13.8 billion in the 2024 budget as the cost of upkeep of
former presidents, vice presidents, heads of state, Chiefs of General Staff, retired heads of service, permanent secretaries, and retired heads of government agencies and parastatals.

The beneficiaries include former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, ex-vice-presidents Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo and Prof Yemi Osinbajo.

Also expected to benefit from the windfall are ex-military Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and General Abdusalami Abubakar, as well as a former dictator and self-styled military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, and a former Chief of General Staff, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (retd.).

Also, N1tn was provisioned for the public service wage adjustment for government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (including arrears of promotion and salary increases, and payment of severance benefits and minimum wage-related adjustments).

A breakdown shows that the entitlements of former presidents/heads of state and vice presidents/chief of general staff will cost N2.3bn. At the same time, N10.5bn is proposed as benefits for retired heads of service, permanent secretaries and professors.

The payment of severance benefits to retired heads of government agencies and parastatals is proposed to cost N1bn.

Other allocations include N65bn for the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the reintegration of transformed ex-militants; N1bn for the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Energy; and N108bn for unnamed special projects.

The government is also proposing the sum of N40bn to offset electricity debts owed to power distribution companies by all MDAs.

President Bola Tinubu unveiled the N27.5 trillion budget estimates for the 2024 fiscal year.
The budget was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, where it is currently undergoing scrutiny and deliberation for final approval.

In his presentation, he declared, “The 2024 Appropriation has been themed the Budget of Renewed Hope.

The proposed budget seeks to achieve job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability, a better investment environment, enhanced human capital development, as well as poverty reduction and greater access to social security.

Customs

News Alert: Wale Adeniyi revives CG conference, holds 2023 edition December 13-15 in Lagos.

Wale Adeniyi, CGC

The Eyewitness Reporter

After 11 years of interregnum in the annual Comptroller General of Customs conference, Adewale Adeniyi, the Customs boss, has announced the rescucitation of the annual conference which holds December, this year.

In the social media broadcast, Adeniyi said he was delighted to announce that the 2023 CG Conference will hold from December 13th- 15th, 2023 at the Grand Africa Ballroom of the prestigious Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The theme of this year’s conference, according to the CGC, is “Leveraging Data Analytics for Secure and Efficient Trade Facilitation in Customs Operations”.

The Vice President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima, is expected as the special guest of honour while the Governor of Lagos state, Mr Babajide Sanwo- Olu and the Minister of Finance and the coordinating minister of Economy, Wale Edun, are also expected to grace the occasion.

Adeniyi stated that this year’s conference will centre around the discussion on implementing new measures to enhance service operations, championing secure and efficient operations across the federation.

“In line with my efforts and that of my management team to modernize the Nigeria Customs service through leveraging technology-driven Customs to shape the future of our operations, I am inviting you to this year’s Comptroller General Conference scheduled for 13tg to 15th December 2023 at the Grand Ballroom, Continental Hotel, Lagos.

” The theme of this year’s conference is Leveraging Data Analytics for Secure and Efficient Trade Facilitation in Customs Service.

” We are embracing innovation, utilizing the power of analytics to ensure the security and efficiency of Customs Operations.

“This significant event will centre around discussion on implementing new measures to enhance the service operations, championing secure and efficient operations across the federation.

“It will serve as a platform for attracting new business stakeholders to our shore.

” Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of this renewed hope experience as we consolidate on the achievements of the past, collaborate with our stakeholders and of course, bring in innovation to drive Customs Operations.

“The conference will be graced by esteemed guests, including the Vice-President, Senator Kashim Shettima as the special guest of honour, the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Finance Minister, Wale Edun” the CGC announced.

The CG conference is a platform for interaction where customs reviews its past operations and project for the future.

The last conference was held in 2012 in Katsina state.

Headlines

Ukraine blocks Russia’s reelection bid at IMO council elections

The Eyewitness Reporter

The world is gradually ostracizing Russia from the comity of nations due to its aggression against Ukraine.

At the council election of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) held Friday, December 1st, 2023, Russia, for the first time since 1958, failed in its reelection bid into category A of the organization

The failure of Russia was masterminded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who told the IMO General Assembly that Russia had no place in the August gathering.

Ukraine, which was not standing for election, had pushed for Russia to be ousted from the IMO Council.

“Russia has no place in the International Maritime Organization nor its governing bodies because no one in recent decades has caused greater harm to free navigation than Russia,” Zelenskiy told the IMO Assembly in a remote address on Monday.

Russia has been a member of Category A of the IMO and has consistently won reelection into the fold of the committee of countries with the largest maritime interests in the world.

But due to its war with Ukraine, the country has lost that revered place.

The outcome is another blow for Russia after it failed in its bid to return to the UN’s top human rights body in October, in an election seen as a key test of Western efforts to keep Moscow isolated.

Last year, Moscow also failed to win enough votes for re-election to the UN aviation agency’s governing council.

The London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) is responsible for regulating the safety and security of international shipping and preventing pollution and comprises 175 member state countries.

Russia has been a member since 1958 and has been consistently re-elected to the IMO Council.

With voting on Friday, 40 countries were elected by secret ballot to the IMO Council, which supervises the work of the body.

They include China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Norway, Panama, South Korea, Britain and the United States.

Russia’s IMO delegation told the Assembly earlier on Friday that it deserved its place on the Council.”A balancing and constructive role is what our country contributes, not just to this body, but to the Organization as a whole,” Russia’s delegation said in translated comments.

In October, Russia said the IMO was departing from its impartial role due to “external pressure” which it said was impacting the fair treatment of all member countries.

Meanwhile, the IMO Assembly on December 1st, 2021 elected the members of its Board for the two years 2024-2025.

Category A, which includes the ten nations that have the highest interest in providing international maritime services, have been China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Norway, Panama, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In category B of the IMO Council, which is made up of ten nations that have the greatest interest in international maritime trade, representatives of Australia, Brazil, Canada, United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, India, Holland, Spain and Sweden.

Category C, is made up of 20 nations that have a particular interest in maritime transport or shipping, and whose election to the Board will ensure the representation of all major geographical areas of the world, including Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Philippines, Finland, Jamaica, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Qatar, Singapore and Turkey.

After the thirty-third Assembly of the IMO, which will end next Wednesday, the following day the newly elected Council will meet for its 131st session and elect the President and Vice-President for the next biennium.