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Denmark in Gulf of Guinea to protect multi-billion dollars investments in maritime in Africa 

The Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen being led by officials of Tema ports to tour the facility

 

Eyewitness reporter
In recent times, foreign Navies have moved their war machines to the Gulf of Guinea to offer support to Nigeria and other countries in the region to fight piracy that has been the hallmark of the axis.
Britain and Denmark have their warships patrolling the volatile region and their presence has actually helped to scare away the sea marauders.
Early this month, Denmark deployed frigate Esbern Snare equipped with a Seahawk helicopter, maritime Special Forces among other crew to the region to combat piracy and perform other mandates until April 2022.
The patrol ship last Wednesday killed four out of eight pirates after a heavy gun battle outside Nigeria’s territorial waters.
But it has been revealed that the willingness of these foreign countries to help the countries in the Gulf of Guinea was more for self-preservation to protect their economic interests than to be charitable countries.
 The Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, who paid a two-day working visit to Ghana this week, declared that Denmark have a strong interest in free trade and a passion to protect its vast investments in shipping.
“Traditionally and in future, we have a strong interest in free trade, to protect our ships and our part of the global infrastructure when it comes to shipping and cargo,” Ms Frederiksen explained.

While addressing journalists at Tema port as part of her two-day visit to Ghana, Ms Frederiksen expressed the need to intensify the fight against piracy.

“What took place on Wednesday shows how important it is that we work together on security issues.

“It underlines why this area is facing huge challenges therefore I’m proud to see Denmark play such an active role in the fight,” she said.
Denmark has over the years committed lots of resources to protect its investments in the Gulf of Guinea.

The country, whose one of its companies, AP Moller has one of the biggest stakes in the Shipping business in Nigeria, has launched a $ 7 million programme in 2018,  focusing on Ghana and Nigeria despite being part of the European Union’s Gulf of Guinea Inter-regional Network (GoGIN) programme on regional coordination in West Africa.This year, Denmark appointed a special representative for maritime security and added $ 1.5 million to the programme which will finance maritime training facilities for customs, police, tax, immigration and fishery authorities to increase interagency coordination.

It is expected to enhance the two countries abilities to capture and for Nigeria also to prosecute pirates and implement piracy law which Denmark provided support for drafting.

Ghana and Nigeria house the two biggest ports for Danish shipping companies apart from proximity to pirate attacks and anti-piracy collaborations.

According to Ms Frederiksen, Denmark is interested in helping others and will, directly and indirectly, be involved in securing the region working closely with Ghana.

“We have been working together for many years in many areas but now different aspects of security are higher on our common agenda,” she said.The European nation will from next year begin a 5-year programme covering Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria building on previous engagements.

The $ 26.5 million programme will support United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC) and Interpol in their operation to improve national and regional agencies’ capacities.

Through the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), the programme will also facilitate convening dialogue and develop the capacity of navies and Special Forces.

The Prime Minister accompanied by the opposition leader from the Liberal Party, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen interacted with the management of Meridian Port Services in Ghana.

Before her engagement at the Tema port, Mette Frederiksen visited Christianborg Castle in Accra which also houses the Ecowas Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre for Zone “F” which comprises Ghana, Coast d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Burkina Faso.

The entourage from Denmark visited Ghana as part of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Growing insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea has challenged countries in the region and their international partners to up their game in tackling it.

The region continues to remain a hotbed for piracy which threatens peace and security as well as international trade.

In 2020, 95% of all kidnappings at sea is said to have happened in the Gulf of Guinea which has about 40 Denmark merchant ships using the route daily.

However, with the intervention of foreign countries, including Denmark, the region has in recent times recorded a low incidence of pirate attacks.
According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), the Gulf of Guinea region recorded 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the first nine months of 2021, compared to 46 in the same period in 2020

Incidents of piracy in the first nine months of 2021 are the lowest reported in 17 years.

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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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