Headlines

Lagos Shippers threaten to vacate Shippers’Council accommodation over ill-treatment

Jonathan Nicole, President, SAL

—condemn leadership style of Jime

Eyewitness reporter

The Shippers Association of Lagos State (SALS) has threatened to vacate the office accommodation it occupies in the Shippers Plaza, Apapa.

The building belongs to the Nigerian Shippers’Council which houses its headquarters.

However, the agitated Lagos Shippers, who are aggrieved by what they described as the ill-treatment and disdain with which the authority of the Shippers’Council treat them, believed that moving out of the office accommodation given by the Council to house their association office will confer on them the much-sought respect and dignity they deserve.

In a press conference held in Lagos yesterday, Kayode Farinto, the newly appointed Publicity Secretary of Lagos Shippers Association, lamented that Nigerian Shippers have not received a fair deal from the Nigerian Shippers’Council, an agency statutorily charged to protect the interests of Nigerian Shippers.

Farinto stated that the agency has not lived to the expectations of the Shippers in this regard.

He lamented that the hapless Nigerian shipper has been variously and wickedly exposed and subjected to mindless extortion from Nigeria Customs Service, terminal operators, shipping companies, and has been a victim of other forms of trade malpractices.

“You people know that the Shippers Council currently accommodates Shippers in Lagos.

“We were given accommodation on the second floor of the NSC headquarters. You people need to visit that place to see the kind of accommodation that the NSC has given us.

“Due to this poor arrangement and lack of adequate projection, we have come to a conclusion that for us to be widely heard and listened to, the Shippers Association of Lagos State might move out of the NSC headquarters this year” Farinto declared.

“We have made a lot of complaints, but it looks as if maybe because we are a tenant at the NSC, nobody listens to us.

” So, maybe if we get an independent accommodation where nobody pays our rent except ourselves, maybe people in authority will listen to us more.”

The spokesman for the Lagos Shippers association said an average Nigerian Shipper has been the one holding the short end of the stick in trade transactions at the ports.

“Whether anybody likes it or not, the man that receives the highest blow in the import value chain is the shipper.

“When there are barriers in trade, the man that suffers most is the shipper. It is unfortunate that the Federal Government is paying lip service to trade facilitation.

” Last year, Nigeria nearly entered into recession because we don’t produce anything and as an import-dependent economy, we need to have trade facilitation at our ports,” Farinto said.

He further declared that the Shippers have not felt the impact of the incumbent Executive Secretary of NSC, Emmanuel Jime, since he came to the Council and that the new helmsman has further subjected Nigerian Shippers to increased humiliation.

“The style of administration of the Executive Secretary of the NSC, Emmanuel Jime, is different from that of his predecessor, Hassan Bello.

“Yes, he likes doing things quietly, but we the Shippers are yet to see the results of what he has been doing since he came on board seven months ago.

“If Hadiza Bala Usman can come to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and start achieving in 90 days, why can the NSC Executive Secretary? He is not a greenhorn in the maritime industry.

“Maybe it’s too early to start rating the man, but Shippers have been treated with disdain since he came on board. Shippers have not been given the right recognition and cooperation that is expected from an economic regulator.

“As Covid-19 rates worsen, restrictions might come harder.

“The man that brings in the cargoes must be protected. This year, the NSC must carry everybody along. It is important that the chicken that lays the golden egg is protected.

“The Shippers must be protected, empowered and encouraged.”

Farinto stated that the Act establishing Shippers’ Council states that it must protect Shippers but he claimed that recent indices had shown that shippers are left at the mercies of terminal operators, shipping companies and customs to exploit.

“In the NSC Act, the role of a Shipper is very clear. A Shipper is a person that brings in cargo into a port area for the cargo owner, that is the importer.

“Section 3, sub-section C of the NSC Act under number 13 states that the Nigerian Shippers Council should encourage the formulation of shippers association all over the country.

” What this means is that it is not only Lagos State that should have a Shippers Association. Every State of the federation should have a Shippers association.”

“Although, we have a national shippers association that has been formed, they have not been vibrant. Maybe they will be vibrant this year, we just pray so.

” We have looked at the role of the Shippers in the nation’s maritime industry, and have realized that we have not been carried along by the NSC in their activities.”, the Lagos Shippers alleged.

Headlines

MWUN threatens to picket shipping companies, terminal operators over manipulation of pension remittances of seafarers, dockworkers

Gloria Odion

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria(MWUN) has accused terminal operators, shipping companies and ship owners of shortchanging dockworkers and seafarers in their employment in the remittance of their pensions to the appropriate authorities.

In a statement by the union led by Comrade Francis Bunu Abi, the erring service providers were allegedly either holding back the deductions made from the salaries of their staff into the pension funds scheme or under- remitting the deductions.

The union warned of dire consequences for such act which it regarded as unethical and illegal and threatened to shut down any service provider found culpable in this illegal act.

“The leadership of the Union recently got the wind of these employers of labour and terminal operators over their acts of irregular remittance of their employees pensions to its appropriate quarters.

“Thus shortchanging the Seafarers and the Dockworkers, both categories of workers from the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria.

“It was also learnt that some Ship Owners and Terminal Operators have allegedly stopped the remittance of Dockworkers and Seafarers’ PSA in their employ, which is a gross violation of labour laws.

” As a result, the President -General of the Union, Comrade Bunu, stated that the Union will have no other option than to descend heavily and bring to book all the earring managements of these companies working against the ethics and practices of labour rules in their various companies.

“The Delta State- born labour leader made this point known, stressing that it’s unlawful to deny workers their pensions rights either by crook or hook,; and may not hesitate to call out these Concessionaires and Shipping Companies that have defaulted in the payment of the statutory pensions of the Union Members.

“Comrade Bunu also said that these erring companies in the Maritime sector would be shut down if this ugly trend is not reversed to status quo.” the statement concluded.

Headlines

Tantita Security to bankroll 2025 OTC in USA

Gloria Odion

The foremost security provider in Nigeria, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) has been confirmed as the official sponsor of the 2025 Offshore Technology conference scheduled to hold in Houston Texas, United States on 5-8 May , 2025 .

Executive Director, Technical and operations , Tantita security services Limited, Captain Wareddi Enisuoh in an interview with journalists on Friday, said the company attracted the OTC conference lucrative sponsorship deal in recognition of its capacity to deliver on the conference.

Founded in 1969 , Offshore Technology conference is a series of conferences and exhibitions, focused on exchanging technical knowledge relevant to the development of offshore energy resources , primarily Oil and Natural Gas.

The conference also serves as the meeting place for the brightest minds to share ideas , discuss, debate and build consensus around the most pressing challenges and innovations in the offshore energy sector.

This year’s exhibitors , speakers and attendees represent some of the highest calibre professionals from more than 100 countries .

Customs

Customs shuns N12 trillion inflated revenue target imposed by National Assembly

— focuses on realising N6.5 trillion 2025 target

Funso OLOJO

The Nigeria Customs Service may have tactically shrugged off the imposition of the N12 trillion revenue target by the National Assembly.

It could be recalled that government gave the NCS ₦6.5 trillion revenue target for 2025.

This followed the impressive revenue performance of the service in 2024 when it surpassed that year’s target of N5.07 trillion by 20.2 percent.

However , in January, 2025, the National Assembly joint committee on Finance led by its chairmen, Senator Sani Musa and Hon. James Faleke, believed that the projection of N6.5 trillion revenue target given to the customs was conservative and encouraged the NCS to aim higher.

Consequently, the joint committee slammed a whooping sum of N12 trillion as revenue target, doubling the initial N6.5 trillion projected revenue.

This humongous target sparked off an outrage among perplexed stakeholders who felt the target imposed by the law makers was outrageous and unrealistic which they feared may stretch the capacity of the customs to a breaking point and put unnecessary pressure on the men and officers of the agency.

Indication that the Customs authority may not be well disposed to the imposed target of N12 trillion by the National Assembly emerged recently when the Comptroller -General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, was giving account of the activities of the service in the first quarter of 2025.

While giving the analysis of the revenue performance of the service during the period under review, Adeniyi benchmarked the revenue generated by the service during the first quarter of 2025 by N6.5 trillion revenue target given by the Federal Ministry of Finance, thus jettisoning the N12 trillion imposed by the National Assembly.

“ Against our annual target of ₦6,580,000,000,000.00, the first quarter’s proportional benchmark stood at ₦1,645,000,000,000.00.

“I’m proud to announce we’ve exceeded this target by ₦106.5 billion, achieving 106.47% of our quarterly projection.

” This outstanding performance represents a substantial 29.96% increase compared to the same period in 2024, where we collected

₦1,347,705,251,658.31″ Adewale stated, while giving the analysis of the performance of the service in the first three months of the year.

Analysts believed that from the analysis of the revenue performance of the NCS in the first quarter of the year which was predicated on the N6.5 trillion revenue target, it was obvious that the service was not paying much attention to the imposed N12 trillion, but rather focusing on how to meet the more realistic target of N 6 .5 trillion.

” You can see that the CGC did not make mention of the N12 trillion imposed by the National Assembly which presupposes that the unrealistic amount is not in the reckoning of the Customs” a customs broker who plies his trade at Apapa port, said, pleading for anonymity.

” Where on earth do they want the Customs to realize such an humongous amount of money in a depressed economy, in a country where importation has plummeted due to the unfriendly policies of government?

“It is unfortunate that these people (the law makers) have lost touch with the current economic realities in the country.

” All what they are after is to witch hunt government agencies to go and hunt for money for them to share.

” If not, how could they sit down in the comfort of their air conditioned offices and imposed such amount of revenue for customs to realize.

” Of course, the pressure would be on the men and officers of the service who will in turn go after the hapless importers and their agents in the most brutal way to raise the imposed target.

” It is unfortunate that the lawmakers, who are expected to make laws that will encourage export drive of the Federal government, are those asking the customs to focus more on the import goods where such money could be realized” another freight forwarder, who did not want his name in print but based at Tin Can Island port, declared.