Headlines

American University hosts JIFORM Continental Migration Summit in November

Opeyemi Adesogbon

The Medgar Evers College (MEC), City University, New York City (CUNY), the United States from October 31 to November 14 will host the intercontinental migration summit being put together by the Journalists International Forum For Migration (JIFORM) and other partners across the globe.

Apart from attending the summit targeted at harnessing the potentials of migration and its benefits to humanity, some of the participants are also billed to undertake a certification course on migration and diaspora matters at the university according to the President/Executive Director of JIFORM, Dr Ajibola Abayomi.

An elated Professor Byron Price from the Department of Public Administration at the City University who doubles as the Global Director of the Diaspora Innovation Institute confirmed the readiness of the institution to partner with the JIFORM.

Price is a professor of Public Administration and the former Dean of the School of Business at MEC.

The don who had featured in both the African migration summit and the West African media migration summit organized by the JIFORM in Ghana and Togo respectively in 2021 conveyed the excitement of the Chairman, Department of Public Administration, Professor Zulema Blair, PhD about the summit saying “all of us at the CUNY including Prof Blair is looking forward to receiving everyone in October in the US”.

“Having worked with you people over the years on migration matters, I am passionate about the JIFORM great campaign on regular migration. You are serving humanity. On this, I am willing and happy to work as one of the lead promoters of this summit in America” said Prof Price.

Ajibola, President of the JIFORM comprising over 300 Journalists covering migration across the continents said the body was happy about the development.

According to him, the JIFORM was willing to actualise the collaboration with the CUNY through a memorandum of understanding to be signed in the US in April as a prelude to the summit and other working arrangements.

He explained that the MoU would give an annual opportunity to at least 60 JIFORM members across the continents to be trained on media management and migration governance.

“We are committed to knowledge transfer that will improve the career of our members. This is a massive opportunity between the JIFORM and CUNY, particularly for us to further develop the academic side of our profession as Journalists” he noted.

JIFORM with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria can be reached through www.jiformalert.org It was founded in 2018 and has been organizing a series of workshops and training for Journalists and stakeholders on migration matters.

In 2019, the media body commenced an annual global migration summit in Abuja. The third edition of that comes up in Toronto between July 1-10, this year.

In 2021 between February 25 and 26 in Accra, Ghana it organized the African Migration Summit in collaboration with the Nekotech Center of Excellence Ghana and later initiated the West African Media Migration Summit in partnership with the Organization Pour I’integration Africaine, Lome, Togo between June 22-23, 2021.

In the second quarter of the year, JIFORM will host the National Media Migration/ Human Trafficking Dialogue in Lagos, Nigeria.

Headlines

Customs Steps Up Nationwide Green Tax Awareness Ahead of July 1 Rollout

Funso OLOJO, Editor

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intensified its nationwide sensitisation campaign ahead of the July 1, 2026 implementation of the Green Tax Surcharge and related fiscal adjustments, aimed at promoting environmental sustainability and encouraging the importation of cleaner vehicles.

The awareness campaign, held on Friday July 26th, 2026 at the Apapa Area Command, brought together Customs officers, licensed customs agents, freight forwarders, importers and other key stakeholders under the theme: “Implementation of the Green Tax Surcharge and Related Fiscal Adjustments.”

Representing the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, the Zonal Coordinator, Zone A, Mohammed Babadende, said the exercise was designed to ensure stakeholders fully understand the policy before its implementation.

“This sensitisation is designed to ensure that every stakeholder clearly understands the policy before implementation. Our objective is to eliminate uncertainty, promote voluntary compliance and guarantee uniform application of the Green Tax Surcharge across all commands,” Babadende stated.

Delivering a technical presentation, the Comptroller in charge of Tariff, System Audit and Coordination, Murtala Muazu, explained that the Green Tax Surcharge is different from conventional fiscal measures and would therefore require a separate assessment process.

He disclosed that the Service has simplified implementation through the HS Code declaration platform to facilitate seamless compliance by importers and clearing agents.

Muazu also revealed that the Federal Government has reduced import levies on vehicles from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, while import duty on used vehicles has been slashed from 15 per cent to five per cent to cushion the impact of the new environmental surcharge.

Area Controllers who participated in the sensitisation urged importers, licensed customs agents and the trading public to embrace the initiative, stressing that the reduction in import levies would lower the cost of doing business, promote legitimate trade and ultimately reduce transportation costs.

Stakeholders welcomed the policy but called for sustained public enlightenment to deepen understanding and ensure seamless compliance ahead of the July 1 commencement date.

Headlines

Beyond Lagos: The untold realities of Nigeria’s Eastern corridor seaports

Monday Discourse with Ibrahim Nasiru

When the World Bank and S&P Global recently released the 2025 Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), the headlines understandably erupted in celebration.

For Tin Can Island and Apapa to land in the global Top 20 for performance gains is undoubtedly a historic milestone.

Yet, for seasoned maritime analysts and industry stakeholders, a glaring question remains: what about the rest of Nigeria’s coastlines?

While the satellite data accurately captures a localized turnaround in the Lagos pilotage districts, it simultaneously masks a stark regional imbalance.

The narrative of Nigerian maritime modernization cannot begin and end in Lagos.

To truly turn the tide, the conversation must expand to the Eastern Corridor encompassing Onne Port, Port Harcourt Port, Calabar Port, and Warri Port.

The fundamental issue is that the World Bank’s CPPI relies strictly on automated vessel AIS data tracking.

It registers a win when ship turnaround times shrink at a berth, but it completely shuts out the structural and geographical deficiencies that prevent large vessels from even sailing into Eastern waters in the first place.

Modern deep sea shipping lines require drafts starting at 15 meters.

While multi-billion naira investments and natural depths allow Lagos and the expanding Lekki Deep Sea Port to receive mega-vessels, Calabar Port remains severely hindered by an un-dredged channel hovering around a shallow 6 to 7 meters.

Port Harcourt suffers from similar shallow constraints. Without aggressive, patriotic capital dredging projects, the devils in the details ensure that these regional Ports remain underutilized, regardless of how much digitization is deployed on paper.

It is easy for policymakers to announce massive financial interventions.

Critics are entirely right to point out that the Federal Government’s massive Port modernization plans must yield measurable metrics on the ground, not just political headlines.

However, recent data shows that commercial viability is waiting to be unlocked.

In overall cargo throughput metrics, Onne Port has consistently proven that the Eastern flank possesses massive economic power when given the operational room to breathe.

The roadmap for greenfield developments like the Ibom deep seaport and others exists, but real execution under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework will be the ultimate judge of these investments.

The current operational reality forces an unnatural economic bottleneck.

Importers in the South-East and South-South regions frequently clear their goods in Lagos, only to transport them across hundreds of kilometers of volatile highways back to Eastern markets.

This layout drives up logistics expenses, completely wiping out the macro efficiencies celebrated in recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) trade surplus figures.

The next institutional hurdle for the Managing Director of the NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, is the implementation of a unified, cooperative Port development strategy.

This requires more than just launching an electronic call-up system; it demands a deliberate re-alignment of tariff structures that actively incentivizes shipping consortia to divert traffic to regional hubs.

Ultimately, a Port system is only as strong as its weakest link. Celebrating the World Bank validation of Apapa and Tin Can is fair, but treating it as a nationwide victory is premature.

Until the institutional bottlenecks, channel depths, and security challenges of the Eastern Corridor seaports are solved with the same urgency applied to Lagos, Nigeria’s maritime sector will continue running on half its cylinders.

True maritime competitiveness is not won by building an elite logistics island in one state, but by unlocking the full economic potentials of the nation’s entire coastline.

Chief Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs Analyst, writes from Abuja

Features

Beyond Lagos ports: Why NPA should position Eastern ports for global recognition

Chief Nasiru Ibrahim

Monday Discourse with Ibrahim Nasiru focuses on why government should look beyond Lagos ports and position Eastern ports for global recognition.

Our feature last week on the World Bank Top 20 ranking for Tin Can and Apapa Ports sparked an intense industry debate.

The biggest question raised: What about the rest of Nigeria’s coastlines?

Dropping tomorrow morning, June 29th, 2026,we go beyond the Lagos headlines to break down the hidden operational realities of Nigeria’s Eastern Ports.

Don’t miss “Beyond Lagos: The Untold Realities of Nigeria’s Eastern Corridor Seaports”