Headlines
NPA may grant 30 percent tariff relief to terminal operators at Rivers ports to drive traffic
Eyewitness reporter
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is tinkering with the proposal to give a whooping 30 percent tariff rebate to the terminal operators at the Rivers ports to boost the dwindling traffic.
The move was part of the multi-pronged approach of the agency to attract vessel and cargo traffic to the Eastern ports.
The latest move was after a similar concession of a 10 percent rebate granted by the agency to the operators in the area failed to yield the desired result as vessels continued to shun the ports.
Making the revelation in Port Harcourt Thursday was the Managing Director of the NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, while on the tour of the Eastern ports.
Bello- Koko, while talking to journalists on the sideline of the tour, said the authority was already considering the proposal for a 30 percent tariff rebate being sought by the terminal operators operating at the Port.
He however warned that such relief would not be automatic but conditional.
The NPA MD said that such a request will be based on the commensurate impact it will have on cargo and vessel traffic.
He declared that a similar tariff rebate has been granted in the past without much impact on the traffic to the ports.
“Some years ago, we have given them tariff relief, a kind of rebate but that didn’t bring the expected impact on traffic into the port.
“We are reviewing their request for a 30 percent rebate but we need to understand that we don’t just give a rebate without some conditions.
“We seat down with them, those discussions have started, we give them the conditions based on the tariff relief.
“It might be lower or higher than 30 percent.
“It depends and we also give a timeline. For instance, we might say this relief is for a year and let’s see the impact.
“We wouldn’t want to give a tariff relief to a terminal operator who, for instance, brings in four vessels in a month and even with the rebate, he is still bringing in four or fewer vessels. That is not what we want.
“We want to see increased activities at the ports and we want to encourage that as much as possible.
“Some of the terminals have started getting involved in the processing of exports, that is a very key and important thing for us as an authority and it is also necessary for Nigeria to export say agric. products and this is one of the things that we encourage the amount of tariff relief we give to the terminal operators” the NPA MD said.
He also said that he was in the Rivers Ports to see how the dilapidated structures could be rehabilitated, saying that two of the terminal operators, Ports and Terminal Operators Limited (PTOL) and BUA Terminal Limited, both operating at the Port Harcourt ports, have shown commitment towards rehabilitating the superstructure at their terminals.
”One of the operators, which is PTOL, has a development plan which involves bringing down some of the sheds, removing stacking areas, thereby creating more space to handle more cargo.
“We came to look at that and to discuss further with them.
” They have some collapsed berths and we are discussing how to rehabilitate that so that we have more vessels to berth at this port”
He however expressed dissatisfaction with BUA for its slow pace of work on the rehabilitation project, having been granted approval by the NPA to commence work on the collapsed quays in their terminal.
“We also looked at the BUA part of the berth and I think we have berths 5-8 that have collapsed.
“Some of these berths were built in the 1920s and they have really decayed and we should have decommissioned some of them.
“The agreement is for BUA to reconstruct some of those berths.
” We have given them approval for the final design which the company has submitted and we expect construction should resume very soon.
“The company knows how dissatisfied we are with the speed at which they are carrying on these repairs.
“We have expected that the reconstruction should have started a few months ago, but it hadn’t.
“We understand the need to plan properly and that planning is over and we expect they should resume reconstruction on those berths.
“We also came to look at the dockyard.
The dockyard is necessary and an important part of the port where you dock and service vessels, but you can see it is dilapidated.
“We are thinking on what to do either to find private investors to invest in the dockyard or the NPA to take up that responsibility, to repair the finger jetty and get the berth to work.
“So we have come to the Eastern ports because we are very serious about the need to increase vessel and cargo traffic.
“That way, we would be able to decongest the ports in Lagos.
“On the need to attract importers to the Eastern ports, we have said this so many times, the decision where the cargo will be delivered and evacuated is that of the consignee.
” The consignee decides the port of discharge for his cargo.
“We are doing all we can to encourage them to bring in their cargo to the Eastern ports.
“We are working on probably to review the tariffs, properly to give them tariff relief that will trickle down to the importers that will encourage them to bring in their cargo to the Eastern ports.
“Most of the ports in the East, their problem is the draught of the channel and that is what we are looking at.
“It is not just to reconstruct the quays, we also need to dredge deeper so that bigger vessels can come in and the economy of scale will set in and then you will be able to bring in those vessels to berth.
“We are beginning to see increased activities in Onne and we are happy to see what is going on in Onne.
” I can’t give you figures on the cost implications of these reconstruction works to NPA.
” We have interim surveys that are being carried out. We know the channels are very long so we need to determine what draught of the channel we need to achieve.
“The entrance is about 9.5 meters, there are places that are over 12, 14 meters and in some locations, they are about 9.5 meters.
“We are going to look at the survey plans of the channels and then determine what is the achievable draught and start working on the dredging”
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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.
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”.
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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