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Joe Sanni feeding fat on ANLCA crisis —-Prince Ozo Chukurah

Prince Ozo Chukwrah is one the most visible freight forwarders in the country and the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents(ANLCA).

He was at the forefront of the various peace efforts to resolve the protracted crisis which has bedeviled the association for almost five years now.

In this exclusive interview with our reporter, the ANLCA chieftain highlighted the latest peace moves by the BOT to end the lingering crisis and restore peace to the battle-weary association.

He however accused Joe Sanni, the former Senior Special Assistant(SSA) on Media and Publicity to Prince Olayiwola Shittu, the immediate past president of ANLCA, as the killjoy to all the various peace efforts in the association, accusing him of making merchandise of the crisis as he was continuously fanning the embers of discord through his inflammatory statements which he alleged were bare-faced lies to profit from the unfortunate situation.

What is your reaction to reopening the ANLCA secretariat after it was shut for about two months following the unfortunate incident at Tin Can port where one person was killed?

That narration was totally wrong. The secretariat had been long closed before the incident t your referred to. The Police shut the secretariat over the petition they received that some people wanted to burn the place from the Western zone group. All efforts to dissuade the police from shutting down the place fell through. The police insisted that they will close it for security reasons. That was the reason the secretariat was shut.

Both warring groups went to the Lagos state commissioner of police. I led our team while Taiwo Mustapha led his team. There, the Commissioner of police expressed frustration at the seeming perpetuity of the crisis, saying he was tried. I made my own submission, saying that we too are tired because the matter is so simple. It was a matter between the two boards. The New board and the past board. The new board came and inherited the problems.

The NECOM was initially not part of the problem, but at a stage, they got the NECOM involved because they accused the NECOM of taking sides.

As I have earlier explained in my past interview, there were court cases that barred Tony Iju-led NECOM not to recognize the other party.

It was a court declaration and nobody contested or appealed against that judgment.

Now that the Secretariat has been opened and handed to Tony Iju-led NECOM, what is your reaction? What is the way forward? Where does the association go from there?

Before I answer that question, let me conclude the analysis of our peace efforts before now.

The two groups went to the Commissioner of police where I told him that he has a legal department, and let the other party submit what they have as evidence of being in charge of the secretariat because they were then claiming they have taken over the secretariat when they appointed Pius Ejubomon as interim President while we still have Tony Iju as our President who is in charge.

I asked the police to investigate to find out which of the two contending boards is in charge, is it the one led by Taiwo Afolabi or the one led by Taiwo Mustapha?

That was where we left it with the police.

The Mustaha-led board was genuinely registered but no longer active as of August 26th, 2022 while the new board led by Dr. Afolabi came in on September 7th, 2022. These dates are very sacrosanct and germane to the issue on the ground. they are verifiable.

The Mustapha-led board ceases to be active in the status of the Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC) as at August 26th, 2022. While the new board led by Afolabi came in and issued a certificate on September 7th, 2022. with the names of the nine members of the board printed on the certificate.

This is what we asked the Police to investigate to determine which of the two boards is fake and genuine.

So the police took all legal steps to investigate and found out that the authentic board genuinely registered by the CAC is the one led by Dr. Taiwo Afolabi which is supporting the Tony Iju-led NECOM.

That is why they reopened the secretariat and handed it over to Tony Iju-led NECOM as a confirmation of the authenticity and genuineness of Afolabi-led BOT.

This action by the police has finally vindicated us and settled the issue of the legitimacy of our board.

To be sincere with you, everyone, including Mustapha, knows the truth, probably with the exception of one man, Joe Sanni.

But why are still contesting the ownership of the secretariat with the authentic board?

All this while, Joe Sanni was the lawyer, the judge and the complainant. He has been the one who determines what to say, dishing out falsehood to the public.

I am sure he is feeding fat on this crisis, he is not losing anything. He is massively reaping from it otherwise who among these people is the enemy of Prince Ozo?

Sir Ernest Elochucku, whom I regard as the most intelligent freight forwarder in Nigeria, is my boss and friend. Dennis Okafor is the closest friend to my brother, Chief Mike Nwoko and a close friend to me.

Taye Oyeniyi is another close friend who once made me relinquish my hard-won victory in Tin Can which I later reclaimed with the support of others, including Dayo Aziz who supported me to become the first Igbo ANLCA chapter chairman in Tin Can.

They all also rallied around me when I contested for Zonal coordinator which I eventually won unopposed.

”We should all be concerned, especially those who are close to this man, about his state of sanity.

Is Joe Sanni normal and of sound mind?”

So who among these people is my enemy: none, not even Mustapha whom I have severally met in private to seek peace in ANLCA.

This is a new year, I plead and sue for peace, even if it means going down on my knees. I will do everything possible for us to achieve peace.

We should embrace peace and shun bitterness because time is fast running out.

I will make a proposal to our board and NECOM so that we can convene an AGM/NEC meeting where the suspension of some members could be reversed and they would be reabsorbed into the association for peace to reign.

Most of us in the elective positions in the association are on the final lap of our tenure. We need youths to come up and take over.

Beyond rhetorics sir, what are the concrete steps the Dr. Afolabiled BOT is making to ensure a lasting peace and to placate the aggrieved party?

Only four people from the Mustapha group are qualified to recontest their positions and they are Dayo Aziz, Ernest Elochukwu, Taiwo Mustapha and Dennis Okafor who can join the nine members of the Taiwo Afolabi-led board. We need to amend the constitution to accommodate them. This should not be a problem because laws are made for man and not man for the law.

This is part of the peace efforts the board is willing to make to ensure that this crisis is resolved and lasting peace is restored back to the ANLCA.

Even these people I mentioned, some of them don’t have time for the association again because they are heavyweight. They don’t even have enough time for their numerous business interests. So we need to start to groom some capable youths to take over the leadership of the association.

The second aspect is we should allow all the actions and inactions of Tony Iju to pawn out. Every chapter where he conducted elections should be allowed to serve out its tenure.

Also, if we come together, the board will allow them to be part of the ASECO that will conduct the next elections.

They are too big to be ASECO members but they can send in their representatives to the association’s electoral body.

We run an inclusive government not by appointment but elections.

I was elected as a member of the BOT for six years and I have served out two years, the remaining four years. I am not willing to resign but intend to serve out my tenure.

I have supported all the past members who have served on the board, I never called for their sack or resignation before they served out their tenure, including Taye Oyeniyi, until this crisis started.

Therefore, I am begging everyone concerned to allow peace to reign in the association.

I am calling on all of them to an enlarged meeting where we all jaw-jaw and not war-war so that we can bring the association back to the path of peace.

No victor, no vanquished. We are all winners in this matter.

What happens if the much sought-after peace is not achieved and you know that by April this year when the tenure of the incumbent NECOM expires and we know that constitutionally, the BOT will kick start the process of a new election, What happens if the other group does not back down?

Constitutionally, the BOT takes over the running of the NECOM for 90 days in case of a crisis. Has it not dawned on you now which is the authentic BOT?

Anyway, don’t let us count our chickens before they are hatched. We shall get to the bridge first before we attempt to cross it.

What is going to happen to all the pending court cases? They are numerous and distractive.

I think all the court cases have been disposed off and all their judgments are in the favour of the parent NECOM and the Board. However, only one court case is pending and judgment will come in February. Even at that, the event has overtaken the court case because the man that was praying the court to be allowed to serve out his tenure of office has already served out his tenure. That was Aziz in the Seme chapter.

However, the court will still make its pronouncement despite this fact.

The one in Kano too has been decided.

We have had enough of delays and waste of time. It is time to come together and chart a new course for ANLCA. The crisis has led to lots of pain and loss of time and resources. So I bed all concerned to sheath their swords.

Another criminal case pending was the one where Tony Iju and his group were attacked. We shall look into that and prevail on the complainants to withdraw it if only the other group agrees to embrace peace.

What efforts is the current BOT making to forestall a reoccurrence of this crisis that has nearly torn ANLCA apart?

A. As far as I know, a crisis is part of human life. It is bound to happen where are two or more people, not to talk of a group like ANLCA. Crisis happens in families, countries, religious groups and professional or trade groups like ANLCA and political groups.

What is important is the ability to manage a crisis and navigate through the crisis. That does not mean there will be no crisis.

There are people who were created to foment trouble and create crises while some were born as peacemakers. Both groups will cohabit and coexists.

I wish to appeal to all well-meaning members of this association to prevail on Joe Sanni to stop his current efforts to further destabilize ANLCA despite all efforts to resolve the issues.

He has been fanning the ember of discord and disunity in the association through his inflammatory statement, and the spread of falsehoods, half-truths and outright lies.

He has been peddling lies the certificate of Dr. Taiwo Afolabi-led BOT is fake. Yet he has not been able to take us to the police for forgery which is a criminal case.

He knew that the certificate is fake, why has he not written to the man whose signature was forged on the certificate to take legal action, yet he chooses to spread uncoordinated and incoherent narratives that do not add up to the discerning minds?

In another breath, he was telling the whole world the so-called fake certificate has been canceled and withdrawn by the CAC.

Is that not illogical and laughable? How can the CAC cancel a document that is supposed to be fake which they did not issue?

All these incoherent and illogical narratives of Joe Sanni are a sad reflection of his state of mind.

I enjoined the industry stakeholders to be circumspect and take time to analyse the logic behind some of these mendacious narratives this character is dishing out to the public on this matter.

A fake document cannot be canceled because it is already fake. And the man who is well versed in deciphering fake objects is supposed to write to the police without much ado for investigation.

I think by now we should all have been arrested because forgery is a criminal case.

But instead, the man chooses to spew out falsehood to the public.

We should all be concerned, especially those who are close to this man, about his state of sanity.

Is Joe Sanni normal and of sound mind?

I am as concerned as other true friends of this character called Sanni because he is doing more harm to the peace and progress of ANLCA through his illogical and incorrect utterances.

I appeal to those who are sponsoring him, those paying him for this hatchet job he is doing to desist from paying him if they truly love ANLCA.

He cannot contribute one Kobo in ANLCA, so he enjoying the crisis because he is feeding fat on it.

I am appealing to him to sheath his sword. This is not a personal war.

Enough is enough.

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Open Letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the need to assent to the Nigerian Shipping and Ports Economic Regulatory Agency(NSPERA) bill

By Elder Asu Beks

Mr President,on behalf of the Maritime Elders Forum and entire maritime stakeholders, i respectfully send you season’s greetings.

There is no doubt, Mr President, that 2025 has been one of the most turbulent and challenging years in the history of our nation.

From the wave of insecurity ,which you have tackled squarely,to the far reaching economic reforms which has translated to the tax reform bills , are all pointers to the fact that you are taking the challenges head on.

Mr President , your modest achievements in the Oil and Gas sector are also there for all to see.

From the bold decision to abolish fuel subsidy to the increase in daily production levels to an average 1.8m bpd ,from about 1mbpd daily output as at May ,2023, and the complete disapperance of fuel queues, it is certain, Mr President, that you are building a legacy of renewed hope, unprecedented in the life of our nation.

We cannot thank you enough, Mr President.

For us in the maritime sector, the most profound of your score card remains the creation of a specialised Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

The demand for a Ministry to oversee Nigeria’s vast maritime domain is as old as Nigeria’s Independence.

For us as critical stakeholders, this couldnt have come at a better time.

In just two years of the creation of this specialised Ministry, Nigerians are already reaping bountifully from this innovative move.

Only last month,Nigeria won an election into the elusive category ” C” of the International Maritime Organisation, (IMO).

This victory is coming after nine unsuccessful attempts, spanning 14 years.

With this victory , which couldn’t have been posible without your fatherly role,our fortunes as one of the greatest maritime nations in sub saharan Africa has been solidified.

Mr President, another milestone recorded under your watch ,since the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is the introduction of the game changing National Single Window platform which comes into effect in the first quarter of 2026.

The National Single Window is a trade facilitation tool designed to eliminate multiple entries by various regulatory bodies in business transactions in our seaports.

In other words, it is a digitalized platform that allows importers and exporters to submit all necessary documents, permits , and data to multiple government agencies through a single entry point.

Mr President, with these developments, you have etched your name as “the President who saw tomorrow” by demonstrating in concrete terms, the enormous potentials which this sector holds as your administration continues to look at a Nigeria beyond oil.

In this regard, Mr President ,we the Maritime Elders Forum urge you ,without delay to sign into law, the Nigerian Shipping and Port Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Bill .

The NPERA Bill aims to transform the Nigerian Shippers Council, (NSC) into a powerful, independent economic regulator for Nigeria’s Ports,creating a strong frame work for tariffs,fair competition and efficiency after port concession.

The Bill, a brain child of Dr Tajudeen Abass, Speaker, Federal House of Representatives, is aimed to fill the vacuum created by an absence of a regulatory agency in such a critical sector of our national economy ,as against other sectors such as banking, petroleum , energy and communication.

This critical Bill seeks to repeal the old Nigerian Shippers Council Act and empower the Council to manage port economic activities, boosting the Blue Economy.

Mr President, the laudable objectives of this Bill include;establishing an independent regulation to create a strong legally backed economic regulator for our ports; Control tariffs, charges and regulate port charges in such a manner as to prevent arbitrariness and ensure fairness; to promote fair competition by improving overall port operations and attract investment; Support the Blue Economy to align with our national goals for developing Nigeria’s Marine Economy.

Your Excellency Sir, this Bill was given an accelerated hearing ,and was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly on April 10, 2025 upon which it was forwarded to you for assent.

Mr President sir, the delay or your failure to assent to this Bill is coming at huge cost and has resulted in significant economic losses for Nigeria, primarily by perpetuating an unregulated and inefficient port system that has led to huge financial leakages that deter investment.

Mr President, sir, it is estimated that the nation is losing billions of dollars dailly to the absence of a strong legal frame work for port economic regulation.

We have on good authority, Mr President, that this obvious lack or absence of a regulated ports industry is also taking a huge toll on local and foreign investments as an estimated $250b is said to be lost annually, aside arbitrary charges by terminal operators and Shipping Lines .

In a nutshell, Mr President, the envisaged benefits of this brand new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has been eroded on account of the absence of a legal regulatory frame work.

As it stands, sir ,a Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy without an Economic Regulator is akin to a football game without a referee.

it means anything goes and the out come of a game without an official umpire could be better imagined.

Mr President sir, consequently ,the time to sign the NPERA Bill is now.

Thank you Mr President for listening to this passionate appeal.

Let this be your new year present to Maritime Stakeholders.

ELDER ASU BEKS, CONVENER, MARITIME ELDERS FORUM, LAGOS

Headlines

Tantita intercepts stolen crude on escort of Delta Marine Police, arrests four suspects

Funso OLOJO

Tantita Security Services Limited, a pipeline surveillance operations company, has intercepted a tanker vessel, MT Thor, laden with suspected stolen crude oil.

The interception, which occurred on December 15th, 2025, around the Koko–Excravos axis of Delta State, happened while the vessel was allegedly being escorted by personnel of the Police Marine Unit, Delta State, who reportedly claimed they were acting on directives from the Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja.

Four suspects have been apprehended in connection with the incident and are currently facing investigation for possible prosecution.

The arrest was announced during the handover of the suspects at Koko Port in Delta State by Tantita Security Services Limited (TSSNL), a firm engaged in pipeline surveillance operations.

Speaking at the handover of the vessel and the suspects at Koko Port, Delta state, the Executive Director of Operations at Tantita, Captain Warredi Enisouh, said the suspects were apprehended with an unspecified quantity of suspected illegally sourced petroleum products aboard the vessel.

According to a situation report made available by the Special Prosecution Team (SPT) of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Petroleum Product Theft, Tantita alerted the Head of Investigation of the SPT after intercepting MT Thor, which was allegedly laden with crude oil obtained through illicit means.

Preliminary investigations by law enforcement agencies revealed that the vessel, now classified as an exhibit in an ongoing criminal investigation, is linked to a jetty operated by Ebenco Global Services Limited.

Investigation officers disclosed that documents and correspondence connected to the jetty were obtained and are currently under review.

“The owner of the jetty, Mr. Ebenezer, was contacted by investigators and reportedly provided additional documents, including court orders, which are also being analysed as part of the investigation.

“On December 16, a joint investigation team led by the Head of Investigation of the SPT conducted a Joint Inspection Visit in Koko.

The team first met at Tantita’s corporate headquarters in Warri for a briefing, which was also attended by the jetty owner.

“During the inspection, investigators attempted to obtain samples from MT Thor but were unable to do so immediately as the vessel had not yet arrived at the jetty, having been towed from an earlier location by security operatives.

“While awaiting the vessel’s arrival, the team inspected other containers suspected to be carrying crude oil within the premises of Ebenco Global Links Limited, where samples were taken from a storage barge.

“MT Thor eventually berthed at about 8:30 p.m. on 16 December, prompting the joint team to adjourn sampling and other procedures until the following day.

As of 17 December 2025, investigators were reported to be en route to Koko to continue sample collection and complete investigation formalities,” the report read.

Receiving the suspects, the Head of the Special Prosecution Team of the Inter-Agency Task Force, Omar Sini, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s resolve to dismantle crude oil theft networks in the Niger Delta, assuring that all findings would be thoroughly examined and prosecuted in line with the law.

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Mobereola, NIMASA DG, reflects on year 2025 with satisfaction, says 2026 holds promising opportunities for maritime industry

Funso OLOJO

The Director -General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dayo Mobereola, has expressed his satisfaction over the achievements recorded in the maritime industry in the outgoing year of 2025, while looking forward to a promising 2026 with hope.

In his Christmas message to the stakeholders in the maritime industry, Dr Mobereola noted that the 2026 ended well with the election of Nigeria into the category C of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) after 14 years of failed attempts as well as zero occurrence of piracy attacks on Nigeria’ waters.

“The year 2025 has been a good one for our industry as once again, we have not recorded a single piracy attack in our waters in a whole calendar year, Nigeria was also able to deposit three Instruments of Accession to IMO Conventions that were signed by President Bola Tinubu ,we have been able to maintain industrial harmony in the sector all of which culminated to Nigeria’s election into the category C Council of the International Maritime Organization.

“We couldn’t have done this without our stakeholders who have contributed in various ways in the course of their operations during the year. We see you, we thank you and we felicitate with your during this yuletide season”Mobereola observed.

He however assured that the Agency will re-double efforts in ensuring that 2026 is even better for every stakeholder.

While calling on industry operators to brace up for the new year with hope of better times, Dr. Mobereola noted that “at NIMASA, we appreciate the weight of our renewed responsibility by virtue of Nigeria’s membership of the IMO Council because to whom much is given, much is definitely expected.

” You can therefore be sure of an increased momentum in our resolve to sustain maritime safety, security, environmental protection and adherence to relevant conventions and protocols with renewed vigour.”

The DG concluded by acknowledging the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, industry stakeholders, management and staff of NIMASA as well as all Nigerians and wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.