Headlines
Maritime agencies groan under delayed release of 2024 sectoral budget
–-accuse National Assembly of complicity
— We have passed, released budget— N/A fires back
—Marine and Blue economy ministry keeps mum
Funso OLOJO
The alleged delayed release of the maritime industry sectoral budget has become a subject of speculation and ding-dong affairs between the agencies in the sector and the National Assembly.
Sources close to some of these agencies have claimed that their 2024 sectoral budget has not been released by the National Assembly seven months into the year.
A concerned source close to one of the affected agencies, who pleaded for anonymity for fear of reprisal, confided in our reporter that the 2024 sectoral budget for his agency is yet to be passed and released by the National Assembly, a claim which a source close to the Assembly has denied.
“This was despite our budget presentation and defence at the twilight of 2023” a source close to one of the affected agencies disclosed.
The source accused the members of the House Committees of the Senate on Marine Transport and the House Committees on Ports and Harbour, Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, Inland Waterways and Shipping Services of complicity in the delayed release of the budget.
The source alleged that due to the refusal of some of the agencies to accede to what he claimed has become a practice of budget padding, their budgets are delayed.
” During last administration, budgets were quickly passed and released because the agencies consented to budget padding”
” For instance, if an agency proposed a budget of N100m, it could be padded with an additional 30 million which would be taken upfront for the budget to be quickly passed and released” the source alleged.
The source however claimed that under the present government, everyone was being cautious as nobody wanted to go to jail.
” Under the present dispensation, nobody wants to go to jail hence the refusal to consent to budget padding which may have resulted in the delay” the source further alleged.
The source further declared that the delayed release of the budget has hampered the operations of these agencies as they could not embark on critical infrastructural and operational projects.
” We are only allowed to spend between 20 percent to 25 percent of the proposed budgets before they are passed”
” And these are used to pay salaries and other overhead costs”
” If you embark on any project outside the discretionary percentage of your budget as critical expenses, you will go to jail, so this has hamstrung the agencies’ Heads from embarking on major operational projects” the source alleged.
However, National Assembly sources who spoke to our reporter on strict instruction for anonymity faulted the claims of the agencies.
” These are a pack of lies” one of the sources countered.
” It is not true that the National Assembly is holding on to the budget of the agencies nor engages in budget padding.
” Which of the agencies are you talking about?
” Is it NPA, NIMASA, Shippers Council , MAN, Oron, or NIWA?
” Their budgets have been passed”, the source claimed, and went on to explain the principles governing budget consideration, passage, and transmission.
“A budget runs a 12-month cycle.
” The recurring expenditures such as salaries and other overhead costs start from January to January.
“But the budget proper doesn’t start in January but from around June to June, each year.
“To take care of exigencies that may disrupt the 12-month cycle period of budget implementation, the National Assembly usually extends the implementation of previous budgets like the 2023 budget, to December.
” When you run a budget late, you cannot shut down the old one completely.
” Constitution allows you to spend existing sub-head up till half of the year.
” I believe their budget is ready.
”The National Assembly extended the implementation of the 2023 budget till December because they have not finished its implementation, so nothing is crippled as they claimed.
” There are certain things that are automatic. The salaries and other overhead costs are automatic.
” It is only new projects they are not allowed to dabble into before the current budget is passed and released.
” This will allow them to complete the existing projects they have been committed to before they undertake new ones”
The highly placed National Assembly source insisted that the sectoral budget of the maritime agencies has been passed and said if they haven’t got them, it was probably because the documents are in the middle of conveyance.
The source claimed that the budget is no longer transmitted directly to the agencies as was the case before but through their parent ministry, which is the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy which in turn transmits it to the Ministry of Finance where the government will deduct at source 50 percent of the budget before the balance is transmitted to the respective agencies.
” Remember, as contained in the 2024 Finance Act, the Federal government deducts at source 50 percent of the value of budgetary allocations to all the self-funding agencies and parastatals before the balance is remitted”
” Now that the Federal government has taken over the receipt of their money and deducts 50 percent before remittance to them, sometimes it may be delayed before remittance is done to the agencies.
The source said this may have led to their present financial crunch which they should not blame on the National Assembly.
” At no point in time did the agencies have no budgetary allocations.
” If they are complaining about lack of adequate funds, that is a different thing entirely.
” They should not hold the National Assembly responsible for their present financial predicament”
The source accused those peddling the allegation of an attempt to give the National Assembly a bad name.
“What I know and can confirm to you is that their budgets are no longer with the National Assembly.
According to the source, MAN Oron got its budget about two months ago.
The same thing goes for Nigerian Shippers’Council and NIWA.
” If there is still any other agency which has not received its own, it may probably be with the Ministry of Marine and Blue economy for necessary scrutiny or within the conveyance process”
The source said that the NPA has a peculiar case because the new MD has just resumed and could not be allowed to start spending money without studying the situation he met on the ground.
” Even, the NPA which has a peculiar case cannot complain of budget delay because they got virement.
” Not only that, the period of its budget implementation was extended.
” It was supplemented around February or March 2024 when the agency got additional budgetary allocation”
” National Assembly has no hand in the delay budget release or withholding or inadequate funds they may be facing and I challenge anyone with contrary position” the source declared.
Meanwhile, the efforts of our reporter to get the position of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy on the sectoral budget controversy met hostile reactions.
It would be recalled that in December 2023, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, presented N10.9billion budget to the joint House committees on Marine Transport and the House of Representatives committees on Ports and Harbour, Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, Inland waterways and Shipping Services.
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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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