Symphony007: Keep throwing nigeria's money into this pit calles cassava bread, meanwhile thailand is making billions off the rice needs of nigerians. They can't belive their luck, a country that can produce rice but no vision to drive it. They are now even paying lobbyist in nigeria to make sure nigeria's rice industry is the the gutter pepetually, so we keep buying from them. This country lacks vision. No roadmap to success. Just throw everything at the wall and see which sticks.

Dont you think this is line with what you are talking about? I mean with cassava bread we'll be able to save money from the importation of flower. My only concern is that Nigerian Government are always set or about to do something. Before i can trust this project until i see something like "Nigerian Government Completed Installation Of Cassava Bread Plant".

BY GABRIEL EWEPU

ABUJA- THE Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has said the federal government will
soon release N10 billion for cassava bread development fund
and to further boost the cassava production.

Adesina who was represented the Senior Technical Assistant to the minister of Agriculture, Dr. Adetunji Oredipe disclosed this in Kogi State at the Cassava GES Roll Out at Agbadu Staple Crop Processing Zone, SCPZ, in Kabba Bunu Local
Government Area of the state.

He explained Government established the Cassava Bread Development Fund, which would be funded through the tariff on wheat flour. He further said that the Cassava Bread Development Fund would also be used to support research and development efforts on cassava bread, training of master bakers, support for master bakers for the acquisition of new equipment for production.

Speaking on the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES), the
Minister said that the GES will allow the farmers to produce
additional food because the farmers will receive their improved cuttings and fertilisers. "This year we are taking cassava GES programme to scale, we have designed different levels of support to different categories of farmers and we are
committed to making this work.

"This marks another major milestone in our drive to ensure
that the modern cassava farmers adopt the best available
agricultural practices starting with the use of improved inputs;
cuttings and fertilisers. In doing this, we will ensure that our
farmers, the real cassava farmers who should be the real
beneficiaries of government policy are well targeted by
government programme", he said.

According to Adesina, to assure sustainable supply of high
quality cassava flour, a secure of low interest and long term
financing from the China Exim Bank for the importation of 18
large scale high quality cassava flour processing plant was
made to be owned and operate by the private sector. In his
address, Commissioner for Agriculture, Kogi Sate, Dr. Olufemi
Bolarin noted that the Governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada has
keyed into the ATA in Agriculture by encouraging and assisting Kogi State peasant farmers in all facets of agricultural production.

He said that the state government has subsidised agro
chemicals, Fertilisers to the farmers to enable them participate
fully in agricultural production, stressing that the state
government had earmarked in all the 3 senatorial district huge
area of land for agricultural activities such as cassava, maize,
etc, to employ the services of the teeming youth.

According to him, cassava has been discovered to play a vital
role in the federal government ATA in agricultural sub-sector of the economy, adding that in agriculture, there were various
sector that should be encourage and educate the youth to
indulged to assist in reducing youth restiveness and
unemployment such as fisheries, etc.

He therefore advice the youth to take interest in agriculture,
saying that the emergence of mechanised system of agriculture has made it easy and conductive for the graduates to imbibe the culture of farming in order to be self- reliant and drastically reduce unemployment enveloping the whole world.

www.vanguardngr.com/2013/08/fg-to-release-n10-billion-cassava-bread-development-fund/

I used to criticize all these telecom companies on their every day reality show only on entertainment but i must commend MTN on this. First it was NEXT TITAN and now this, the reward may not be ok but, it's an encouragement and i am sure others will follow.

gerald09:
Na so una insult GEJ during d beginning of d boko haram episode den he surprised all of una with d SOE, den same people started praising him, now una don start with corruption which has bin in our system since 4ever 4 him to change everything in 1 swap, b4 corruption can be battle it will take d whole Nigerian Government a 2 terms to even reduce it by 10% n I mean the whole 2 term without doin anytin else.
<b>Fighting corruption in Nigeria is like changing a passage in d bible 1 person can't achieve it in 2 term talk less of 2 yrs. If he does achieve @ list 3% less corruption in his whole presidential career his name really does portray him. It will be a miracle.</b>

The question is, is he doing anything at all about corruption? the anwser is big NO and if you think i am wrong what about Farouk and Otedola saga?

lacasa: It seems i will drop activism and national interest and focus fully on eating my own mega share of the national treasure.


Since all the people know how to do is shout n rant on the internet



"i Am out to get my Own, i got to get paid"

You mean if you can beat them then join them?

Brimmie: 40 Companies!?

How about the Subsidy Scam?? Lawal and Co. should be in Jail by now!

About three or four companies involve in subsidy scam are still among those forty companies

Every one talking about rooting, i don't understand. What is the benefit of rooting and what'll happen if i don' t root mine?

Apology not accepted because my phone antivirus detect their message as spam

This is obvious result when all our intellects are distancing them self from politics, they leave our destiny in the hands of thugs and crooks. 90% of our present political office holder are criminals.

Why do i have to give you my International Passport? What
do you need my Passport for? Do you think i`m a fool?
This are the conversations between me and my Importer
(new customer) when i ask him to provide his International
Passport, i was so surprised the way he responded. I never
comprehend what he was thinking, maybe he thought i was
going to use it for some kind of fraud. I don`t really blame
him though, because this is Nigeria…anything can happen.
And for anyone to request for something as important as
International Passport you must be ready to explain what
you really need it for. So i started explaining my self to my
new friend what i need his passport for and why he must
provide it. Despite my explanation my importer refused to
give me his passport, it took intervention of his friend who
recommends me to him before he could release his
passport and with undertaking that nothing must happen to
it.
But when i later discovered that it was his first time of
importing, then i started wondering, how many people out
there does not really undersatand what we (Clearing
Agents) uses their passport for? This is the reason i am
here today to explain so that we can all understand.
It is only at the port of loading that they recognises you as
the owner of your consignment, maybe through your shipper
or maybe you made the shipment by yourself. But at the
port of discharge here in Nigerian Port , the only person they
recognise is the one that provide original B/L and original
identity card that correspond with your B/L, it could be
international passport or drivers licence. Nomatter how you
trust your clearing agent, shipping company donesn`t feel
the same way.
There ware incidents of another person hijacking shipping
documents that does not belong to them from courier
service company, so this make it posible for anybody to
come to shipping company with your original B/L and claim
ownership of your consignment. It is responsibility of all
shipping company to protect their customers intrest and
secure their property. This is the reason why all shipping
company make it a mandate for every agent to provide
original importers identity because if your B/L is hijacked,
your identity card can not be hijacked.
So in summary, anytime your passport is been requested
for, you should understand that it is a measure to protect
your goods, and also it does not have to be only
international passport, it could be driver licence, national id
or certificate of incorporation for corporate organisation. All
of these is to be sure that you are genuinely represented.
Final note: Do not give any of your personal id to anyone
you do not trust instead go to the port along with your id
until it is no longer needed.
http//www.nigerianportforum.com/blog/archives/80

Femonjay: Thanks this.

You are welcome

What is underage vehicle? you may ask.

There are specific age limit for imported vehicles in every
country, in Nigeria, before President Jonathan, the limit was
ten years from the year of manufacture but now is fifteen
years ”thanks to Mr President and his team”. Now for every
car or jeep that is older than fifteen years is officially
contraband.
Like i have explained before, officially, underage vehicles are
illegal, but our people still bring them in, that is because of
Nigeria situation many people can not afford to pay millions
to buy a car. So i think Nigerian Customs (in my opinion)
use their discretion by allowing them take delivery of their
imported underage vehicles with some………….i don t know
But that was before, because right now Nigerian Customs
are so strict about underage vehicles, though still allowing it
but so strict to the extent that it is either you pay hefty fine
or your vehicle goes for total seizure.
In Nigerian port today to clear any underage vehicle you
need to be prepare because additional money you are going
to spend depend on which terminal your vehicle is at.
Terminals and additional money is as follow:
Apapa (COASTAL TERMINAL) 150,000.
PTML (GRIMALDI) 60,000.
Tin-can (CAR PARK C) 60,000.
Note that these additional charges are unreceiptable so
does not have anything to do with normal clearing charges.
And please don`t ask me where those additional charges
goes, you can go to Customs and ask them yourself.
I learnt from a friend who is an importer that the different
between 1997 Toyota Camry and 1998 is about 50,000 to
100,000 Naira, the same goes for all vehicle brand. He paid
150,000 additional charges the last time he imported 1997
Camry through Coastal Terminal Apapa. He was so angry
because he spent more than the amount he would have
spend on 1998 Camry and plus Camry 1997 does not have
the same value as Camry 1998 in Nigerian Market, so the
transaction was a big lost for him. He vow never to import
any underage vehicle again.
Though Nigerian Customs maybe using their discretion for
now but the truth remains that officially, underage vehicles
are contraband and importing contraband is not legal and if
you are so unlucky your vehicle might be seize forever.
So business wise importing underage vehicles is a waste of
resources, no matter how cheap the vehicle might be except
if it`s a gift, of cause you wouldn`t mind to spend little
change on something you did not buy.
VEHICLES THAT ARE UNDERAGE:
Cars of any kind be it SEDAN or WAGON from 1997
backward JEEP of any brand from 1997 backward but from
1998 upward is ok and legal,
VEHICLES WITHOUT UNDERAGE:
TRUCKS, LORRY, TRACTOR, TIPPER, BUS, PICK-UP and
SPACE WAGON
we can import all these without fear at least for now.
Note that 1998 is 15years in 2013 so 2014 is going to be 1999 and 2015 is going to be 2000 and so on.
www.nigerianportforum.com/blog/archives/40

Don't argue this with people from Ilorin

US-AutoBuy:



Where in the port can you pay only 20% of the duty and get away? In this day and age?

Yes, you cannot pay 20percent and get away from customs but you can get away from government, the remaining percentage is shared with customs. That is the reason why everybody want to become a customs.......the most corrupted organisation in Nigeria.

US-AutoBuy:



Why do you have to come here and talk trash cos you want business? Where in the port can you pay only 20% of the duty and get away? In this day and age?

Take your scare tactics down the road and use it somewhere else.

Yes i'm an agent but i am not trying to advertise my business here neither do i claim to be a saint or is there anywhere i give my contact? The truth is always bitter.

Do you know that your newly acquired Ride that
you spent so much money to get might not be
cleared legally from the Nigrian Port?
It’s so funny, listening to some car dealers bragging
about their vehicles been cleared from Tin-can Port,
all is just to get their customers to buy, but what is
unaware to them or should i say unaware to
customers (because most dealers are also clearing
agent) is that vehicles been cleared from Tin-can or
from any Port in Nigeria does not make it’s legit.
I am a clearing agent with more than ten years
experience so i can authoritatively tell you exactly
what is realy happening in the Port. It is painful to
tell you this but the truth is that most of the vehicles
coming out of Nigerian Port are not legally cleared.
It might surprise you to know that in some cases
agent pay only 20percent of actual duty they need to
pay on vehicle. That is even better because anytime
you are arrested by F.O.U (CUSTOMS FEDERAL
OPERATION UNIT) you only need to pay the balance
with some fine….that is if you are lucky enough.
Some times jeep are declare as bus because duty
on bus is lower to jeep and some times sound and
running vehicles can be declare as accidented. What
about highlander 2013 model been declare as 2002
model? Who does not know that about million have
been cut.
What about M.O? I don’t realy know the full meaning
of M.O but i know how it works. M.O is a system
where no duty will be paid to government and yet
the vehicle will be out….this can not be done without
customs involvement. Unaware to the owner, they
will make fake document and everything is done.
They do this on big and expensive vehicles like
model 2010,2011,2012 and 2013.
Some times you may be wondering why, after you
have paid exact money that your agent ask for yet
your vehicle refused to come out…..don’t blame your
vehicle that refused to come out but your agent
maybe he’s doing M.O.
M.O is not easy to do because it required a
specialist from customs, so it takes times to finally
deliver and if lucky is not on the agent side it may
get expose and if you don’t know anybody at the top
your vehicle is gone foever.
So to all genuine importers and buyers of
automobile, after your agent had delivered your
vehicle or you are about to buy a vehicle from a
dealer that always brag about Tin-can cleared
vehicle, kindly make a copy of customs document
and go to Tin-can and ask for CPC, just tell them
that you are about to buy a vehicle and you want to
know if it is genuiely cleared from Nigerian Port.
You will be surpise to discover that 80percent of the
vehicles cleared from Nigerian Port is not legally
cleared.

www.nigerianportforum.com/blog/archives/54

The Cross River State Government has asked the Nigerian
Shippers' Council to intervene in the challenges faced by
cocoa farmers in exporting their products.
The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural
Resources, Mr. James Aniyom, said cocoa traders were
contending with high cost of shipment of their products from
the Calabar Port.
Aniyom, who stated this when he received a delegation on
Thursday from the Nigerian Shippers' Council in Calabar,
Cross River State, noted that it had not been easy for the few
traders dealing in the product.
"The fight for cocoa to be shipped from Calabar has not
been easy, especially where there are only few players and
the high cost of shipment from the port," he said.
The commissioner said the state government was making
concerted efforts to increase the activities at the Calabar Port
through the building of a conference centre with 18-hole golf
course, as well as the emergence of a General Electric
manufacturing plant in Calabar.
"Cross River State in collaboration with the Federal
Government plans to install 450 metric tons of cassava plant
at Obubra. Also, Wilmar International Limited and Dansa
Integrated farms will soon commence the shipping of their
processed oil and concentrates from Calabar Port," he said.
Earlier, the Deputy Director and Zonal Coordinator for South-
South, Mr. Maurice Effanga, said agriculture was very vital in
the activation of the port, explaining that their visit was to
find out what government was doing to step up exportation.
Effanga maintained that their mission was also to collaborate
with the state in bringing more exporters and importers,
including the north east cargoes, to Calabar port.
He said the essence of the establishment of the Shipping
Council was to provide a forum to protect the interest of
Nigerian shippers, advise the Federal Government on sundry
matters relating to its operations, carry out researches on
problems encountered as they affect the council and fight
against illicit trade.
Also speaking, the Managing Director, International
Transactions Limited, Mr. Michael Ogodo, said the shipping
of cocoa from Calabar had been suspended, pointing out that
some indigenes did not want the exportation to work.
He observed that vessel were always coming and leaving the
port almost empty because of the lack of cargo.
Ogodo also said the delay by officials of the Customs and
Excise unit had not helped matters as it had often times
made the products to go bad.
He implored cocoa dealers to ship from the port in order to
meet a benchmark of 50, 000 tons of cocoa.

http://www.punchng.com/business/industry/criver-advises-shippers-council-on-cocoa-export/

2013-06-23 00:00:22
President Goodluck Jonathan will on Sunday (today) travel to
Yaounde, Cameroon, to participate in the Summit of West
and Central African Heads of State and Government on
maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, which opens on
Monday.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the
President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the
summit was convened against the backdrop of rising
incidents of piracy in the resource-rich Gulf of Guinea.
Abati said Jonathan would join other heads of state of the
Economic Community of West Africa States and the
Economic Community of Central Africa States in the
Cameroonian capital to deliberate on new proposals and a
joint action plan to tackle piracy and maritime criminality in
the gulf.
Abati said documents to be considered and ratified by heads
of state at the summit include a Memorandum of Agreement
among ECOWAS, ECCAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission
on Maritime Safety and Security in West and Central Africa;
the policy statements of the heads of state and government
on maritime safety and security; as well as a Code of
Conduct on the fight against piracy, armed robbery and
illegal maritime activities.
The statement read in part, "It is expected that at the
conclusion of the summit, legal instruments for cooperation
on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea will be adopted by
participating heads of state and government.
"The legal instruments and the Memorandum of Agreement
on joint prevention and repression of illegal activities in the
gulf will establish a concrete basis for the two regional blocs
to share intelligence, conduct joint patrols and jointly repress
piracy in their maritime domain.
"President Jonathan will be accompanied to the summit by
the Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke; Minister of
Interior, Mr. Abba Moro; Minister of Transport, Mr. Idris
Umar; Minister of State for Defence, Mrs. Olusola Obada;
Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Joseph Ezeoba and the
Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and
Safety Agency, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi."
Jonathan is also expected to hold bilateral talks with
President Paul Biya on issues such as border security and
the welfare of Nigerians living in Cameroon.
He will meet with the Nigerian community in Cameroun
before returning to Abuja on Tuesday.

http://www.punchng.com/news/jonathan-in-cameroun-for-african-maritime-security-summit/

bolaino: Well I fail to see the significance of this new development, since most states are gradually putting a ban on motorcycle usage, so I wonder how this helps the poor people it's supposed to help, and the Nigerian government should seek of ways to secure employment for our teeming youths, instead of hoping they would take to riding okada, I love this country, but Nigeria sucks.

I think it is a good start to the journey of technoloy

adisarasaq:
Our correspondent reports that few days after the US
ultimatum was issued, the National Security Adviser (NSA),
Col. Sambo Dasuki, ordered NIMASA to tighten its security
network within and around the nation’s seaports.

Must we wait every time for international community to tell us what is right for our dear country?

Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and
Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi,
at the weekend in Lagos gave reasons why the US cautioned
the Federal Government to improve on its ports security
system within 90 days or risk suspension of sail of vessels to
Nigeria.
According to him, the 90 days ultimatum was to enable
stakeholders in the maritime sector in Nigeria to comply with
the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code.
He said following the terrorists attack on the World Trade
Centre in New York on September 11, 2001, the vulnerability of
lives, property and other assets to attacks by criminal-minded
elements under whatever guise became a global reality.
“The unconventional manner in which the infamous attacks
were successfully carried out and the frightening devastation
they caused brought to the centre of global discourse, the need
for a concerted effort to ensure the safety of lives and property
everywhere. As much as terrorism is unacceptable, what is
even more unacceptable is a lack of proactive response by
independent nations to the constantly evolving menace of
terrorism”, he said.
Akpobolokemi, at a stakeholders meeting in Lagos, therefore,
threatened to sanction port operators who fail to upgrade
facilities to meet the ISPS code.
Our correspondent reports that few days after the US
ultimatum was issued, the National Security Adviser (NSA),
Col. Sambo Dasuki, ordered NIMASA to tighten its security
network within and around the nation’s seaports.
http:///mgv7awa

www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/news-news/57102-why-us-threatened-to-sanction-nigeria-by-nimasa-dg

The question is does the drugs come in through right process? because the fact that it is impoprted by a politician or it is meant for the poor does not make it a good drugs.

Drugs worth millions of naira meant for the free health care
programme of Senator Babafemi Ojudu were on Sunday, in
Lagos, seized by the National Agency for Foods, Drugs
Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Although the senator did not give reasons for the seizure of the
drugs, he appealed to the director general of the agency, Dr.
Paul Orhii, to intervene to ensure quick and timely release of
the drugs.
During the two-week free medical service, which was flagged
off at the palace of the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe,
yesterday, foreign doctors brought in by the senators are
expected to carry out various tests, treat and administer drugs
to patients free of charge.
Speaking with journalists, Senator Ojudu said the project was
aimed at complementing Governor Kayode Fayemi’s health
care programme.
He added, “I am concerned about the untimely death of people
as a result of non-availability of health care services. Many
times I have received calls that somebody slumped and died.
You will just hear that somebody you saw yesterday just
because of a brief headache slumped and died. So, it is my
little way of giving back to the society.”
Senator Ojudu, who is representing Ekiti Central Senatorial
District of the state, said the medical team would spend two
days in each of the five local governments constituting his
district. The programme, he said, is non-discriminatory and
non-partisan, adding that it is for everybody in his
constituency.
While commending Governor Fayemi’s health care services in
the state and renovation of general hospitals, the senator
disclosed that the programme would cost him about N10
million.
The leader of the medical team, Dr. Rasheed Abassi, in an
interview said his team would treat people of different ailments
such as blood pressure, tuberculosis, diabetes, malaria and
how to manage chronic diseases. He urged the people to
embrace the programme.
http:///k53xhro


www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/news-news/57109-nafdac-impounds-senator-s-free-health-drugs

By Babajide Komolafe

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said it hopes to increase its tax collection to N5.6 trillion this year, even as it commenced moves to introduce redesigned tax forms.

Acting Executive Chairman of the Service, Alhaji Kabir M. Mashi disclosed this yesterday in Lagos at a stakeholder’s workshop to review the redesigned tax returns forms. “I wish to place on record that FIRS collected over five trillion naira (N5 trillion) last year with your support and is focused to achieve the 2013 target of N5.6 trillion naira in support of the noble objectives of government”, he said.

Represented by the Director, Non-Tax Programed, Ms. Chiaka Okoye, he said that the redesigned tax returns form is part of efforts of the Service to meet this target and possibly surpass it. The Redesigned Tax Form, he said, is in response to the challenges faced by the Service in its quest to perform its statutory functions, which are: to assess, collect and account for the following taxes collected; companies’ income tax; petroleum profit tax; value added tax; tertiary education tax; National Information Development Levy.”

The challenges to carrying out these responsibilities he said ranges from: Tax leakages associated with cheque conversion/diversions of various magnitudes in early 2004; conspicuous inefficiencies in tax service delivery process; global challenges of ICT penetration; the need for capacity building.

“The challenges are so enormous to the extent that tax compliance was not only affected badly but the integrity of the entire tax administration system was almost lost. FIRS had to deal with these challenges one after the other to guarantee a sustainable level of revenue for government to enable her provide essential services to the public.

“One of the sure ways to address these challenges was partly through automation, capacity building and awareness creation. We started this by initiating Project FACT. The Project FACT which is a Bank payment solution was implemented to secure government revenue from all sources of leakages. Payment process became transparent and more efficient as taxpayers can pay in one environment and view the payment anywhere.

“The payment solution was just one out of several processes that FIRS introduced. Businesses processes were re-engineered to achieve a standardisation required for automation. The re-engineering efforts translated into defining requirements to select an off-the-shelf tax administration solution.

A procurement process through the adoption of international competitive bidding process was initiated and a Standard Integrated Government Tax Administration (SIGTAS) Solution was selected and approved by Federal Executive Council (FEC).

“Thus, the ITAS project – to implement the SIGTAS solution (automation of the entire tax administration processes). The ITAS implementation is on the verge of completion. However, we cannot conclude the implementation without bringing our stakeholders together, to inform them of what to expect as we have re-engineered the processes, and introduced new forms.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/05/firs-targets-n5-6trn-set-to-introduce-redesigned-tax-forms/

The revelation by the Federal Ministry of Finance that an estimated 350,000 incorporated companies in the country have consistently failed to file their tax returns to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) speaks volumes of the laxity in tax administration in the country. If this level of default in tax payments can happen in spite of the newly-introduced National Tax Policy, it shows the extent that many of the indicted companies go to shortchange the nation of revenue due from taxation. Tax evasion of this magnitude could not have been possible without the collusion of defaulting companies with tax officials.

Minister of State for Finance, Dr Yerima Ngama, who made the disclosure at a recent forum on tax administration in Africa, in Abuja, was understandably worried by such high rate of corporate tax evasion in Nigeria.

We share this concern. This is more so as figures obtained from the Finance Ministry and FIRS show that total tax revenue in Nigeria represents only seven percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In contrast, tax revenue in Ghana, a country with much fewer incorporated firms, is about 21 percent of its GDP. This means that many companies that ought to be paying tax in Nigeria are defaulting.

In fact, the actual number of tax defaulters in the country may exceed the figure quoted. The truth is that tax evasion has become the culture of both the formal and informal sectors of the economy. With this habit, no matter for how long we mouth the much-touted slogan of Nigeria being the “investment destination in Africa”, the corresponding benefits will count for little without commensurate tax payments by both local and foreign investors. For instance, an astonishing N85.2 billion was reportedly lost within four years to tax evasion in the automobile industry.

No country that tolerates a high level of tax evasion can generate adequate revenue for its development. In the more developed economies, the trend is to tax the rich and big firms heavily and use part of the revenue to provide safety nets for the poor, and for other development purposes. The opposite is the case in Nigeria, as reports by the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) show that foreign airlines and major oil companies in the country, including the government-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) frequently underpay taxes and statutory remittances due to the Federal Government.

This is a huge challenge to government. It is high time government tightened relevant laws on tax evasion. Mere identification of the defaulting firms is not enough. Stricter measures and laws which provide stiff penalties for tax evasion should be put in place. Lagos State, for example, has come closer to a good tax system with its emphasis on prosecution of companies found to be defaulting in tax payments. It may, however, have exceeded its bounds with what now appears to be multiple taxation of corporation organizations operating in certain sectors of the economy in the state.

Overall, there is the need for accurate tax code standards. Also, presumptive tax system, in which tax is inferred from simple indicators such as turnover, assets, farm size and value of land, should be considered as a veritable means of checking tax evasion by companies. Whichever way, a better tax framework for all businesses in the country, including those in the informal sector of the economy, has become necessary.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/editorial/tackling-corporate-tax-evasion/

abbe7: On the first hand, I think the NCS have qualified officers to take up the DI scheme from the inspection agents, but may have issues in computing technicalities, operation and maintenance of the scanning machines. They (NCS) need recruit graduates with backgrounds in engineering and data/information management systems to function effectively in this area, and also to avoid constant machine break ups and delays in processing and assessing results from scanned containers as currently witnessed in the RUBBISH Ap Moller Terminals in Apapa Port. The worst terminal in Nigeria with a monopolistic reputation for causing demurrage, port congestion, and trade defacillitation. The Ministry of Finance needs probe them.

On the other hand, in as much as we know the inspection agents are more interested in the 1% Comprehensive Inspection Supervision scheme, its still necessary they remain a while to oversee technicallities in the scanning process.

Pre-RAR is a welcome development.

I agree with you but no matter how well they train NCS Nigerian factor will always be there.

In AP Moller issue i also agree with you they need to be probe.

By UCHE USIM

Come June 30, this year, the seven-year contract for the cargo Destination Inspection (DI) scheme currently operated by four service providers – Cotecna Destination Nigeria Limited, SGS, Global Scansystems and Web Fontaine, will officially expire.

DI is a service whereby goods and import declarations are inspected on arrival in the importing country and the scheme, from July 1, is expected to be run by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) if the terms of the agreement is anything to go by.

The deal hitherto expired in December 2012 but was extended by six months, thus making July 1 the anticipated handover date.

The service providers, working in consonance with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), are private sector companies, who installed cargo scanners in various seaports, airports and land borders and the interconnectivity of their operation is buoyed by an ICT platform provided by Web Fontaine.

One of the terms of the contract was the provision, operation and maintenance of the hi-tech scanners and to train Customs personnel in the same capacity before the expiration of the deal.

The handover brouhaha has become a hot subject of debate among stakeholders in the Maritime sector.

As it is in every debate, some believe the NCS is ready, willing and able to takeover the operations of the DI, while others feel otherwise, insisting that the NCS is only politically ready and not professionally prepared to run the show.

Some NCS officials, who confided in Daily Sun alleged that the service providers are fighting hard to sabotage their takeover of the scheme by July 1.

They explained that the scanning companies have created unpalatable circumstances that will naturally rob the service of the required capacity to takeover.

To address that, the NCS source said about 300 officers were flown out for training with Smith Detection in France, on the proper operations and maintenance of the scanning machines, being the same type used by DI service providers.

On the other hand, the service providers have equally alleged that the NCS officials are more interested to be on the field (‘where the action is’) than to stay at the training locations.

According to the Managing Director of Global Scansystems Limited, Fred Udechukwu, the development has left a serious knowledge gap in the Customs, especially in the area of operations and maintenance of the scanners.

Port users, who spoke with Daily Sun said the Customs is desperate to take over the DI scheme, while the service providers are reluctant to handover, as they are smiling to the banks on a daily basis.

They stressed that the attraction to the scheme by both parties is buoyed by the money each of them eyes to make and not necessarily striving to improve on the service delivery to consumers.

As the debate rages, experts in the industry say the takeover of the scheme should follow a transition process mid-wifed by a Transition Committee set-up by the Federal Government, the initiator of the DI Scheme.

The transition committee should comprise officials of the Finance Ministry (the mid-wife of DI) the Central Bank, Customs reform committee members and other stakeholders.

Experts also say a comprehensive audit of the entire scheme ought to be done to track the milestones the service providers have covered and ascertain whether they are operating within the dictates of the agreement.

Stakeholders also advise that government should, without bias, assess the capacity of the NCS to run the scheme before any form of handover, in the interest of the country.

A member of the Presidential Committee on Customs reforms, who pleaded anonymity, told Daily Sun in an interview that the agreement the Federal Government had with the service providers stated that on-the-job training of Customs personnel to be provided by them (service providers) for the eventual takeover of the DI ought to have started by November 11, 2011, and wrapped up by November 2012.

“The government has not brought this to being. The complete training, I mean on-the-job training has not taken place and that is part of the transition process. There ought and should be a transition committee comprising officials of the Finance Ministry, the CBN, the NCS and other stakeholders. The committee was part of our recommendation as Presidential Committee members. The DI Scheme is not a Customs initiative. It belongs to the Finance Ministry and the Customs is not the body that should be saying it is ready to take over the DI. The Federal Government should. The DI is a very complex programme. It’s technical. It involves scanners and other hi-tech equipment. If mismanaged, it could be harmful to the people living in the Nigeria. It can cause cancer. So, it’s not a political matter as some people are bandying it,” the source said.

However, the NCS via the Comptroller General, Dikko Inde Abdullahi last year, told the Senate Committee on Maritime and journalists in Abuja that Nigeria lost a whopping N90 billion to underpayment of Destination Inspection fee in 2012, which also represented 10 per cent of the total revenue collected in the year.

He noted that the quick passage of the Customs Exercise Management Act (CEMA) could stem the tide as it ensures the NCS becomes autonomous particularly in the area of destination inspection services.

At a tour of the NCS facilities at its Abuja headquarters, the Deputy Comptroller General of NCS, Garba Makarfi told Maritime journalists that as the systems of the service have been computerized and as such fully ready to take over DI in June once the government gives the nod.

“We are computerizing our system apart from ASYCUDA, we have the trade hub, we have the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) while we have the ruling centre. We have the ICT, all the connectivity where we connect to all the agencies. We are online as you are aware, you don’t need to have any physical contact with Customs officers before you clear your goods once you have done a honest transaction. It is also a system that targets the high risk consignment before arrival. This is to check for the likelihood of hazardous importations that could threaten environmental life and National security,” he said.

According to the NCS, PAAR was developed in 2012 as part of measures to respond adequately to the increasing volume of trade vis a vis the limited human and financial resources.

The ICT ruling centre has trained officers assuming the following roles: administrators of NCS-PAAR application scrutiny-officers; final document verification officers; valuation and classification Officers, and; risk profile Officers.

Besides, commercial banks are scheduled to work with their own system based rules.

Also speaking at the visit, Yusuf Bashar, Deputy Comptroller, Operations said the NCS would ensure conclusion of all customs clearing procedures in six hours, as soon as the Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) is implemented.

“The essence of PAAR is that it eliminates waiting for any document by the importers when his/her cargo arrives. As we are speaking today, PAAR is ready but June is the policy statement for PAAR to replace RAR when the inspection would be handed over to the customs. Customs will work round the clock. There are four shifts of six hours each. A building designated and known as Refreshment Centre has already been commissioned by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Abdullahi Dikko, for the use of officers of PAAR and Nigeria Trade Hub Centres,” he explained.

While the NCS is rejoicing over its ‘achievements’, the Managing Director of Global Scansystem Limited (one of the service providers), Fred Udechukwu, has expressed doubts over the competence of the NCS to possibly take over and operate the DI scheme from July 1.

In an interactive session with journalists, Udechukwu warned of possible outbreak of cancer if the cargo scanners installed at Nigerian airports, seaports and land borders are entrusted to those he described as untrained and inexperienced people after the exit of the service providers.

Udechukwu says the NCS lacks competent hands to operate and maintain the scanning machines.

The Global Scansystem boss also alleged that all the efforts by the service providers to train Customs personnel in this critical aspect of the contract were thwarted by the top echelon of the Service.

“For Global Scan, the contract stipulates that we should train 350 officers, but I insisted that that number is too negligible to make an impact. We have so far trained 1,600 officers and we are still training. However, the officers are not trainable in the operations and maintenance of scanner because of the dearth of officers with the requisite knowledge in engineering courses. Customs has no engineer!’’ he asserted.

According to him, few of the officers the service providers had found to be manageable and had trained were not allowed to stay for the mandatory period for supervision before they were redeployed by their superiors.

“Some of them are more interested to be on the field, where the action is, than to stay at the training sites,’’ Udechukwu alleged.

Warning of dire health consequences, if the scanners are left in the hands of Customs personnel after the exit of the service providers, Udechukwu said: “The fixed scanner emit nine million volts of x-ray, which is the maximum allowed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) while the mobile scanner emit 3.8 million volts of x-ray. But if it goes beyond that, anybody who is within the sight of the machine will die. The x-ray being emitted by these machines cause cancer and you could imagine if they are left in the hands of the untrained and uncommitted people, cancer will ravage this country, God forbid.’’

Udechukwu explained that it takes a minimum of between 12 months and 18 months to get adequate training on the operation and maintenance of these machines, with additional six months for supervision.

The Global Scansystem boss claimed that the service providers had to prevail on the Customs Management to recruit young physists, chemists in their first recruitment exercise, but lamented that none of these officers was sent to them for training after their mandatory training in Customs rudiments.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/business/destination-inspection-between-customs-desperation-and-service-providers-reluctance/

The Federal Government has disclosed plans to begin local manufacturing of auto spare parts.

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Muhammed Sada, said this at Ota, Ogun State, during the inauguration of a new factory, Sun and Sand Industries Africa Limited.

Sada said his ministry would incorporate products from Sun and Sand Limited, ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, and other automobile manufacturing firms to realise the plan, aimed at creating jobs.

He said, “We are currently working on some projects whereby some of the major automobile manufacturers would be invited to the country to speed up activities in the production of basic spare parts for the motor industry with the hope that we would build it to the level where we would be able to produce motor vehicles.

“This is where you come in; we would not be thinking of this kind of programmes without companies like yours, you would be part of the framework with which the automobile framework will be built; your operations are central to whatever achievement that framework is aimed at.

“We are in a strong partnership with your company, which we believe would develop the industry, and most importantly, providing the required jobs for the Nigerian people.”

The minister said the government had decided to leave the development of the steel industry to the private sector, adding that the government would only serve as regulator for the activities within the sector.

“This has led government into privatising most of the operations in the sector. The idea is to ensure that a level-playing field and an enabling environment is created for businesses to progress and grow and be the drivers of the achievements that are found in the sector,” he said.

Sada added Sun and Sand Limited requested for approval to start mining projects that would support the backward integration of their operations.

“We have undertaken quite a number of geological studies and come to realise the abundant natural raw materials, which your company and many others in this country can take advantage of,” he said.

Founder and Managing Director, Sun and Sand Industries Africa Limited, Mrs. Shweta Satija, expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for its policies that had helped the company to survive.

She said plans had been concluded for the company to venture into some other projects to boost the nation’s economy and increase job opportunities for Africans.
http://www.punchng.com/business/fg-plans-local-manufacturing-of-motor-spare-parts/

By UCHE USIM

Princess Vicky Haastrup, executive vice chairman and chief executive officer of ENL Consortium, is a dogged fighter, with no room for failure.

Since the emergence of ENL Consortium as terminal operator of terminals C and D at the Lagos Port Complex Apapa in 2006, Princess Vicky Haastrup has taken steps to clean up the terminal by flushing out miscreants, despite threats and influence of entrenched interests. Before then, those undesirable elements had constituted themselves into a major stakeholder’s group at the ports with the authorities looking helpless. Today, the terminal wears a new look and is more conducive for business.

Haastrup is also a strong advocate of women’s right in a male dominated industry, as she stays strong, even when trying to rescue a sinking ship that may be at odds with her best personal interests.

As Chairman of the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Haastrup has ensured the compliance to concession agreement remained sacrosanct.

She attended the Pitman Central College and Holborn College, both in London, and worked at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), where she rose through the ranks, attaining the position of Special Assistant to the Minister of Petroleum and Energy before retiring in 2006 after 23 years.

In this interview, she talks more about the company, the Nigerian maritime industry, and more.

Excerpts:

Ports in pre-concession era

The Ports industry has an interesting enterprise since terminal concession was conducted in April 2006. In fact, ENL just celebrated its 7th year anniversary in port operations. We could not take-off when the concession was signed between the operators, NPA and the BPE for some reasons which may not be the focus of this interview. The reason I said the port industry is very interesting is because our experiences in the past seven years have been dramatic. Before we took over of the port, we met a completely run down system. When I say completely, I mean completely in all sense of it. There was nothing on ground. We didn’t meet an organized system in terms of the facilities, labour, development, among others.

Nothing was working. The buildings were dilapidated; the roads were very bad, both the common users roads and the roads leading to the ports. I always tell people that at the ENL terminal, the potholes were like craters. It could even swallow a trailer. So, in 2006, I remember that there were incessant trucks and trailers tipping over when they fall into those potholes within the terminal. There were no equipment to work with, while labour issues were also there. For someone like me, it gave me a lot of challenge. And, of course, we had an obligation to develop the system because it also bordered on increasing productivity in the ports and so, we marshalled out ways to surmount them.

All over the world, experience has shown that government has no business in running business but to create the enabling environment. And this is because there are so many factors that would not allow them to have efficient operations.

So, when we came in, the first thing we identified and mapped out was to develop the port, so that we can discharge vessels efficiently and effectively. By doing this, we know we’ll reduce the time ships stay in the port. But to really do that, we had to provide equipment, personnel, and so on. I must confess to you, the NPA handed to us a little above 60 equipment but they were not functional. As a matter of fact, NPA was renting equipment to operate. You know how much that would cost them in a day. So when we came, one of the first things we did was to send out all those companies that were leasing out equipment to NPA to discharge ships. We procured a lot of equipment. The amount of investment runs into millions of dollars.

Cost of doing business at ports

The concessionaires did not bring about the increase in the cost of doing business at the ports. Of course, people do not want to hear this but that is the truth in the real sense of it. In the port industry, there are so many factors that can militate against reduction of costs of operations. We have so many people who operate within the port system. We have the concessionaire, the port operator, the shipping agents, clearing agents, government agencies that are too numerous in the ports. What I’ll ask you people to do is just compare how much the concessionaires are charging to what is charged in other parts of the world particularly in Europe. The concessionaires have put down a lot of investments for them to carry out efficient operations. For instance, within one year that we took over, we were able to increase the turnaround of vessels by about 75 percent. Within three-four years, we had doubled that. In five to six years, we have increased same by over 200 percent, far more than double. If you do not develop the port or you do not invest in port operations, there is no way you can achieve that.

The dwell time of ships has reduced drastically from 10 days to about three days. To us, that is reduction in cost. This is how it works: those importers or ship chatterers spend a lot of money doing this. So, when you can reduce the dwell time (which is the number of days the ship stays at berth), to them, that has reduced money because the longer the time the ship stays at berth, the more money they pay. So, depending on the type of chartering contract they have with the ship owner, they might be paying so much if the turnaround time is slow.

I remember the first rice ship that we did in conjunction with the NPA (because we had a one-month handover period) when we took over, it stayed 45 days at berth. It was a rice ship and I will never forget that. There was a particular one that stayed 60 days. We can discharge those ships in 12 days today. When a ship enters demurrage, it costs money. So, that we’re able to handle ships efficiently and practically knock down the dwell time of the vessels at berth is clear reduction in operational cost.

At times, people talk about our tariff and I see it is not something out of this world. If you compare our storage, terminal handling tariffs with what obtains overseas you’ll discover we’re still cheap.

When we took over in 2006, NPA was actually collecting more in terms of cargo dues. They brought the concessionaires tariff down by 33 per cent. In other words, they reduced cargo dues by 33 per cent before we took over. NPA was actually doing it for more. Don’t forget, all those malpractices of those days were there before we took over. For instance, if you’re to bring in your ship with a problem, you’ll probably have to pay through your nose and also there was serious congestion in the ports. Congestion today by the grace of God has become almost a thing of the past. As I’m talking to you, I’m the one canvassing for ships. I’m the one waiting for ships to come. I tell you, because of the efficiency in Nigerian ports, Republic of Benin has suffered a lot.

I remember, before President Yar’Adua died, the President of Benin came to Nigeria and asked for help saying that since the ports were concessioned, activities in their ports have reduced drastically. And you know that is a major source of income for that country. the permutation was that because of our efficiency, it now costs much less for people to use our ports, so why go to Benin Republic?

Today, people have forgotten where we are coming from and it baffles me that people forget history. I know Oliver Twist will always ask for more and so our people will always ask for more. Let’s not forget that we have enemies out there, who no matter what we do, will not be pleased.

Like I told you earlier, what is responsible for increase in cost of operations in the ports is not the concessionaires. We have shipping agents out there; we have the clearing agents too and others. So, who’s looking into their activities?

I can tell you, ship agents’ tariff is even higher than terminal operators’ charges but nobody talks about that. There are lots of things we charge that the ship agents are not supposed to charge but they do. Who’s looking at those? Some clearing agents do things fraudulently. There have been instances where people bring their bills to us in ENL and we discover that it has been tampered with. They’ll go and clone/print the letterhead of ENL and slam whatever bill they want to use to cut the throats of their clients. These are all malpractices in the industry. But everyone heaps all the blame on the head of the terminal operator. But the operators, as a matter of fact, are the ones spending money. We are the people that have put down investments in port operations and not the other arms. So, we’re in business and we should be able to recoup our investment.

Job of terminal operator

We’re master stevedores. We discharge vessels and receive ships. We deliver cargo. We store cargo and keep it safe. That’s basically our main functions.

Complaints against STOAN

STOAN, (Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria) as an association is looking at all the complaints everyone is making about us and our operations. But I can tell you that if these complaints are carefully analysed, you’ll see that we’ve done very well in the last seven years. Don’t forget, Rome was not built in a day. We met a completely run down system and it cannot be upgraded in one or two years. It takes time. Of course, even in our concession agreement, we’ve a time frame by which we could complete certain tasks, particularly in terms of development and procurement of equipment etc. There are time schedules fixed for these items. As a terminal operator, I want to boldly tell you that a lot of my association members have fully complied with the terms of the agreement. We know those things that are actually giving us bad name and we’re looking into them. We’re writing to the government to open their eyes to some of these issues, especially those relating to clearing agents and ship agents. We’re sensitizing the government to let them know that most of these issues/challenges do not spring from us. Indeed, I had a forum to air my views on some of the issues because I was a member of one of the Maritime Committees set up by Mr President last year. Some of the things I told the committee were like an eye opener. It’s not about the terminal operators alone, it’s all encompassing.

24-hr port operations

The government ordered all ports to operate 24-hour round the clock. But I can tell you that there are certain factors like security and the environment that are militating against achieving that. In fact, there are certain ships you can’t just discharge at night. Even if you discharge, the truck will not leave the terminal. In fact, let me give you example of what is obtainable in my terminal. For instance, rice cargo, because of security issues, when you discharge such cargo, what the truck drivers do is just park within the terminal. They can’t move because of security challenges. If they attempt to move at night, they’ll be attacked on the road, that much I can tell you. So, government needs to address the issue of security. Again, the environment is not conducive.

Terminal operators are doing 24 hours really and some agencies like Customs are there working 24 hours, but I can still tell you that the 24 hours is not really 24 hours. If you discharge a ship and it cannot move out of the terminal, it remains there. So, what we do is that when we come in the morning, the first thing we do is clear the backlogs including those trucks that have been loaded. So, we discharge the ships but they won’t want to move out of the terminal. So, it’s not really complete 24 hours until the security challenges are addressed.

48-hour clearance of goods at ports

48-hour clearance of goods at the ports is feasible but certain things have to be put in place. The operating environment plays a major role here. How easy is it for trucks to come in and move out of the ports? That’s a major problem. Apapa is always jam-packed. Traffic is another nightmare. So, when the owner of the cargo tells you I’m coming to load, we sit there, we don’t see them. Perhaps they’ve been held up in Mile 2 or Tin can or some place. So, until these things are addressed, it’s difficult to achieve the 48-hour clearance. Unfortunately, the port environment in Nigeria is designed not to make us achieve 48-hour clearance. It’s only in Nigeria that we have this kind of hostile environment within the port system. The port environment should be cleared of all encumbrances and congestion. That’s how it is in other parts of the world. That was how it was before but by the time the government started granting people approvals to situate tank farms within the port environment, that has brought about congestion. So, within the port environment, is not only trucks that are coming to load goods at the port that you have.

You have tankers that have come to load at the tank farms too. So, everybody struggles against themselves. Trucks that are coming to load within the seaport terminals are struggling with tankers. Look at Apapa bridge, you’ll see all those tankers lined up on it. Is that bridge built to withstand that type of pressure? These are all the things we must address. I’ve always said it, I’m an advocate that the tank farms situated within the port environment be relocated. People who granted such licenses or approvals so to speak have not done well. And until some decisive is done, it’ll be difficult.

25-year port development master plan

One of the key issues the master plan should look into is the tenure given to concessionaires. Some concessions’ tenure is as low as 10 years. Some are 15 and some 25 years. Let me tell you this; for people to want to put down their resources and invest heavily in the terminals for it to equate what obtains overseas, you need increase their tenure. It’s only in Nigeria that you have such tenure. If you don’t have long tenure, you’ll just do what you’re obligated to do in the concession agreement. You won’t go the extra mile. From the time we took over till now, we know that there’s more that could be done in our contract with government. But if I have a 10-year concession, how will I be able to recoup any further investment? All that said, for us at ENL, we’ve even spent more what we were obliged to put down. For example, the construction that we have done in the terminal, it’s one that will last for 10 years, it’ll last for 20 years. We’re doing it with the mindset that if we did well, government will be magnanimous to renew our tenure. So, we’re not hesitant but longer tenure will naturally stimulate people to want to put down more.

The master plan should also address the aforementioned issues like environment, security etc. For us in Lagos, the security is not a bad as it is in the South/South region. We should look into labour problems and I thank God that today, labour problem is now a thing of the past. It used to be the biggest issues whereby government had to wade in but that has not happened for many years and that’s because we have a responsible dock workers’ leadership. They have the fear of God and love this country deeply. We have a good relationship now.

The master plan should also look at the role of the NPA. It’s a tripartite agreement. I’ve my responsibility and NPA has its own. It’s a responsibility that is shared by both parties. If terminal operators are carrying out their responsibility and NPA is not, there’s still a problem. NPA’s Marine Services has to be efficient. Though it’s better than before but they can be more efficient that what we have now.

The issue of government agencies’ functions like Customs and others should be addressed for greater efficiency. Customs need to conduct themselves in a professional manner so that clearance for ships can be quicker. There have been cases where a ship berthed and for three days, there was no clearance. We were waiting for clearance. For instance, the issue of brown rice. Government/Customs have been going back and forth on it. Such vessels, when they come, they’ll berth for three days or thereabout accumulating demurrage. So, we need to look government’s policies that will support the growth of the ports and maritime sector in general.

Low cargo turnover 2012/2013

You’re talking about low cargo turnover in 2012, this year’s scenario is worse. This year, in fact few weeks back, there was a week ENL didn’t see any ship. Today, I’ve four ships at berth. Three days ago, I had just two ships. It’s a common problem in all the terminals. Indeed, I’m very happy you asked this question about the cause. Policies of government is affecting the port industry. As you all know, January and February is usually our low season because people wait for budget to be passed before bringing in goods. They need to know which ones are banned and which are not and it is purely a business decision.

So, to address this, our budget needs to be done and passed by 31st of December every year so that we’re operating on new budget in the new year. In fact, in those days, the President used to read the New Year message with budget. Gone are the days. We need to look into that. Our legislatures need to ensure that Mr President gets done with the budget so that when he’s reading the new year message, the budget flows along with it.

Today, what happens is that by February or March, people are still waiting for budget because they don’t want to be caught in between whereby they had placed orders for goods and the ships have left the port of loading heading towards Nigeria, only to learn that the items expected have been labelled contrabands. This becomes a problem. So the importers wait until the budget is read and interpreted before importing. These days, the budget is delayed and this is affecting the ports.

For us in ENL, we have a challenge. Government has suddenly imposed a 100 percent duties on rice cargo and I can tell you that this year, I’ve not done one ship of rice. That has affected us. We’re a multipurpose terminal and as such we’re dependent on general cargo and that has affected us.

Government has banned bulk cement. Government has imposed 80 percent Customs duties on sugar. Is Nigeria producing sugar? Again it has slammed a 100 percent duty on rice. How much of rice are we producing? If you look cost of rice now in the market, it has gone off the roof. And that’s one major source of food for children. I don’t have anything against government banning all these things but it’s something we need to do over time when Nigeria would have met the local consumption demand. What we’re producing right now is not enough. It would probably take us another five years to get there. So, government should look at that.

And I can tell you that the rice is coming in and how is it coming in? From the Republic of Benin through the land borders.

At night, you see a lot of trucks laden with rice coming into the country. Rice importation via that illegal route is booming and Nigeria is suffering. Just last week, I read in the papers where Customs cried out to say it might not meet its 2013 revenue target.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/business/weve-reduced-dwell-time-of-ships-at-port-vicky-haastrup/

Good news if it`s true but i doubt it, in the Port we can still count number of export container that come in
everyday which is not up to 20 containers while import coming out is more than 5,000 containers a day