Author: Kenneth Jukpor

The Coordinator of Port Standing Task Team (PSTT), Mr. Moses Fadipe has said that for the ports corridors to be freed, the team needs to work with the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigerian (MWUN). Moses Fadipe said this during a meeting held at the Nigerian Shippers’ council headquarters in Lagos. He said that the illegalities on the port corridors are being tackled as a lot of state and non-state actors are currently being profiled. He disclosed that some persons pose as NARTO workers to extort money on the port corridors. In his…

A popular Nollywood actor, Leo Mezie, has died at 46. Born Leonard Chimezie Onyemachi, it was gathered that he died on Saturday while recovering from a kidney transplant. The death of the actor was announced on Monday by his colleague, Chioma Toplis via her Instagram account. Toplis revealed that the thespian died in a hospital in a hospital in Abuja. Sharing some pictures of Leo Mezie, Toplis via the caption section wrote, “Actor Leo Mezie is dead. He died on Saturday in Abuja while recovering from a kidney transplant. His corpse has been moved to Umuahia his hometown. RIP Leo.”…

Real Estate Investment and Advocacy Group, 3INVEST, has officially announced May 30 and 31, 2022, as dates for its annual real estate summit after two years of hibernation due to COVID-19 and unforeseen contingencies. According to a statement, Real EstateUnite is the annual flagship event that provides an important platform for the built sectors in Africa to network, learn, transact, showcase and discuss opportunities and issues in global real estate yearly. With over 1000 participants, the summit would feature a conference, exhibition, leader/women’s forum and sustainability awards. The statement said the real estate sector was responsible for 40 per…

As part of its ongoing campaign against building collapse, the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has issued vacation orders to occupants of illegal attachments, even as it marked six highly distressed buildings on Lagos Island for demolition. LASBCA revealed this in a press statement signed by its Head of Public Affairs, Adetayo Akitoye-Asagba, earlier today. According to the statement, the General Manager of LASBCA, Arc. Gbolahan Oki, while supervising the special enforcement exercise, said that the agency was acting on the mandate to identify and remove distressed and non-conforming buildings within the metropolis to forestall needless tragedies. While…

On Wednesday, May 18th, 2022, the world will mark the inaugural annual celebration of International Day for Women in Maritime. With this new yearly event, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has taken a bold step towards addressing male chauvinism and gender discrimination among seafarers, especially onboard vessels. Although women represent 49.58 percent of world population according to StatisticsTimes with the World Gender Ratio rated 101.68 males per 100 females; only 1.2% percent of the global seafarers workforce are women as per the BIMCO/ICS 2021 Seafarer Workforce Report. This, however, represents a positive trend in gender balance, with the BIMCO/ICS…

Worried by the high rate of rejection of Nigerian exports by the United Kingdom, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr Mohammed Bello- Koko has urged the British government to address the negative labelling and rejection of exports from Nigeria by the UK, lamenting a preconceived hostile perception of Nigeria and the nation’s exports. Bello-Koko made this call while receiving the UK Minister for Export, Mr Mike Freer MP who was in Nigeria last week on trade facilitation and visited the Lagos Port Complex (LPC). The NPA Managing Director, who was represented by the Executive Director- Operations,…

A postgraduate student of the Department of Political Science at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Mr. Oyeniyi Iwakun has withdrawn his admission over the recent killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto State. Oyeniyi, with the admission number: P21SSPS8018, revealed his decision to terminate his studentship at ABU in an open letter addressed to the Vice Chancellor of the university. Noting that the move is to protest the gruesome murder of Miss Deborah Samuel, a 200 level student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, who was killed on Thursday, May 12, 2022, Oyeniyi lamented that there was no…

By Kenneth Jukpor Frieght forwarders under the aegis of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) are pushing for the passage of a bill to indigenize freight forwarding practice in Nigeria under the 9th National Assembly, especially Customs brokerage. The Acting President of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto revealed this at the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting which held at the National Secretariat in Lagos, on Thursday. Farinto decried the influx of foreign players as freight agents in the nation amid the high rate of unemployment and consequent national security threats plaguing the country. According to him, a veteran maritime…

Dr. Umar Gwandu, a Spokesman for the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has explained why his principal decided to dump his governorship ambition. Gwandu said his boss shelved his dream of becoming the next governor of Kebbi State out of patriotism. He said in a statement on Saturday that Malami did not resign as AGF despite attending the valedictory ceremony hosted by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). The aide argued that Malami has the right to shelve his governorship ambition, adding that it is a matter of personal conviction and individual rights which didn’t violate any law.…

Political Interference, poor asset quality, weak corporate governance have been identified as major challenges facing laudable goals of Development Finance Institutions [DFIs] in Nigeria and in Africa generally. Similarly, inefficient risk management practices, under-capitalisation, restrictive mandates as well as limited use of information technology, among others have all contributed to the menace. Although the Federal Government has over the years facilitated the establishment of a few DFIs expected to provide financial interventions for enterprises in key sectors of the economy to complement the efforts of the conventional banks towards the financing of long-term developmental projects, the efforts have, however, failed…