Nigerians Are Not Transparent At Ports – Customs Comptroller Laments

Mr Willy Egbudin, the Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Command, says lack of transparency is the bane of effective cargo clearance at Nigerian ports.
Egbudin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos that too many discrepancies in documents the public presented for cargo clearance were affecting the smooth operations of the service.
“The problem we are facing with the trading public is not (being) compliant enough; we still have discrepancies in their declarations.
“Most of them are not transparent; they are not honest when they are making declarations.
“When you make honest declaration, you make things easier for the Nigeria Customs Service and you are also making things easier for yourself.
“Because your trade will be facilitated, that means you can now clear your goods within a very short time.
“By the time you make dishonest declaration and the Nigerian customs discovers it, you end up paying demurrage and the demurrage sometimes might be more than the DN (Debit Note) that you are going to pay.
“So, if you declare transparently, you are going to achieve that 48-hour which government has always talked about.
“Is that 48-hour clearance of goods from the ports is achievable but it is just for the trading public, for them to do the needful. “
He said that in spite of all the challenges facing the command, it surpassed the revenue generated in January 2015, compared to the corresponding period of 2016. Egbudin said that the command generated N23.4 billion in January 2016, up from N20.7 billion generated in January 2015.
He urged importers not to engage in unwholesome goods, adding that bringing in such goods would lead to prosecution and seizures. “In spite of the fact that the volume of trade is low but we also look inwards especially in terms of intervening by issue of DN, intervention by issuing Debit Note.
“We issue them DN, to get those collections which they have not paid, so, we look inwards to ensure that nobody goes with the government money.
“For now, import seizures we have only had one. In exports, we have had about two.
“In fact, three now, because there is just one, which we have not actually finalised but definitely is going to be seized.
“Roughly sawn woods, timber, they are prohibited. “If you want to export timber, it has to be processed and cut to size. That is the only way we can export timber; those are the seizures we have made so far.’’
Egbudin, however, urged both importers and exporters to make honest declarations so as to enable the Comptroller-General of Customs, retired Col. Hameed Ali to achieve the N1trillion revenue target Thanks for reading.

Share:

Read More

Union Groups Threaten To Shut Down Egbin, Other Power Plants Over Sack 400 Electricity Workers.

Following last Friday’s sack of 400 members of National Union of Employees, NUEE by the management of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, IKEDC, Labour unions in the power and oil and gas sector have threatened to shut down Egbin power station and other power plants across the country. 
The Unions which included; National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE; Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, SSAEAC, and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, gave a seven-day ultimatum to the management of IKEDC to recall the affected workers unconditionally or risk unprecedented industrial action.
Among the workers who were sacked last Friday without reason is Mr. Christian Omemeh, a deputy president of NUEE.
While expressing shock over the sack, NUEE and SSAEAC, in the ultimatum to the IKEDC, lamented that since the takeover of the company on November 1, 2013, the management had refused to put in a place a mechanism to draw-up credible conditions of service that would enjoy joint authorship of labour and employer for the benefit of both staff and management.
According to them, the sins of IKEDC includes the sack of the 400 union members even though the management had claimed nothing of such was coming.
“Union then demanded to know the parameters being used, and management agreed to invite the headship of the union to confidentially show them the parameters being used and how the assessment is being done. Unfortunately, up till today, when management has gone ahead to disengage another batch of about 400 of our members, no invitation has been extended to the union. This is an exhibition of disrespect to the unions, contrary to best labour practices. “Arising from the above enumerated anti-labour behaviours therefore, the union hereby issues you seven days to address all these demands or we will be left with no alternative than to take legitimate means of defending the interests of our members and this shall be without further notice,” the unions said.
Reacting to the sack, NUPENG in a statement by its President, Mr. Igwe Achese, said: “The union has put its members on notice in NGC to commence a shutdown of supplies of gas to the thermal stations and plants if the 400 workers are not called back to work when the seven-day ultimatum expires.”  Thanks for reading.

Share:

Read More

Breaking: Heavy Shooting, Chaos In Oshodi, Lagos

There is an ongoing pandemonium in Oshodi area of Lagos as hoodlums were destroying properties and causing widespread fears in the area.
Hoodlums also known as ‘area boys’ were said to have regrouped at Brown Street, Oshodi, and later unleashed mayhem in the area. They reportedly destroyed properties at Bolade Bus stop.
According to eyewitnesses, more than 10 vehicles have been vandalised by the miscreants.
“We heard heavy shootings in the area”, a trader told us.
It is still unclear what was responsible for the latest fracas in Oshodi. However, Oshodi is known to be the abode of hooligans aside traders selling in the area. Heavy traffic logjam is buidling up around the area as motorists are making a u-turn from Shogunle bus stop.Thanks for reading,

Share:

Read More

Former Jonathan’s Aid, Gulak, Others, Form New Political Party.

The splinter group from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including a former political adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak have merged with splinters of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), in a bid to unveil a new political party – Peoples Mega Party (PMP).

This development was as a result of the leadership crisis in Nigeria’s main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party. The new political group, PMP, which held its maiden meeting in Abuja Tuesday, unanimously adopted Perry Opara as its interim chairman.

In his remarks at the proposed new party’s meeting, Mr. Opara said the leadership crisis within the PDP served as a factor for the formation of PMP.

He said: “The major people who are in the party are former members of the PDP who are disenchanted by the high level of corruption, high level of impunity and high-handedness in the PDP.

”They have decided to form something very new and they are of the opinion that they should hand over the party to younger elements who are less corrupt and who can fight for the interest of the people.

“It does not mean that it is only people from the PDP, we have APGA chairmen from many states of Nigeria identifying with the new party, people from Labour Party, LP, and the Accord Party, AP.

“There are also disenchanted people from the APC that feel that they want a new place and that is what it is. Today marks the birth of this new party.”. Thanks for reading.

Share:

Read More

No plan to hand over NIPOST to foreing Managers says minister

The Minister of Communications and Technology, Adebayo Shittu has disclosed that the Federal Government has no plan to hand over the operations of the Nigerian Poster Service, NIPOST, to foreigners.

The Minister in a statement signed by his media aide, Victor Oluwadamilare on Monday dismissed as untrue insinuations that the government had concluded arrangements to allow foreign managers operate NIPOST but however noted that the government was committed to turning the fortunes of NIPOST around for profitability.

His words: “our attention has been drawn to various insinuations making the rounds on the social media and a section of the Nigerian press to the effect that the Ministry of Communications was said to have concluded plans to hand over NIPOST to foreigners to manage.

“Ordinarily, we would have ignored the innuendoes, as there is no iota of truth in the said story, except for the likelihood of Nigerians being misled on our genuine intentions to reposition and revitalise NIPOST.

“In putting the records straight, the Government of the day has no plan whatsoever to either privatise NIPOST nor hand it over to foreigners to manage. This could only happen in the imagination of those who concocted and orchestrated the rumour to achieve only their inordinate mischief.

“For the avoidance of doubt, and as stated at different fora by the Minister of Communications, Barrister Shittu, Our vision of the new NIPOST is a total transformation from being a mono-product service organisation to a one-stop multi-product service provider with the ultimate aim of making it a cash-spinning establishment that can make meaningful contribution to the country’s revenue base.

“Such transformation will no doubt, entail diversification of services which will include rendering robust and all-inclusive financial services, utilising post offices across the country for rural telephony services, commercialising NIPOST’s fleet of vehicles, running a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and expansion of the stamp duties processes among others.

“Barrister Shittu, an avowed nationalist is a patriotic Nigerian who is wholly committed to the sustenance of our national institutions and legacies will never join the league of those hell-bent in selling off our common heritage,” the statement added. Thanks for reading.

Share:

Read More

Man nabbed for selling human body parts, reveals his gang has human abbatiors

Reports are in that a 50-year-old man, Kamoru Oladele, a herbalist, has been arrested by officers of the Oyo State Police Command on monday, and he narrated how he sells human body parts for at least N25,000. He added that his gang has human abattoirs in Osun and Oyo States.

Speaking on the arrest made, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Leye Oyebade, said that the command’s anti-kidnapping squad worked on a tip-off, leading to the arrest of the herbalist.

Kamoru claimed it was his first attempt at making fortune charms before he was caught by the police. “I am not the one that usually sells human parts. I buy from some people,” Kamoru said. “This is my first time of engaging in this kind of business. I usually buy the human skull for N10,000 and sell it for N25,000 for those that come for fortune charms.”

He also revealed the location of the human abattoirs that his gang operate in Amuloko and Kuta villages in Oyo and Osun states, respectively.

He is yet to be charged to court. Thanks for reading.

Share:

Read More

FG discovers 23,846 ghost workers saves N2.3Bn monthly

No fewer than 23, 846 ghost workers have been removed from the Federal Government payroll, thus saving about N2.293 billion monthly, an amount formerly paid to the non-existent workers, The federal ministry of Finance has said.
In a statement Yesterday, Minister of finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun through her Special Adviser, Mr. Festus Akanbi, said; “this figure represents a percentage of the number of non-existent workers who had hitherto been receiving salary from various ministries, departments and agencies”.
Adeosun said the recovery was achieved through the Bank Verification Numbers, BVN-based staff audit and enrolment to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS.
The BVN audit has also reduced the list of military pensioners by 19,203. “The Military Pension Board has revised the amount payable for its due pension contributions on a monthly basis by N575million, following its annual verification exercise for military retirees. This reduced the number of pensioners by 19,203 as a result of deaths since the last verification exercise in 2012,” the statement said.
He said that more investigations were on-going in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
“The Federal Government is also taking actions to pursue recovery of salary balances in bank accounts as well as any pension contributions in respect of the deleted workers. This involves active collaboration with the concerned banks and the National Pension Commission, PenCom.

“Due to the fact that personnel costs represent over 40 per cent of total government expenditure, the Federal Government will continue to strengthen its payroll controls. It plans to undertake periodic checks and to utilise computer Assisted audit techniques under its new continuous audit programme.
“This will ensure that all payments are accurate and valid. Requirements for new entrants joining the Federal Civil Service have also been enhanced to prevent the introduction of fictitious employees in future.
“The ongoing exercise, which is part of the cost-saving and anti-corruption agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, is key to funding the deficit in the 2016 budget, as savings made will ultimately reduce the amount to be borrowed.”
Adeosun explained that the Federal Government would not accede to the request of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, that its members be co-opted into the panel investigating the cases of indicted civil servants because the investigations were of a criminal nature and would, therefore, be handled by the appropriate investigative agencies. Thanks for reading.

Share:

Read More