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Maritime Stakeholder Gives Recipe For Revenue Generation

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13 years ago

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It has been observed that the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) can generate not less than N3 trillion annually if customs brokers are given a percentage of the total revenue.

The observation was made by an executive member of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customers Agents (ANLCA), Ikenna Nwuba, while speaking to The Tide in Port Harcourt on Monday.

He contended that once customs agents are granted a percentage of the revenue by the Federal Government, the issue of concealment and under declaration by importers in collaboration with some unscrupulous licensed customs agents and men and officers of NCS would be a thing of the past.

The new strategy, he said, would boost not only the revenue accruing into the central till but would also eliminate the root cause of bribery and corruption in the nation’s seaports, airports and international borders.

Nwuba who is managing a clearing and forwarding company in Port Harcourt, said if government gives customs agents a percentage of the revenue they generate for NCS, such an incentive would block all the revenue leakages currently being suffered in the system, saying “If you give us that our percentage, revenue leakages will block because you will succeed in removing the basis for cutting corners.”

He noted that with such an incentive, no customs broker would accept to connive with any customs officers to engage in under declaration of cargo or evade duty payment, since the more government revenue increases the more the percentage earnings increases.

According to him, the N1 trillion revenue target is our challenge and not even the customs. That is what eth government wants, customs must implement and our own is to generate it. While we are talking about N1 trillion, may be the money outside there could be N3 trillion.

He wondered why the federal government has not deemed it fit to pay a per cent to customs brokers since it was already doing so with other organsations, pointing out that the federal government Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), NCS have a percentage of their collection. Contractors to government like service providers in the ports including Container Destination Inspection Limited, SGS Nigeria Limited and Global Scan Systems Limited all receive one per cent free on board (FOB) as incentive when their service is not commensurate with the efforts they make in making importers pay duty.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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9 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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10 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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10 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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