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Why We Shut Down BUA Terminal At Rivers Port

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The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, has given reason why the Authority decommissioned and shut down the BUA Ports and Terminals Limited, operator of Terminal B, in Rivers Port complex.
Usman stated this while speaking at a quarterly stakeholders’ meeting organised by the NPA, Rivers and Onne Ports in Port Harcourt, on Monday.
Usman said NPA took the step to save the lives of those working at the terminal after receiving a letter from BUA on security challenges surrounding the quay walls at its terminal.
She disclosed that the terminal operator wrongly served the NPA a contempt of court letter, but said that the Authority had not violated any court order, insisting there was no court order that restricted the agency from terminating the concession agreement it had with BUA.
Usman urged Nigerians to ask BUA why it would want to continue to operate from a terminal it had termed unsafe in a letter it sent to NPA management.
He said, “This morning, we have been served a contempt of court while arriving Port Harcout, today.
“In November 2016, a notice of termination was issued to BUA Terminal for none compliance with the port development plan. As part of the concession agreement, there are certain developments that each terminal operator is supposed to do at their terminals. In line with the concession agreement, BUA was required to rehabilitate and reconstruct that particular terminal, but did not do that for years.
“When NPA did an inspection, their concession agreement was terminated for failure to adhere to that development plan. However, BUA instituted a court injunction that prevented NPA from taking over the facility. We got the injunction in January 2018. So, between January 2018 and June 2019, BUA enjoyed using that terminal in totality with collapsed quay walls and berths.
“We now received a letter from the same BUA, drawing our attention to the fact that the condition of the quay wall was deteriorating and not safe and it is at the point of collapse, and that they are very concerned.
“As a responsible regulator we looked at the state of that quay, and wondered how BUA could have used it for one and half years in that terrible state. With safety issues uppermost, we had to decommission the BUA terminal based on health and safety reasons.
“Now, the same BUA has gone to court to restrain NPA from implementing the decommissioning policy despite highlighting in their letter to us that the terminal is not safe. I am curious to what contempt of court this is all about. We are talking of an unsafe terminal.
“They are drawing attention of the public and alleging unfair treatment, but we are questioning what unfair treatment is in issues that has to do with safety. Do we ignore safety and allow BUA to continue to use a terminal that is about to collapse?
“ It is important to NPA that BUA notifies the stakeholders and the court that they wrote to NPA in that regards. They should stop attributing the decommissioning to termination issue because the rule in port operation business is safety first.
“We should be responsible as private entities by adhering to what is required of us and go through due process. In addition, we have noted the fact that the quay walls along the Port Harcourt Port are weak and they are at the point of collapse. We instituted a conditional survey, which a report was sent to us that the Port Harcourt port has reached the end of its lifespan.

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Maritime

Fall Off Container Crushes Woman To Death

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Tragedy struck on Friday, when a fully loaded 40ft container fell from a Mack truck and crushed a woman to death along Lagos, Ibadan Expressway.
The Tide gathered  that the Mack truck was on high speed when the incident occurred around NNPC inward Alapere, Ogudu, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
A statement made available to our correspondent in Lagos by the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightment Department of Lagos State traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Adebayo Taofiq, said a fully loaded 40ft Mack articulated truck fell on a Nissan car with registration number ABJ 692BG and instantly killed a woman at the rear of the car, while the car driver survived unhurt with the support of LASTMA officials.
Taofiq confirmed that the driver of the Mack articulated truck with his motor-boy ran away immediately the fatal accident occurred.
He said, according to preliminary investigation, the truck while on a high speed lost control as a result of a brake failure and rammed into a moving Nissan car on motion by N.N.P.C inward Alapere, Ogudu, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lagos.
The rescue agencies at the scene of the crash were the LASEMA, Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service and the Police.
Also at the accident scene were the LASTMA General Manager, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, LASTMA Director of Traffic Incidents, Event Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance, Mr. Hakeem Adeosun, and the LASTMA rescue team.
General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare Oki, however, warned motoring public, particularly truck drivers, to stop over speeding and ensure their vehicles are properly checked, including the braking system, before embarking on any journey within or outside the State.
The incident attracted passers-by, who thronged the scene lamenting the unfortunate incident, accusing men of the ports task force of negligence.

 

By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos

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PTML Customs Posts N66.92bn Revenue In First Quarter 2024

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The Port Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has presented an impressive revenue record collection for the first quarter of 2024.
According to the Command, it collected the sum of N66,920,181,586.30 as total revenue for the quarter of 2024, which is N22,198,965,809.55 higher than N44,721,215,776.75 collected between January and March 2023, representing 49.6 percent increase.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Command , Compt. Saidu Abba Yusuf, who described the increase in revenue collection as a laudable feat , said the Command is more committed towards trade facilitation and support government drive for ease of doing business.
Comptroller Yusuf, who thanked the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, for initiating strategies to achieve faster cargo clearance, reiterared that PTML Command under his watch aims to surpass its record of three hour cargo clearance for compliant traders.
According to Yusuf, the launching of time release study (TRS), which is ongoing, and other deliberate efforts by the Comptroller General have contributed in the expansion of terminal space and promoting ease of doing business in PTML.
He also disclosed that the PTML Command has potentials to achieve two hour cargo clearance and surpass its existing three hours record, if port users compliance level is improved upon.
Comptroller Yusuf, who described PTML as one of the safest and most secure environment for RoRo (Roll On Roll Off) and general cargoes, also advised importets and their agents to take advantage of the incentives available for compliant traders such as fast track, advance ruling and possible migration to the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status.
He reminded port users in PTML of the robust and time conscious dispute resolution mechanism, which has contributed immensely to the revenue collection, trade facilitation and anti smuggling functions of the Command.
While commending the various government and private sector stakeholders for their cooperation and support towards realisation of government goal of revenue collection and prevention of unlawful activities, Comptroller Yusuf expressed optimism that the Command will surpass its annual target for the year.

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Customs Comptroller Lauds Scanning Officers Over Efficiency

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The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Apapa Customs Command, Comptroller Babajide Jaiyeoba, has commended the officers of the Non Intrusive Inspection Technology Unit (NIITU) for their invaluable contributions to the overall success of the Command.
Comptroller Jaiyeoba, who was on an unscheduled visit to the scanner site, reminded the officers of the importance of team work as a strong basis to sustain the gains of compliance and revenue collection recently recorded by the Command.
According to a statement by the Public Relations Officer, Apapa Command, CSC Abubakar Usman, Comptroller Jaiyeoba thanked Deputy Comptroller, Salamatu Atuluku, the Officer in Charge of scanning site, and encouraged the unit not to be deterred by complaints coming from persons who were made to pay accurate duties to government after issuance of demand notices.
The Customs boss stated that no business person who is made to part with money will be happy with officers that refused compromising the ethics of their job.
He noted that “The main reason for me coming here is to appreciate you. I may not see you, but I have seen your work and I won’t keep quiet about what I have seen about your work. You are doing very well. I just want to encourage you to work as a team. If you don’t work as a team, you give room for outsiders to come in and when they come in, they divide you, and when they divide you, achieving success will be very difficult.
“Do your work without blemish. Once you keep your arm straight, you can stand before anybody. Your work as a Customs Officer is to ensure that you do the correct thing.
“For those of you doing intervention in the form of Demand Notice (DN), there is no body who part with money that will be happy with you. They will want to play intelligent by hiding somewhere. When you fetch them from their hiding place, they become your enemy.
Whatever they write about anybody here will still come down to me and if anybody works well, the onus on me is to defend such a person .
“Just have it at the back of your mind that you owe yourself the duty of doing your work diligently whether anyone comes around as a friend or enemy. It is not enough for you to rest. The reward for hard work is more work. These demands require sacrifice so that you can maintain the status”.

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