Business
Okowa Charges ICAN To Propel Nation’s Economic Growth

Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa has charged the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) to explore new corridors of national planning to propel the nation’s economic growth.
Okowa gave the charge last Friday when the 56th President of ICAN, Dame Onome Adewuyi, led members of the executive on a courtesy visit to him at the Government House, Asaba.
He paid glowing tribute to accountants for their sterling contributions to the growth and development of the nation’s economy.
He, however, challenged them and other similar professionals to enunciate plans that could save the nation from its current economic challenges.
He underscored the need for the country to begin to plan for its ever increasing population. According to him, without proper planning, rising population will continue to retard the country’s economic development and national growth.
He regretted that successive administrations at the state and federal levels had virtually become fees and salary-paying establishments.
He said the development had left most states with no money for capital development.
“And it is capital development that truly runs the economy of states and the nation,’’ Okowa said.
“The budgets of the states and Federal Government are characterised by huge recurrent expenditure in terms of salary payment, overhead, repayment and servicing of debts.
“There has to be a mix between recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure.
“If we spend all our monies on recurrent expenditure without having a reasonable amount for capital expenditure, we will not be doing any good to the state and our nation.
“The impact is not only on the states. At the level of Federal Government, it’s quite a problem. “Today, we are almost living virtually on borrowing to be able to execute capital projects.
“It’s a problem all of us have to look into and it’s something ICAN can look into and offer your advice to both the federal government and states.
“The challenge is there but there must be a process to address it gradually because if we do not do so, we will be getting to a situation where we definitely embarrass ourselves as a nation.
“We hope that we don’t get to that point in the history of this nation,” the governor said.
He expressed concern that the country was “busy everyday planning our expenditure without planning the population of the nation.
“A nation that continues to plan for its expenditutre without planning its population is a nation that is not truly planning at all.
“It’s a big problem because we are in a nation today where our economy is dwindling.
“We are not expanding the economy the way we thought we should be able to do.
“Again, the economy is growing at a very low rate and the population of the nation is growing at a very high rate.
“There is no level of planning, no matter how intelligent that person is, that he can truly plan in such a space.
“I believe that it’s something that all of us who have the knowledge of planning must speak out to let this nation know that wherever we are at the moment, there is need to begin to look very closely inward.”
Earlier, Adewuyi commended the governor for the new paradigm he introduced into the leadership and governance of the state.
She described capacity-building as the primary mandate of ICAN.
She lauded the governor for his administration’s massive investment and transformation in the education sector.
“At ICAN, our mandate is to consistently act in public interest and we collaborate with stakeholders across all sectors, whether public or private, in the promotion of accountability, transparency and good governance.
“We believe that the national resources, if adequately managed and accounted for, are sufficient to guarantee decent lives and livelihood for the over 200 million Nigerians,” Adewuyi said.
She said that ICAN had concluded plans to establish a university in order to support stakeholders in the educational value-chain at bridging the gap in tertiary education in the country.
“We plan that the specialised university will commence with postgraduate courses in social and management science.
“It will open for admission by the next academic session in September,” she said.
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Business
NPA Assures On Staff Welfare
The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the management will continue to accompany its port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive with the development of the welfare of its personnel.
Dantsoho made the disclosure recently while responding to the commendation by the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) and the senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASGOC) on the clearing of the age-long problem of employee stagnation, when the union paid him a courtesy visit at the Authority’s headquarters in Lagos.
A Statement by NPA’s General Manager Corporate & Strategic Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemekara, quoted Dantsoho as saying, “our Port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive will go hand-in-hand with continuous staff welfare improvement”.
The NPA MD disclosed that human capital development constitutes the key strategy for creating and sustaining superior performance under his watch, adding that “talent development constitutes a critical success factor for the actualization of the big hairy audacious goals we have set for ourselves especially in the area of Port competitiveness.
“The only way we can meet and indeed exceed stakeholders’ expectations is to deepen the competencies of our human resources assets and boosting their morale.”
Speaking further, Dantsoho commended the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for approving the strategic proposal of the Dantsoho-led Management team that solved the over a decade-long problem of lack of promotion that had fuelled industrial disharmony.
“I must specially appreciate our amiable Minister for graciously approving the multi-pronged stratagem we deployed that cleared all outstanding cases of employee stagnation by conducting examinations in one fell swoop and instituted timelines to forestall a recurrence of such anomaly”, he sad.
Speaking on behalf of the joint maritime labour unions, the President of Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations & Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Comrade Bodunde stated, “In addition to clearance of the backlog of stagnated promotions, we also wish to express our appreciation for the increase in productivity bonuses, provision of end-of-year welfare packages for staff, and the revision of the Financial Guide to the Condition of Service, which now addresses our members’ concerns about inflationary pressures.”
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
ANLCA Chieftain Emerges FELCBA’s VP
National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Elder Olumide Fakanlu, has been elected Vice President of the Federation of ECOWAS Licensed Customs Brokers Association (FELCBA).
The election took place during the FELCBA Congress, held from Tuesday, June 17th to Thursday, June 19th, 2025, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Fakanlu’s emergence as Vice President marks a significant achievement for Nigeria within the regional customs brokerage community.
Apart from Fakanlu, Secretary of the Seme Chapter of ANLCA, Austin Nwosu, was also elected, securing the role of Secretary of Relations with Institutions.
The Nigerian delegation played an active role in the congress, with Michael Ebeatu nominated as a member of the electoral officer team, ensuring a fair and transparent election process.
The three-day congress concluded with delegates undertaking a visit to the Sierra Leone Port, offering insights into the host nation’s maritime operations, followed by a recreational trip to the Tokeh Beach.
The newly elected executives are expected to lead FELCBA in its efforts to harmonize customs brokerage practices, promote trade facilitation, and advocate for the interests of licensed customs brokers across the ECOWAS sub-region.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
NSC, Police Boost Partnership On Port Enforcement
In a bid to enhance more enforcement in the nation’s Port, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has reaffirmed its commitment to stronger inter-agency collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The Council said the collaboration is aimed at enhancing stronger enforcement, compliance and improve operational efficiency across Nigeria’s ports.
Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah, made this known during a visit to the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The visit, which he said, focused on strengthening institutional synergy, comes in the wake of growing responsibilities for the NSC under the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Akutah emphasized the critical role of security agencies in supporting port operations and ensuring regulatory compliance.
He called for the posting of police officers to assist the Council’s monitoring and enforcement teams at key port locations including Lagos, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.
“The posting will complement the activities of our revived task teams and enhance our ability to enforce standards across the maritime logistics chain”, he said.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Egbetokun, assured the Council of the Force’s readiness to continue supporting the growth of the maritime sector.
The IGP acknowledged that compliance enforcement is essential to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s Blue Economy objectives.
“The NSC and NPF are expected to deepen collaboration in the months ahead, with a shared focus on building a secure, efficient, and competitive port environment”, to the IGP emphasized.
Chinedu Wosu
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