Business

Freighters To Harmonise Service Charges

Published

13 years ago

October 16, 2013

Men and Officers of 302 Artillery Regiment, Onitsha in Anambra State donating gift items and undisclosed amount of cash to motherless babies home in Otuocha, Anambra East LGA, recently. Photo: NAN

The Council for the Regu
lation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) on Sunday said a Harmonised Standard Service Charges was underway to enhance freight forwarders’ operation at the Nigerian ports.
CRFFN Registrar, Mr Mike Jukwe, speaking at a news forum in Abuja, said a committee set up for the implementation of the harmonised service charges would turn in its report on October 25.
“We have worked on a harmonised standard service charge for all freight forwarders, last week in Lagos we set up a committee made up of all the associations to look at what the management has been able to produce.
“We will get their input, before long there will be a pronouncement on it, the Minister of Transport will be in a position to say that for freight forwarding services this is how much you have to pay and that is it.
“So it will bring sanity into the system.
“Right now there is no standard charge, every freight forwarder charges what he wants but as a responsible regulatory agency we will ensure that we harmonise all the different charges.
“We will use the parameters that are involve and come up with a standard charge which will say all of you will just charge this,’’ Jukwe said.
Jukwe said with harmonised charges and the minister’s pronouncement on it, all the freight forwarders would collaborate to see how the sector could contribute to 48-hour cargo clearance at the ports.
“I think what we need to improve on really is the system; the new technology improves the time factor and the way we do things.
“In Singapore for instance, you can clear your cargo within 24 hours no matter the volume and the things that help this is that if you receive the manifest in good time, you know that a particular vessel is coming in, bringing your cargo.
“You perfect your documents in good time, you approach the customs, you have everything done early enough, you pay all the charges, by the time the cargo arrives within a short time you can do it.
“In Nigeria we have been aiming at 48 hours in cargo clearance processes, we have not achieved that because as at last count we are still about an average of 14 days. But the marching order from the government is that we should go 48 hours.
“We on our own side from the freight forwarding sector we hope that as soon as we harmonise our charges and the honourable minister makes a pronouncement on that, we will now give a lot of our energy to see how our sector can contribute to the 48 hours.’’
He noted that some factors of production were responsible for the high charges in ports adding that a“ freight forwarder who will give a final charge will also consider the charge he has to pay out.
The Registrar explained that the poor state of the facilities and some other factors were responsible for the high charges at the ports.
“If the roads are in good position the charges will be lower.’’
He said concessioning of the Nigerian ports had improved ports’ performance in the terms of the equipment and infrastructure that were there before concession was adopted and these facilities were much more modern today than in the past.
However, he said Nigerian ports needed to be improved in terms of its systems, especially moving from paper documentation to new technology in order to improve the time factor and services at the ports.

Business

Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members In Brass Water

Published

16 hours ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways

The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and members of his church were in a programme.

?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet to be recovered

as search party are still ongoing.

Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report, our Correspondent gathered that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.

The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit

The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s on the sad accident

By: CHINEDU WOSU

Business

Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

Published

16 hours ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Council of Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.

Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, recently.

Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.

He noted that the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.

According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.

He also informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.

“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.

Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.

The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.

He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.

The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.

He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.

Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.

By: King Onunwor

Business

FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

Published

6 days ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.

Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.

“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.

The minister noted the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.

According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.

Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.

He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.

“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.

He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.

“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.

Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.

“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.

“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.

She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.

Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).

“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.

“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.