Maritime
Shipowners Split Over $350m Maritime Fund Disbursement
The Shipowners Association of Nigeria has disagreed with the Maritime Administration and Safety Agency’s request for its merger with the Nigerian Indigenous Shipowners Association as a prerequisite over the disbursement of the $350m and N16bn Cabotage Vessels Financing Fund.
NIMASA had last week met with NISA, another faction of shipowners in the country, and asked the two factions to merge to enable it to disburse the Cabotage Vessels Financing Fund.
SOAN has faulted the NIMASA’s request, saying that Cabotage law should be followed in the disbursement of the fund.
It added that coming together of both NISA and SOAN, should not be a criterium for the disbursement of the fund.
It would be recalled that the Chairman of the CVFF committee of NISA, Dr Edward Sowho while speaking with journalists after the committee’s meeting with the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, in Lagos last week, said Jamoh asked NISA and SAON to merge and become one indigenous shipowners’ association before the CVFF can be disbursed.
He was quoted to have said, “The NIMASA DG asked that before the CVFF will be disbursed, the division among indigenous shipowners must end. That NISA and SOAN must collapse into one body of indigenous shipowners’ groups. Secondly, the NIMASA DG asked that NISA must change the name of its CVFF committee because the Federal Ministry of Transportation is about to set up a committee with that name. The NIMASA DG told us that the Federal Ministry of Transportation cannot have a committee named CVFF committee while NISA also has a committee named CVFF committee.”
Reacting to this, the President of SOAN, McGeorge Onyung, in a telephone conversation with The PUNCH said nobody has the right to bring conditions for the disbursement of the CVFF.
By: Stories by Chinedu Wosu
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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has held its 7th Retreat Medical Outreach in Daura, Katsina State,
Customs said the Free medical outreach is aimed at providing free healthcare services to residents of the area.
Speaking during the event, Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Ahmad Tijjani-Abe, said the programme would provide general medical consultations, dental care, eye and ear care, as well as minor surgical operations for beneficiaries.
Tijjani-Abe said medical teams deployed for the exercise would also provide free medications to patients attending the outreach.
He added that the service would visit schools within the area to deworm students and distribute health kits and mosquito nets to help prevent malaria among children.
Also Speaking, Dr Ethelbert Ikechukwu, Medical Team Leader of the outreach said the exercise was part of the initiative of the Comptroller-General of Customs, which had been carried out in different parts of the country over the years.
According to him, the programme is designed to support communities where customs personnel operate by offering free medical consultations and medications to residents.
Ikechukwu further explained that patients whose conditions could not be fully managed at the outreach centre would be referred to appropriate medical facilities for further treatment.
Ikechukwu urged members of the public to take advantage of the exercise, noting that the medical teams comprised highly qualified healthcare professionals.
The outreach targets about 2,000 patients across various areas of medical care.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, says the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration has made significant progress in developing road, rail and water transportation infrastructure across the state.
Osiyemi made this known during the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing in Lagos to commemorate the third year of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office.
He said the government remained committed to providing residents with an integrated multimodal transportation system that is seamless, safe, affordable, sustainable and inclusive.
According to him, the administration will continue to engage residents and invest in transport infrastructure to enhance mobility and support socio-economic development.
“Our promise to Lagos residents is to continue to provide and plan the best transportation system for all, in a manner that will boost the socio-economic development of the people and the state,” he said.
Osiyemi said the state was upgrading public transport infrastructure, including Bus Rapid Transit corridors and terminals, Quality Bus Corridors, rail projects and waterways facilities.
He said the Bus Rapid Transit BRT infrastructure from Doyin-Orile to Mile 2 along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway was 84 per cent completed, while the Iyana Ipaja Bus Terminal had reached 28 per cent completion.
According to him, the projects will improve mobility, reduce traffic congestion, enhance affordability and safety, and stimulate economic development.
Osiyemi said the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority was implementing several Quality Bus Corridor projects to improve mass transit efficiency and reduce travel time.
He listed the ongoing corridors as Mile 2, Alapere-Ketu, Ojuelegba, Cele and Abule Egba.
He said the projects feature dedicated and regulated bus lanes, modern shelters and terminals, improved pedestrian walkways and crossings, as well as traffic signal and junction improvements.
On rail transportation, the Commissioner said Phase II of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Blue Line would extend the corridor from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko, with track construction, station development and power installation ongoing.
He said the 37-kilometre Red Line rail project from Marina through Oyingbo to Agbado was being strengthened with the procurement of 24 new coaches arranged in three sets of eight-coach trains.
According to him, each train set will carry more than 500 passengers.
He added that a feasibility study was ongoing for Phase II of the Red Line from Oyingbo to National Theatre to connect with the Blue Line.
Osiyemi said the 68-kilometre Green Line rail project would connect Marina to the Lekki Free Trade Zone through Victoria Island, Lekki, Ajah and Sangotedo, with about 17 stations.
He said the state had signed a Memorandum of Understanding MOU with China Harbour Engineering Company for the project.
According to him, the Green Line is designed to transport 35,000 passengers per hour, while the Federal Executive Council has approved funding for Phase I.
On water transportation, Osiyemi said the Lagos Ferry Services was nearing completion of a boat maintenance and dry dock facility at the Mile 2 Ferry Terminal.
He said boat trailers were also being constructed to facilitate dry-docking and repairs.
The commissioner added that solar-powered portable office cabins were being installed at Ijede, Ebute-Ero and Liverpool jetties to improve working conditions for staff.
He said the CMS Pontoon Jetty had also been upgraded to enhance passenger boarding and disembarkation.
By: CHINEDU WOSU
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, has called for a human-centred approach to digital transformation, warning that the success of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies will ultimately depend on ethics, leadership, and institutional accountability.
Adeniyi made the remarks while delivering the keynote address at the 4th Biennial International Conference organised by the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences of University of Ilorin in collaboration with the Faculty of Philology, RUDN University.
The conference, themed “Disruptive Technology: Human and Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Economy,” brought together communication scholars, technology experts, researchers, policymakers, and heads of government agencies to examine the growing influence of artificial intelligence, digital innovation, and emerging technologies on governance, trade, education, and economic development.
Addressing participants at the University of Ilorin Main Auditorium last week , meAdeniyi argued that while artificial intelligence is reshaping institutions and economies globally, technology must remain accountable to society and aligned with public interest objectives.
“The digital age is, in the end, a human story, and the real test of our generation is not how powerful our machines become, but how wisely our societies choose to use them,” he said.
He noted that the world had already moved beyond the stage of anticipating disruption, stressing that digital payments, e-commerce platforms, artificial intelligence systems, and smart technologies had fundamentally altered global economic and governance structures.
According to him, the responsibility of public institutions is not merely to adopt new technologies, but to ensure that innovation strengthens transparency, efficiency, and public trust rather than weakening accountability mechanisms.
Drawing from the ongoing modernisation reforms within the Nigeria Customs Service, Adeniyi highlighted the deployment of the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System as a major milestone in the Service’s digital transformation agenda.
He disclosed that the platform generated more than ?230 billion at the PTML Command within its first eight months of deployment, while significantly improving cargo processing timelines and inter-agency coordination.
According to the Customs boss, compliant traders now complete cargo clearance procedures in less than eight hours under the digital platform, representing a major improvement in trade facilitation efficiency.
“The partnership, not the rivalry, between human and artificial intelligence is where the real value lies,” Adeniyi stated.
He maintained that while artificial intelligence can enhance operational efficiency, risk management, and data-driven decision-making, human expertise and institutional leadership remain indispensable in governance and enforcement operations.
“Technology changes processes; leadership and expertise still deliver the results,” he added.
The CGC further advocated deeper collaboration between universities, research institutions, and government agencies to develop practical, locally relevant solutions to emerging governance and digital economy challenges.
He urged academic institutions to move beyond theoretical scholarship and become active contributors to innovation, policy development, and institutional reform.
Adeniyi identified several areas where academia could support Customs modernisation efforts, including artificial intelligence-driven risk targeting systems, digital compliance mechanisms, governance of cross-border data flows, and public trust communication strategies.
He also challenged African governments to develop indigenous digital governance frameworks that reflect the continent’s legal systems, economic realities, and development priorities rather than relying solely on imported regulatory models.
The conference also provided a platform for high-level engagements between the Customs leadership, scholars, traditional rulers, communication professionals, and heads of government agencies on opportunities for collaboration in digital research, innovation, community development and capacity.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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