Author: Bayo Bernard

Customs Battles Elephant Group Over Rice Smuggling

Bayo Bernard

By Bayo Bernard Business Editor  The Ogun State command of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS  had received enough knocks from worried Nigerians over the spate of the smuggling going on in the axis, more so the perceived tardiness of the command to rein in smugglers of imported rice into the country. The activities of rice smugglers from the Idi-Iroko and adjoining routes between Nigerian and Benin Republic had worried border monitors to no end, raising concerns on the seriousness of the command to tackle the menace. The development appears to…

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GTBank: ‘Cartel’ Robs Customers’ Of Millions

Bayo Bernard

By Bayo Bernard The management of Guarantee Trust Bank, GTB Plc., appears to have ignored recent directive from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to banks to report suspicious activities of their customers to the commission. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has also recently warned Nigerian banks that they will be held responsible if they failed to notify the apex bank activities of fraudsters and hackers. Financial analysts, however,  insist that the new generation bank led by Segun Agbaje have wittingly disregarded the directive neither has the bank…

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Customs: Disquiet Among DCGs, ACGs Over Ali

Bayo Bernard

Two weeks ago the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS held a press conference in Abuja, since then the convener of the parley who’s also the spokesman of the Service, Joseph Attah, a deputy controller of customs has been expressing his frustration discreetly with the current management of the service, led by Hameed Ali over failure to provide logistic for him to perform his duty as the image maker of the NCS. What happened? Attah had approached the CG to approve funds for logistics to carry out the event. He was shocked…

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Stakeholders Charge NSC On Economic Regulator Role

Bayo Bernard

By Bayo Bernard The Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC has been  admonished to assert itself as the Economic Regulator of the maritime sector of the nation’s economy. The call was made recently at a training organized for select journalists by the Council in Lagos. The wake up call came amidst perceived failure of the council to rein in defiant shipping companies and terminal operators in the country working  against rules and regulations set by the council.  For instance, some terminal operators have been increasing charges arbitrarily without recourse to the NSC,…

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Buhari Will Not Implement Budget- Presidency Source

Bayo Bernard

By Bayo Bernard Barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2018 budget, there are indications that Presidency will not implement the document endorsed on Wednesday by the president after it was passed by the National Assembly. President Buhari signed the N9.1 trillion estimates exactly 12: 05 pm on Wednesday, June 21, 2018.  The federal government had proposed an N8.1 trillion budget in document President Buhari set before the National Assembly in November 7, 2017. The signing of the budget came eight months after President Buhari laid the document…

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CRFFN Election: Fight To Finish

Bayo Bernard

By Bayo Bernard Business Editor The bickering appears to have stopped for the moment. The die is now cast for election into the Governing Council of Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria, CRFFN. The Mike Jukwe led council is trying to prove critics wrong that it’s incapable of organizing a credible, fair and fair election for the body. if the council succeeds the jinx that nothing good can come under Jukwe administration would be broken, having presided over a chaotic CRFFN in the last few years. The…

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Customs: Investors Blame Customs For Rice Smuggling

Bayo Bernard

By Bayo Bernard Elephant Group Plc, a major local rice producer in the Nigeria is worried that its huge investment in local rice production is heading for jeopardy due to the illegitimate activities of rice smugglers. Thousands bags of rice were smuggled into the country last year according to records made available to the magazine by the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS. At least seven million metric tons of rice is consumed in Nigeria yearly, more than 60 percent of that number will be smuggled into the country this year. The…

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Indians, Lebanese Not Barred From Clearing Cargo- Comptroller Musa

Bayo Bernard

By Bayo Bernard The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS Apapa Command controller, Comptroller Musa Jibrin has rebuffed the timeworn belief that foreigners particularly, Asians are not allowed by Nigerian law to perform the function of cargo clearing in the country.  Some stakeholders in the maritime sector have lamented a situation whereby foreigners are allowed to clear goods at the nation’s ports, in the process taking away jobs meant for Nigerians. The proponents of this cause have  intensified the indigenisation campaign, so much so that pressure is being mounted on the federal…

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Customs: Tin can command Clears Goods in Six Hours

Bayo Bernard

Generates N104bn Bayo Bernard In line with the President Muhammadu Buhari government’s Directive on Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, the Tin Can Island command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS has ensure that goods are now cleared from the Tin can ports in less than six hours. Comptroller Abdullahi Musa, the controller of the command had promised that his officers will ensure a seamless clearance of goods when he assumed duty in the command early this year. Goods can now be cleared easily without encountering the usual encumbrances at…

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Fidelity Bank Grows Profit By 94 Percent

Bayo Bernard

By Bayo Bernard The managing Director and chief executive officer, CEO of top new generation bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo has expressed satisfaction with the end of the year audited result released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE. The results indicate that the high flying bank surpassed the 2016 results in all key indices, for the year ended 2017. As a result of the performance, the management of the bank has decided to pay 11 kobo dividend to its numerous shareholders as a way of putting smiles on the faces. The details…

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