Month: July 2024

A Lecturer of Transport, Logistics and Port Operations, University of Lagos, Dr Edmund Chilaka, on Thursday called on the Federal Government to fully implement the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003.

Chilaka made the call during his book launch titled ‘Nigeria’s Shipping Policy and Maritime Trade up to the Early 21st Century’, in Lagos.

He said cabotage would enhance carriage of goods and services by indigenous shipowners within Nigerian waters and stimulate the development of indigenous capacity.

The author stressed the need to implement sections 35 to 38 of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act (NIMASA Act 2007).

He said the NIMASA Act provided for indigenous carriers to carry Federal, State, and Local Government cargo which was referred to as the cabotage law.

He noted that the law also recognised operators who were keen in bringing economic empowerment of Nigerian carriers into effect.

The author said the law should also be amended to bring back the cargo allocation
era, empower indigenous shippers and ensure training of Nigerian seafarers.

He said his newly-published book was all about advocacy to revive the implementation of Sections 35-38 of the NIMASA Act 2007.

‘This is an epoch-making event which seeks to prepare good grounds for our national economy to regain lost grounds in the maritime trade sector,’ he said.

Chilaka noted that the present advocacy to revive the implementation of sections 35-38 of the NIMASA Act was to give the agency the second tangible reason for being in existence aside from port and flag state functions.

He said without achieving this objective of helping Nigerian carriers to participate in international shipping trade, NIMASA’s efficiency and Key Performance Indices (KPIs) would continue to be seen as incomplete.

According to him, NIMASA’s present sole concentration on safer shipping and cleaner oceans cannot create a nationally- beneficial industry.

He said the agency should work toward the anticipated potential for growth which the f
ounding fathers of Nigeria’s maritime policies envisioned for the economy and Nigerians in general.

‘Last year, after I was appointed a visiting Research Fellow by Liverpool John Moores University, I prioritised the search for solutions to the problems of Nigerian carriers who are sidelined from participating in international shipping by the lack of access to cargo.

‘Incidentally, the cargoes referenced in NIMASA Act sections 35-38 belong to Nigerians and are not subject to sharing with any other local or foreign entities or jurisdictions but should be carried entirely by Nigerian carriers,” he said.

Speaking on the essence of fully implementing the NIMASA law, Chilaka said the development would expand NIMASA’s operational portfolios of strategic mandates for overall national development.

He said it would also enable the reactivation of dormant sectors of the marine and blue economy such as international cargo-carrying activities by indigenous carriers.

‘Implementing Sections 35-38 of the NIMASA Act 200
7 will arrest capital flight of an estimated 9 billion dollars in freight costs paid annually to foreign shipping lines.

‘Nigerian carriers stand to repatriate a substantial part of this cost when they participate in the carriage of federal, state and local government cargoes in line with sections 35 to 38 of the NIMASA Act 2007.

‘There would be a revival of comatose indigenous carriers and maritime sector.

‘Sea-time experience, ship boarding for nautical and engineering cadets of Nigerian maritime schools will resume once indigenous carriers resume international voyages.

‘It would also enable the transfer of shipping technology and the development of ship management skills and proficiency in ship agency activities,’ he said.

Earlier, Chairman, House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, Khadija Bukar, said that it had become necessary to amend the 17-year-old NIMASA Act.

Bukar, who was represented by Dr Adesola Adedayo, Lawmaker representing Apapa Federal Constituency in the House
of Representatives, noted that this was necessary because a lot had changed over the years.

According to her, the amendment will strengthen inter-agency collaboration and curb duplication of duties within the maritime industry.

Also, Prof. David Aworawo, Former Head of Department, History and Strategic Studies, University of Lagos, who reviewed the book, urged that the recommendations in the book be adhered to, to achieve a transformed and developed maritime industry.

Aworawo said that the book explored the history of maritime trade and development from 1553 till date.

The Founder of Human Rights Education Council (HURREC), Prof. Augustine Agugua, said the non-governmental organisation would be throwing its weight behind the advocacy.

Agugua advised other academia to support this kind of move to achieve a better society.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Deputy Gov. Yakubu Garba of Niger says the state government has started issuing of cheques for payment of gratuities to 335 first batch of pensioners in the state.

He said at the inauguration of payment of gratuity in Minna on Thursday that pensioners who retired from 2003 would benefits from the first batch.

He also said that the state government had released N500 million for payment of gratuities to 335 pensioners in the first batch who retired from the state civil service.

Garba said that pensioners who retired from the local government would be issued cheques on Friday, adding that the payment would be done in batches.

He commended the pensioners for being patient for years and during the screening exercise, appealing to them to support the government for a seamless payment process.

‘This is a new era for our pensioners who retired 21 years ago and could not get their gratuities, I want to appeal to you to forget what you have passed through.

‘I want to advise you not to allow anyone push you agains
t the government, don’t listen to rumour because government is a continuous process.

‘Only listen to people who are sincere, factual and realistic not eye service people because the Gov. Bago-led administration will continue to prioritise the plight of pensioners,’ he said.

In his address, Alhaji Nairu Namaska, Director General of the state Pension Board, appreciated Gov. Umaru Bago of the state for his visionary leadership in introducing the Niger State Pension Administration System.

‘This shows the dedication of the governor in ensuring that the welfare of our retirees is given the utmost priority,’ he said.

He gave the assurance that the payment process would be conducted with the highest standards of integrity and efficiency.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) says Sycamore, a peer-to-peer lending fintech platform, has emerged winner of the second edition of its Prize for Innovation (NPI 2.0).

This followed an assessment of pitches from ten innovators to an expert panel of judges drawn from the business and technology ecosystem in Lagos.

The evaluation was based on key metrics, including market potential, team composition, traction, and competitiveness of the proposed solution.

Sycamore, led by Babatunde Akin-Moses, leverages technology to connect lenders and borrowers.

Founded in 2019, Sycamore primarily empowers African businesses and propels economic growth by bridging the credit gap with technology.

Sycamore won a combined prize value of 100,000 dollars.

Kunda Kids, an edtech media company, focused on providing well-illustrated, engaging, African-inspired digital content to children, parents, and libraries globally, followed closely at second position with a combined prize value of 70,000 dollars.

PaveHQ,
a learning and career ecosystem that supports students in achieving a successful career, came third with a total combined prize value of 50,000 dollars, bringing the total combined prize value to 220,000 dollars.

While speaking at the NPI Demo Day, Mr Aminu Umar-Sadiq, Managing Director, NSIA, said that ‘the NSIA Prize for Innovation’ was conceptualised due to the role that technology plays to shape positive socio-economic outcomes.

According to him, it strengthens multiple sectors, significantly expand opportunities across multiple sectors and re-position homegrown talent for global relevance.

The NSIA Prize for Innovation, in its second year, has received commendable attention from the tech ecosystem, as the registration of credible start-ups across Nigeria to join the programme has grown from 2,000 to over 7,000 entries within the current year.

The NPI programme validates the Authority’s commitment to propel innovation, support entrepreneurship and position young Nigerians within the technology eco-sys
tem for global relevance.

This year, the programme has been expanded to include a five-week all-expense-paid training at Draper University, Silicon Valley, U.S., to enable all top ten innovators to expand their horizons and potentially deliver solutions on global platforms.

The NSIA Prize for Innovation is the Authority’s multi-year commitment to identify and nurture early-stage innovative businesses within the tech ecosystem to create a sustainable positive impact.

It adopts a four-stage competition process to catalyse investments for early-stage businesses, aiming to foster local innovation and position Nigerian tech entrepreneurs globally.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Experts have called for the institutionalisation of corporate governance in Nigeria’s public sector to drive transformation and support government’s goal of achieving a trillion dollar economy.

They made the call at the second edition of the National Corporate Governance Summit on Thursday in Lagos.

The event was organised by the Institute of Directors’ Centre for Corporate Governance (IoDCCD), the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN).

The event had as its theme: ‘Institutionalising Good Governance for National Transformation: The Imperative of Public/Private Sector Collaboration.’

Mrs Ifueko Okauru, the Managing Partner, Compliance Professionals Plc, stressed the need for good corporate governance in spite of the many divides of culture, experience and ethnic groups.

Okauru, also a former Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, said her experience in the public sector showed that inst
itutionalising good corporate governance in the public sector was doable.

This, she said, could be achieved with hard work, personal sacrifice and firm commitment.

She, however, said Nigeria must begin to imbibe good corporate governance to enable align better in doing business with other countries.

She also called for a legal framework to support its institutionalisation in the public sector and structure to drive national transformation.

‘A form of institutionalisation for Nigeria to be in the soul of every Nigerian; we must begin to share the good experiences of the country and show the right stand when we take the National Anthem, see the National Flag and other national symbols.

‘Institutionalisation of good governance requires huge amount of investment in time, deep thinking, discipline, sincerity to galvanise the nation’s diverse population.

‘We must design policies that work for us while recognising the diversity of the country and build trust needed to collaborate among governance professionals
,’ she said.

Mr U. K. Eke, Chairman, IOD Centre for Corporate Governance, stated the importance of bringing in the public sector to take their pride of place, in building the nation.

Eke stressed that the need to embed corporate governance in all public entities had become increasingly imperative.

He described good corporate governance as the root of corporate performance.

Eke said to get the nation’s institutions to perform at the highest level, the adoption of corporate governance in private and public sector was critical.

‘Beyond listening, let us be committed to applying the tenets of corporate governance across all sectors of the economy,’ he said.

Dr Rabiu Olowo, the Executive Secretary, FRC, said globally, good governance had proven to be the bedrock of economic growth.

Olowo noted that the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance 2018, had been very successful in deepening corporate governance in the private sector.

He stressedc the need to replicate same in the public sector for national transfo
rmation.

He said the FRC was working with stakeholders to produce a governance code of not-for-profit and government institutions.

‘We must not hold them to lesser expectations on accountability, transparency as their private sector counterparts and can demand greater levels of accountability instead,’ he said.

For Dr Armstrong Takang, Chief Executive Officer, MOFI, the acculturation, adoption and institutionalisation of corporate governance in the public sector, must be done.

Takang noted that placing priority on corporate governance in the banking sector and other private sector entities had led to great success and sustainability.

‘Meanwhile, people are constantly crying for evidence of transparency, accountability in many government institutions and we know that we can do better once corporate governance is institutionalised.

‘It is our expectations that by entrenching good corporate governance principles, it would give Nigeria the opportunity to say that things are different,’ he said.

Mrs Funmi E
kundayo, President, ICSAN, emphasised the importance of public and private sectors to continually collaborate to entrenching good governance for national transformation.

Ekundayo said that good governance would address critical challenges in the country such as corruption, insecurity, and economic instability.

She added that it would promote national transformation and development.

She also said that institutionalising good governance would promote accountability and transparency, foster a stable environment for economic growth, ensure effective management of resources and public services among others.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Mr Shen Haixiong, Director-General of China Media Group (CMG) said Nigeria could replicate China’s media approach to driving modernisation.

He said this on Friday in Abuja at a seminar organised by CMG with the theme: ‘Global Opportunities in Deepening China’s Reform in the New Era.’

According to Haixiong, a strategic media approach could help bridge the gap between government initiatives and public understanding.

He noted that CMG has been striving to tell the story of China’s reform, it’s opening up, and the process of its modernisation as well as how it is actively building bridges and ties for exchanges, dialogue and mutual learning with the rest of the world.

‘We are actively fulfilling our media responsibilities, producing a large number of high-quality features and documentaries like ‘Charting the Decade,’ and ‘Our Journey,’ – in order to present to the world the vitality and impressive practices of Chinese modernisation.

‘We actively promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges through brand p
rojects such as the CMG Forum, the CMG media partners mechanism, and the ‘Opportunities in China’ Global Media Dialogue.

‘We believe in promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilisations, and establishing platforms for collective wisdom and discussion.

‘We are actively expanding our international ‘circle of friends,’collaborating extensively with cultural institutions, international organisations, and think tanks from various countries.

‘We are jointly exploring and sharing the global opportunities arising from China’s deepening reforms in the new era, and contributing greater efforts to achieving a world of peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation, and shared prosperity,’ he said.

In his remarks, Mr Raphael Oni, the Dean of Diplomatic journalists in Nigeria, said as Nigeria seeks to modernise its infrastructure and services, the insights from the seminar have provided a roadmap for leveraging media as a powerful tool for change.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, said his team had a meeting on Thursday with the management of China National Building Materials Corporation (CNBM), Beijing, China.

He said, in statement on Friday, that discussion at the meeting focused on areas of mutual interest with respect to the Evergreen City Project.

He said the Chinese delegation was led by Mr Li Xinhua CNBM Group Executive General Manager, in the company of Mr Yin Zhisong, Chairman of Sinoma International Engineering Company.

‘This prospective collaboration requires structured and effective follow-up. Our team will not fail to ensure that the next steps are achieved in a timely and meticulous fashion.

‘Our team was briefed on the composition and production process of new technologies being produced by CNBM with a historic overview of their decades-long development process across service lines,’ he said.

Additionally, he said his team witnessed a demonstration of CNBM’s cutting-edge emissions control infrastruct
ure with a dynamic display of constantly changing emissions values from the entities.

‘The company’s commitment to decarbonisation was inspiring in its accountability but more impressive in that it equally provides a fresh and articulated pathway to enhanced operational efficiency,’ he said.

According to Ngelale, a significant initial investment by CNBM to modify industrial process has now become a net-positive source of long-term savings, increased revenues, and ecological sustainability.

CNBM is valued at well over 100 billion dollars and it is the world’s topmost producer of fiber glass, gypsum board, wind blade technology, and other critical materials.

Ngelale also had a bilateral meeting with China’s Ecology Minister, Mr Zhao Yingmin, who represented China’s Special Envoy on Climate, where areas of mutual concern and cooperation in the sphere of climate action were broached.

‘The Nigerian and Chinese sides share the view that new and clean energies must be sufficiently financed, developed, and opera
tionalised before any attempt at modifying traditional energy supply and demand ecosystems can occur.’

The two sides exchanged views on how to deepen coordinated collaboration within multilateral fora in the areas of common perspectives and approaches.

He said these areas include various ways in which climate change is impacting emerging markets in the global south.

‘I communicated Nigeria’s position relating to its development of a truly circular economy amid its new push for value chain localization across renewable energy technology manufacturing industries and the need for Nigerian workers to benefit from the energy transition on a mass scale.

‘I further emphasized that China’s new Africa Solar Belt programme will be incomplete if it does not inculcate supply chain diversification into developing markets, especially Africa’s largest market.

‘This point was well received by the Chinese side with further discussion expected in this direction in the time to come,’ he said.

Ngelale added that the two si
des also agreed to advance technical cooperation in afforestation and counter-desertification efforts.

He said this would empower vulnerable Nigerians to find sustainable economic opportunity in the process of building the nation’s climate resiliency.

‘Nigeria’s active carbon sink development is one that wins for our people and for our environment.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria