Business News
Nigerians may suffer rise in price of commodities soon
There are cries and pleas from different associations regarding the containers trapped in various ports across Nigeria following the ban of third-party clearance by the Nigeria Customs Service.
There have been pleas from different associations regarding the containers trapped in various ports across Nigeria following the ban of third-party clearance by the Nigeria Customs Service.
The Vice-President, Western Zone of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders(NAGAFF), Alhaji Tanko Ibrahim, and the National President of Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Mr. Lucky Amiwero have urged Customs to relax the sanction to enable the trapped containers offload.
The customs Comptroller General, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), had directed all Area Controllers to suspend the release, forthwith till further notice, any cargoes with discrepancies in their documentation. This order was passed through a circular signed by Deputy Comptroller General of Customs in charge of Tariff and Trade, Mr. Isa Talatu.
Third-party clearance
Third-party clearance is the hawking of operating license by a licensed customs agent for financial gains. This practice is said to allow the agent to cut corners and short-change the government.
Impact of delay in offloading
Various associations in the container and port business are groaning over the ban, arguing it’s causing more pain than good. Ibrahim has suggested Customs lift the ban to allow containers already underway before the announcement of the order offload, while containers that embarked on the journey after the circular can be punished.
Ibrahim who serves as the Vice-president of NAGAFF warns that the delay of the offloading of these containers could result in a ripple effect across value-chain, increasing the cost of goods in the market. Stating that customers will be the one to bear the cost of operation.
“If this action is not reversed to allow those trapped containers to go, this will lead to port congestion, accumulation of overtime cargo and huge demurrage at shipping companies and terminal operators. It will also lead to high cost of goods in the market as the final costs will be transferred to the consumers,” Tanko said.
The Vice-president of NAGAFF, Ibrahim, believes the move by customs is fair, but plead with Customs to temper justice with mercy, citing about 5000 containers are currently trapped in the Lagos ports and many more across the country.
“Unless customs grants amnesty for this category of containers and allow them to go, they will rot away at the port because it is not possible to issue another PAAR on them.
“As leaders of the association, we are pleading for clemency. We know those freight forwarders involved in this practice are wrong while the customs is right on its decision. However, the instant enforcement of this directive has paralysed the port activities.
The vibrancy of the port has slowed down and grounded to a standstill. We appeal that the customs should give time to stop this unwholesome practice, “Tanko added.
NCMDLCA advise to the Federal Government
The Federal Government have been urged by the National President of NCMDLCA, Lucky Amiwero to tailor the import and export procedure to meet international practice. He stressed the need to resolve the challenges resulting from the import, export and transit regulatory procedure.
Obituaries
Just-in: Diego Armando Maradona is dead
Argentine football star, Diego Armando Maradona is dead.
Argentine football star, Diego Armando Maradona is dead.
This was disclosed by the Premier League via its Twitter handle on Wednesday evening.
It tweeted, “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of footballing great, Diego Maradona, an extraordinarily gifted footballer who transcended the sport.
“Our thoughts and sincere condolences to Diego’s family, friends and those who knew him.”
He reportedly died of a heart attack on Wednesday at his home in the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
Maradona, 60, had recently battled health issues and underwent emergency surgery for a subdural haematoma several weeks ago.
We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of footballing great, Diego Maradona, an extraordinarily gifted footballer who transcended the sport.
Our thoughts and sincere condolences to Diego’s family, friends and those who knew him. pic.twitter.com/qUyc5BJ1OD
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 25, 2020
Details soon …
Energy
FG to begin online registration, monitoring of petrol stations, depots
The DPR has stated that it will commence the remote monitoring, registration, and accreditation of all petroleum products depots.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has revealed that it plans to automate and begin remote monitoring, registration, and accreditation of petroleum products depots, retail outlets, and the entire downstream oil and gas industry, with the launch of the newly established Downstream Remote Monitoring Systems (DRMS).
While disclosing a statement in Abuja, the Head, Public Affairs of the DPR, Paul Osu, pointed out that the newly established Downstream Remote Monitoring Systems is expected to take off on December 1, 2020, after the launch in Abuja.
READ: Nigeria’s 5,000 BPD refinery will produce 271 million liters of petrol every year
According to a report by Vanguard, Osu explained that the DRMS is a web-based solution designed to provide intelligent regulatory and inventory management system for petroleum products supply and distribution from depot to retail outlets and also as a regulatory tool to monitor retail outlets and depot activities.
He said, “Other features of the application include retail outlets accreditation and re-registration, nationwide automated product inventory management, retail outlets coordinate recording for mapping purposes and transactions management and report generation of dealers nationwide.
READ: NNPC says local operators must improve capacity to achieve low cost of oil production
“The establishment of DRMS is another strategic initiative of DPR to continue to create opportunities and enable business in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.”
It can be recalled that the DPR had a few months ago, launched the National Production Monitoring System (NPMS), another online platform to assist the oil and gas regulator accurately monitor national crude oil production and exports, through the provision of a system for direct and independent acquisition of production data from oil and gas facilities in Nigeria
READ: House of Reps summon Emefiele, NNPC GMD over unremitted N3.24 trillion
This is to ensure timely and accurate reporting of production figures and export data. This is also expected to guard against the crude oil theft that is prevalent in Nigeria’s upstream oil sector or reported cases of crude oil that is sold but unaccounted for.
The NPMS is an initiative that is developed as a replacement for the current paper-based report and ensures ready production reporting to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and other agencies.
Financial Services
Era of backlog of unsettled claims is over – NAICOM boss
NAICOM has stated that it will monitor and sanction insurance companies who fail to settle claims as at when due.
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is out to seriously sanction any insurance companies with huge unsettled claims.
This disclosure was made by the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas, at the on-going 2020 Insurance Directors’ Conference, jointly organized by NAICOM and the College of Insurance & Financial Management (CIFM), held at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos.
READ: EFCC gives reason for unspent N4 billion in 2020 budget
Mr. Thomas reiterated the need for the operators, post-pandemic, to appropriately strengthen their human and financial capital for effective participation in big-ticket risks to take advantage of the obvious gains of the domestication policy in the Nigeria Content Development Act 2010.
In his words, Mr. Thomas stated, “More businesses especially in the oil and gas and the Aviation sectors are now being reinsured abroad. Of more concern is the declining participation of life companies in the annuity business, which is the emerging business for our industry.
READ: SEC issues pre-notice on cancellation of certificates of 157 inactive CMOs
“These are the areas where the industry can impose itself on the economy through the control of funds for national development. The industry must invest handsomely in technology, one of our key drivers for developing the market.
“The Institutions should be prepared to digitalize their processes, procedures, and systems, in order to make their operations seamless and real-time. The Commission is investing heavily in automating its processes and expects nothing less from the insurance institutions. An industry Information Technology Guideline has been issued for the operators and the Commission requires your support and cooperation for effective compliance.”
(READ MORE: FG seeking FDI to develop Special Economic Zones – Trade Minister)
Why this matters
Prompt settlement of claims should be a top priority for the insurance operators in achieving an excellent and responsive customer service experience. Settlement of claims has been a serious nightmare for quite a number of customers, resulting to the abysmally low insurance culture in Nigeria.
READ: Fidelity Bank Plc must cover the chink in its curtains to keep rising
Customers are more likely to patronize the insurance companies that are prompt in claims settlement and by extension improve the industry penetration in the market.
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