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B6 /<strong>Independent</strong>ngr @independentngr www.independent.ng INDEPENDENT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017 Shipping & Logistics Andrew Utulu, +2348033562254, andrew.utulu@independentnig.com ANDREW UTULU LAGOS The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Tin Can Island Command has said that it generates an average of N1.2 billion, daily to the Federal Government coffers. Comptroller Yusuf Bashar made this disclosure during the inauguration/swearing in ceremony of the Tin Can Island chapter of the International Freight Forwarders Association (IFFA), and the official launching of the Association’s operational vehicle. The new IFFA members include: Ojo Peter Akintoye , chairman; Marvins Lawani, Vice Chairman; Chinedu Odiaka, Treasurer; Tope Fatimehin, General Secretary; Umunnakwe Ernest, Financial Secretary; Christian Ekeyekwu, Public Relations Officer(PRO); Iyakwari Kyauta, Assistant Secretary and Steve Igban, Director-General(DG). The Customs boss used the opportunity to caution clearing Customs Generates N1.2bn Daily At Tin Can Port – Bashar agents to desist from false declaration of cargo, under declaration, indiscriminate dropping of containers on port access roads and illegal parking of their vehicles around Tin Can port. The Controller, who was represented by Nnadi Dera, Deputy Controller in charge of enforcement of the command, urged the agents to collaborate with customs and other agencies in ensuring that port infrastructures, especially the roads are maintained. Bashar also appealed to the agents to shun unnecessary violent protests at the port; rather, he said they should initiate their protest through viable communication with relevant government agencies. He said: “We seek your collaboration in ensuring that port infrastructures are maintained, while we are urging relevant government agencies to maintain access road to the port, we also encourage you to talk to your members to park their vehicles appropriately, there is no need doing double parking, there is no need burning tyres on the road because they deplete the roads, there is also no need dropping your containers indiscriminately on the roads, we should help government to achieve its objectives “Everybody has the right to protest, but the days of going on the streets to protest violently is gone, today we encourage everybody to initiate their protest through viable communication with relevant government agencies” Going by the recent revenue collected by the command, Bashir said that Tin Can Customs have become a command to beat. He said that on the average now, the command is making N1.2billion daily for the government from the port. He attributed the success recorded with the revenue to efforts from all stakeholders. Prince Ozor Chukwurah, member, Board of Trustrees(BOT) of IFFA called for tolerance among stakeholders and other sister associations. He harped on freedom of association, saying that he is a member of Association of Nigeria Licensed Clearing Agents (ANLCA), adding that it does not bar him from becoming an IFFA member. “Being a member of any other association does not stop you from being a member of IFFA. Whatever you chose is what you get. It is for the good of the industry”, he admonished, adding that “We want to ensure that people work on behalf of the government. We need to sit with the government agencies, discuss issues as it affects the industry and how to move the nation’s economy forward”, he said. Dr. Sam Onyemelukwe, National President of IFFA, assured that his members were ready to collaborate with the Federal Government in meeting it’s expectations from the port, and to ensure success in ease of doing business. NPA Panel Recommends Payment For Calabar Dredging The newly sworn in EXCO, IFFA, Tin Can Island Command NIMASA Disclaims Employment Media Report Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has denounce the misinformation in the media, particularly online platforms, that there is an ongoing recruitment exercise in the Agency. Isichei Osamgbi, Head, Corporate Communication of the Agency in a statement made available to <strong>Independent</strong> said: “It is imperative to state, in the interest of the unsuspecting public, that the Agency has not launched a recruitment campaign of any kind at the moment; and that NIMASA is not associated with any of the adverts being peddled on various social media platforms to defraud unsuspecting citizens seeking legitimate employment in the organisation”. This clarification, he said, was necessitated by the recruitment advert supposedly floated by the Agency and circulated on various social media platforms, with the intention of misleading and defrauding Nigerians. “As inimical as the spurious advert may be to the lives of unsuspecting and desperate job seekers in the country, the Agency’s management under the leadership of Dr. Dakuku Peterside would continue to operate within the tenets of its core values of commitment, Accountability, Discipline and Transparency in dealing with its stakeholders, including Nigerians who may wish to contribute to the development of the country through employment in NIMASA”. Osamgbi noted that the most common tactics of the scam involved: twitter and/or text messages, e-mails, as well as letters inviting gullible and desperate job seekers for fake job interviews at different locations across the country claiming to be consultants to NIMASA. The Agency, according to him, has informed appropriate authorities of the activities of these unscrupulous elements who are going about peddling false information to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians and “we appeal to members of the public, particularly job seekers, to treat any of such adverts as fake, as the Agency is currently not in the process of employing. Anyone who entertains such invitations does so at his or her own risk”. He, however, noted that NIMASA, as a responsible Agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has not commissioned or contracted any individual or group to engage in recruitment of anybody on behalf of the Agency. Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has recommended that Calabar Channel Management Company Limited (CCML), be paid the balance of work done and allowed to continue the dredging till completion. The recommendation, <strong>Independent</strong> gathered was made by an audit committee set up by NPA. The committee was headed by, Prof. Idris Abubakar, Executive Director, Engineering and Technical Services of the agency. The report’s recommendations on page 13 (iii) stated, among others, that having verified volumes dredged, all outstanding payments due to CCML should be effected in line with the provisions of the JV agreement. Citing paragraph iv of the same recommendations, saying that CCML be paid, the statement said: “In view of the subsisting presidential approval for the JV, CCML be allowed to continue with the operations, but at a reduced scale to be determined by the authority’s need and CCML’s board technical and finance committee. “The Calabar dredging issue has been mired in controversy lately with allegations flying round that the contract was awarded to Niger Global Engineering and Technical Services Limited without due process, and that despite the fact that the company did no job, it was paid $12 million,” the statement said. Also, the statement said that documents available to CCML said that Niger Global Engineering, United Bank for Africa dated September 2, 2015 also revealed that Societe De Dragage/Lusembourg SA was paid the sum of $3,600,000 on August 21, 2015 while Dredging International Services was paid $1,207,440 on August 24, 2015 and Nigerian Westminster Dredging & Marine Limited was paid $500,000 amounting to $6,307,440.
Real INDEPENDENT Emmanuel Badejo +2348060806806 Estateemmanuel.badejo@independent.ng WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017 /<strong>Independent</strong>ngr @independentngr www.independent.ng Discord Over Call To Constitute National Construction Board C1 EMMANUEL BADEJO & NKASIOBI OLUIKPE LAGOS The constitution of a National Construction Board in Nigeria may not come soonest, as professionals within construction industry are yet to come to terms with the proposal. As such arguments for and against the proposition rage on. While some say that is one sure way to maximize the potentials of the industry, others have kicked, describing the proposition a mere academic exercise, which would further encumbered the industry. But search by INDEPEN- DENT reveals that the United Kingdom, Malaysia, South Africa and a few other countries, which saw the potentials of such a board have established in their clime. Notable proponents of the idea are former presidents of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Olusegun Ajanlekoko and Chuks Omeife, erstwhile president, Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB). It is the same position According to Ajanlekoko, the need for a construction board that will be established by law could be overemphasized, as its constitution will redefine the place of the construction industry and the economy of the country. Ajanlekoko, now president, Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy argued that if it remains an association, it would only be a toothless dog that cannot take a decisive constitutionally bound decision. According to him, despite each group within the construction industry has its own regulatory board, a construction board operating at the level of an association will not be more than advocacy. He said this board, if constituted, will put an end to multiple rancor’s with the country’s Ajanlekoko Sonaike construction industry, saying its membership will involve all professional bodies in Nigeria’s construction industry. According to him, countries like United Kingdom, developing nations like Malaysia and South Africa had keyed into this, contending that it was high time the country takes a definite action on this matter. Earlier, Ajanlekoko had enjoined members of the Building Collapse Prevention Guide (BCPG) to continue the struggle started by him and senior professionals to compel the government to establish ta National Construction Industry Board. The board, he said should have the mandate to manage the construction industry and effectively coordinate the built Umaru Omeife environment professional activities and programmes. Similarly, Omeife had also used his position as NIOB president to urge the Federal Government to establish a construction industry development board. He said the board would do much good by collapsing the wide gap among the professionals in the construction industry. But, Chairman, Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Umaru Aliyu said he is not in support of construction board, which will superintend over the regulatory boards of each professional group within the construction industry. He said such, however, could be an association and not a regulatory body, contending that will be duplication of efforts and thereby increasing the bureaucratic process of correcting any ills within the construction body. Although, Olayinka Sonaike, Chairman, Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), who noted that the board, which is a baby of the All Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), was a welcome ideal, he, however, added that, it must remain at the level of an association. According to him, the surveying profession, which he superintends, is a member of APBN and the estate surveying and valuation board of Nigeria regulates the practice of estate surveying and valuation practice. “If you follow that analogy, the ESVARBON is in full support of the constitution of a construction board for the built environment. As you know, APBN is an association of all professional bodies in Nigeria. The board that is being proposed in my view should be a forum for various regulatory bodies to interact and form a common policy for the construction industry.” Sonaike added: “This new board, if I get it right should be an association of the regulatory bodies of the construction sector. It has to be voluntary because all the regulatory bodies are already empowered by law and we cannot enact another law to bring them together, as this may create another conflict. To Olusegun Ladega, an architect, the proposition is not necessary at all. “I always laugh because this is the typical bureaucrat solution to a problem. It is ridiculous and it is going to create unnecessary confusion. You don’t need any board. You create such a board, is it at the federal or state level. You will be running into issues of jurisdiction. According to him, development control under our constitution and as has been confirmed by the Supreme Court on May 13, 2003, is a state function and therefore, setting up a national or supranational body, will only exist in Abuja as a toothless bulldog. He added that just like we have the National Building Code, the truth is that it remains a piece of paper until the states domesticate it because development control and the enforcement of all the rules relating to the built environment is a function of the state. In his argument, he said: “So, is the federal institution going to come and interfere in what is happening on a construction project? That is ridiculous; it is not going to happen. It is a unitary mindset that does not sit-in within a federal constitution. “Secondly, if it is because of all these collapses that go on, is that how you solve the problem? If it is the issue of enforcing regulation that you think is primarily responsible for collapse, then what you need to do is to challenge the institutions that are supposed to regulate to take their regulatory functions seriously; as well as challenge the state chief executives to empower the institutions to professionally, efficiently, carry out their functions without fear or favour and without any political interference. “Let me tell you the biggest problem we have in this country with regards to anything relating to the built environment and even the management of the environment, is the fact that there are economic and political influences that are so powerful, they thwart and frustrate anything the state has by way of plans and objectives. “What they need is not that nonsense, which is a bureaucrat way of solving a problem, but let the bureaucrats and all those employed by the state inside all those agencies, that are supposed to monitor construction and all physical constructions, do their jobs without fear or favour or political interference. Then we will have sanity”, Ladega said. Supreme Court Validates Family's Right To Ogun Land Town Planning Officers, Quacks Subvert Nigerian Architects – Ladega ‘Amazing Grace' Hymn Old Vicarage Up For Sale C.3 C.6
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