Business

12 Sep

HEADLINE: “Sharing a Car Park is Not Integration”: Customs Demands Digital Link at ₦18bn Seme-Krake Border 8 Years After Commissioning

Esther KomolafeBusiness
SEME-KRAKE BORDER, SEPT 11, 2026— Eight years after it was commissioned, the ₦18.29 billion joint border post at Seme-Krake is still not truly "joint," the Nigeria Customs Service has said. Addressing stakeholders at the border on Friday , Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Dr Bashir Adewale Adeniyi said the concrete and buildings were completed years ago, but the one thing that makes it a joint border — real-time data integration — is still missing. His words: "This is a border post sharing a car park" The facility was approved in 2003 by ECOWAS Heads of State under the Trade,…
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10 Sep

HEADLINE: “Ports Need People, Not Just Cranes”: MAN Rector Says Human Capital Key to Nigeria’s Port Competitiveness

Esther KomolafeBusiness
LAGOS, SEPT 10, 2026— The Acting Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Dr. Kevin Okonna, has said Nigeria’s ambition to have world-class ports will fail without investment in the people who will run them. Speaking at the 2026 Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria, MARAN, Annual Lecture, MAMAL, held Thursday at the Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island, Lagos, Okonna who was represented by the academy’image manager, Domo Umoekpe said port competitiveness goes beyond concrete and cranes. The theme of the lecture was: “Nigerian Ports Modernisation, Charges and the Competitiveness Question.” “It is a pleasure to be part of this important gathering,…
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10 Sep

HEADLINE: “Cheaper, Faster, Better”: Stakeholders Tell FG Port Modernisation Must Cut Costs, Not Just Concrete

Esther KomolafeBusiness
LAGOS, SEPT 10, 2026 — Nigeria’s ports are getting facelifts, but stakeholders say that alone won’t cut it. At the 2026 Annual Maritime Lecture organized by the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria, MARAN, the focus shifted from how much government is spending on ports to what Nigerians are actually getting for it: faster cargo delivery, lower costs, and more exports. Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Coordination and Head of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit, Hadiza Bala Usman, led the charge. She said port modernisation must be judged by 6 real-world results: better infrastructure and operating models, modern…
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10 Sep

HEADLINE: ₦43.6B DRUG BUST: Apapa Customs Uncovers 7.6 Tonnes of Cannabis, Codeine, Drones Hidden in Spare Parts

Esther KomolafeBusiness
LAGOS, SEPT 10, 2026— Criminals are getting creative, and Customs is getting smarter. The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command, has intercepted prohibited goods worth *₦43.59 billion (Duty Paid Value)*, including over 7.6 tonnes of cannabis, nearly 170,000 bottles of codeine, 108 drones, expired drugs, and disposable nappies. Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed the seizures to journalists in Lagos on Thursday, warning that importers of dangerous goods are now hiding them inside legitimate cargo to beat the system. "The ₦43.59 billion is the combined Duty Paid Value — that is, duties and taxes assessed on the cargoes —…
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07 Sep

HEADLINE: MAMAL 2026: Nigeria’s Ports Still Losing Cargo to Cotonou, Lome Despite Bigger Market

Esther KomolafeBusiness
*LAGOS, SEPT 7, 2026* — With the Annual Maritime Lecture just days away, Nigeria’s port sector is facing hard questions again. Despite having West Africa’s biggest market and highest cargo volumes, Nigerian ports are still being outpaced by smaller neighbours — Cotonou in Benin and Lome in Togo. Industry players say the gap isn’t about geography or demand. It’s about policy, equipment, and enforcement. Speaking ahead of MAMAL 2026, Dr. Kayode Farinto, former Acting President of ANLCA, said Nigeria’s natural advantage is being wasted. “We have the market. But policy inconsistency, poor terminal equipment, and uncertainty around concession renewals are…
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06 Sep

EARLY GOAL, LASTING GLORY: Customs Police Unit Beat MMIA 1-0 to Win Zone A Inter-Command Football Title

Esther KomolafeBusiness
*IKEJA, LAGOS* — The Customs Police Unit are kings of Zone A football. In a tense final on Saturday at the Customs Training College, Ikeja, a solitary first-half strike was enough to see off Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command 1-0 and clinch the trophy at the Nigeria Customs Service Zone A Inter-Command Games. The Unit defended resolutely in the second half, soaking up pressure to secure the win and spark jubilant celebrations from players and supporters. The victory capped 20 days of intense competition, fitness drills, and team spirit among officers across the region. The football final was the headline…
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03 Sep

N3.9B DRUG BUST: Customs Hands Over 3 Tonnes of Cannabis, Tramadol, ,Illegal Mercury to NDLEA, NESREA in Lagos

Esther KomolafeBusiness
IKEJA, LAGOS In a massive show of inter-agency muscle, the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘A’ on Thursday handed over illicit drugs and hazardous chemicals worth nearly N4 billion to the NDLEA and NESREA at its headquarters on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja. Comptroller Gambo Aliyu, who led the handover, told a hall packed with security chiefs, regulators, and journalists that the seizures were the product of weeks of "sustained anti-smuggling operations" along border corridors, highways, and other hotspots within the Zone’s Area of Responsibility. The star exhibit was cannabis. Lots of it. Officers intercepted 5,669 parcels and…
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18 Aug

USCG Lifts 12-Year Condition of Entry on Nigerian Ports, Hailing Nigeria’s Maritime Security Gains

Esther KomolafeBusiness
Abuja, Nigeria | August 2026 Relief has come to Nigeria’s shipping industry as the United States Coast Guard, USCG, has lifted the 12-year Condition of Entry, CoE, imposed on vessels arriving in the United States after calling at Nigerian ports. The landmark decision, announced by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, ends more than a decade of enhanced security requirements for vessels trading between Nigeria and the U.S. *End of 12 Years of Enhanced Scrutiny* The CoE came into effect on June 25, 2014. It required vessels destined for the U.S. that had called at designated Nigerian…
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18 Aug

If NIWA, Parts Central Walk Away: Lagos Waterways Risk Deeper Pollution, Accidents and Economic Losses

Esther KomolafeBusiness
Lagos, Nigeria | August 18, 2026 The National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, and indigenous firm Parts Central Ltd. on Tuesday launched a 10-year Clean-Up deal to tackle pollution on Nigeria’s inland waterways. But stakeholders warn that failure to honour the agreement could leave the waterways in a worse state, with direct consequences for safety, livelihoods and the blue economy. The deal, unveiled in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, commits both parties to a structured waste-management system covering waterfronts, landing points, jetties and other strategic locations. It targets plastics, human waste, refuse and other pollutants choking the waterways. *What’s at Stake If…
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17 Aug

Customs Nabs 399 Pump-Action Rifles at Tin-Can, Hands Over Arms to NCCSALW as Two Suspects Face Trial

Esther KomolafeBusiness
Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos | August 17, 2026 The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has intercepted 399 fully assembled JOJEF pump-action rifles and firearm components at Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos, and handed them over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, NCCSALW. The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Monday during the handover ceremony. He also confirmed the arrest of two suspects linked to the shipment. *Intelligence-Driven Bust Stops Arms Trafficking* According to the CGC, the container carrying the weapons arrived on July 8 aboard vessel MV VELIKA. It was flagged by…
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