Category: Business

The Nigeria Customs Service(NCS) has promised to look into complaints by licensed customs agents and freight forwarders over newly introduced Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) valuation that has resulted in a strike action across ports in Lagos

Plus Naija reports that the Zonal Coordinator of NCS in Zone A, Mrs Modupe Aremu who represented the Comptroller General of Customs at a stakeholder meeting on Tuesday, assured that the customs management will meet Wednesday to review the complaints.

Mrs Aremu who described customs and it’s licensed agents as members of one large family also disclosed that a solution to the issue will be arrived at soon

Addressing the media after the meeting, acgy Aremu, explained that the Customs is going to modify the complaints of the clearing agents to arrive at a conclusive arrangement for the VIN.

According to ACG Aremu, “We are going to modify their complaints going forward. The modification will take care of the complaints of the clearing agents as regards VIN.

“We also talked and rubbed minds on a solution to this ongoing strike at the ports.

“The agents were actually trained ahead of the implementation of the VIN valuation. That was why we were not expecting this kind of response from them when we began the implementation.

“Due to the complaints the agents gave today, we are going back to the drawing board to modify all the issues that they raised. Hopefully, very soon we will get back to them on the outcome of the modification. VIN has come to stay, it cannot be suspended.”

Also speaking at the event,Aliyu Galadima Saidu, Assistant Comptroller General in Charge of ICT and Modernisation disclosed that efforts will be made to bring training closer to customs agents.

He said the training will be decentralized to area commands to be organised by Customs Area Controllers .

ACG Saidu added that that trade in an ICT driven era requires sincerity and integrity as according to him, some persons were found to change VIN figures of their imported used vehicles so as to be processed as non standard VIN to evade complete duty payments.

A chieftain of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Chief Taiye Oyeniyi decried the high cost of vehicle clearance using VIN Valuation .

Chief Oyeniyi advised NCS to reconsider it’s defunct Customs Consultative Forum as a way to bridge communication gap between the NCS and agents

He also urged the striking agents to allow members of customs management team present at the Lagos meeting to take their complaints to Abuja for consideration.

Babatunde Keshinro, General Manager of Ports Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) , a major area for vehicle importation in Lagos, said there are backlog of vehicles waiting to be evacuated.

Keshinro said the strike has caused a congestion leading to inability of more RoRo vessels calling at the port to discharge.

According to him, as at February 24, some ships that are bringing cars to Lagos have gone to wait in Cotonou awaiting information about space to discharge their vehicular cargoes.

For over two weeks, licenced customs agents and freight forwarders have embarked on a strike action over alleged increase in duty payment on imported used vehicles under a new VIN Valuation regime.

The regime addresses the duty variation and alleged non uniformity said to have existed before now. It also uses artificial intelligence relying on supplied data by the trader and other third parties to evaluate and decide on duty payments without human interference.

Online sports Betting game is not Gambling but entertainment and it is brain tasking.

Sylvester Odion, the
Managing Director of Koret Gaming NETWORK gave the clarification at the lunch of a new online betting game known as Koretbet in Victoria island lagos state

Stakeholders at the entertainment industry who are ambassadors of koretbet notably, Bolanle Ninalowo also known as manakaki amongst others underscore the importance of Online Sports Betting game.

While some of them say betting game is for risk takers which they claim they are,they urge players to play responsibly.

Addressing the gathering, the company and its ambassadors say,korect bet is unique and is created to lead in Nigeria and other African countries.

While the Managing Director, Sylvester Odion, urged nigerians to caution themselves while playing the game so as not to be addicted, he pointed out that,koretbet has a control mechanism that stops a player that is going overboard.

Sylvester maintained that, if a person can invest in stocks you can invest in sports betting adding that is not Gambling

Korede Adeyemi s the
Chairman, Board of directors, koret gaming network,he said though the market is saturated but the beautiful products brought in by koretbet will advertise it and promote it among Nigerian players and other African countries.

Korede Adeyemi also pointed out that, Online sports Betting game
contributes largely to the government’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP) and was clear about their envisaged target for koretbet.

The marketing director, koretbet, Harrison. Ehiaguina who was very excited about the lunch of Koretbet said a lot of work went into the design of Koretbet online platform.

According to him, it was designed to suit customer”s viewing,comfort and interest adding that,it is very easy to operate for all ages.

Oil marketers under the umbrella of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) are seeking consultation on the impact of the suspension of fuel subsidy removal on some provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Gatekeepers News reports that MOMAN says it is currently seeking consultation with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and other industry stakeholders.

Point News247 reports that the Chairman of MOMAN, Olumide Adeosun, made this known during a press briefing on Monday, January 31, in Lagos.

Adeosun said, ”The members of the association are currently seeking to consult with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and other industry stakeholders.

“This is to understand exactly how this decision would impact the other provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as well as market operations. “

The MOMAN President also pointed out that the reforms contained in the PIA were a combination of several decades of engagement with internal and external stakeholders, incorporating local and international best practices.

According to him, most of the reforms in the PIA are geared towards encouraging investments in the petroleum downstream sector, ensuring transparency, upgrading industry assets and infrastructure (refineries, depots, pipelines, trucks, and filling stations), and optimising costs.

He stated that the direction of MOMAN’s consultation would be towards understanding and contributing towards what market philosophy and regulations should be in place during the 18 months to ensure uninterrupted supply, transparency.

Adeosun added, “This will be in line with long-term objectives for the administration and growth of the industry.’’

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, earlier announced that following the decision to suspend the removal of petrol subsidy, the government would also seek an amendment to the PIA in light of the new development.

Nigeria’s consumer price index has increased to 15.63 percent in December 2021.

Plus Naija reports that this update was contained in the latest report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Monday.

The rate is 0.23 percent points higher than the 15.40 percent recorded in November 2021.

This implies that prices showed an uptick in December 2021 — but dropped when compared to the corresponding period of 2020.

According to the report, increases were recorded in all Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the headline index.

“On month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 1.82 percent in December 2021 — this is 0.74 percent rate higher than the rate recorded in November 2021 (1.08) percent,” the report stated.

“The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve-month period ending December 2021 increased by 16.95 percent from 16.98 percent over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve-month period recorded in November 2021 down by 0.03 percent points.”