Press spotlights N2.7bn savings from demurrages in two years, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that the Nigerian Shipper’s Council said it saved a whooping N2.7bn between 2020 and 2022 and the anger expressed by the two opposition parties over the telephone conversation between the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and the Nigerian President-elect, Bola Tinubu are some of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Punch reports that the Nigerian Shipper’s Council said it saved a whooping N2.7bn between 2020 to 2022.
The council in its newsletter called ‘Complaint Newsletter’, a periodic publication of the agency, said the fund could have been lost to shipping companies, and terminal operators through demurrages, among others.
The NSC in the publication said during the period under review, it recorded a total of 1,727 complaints.
Giving a breakdown of the figures, NSC said that 2021 had the highest figure of complaints by shippers with 666 cases handled and N2.5bn recovered on behalf of the trading public in the year.
“Similarly, a total of 648 cases of complaints were recorded in the year 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, with N57m recovered. In 2022, a total of 413 cases was recorded, which was a clear indication of a sharp drop in complaints by the trading public, with a sum of N204m recovered on behalf of shippers and freight forwarders.
“Some of them are excessive charges while some are demurrage or container deposit refunds among others. Some are also on damages of cargo,” it stated.
Meanwhile, the port economic regulator said it observed that despite the decrease in the volume of cargoes in the country’s seaports, demurrage and detention remained high.
The council also urged importers and exporters to ensure that they engage professional logistics service providers to handle the clearing and delivery processes of their cargoes to ensure that all containers are returned promptly without accruing demurrage or detention charges.
The newspaper says that the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party on Wednesday expressed anger over the telephone conversation between the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
Blinken pledged stronger ties between the US and Nigeria during a 20-minute telephone call to Tinubu, who is in France.
The US Department of State spokesperson, Matthew Miller, in a statement said Blinken spoke with the president-elect on Tuesday.
The development came 24 hours after the Joe Biden administration announced the imposition of visa restrictions on Nigerians who allegedly disrupted the recently concluded elections.
The US said the affected persons were involved in voter threats, results manipulation, physical violence, and other activities that undermined democracy. The identities of the culprits were, however, not made public.
But dismayed by Blinken’s communication with Tinubu, the PDP standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, who is challenging the ex-Lagos State governor’s victory at the tribunal, said the Secretary of State’s assurances of bilateral cooperation contradicted the position of the US on the general election in Nigeria.
The former vice president was referring to a statement issued by the US government on March 2 in which it acknowledged the complaints and frustrations expressed by some Nigerians about the manner in which the presidential election was conducted and the shortcomings of the technical elements used in the poll.
Also, the Chief Spokesman for Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, said it was worrisome for Blinken to be discussing bilateral relations with Tinubu.
During the phone conversation, Blinken said he was committed to further strengthening the US-Nigeria partnership with the incoming administration of the president-elect.
Miller said the two leaders “discussed the importance of inclusive leadership that represents all Nigerians, continued comprehensive security cooperation, and reforms to support economic growth.”
The Guardian reports that the Minister of State for Power, Jerry Agba, on Wednesday explained that challenges still associated with power shortages is as a result of gas supply issues, especially with Generation Companies (GENCOS).
Agba gave the explanations after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
He noted that negotiations were on with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC Ltd) to augment gas supplies to distributors at local rate.
His explanation came against the backdrop of power shortages experienced in the country despite billions of naira injected into the sector by the outgoing administration.
He said with the interventions being put in place, power stability was bound to come in few days.
“You’ll agree with me that of late, we’ve had problems with gas supplies for generational companies. We just negotiated with the gas supply companies, NNPC limited to augment gas supplies to distributors at the going local rate.
“Gas was sold to them at export rate, whose price differs and the collection is made on domestic rates. So there was a differential and the argument, however, we had an agreement with the NNPCL and natural gas company to supply gas to GENCOs commencing from last week, and they are buying at local price not at the export price.
“So with that we hope in the very near future in a week or two we should have improved generation and supply. Distribution is going to be done by DISCOs which is why we are doing everything possible for transmission company to have all the equipment necessary for effective transmission. We hope and I assure you that power generation and distribution as well will improve despite the rains that have come in now,” he said.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Government, yesterday, launched the revised National Agricultural Seed Policy 2022 to liberalise the seed sub-sector and enhance private sector participation in its development.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammed Abubakar, during the launch of the policy in Abuja, said the 2022 revised policy was developed following a critical review of the 2015 National Seed Policy.
He stated that the review became necessary due to the positive changes in the operations of the seed industry, especially after the enactment of the National Agricultural Seed Act of 2019 and the Plant Variety Protection Act of 2021 that confine new responsibilities and widened the scope of operations of the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC).
The minister revealed that the current seed policy was developed by NASC and stakeholders, who have made valuable inputs and contributions towards ensuring that farmers have unrestricted access to the best genetics to enhance productivity.
“Let me reiterate that this revised policy has removed the ambiguous areas in the erstwhile 2015 National Seed Policy, strengthened the identified weaknesses and introduced innovations that optimise the regulatory, promotional and protection roles of NASC in ensuring that farmers have access to improved quality seeds,” he said.
The minister highlighted some of the new introductions in the policy document including SEEDCODEX which involves a quality authentication tool and traceability aimed at curbing adulteration and the participation of third-party seed inspectors in the quality assurance process.
Others include the establishment of satellite and private seed testing laboratories and strategic seed banks to act as reserve and buffer stocks in case of food emergencies and encourage the active participation of women and youths in the seed business.
GIK/APA