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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎Former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, will be the keynote speaker at the 2026 edition of the Maritime Annual Maritime Lecture, (MAMAL).
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‎The flagship annual programme being hosted by the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) takes place on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at the Nigerian Air Force Event Centre, No. 1 Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. Time is 10am.
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‎MAMAL is MARAN’s flagship programme which brings together key government officials, maritime industry regulators, academics, shipping magnates, freight forwarders, journalists and other critical stakeholders in the maritime sector to deliberate on issues affecting the growth and competitiveness of Nigeria’s maritime industry.
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‎The theme of this year’s lecture is “Nigerian Ports Modernisation, Charges and the Competitiveness Question.”
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‎The Executive Director, Technical, of TANTITA Security Services Limited, Captain Warredi Enisuoh will serve as the Chairman of MAMAL 2026, while the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, will be the Special Guest of Honour.
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‎Speaking on the significance of the theme, MARAN President, Mr. Yinka Onigbinde, said the lecture would provide an important platform to examine the urgent need for modernisation of Nigerian ports and the benefits such modernisation would bring to the nation’s economy.
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‎According to him, efficient and modern port infrastructure is critical to improving cargo handling, reducing delays and costs, attracting investment and strengthening Nigeria’s position as a competitive maritime hub.
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‎Onigbinde said MAMAL 2026 would also provide an opportunity for stakeholders to engage in constructive discussions on port charges and other factors affecting the competitiveness of Nigerian ports.
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‎He described Hajiya Hadiza Bala Usman as an experienced voice in the maritime sector whose wealth of knowledge and experience would add significant value to the discussions at the lecture.
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‎The MARAN President also expressed the Association’s appreciation to Captain Warredi Enisuoh for accepting to chair the event, describing his experience in maritime security and industry development as an added value to the programme.
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‎He noted that the presence of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy as Special Guest of Honour further underscores the importance of the theme and the Federal Government’s efforts towards repositioning Nigeria’s maritime sector for greater efficiency and competitiveness.
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‎The MARAN President noted that the 2026 edition of MAMAL is the fourth in the series, underscoring the Association’s commitment to providing a credible platform for informed debate and professional engagement on critical maritime issues.
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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has restated that she is not opposed to lawful police activities in the ports. However, such operations, the freight forwarding body demands, must be conducted strictly within the purview of exant laws without turning legitimate clearance of cargo into an avenue for unlawful financial gains.
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‎This assertion is contained in a petition to the Inspector-General of the Police (IGP) by the Association’s 100% Compliance Team over alleged extortion, intimidation, harassment and obstruction of lawful trade by officers of the Marine Police Command operating at Nigerian ports.
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‎In the petition dated August 14, 2026, NAGAFF was specific on Lagos Port Complex Apapa, Tin-Can Island Port, bonded terminals and other designated ports where police officers frequently compromise needed integrity with the intention of making personal gains at the expense of good conduct. The alleged conduct, the Association said, constitutes  a growing threat to legitimate trade facilitation as it leads to rising prices of imported goods and the cost of doing business in Nigeria.
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‎NAGAFF, the petition said, is ready to provide documented evidences and witness accounts to buttress allegations of the prevalence of a pattern of misconduct involving Marine Police personnel around the nation’s seaports.
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‎Some police officers, the Association  alleged, issue container blockage letters to shipping lines and terminals through the Nigerian Shippers’ Council demanding illegal payments before release orders are issued.
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‎Officers demand money or special documents from freight forwarders, drivers and agents as a condition for cargo release and speedy movement of cargo.
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‎Other allegations include verbal abuses, threats, unlawful arrest and detention, seizure of documents and, in some cases, physical assault.
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‎NAGAFF warned that such anti-trade practices often cause avoidable delays, port congestion and supply-chain disruptions, thus undermining the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business policy.
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‎The Association informed the IGP that such illegal payments and charges not  approved by exant laws eventually increase logistics costs, with avoidable burdens being passed on to importers, exporters and consumers.
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‎NAGAFF drew attention to the Nigeria Police Act 2020, Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, Nigerian Ports Authority Act, Customs Service Act 2023 and other statutory and legal documents that do not have any provisions for the irregularities in question.
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‎In global trade, NAGAFF informed the IGP, the alleged activities, if unchecked, could damage Nigeria’s trade competitiveness, discourage investment in the maritime and logistics sectors while eroding public confidence in law enforcement agencies.
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‎NAGAFF therefore urged the IGP to order an immediate investigation aimed at halting what it described as unlawful container blockage, extortion, intimidation and harassment at the affected ports.
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‎To monitor compliance and address misconduct in the ports, NAGAFF recommended that a joint task force involving the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and NAGAFF should be established in the first instance while disciplinary action is visited against officers found culpable following investigation.
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‎It further requested clear guidelines defining the lawful scope of Marine Police operations at seaports, as well as clearer jurisdictional boundaries between the Maritime Police and the Commissioner of Police (Ports).
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‎“We are not opposed to legitimate Police operations at the ports. We only demand that such operations be conducted strictly within the purview of our extant laws, without turning legitimate cargo clearance into an avenue for unlawful financial gains,” NAGAFF stated.
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‎The petition which was signed by Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko, National Coordinator, 100% Compliance Team on behalf of NAGAFF, was copied to relevant government departments and agencies.
‎These included the National Security Adviser, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and the Senate Committee on Customs. Others were the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigeria Customs Service and the Directorate of State Services (DSS).
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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎The National Assembly has been charged  to enact a legal framework compelling consolidation by local freight forwarders to ensure they avoid fragmentations which  unwittingly expose them to avoidable dominance by their foreign competitors. Pooling resources together as a formidable business entity, it is canvassed, stands to position them to better contribute to national trade and security.
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‎National Secretary-General of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Godfrey Emeka Nwosu made the call in a policy briefing on the future of freight forwarding in Nigeria, as he describes consolidation as a “strategic imperative” for the industry.
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Tochukwu Ezisi, NAGAFF National President

‎The growing fragmentation of local freight forwarding companies, he painted out, was weakening their capacity to compete with better-capitalized foreign firms. To overcome this development, local operators should urgently embrace consolidation to enable them build stronger and more competitive Nigerian-owned logistics business entities.
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‎Indigenous freight forwarding companies, he canvassed, must come together and consolidate their operations as failure to so could leave them increasingly vulnerable to foreign dominance in Nigeria’s logistics and maritime sector.
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‎It is no longer about the survival of individual freight forwarding entities but about Nigeria’s ability to retain value in-country and internationally to ensure foreign competitors do not render them irrelevant in international trade.

‎He warned that without stronger indigenous companies, local operators could continue to lose market share and strategic opportunities to foreign competitors.
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‎Going further, the NAGAFF Scribe identified consolidation as a national security imperative as better-organized cargo movements would make it easier for regulatory and security agencies to monitor consignments and detect suspicious activities.
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‎“Consolidated cargo is easier to monitor, reducing risks of smuggling and illicit trade,” he stated.
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‎He called for investment in warehouses, transport corridors and digital cargo management systems, as well as capacity-building programmes for freight forwarders and customs brokers.
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‎This would be complemented by stronger public-private partnerships among government agencies, freight forwarders, shippers and port operators to create an efficient logistics ecosystem.
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‎Nwosu said the freight forwarding sector was a critical enabler of international trade and warned that the dominance of small, fragmented operators had created vulnerabilities that could be exploited by foreign competitors.
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‎According to him, bringing smaller freight forwarding companies together would enable operators to pool resources, cargo volumes, infrastructure and expertise, thereby reducing costs and improving service delivery.
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‎“Consolidating multiple smaller freight forwarding companies into larger, unified firms offers a strategic solution to enhance competitiveness, efficiency and resilience,” he said.
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‎Nwosu explained that consolidation would allow operators to share cargo space and transportation resources, reducing per-unit logistics costs while limiting exposure to under-utilized capacity and empty runs.
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‎He said stronger companies would also be better positioned to invest in warehouses, transportation networks, digital systems and skilled manpower, giving indigenous operators the capacity to compete for larger cargo volumes and contracts.
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‎The NAGAFF official said the benefits would extend beyond freight forwarders to shippers, Customs, port operators and the wider economy.
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‎He said shippers would have access to more affordable and reliable logistics services, while Customs authorities could benefit from more structured cargo movements that would simplify inspection, documentation and clearance.
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‎For port operators, he said, more coordinated cargo evacuation would help improve cargo flow and reduce congestion.
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