Stakeholders Gather in Lagos Today for Customs and Maritime Book Launch

BY FUNMI ALUKO

Maritime journalists will today in Lagos unveil a new book that captures performance indices in customs operations and broader maritime development, nearly three years into the life of the current administration.

The book presentation will feature a seminar, with a keynote paper titled “Three Years After Marine & Blue Economy Ministry: How Far, How Well?” to be delivered by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola.

The event is scheduled to hold at Shoregate Hotels, 29 Joel Ogunnaike Street, GRA Ikeja, Lagos (opposite Lagos Marriott Hotel), beginning at 10 a.m. The publication offers a comprehensive examination of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), focusing on revenue generation, anti-smuggling operations, and institutional transformation within the country’s economic and trade architecture.

It places particular emphasis on reforms and institutional performance under the leadership of Comptroller General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, while also highlighting the roles of maritime agencies within the wider policy direction of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

The book contributes to ongoing national conversations around revenue optimization, trade facilitation, and institutional accountability. It also documents activities in the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy since its establishment in 2023, with special focus on agencies such as the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), and the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN).

Authored by veteran maritime journalists Chief Timothy Okorocha and Mr. Francis Ugwoke, the book is titled “Customs Operational Revolution and Maritime Development Under President Tinubu.” It will be formally presented today at Shoregate Hotels, Ikeja.

Okorocha and Ugwoke have covered the maritime sector for decades, beginning as correspondents for Daily Times and ThisDay newspapers, before establishing their own industry publications.

The book highlights trade facilitation efforts under the current leadership of the Customs Service, showcasing its enhanced role in revenue generation and positioning it as a critical contributor to Nigeria’s economy, second only to the oil sector.

It also chronicles key developments in the maritime sector, including Nigeria’s successful return to the Category C seat of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) after nearly a decade.

At the event, Comptroller General Adeniyi will deliver a paper titled “The Secret of Huge Revenue Generation and Anti-Smuggling Revolution Successes Recorded by Nigerian Customs in Recent Years.”

Other presentations include:

Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, Managing Director of NPA: “Exploring the Gains of Multi-Dollar Ports Infrastructure Rehabilitation for Nigeria.”

Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Director General of NIMASA: “NIMASA and the Task of Indigenous Shipping Development – Challenges and Results So Far.”

Dr. Pius Kutah, Executive Secretary/CEO of NSC: “Ports Economic Regulation and the Challenges of Arriving at Acceptable Shipping Charges for Shippers and Service Providers.”