News Wings

Tag: Commandant

  • Comptroller Aliyu M Alkali strengthens ties with stakeholders In Onne Sea Port

    Comptroller Aliyu M Alkali strengthens ties with stakeholders In Onne Sea Port

    The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Port Harcourt II Area Command, Aliyu M Alkali, has embarked on a series of strategic visits to stakeholders operating within Onne Sea Port. The visits aimed to foster synergy, collaboration and intelligence sharing among government agencies to achieve common goals and enhance compliance with existing regulations.

    During the visits, Comptroller Alkali met the Commander of Narcotics, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Port Harcourt Ports Command, Omerio Mathias Odo, the Director of State Security, Port Harcourt Ports Command and the Commandant, Nigerian Navy Basic Training School Onne, Rear Admiral Victor D Choji.

    The CAC emphasised the importance of teamwork and synergy among agencies to propel progress in achieving their respective organisational objectives and goals. He reiterated his commitment to keying into the Comptroller-General of Customs’ policy thrust of consolidation, collaboration, and innovation.

    Comptroller Alkali stated, “I believe that active engagement with stakeholders will build strong relationships and enhance compliance with extant regulations. I pledge to sustain and improve on the existing cordial relationships, as I request for robust synergy from you”.

    The stakeholders reciprocated by working closely with the Customs Area Controller to achieve common goals. The Commander of Narcotics, in his remark, pledged to synergize with the CAC in the Port to ensure that illicit drug supply is reduced to its barest minimum. 

    The Director of State Security, Port Harcourt Ports Command, expressed his commitment to sharing useful and timely intelligence that would enhance the command’s operations. The Commandant of the Navy Basic Training School reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment to securing the maritime domain and making it safe for economic activities. He also pledged to support Customs operations within the legal framework.

    These visits are ongoing to provide continual stakeholder engagement, demonstrating Comptroller Alkali’s proactive approach to building strong relationships with stakeholders and his commitment to optimal revenue collection, enhanced compliance with extant regulations, and ensuring security within the seaport.

  • Attempt By NUPENG To Mislead Court & Lie Under Oath Foiled As Court Fails To Sit

    Attempt By NUPENG To Mislead Court & Lie Under Oath Foiled As Court Fails To Sit

    The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) has accused the leadership of its parent body, NUPENG of attempting to lie under oath and mislead the court through use of a witness who presented himself as someone who was purportedly assaulted in Calabar, Cross Rivers State during a peaceful National Branch Executive Council (BEC) meeting held by Comrade Lucky Osesua’s led group on 27th and 28th of September, 2024.

    The oil and gas Union described the attempt by the witness, who, in a dramatic twist, covered himself with a bandage on the instruction of those who tutored him, as headless and an infantile plot that was reckless and one that stood logic on its head. PTD added that NUPENG and their paid witness should know that “perjury qualifies as a serious crime against justice”. It is on record that several attempts through the prosecutors to revoke the bail graciously granted to Comrade Lucky Osesua and 19 others by his lordship, Hon. Justice Yusuf Halilu woefully failed.

    The “strange” witness according to PTD mysteriously appeared on Thursday, October 10, 2024 in Abuja Federal High Court during the continuation of trial of 20 PTD executives who are charged with attempted murder. But the witness who was apparently fidgeting, incoherent and lacking composure was shocked and further confused in front of those who paid him for the hatchet job, when they all saw that the trial Judge, Justice Yusuf Halilu was absent to continue the trial due to health challenges.

    While reacting to the ugly development in a chat with some journalists on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State at a popular hotel around Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout Road, an elder of the Union, Comrade Joseph Dagogo-Jack (JP) said every plot to circumvent justice against the interest of Comrade Lucky Osesua, Comrade Garga Dayyabu, Comrade (Chief) Peter Moudebelu (Onwa), Comrade Dr Humble Obinna Power and other national executives would never stand.

    “It is really appalling to see the leadership of NUPENG coming up with a cheap lie, in an attempt to subvert justice by lying under oath and trying to mislead the Honorable court by employing and paying a strange witness who mysteriously appeared in an open court with body covered with bandage for purportedly being assaulted in Calabar where we held our peaceful National Branch Executive Council meeting, a totally rancor-free assembly which ran smoothly for two days, between September 27th to 28th, 2024.

    “It is a big shame that the witness will be acting on the instruction of his paid masters who tutored him to commit perjury. This infamous and distasteful plot is headless, infantile, reckless, and one that stands logic on its head. The records are very clear that there was no incident of anyone being intentionally or recklessly inflicted with any bodily harm, not even altercation or heated arguments whatsoever, ensued between anyone throughout our BEC meeting in Calabar. NUPENG and its paid witness should know that perjury qualifies as a serious crime against justice and the consequences are very grievous under our criminal law. Statements given under oath are expected to carry truthfulness.

    “It is on record that we even wrote officially through our National Secretary, Comrade (Dr) Humble Obinna Power, notifying and inviting all security agencies consisting of the Commissioner of Police, Cross River State Police Command, the AIG NPF Zone 6 headquarters Calabar, the Director DSS, and the Commandant of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), Cross River State Command to provide us with security personnel at the venue, Monty Suites Hotel, behind NPF Zone 6 Headquarters, Murtala Mohammed Highway, Calabar, so that they can be witnesses to our harmless discussions and ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order.

    “We also communicated to them that the gathering simply sought to inform members on the current position of the leadership crisis rocking our Branch, the steps taken so far, and to calm down the tensions and anxiety hanging in the air concerning the ongoing struggle. We further admonished the law enforcement agents that the meeting was essentially to encourage our members to be peaceful and law-abiding in all their conducts, conversations, and actions. The National Secretary also signed undertakings at the office of the AIG Zone 6 Calabar and the Commissioner of Police Cross River State Command that if anything goes wrong between 8am and 11am on the meeting day that he should be held accountable; to the glory of God, nothing went wrong up till this time.

    “In addition, we told our members at the meeting about the position of the litigations and legal processes filed at the court challenging the procedures and suspensions of members and assuring them that we will do everything possible within the ambit of the law to attain our goals and defend our legitimate rights, while also ensuring that our parent union, NUPENG, does the right thing and justice is served,” Dagogo-Jack stated.

  • Transport Safety: NSIB seeks collaboration with NSCDC, plans MoU

    Transport Safety: NSIB seeks collaboration with NSCDC, plans MoU

    The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) is seeking partnership with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on how to ensure further safety in all modes of transportation across the country.

    The two bodies have also agreed to draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on how their partnership could be concretised and ensure mutual benefits for all.

    According to a statement released by the General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi, the Bureau paid a courtesy visit to the NSCDC Railway Command Headquarters in Lagos yesterday with the aim of establishing a mutually beneficial relationship between the two agencies.

    Engr. Akin Olateru, the Director-General, NSIB, who led the courtesy visit to the NSCDC Railway Command Headquarters at Ebute Metta, Lagos said that it was necessary for the two federal government agencies to synergise for the safety and security of the over 200 million Nigerians who either patronise air, road, rail or water transport, especially in the area of accident investigation.

    Olateru who described the NSCDC as an important stakeholder to the Bureau, said that as the first responder, the corps could help to secure crash sites and provide security for its investigators at crash sites.

    He explained that the new NSIB Act 2022, empowered the Bureau to conduct investigation into other modes of transport accidents, including rail and maritime, noting that with this, the causal cause of any accident would be known, while recurrence of similar accident could also be prevented.

    He maintained that no institution or organisation could go it alone without the collaboration of the others and appealed to the corps to work in harmony with the bureau.

    He explained that through the investigation of serious incidents and accidents in the air transportation industry in Nigeria by NSIB and the issuance of safety recommendations, the spate of accidents in the sector had reduced, while the air transport in Nigeria was also rated among the safest in the world.

    He vowed to replicate such in the other modes of transportation in Nigeria.

    He said: “Nigeria has one of the safest air transportation anywhere in the world. This is so because we enhance safety by investigation. There is no hearsay when we do our own investigation. So, we do thorough investigations and come up with safety recommendations.

    “Our proposal to investigate all modes of transportation was approved in 2018 and the draft bill was sent to the Ministry of Justice for vetting. After that, it was sent to the National Assembly and we went through the first and second reading, public hearing and then, the third reading. Then, Mr. President finally signed it.

    “In today’s world, when you look at the US, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, even Cape Verde and others, you must have an independent agency of government for investigating accidents so that there won’t be conflict of interest. There will be clarity. Up until this bill was passed, accident investigation in the rail sector was under the management of the railway. They are the regulator, operator and the investigator. Same thing applies in the maritime with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) as the regulator and investigator.

    “So, you need to separate the regulator from the service provider and the investigator. There must be three legs to every mode of transportation. This will lead to clarity.”

    Besides, Olateru explained that the NSIB had co-opted the railway team to join its investigators on the investigation of the rail and bus accident, which occurred in Lagos on March 9, 2023.

    He explained that this would enable the investigators to unravel the causal cause of the accident and issue recommendations on prevention of recurrence.

    In his response, Commandant Oludare Ogunyoye, Commandant, NSCDC, Railway Command Headquarters, Lagos, expressed delight at the visit of the NSIB team.

    Ogunyoye reiterated the readiness of the corps to collaborate with NSIB and also offer assistance whenever necessary.

    “We of the NSCDC railway command, we are ready to partner with you in any form, provided it’s based basically on the way forward. That is, it is for the improvement of Nigeria as a whole. So, any form of assistance needed from us, we will give it to you. Immediately you call us, we will swing into action,” he said.

    The command has nine area commands spread across the country.