Importers Experience Difficulties at Ports as FG increases Import Tarrif

Importers and clearing agents on Wednesday faced difficulties in clearing their goods following the implementation of the Economic Community of West African States’ Common External Tariff.

All the 16 members of the ECOWAS, including Nigeria, had agreed to introduce a uniform import tariff, pegged at 35 per cent maximum, from January this year, to facilitate trade within the region.

Acoording to the Nigeria Customs Service,  the policy had taken effect on April 11, it was not enforced until Monday.

Several importers, who claimed not to be aware of this development, said many of them were asked to pay double what they use to pay as tariff on imported materials.

They also said the tension generated by the rate adjustment was heightened on Monday and Tuesday when they could not assess the Customs online portal.

They expressed fears that the development could result in another port congestion as many might be unable to immediately pay the new tariff.

Accordin to Punch an importer, whose consignment of electronic metal detector apparatus had just arrived at the port, complained to one of our correspondents that there was no prior notice about the adjustment in tariff, adding that she discovered on Tuesday that what she needed to pay on her goods had doubled.

Drama as 28 APC Senators Walk out of Senate Session

Members of the Barnabas Gemade -led Senate Unity Forum told newsmen in Abuja on wednesday that they will take a legal action against the emergence of Bukola Saraki on Tuesday as the President of the Senate.

They addressed the journalists after walking out of the Senate chambers when Saraki overruled Gemade and Kabiru Marafa while   questioning the process that produced the new Senate leadership.

According to the forum, the election of Saraki as senate president did not follow due constitutional procedure.

Ekweremadu Elected Deputy Senate President

Senator Ike Ekweremadu has been elected as the Deputy Senate President of the 8th Senate.

The immediate Deputy Senate President, Ekweremadu defeated Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume as he scored 54 votes against Ndume’s 20 votes.

Bukola Saraki is the New Senate President

The former governor of Kwara state Bukola Saraki has emerged as the president of  8th Senate . He was nominated by Sani Yarima, former governor of Zamfara state. Dino Melaye, from Kogi state, seconded his nomination. 

Bukola was  duly declared elected president of the senate as Abubakar Sani, the clerk of the National assembly called for more norminations and there was none.

APC preferred candidate Ahmad Lawan was not nominated. 

Out of 108 senators-elect, 57 were present while 51 were absent. Only 55 senators are needed to choose a senate president.  

Other APC  senators were reportedly absent owing to their meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja. 

Oscar Pistorius Set to be released under correctional supervision

Oscar Pistorius is set to be released on probation on 21 August, South African prison authorities say, after serving 10 months in jail for shooting dead his girlfriend.

The Paralympic star was jailed for five years in 2014 for the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp.

Ms Steenkamp's parents have said that the time he has served is "not enough for taking a life".

A state appeal against his acquittal on murder charges is due in November.

Under South African law, Pistorius is eligible for release under "correctional supervision" having served a sixth of his sentence.

South African Commissioner of Correctional Services Zach Modise told the BBC that the case management committee at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria, where Pistorius is being held, made the recommendation last week.

The decision is likely to mean a spell under house arrest for Pistorius.

Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius born 22 November 1986 is a South African sprint runner. Although both of Pistorius' legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, he has competed in events for single below-knee amputees and for able-bodied athletes.

After becoming a Paralympic champion, Pistorius attempted to enter able-bodied international competition, over persistent objections of the IAAF and charges that his artificial limbs gave an unfair advantage. Pistorius eventually prevailed in this legal dispute. At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Pistorius became the first amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Pistorius became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympics when he entered the men's 400 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay races. 

At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Pistorius won gold medals in the men's 400-metre race and in the 4 × 100 metres relay, setting world records in both events. He also took silver in the 200-metre race, having set a world record in the semifinal.

On Valentine's Day 2013, Pistorius fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in his Pretoria home. He said he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder, but he was arrested and charged with murder. At his trial the following year, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide. He received a five-year prison sentence for culpable homicide and a concurrent three-year suspended prison sentence for a separate reckless endangerment conviction

Nigeria's Military Relocates to Maiduguri to Improve Response to Boko Haram

Nigeria's military is set to move its headquarters to the northern town of Maiduguri, it says, close to the centre of the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency.

The move would "add impetus and renewed vigour" to the fight against terrorism, a military statement said.

A military advance team began work in Maiduguri on Monday, the statement said, as part of plans to move the command and control centre from Abuja.

President Muhammadu Buhari who took office last month, vowing to beat Boko Haram announced that the military would move its headquarters to Maiduguri, in the north-eastern state of Borno, in his inaugural speech on 29 May.

According to BBC Africa security correspondent Tomi Oladipo says the move aims to centralise operations, cut bureaucracy and speed up decision-making.

He says the policy and administrative arms of the military have been accused of being detached from the reality of the frontline, with the authorities in the past having denied or downplayed troops' demands for better equipment and welfare.

President Muhammadu Buhari at G7 Summit in Germany

President Muhammadu Buhari left Nigeria on Sunday morning for Germany to attend the G7 summit scheduled to take place in Bavaria between June 7-8, 2015 according to a statement on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

Shehu said invitation to the summit was extended to Buhari by German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, before he was inaugurated as President on May 29.

“The invitation is a clear indication of the international community’s willingness to cooperate with the new government of Nigeria,” the presidential spokesman said.

He however explained that Buhari would not be participating in the main meetings, since Nigeria is not a member of the G7 group.

JP Morgan Threatens to Eliminate Nigeria from Key Board Index

JP Morgan has threatened to remove Nigeria from its Government Bond Index (GBI-EM) by the year-end unless the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, restores liquidity to foreign exchange market to allow foreign investors tracking the benchmark to transact with minimal hurdles.

According to Vanguard's report, the bank said over the weekend that it had extended the deadline to eject Nigeria by another six months to take into account the arrival of President Muhammadu Buhari.

JPMorgan, which runs the most commonly used emerging debt indexes, placed Nigeria on a negative index watch in January and then said it would assess its place on the index over a three to five months period.

“Nigeria’s status in the GBI-EM series will be finalized in the coming months but no later than year-end,” JPMorgan said.

Implications:

Removal from the index would force funds tracking it to sell Nigerian bonds from their portfolios, potentially resulting in significant capital outflows. This in turn would raise borrowing costs for Africa’s largest economy, already suffering from a sharp drop revenue following a plunged in oil prices.

APC Picks Lawan and Akume as Sole Candidates for President and Deputy President Senate

The All Progressives Congress on Saturday announced Senator Ahmed Lawan and Senator George Akume as sole candidates for the position of President and Deputy Senate President of the 8th Senate respectively.

This followed a primary election conducted by the National Working Committee of the APC at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

National Secretary of the Party, Mala Buni, who served as returning officer announced that 33 Senators were accredited to vote after which Lawan got 32 votes and one vote was declared invalid.

Buni said, “By the powers conferred on me by the NWC of the APC as the Chief Returning Officer of this election after having certified that Dr. Ahmed Lawan has fulfilled all the requirements of the party, he is hereby nominated as the sole candidate of the party for the position of Senate President of the 8th Senate.

Wawrinka Stuns Djokovic to win French Open

Stanislas Wawrinka stunned Novak Djokovic to win his first French Open title and thwart the world number one's career Grand Slam hopes. The Swiss eighth seed played magnificently in a 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 victory at Roland Garros.

Wawrinka, 30, brought an end to Djokovic's 28-match winning streak as he claimed his second Grand Slam title.

Djokovic had been hoping to become the eighth man to complete the set of all four major titles. But the Serb will have to wait at least another 12 months before attempting to match the full set of major titles collected by Andre Agassi, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Roger Federer, Rod Laver, Rafael Nadal and Fred Perry.