On Saturday, September 29, 2024, officials and senior members of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), rolled out the drums to celebrate Lucky Eyis Amiwero, the famed number one maritime business expert in Nigeria, when he clocked 71
By Innocent Chukwu
Cakes were cut, eulogies and encomiums poured out from emotional hearts like fountain of waters, book presentation heralded the solemn event, while guests rejoiced endlessly in their admiration of the adorable celebrant.
The event took place in the Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) town located in the city of Lagos, the commercial nerve center of Nigeria. It was the occasion to celebrate with Mr. Lucky Eyis Amiwero who just clocked 71.
The celebration of Amiwero at 71 saw in attendance the who-is-who in the fold of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) in South West Zone, including its Vice President, Dominic Chukwuemeka, friends, business associates, the media, as well as well wishers of the humble and amiable celebrant.
Amiwero, the reigning President of the NCMDLCA, remains the living and incontestable best maritime business expert in the country and in the West African Sub region. He is a lecturer, trainer, mentor and clergy who also remains a maritime business encyclopedia of sorts in the estimation of stakeholders and those in authority.
At the event of his 71st birthday, Amiwero presented his latest work of authorship entitled, “Various National Economic Interventions That Enhance International Trade Procedures, Customs Reforms, Port Reforms, Policy Introduction and Policy Redirection in Nigeria”, a compilation of the Council’s interventions in policy formulations for the maritime business sector under his watch as the President of the NCMDLCA.
The compilation of the numerous official efforts put up by the NCMDLCA to shape activities in the nation’s transport, international trade and maritime industry, contains a deep knowledge of the development of the maritime business in Nigeria over a long period of time, and its contents are veritable for research and for academic pursuits in the related field of study. The genius of the maritime business sector also promised to roll out another book in the near future to guide the upcoming business people in the industry. According to him, his next work of authorship would appear as “Licensed Customs Agents Tool Kit”, a one-stop intellectual property of all time.
Also, the celebrant stressed that the book he unveiled at the event “Is a compilation of some of the critical policies the Council has helped government in formulating. These documents are facts, not claims, they’re from government; they’re things that have to do with the government”, Amiwero said.
Speaking further, Amiwero said, “Council stands for ‘knowledge-based’. We started training since 1999. We have trained NPA in 2006. There are over 600 policies we have intervened in and changed that have to do with the maritime industry.
“National Council removed PIDA from the ports, Pre-Shipment Inspection was cancelled by the National Council, Cotecna contract was also cancelled by the National Council because we fought against the contract. The Crown Agents of United Kingdom contract to take over Customs was also cancelled by the Council after it had been approved”.
The NCMDLCA president also hinted that the creation of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (CRFFN) by the Federal Government was a mistake of all time. He informed that the CRFFN’s sole interest is the collection of Port Operating Fee (POF) from clearing agents. Consequently, according to him, the NCMDLCA members are not freight forwarders, but customs licensed agents who classify tariffs. Notedly, the NCMDLCA has dragged the CRFFN to court. These revelations were made by Amiwero during his 71st birthday celebration.
