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NSC Settles 2,000 Trade Disputes
By Dipo Olowookere
Stakeholders have commended the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, (NSC) for settling 2,000 trade disputes since it assumed the role of the port economic regulator and restructuring for more effective service delivery.
The stakeholders stated this in various letters of commendation sent to the NSC on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the sum of N20.8 million was also recovered by the NSC from both a foreign-based company and another in Nigeria on behalf of complainants.
The stakeholders commended the Executive Secretary of the NSC, Mr Hassan Bello and his management for attending to complaints bothering on Cargo Defense Fund (CDF), litigation, arbitration, refunds and demurrage.
NSC also recovered N6 million as container deposits made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and also recovered four vehicles belonging to an importer, Mr Olusoji Alade.
According to Mr Alade, an unknown person has used a fake Telex and his National Drivers’ license to clear three containerised vehicles at the Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos, before my agent reported to the Police.
“I went to the Police which in turn directed me to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
“Like a movie, the NSC’s personnel swung into action and before 21 days, they did not only recovered my vehicles, they saved me from losing the sum of N2.7 million to a fraudulent clearing agent,” he said.
Mr Abiodun Barde, the General Manager, Duncan Maritime Ventures Ltd., a Customs licensed agency, lauded the hospitality and friendly gestures exhibited by the personnel of the NSC which convened the meeting to resolve the protest by Kezim Services Agency Ltd.
“We hope these attributes will continue so that the maritime industry will grow,” Mr Barde said.
The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, Tin-Can Island, Port, Lagos Chapter, also commended the Executive Secretary of the NSC and his team for responding swiftly to their appeal on demurrage waivers on 15 x 40 containers belonging to Messrs SIM Nigeria Ltd.
“We congratulate the apex regulatory body for its quick response and the reduction of charges by three foreign shipping companies namely: Maersk Line Nigeria; China Shipping and Safmarine Shipping.
“We wish the management of the Nigerian Shippers Council more fruitful services to Nigeria”, the Secretary of the NAGAFF chapter, Mrs Kate Dike said.
Mr Sunday Obiora the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Sunchi Integrated Farms Ltd., Enugu, lauded the professionalism exhibited by personnel of the NSC under the Ministry of Transportation still lives his mouth agape.
“We brought before the Council an appeal for waiver on demurrage and rent on 13 containers of poultry-keeping equipment, totalling millions of Naira held in the port by the Nigeria Customs Service and the NSC prevailed on all the parties involved.
“The shipping company, Safmarine; the terminal operator, Tin-Can Island Container Terminal and my company held meetings with the NSC for an amicable settlement.
“In fairness to all parties, we have lifted the 13 containers and we are very proud of Shippers’ Council and her personnel that handled the matter,” Mr 1Obiora said.
Mr Olu Akinsoji, A Marine Engineer and one time Nigeria’s Alternate Permanent Representative at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), said the NSC, since becoming an economic port regulator, had tried more than other agencies in the ministry.
Mr Akinsoji advised the NSC to develop guidelines, put in place resources and infrastructure to deal with matters, adding that government made the council a regulatory body because it was found to be sincere and honest.
He said that the NSC should through the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN), bring all agencies under its portal to make “people who are interested in our data base to have confidence because they are also involved in cross-checking CTN in Nigeria’’.
“CTN is a technical information system that is transparent and anybody can cross-check what you are doing so long as the Cargo is truthfully declared, assessed and mechanism put in place that will serve the purpose Nationally and Internationally,” the engineer said.
The General Manager Commercials, Grimaldi Agency Nigeria, Mrs Chioma Ahanonu, in a commendation letter to the Council, said, “NSC is evolving a new Nigeria.”
“No government establishment in Nigeria has stepped out and taken the problems of stakeholders to heart as is currently being done in Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
“You (NSC) have resolved many, even our own. It is a new Nigeria at the Council,” Mrs Ahanonu said.
NAN reports that the Management of the NSC recently put forward the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Ports Service Support Portal (PSSP)
The SOPs and PSSP Portal which was launched by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, is a guide to personnel of government agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, freight forwarders, road haulage companies, stevedores, marine surveyors and other operators and users of port services.
The mechanism, housed by the Council also allows stakeholders to submit and track the status of their complaints, enquiries and port service requests in an online real-time manner.
All port agencies and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, are all connected to the portal.
Bello said that the automation of the Nigerian ports system “is being carried out by the Council for an effective and efficient port system in Nigeria’’.
“We are also repositioning the Cargo Defense Fund, championing an effective CTN in Nigeria and carrying out massive capacity building in terms of training freight forwarders, critical stakeholders and personnel of the Council to be in tune with the new economic port regulatory status.
“In fact, we are pushing in a new and effective Shippers’ Council that Nigerians and the world will be proud of,” the executive secretary said.
Source: http://www.nan.ng/business/nsc-settles-2000-trade-disputes/
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An institutional investor, First Ally Capital, has strengthened a leading Nigerian financial technology company, Mathesis Analytics, to scale its proprietary credit decisioning infrastructure.
It made this possible by injecting fresh capital into the firm, which specialises in AI-powered credit decisioning infrastructure, an action that will directly support the growth and scaling of Mathesis’ core mission of providing the intelligence and infrastructure needed to bridge the credit gap for millions of unscored or underscored individuals across Nigeria.
With this investment, Mathesis will enable financial institutions to confidently assess and extend credit to borrowers who lack a formal credit history by leveraging an expanded pool of alternative behavioural and transactional data.
To date, Mathesis’ systems have supported more than 8 million loans for over 2 million unique borrowers in Nigeria, and the company is actively deploying its infrastructure to establish a growing pan-African footprint.
With the investment from First Ally Capital, Mathesis is well positioned to transform how the credit ecosystem operates, driving financial inclusion in partnership with lenders across the continent.
A significant barrier to credit access in Nigeria, which prides itself on being Africa’s largest economy, is data fragmentation. Borrowers frequently build positive financial behaviours across multiple digital platforms by repaying microfinance loans, saving through fintech wallets, or servicing Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) facilities.
However, under traditional credit infrastructure, these achievements remain invisible to new lenders.
Mathesis addresses this challenge through the concept of Personal Equity—the quantified expression of an individual’s financial behaviour aggregated across every institution with which they have transacted.
By translating these disparate signals into a precise, portable measure of creditworthiness, Mathesis creates a comprehensive credit identity that reflects the full breadth of a person’s financial life.
“True financial inclusion cannot be achieved in a vacuum; it requires structural collaboration in which lenders and fintech companies work as partners within the ecosystem.
“This investment from First Ally Capital validates our approach to reshaping credit infrastructure. By quantifying Personal Equity, we empower lenders to safely look beyond the constraints of formal credit histories and recognise a borrower’s true creditworthiness. This capital enables us to accelerate our pan-African expansion while maintaining the robust, institutional-grade infrastructure our partners rely on,” the chief executive of Mathesis Analytics, Winston Osuchukwu, stated.
On his part, the chief executive of First Ally Capital, Mr Ebenezer Olufowose, said, “At First Ally Capital, we pride ourselves on being a one-stop destination for financial solutions, offering a diverse portfolio of services ranging from investment banking and asset management to trusteeship, inclusive banking, and real estate.
“Our investment in Mathesis Analytics reflects our strong belief in the company’s vision and our commitment to supporting forward-thinking enterprises that deliver excellence.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The chief executive of Canal+ Africa, Mr David Mignot, has disclosed that MultiChoice is now fully integrated into the media group.
Mr Mignot disclosed this via a statement issued on Thursday, noting that this development marks a new phase in the evolution of one of Africa’s leading pay television operators.
He noted that the integration positions MultiChoice within a global media organisation with an extensive international footprint.
“MultiChoice is now a full subsidiary of a truly international media group operating in 70 countries. The group was founded in France, is listed in London and Johannesburg, and has a strong African presence with operations in more than 45 countries,” Mr Mignot said.
The statement underscores the scale of the combined business, highlighting Canal+’s global reach alongside its significant investments across Africa.
The completion of the transaction is expected to strengthen MultiChoice’s position in the African media and entertainment market by giving it access to the broader resources, expertise and international capabilities of the Canal+ Group, while reinforcing the group’s commitment to the continent.
MultiChoice operates across sub-Saharan Africa through platforms including DStv and GOtv, serving millions of subscribers with entertainment, sports and news content.
By Adedapo Adesanya
FoodCourt, a Nigerian cloud kitchen startup backed by Y Combinator, has suspended operations after months of unpaid salaries and mounting debts to vendors triggered a staff strike and forced the company to halt customer orders, according to a report by TechCabal.
The publication reported that customers first noticed on March 4 that they could no longer place orders through the FoodCourt app after the company disabled ordering as kitchen workers, delivery personnel and branch staff embarked on strike over unpaid wages. The company also owed outstanding payments to vendors.
By April 19, FoodCourt had temporarily shut its last operating branch after suspending activities across its Lagos and Abuja locations while seeking fresh funding and restructuring the business, according to the report.
The company’s chief executive, Mr Henry Nneji, said the decision to pause operations was not caused by a single issue but by a combination of operational, organisational and working-capital challenges.
“It’s important to clarify that the decision to pause operations wasn’t driven by one single issue. We reached a point where it became clear that continuing to patch those issues while operating wasn’t the right long-term decision,” he said.
“The objective is to build a stronger business than the one that existed before the suspension. We fully intend to bring FoodCourt back,” he added in an emailed response.
The company acknowledged outstanding obligations to employees, vendors, riders and service providers, but declined to disclose the number of affected workers or the total amount owed. It said efforts were underway to resolve the liabilities as part of its restructuring process.
It was also reported that the startup’s financial difficulties worsened after expansion into additional locations increased operating costs, while its cloud kitchen model came under pressure from rising labour, logistics, food and marketing expenses.
Despite the shutdown, Mr Nneji said FoodCourt intends to relaunch after completing its restructuring, adding that the company believes demand for its products remains strong.
Founded in 2021 by Henry Nneji and Paul Adokiye Iruene, FoodCourt operates cloud kitchens under multiple virtual restaurant brands through its consumer app. According to TechCabal, the startup had previously disclosed raising $1.7 million, delivering more than one million meals and reaching $4.3 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2024.
