Economy
Lagos Assembly Orders Arrest of Touts Harassing Logistics Operators
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Lagos State House of Assembly has directed the Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, to ensure the arrest of all local council officials and touts harassing logistics operators in the state.
This decision was reached at the plenary on Monday when the lawmaker representing Kosofe 1 at the state parliament, Mr Ganiu Sanni Okanlawon, moved a motion, calling on the Lagos State Government to direct the Commissioner for Transportation and other relevant agencies to ensure that operators of courier services and logistics are not harassed by the local governments.
He argued that the laws and restriction orders on the ban of motorcycles in some areas in the state exempted the movement of motorcycles of courier and logistics services.
While contributing to the motion, another lawmaker, Mr Bisi Yusuff, frowned at the use of local government task force to deal with operators of courier services, saying it was an embarrassment to the state government, saying some operators took some local governments to the court on the issue in the past and won.
On his part, the Leader of the House, Mr Sanai Agunbiade, said that courier and logistics services help people in different areas to interact with their customers, adding that the operation had a way of boosting the economy of the state and empowering the people through employment.
“The motion did not say they should not be regulated. A courier service should not pay from one local government to the other or else it would defeat the purpose of their business.
“The revenue should be centralized among the local governments. The House once passed a law to regulate the collection of fees by local governments. The law stated that whoever is collecting levies for the local governments must be identified,” he suggested.
In his contribution, Mr Lukman Olumoh accused some of the local government officials of issuing out fake documents, suggesting that consultants should be employed for such activities, while Mr Fatai Mojeed stated that some of the riders of the bikes are graduates who have no other jobs and that there have been many cries concerning the harassment of courier and logistics operators by local government officials.
On his part, Mr Abiodun Tobun lamented that some of the courier services organisations do not live up to expectations, saying, “Some local governments use consultants and we cannot stop them because of their excesses. We must not throw the local governments out totally as they have a role to play as an arm of government.”
Also speaking, Mr Lanre Afinni suggested that the collection of revenue for the local governments could be centralized and shared among them, adding that multiple taxations affect the profit of courier services companies.
In his view, Mr Moshood Oshun said that most of the local governments and LCDAs have traffic sections and that they charge exorbitant fines, urging that the traffic sections of these councils be looked into because they sometimes go to the extreme of arresting and harassing people.
For Mr Setonji David, courier operators play major roles in the state but that the local governments do not see it from this angle.
“Most of the receipts issued by the local governments are fake. We must ensure that the local governments limit themselves to what they ought to do.
“We have to find a way to stop the local governments from bothering the courier services since they are recognized by law. They also help transportation in the state as they help in distributing items,” he said.
On the part of the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, he emphasised that local government councils and LCDAs do not have the power to tax logistics and courier services, stressing that they are only limited to registration of bicycles as dictated by the constitution of the country.
Mr Obasa said it was lamentable, especially as such acts affect the ease of doing business “and it is very important that we do something about it.”
“We have to make them understand that going out to disturb well-planned and organized businesses that stand to create employment for our youth especially with the rate at which students graduate with nothing much to do is not good at all.
“The services of courier operators reduce poverty in the state and how much do they even charge?
“Local governments have nothing to do with the registration of motorcycles and tricycles. Operators of courier and logistics services should not be made to pay in all the local governments considering what they charge for their services,” he added.
At the end of the debate, the House resolved that local government councils should be aware of their limitations in this regard as well as stop using alleged touts and street urchins to collect revenues in other areas where they are legally empowered.
By Adedapo Adesanya
APM Terminals Apapa has reported a 31.5 per cent increase in export volumes for April 2025, reaching its highest monthly figure since operations began in 2006.
The terminal handled 8,687 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of export cargo, up from 6,606 TEUs in April 2024.
According to the terminal manager, Mr Steen Knudsen, this underscores a major milestone in Nigeria’s growing export momentum and reflects years of sustained growth and strategic investment in export infrastructure.
“It’s advantageous for Nigerian shippers when ships depart our ports fully loaded with exports. Preventing ships from leaving empty positively influences the overall cost of shipments into Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Knudsen attributed the growth to targeted operational improvements and alignment with national economic priorities.
“Our aim aligns with the Federal Government’s vision of transforming Nigeria into an export-driven economy. To support this, we launched a new rail service in February to expedite the movement of goods from the hinterland to Apapa port,” he revealed.
“We’ve expanded our yard capacity for exports and introduced dedicated truck lanes to streamline the process, reducing the time exports spend in the terminal and ensuring timely ship departures,” he added.
Mr Knudsen praised top agencies including Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) for their support in enabling the terminal to focus on delivering top-tier services to its customers.
Since acquiring the Apapa concession, the company has made significant capital investments to boost capacity, efficiency, and overall terminal productivity.
In the last four years, APM Terminals Apapa has recorded a steady rise in export volumes. In 2022, the terminal handled 53,807 TEUs of exports. This number rose to 70,432 TEUs in 2023 and 77,631 TEUs in 2024.
As Nigeria’s largest container terminal and a subsidiary of the A.P. Moller Maersk Group, APM Terminals Apapa continues to play a central role in the modernization and expansion of the country’s maritime logistics network.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Entrepreneurship Development in Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Ms. Chalya Shagaya, has commended Legend Internet Plc for listing its shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
Last month, the internet service provider (ISP) listed about two billion stocks valued at N12.4 billion on the local bourse, becoming the first indefinite telecom operator in Nigeria to do so, reflects strong investor confidence in nation’s digital economy.
Speaking during a visit to the headquarters of the organisation, Ms Shagaya praised the team led by Mr Bruce Ayonote for the achievement.
“The listing of Legend Internet Plc is not just a corporate achievement, it is a national win. It sends a powerful message to indigenous digital and tech companies that the capital markets are within reach,” Ms Shagaya stated.
The President’s aide further highlighted the alignment of this success with the Renewed Hope Agenda of her boss, emphasising the administration’s dedication to building a business-friendly environment driven by digital transformation and inclusive economic growth.
She also applauded the tech firm for its inclusivity efforts, noting that the majority of its executive and senior members of staff are women, describing this as a progressive example of gender representation in leadership, which aligns with national goals for women’s inclusion in economic development.
Ms Shagaya expressed her readiness to support Legend Internet and its affiliate company, Suburban, in future initiatives, including expansion of digital infrastructure, innovation policy development, and capacity building programs for entrepreneurs.
She also stressed the ripple effect such achievements could have on the broader ecosystem, from enhancing local content development and broadband access to creating jobs and fostering innovation, encouraging the organisation to further engage in mentorship, tech training, and entrepreneurship support initiatives.
“Legend Internet’s story is one of vision, resilience, leadership, and inclusivity. It is the kind of story this administration is proud to champion and we look forward to partnering with more companies that are pushing the boundaries of what is possible,” she stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.64 per cent increase on Monday, May 12, with its total value rising by N12.46 billion to N1.947 trillion from the N1.935 trillion quoted at the preceding session, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 21.28 points to 3,326.06 points from 3,3204.74 points.
The expansion recorded during the first trading session of the week was influenced by price appreciation in the shares of three companies admitted to the platform.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) went up by N2.25 to trade at N24.85 per unit versus last Friday’s N22.60 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved its value by 40 Kobo to settle at N40.43 per share from the previous closing value of N40.03, per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 10 Kobo to end at N1.91 per unit, on contrast to the preceding session’s N1.81 per unit.
During the trading day, the volume of shares bought and sold by the market participants decreased by 99.7 per cent to 673,233 units from the 231.6 million units traded in the previous trading day, the value of securities transacted by investors moderated by 98.9 per cent to N6.3 million from N606.4 million, and the number of deals retreated by 38.6 per cent to 35 deals from 57 deals.
When trading activities finished for the day, the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis remained Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 534.0 million units worth N521.1 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 266.4 million units valued at N470.5 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion.
The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis also remained Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 153.6 million units for N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 20.0 million units valued at N768.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 534.0 million units worth N521.1 million.
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