AnambraDota:


The best thing for us is gradually relocated to East. I support Biafra but am of that of the mind. Investing in outside Igboland have done Ndigbo no good but evil, they have mistakenly played in the hands of their enemies.

If they should listen and be strategic in their planning and execution.

If ASPAMDA, Alaba and Computer Village found their ways in East, the rest battle have been won.

What you have advised is precisely what a wise business man should concentrate on doing right now.I wish they do so as a union instead of individually. Some great locations already exist, such as the wonderful Aba Mega mall, the Oba International market, the abandoned Enugu Intl. market at ninth mile area can offer locations for such businesses to relocate. Electronics traders can go to Oba, textile traders to Aba mall and Enugu will be a mixture of all.
But you know, they will not do anything if it is not an emergency yet. So don't expect people to heed your advise and start moving some of their assets to the safety of the south east. Which is precisely what a wise person should be doing right now.

Likewise, we must impress on our governors to open up industrial layouts quickly. Emene and ninth mile in Enugu, Kpirikpiri area in Abakaliki, Agu Awka in Awka, Osisioma and Onicha ngwa area for Aba, World bank and Egbeada area for Owerri and "33" Nsugbe or Oba area for Onitsha and Amachara area for Umuahia. It is an abomination for an industrialist willing to set up a factory in the southeast to be looking for industrial layouts in Igboland

You went there maybe during dry season? Jekwa kita ka ihu ihe mu na ekwu. I don't understand Samuel Iyiogwe

spyder880:


Believe me, I know Ubahu, I was there earlier this year and nearly bought a land there for estate development. Ubahu is better than Nomeh Unateze by far. Cars can drive into Ubahu but don't try going to Nomeh Unateze now or else........we arrange a towing van to remove your car from the deep mud.

Cjrane2:


What you have advised is precisely what a wise business man should concentrate on doing right now.I wish they do so as a union instead of individually. Some great locations already exist, such as the wonderful Aba Mega mall, the Oba International market, the abandoned Enugu Intl. market at ninth mile area can offer locations for such businesses to relocate. Electronics traders can go to Oba, textile traders to Aba mall and Enugu will be a mixture of all.
But you know, they will not do anything if it is not an emergency yet. So don't expect people to heed your advise and start moving some of their assets to the safety of the south east. Which is precisely what a wise person should be doing right now.

Likewise, we must impress on our governors to open up industrial layouts quickly. Emene and ninth mile in Enugu, Kpirikpiri area in Abakaliki, Agu Awka in Awka, Osisioma and Onicha ngwa area for Aba, World bank and Egbeada area for Owerri and "33" Nsugbe or Oba area for Onitsha. It is an abomination for an industrialist willing to set up a factory in the southeast to be looking for industrial layouts in Igboland

I love it when people build their case on first hand knowledge, not mere speculation or sentiments.

I will be going to see the Rangers/Enyimba football match at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium this evening. Live pictures later.....

Visited Enugu on Friday, drove past the new layout area that has Elim Estate and one other. The weather was unlike our south south rain climate. Also reached 9th mile and passed quite a number of roads and billboards. There was this fine church building we saw - overall its a nice city with room for expansion.

Live pictures from the Rangers/Enyimba match.......

http://amazingviewpoints..com/2015/07/the-long-line-and-fights-to-get-into.html?m=1

Comparison between Rangers and Enyimba supporters clubs........


http://amazingviewpoints..com/2015/07/the-long-line-and-fights-to-get-into.html?m=1

Obiagu stand now......

spyder880:
Obiagu stand now......

Please what's going on here?

biafrandream:



Please what's going on here?

A football match, Rangers lost to Enyimba 1-2

@spyder880, I can't find the comparison, it's still same pictures...

centje:
@spyder880, I can't find the comparison, it's still same pictures...

Rangers in red flags and Enyimba supporters on blue flags. ....

Rangers only goal against Enyimba

http://amazingviewpoints..com/

I get it now, initially, I thought you meant fans in Enyimba stadium and those of Rangers in Rangers stadium.

spyder880:


Rangers in red flags and Enyimba supporters on blue flags. ....

ifeanyi199555:

Feel free to compare and contrast

You said 2008 till date and only showed us passenger statistics as at 2009. 2010 to 2015 is insignificant? This is no facts talkless of soft or hard.

abagoro:


Sometimes I get amazed at the way some Igbos blame Northerners for everything. Tinapa's problem is accessibility as a result of bad road connecting Calabar and the rest of Nigeria. The South has ruled from 1999 to 2015 and Tinapa was completed around 2006. When I was complaining that Jonathan should help us in road infrastructure like Enugu/Onitsha highway or Nnewi to Okigwe whuch transverses through Igbo hinterland or even the 2nd Niger bridge most Igbos were unconcerned.

Jonathan is from South south but was busy fighting his people who demanded for the needed attention. Under Buhari a lot of things will work in Nigeria and especially in the Southeast. It is just unfortunate he came in when the last Government has lavished oil boom proceeds.

Ask yourselves who built the 1st Niger bridge, the 1st East-West road, The 4 refineries and the seaports and how many years it took.

I don't want to make this about Tinapa, I've been through this before:

"The managing director of the resort, Bassey Ego Ndem, said Tinapa was designed to provide Nigerian businesspeople with a local alternative to Dubai and to retain some of the large amounts of money which have been flowing out of Nigeria. Ndem blamed Tinapa’s problems on the failure of Nigeria’s federal government to provide legal backing to the resort’s operations.Such legal backing, he said, was expected to include conferring on Tinapa the status of a free trade zone.

Former governor Duke’s administration reportedly received assurances from former president Obasanjo’s office that Tinapa would enjoy free trade status, but there is no paperwork to prove that the former president made the commitment.

The Tinapa project is still being considered by the federal government but the Customs Service has so far refused to give its approval. Ndem said the presence of customs officials at the resort – who carry out orders from head office not to allow the duty free zone to operate – had been a stumbling block to its operations."

http://www.forumfed.org/en/products/magazine/vol7_num3/nigeria-duty-free-status.php

Nigeria: Country Loses N219b Yearly On Tinapa - This Day
"Calabar — Nigeria may be losing more than N219 billion annually to Dubai due to the failure of the Federal Government to approve the procedures and guidelines for the take-off of the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort in Calabar, Cross River State."

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802090011.html

If you want to continue sleeping, that's up to you.

spyder880:


Supported. But if he is found innocent, what will be the punishment for the person who sued him, any lawyers in the house?

Good question

ezeagu:


I don't want to make this about Tinapa, I've been through this before:

"The managing director of the resort, Bassey Ego Ndem, said Tinapa was designed to provide Nigerian businesspeople with a local alternative to Dubai and to retain some of the large amounts of money which have been flowing out of Nigeria. Ndem blamed Tinapa’s problems on the failure of Nigeria’s federal government to provide legal backing to the resort’s operations.Such legal backing, he said, was expected to include conferring on Tinapa the status of a free trade zone.

Former governor Duke’s administration reportedly received assurances from former president Obasanjo’s office that Tinapa would enjoy free trade status, but there is no paperwork to prove that the former president made the commitment.

The Tinapa project is still being considered by the federal government but the Customs Service has so far refused to give its approval. Ndem said the presence of customs officials at the resort – who carry out orders from head office not to allow the duty free zone to operate – had been a stumbling block to its operations."

http://www.forumfed.org/en/products/magazine/vol7_num3/nigeria-duty-free-status.php

Nigeria: Country Loses N219b Yearly On Tinapa - This Day
"Calabar — Nigeria may be losing more than N219 billion annually to Dubai due to the failure of the Federal Government to approve the procedures and guidelines for the take-off of the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort in Calabar, Cross River State."

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802090011.html

If you want to continue sleeping, that's up to you.

Please don't mind the enemy within- abagworo.

The FG in its weird wisdom grants Kaduna in the middle of a desert a free trade zone but not Calabar on the coast of the Atlantic ocean? One thing i have seen in Nigeria is that in spite of all the unnecessary wicked actions and plots to under-develop certain parts of Nigeria and only concentrate every tangible development in the north, God is not mocked. In the end as Korede Bello says
[size=14pt]GOD WINS[/size]

spyder880:


Supported. But if he is found innocent, what will be the punishment for the person who sued him, any lawyers in the house?

I feel he has every right to sue for defamation or libel (i'm not a lawyer though)

tranxo:
You said 2008 till date and only showed us passenger statistics as at 2009. 2010 to 2015 is insignificant? This is no facts talkless of soft or hard.

Use your brain!

ifeanyi199555:

Use your brain!

Wonderful! Even during the period AIIA was closed down for repairs? Ignorance is bliss. Enjoy it.

Cjrane2:


Please don't mind the enemy within- abagworo.

The FG in its weird wisdom grants Kaduna in the middle of a desert a free trade zone but not Calabar on the coast of the Atlantic ocean? One thing i have seen in Nigeria is that in spite of all the unnecessary wicked actions and plots to under-develop certain parts of Nigeria and only concentrate every tangible development in the north, God is not mocked. In the end as Korede Bello says
[size=14pt]GOD WINS[/size]

The true enemies of Igbos and South-South are those who supported Jonathan's neglect of the area during his 6years in power. Almost every useful thing was done under Obasanjo including the Calabar FTZ and TINAPA which was not supported by Jonathan. The reason you called me enemy is because I was and is still against Jonathans misrule and outright wickedness and impunity. Watch TINAPA come back to life soon under Buhari.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/most-of-duke’s-projects-were-elephant-projects-imoke’s-aide/

http://tinapafreezone.com/news/news_22.html


http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/sunday/index.php/business/18420-obasanjo-assures-of-job-creation-through-local-industries

http://www.panapress.com/Obasanjo-at-length-commissions-Free-Trade-Zone--13-449953-18-lang1-index.html

http://barasolutions.com/mainGuardian/sunday-magazine-sp-509870158/161099-ita-a-number-of-factors-didn-t-work-in-tinapa-s-favour

Mr. Christian Ita is the Chief Press Secretary/Special
Assistant to Governor Lyel Imoke of Cross River State. He
explains government’s dream, challenges and plans for
Tinapa in this interview with ANIETIE AKPAN.
What was government’s idea regarding Tinapa?
GOVERNMENT’S dream for Tinapa is to turn it into a
global shopping hub and tourism resort, as is the case with
Dubai.
The challenge we had was that the place was not
originally gazetted. It was supposed to be a free trade
zone, yet you still have customs operating there. The roads
from Calabar to Aba and Calabar to Makurdi are not good;
the Calabar River has not been dredged and ships that are
supposed to berth here first go to Onne and these are all
the factors militating against the success of Tinapa.
Cross River invested about N18 billion on Tinapa and you
are aware that because of the debt the present government
inherited from the last administration, Cross River has
already reached its threshold on borrowing; meaning that
we cannot even borrow. Now cross River spends at least
N100 million to maintain Tinapa every month and the
current administration has done everything to make Tinapa
work, which is why they bring in all sort of things into
Tinapa, like the Tinapa Knowledge City, Ebony Live
Television and the Water Park, which was not there before.
If you go there today, the small money they are making is
from the hotel or water park. So the state government has
done everything possible to make Tinapa to work.
Why is government developing another Summit Hill when
Tinapa is there?
Again, it is because of Tinapa that the new development
area is being developed and that is the Summit Hills, where
state government is building the International Convention
Centre (ICC). There is a new road government has
constructed because it realized that getting to Tinapa from
the city centre is about 14 kilometre drive, but this new
industrial development shortens the distance to Tinapa by
almost eight or nine kilometres and bring Tinapa closer to
the city centre.
Then of course, part of the money that was borrowed to
build Tinapa was from banks and AMCON is the agency
that buys over toxic bank assets. So, rather than allow
AMCON to take it over, we negotiated and AMCON is not
just taking over Tinapa, it is investing another N26 billion
in Tinapa to get it working. Tinapa is in Cross River and
nobody is taking it away from Cross River. If Tinapa works,
it is to the glory of Cross River because most of the people
that work there are Cross Riverians. So AMCON is
investing another N26 billion to build the entertainment
aspect within Tinapa aimed at increasing patronage.
The first problem in conceiving Tinapa was that all the
factors were not under the control of the state government.
All the factors that we needed to make Tinapa work, none
was under the control of the state government. There was
no policy and Tinapa was never gazetted. You call it free
trade zone, but customs are there, which is why we keep
having this back and forth argument. If you buy something
at Tinapa now, customs are waiting for you at the gate. Is
that the same thing in Dubai?
Again, Tinapa was also predicated on the assumption that
about 25 flights will come into Calabar every day and may
be 80 percent of those flying in are going to Tinapa, but
that is not the case now.
The Ibo businessmen who are supposed to make use of
Tinapa cannot because the road between Aba and Calabar
is bad. Similarly, the northern states that are supposed to
use the road from North East/Central to Calabar cannot do
so because of the bad roads and the low canopy at Ikom
Bridge. The Calabar channel into Calabar port has not
been dredged and heavy ships cannot berth. So these are
the factors militating against Tinapa and its dream.



What message do you have for the Federal Government?



The message is simple. The Federal Government should
help Tinapa to work by doing what they need to do. For
Tinapa to work the Calabar River must be dredged for ships
to berth; the highways linking the South-East, South-South,
North-East and North Central states have to be fixed and
there should be proper regulatory policy for Tinapa. Then
the issue of customs has to be addressed. These are the
issues working against Tinapa and none of them are in the
hands of the state government.
Notwithstanding, the state government has come to the
rescue by retailing some of the facilities. For instance, the
state government has given out one of those emporiums to
General Electric (GE) to commence their training school
which will commence in the next one or two months. All of
that is to just get Tinapa working. We also have the Tinapa
Knowledge City, the Ebony Live, which has employed over
100 people. Even the Summit Hills is to make Tinapa work.
Apart from Abuja and Lagos, Calabar is the next destination
for conferences in Nigeria. We are building a multi-purpose
conference centre and this thing is being marketed all over
the world. It will be ready in December and opened for
business next February. So right now, Summit Hills is being
marketed as a world travel event all over the world and
bookings are coming from all over the world. When people
are coming, they will naturally go to Tinapa because the
monorail is being constructed to link the Summit Hills and
Tinapa. Already piling work on the monorail has started
and will be completed in about 10 to 12 months. So all
these are the additions to make Tinapa and Calabar work
generally.

Where is the place of the local investors in all these?

The biggest problem we have is actually that our people’s
approach to opportunities being developed here is poor.
These things are throwing up opportunities, direct and
indirect jobs and lots of money is coming in because lots of
events are holding in Calabar that are not government
related and our people need to key in. Even the hoteliers
are making a kill and our people need to seize these
opportunities and tap into them and not waiting for
government to share money. The government is creating an
enabling environment for them to take advantage.
Whilmer company alone is currently employing about 2,
000 workers and it is estimated that in the next five years,
Whilmer alone will provide employment to at least 30,000
people. The population of Cross River is about three million
and one company alone is providing jobs to about 30,000,
while the state government’s entire civil service is about
19,000. So these investments are throwing up job
opportunities. It is just for our people to wake up and take
advantage because it is going to be competitive. That is
one of the reasons why the state government has built the
Institute of Technology (ITM) and management in Ugep to
provide skilled manpower for the state and the nation. All
these will complement Tinapa and make Tinapa work. On
its part, the state has done all it can to make Tinapa work
but the Federal Government should also do its part and that
is why the idea of AMCON coming in makes sense.

Is there any reason,Gas pipelines from the south south Cannot be laid to the Eastern Economic Hubs.
Laying a Gas pipeline from delta or rivers through River niger, would lay a Foundation for new cities
along the Coast,Onitsha,asaba etc.Laying a second One from Rivers or Akwa ibom through abia,
branching to Enugu and Ebonyi would create abundant investment opportunities.

The industrial hubs of Lagos and Ogun are dependent on The West African gas pipeline.The gas
being both an energy source and raw material.Dangote is planning pipelines from Bonny to Lagos,
why can't we do better,Instead of the constant bickering and Finger pointing.

donguutti:
Is there any reason,Gas pipelines from the south south Cannot be laid to the Eastern Economic Hubs.
Laying a Gas pipeline from delta or rivers through River niger, would lay a Foundation for new cities
along the Coast,Onitsha,asaba etc.Laying a second One from Rivers or Akwa ibom through abia,
branching to Enugu and Ebonyi would create abundant investment opportunities.

The industrial hubs of Lagos and Ogun are dependent on The West African gas pipeline.The gas
being both an energy source and raw material.Dangote is planning pipelines from Bonny to Lagos,
why can't we do better,Instead of the constant bickering and Finger pointing.

There is already gas pipelines to Abia and Ogun States by Shell done during Obasanjo admin. Igbos need to face reality of Jonathans failure and stop blaming Hausa and Yoruba.

http://www.shell.com.ng/aboutshell/our-business/bus-nigeria/sng.html?modTest=

abagoro:


There is already gas pipelines to Abia and Ogun States by Shell done during Obasanjo admin. Igbos need to face reality of Jonathans failure and stop blaming Hausa and Yoruba.

http://www.shell.com.ng/aboutshell/our-business/bus-nigeria/sng.html?modTest=

There will be a gas pipe line from Anambra well '1' at Aguleri area to Onitsha & Nnewi industrial hub very soon if the company engaged by Anambra state govt starts laying pipe!.

tranxo:
Wonderful! Even during the period AIIA was closed down for repairs? Ignorance is bliss. Enjoy it.

How can you make comparisom when AIIA was shut down? Ask yourself is that a Fair comparison?
Once Again use your brain pls

ifeanyi199555:
Quick fact: do you know that Akanu Ibiam has out performed Aminu Kano international airport since 2008 in terms of total annual passenger volume?
It goes to show how useless some people are. Even as a local airport Akanu Ibiam was beating Aminu Kano!
Igbo Kwenu!

ifeanyi199555:

How can you make comparisom when AIIA was shut down? Ask yourself is that a Fair comparison?
Once Again use your brain pls

How can you say 2008 TILL DATE when you omitted records AFTER AIIA was reopened? No brain. Smh.

tranxo:



How can you say 2008 TILL DATE when you omitted records AFTER AIIA was reopened? No brain. Smh.

You can get updated

http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/pages/download/301

abagoro:


You can get updated

http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/pages/download/301

Thank you for this. I am only interested in statements backed with facts, not some blind euphoria. Daalu.

Agbagworo (abi wetin b ur name), i have this feelings that you are an APC sympthizer thats why you dislike everything Jonathan did for the S/SE.



For the past 30yrs what have the North Done for the east?
During OBJ's tenure, why did he block any successful man coming from SE (ie IBETO) .
Jonathan manage to start the 2nd Niger Bridge and will be completed b/w 2015/16 and you are here saying rubbish.

Biafra till i DIE

abagoro:


You can get updated

http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/pages/download/301

owerri airport was omitted in the tabulated statistics of passenger travels