₦airaland Forum

toniblacman:
Hahan...70k
Na wa o!

Where are u traveling to for less money?

saintTim:
OK ooo first give us our National ID b4 we believe dis news

They do need to fix thst issue. Drivers licenses and passports arent a hassle so this shouldn't be exception. The worst part is thst they dont mail the card to you. I dont understand why if considering Nigeria has a postal service.

Im just glad it's 10 years now. Then they're linking it with national id#.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has commenced registration for the issuance of its new 10-year e-passports to Nigerians.

This was disclosed by the public relations officer of the service, James Sunday, on Monday when he took journalists around the data capture centre in Abuja.

The new passport will incorporate details of enrollees as captured by the National Identity Management Commission.

The Immigration Service earlier postponed the issuance of the new 10-year enhanced e-passport till April 29.

It said that was to enable it finalise the integration of the National Identity Number (NIN) into the new passport.

The new e-passport was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 16.

The cost of the 32-page five-year standard passport stands at N25, 000, while the 64-page five-year standard passport costs N35,000.

The 64-page 10-year standard passport costs N70,000.

The new passport has advantages which include 10-year validity, self-tracking application and express centers for urgent application, the service said.

The spokesperson also said it is weather friendly, compliant with latest ICAO standard, and is made from poly-carbonate technology which reduces incidence of damage.

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/327463-nigeria-begins-registration-for-10-year-e-passport.html

Weird I thought the point of local governments was to provide services to people. I guess Rivers citezens woukd rather the local governments just be partisan prostitutes. Its no wonder they voted down LG autonomy.

Members of Rivers State House of Assembly on Tuesday approved the suspension of the 12 council chairmen by Governor Nyesom Wike.

Wike last week announced the immediate suspension of the 12 chairmen on the grounds of failure to participate in a state function.

The local government areas affected are:  Okrika, Abua/Odual, Emohua, Degema,  Khana, Gokana,  Ahoada East and Ikwerre.

Others are:  Eleme,  Andoni,  Omuma and Ogu/Bolo local government areas.

The governor later sent a request to the House to seal the action already effected.

The Executive request was read by the Speaker of the House, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, for adoption, debate and approval by the lawmakers during plenary.

Lawmakers, who spoke during the debate on the subject matter, said the governor’s action was in line with the Local Government Laws, 2018 as made by the Assembly.

While making his contributions, Chairman of the House Committee on Local Government, Kelechi Nwogu, said the suspension of the council chairmen will serve as a deterrence to those, who might feel that they are above the law.

Souce: https://thenationonlineng.net/rivers-assembly-ratifies-suspension-of-12-council-chairmen/amp/

OkaNaUbe:
Southern borders only

The mobile border patrols wers introduced in north first. Also kano will have biometric ID first. Besides most of smugglers and illegals come through SW and North.

We want to touch a button to know who has entered our country. We are deploying biometrics at the airports. These days, we just swap passports. We would take the biometrics of any person coming through the airport. We are starting with Kano and the project is almost completed. Kano is vulnerable because of its connection to the Middle East. The Kano project will be opened in the next one week.

Turantula:
Buhari never disappoints, new formation of immigration officers are already arriving Lagos, cross river from zamfara, kastina and yobe

Most people here wont bother asking why didn't Jonathan finish the job.

 

“Council approved N52billion for e-border solution. This process started in 2012, but we picked it up to move forward when we came in. The project is to be completed within the next two years.

wifeesnatcher:
52bn? Some people are about to add billionaire to their status

So what's the main responsibilities of immigration and custom if such money would still be needed to secure our boarders?


Is there any technological method they're putting in place to implement these common initiative

From what I read just biometric ID, mobile border patrols, more vehicles, radios etc. Then cordinate better with other agencies.

We lifted the boycott of election because, both parties agreed to our terms & conditions.

Lol when did any major party agree to conditions?

Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N52billion to monitor the country’s borders.

Speaking to pressmen after a meeting in Abuja on Thursday, Abdulrahman Dambazau, Minister of Interior, said the contract would cover 86 border posts and all the 1,400 illegal routes being used for smuggling and other crimes.

He said the pilot system has already been installed at two border posts, disclosing that the information would be available real-time, 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

Dambazau said: “Council approved N52billion for e-border solution. This process started in 2012, but we picked it up to move forward when we came in. The project is to be completed within the next two years.

“There is a pilot project already which has been very successful; it was installed to monitor two borders.

“This project is going to cover 86 border posts in the country. We will be able to also monitor 1,400 illegal routes that are used for smuggling and all kinds of cross border criminal activities.

“The Nigeria Immigration Service will work very closely with other services; when it comes to response, with the Air Force and the Army units deployed near the borders; with the Customs in terms of smuggling. The information will be available real-time 24/7."

Source: http://saharareporters.com/2019/04/26/nigerian-govt-approves-n52bn-monitoring-borders

The speaker set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the whereabouts of the fund and report back in four weeks.

Man we have to wait 4 weeks for a conclusion. This would be interesting if it leads to arrest and prosecution.

The card will be linked with the country’s central population registry, the National Identity Card Number system.

Nice, I want know how much for the card and how long is it valid? The interpol partnership is working well it seems. They caught some child traffickers recently.

It is also expected to make border crossings easier for individuals, reducing extortion and harassment.

Im not sure about that. They'll only stop when they're fired or thrown in jail cell.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by the Nigerian government’s Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and Euphoria Press for a public private partnership to implement the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Biometric Identity Card, The Guardian Nigeria reports.

The new biometric ECOWAS card replaces the ECOWAS Travel Certificate to enable free movement of goods and people in the African economic region. At an announcement in Abuja, Nigeria, Minister of the Interior Abdulrahman Dambazau said the card allows fingerprint biometrics and biographical details could be instantly verified at checkpoints.

Under the terms of the MoU, Euphoria Press will receive N14.7 billion (US$41 million) to print up to 13 million cards over a ten-year period, according to a government announcement, which will be issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). The card will be linked with the country’s central population registry, the National Identity Card Number system, which is administered by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The adoption of the biometric photo ID is an obligation under ECOWAS statutes, and demonstrates the seriousness of Nigeria’s integration efforts, according to Dambazau. He also says the country has reached an agreement with Interpol for a security partnership, which is complemented by the strengthened travel credential. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the cards with the aim of facilitating efficient trade between member countries, creating employment opportunities and improving security, but it is also expected to make border crossings easier for individuals, reducing extortion and harassment.

Five countries selected SPS to provide national ECOWAS Biometric ID Cards in November. Africa Digital Rights Hub Founder and Executive Director Teki Akuetteh Falconer told Biometric Update recently that although ECOWAS mandated an integrated identity system in 2010, its implementation has been a slow process.

Source: https://www.biometricupdate.com/201904/nigeria-moves-to-implement-biometric-ecowas-card-with-41m-mou.

The House of Representatives has resolved to probe an alleged non-remittance of stamp duty revenue by deposit banks in the country.

The lawmakers paased the resolution after adopting a motion of urgent national importance brought before it by Goni Lawal (APC, Yobe).

The stamp duty is the tax placed on legal documents, usually in the transfer of assets or property.

The house resolution is coming months after an FOI request was sent in July on behalf of LeaksNG to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) PLC.

The information requested were a report of stamp duty remittances by Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions, the current status of the stamp duty central account domiciled in the CBN, stamp duty revenue remitted to the CBN by NIBSS between 2016 and 2017 and amount of revenue collected by NIPOST between 2010 and 2016.

The lawmakers accused banks and other federal agencies involved in the collection of the fund of “shortchanging the nation”.

Moving the motion, Mr Lawan urged his colleagues to investigate the matter after “efforts by both local and international civil society organizations to get details of the collections have failed.”

He said the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) had in 2014 initiated the stamp duty collection scheme, after which the School Banking Honours (SBH) obtained authorisation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to engage the banks and other collection agents.

“But public institutions, including the CBN, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), NIPOST, among others, have over time failed to remit stamp duty taxes into the federation account running into trillions,” he said.

“While the deductible amount per bank account may seem small, it cumulatively adds up to money in trillions of naira, and must be subjected to the full condition of disclosure and transparency.”

The lawmaker added that such funds, if made available, could have been used for infrastructural development “or at least should have generated some interests in the private accounts where the fund is domiciled.”

Some lawmakers also raised concern over the issue which they said “is in disobedience to the treasury single account (TSA) policy”.

The Speaker Yakubu Dogara, while commenting on the issue said it is unacceptable for the banks to fail to remit the stamp duties to the CBN.

The speaker set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the whereabouts of the fund and report back in four weeks.

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/327006-reps-to-probe-n20-trillion-non-remitted-stamp-duty.html

Bump

Lucid1:



Oga it's a PDP agenda though a welcomed development, the timing proves it's borne out of self preservation

Can you explain what's wrong with law? You guys are going against your own interests over partisan politics. Who cares if they do right thing for wrong reasons.

This shows the excuse that the governor controls state assembly is false. The fact is they can restrain executive but choose not to. If they can vote to approve their own autonomy there's nothing stopping from doing same for local governments.

Local government elections do look suspicious to say least. Its hard to believe the party just sweeps state like that. Im guessing the local governments switch parties to not get starved of funds.

Approved for LG autonomy: Benue, Plateau, Niger, Bauchi, Sokoto, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Kwara and Ogun

Voted Against LG autonomy: Edo, Rivers and Imo

The Kwara State House of Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to restrain incoming government from dissolving the existing 16 local government councils of the state before the expiration of their three-year tenure.

The bill, which is an amendment, is sponsored by Kamal Fagbemi (PDP-Okeogun) and passed after the members expressed satisfaction with all clauses contained in the document.

The motion for the third reading and passage of the bill was moved by the House Majority Leader, Hassan Oyeleke.

Before the passage of the bill, the lawmakers in their contributions, described as unconstitutional the dissolution of democratically elected local councils.

The Deputy Speaker, Mathew Okedare, who presided over the plenary, directed the Clerk of the House, Halimat Kperogi, to prepare a clean copy of the bill for the governor’s assent.

Mr Okedare said the third tier of government was strategic to accelerated socio-economic transformation at the grassroots.

The last local government elections were held in the state on November 17, 2017 where all the 16 councils and the then All Progressives Congress won all the seats (APC).

The members of the councils are expected to spend three years in office.

They, however, defected to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) shortly before the 2019 general elections.

(NAN)

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/north-central/326664-kwara-assembly-stops-incoming-govt-from-dissolving-lg-councils.html

Aliero said the state government once caught two trucks filled with children of various school ages, coming from outside the country and passing through Kebbi to Zaria, Kaduna State.

Were those kids deported? Its interesting to note thousands of kids hop back and forth from border without NIS doing anything. Those countries should drag their ownn load.

The state government spent N280m on the school-feeding programme.

We currently have 294,000 pupils being catered to.”

The state spends N952.38 per pupil. They should expand program.

Front Page: Lalasticlala

Olaleye Aluko

The Kebbi State Government said it had built 40 nomadic schools and would renovate 504 Almajiri  schools to tackle the large population of out-of-school children in the state put presently at over 400,000.

The state Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Magawata Aliero, stated this in an interview with journalists on Saturday, noting that the government also recruited over 2000 primary and secondary school teachers to add to the teaching workforce in the state.

The commissioner said the increasing population of out-of-school kids in the state was due to the porous borders and subsequent influx of children hawkers from Niger Republic and Benin Republic.

Aliero said the state government once caught two trucks filled with children of various school ages, coming from outside the country and passing through Kebbi to Zaria, Kaduna State.

He noted that the uplift of nomadic and Almajiri schools would help to reduce the population of out-of-school kids and achieve socio-economic development for the state.

The commissioner said, “Our hands are on deck to make sure that we rake in the children. The state government spent N280m on the school-feeding programme. We have built 40 nomadic schools.

“We have also identified 504 Almajiri Islamic schools for necessary renovation. We will ensure that we provide Mathematics and English teachers in those schools.

“By 2020, the population of out-of-school children will be very low and depleted. We hope to be the least in the north. Kebbi is bordering two countries and there is influx of their children in the country. When it is rainy season, you won’t see them. They would have gone back for farming.

“We identified about 800,000 children but during the rainy season, they were about 400,000 to 500,000 children.

“We have grown the school-feeding programme where primary school pupils from primary 1 to 3 are provided with one meal per day. We have about 2000 primary schools across the state benefitting from this programme. We currently have 294,000 pupils being catered to.”

Source: https://punchng.com/kebbi-plans-nomadic-education-for-400000-out-of-school-kids/amp/

Front Page: Lalasticlala

This going to an interesting 4 years. Budgit said it woukd take state over 100 years recoup cost super highway at a lower contract cost. They did recommend rehsbbing existing federal highways for cheaper entering into deal with FG.

The state will be paying for this road for next 180 years max. The tolls wont cut that time down very much. Imagine if the FG builds rail the traffic woud drop naturally.

A non-governmental organisation in Nigeria has raised concerns over the award of a multi-billion naira contract for the 275-kilometre superhighway in Cross River State.

The NGO, Rainforest Resource and Development Centre, in Calabar, said the contract award was not transparent, did not follow due process, and could put the Cross River government and its people into huge debt.

But the state government said the NGO was only trying to mislead the public.

The superhighway, designed to cut across at least 16 local government areas, is one of the signature projects of the administration of the governor, Ben Ayade. It is meant to link the South-south state with Nigeria’s North-central region, through Benue State.

Besides the initial clearing of some sections of the huge Cross River rainforest to pave way for it, the road project was delayed for more than three years after ground-breaking was done by President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2015.

In what appears a sign of its eventual take off, the Cross River government on February 17 this year wrote to the state House of Assembly, seeking approval for an irrevocable standing payment order (ISPO) of N300 million monthly in favour of Sydney Construction Nigeria Ltd for the construction of the six-lane road project.

The contract for the superhighway is N648.8billion, according to the letter to the lawmakers, signed by the Secretary to the Cross River State government, Tina Agbor.

The ISPO would be drawn from the state government account with the United Bank for Africa (UBA), the letter said.

The NGO, Rainforest Resource and Development Centre, in its reaction to the contract award for the superhighway, has written to Mr Ayade, pleading with the governor to have a re-think on the project.

“Kindly reconsider committing the generations of our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and beyond into liabilities spanning up to 180 years for a road project that certainly will not last up to 180 years without the persistent demands for expensive and comprehensive maintenance,” the group said to Mr Ayade, in a letter signed by its executive director, Odey Oyama.

The group told Mr Ayade that there was no public documentation of the process leading to the award of the contract award to Sydney Construction Nigeria Ltd.

They also complained that the state government refused to respond to its request for a disclosure of the source of funding for the superhighway.

“It is sad to note that our request was disregarded in contravention of the relevant provisions of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended,” the group said in its letter.

PREMIUM TIMES could not confirm if the governor has received the letter, as the government was yet to respond to it as at the time of filing this report.

“Section 39 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution guarantees all Nigerians free access to information without restraint,” the executive director of the NGO, Mr Oyama, told PREMIUM TIMES, Friday.

“The governor represents the people and government, and there are laws governing governance. And there are also laws prescribing procedure which you have to follow to award contract; you don’t wake up in the morning and say you are awarding this contract to company A or company B.

“You must advertise the contract and companies must bid for it, and this bid should be opened in the public.

“I am not aware that these processes were followed.

“We have not seen this superhighway project captured in the budgets of the state government,” Mr Oyama said.

Eric Akpo, a special assistant to Governor Ayade on technical matters, told PREMIUM TIMES that the claims made by Rainforest Resource and Development Centre were “false and completely wrong”.

Mr Akpo, whose office oversees the construction of the superhighway, mentioned various newspapers and the dates in which he said the bid for the project was advertised.

Nine different bids were submitted for the project, he said.

He also said the construction of the superhighway is in the budget of Cross River State.

The Cross River government conceived the superhighway and another multi-billion naira project, a deep seaport, as Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects.

Mr Akpo told PREMIUM TIMES last year that the superhighway is going to be an evacuating corridor for the seaport, majorly.

“You know, when the port comes alive, there is going to be constant industrial traffic going in and out of the port. And because the superhighway, as a private investment, is going to be toll, it is from this toll the investors will recoup their investments, based on the vehicular traffic generated by the deep sea port. So, the viability of the superhighway as a project is closely tied to the deep seaport,” he had said.

PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Akpo on Friday if the latest funding plan for the project, going by the state government’s irrevocable standing payment order of N300million monthly in favour of Sydney Construction Nigeria Ltd, was not contradicting his earlier assertion that the superhighway was going to be a private investment in which the investor would recoup their money through toll.

“There is no difference in the projection that we intend to execute this project by investors’ funds,” the governor’s aide responded. “Even the investors’ funds are warehoused in the budget as prepared by this administration.”

“There is no confusion anywhere,” he added.

“The state government created something called Infrastructure fund.

“Four per cent of all accruals to the state have been going to this account by law for the purpose of infrastructure development. This is because while we are planning for this project, we also have a plan B. You keep asking yourself, supposing the investors’ fund would not come, are you going to drop this project or not? And even when the investors come, what is going to be your equity contribution?

“Cross River Infrastructure Company is the owner of the project, and would oversee how much is spent on the project, and how much the investors recoup, based on agreement, over a period of time,” Mr Akpo said.

Mr Akpo said the state was yet to receive any investor’s fund for the Superhighway, but that the government has signed preliminary MoU with prospective investors.

Environmental activists have continually kicked against the superhighway which they said would destroy several species of plants and animals and also displace the indigenous people of the areas where the road will traverse.

BudgIT, a civil society organisation in Nigeria, in 2017, claimed it could take Cross River over 100 years to recover the construction cost, if the state government goes ahead with the construction of the superhighway.

BudgIT had put the construction cost at N200 billion which is by far lower than the N648.8billion contract sum.

“The truth is that Governor Ayade achieves a lot through some unorthodox means, and people are resistant to change they do not understand. I think people prefer to live with the notion that Cross River does not have money, therefore you cannot do this, you cannot do that,” Governor Ayade’s aide, Mr Akpo, said, adding that the construction of the superhighway was “going on as we speak”.

“This is a state with the second most indebted states in the country and second lowest in terms of federal allocation.

“If the governor is able to pay workers’ wages and meet all other liabilities of the state, and at the same time be buoyant enough to stand up and say he wants to execute projects, somebody should be asking with all these things the man is doing, where is the money coming from? Is he taking a loan?

“He is not requesting for approval for a loan, he has not borrowed money ever since he came into office. He doesn’t even intend to borrow money because the Cross River state government does not even have legroom by the debt management office to obtain a loan from any bank,” Mr Akpo said.

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/south-south-regional/326304-environment-group-kicks-against-cross-rivers-n648billion-superhighway-contract.html

Front Page: Lalasticlala

Im taking this report with a grain of salt since no other news site published the story. Its weird they spent most of article recapping instead of talking about UK trial. Im assuming the trial is about extradition but the article doesn't explicitly say that. I guess we'll wait for an update on 29th.

He added, “Our problems as a people which was started by the British in 1914 may also be finally settled in the British court once and for all.”

What does he mean. The UK only has jurisdiction concerning extraditing its citizens.

Ogbonnaya Ikokwu, Umuahia

A United Kingdom court sitting in London will hear the case between the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and the Federal Government on April 29, 2019.

A statement from Kanu’s younger brother, Prince, made available to our correspondent stated that Nigeria’s legal representation would be expected to make appearance at the hearing.

Kanu has been standing trial for a treasonable felony against the Federal Government since 2015 after he was arrested by the operatives of the Department of State Services on October 14, 2015.

He was released on bail on April 28, 2017 and he allegedly fled the country the same year following the invasion of his father’s palace by soldiers on September 14, 2017.

Consequently, Kanu had not appeared in court for his trial, leading to an order for him to be rearrested by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court Abuja on March 28, 2019.

Concerning the case, Prince stated, “The legality for demanding for one separate country out of Nigeria will be tested.

“All Nigerian laws that supported the calls for self-determination in the country will be tested. All international treaties and conventions, both at the international and at the regional levels, which Nigeria is a signatory to, will be involved.

“All self-determination and separatists in Nigeria must develop vested interests in the case between Nnamdi Kanu and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, later this month in the United Kingdom and be ready to take their stand over the fallout of the case in question.”

He added, “Our problems as a people which was started by the British in 1914 may also be finally settled in the British court once and for all.”

Source: https://punchng.com/uk-trial-nnamdi-kanus-brother-hopeful-of-resolution/amp/

Mrchippychappy:
It has happened

Report it to the police.

Lol the mods are hard at work hiding comments. You might as well hide thread.

According to dailypost they're already in the state. Start arresting them asap.

A community leader in one of the towns with gold deposit, Chief Bisi Alabi said there are more than 100 illegal mining sites around Ilesha and it’s environs, making the areas seriously volatile.

Investigation further revealed that there are over 5000 illegal miners from the North, in over 10 villages and towns in the state, including: Ijana Wasare in Atakumosa LGA, Igun- Ijesa, Gona, Ajewanwa, Atepe-Akire, Igbadare among others.

It was also discovered that over 6000 illegal miners from Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and some parts of Kaduna States have moved into the areas between Sunday, March 31 and Tuesday, April 16.

Fun Facts:
•Osun Produces the most gold in the country.
•Every other state produces less than a ton legally.

Oladimeji Ramon

 Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, on Thursday urged security agencies and traditional rulers to be at alert to prevent all forms of criminality and possible infiltration of the state by fleeing illegal miners and bandits displaced from Zamfara State.

This was contained in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Adeniyi Adesina, after the governor spoke during a security sensitisation programme attended by traditional rulers, security operatives, civil society organisations, politicians, market women, community leaders and top government functionaries in Osogbo.

Oyetola said, “It has become imperative to put measures in place to checkmate the influx of displaced illegal miners to prevent the reverberation effect of the Zamfara State crisis in Osun.”

The governor emphasised the need for security powered by intelligence gathering, vigilance by traditional rulers in their domains and the need to alert security agents to their observations to prevent crime and criminality.

The governor and security chiefs also cautioned landlords against renting out their houses to people without knowing their background or profiling them.

“If you rent out your house to a person who turns out to be a bandit, you will bear the consequence with him,” Oyetola warned landlords.

He urged traditional rulers to work hard in the villages because illegal miners “are gathering in remote areas of our state.”

The Federal Government banned all forms of mining in Zamfara State following sustained killings by bandits propelled by those believed to be illegal miners.

 The governor said, “The purpose of this stakeholders’ meeting is to sensitise the security stakeholders on the need to forestall possible influx of illegal miners and the attendant risks of kidnapping, killings, drug dealings, arms peddling and rape.

“The overall objective is to better secure our state, make our mineral-rich communities peaceful, make mining commercially-viable and deliver development to our people.

“In a nation where securing our oil wealth has been a perennial challenge, ensuring that our state’s mineral wealth does not become a resource curse is a task we must all embrace squarely.

“It is in light of this that we regard the recent ban on mining activities in Zamfara State as a potential threat to mining activities in our state, which is blessed with mining deposits in commercial quantity.

“We must not yield our state to bandits and aggressors. We must work together to secure our communities.”

Source: https://punchng.com/stop-fleeing-zamfara-bandits-from-entering-osun-oyetola-tells-police/

Lol if Nigerians didn't bomb everything maybe they would export through Nigeria. It makes sense why they're more interested in exporting crude to Katsina refinery than refining in their own crude. The chad Cameroon option is less less expensive but both countries will want their cut.

Niger and Benin have signed a bilateral agreement on the construction of a pipeline which would enable landlocked Niger to export crude oil through the port of its neighbour. The pipeline project is set to be of high importance for landlocked Niger, whose nascent oil industry and growing output ambitions are contingent on the availability of an export option, as production is currently limited to the capacity of the country’s sole refinery. The implementation of a commercially viable export option would diminish barriers to increased crude oil production, enabling Niger’s upstream sector to grow.

Niger and Benin have signed a bilateral agreement on the construction of a pipeline which would enable landlocked Niger to export crude oil through the port of its neighbour. On January 23, 2019 Niger’s and Benin’s Petroleum Ministers signed a bilateral agreement for the construction of a 2,000km-long pipeline running from Nigerien oil fields in the Agadem basin to Benin’s Cotonou port. The pipeline, which could reportedly start operating by 2022, is projected to cost between USD2-4bn. Officials announced that feasibility studies were set to start in the coming weeks, with the aim of first construction groundworks starting before end 2019. The pipeline would be managed by companies set up by China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for this purpose in both transit countries with possible participation of the host governments.

The pipeline project is set to be of high importance for landlocked Niger, whose nascent oil industry and growing output ambitions rely on the availability of an export option, as production is currently limited to the capacity of the country’s sole refinery. Niger currently produces around 20,000 b/d of crude oil and condensates, all of which is refined at the Chinese-built Société de Raffinage de Zinder (SORAZ) refinery and sold domestically, with some limited sales to regional importers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. The refinery produces gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and LPG.

Source: https://www.fitchsolutions.com/corporates/oil-gas/pipeline-through-benin-attractive-crude-export-option-landlocked-niger-07-02-2019?amp

Oma307:
and also supported by Nigeria government agency

How much?

The construction phase of the Kandadji hydroelectric project has just been launched in southwestern Niger. The official launching ceremony was presided over by the President of the Republic of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, in the presence of Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbadeles, Managing Director for West Africa of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and representatives of China Gezhouaba Group Company (CGGC), the company selected to build the dam.

“It is not only a question of producing electricity, but also of regenerating the river’s ecosystem, while creating the conditions for local development. The work also concerns environmental protection with the displacement and resettlement of populations. What is important here is the growth and development focus in the implementation of the Kandadji programme,” said Mahamadou Issoufou. It should be noted that this project will displace 50,000 people from 24 villages. The ecosystem of a large population of hippos and manatees will also be disrupted as these mammals are displaced. The President of the Republic of Niger has been personally following this project since the eviction of the Russian company Zarubezhvodstroy (which had proved unable to carry out the project, editor’s note) and the choice to call on CGGC.

An important project for Niger

In August 2018, the Nigerian president met with Zheng Zufei, the director of CGGC, to ensure that the Chinese company can deliver the project in 2020. Through this project, Niger intends to increase its electricity supply by an additional 130 MW. The Kandadji hydroelectric dam is built on the Niger River, 150 km from Niamey, the country’s capital. The project is led by the High Commission for the Development of the Niger Valley (an agency attached to the services of the Prime Ministry, Ndlr), as part of the Kandadji Programme, for the regeneration of ecosystems and the development of the Niger River, which flows through several localities in this West African country.

The height of this dam will be 280 m, for a length of 8,780 m. Its reservoir will cover an area of 282 hectares. Much of the water from the dam will be used to run the four turbines of the power plant below. The dam will also be used to irrigate fields and strengthen Niamey’s drinking water supply.

According to the AfDB, the main donor of the project, the project will increase access to water for agricultural development and thus improve food security and living conditions for the population, through the development of a potential irrigable land area of some 45,000 hectares.

The Kandadji hydroelectric project is also supported by the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the French Development Agency (AFD). Together with the Government of Niger, these financial institutions will mobilise a total of €130 million for the implementation of the project.

Source: https://www.afrik21.africa/en/niger-cggc-finally-launches-kandadji-hydroelectric-dam-construction/amp/

Lol Lagos gets 13% derivation sometimes. The oil is definitely there.

More scanners at the airport is the answer.