The Government of Nigeria has approved U.S $73m loan from the French Development Agency for a national urban water sector reform project in Kano state.
President Muhammadu Buhari who approved the loans during Federal Executive Council (FEC ) meeting said the project aims at addressing water supply challenges in Kano state and over 1.5m persons are expected to benefit from it.
“The project is to rehabilitate and build the infrastructure needed to increase access to water services to the population in greater Kano and to help improve key sector reforms to ensure the sustainability of the project,” said President Buhari.
Kano Water project
“The Kano state ministry of water resources through a state management committee will implement the project. The federal government will be lending it to Kano state at the same terms of conditions,” he added.
Upon completion, the million dollar project will improve access to quality water and also increase the financial viability of the Water Board by increasing its revenue and enhancing its governance framework.
The loan granted for the facility will be paid at an interest rate of 1.02% with a repayment period of 20 years and a seven-year moratorium period. A 0.25% fee for appraisal and a commitment fee of 0.25% will be included. Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed described the loan as a very low-cost facility.
Reacting to the refusal of state governors to support the independence of local government councils, former President Olusegun Obasanjo that “local government is meant to be autonomous from the state government.
But from what we know, by design, most states have incapacitated the local governments. They have virtually stolen the local governments’ money in what they called “Joint Account”. They are to contribute 10% but they never contribute anything.”
Local government autonomy has been at the forefront of the national discourse for the past few years. The 1999 Constitution subjects the local government to the mandatory support of the state, but states government have continued to use this clause to exploit the last tier of government. They use the opportunity to control them, their finances and their leadership, to ensure they dance to their tunes.
Because of this, the political party that rules at the state always has a complete hold of all local councils. The councils operate at their mercy, as state governors only decide what to contribute to their development budgets. The situation has reduced local government officials to mere office holders, who are financially incapacitated to execute any development projects.
The National Assembly and local government officials have been taken steps to list the latter directly under federal allocation. This would make them independent of the state government, and enable them to achieve their purpose of bringing good governance to the grassroots.
In spite of this deplorable state of local governments, Nigerians wonder why state governors resist vehemently.
The reasons are not far fetched. The state governors use their control over local government to manipulate their leadership, and put their cohorts in power. This makes it easy for them to control the political terrain across the state.
Out of fear of having a local government chairman who is more popular in his community than the governor himself, the latter decides everything that happens at the local level, including the amount they spend.
Also, governors, who are not interested in doing meaningful projects, don’t want local government chairmen to outshine them. So, the best they think they can do is to hinder the flow of money to them.
Other governors are afraid of having the nightmare of another party taking over one or more local government areas. Giving independence to them will mean the electorates can freely choose who rules them, and that implies that the ruling party may lose to an opposition party at the local level. Some governors go to the extent of retaining their choice people as caretaker committees in the local areas.
Irrespective of the fears or reasons being expressed by the state governors, local government autonomy is essential for growth and development at the grassroots. The National Assembly, State legislatures and other relevant government institutions should tame the selfishness of state governors, and allow local government to operate with free rein.
The Minister of Interior, Lt.- Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd), said Federal Government would implement the use of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) biometric identity card.
He said that it was part of efforts of the government to curb influx of foreigners into the country.
Dambazau made this known on Thursday when participants of Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 12 of Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Bwari, Abuja, visited him.
The ministry may sign a Concession Agreement on the Implementation of the ECOWAS Biometric Identity Card with Euphoria Press Limited on Friday.
The minister explained that ECOWAS Free movement protocol would be accompanied by passports and proper documentation.
He said the action plan of every country in ECOWAS would be presented and we will ensure to work with it.
We will ensure that we implement the ECOWAS Biometric Identity Card in Nigeria. We will launch it three Months after the signing.
He said that the biometric identity card was a prominent feature in the last ECOWAS Summit in December, 2018 in Abuja.
According to him, nobody can cross our border without the ECOWAS identity card; these are some of the security arrangements Nigeria is making to address border security issues.
Danbazau noted that border security was a challenge, adding that Nigerian Immigration Service was responsible for manning the nations borders and monitoring movement of people.
We had to build a good intelligence gathering system so that we can have a good information. This will build our capacity to monitor and respond to these issues, he said.
He added that Nigeria also shared intelligence with neighbouring countries, saying we are also partnering other countries, especially our strategic neighbours and other European countries and international organisations.
We are installing a system called Midas to help improve on capacity to monitor our borders, and because of the insurgency in the North-East, we had to partner Nigerian Air Force and build their capacity.
He said that Nigeria had provided a number of vehicles for patrol and had established a number of patrol bases across strategic border-States.
Earlier the Director of ISS, Mr Ayodele Adeleke, who led the delegation, said that the team was on a visit to understudy the operations of the ministry.
He raised concerns on internal security in Nigeria, stressing on the need to collaborate with neighbouring countries in addressing the issue.
Adeleke noted that some youths had died in the Mediterranean, while some were stranded along the routes in attempts to move out of the country.
He pointed out that International Migration had posed a lot of problems for Nigeria, adding that there was need for relevant agencies to collaborate to tackle the challenges.
The delegation comprised personnel of the Navy, DSS, EFCC, NSCDC, Police and paramilitary organisations.
Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State on Monday announced that the state owned university would soon commence admission of pioneer students in 2019.
Mr Yari who made the announcement at the presentation of the 2019 appropriation proposal said, the development followed the registration of the state University by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
The governor said the state government regretted the fact that Zamfara was the only state of the federation that had no state owned university.
He revealed that the construction of the institution which is situated in his home local government headquarters of Talata-Mafara, had now reached an appreciable level to prepare it for the pioneer students.
He announced that academic activities would soon commence with the 2018/2019 admitted students adding that the process had begun.
He assured that the new intake would have nothing to fear as the state government had put all necessary security measures to ensure the safety of the institution.
The governor noted that since his party, the APC, won with landslide at the just concluded general elections in the state, “there is no doubt that the in-coming administration will continue with the good work.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Yari would now move to the National Assembly as the Senator-elect to represent Zamfara West at the Senate.
“I have the confidence and conviction that the governor-elect, Alhaji Muktar Idris will not disappoint us in taking our dear state to greater heights,” he said.
While speaking on security challenges facing the state, the governor expressed happiness in the matured manner the issue of security was treated by the people of the state.
“We have been able to put in our best as you have disregarded the negative propaganda, misinformation and campaign of calumny by mischief makers on the security challenges which is faced in most states of the nation,
‘’This, the people of Zamfara expressed in the way they voted massively for the APC in the last elections.”
Mr Yari, however, appealed to the people of the state to extend the cooperation they gave him to the in-coming administration.
The governor would end his second term in office on May 29.
TheFreeOne: Terrorist attacks won't guarantee them an independent state but lobbying powers that matters through acceptable processes.
Such attacks are results from insane minds and no serious nation would want such fellows as neighbours.
That's true but imprisoning thousands of innocent people wont help situation. Again China is an authoritarian state they dont care about dissenters unless there's massive pressure. How many terrorists are their among the millions of ethnic Uighurs.
The Chinese government has long worried that the Uighurs will attempt to establish an independent homeland in the region, which they commonly call East Turkestan.
former inmates from these camps say that they were made to renounce their faith, sing Communist Party songs, consume pork, and drink alcohol; other reports suggest some of the truly “ideologically sick” have been tortured and killed.
When they're treated this badly why wouldn't they want their own nation. Its the same issue with Tibet. The Chinese authoritarian regime constantly represses ideologies that rival commuist partrties. If they allowed more autonomy like Russia that would be good but they wont.
As Business Insider notes, the governments of many Muslim-majority countries have declined to express public opposition, for fear of jeopardizing their access to Chinese capital.
Its amazing how money influences policy decisions. Lol the only muslim majority country to criticize China over this is Turkey.
If you guys want to learn more about the topic watch the videos below.
{snip} The ruling Communist Party considers China’s homogeneity and social cohesion to be pillars of its strength (and, also, potent rationalizations for discrimination against ethnic minorities and authoritarian rule).
{snip} The Chinese government has long worried that the Uighurs will attempt to establish an independent homeland in the region, which they commonly call East Turkestan. In 2009, ethnic riots in Xinjiang claimed hundreds of lives; since then, individual Uighur nationalists have carried out multiple terrorist attacks.
{snip} Xi Jinping’s government has decided to declare Islam a contagious “ideological illness,” and quarantine 1 million Uighurs in reeducation camps, according to an estimate from the United Nations. In interviews, former inmates from these camps say that they were made to renounce their faith, sing Communist Party songs, consume pork, and drink alcohol; other reports suggest some of the truly “ideologically sick” have been tortured and killed.
{snip} But, as the Atlantic’s Sigal Samuel explains, they eventually decided that the Uighurs’ ideological malady was so destructive and contagious, it was best to quarantine them prophylactically, upon the slightest apparent symptom (like, say, the appearance of a long beard on an Uighur male’s face).
{snip} Here’s how the Communist Party explained its policy in an official recording:
Members of the public who have been chosen for reeducation have been infected by an ideological illness. They have been infected with religious extremism and violent terrorist ideology, and therefore they must seek treatment from a hospital as an inpatient.
… There is always a risk that the illness will manifest itself at any moment, which would cause serious harm to the public. That is why they must be admitted to a reeducation hospital in time to treat and cleanse the virus from their brain and restore their normal mind … Being infected by religious extremism and violent terrorist ideology and not seeking treatment is like being infected by a disease that has not been treated in time, or like taking toxic drugs … There is no guarantee that it will not trigger and affect you in the future.
Having gone through reeducation and recovered from the ideological disease doesn’t mean that one is permanently cured … So, after completing the reeducation process in the hospital and returning home … they must remain vigilant, empower themselves with the correct knowledge, strengthen their ideological studies, and actively attend various public activities to bolster their immune system.
{snip}
To this point, international outcry over China’s mass repression of its Muslim population has been relatively tame. As Business Insider notes, the governments of many Muslim-majority countries have declined to express public opposition, for fear of jeopardizing their access to Chinese capital — especially the infrastructure loans that Beijing has provided as part of its “One Belt, One Road” initiative.
Fortunately, the United States remains, for now, the world’s preeminent military and economic power. {snip} So, is there any reason to doubt that Trump will make the liberation of the Uighurs America’s top priority in its next round of negotiations with China over trade policy?
in most cases, after arresting the pirates, they are released because there is no law to prosecute them on.
I don't believe this. Lol how is robbery and kidnapping on land illegal but doing at sea illegal? If you guys want specific laws passed against piracy cool.
“When a maritime crime happens within our waters, it is called sea robbery. When it happens on the high sea, that is when it is called piracy. Most of the attacks that have been reported recently occurred within our waters, but the media reports that it is piracy.
How about you guys give your own stats so we can compare IMB.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) just published the February 2019 inflation report, showing that Nigeria’s headline consumer price index moderated for the second consecutive month. Specifically, headline inflation was 11.31percent year on year (y/y) in February declining from 11.37percent y/y in January.
The data came in 2 bps above Cordros Capital forecast of 11.29 percent y/y, but beat Bloomberg consensus estimate of 11.50 percent y/y by 19 bps. On a month-on-month basis, the headline index printed 0.73 percent (vs 0.73% in January)
Food inflation rose by 13.47percent y/y in the review period, slightly lower than the 13.51percent y/y recorded in January. Notably, the highest increase was recorded in the prices of Fish, Bread and cereals, Vegetables, Meat, Fruits, Potatoes, Yam and other tubers, oils and fats, soft drinks. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation increased at a slower pace, by 0.82%, compared to the 0.83% recorded in the previous month.
Core inflation was 9.8 percent y/y during the review period, vs. 9.9 percent in January. The highest increases were reported in the prices of tobacco, repair & hire of footwear, major household appliances, domestic services & household services, dental services, medical & hospital services, cleaning, and repair & hire of clothing. On a m/m basis, the core index increased at much slower pace of 0.65percent, 15 bps below the 0.65percent reported in January.
The Head, Maritime Guard Command of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Navy Capt. Yahuza Badamosi has revealed that delay in passage of the Piracy Bill and the slow judicial process in the country are major reasons piracy attacks persists on Nigerian waterways.
Speaking recently when the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) paid a courtesy visit to the NIMASA management in Lagos, Navy Capt. Badamosi explained that there is no law yet in the country that criminalizes piracy activities.
According to Captain Badamosi, “it is important that the media help the public to know when a maritime crime is labelled as piracy or sea robbery. Consistent reporting of piracy attacks is affecting our standing at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
“When a maritime crime happens within our waters, it is called sea robbery. When it happens on the high sea, that is when it is called piracy. Most of the attacks that have been reported recently occurred within our waters, but the media reports that it is piracy. This is affecting our standing at the IMO because it is portraying us as being unsafe for maritime business.
“Another issue confronting the Navy now is the Piracy Bill that is still before the National Assembly. It is important that the media help us sensitise the general public on the importance of this Bill. If this Bill is not passed, there is really nothing we can do about piracy on our waters.
“The implication of the non-passage of the piracy bill is that when we arrest pirates and take them to court, there is basically no law to try them on. So in most cases, after arresting the pirates, they are released because there is no law to prosecute them on.
“Another challenge for us is the slow judicial process in the country. The slow judicial process in Nigeria has been affecting our fight against maritime crime. Do you know that cases of pirates arrested in 2012 are still in court as I am speaking?
“Nigeria’s slow judicial process and delay in the passage of the Piracy Bill are major bottlenecks affecting the Navy’s fight against maritime crime in our waters.”
Lol good news doesn't interest anyone. The only issue here is when army does them opperations the bandits simply run retreat to another near by state. The has be a permanent security build up and economic solution.
We need a naval build up. All of our waters are under constant attack. If it's not piracy, its sea robbery or illegal fishing or some other crime. I do like the solution proposed in the last paragraph. Lets let ships defend themselves.
Seperate escort crews are costly because of gas and crews. That's why its mainly oil companies that would use them.
According to the ICC IMB's Piracy Report, Nigerian pirates kidnapped five crewmembers from an OSV in the Gulf of Guinea last weekend despite the efforts of a security escort vessel. After an active firefight between the escort and the attackers, pirates boarded the target vessel, ransacked its cabins and made off with the victims.
At about 1115 hours UTC on Saturday, at a position about 30 nm off Brass, Nigeria, armed pirates in two speed boats approached an OSV under way. The OSV's captain called for help from what IMB ICC described as a "naval escort security boat," which maneuvered to engage the attackers. One speed boat closed in from port side of the vessel and crossed the bow, while the other speed boat exchanged fire with the security boat.
To defend themselves against the attack, the OSV's crew gathered in the engine room and shut down all power. The pirates in the second speedboat boarded the vessel using a ladder. They broke into the deckhouse, vandalized the cabins and took crew belongings and vessel’s equipment. The pirates then proceeded to the engine room, kidnapped five men and escaped. The remaining crews sailed the vessel under escort to a safe anchorage.
One Nigerian Navy armed guard was reportedly killed in the exchange of fire between the naval security boat and the pirates.
Nigeria forbids the presence of embarked private maritime security contractors at its seaports. This effectively prohibits Gulf of Guinea vessel operators from using on-board armed guards, which have proven successful in deterring pirates in the high-risk area off Somalia.Instead, Nigeria permits private contractors to provide for-hire Security Escort Vessel (SEV) services using civilian boats and armed Nigerian Navy active duty servicemembers. According to one well-regarded security services firm, this system has historically been challenged by "extremely high costs and issues of poor performance and reliability."
Troops of Operation Sharan Daji have killed 55 bandits and rescued 760 persons abducted from villages in Zamfara State.
This was contained in a statement signed by Acting Force Information Officer, Clement Abiade, a major, in Gusau, the state capital on Tuesday.
He said the troops also recovered weapons, ammunition and rustled cows as they blocked all entry points to the bushes to deny the bandits free movement while building confidence of the locals.
“A total of 24 suspected bandits informants, rustlers, kidnappers and logistics suppliers were arrested and handed over to the police for further investigation.
“The Air Component of the operation carried out several air strikes around Kagara, Gando, Fankama, Fete and Dumburum forest during which successes were recorded.
“Items recovered include four AK 47 rifles, one Rocket Propelled Gun Tube, 12 Dane guns, 27 AK 47 Magazines, 168 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition, one Pump Action Gun, 47 Motorcycles, a Golf wagon car and 61 rustled cattle,” he said.
He added: “The troops’ sustained operation led to the return of over 1,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Maru to Bini village on February 17.
“The Emir of Maru, Alhaji Abubakar Chika and the Chairman of Maru Local Government Area (LGA) Alhaji Salisu Dangulbi witnessed their departure at the LGA headquarters.
“Unfortunately, this feat was not achieved without supreme sacrifice being paid by one officer, two soldiers and a vigilante who paid the supreme prize during the encounter with bandits in Kagara forest.”
He said the Force Commander, Olabanji Stevenson, a major general, sympathised with the families of those who lost their lives or got wounded assuring that their pains would not be in vain.
leofab: The above me don’t know it will be a win win for Cameroon if we deport their secessionists..
What did Nigeria gain from Cameroon by breaking laws? The courts just fined the government and ordered them to return them. The IPOB issue is already being handled with legal sanctions. The worst they do is stop assisting with boko haram.
The Nigerian government has condemned the ejection of her citizens who are taking refuge in Cameroon by the country's authorities.
A statement issued by the Federal National Commissioner for the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Sadiya Farouq, accused the Cameroonian government of flouting the United Nations Convention on Refugees and its 167 Protocol.
He said the Protocol forbids member nations from ejecting refugees under any circumstances.
According to the Commissioner, the ejected refugees are residents of Rann, Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno State, who fled their community to neighbouring Goura town in Cameroon due to incessant Boko Haram attacks in January.
The statement reads:
"It is highly regrettable and sad to note that despite the passionate appeal made by the Nigerian Authorities to the Government of Cameroon not to chase out the victims of Boko Haram attacks from Rann Local Government of Borno State, this appeal has been ignored.
"Information reaching us is that the Cameroonian Government has thrown out the Displaced Persons from Rann who ran into Cameroun for safety in total disregard for the appeal and a clear breach of the United Nations Charter and Convention on the protection of Displaced Persons which both countries endorsed.
"The United Nations Convention on Refugees and its 167 Protocol states that , "no contracting state shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his or her life or freedom will be threatened on account of his or her race, religion or nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion."
Mr Farouq, however, said Nigeria would not retaliate by ejecting Cameroonian refugees currently in Nigeria.
He said; "You may recall that on January 14, 2019, persistent attacks in Rann compelled residents of the area to run into Cameroon territories for their safety, but from the onset, the Cameroon Government threatened to chase them out.
"The Nigerian Government had to remind its Cameroonian counterpart of its obligation to the displaced Nigerians, bearing in mind the UN Convention. Unfortunately, today Cameroon has made good its earlier threat by throwing the Nigerian Refugees back to the country in large number. In due course, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take appropriate steps on the matter.
"Meanwhile, it is worthy of mention to state that Nigeria is currently hosting many Cameroonian refugees located at Cross River, Benue, Akwa-Ibom, Taraba States and some of them in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja since October 2017 and we continue to provide them with relief, care and maintenance items. This is a clear demonstration of our commitment to international Conventions on humanitarian obligations and in the spirit of good neighbourliness.
"The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) in line with its mandate will continue to provide care and maintenance to persons of concern including nationals of other countries without any form of discrimination. However, we demand that Nigerian citizens in a foreign land must not be subjected to any shabby treatment under any circumstance."
“We haven’t found an investor for the airport. We’re still searching,” an official of the Lagos State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, who craved anonymity, confided in BusinessDay on Friday.
I can see why osun airport flopped when Lagos couldn't do it with same sort of deal. I dont see Anambra being lucky on out of 3. I havent seen any updates from since it was announced. Right now the FG trying to get the 4 of it's International airports concessioned. I dont think their intrested in funding more new airports like they are deep seaports.
It was gathered that the investors pulled out from the project citing inclement political and social environment,
Does anyone know if the polical and social environment has improved since 2014?
More than one decade after it was proposed and investment prospectus pushed into the global market in search of investment partners, it appears foreign and local investors are yet to be convinced that the $450 million Lekki International Airport in Lagos is worth staking their funds. Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub and commercial capital, operates one federally-owned international airport which currently attracts average annual air-passenger traffic of about 9 million from the total average of 15 million travellers across the 31 airports in the country. There is the general thinking within the aviation industry that the numbers are not attractive enough to spur investors’ interest in the development of a new airport in Lagos given the capital-intensive nature of such a project. This, among other socio-political factors, might be working against the proposed Lekki International Airport, industry experts believe. The airport was proposed as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the state government and would-be investor in which the government would provide the land and other complementary infrastructure while the private partner would construct the airport on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Manage (DBFOM) basis under a competitive tender process and in accordance with international best practices. It was gathered at the weekend that part of the proposed site of the airport, measuring 3,000 hectares along the Lekki-Epe corridor, is being turned into a dumpsite. There has been a contention between the host community of the proposed airport and the Lagos State government, which was resolved about two years ago, in the hope that it would galvanise investors’ interest in the multi-million dollar project. But this has done little or nothing as investors remain aloof and seem not ready to touch the airport project even with a long spoon. “We haven’t found an investor for the airport. We’re still searching,” an official of the Lagos State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, who craved anonymity, confided in BusinessDay on Friday. This is in spite of several trade exhibitions and foreign trips in search of would-be investors embarked upon by officials of the ministry and other relevant state government agencies in the last 10 years. Olayinka Oladunjoye, state commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, whose ministry has been promoting the airport, would not speak on the project. When contacted via the telephone, Oladunjoye said she was in a meeting. In a later reply to a text message sent to her cell phone on the current state of the project, however, Oladunjoye referred BusinessDay to another official of the ministry, who was also not available to speak on the matter. Situated about 10km from Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ), the airport was proposed to cater for the Airbus A380, making it a Code F compliant airport with capacity for 2 million passengers per annum for a start. Investors banked on to get the project off the ground resented and pulled out of discussions four years ago. Since then, the Lagos State government had been unable to talk new investors into the project. The airport was proposed to serve the fast-growing residential cum industrial Lekki hub where several multi-billion-dollar investments are springing up, including the LFTZ, Lekki Deep Seaport, Dangote 650,000bpd refinery, among others. Four rated firms had worked with Lagos State as consultants on the airport project. They include Arup, a firm of consultant engineers, designers, planners and technical specialists; Norton Rose Fulbright, a global legal firm with 54 offices worldwide; Stanbic IBTC Capital, a member of Standard Bank Group, which was appointed sole financial adviser, and Banwo & Ighodalo, a Nigeria-based law firm. Effort to bring the airport into a reality under Babatunde Fashola, immediate past governor of Lagos, suffered a setback because investors who initially expressed interest withdrew from the deal, forcing the government to return to the drawing board. It was gathered that the investors pulled out from the project citing inclement political and social environment, thus forcing the state government and its consultants to launch a fresh search for another set of investors. In 2011, as part of the competitive tender process for the construction of the airport, the Lagos State government, through its consultants, advertised a Request for Pre-Qualification (RFPQ) and 33 Nigerian and international firms indicated interest to participate in the ambitious project. The companies had earlier submitted Expression of Interest (EOI), bidding for the project under a PPP arrangement following a public notice advertised by the state government to that effect. Of the 33 firms, 20 were Nigeria-based. They were to compete against 13 foreign companies, including Munich Airport Germany, Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co Limited, Canadian Commercial Corporation, among others. In 2013, three infrastructure developing consortia of firms, including Bouygues Batiment, Eko Global and Maevis, were again in the race for the first round of bidding for the development of the airport. Local and foreign representatives of the bidders were in the state for the preliminary processes of the bidding and held talks with the government and its team of consultants to the project. They also visited the site for physical inspection to enable them have a first-hand impression of the site. The preferred bidder was expected to be announced in April 2014, while the signing of a concession agreement and project documents was to take place in June 2014, with the financial close of deal expected in September of the same year, but this was never realised. Under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode who took over on May 29, 2015, it was expected that the new government would re-double effort in the pursuit of the realisation of the multi-billion naira infrastructure. Although the official said the Ambode-led government never abandoned it, what is now obvious is that the airport project has failed to take off under the outgoing governor.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria says discussions are ongoing with Airlines operators to divert some of their traffic to airports outside Lagos.
The General Manager, Corporate Affairs of FAAN, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, who made this known on Sunday, told journalists that the aim of the discussions is to decongest Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
She however noted that Lagos would remain the hub of airports in the country, adding that rather than congest the airport, airlines could also make use of facilities in other aerodromes across the country.
According to her, Turkish Airlines and Emirates had indicated their readiness to commence scheduled flight operations from Port Harcourt and Abuja, respectively from June, while Air Peace would also begin direct flights to Dubai from Port Harcourt as from April this year.
She noted that Cronos Air was currently operating three weekly frequencies from Port Harcourt while Lufthansa Airlines and Air France both had four and five flights per week respectively, from the same airport.
She disclosed that Air Cote d’Ivoire would commence direct flights from Abuja to its base in Abidjan soon.
She also disclosed that the new terminal at the MMIA, Lagos, would be inaugurated soon.
The Federal Government’s recent promise to revamp the abandoned Onitsha River Port was greeted with wild jubilations as traders, importers, and indigenes of the commercial city look up to them to work the talk.
The Onitsha River Port was built in 1983 by the administration of Nigeria’s first Executive President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari; after which it remained fallow or practically underutilized until the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 renovated and commissioned it, yet it was not made fully operational.
But there appears to be some glimmer of hope as Managing Director/CEO of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA); Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora when he visited the port November last year, promised to make it work.
Three months after the visit; Mamora has also announced that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has approved the commencement of processes to declare and gazette the Onitsha River Port as port of origin and final destination that will give comfort to shippers. He said that the move was part of Federal Government’s efforts to decongest Lagos Ports, extend shipping services to the hinterland, revitalize inland water transport and promote intermodal transportation connectivity in the country.
Mamora said that it would boost the image of NIWA, stimulate economic activities and encourage patronage of the Eastern Ports apart from enhancing the productivity and revenue drive of government.
Daily Sun gathered that skeletal activities were already taking place at the about 1.2 million TEU capacity port. The Port Manager; Mr. Baba Spencer who spoke on the viability of the port said that the facility was currently clearing containers that came by road through the Port Harcourt port.
He revealed that about 20 containers were cleared between January and this month by the customs service at the port, which according to him; is currently undergoing concession process that will see to its handover to a terminal operator once it is completed.
Spencer said that as a port of destination, containers or goods can leave any part of the world and be cleared in Onitsha once the destination is Onitsha River port, stressing that the river would be dredged to enable smaller vessels come into Onitsha from Lagos and Port Harcourt ports.
As cheering as the news might be; stakeholders said they would not celebrate until the project is realised because the promise could at best be mere political statement.
While commending the Federal Government for the move; President General of Bridgehead Market Traders Association, Onitsha; Chief Sunday Obinze urged them to expedite action to bring the port to fruition in no distant time.
“I was opportune to be among those who represented traders when former President Jonathan came to commission the place after which nothing was done, then few days to the election, they are telling us that they are doing this or that at the river port. So, am just seeing it as political game.
“Actually, an average trader wants that port to be functional; it will alleviate our problem going to Lagos and Port Harcourt to clear our goods. You know that about 75 per cent of goods that come into the country come to Anambra state and that is why they should make the River port viable so that the goods will be coming direct to Onitsha from where it will be cleared.
“We want the president to help us through the support of governor Willie Obiano is given to him to dredge the river Niger and make it working. Let them be real and not playing political game maybe after the election you won’t see them again, if they have good intention, it will alleviate the problem of the traders from clearing their goods from Lagos or Port Harcourt sea ports, the risk involved and the money involved”, Obinze said.
However, a native of Onitsha, Mr. Onochie Ozoma was optimistic that President Buhari will fulfil his promise to make the river port work just as he did to Zik’s mausoleum and the ongoing construction of second Niger Bridge.
He said the port when functional will boost the infrastructural development of Onitsha with the attendant spiral effect.
“There are the possibilities of securing job because the operation of Onitsha River port can give direct and indirect jobs to the people to the tune of seven to ten thousand people.
“The business activities would be thriving, commercial activities, buying and selling, trading and importation. It could develop into the possibility of evolving a free trade zone where people can bring in their products and then they get sort of assistance from banks and organizations that will help them to fine-tune product and export them”, Ozoma said.
Zainab Sulaiman Umar, 26, is a one time Student Union Government (SUG) Vice President of Bayero University, Kano. She is contesting on the platform of New Progressive Movement (NPM) to represent Kumbotso state Constituency of Kano.
She speaks on her challenges and her plans for her constituency if she is elected.
At just 26, what is your pedigree in politics that you decided to run?
Well I will start by saying politics is something I grew up to want to do because I started with school politics. One of the main reasons I decided to run is the way the youths and women are being left behind in terms of political participation in both my constituency in Kano and in Nigeria at large. In the history of Kano State there has never been a female state lawmaker, so I looked at those things and decided to run to change the narrative.
Why House of Assembly and not local government chairperson?
It was a deliberate decision to run for the state House of Assembly because I want to be closer to my constituents, those I call the grassrooters. It is also because women and youths are not represented in my constituency, like I mentioned earlier, in the history of Kano State there has not been a women state House of Assembly representative, which probably explains why we don’t matter in the scheme of things.
What will you do differently if elected?
On what I will do differently, I will ensure my constituents enjoy the full dividends of democracy in terms of lobbying to bring developmental projects closer to them. I plan to encourage Nigeria youths to make a positive stand in Nigeria political process, the not too young to run law has given the youths all the backing they need to be part of the process of building good governance. I plan to sponsor bills that will encourage increase in youth and women participation in political activities of state and Nigeria at large.
One of the bills I plan to sponsor will eradicate poverty, tackles unemployment, and discourage use of drugs and violence against women. I also plan to empower the less privilege, orphans and people with disabilities through partnership with other private organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). I also plan to sponsor and push for the passage of a bill into law that will ensure free social services for senior citizens that are 60 and above and free medical care for pregnant women.
People die of common sicknesses like malaria and typhoid just because my constituency lacks adequate Primary Health Care Center. So I will lobby the government to build more health care centers in my constituency among other things I will push for.
What are the challenges you face as a young politician and a female?
The main challenge is lack of funds, logistics and fighting Godfatherism in politics. But I am not deterred by all that despite being a female candidate and young too. I’m pushed by the desire to serve my people and to bring dividends of democracy closer to my people.
Your party, New Progressive Movement (NPM) is new compared to the ruling party and the main opposition party, what are your chances?
My chance of winning is 90 to 95 percent because of the way I have been doing my campaigns and the responses I have received. I have been going to the grassroots selling my mission and vision to them via the Door To Door Campaign and I can assure you that the women and youths have endorsed my candidacy.
What has been the response of your family to your ambition in a conservative and male dominated society like yours?
They are very supportive. They are very active politically in terms of voting. They have been part of campaigns, they have been supportive, prayerfully, morally and financially and they know I am serious about pushing for the development of our constituency because they believe I can deliver.
How politically aware are the youths in your state and how sure of their support are you?
The youths are very much aware politically. They are for office holders that will impact the people positively. Like I said earlier, they are very much involved in my campaigns and are supportive of a young person going there because they know their interests will be put on the front burner. They believe the earlier we start the much impact we will make. So I’m very sure of their support because we engage all the time on our expectations of our society.
What message are you sending to young people and women with your decision to run for an elective office?
I am telling the youths and women in my constituency that if we don’t get up and be involved, we will continue to lag behind in the equation of things. How can we make those in authority know how desperate we need education for our young children, proper healthcare delivery, basic amenities like clean water and motorable roads to aid our small and medium scale businesses, electricity, inclusiveness of people with disability in our community if we are not involved? We are tired of being the statistics; we matter in the scheme of things. If we matter enough to be voters, we should matter enough to be voted for.
The women and youths in my constituency have business skills but lack funds to do businesses, which is why I said earlier that I will partner with private organisations and NGOs to empower them financially to boost their businesses.
Most of the youths in my constituency are graduates but are unemployed, which is why my plans include skills acquisition programmes in partnership with relevant organisations to equip them to be self-employed.
During violence, women and children are usually the worst hit, which is why I have said I will push for the passage of a bill to end violence against women and children. We have the highest
Infant and maternal mortality rate and our senior citizens die just because they do not have money to pay for hospital bills. These are all the things I want to correct which is why I am running to be a member of the state House of Assembly.
PSVITA: Nobody is talking about the killing that took place in AKWAIBOM yesterday night / early this morning in Obot Akare local government, Corper's where killed, cars where burnted. Nairalander please you guys should teach me how to post news to front page.
The mods select front page stories. Just tag them to get their attetion. I sugesst you post pictures and videos people with short story.
$4.2billion Ibom Deep Seaport Project a game changer.
The Akwa Ibom government is pushing ahead with the $4.2billion Ibom Deep Seaport Project (IDSP) which may be a game changer for the country’s economy when completed.
A French-Chinese consortium, Bollore Africa Logistics-Power China International Group Limited, has been picked as the preferred bidder for the port which is to be constructed on a 14,400-hectare site, as a part of a proposed industrial city. The land for the project was donated by the Akwa Ibom government.
The port is scheduled to commence operation in 2021, according to Mfon Usoro, the head of the technical committee on the Ibom Deep Seaport.
“The IDSP project is intended to become a major national and regional economic gateway that will provide additional container handling capacity for the country,” Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), a federal agency overseeing the project, said on its website.
“In addition to containers, the IDSP is expected to handle petroleum products (export and import), crude oil and natural gas (export), vehicles (import) and bulk trade in natural resources (import and export). “It is planned to be the deepest port in the West African sub-region,” ICRC added.
In 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) ranked Akwa Ibom second among the nation’s most investment-friendly states. Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, was ranked first.
Akwa Ibom, according to the NBS, attracted $18.361million foreign direct investments (FDI) within the first quarter of 2017.
Factors aiding investments in the state.
The high inflow of investments in the state is believed to have been propelled partly by the foundational infrastructure such as good road network, an airport, an independent power plant, and a five-star hotel built by previous administrations, and partly through the ingenuity and focus of the current governor, Mr Emmanuel.
Mr Emmanuel appeared to have set his eyes from the onset on attracting industries to the state. As he began his tenure in 2015, he set up an ad-hoc committee on foreign direct investments and insulated it from politics and civil service bureaucracy.
The state’s FDI committee chairman, Gabriel Ukpeh, a former PricewaterhouseCoopers employee, told PREMIUM TIMES in Uyo he was willing to work with anybody, including members of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, provided it helps attract industries.
“The state belongs to all of us. Politics will come and go, but the state will remain,” Mr Ukpeh said.
He explained how his committee works.
“An investor comes, says I want to invest in a particular area, we say okay, bring evidence of your financial capability, bring evidence of your technical capability. We look at those. Where do you need the land and what size of land do you need? We bring in the Ministry of Land, we identify the land, and we make sure the land is there.
“We then have to do MoU. We have a lawyer here (in FDI office) who is seconded from the Ministry of Justice. So, they develop the MoU, sent it to the Ministry of Justice for vetting, and then it goes to the governor who authorises the attorney general and the relevant commissioners to sign.
“Investors don’t need to go through the bureaucracy associated with the civil service.”
Mr Ukpeh said the government has so far signed over 200 MoUs with prospective investors, but that the administration does not celebrate MoUs until the government sees “some physical things”.
Reactivation of ailing industries is also on the administration’s plate – one example is the Peacock Paint Factory in Etinan.
Also, the government has found a core investor for a ceramic factory in Itu which had been shut down for several decades.
The investor, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, is working on replacing the old and outdated machinery in the factory, after settling disputes with the host communities.
Taking cognisance of lack of funds as a major impediment to setting up industries, especially among the locals, Governor Emmanuel’s administration set up a mini-industrial estate in Itu where budding industrialists, mostly young people, are using the machinery in the factories to produce goods.
The industrial estate is managed by the Akwa Ibom Enterprise & Employment Scheme (AKEES). It has six cottage industries, including toothpick, pencil, and plastics factories inside it.
When PREMIUM TIMES visited the estate in January this year they had in their showroom, fire-proof fibreglass doors, fire-proof corrugated roofing sheets, hydraform bricks, plastic buckets and plastic spoons, forks, and knives, as well as toothpicks and pencils, as some of the products manufactured in the factories.
The government is also using AKEES as a vehicle to get the people involved in its ambitious dream of turning the state into one big green land, of cucumber, watermelon, garbage, lettuce, pepper, radish, and tomato.
Today, several young people in the state, who have taken to farming, have become self-employed and raking in huge profits.
About 2,800 tons of tomatoes are consumed monthly, for instance, in the state, Ufot Ebong, Governor Emmanuel’s aide who oversees the running of AKEES, told PREMIUM TIMES.
This, according to Mr Ebong, translates to N1.3billion monthly! Just for tomato consumption!
The bulk of the tomatoes, Mr Ebong said, are hauled into the state from the northern part of Nigeria, while some are smuggled in from Cameroun.
“After realising this capital flight, if we can grow this thing here and even feed our local market for some time, the money won’t be leaving this state again, it helps in the GDP and then eventually we could become a net exporter of tomato,” Mr Ebong said, while praising the governor for “the agricultural revolution in the state”.
In order to encourage local production of tomatoes, the federal government says it would ban the importation of tomato paste before the end of 2019.
Many people ignorant of the administration’s effort.
Many people in Akwa Ibom seem to be unaware of the administration’s industrialisation efforts.
“To be honest with you, apart from you telling me you’ve visited the syringe factory and other factories, I wouldn’t have believed these things exist. I thought it was the usual lies from people in government,” Patrick Bassey, a pastor and a businessman from the state, who claimed to be a supporter of Governor Emmanuel, said while interacting with the PREMIUM TIMES reporter.
Uwemedimo Udo, a university teacher, told PREMIUM TIMES he had to visit the syringe and the meter manufacturing factories last year just so he could clear personal doubt about their existence.
Franklyn Isong, the publisher of a local paper, Radar, recently took to Facebook to “enlighten” the public about the existence of the coconut refinery after he visited it in November last year.
“Before then, I had people told me the industries did not exist. Even this year, there are people who are still asking ‘where are the industries?’
“You know government in Nigeria is used to saying things and then you get to find out that those things don’t exist. I had the impression that maybe those things were propaganda,” said Mr Udo, who claimed he was neither a supporter of the governor’s party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nor the opposition APC.
Mr Udo said the administration’s media team needed to sensitise the people the more about the new industries in the state.
“I would say the governor has done well to attract the investments, but the question is are these investments state-owned? Does the state government have an equity share in these investments? If yes, what is the percentage of the government shareholding?” Mr Isong said.
Charles Udoh, the Commissioner for Information in the state, told PREMIUM TIMES that the government has done “everything that anybody needs to do” to create awareness about the existence of the industries.
“Just like in every aspect of life, you will find people who, out of laziness, do not even make an effort to find out the true position of things.
“But since you’ve brought this to our notice, we will need to find out where the gaps are, and we need to pluck the gaps,” Mr Udoh said.
The failed plan by the government to attract an automobile plant, as well as build a ranch with 2,000 cows imported from Mexico, have become a bullet opposition politicians are using to shoot at the administration’s claim to industrialisation.
The FDI committee chairman, Mr Ukpeh, told PREMIUM TIMES the Israelis investors who wanted to build the automobile plant came into the state and actually started work, but left the state and the country when “the exchange rate went crazy”.
“Apart from the increase in the exchange rate between naira and dollars, the companies working in Nigeria couldn’t find dollars in the country. These companies were rich in naira, but couldn’t find dollars to buy. So the Israelis investors were afraid if they bring in their investment here, they may not be able to repatriate their money. So, they left,” Mr Ukpeh said.
The proposal to import cows from Mexico was also affected by the exchange rate, he said.
Akwa Ibom People paying dearly for doubt.
Here is an example of how Akwa Ibom people are paying a costly price for their doubt on the existence of the industries in the state.
Bede Anyanwu is an Uyo-based pharmacist who has been using the Akwa Ibom syringe for several months now in his pharmacy in Uyo, the state capital.
The man who supplies him pharmaceutical products, including the syringes, is from Abia state but lives in Lagos.
The supplier travels from Lagos to Akwa Ibom, a distance of about 673.9 kilometres, to purchase the syringes in bulk and then supply them to Mr Anyanwu’s and other pharmacies in Akwa Ibom before taking the rest to Lagos.
He is making brisk business, while Akwa Ibom people, ironically, are complaining of lack of jobs and business opportunities in the state.
“The money is in business, not in politics,” said the CEO of Norfin Offshore, Mr Udonwa. “This is what Akwa Ibom people need to understand.”
In 2010, a young, wealthy Nigerian businessman, Charles Udonwa, left his flouring ship-building business in Singapore, and relocated to Akwa Ibom State, with a desire to contest for the governorship of the state.
Mr Udonwa in May that year was attacked by gunmen in his home in that oil-rich, South-south state.
He escaped into a nearby bush with gunshot wounds.
The gunmen, not willing to give up, grabbed his aged mother and used her as a bargain for Mr Udonwa to come out from hiding. He refused. His assailants then shot the old woman dead.
The attack appeared to have been politically motivated.
Besides Mr Udonwa’s, there were several other unresolved attacks, kidnappings, and high-profile killings in the state at the time.
Few days after the terrifying incident, Mr Udonwa flew out of Nigeria, assisted by trusted business associates. And for more than three years, he was afraid to visit Akwa Ibom.
The businessman is back again. But not many people are aware of this.
When PREMIUM TIMES met him in January this year in Uyo, he said his company, Norfin Offshore Ltd, was constructing a ship-building yard in Oruk-Anam Local Government Area of the state.
The company is investing an initial capital of $5million in the project, Mr Udonwa said.
The firm is planning to build supply-vessels for oil platforms, tugboats, batches, ocean fishing boats, and ferries for both Nigerian and foreign markets.
“There is nobody doing ship-building in Nigeria and in entire West Africa for now,” Mr Udonwa said. “We have a local content law which says if you build a ship in Nigeria you have the first right of refusal to put the ship in the country’s oil and gas industry.
“If you build a ship, like LNG vessel, 5,000 metric tons, for instance, in Singapore, it could cost up to $5million because of labour cost, but you can do it here in Nigeria with $3million.”
Nofin Offshore, according to him, is into contracts and already supplying ships for movement of crews and supports services to some oil companies in Nigeria
He said the Akwa Ibom state government helped his company to negotiate the purchase of land at cheap rate from local communities.
“The administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel is doing what we really wanted – they are creating the enabling environment for business,”Mr Udonwa said.
“It worries us that after several years of oil exploitation in Akwa Ibom, we don’t have even a single depot or jetty anywhere in the state, all the logistics services for ExxonMobil are done from Onne, Rivers state, or from Lagos.”
Norfin Offshore’s is just one of the inflows of foreign direct investments in Akwa Ibom so far, since Udom Emmanuel, a former executive director with Zenith Bank, became governor of the state in 2015.
Akwa Ibom now home to syringe, meter, and fertilizer factory and….
The 31-year-old state of over 5 million people is now home to a syringe manufacturing factory, said to be the largest in Africa, a meter manufacturing company, described by the Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as an “exceedingly important project”, and a fertilizer blending plant.
Altogether, there are more than 10 large and small scale industries, located in various parts of the state, which have either started production or are still under construction.
Never in the history of Akwa Ibom has one administration been able to attract so many industries within so short a time.
The Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Company Ltd is located in Onna Local Government Area, a few kilometres from Ibeno where ExxonMobil’s Qua Iboe Terminal is.
It is owned by a Turkish firm, VKS Group, which reportedly invested $30 million as initial capital.
The factory sources its raw materials, polypropylene, from Indorama Eleme Petrochemical in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Another investment by the VKS Group in the state is a 500-tons per day capacity flour mill, still in Onna, which is near completion and is scheduled to start production in May.
The machines were running and workers busy at their duty posts when a PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited the syringe factory in December.
At a 100 per cent capacity, the factory could produce up to a million syringes daily, ranging from 2 millimetres, 5 millimetres, and 10 millimetres, Managing Director Zubeyir Gulabi, a Turkish national, told PREMIUM TIMES.
“Right now, we are producing around 750, 000 per day since we are not working 24 hours because of lack of personnel,” Mr Gulabi said, adding that the factory should start operating at full capacity later this year
Mr Gulabi explained what he meant by “lack of personnel”.
“We have to train the people first before getting them to work in the factory,” he said. “You know Akwa Ibom isn’t an industrial state.
“We had to move around to search for people that are fit for the job. The people (we picked) never worked in any industry before.
“We started with eight workers, and then we brought engineers from Turkey, Italy, South Korea, and Australia to help train them.”
Mr Gulabi said 125 people, including five expatriates, currently work at the factory. He said more than 70 per cent of the staff are from Akwa Ibom, while 10 per cent came from outside the state.
Esther Gregory, a 30-year-old graduate of accounting, heads the packaging department.
Ms Gregory told PREMIUM TIMES she was “fine and proud” to work in the factory which she said was their own “ExxonMobil”.
At the Metering Solutions Manufacturing Services Ltd (MSMSL) in Onna, Tolulope Ogunkolade, the company’s general manager, guided the PREMIUM TIMES reporter around the factory where about 150 line workers (95 per cent of them from Akwa Ibom) were busy, assembling and testing several units of digital meters, and then passing them on through a conveyor belt.
Twenty of the factory workers just returned from a two-week training in China, sponsored by the company.
“This is an exceedingly important project,” the Vice President of Nigeria Mr Osinbajo said of the MSMSL’s factory when he inaugurated it on September 23, 2017, to mark the 30th anniversary of Akwa Ibom State. “I am sure that everybody accepts that perhaps the major obstacle to full economic development in Nigeria is power.”
Mr Osinbajo said the meters produced at the company were smart meters – all that it takes for a consumer to have power at home is for him to buy a scratch card and simply key in a code!
“The whole idea is to sell power easily just the same way you can buy credit for your cell phone,” Mr Osinbajo said. “That is the objective of this type of meter in particular.”
The vice president said meter manufacturing companies, such as MSMSL, aided by new federal government policy on metering, would help create wealth and employment in Nigeria because power distribution companies do not necessarily have to be distributors of meters.
“What the MSMSL is doing here is an opportunity for people who want to become metering agents,” he said.
MSMSL, which is partnering a Chinese firm, produces an average of 1,000 meters daily, sourcing 60 per cent of its raw materials locally, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.
Apart from some off-grid customers who are running pilot scheme on power generation and distribution in Lagos, the factory, for now, supplies meters mainly to the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC).
The PHEDC is said to distribute power to some 14 million people (the number could be underestimated, anyway) in the four states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom. According to the MSMSL officials, the company has supplied over 200,000 meters to PHEDC in the past year.
However, despite the efforts of MSML and other meter manufacturers, the shortfall of meters in Nigeria hit 5.3 million as of 2018, according to the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA).
This means many more meters are needed to close the gap. And more money is to be made, too – by the factory in Akwa Ibom and other meter manufacturers in the country.
Our next stop is a fertilizer blending factory in Abak, about 20 kilometres from Uyo, the state capital. It began business in December 2018.
The factory, owned by a U.S-based company, Greenwell Technologies, currently employs 70 workers, all of them from Akwa Ibom.
“At the minimum, we can blend in excess of 2,400 bags every 24 hours using one blender,” Greenwell Technologies’ chief operating officer, Johnny Udo, told PREMIUM TIMES.
“We have two blenders and both blenders can be activated depending on products demand.
“We blend for various customers, including (our) participation in the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI).
“Under the PFI programme, we can only blend NPK 20-10-10, whereas, we are blending 20-10-10, 15-15-15, 12-12-17 +2MgO and specialize blending for other customers in all the 36 states and Abuja.”
The factory sources its raw materials like potash, urea, and sulphate from outside Akwa Ibom, but Mr Udo is hopeful that in the future he would source raw materials from within the state.
But in the meantime, he said, the people of the state could take advantage of the factory by going into production of sacks.
“Just got bags worth N5.2 million from Lagos,” Mr Udo told this reporter while pointing at a pile of sacks at one corner of the factory. “Those bags will be gone in the next two weeks.”
The Chinese too are investing.
A Chinese company, Yiwu International, is building a $25 million international market in Eket, the southern part of Akwa Ibom.
Miao Jing bao, the executive director of Yiwu, told PREMIUM TIMES that the market, which is 60 per cent completed, is 100 per cent Chinese investment.
Mr Jing bao, speaking through an interpreter, said about 5,000 casual workers are employed in the construction work.
When completed, each of the 2,800 shops in the market would be sold for between N3million to N4million, Mr Jing bao said.
He said his company is planning to build a similar market in other parts of the state, as well as a methanol plant and tyre manufacturing plant in Uyo.
A coconut refinery is under construction at Mkpat Enin and is scheduled for completion in April this year.
The refinery, together with its 11,000-hectare coconut plantation, is funded by the state government which is currently shopping for investors for it.
There are palm oil processing mills, palm kernel processing plants, integrated farms, a starch manufacturing facility, a rice mill, and other agro-related factories, several of them wholly owned by private firms, while others are partnerships between the state government and private firms.
One company, Quail Petroleum, has just bought 200 hectares of land for N500million in Uruan Local Government Area and has begun preliminary works on the construction of a refinery and a gas processing plant in the area.
rottennaija: Election fever. After close to 4 years, it's now you attention is turn to Ikot Abasi. Don't worry, Obong Nsima Ekere will do so when he comes in as the Gov
Ekere does have some good plans but they all do. He wants to revive Ebughu Fishing Terminal, establishment fishing processing plant and wants the naval FOB to be upgrades to full base.
Akwa Ibom should work towards upgrading the power plant aswell. Though. They had go ahead to add more megawatts years ago.
Politics › Nigeria Approves U.S $73m For Water Project In Kano State by Blue3k2(op): 11:12pm On Mar 23, 2019
