₦airaland Forum

Lol instant front page. The mods want something besides Kanu content. I wonder how the airport even stayed alive only having 20 people coming. The deal between ondo and air peace is lifesaver. Air peace is always doing great work.

She said interest in the transportation of perishable goods has increased in the area and expressed the hope that the abandoned cargo airport would be included in next year’s budget to get the contractors back to site.

The cargo airport were left uncompleted and pretty much forgotten all over the country. Only Lagos and Port Harcourt have cargo operations. After all the money that was spent its pretty pathetic.

 

The Federal Government, through Stella Oduah, the then Aviation Minister, in 2011 released $870 million (N174 billion) for the airport infrastructure renewal project, which included the construction of the cargo terminals.

Cities prioritised to host perishable cargo terminals are Abuja, Akure, Calabar (Cross River State), Ilorin (Kwara State), Jalingo (Taraba State), Jos (Plateau State), Kano (Kano State), Lagos, Makurdi (Benue State), Minna (Niger State), Owerri (Imo State), Port Harcourt (Rivers State), and Uyo (Akwa Ibom State).

Picture of abandoned containers holding the materials for Akure airport’ cargo shed.

If you want to know more about all the abounded cargo terminals heres a link .

The Akure airport manager, Mrs. Cecilia Oguama, said passengers’ traffic has tremendously improved with the commencement of flight by Air Peace following a partnership arrangement between the airline and the Ondo State government.

Oguama explained that before now, the airport recorded low traffic of about 20 passengers but was excited that passengers’ traffic has increased.

She said, “It has increased tremendously, there was a time we were having ten, twenty but right now we are having passengers in thousands, and four thousand, five thousand per month.”

She said interest in the transportation of perishable goods has increased in the area and expressed the hope that the abandoned cargo airport would be included in next year’s budget to get the contractors back to site.

“We have suppliers coming to make enquiries about the cargo airport, this is a known for agriculture and most of their produce are taken by road. So they come to the airport for enquiries on the transportation of their goods,” Oguama added.

With category 06 fire tender at the airport, Oguama said the airport has been able to attend to fire incidents in the state which has attracted commendations from the Ondo State government.

“About four times, we have been able to assist them at night outside the airport when it doesn’t impede on our operations,” the airport manager emphasised.

While commending the management team of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for the quick response to issues at the airport, she said grass cutting has remained the greatest challenge at the airport.

Unlike other airports, Oguama revealed that the airport enjoys public power supply but noted that the voltage was always fluctuating.

The Akure airport boss expressed joy that the cashless transactions was working perfectly at the airport, saying that POS was available and commended the government for the introduction of cashless payment system.

Source: https://leadership.ng/2018/10/22/growth-in-passengers-traffic-excites-akure-airport-manager/

Bump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn8kEc2D6M4

Shipping goods to Nigeria by sea from the United States can leave a big hole in your pocket.

Analysis on overseas cargo and freight costs by MoverDB, an online resource for international shipping, shows that the cost of shipping both 20-foot and 40-foot containers to Lagos ports from New York is the most expensive globally. The report covers the shipping costs from New York and Los Angeles to 47 port cities globally.

The high costs of shipping to Nigeria do not correlate with distance. For instance, shipping from New York to Nigeria is nearly double the cost of shipping to South Africa even though Nigeria is closer, by nautical miles, to New York compared to South Africa.

Much of the high costs of shipping to Nigeria is tied up in entrenched inefficiency at its local ports. For starters, Nigeria has very few functional ports even though its economy—Africa’s largest—continues to rely heavily on imports. The slow pace of inspections and offloading of shipping arrivals means that congestion and bottlenecks are nearly perpetual in Nigeria’s biggest port in Apapa, Lagos. The ports’ inefficiencies have for years enabled and incentivized corruption from official and unofficial middle men promising to clear goods for a “fee”.

Last year, in a bid to ease import and export flow, the government launched reforms at the ports. The government worked to clear the ports of local touts who extort bribes and also mandated that the Apapa port run 24-hour operations. Yet, despite a federal executive order, neither measure has been fully implemented, according to a regular user of the port.

While the shipping prices in MoverDB’s report are accurate as of early 2017, anecdotal evidence suggests the reality hasn’t changed much since the reforms were introduced. Indeed, inefficiencies at the ports remained primed to allow clearing agents continue to play a key role in processing goods for importers while likely in cahoots with local customs officers. ”You can try to clear your container yourself but the problem is that customs will frustrate you. You have to go through an agent.” says the regular user, who asked not to be named as he still has to work with officials at the port.

Source: https://qz.com/africa/1417764/it-costs-more-to-ship-to-nigeria-from-the-us-than-anywhere-else/

They tell me their stocks arrive at Idenau via Oron, Ibaka and Delta in Nigeria. It takes about three days to get to the port from Delta in their wooden cotonou boats. Some of the vessels bring in more than 300,000 liters of oil in one trip.

Do these buy buy they're supply from pipelines vandals? It sounds like they could just as easily by gas at stations and move their product. If the demand for Nigerian fuel is so high Nigeria should look into expanding market their. Im guessing the issue is protectionism though.

The theft of crude oil in Nigeria has cost the country €9 billion in the last two years. DW's Fred Muvunyi traced the illicit flow of 'fungue' to a port across the border in Cameroon.

The noise of heavy vehicle traffic and portside traders greets you at Idenau on Cameroon's border with Nigeria. Vigilant gun-toting soldiers, police and security guards patrol the area. Journalists like me are closely monitored and severely restricted.

The soldiers are quick to warn that the use of any photographic or recording devices is strictly prohibited without written permission from the authorities.

With that clearance in hand, I make my way to the waterside to find fishermen who can tell me about the local industry, with the policewoman assigned to escort me in tow.

But why is there such a heavy smell of fuel in the air? What could that have to do with the fishing industry?

A man approaches cautiously and says he recognises me from a DW Facebook Live post. Where is the smell of oil coming from? Eyeing my unarmed official companion carefully, he slides closer and whispers: "This fuel is from Nigeria."

"I just came to buy some stuff, something illegal. With the challenges around, you need a place where you can earn a living," he confides.

I realize I've stumbled upon an area at the center of the cross-border flow of stolen Nigerian crude oil on this side of the border in Cameroon.

A few fuel smugglers and dealers are willing to talk to me, out of earshot of the police officer. They tell me their stocks arrive at Idenau via Oron, Ibaka and Delta in Nigeria. It takes about three days to get to the port from Delta in their wooden cotonou boats. Some of the vessels bring in more than 300,000 liters of oil in one trip.

Locals rely on 'fungue'

When the cotonou boats with the contraband cargo come in to anchor at Idenau, the port fills up with people. Fuel dealers, soldiers, police officers and customs officials are among them.

The 200-liter drums and jerrycans of fuel are offloaded and sold portside, or driven away on trucks. "People come from all over to buy, from Yaounde, Limbe, Douala and all the towns around," one of the dealers says.

Despite the risk of prosecution, the locals say they have no choice but to use the black market fuel they call "fungue" or zoazoa" to fill up their cars.

"We buy fungue because we don't have filling stations here," Mike Mujong, one of the dealers, says.

Soldiers trading in fuel

The soldiers and police officers are as much a part of the trade in the stolen fuel as the dealers.

"The security personnel seize this fuel from the guys who are selling. They put it in their cars and meet those who have settled [bribed] them and sell the fuel back to them," Mbella Yondo, a taxi driver, says.

On the road out of Idenau to Buea via Limbe, the extent of the illicit fuel trade is apparent. Fuel traders ply their trade at makeshift roadside structures, as soldiers mill about outside.

Residents and soldiers in these communities in south west Cameroon say they supplement their meager earnings by trading in the fuel.

It is not surprising that the government's efforts to curb it repeatedly hit a deadend, Yondo says.

"Why do they say it's illegal when it's being sold by military personnel in the government service vehicles?"

Some of the smugglers even suggest that the government relies on their business to keep the jobless masses quiet.

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, with a maximum crude production capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day. The Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC) recently estimated that the theft of crude oil cost the country about 3.8 trillion Naira (€9 billion, $10.4 billion) in 2016 and 2017.

Cameroon itself has a crude oil output of some 81,000 barrels per day, making it Africa's 12th largest oil producer.

A liter of stolen Nigerian fuel costs 500 CFA (€0.90 cents) on Cameroon's black market, whereas a petrol station charges 700 CFA for fuel from the country's only oil refinery - located just eight miles (12.8 km) outside of Idenau.

I can still smell the fumes as I write about oil instead of fishing, although the taste of that traditional dish prepared with the catch of the day in Idenau lingers too.

Source: https://allafrica.com/stories/201810200078.html

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA – VICE President Yemi Osinbajo has assured that there was no plan by the Federal Government to sell the Ajaokuta Steel Complex.

This was disclosed by Governor Yahaha Bello of Kogi State after meeting behind closed doors with the Vice President on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Bello said, “First of all, the Vice President, being the Chairman of the National Economic Council, we came to make some enquiries from him over the purported sale of Ajaokuta Steel Complex and he has indicated that there is nothing like that.

“He said there is no plan by the Federal Government to sale Ajaokuta Steel Company. The VP said Ajaokuta is an asset of the Federal Government and that they are looking into how best to make good use of that particular complex for the benefit of Nigerians at large.

“Also, we are going to coronate the new Oba of Kabba on Saturday, we came to notify him as a father of the event that is coming up on Saturday and to seek for his blessings.”

On the preparation for 2019 general elections he said, every primary can be rancorous and everybody can hustle for one ticket or the other. I can assure you that we have a capable leadership of the party in President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Also, we have our able chairman, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomole who is doing his best to ensure that the party is strong and the party is really very strong.

“As for the general elections, in Kogi State, we are one hundred percent ready and we are going to sweep all the state and by the grace of God, we shall bring out a vote that has never been witnessed in the North Central by the Grace of God. I can assure you as well that the 2019 elections for Mr President, it’s going to be a walk over by the grace of God.”

Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/10/no-plan-to-sell-ajaokuta-steel-plant-osinbajo-2/

SarkinYarki:
Buhari govts lies being busted left right centre

Read the article and stop acting like a NPC. Bloomberg gathered the stats from NBS. You can complain about the agricultural policy or how much of an impact the flooding had on farmers output.

Wheat imports by Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, rose 31 percent in the second quarter on increased demand amid declining local production, according to official data.

The West African country imported 1.36 million metric tons of wheat between April and June compared with 1.04 million tons in the first three months of the year, port data published by the National Bureau of Statistics show. The orders from the U.S., Russia, Canada and Germany cost 114.8 billion naira ($315.7 million) compared with 87.4 billion naira in the first quarter.

Output by local wheat farmers is constrained by the high cost of inputs such as fertilizer and lack of access to storage facilities, Salim Mohammed, president of the Wheat Growers Association of Nigeria, said in a phone interview from the northern city of Kano.

“There has been minimal support to the farmers who are growing the crop,” he said.

Nigeria, the world’s number 10 buyer of wheat, spent $4.4 billion on imports last year and plans to cut shipments 60 percent by 2025, according to the agriculture ministry. Most of the wheat is milled into flour for bakeries or used to produce pasta and other wheat-based foods.

Nigeria’s wheat production stood at 60,000 tons at the end of the 2016-17 season, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. is the biggest exporter of the grain to Nigeria, with 3.3 million tons arriving in 2017, followed by Russia with 1.7 million tons, according to Nigeria’s agriculture ministry.

Nigeria’s wheat is grown mainly in irrigated farms in the northern region’s cool, dry season from November to April. New varieties that also thrive in the wet season planted in the country’s central plains were affected adversely by widespread flooding this year, farmers said.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2018-10-18/nigeria-wheat-imports-jump-31-in-second-quarter-port-data-show

SinoHydro, the Chinese firm that should have moved to site to commence rehabilitation of the railway tracks is yet to do so.

Well the Government needs to pressure SinoHydro to get to work since they are catalyst to get the whole project working. The project will have alot of benefit since cargo can move goods cheaper and safer. Some of the truckers will will start doing short routes.

There are indications that the revised commencement of rehabilitation work by November this year on the 1,800 kilometer Lagos to Kano narrow gauge rail project may suffer a fresh set back, BusinessDay learnt.

This is because SinoHydro, the Chinese firm that should have moved to site to commence rehabilitation of the railway tracks is yet to do so. In August this year GE dropped its lead role in the consortium given the concession to rehabilitate the rail line to South Africa based railway giant, Transnet.

The Federal Government had to enter into another round of negotiation with Transnet to forestall any stoppage of the rehabilitation of the combined 3,500 kilometers narrow gauge lines across the country.
A top official of Transnet told BusinessDay on the sidelines of FT Africa summit that the company has formally written to Ministry of Transportation and has gotten approval to lead the $2 billion railway rehabilitation work.

GE was initially the lead in the consortium, which has SinoHydro, a leading infrastructure construction services corporation, Transnet, a leader in transportation and logistics infrastructure management and APM Terminals, a global port, terminal and intermodal inland services provider as members.

According to the Transnet top official, the Federal Ministry of Finance has already issued a $45 million standby credit for the interim phase of the railway rehabilitation project to take off in November.
Out of the $45 million, about $19 million is to be given to Transnet to bring in about 200 flatbed wagons to move containers from the Apapa ports, another $20 million is to be given Chinese SinoHydro for the rehabilitation of the railway tracks up to Ilorin in Kwara state while the balance of $6 million will be given to GE to rehabilitate 10 coaches. JP Morgan is supposed to monetise the US$45 million standby letters of credit.
However, plans for the interim phase of the project to take off in November could be delayed if the repairs to the tracks are not completed before that date.

He said that there would be no need to bring new wagons into the country if the tracks are not reliable.” We would not want new wagons to be brought only for them to derailed”
He disclosed that the federal government is eager that the project commences ahead of the election but chances are slim that it would commence given that there is no indication that SinoHydro has moved to site.

Fidet Okhiria, managing director of Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) said he was in a meeting and could not speak when BusinessDay contacted him to confirm when SinoHydro will move to site.
But Abdul Omayele Usman, a keen follower of ongoing railway rehabilitation projects across the country who spoke to our reporter disclosed at the time of filing this report, that, there is no sign that preliminary refurbishment has commenced on the narrow gauge lines.

In the interim phase of the rail concession, Remedial Works will be carried out on part of the narrow-gauge rail line system to make it technically and economically operable.

In addition, a joint operation will be established between the Consortium and the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) with an initial supply of 10 locomotives and 200 wagons to augment the existing rolling stock in Nigeria.

The program is expected to deliver an increase in the number of available locomotives, thus increasing the frequency of passenger and freight rail services. In addition, freight haulage capacity by the end of the first 12 months of the interim phase is expected to increase roughly ten-fold, from its current less than 50,000 metric tonnes per annum to about 500,000 metric tonnes per annum.

Over the decades, Nigeria’s dilapidated rail system which serves as the artery of any economy has given rise to man hours lost on the road due to its bad condition.
Patrick Adenusi, chief executive officer, Safety Beyond Borders commended the concession deal reached between both parties, describing it as one of the best ways to go.

According to him, it will make the haulage of goods and services easier and at a cheaper, reduce fatalities and reduce vehicular pressure on the road.
He expressed worry that Nigeria has lost enormous resources by not investing in the rail network, spending huge sums of resources in building roads that cannot be maintained and wasting huge amount of resources on rickety trucks importation which constitutes safety hazard.

Source: https://www.theleadingpost.com/2018/10/16/november-date-for-2bn-lagos-kano-rail-rehabilitation-doubtful.html

They should regulate how security vote funds are used by states. Transperncy International and a bunch of academics have written about how uts abused. Bubari was interested enough to probe Benue about it.

The Bill for an Act to establish the National Security Trust Fund for security activities passed second reading at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The 26-clause bill, which seeks to provide for the maintenance of a Trust Fund, will cater for the procurement of military infrastructure and technology for security agencies in the country.

Moving the motion, Rep. Rimamnde Kwewum (PDP-Taraba), explained that the model of the trust fund would centralise planning for proper coordination of resources and manpower.

Kwewum argued that the trust fund would ensure a predictable income base which would facilitate investment in Defence and Security Industry.

According to him, it will also ensure long term loans and facilities for potential investors and increase public-private partnership.

“The trust fund will also help in the reduction of the infrastructure and equipment deficiency in the security agencies and will create a globally based practice of both legislative and civilian oversight of the security sector.

“The existing legal order providing for security agencies in Nigeria include but not limited to the Police Act of 2004; the National Security Agencies Act of 2004; the Armed Forces Act of 2004 and the National Security and Civil Defence Corps Act of 2003.

“The bill x-rays further that its sources of funding will come from 5% of value added tax accruable to Consolidated Revenue Fund, 5% of the licence fees collected by the Nigeria Communication Commission ( NCC) and 5% of the 2.5% Operating Tax Telecom operators pay to NCC, among others,” he said.

Corroborating Kwewum’s remarks, Rep Adamu Kamale (APC-Adamawa) said the bill would go a long way in ameliorating the problem in the industry.

On his part, Rep Nicholas Ossai (PDP-Delta) faulted the bill, saying “the foundation of the bill is wrong”.

”Every decision of the bill is totally wrong. We must conceive a law that would be accepted to all Nigerians,” Ossai said.

Contributing, the Leader of the House, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, said that the security agencies needed to be funded as they had no resources of their own.

He added that Lagos state has had a trust fund to fund its security operations.

The lawmaker maintained that it had been agreed that the budget for the security agencies should not be funded by the annual budget.

“We need to think outside the box,” he said.

The bill was unanimously adopted when the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara, put it to a voice vote and referred it to the Committees on Defence and National Intelligence.

Source: https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2018/10/16/national-security-trust-fund-bill-scales-second-reading/

He said the term border was gradually becoming a political problem and wondered how the South would talk when it is the North that set the arbitrary borders.

I dont understand his point. What does north and south mean in this context. The author should have clarified.

According to Babandede, as Africans we must help the North collectively from having extreme government, the North needs labour due to aging population and migrants do not have to die in the desert or sea.

I really doubt north Africa or north Nigerian Nigerian have aging population. Lol when birthrate is 3-5 children how is thst possible.

The Controller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr. Muhammad Babandede, has called for a balance between trade facilitation and border security.Babandede made the call at the 16th Border Regions in Transition Conference held at the University of Ibadan in Oyo State in south-western Nigeria.

The theme of the conference was ”North-South Dialogue on Border Management “, and organised by the Peace and Strategic Studies of the University of Ibadan in conjunction with the Universite d’Abomey-Calvi, Cotonu, Benin Republic.

He said the term border was gradually becoming a political problem and wondered how the South would talk when it is the North that set the arbitrary borders.

“One of the bitter, but lasting legacy of colonial rule in Africa is the international colonial boundaries. Border control is the issue of national sovereignty, national security, safe economy and cultural protection.

`’That explains the reason for nationalism wall building, emergence of new government which is a political toy,” he said.

According to Babandede, as Africans we must help the North collectively from having extreme government, the North needs labour due to aging population and migrants do not have to die in the desert or sea.

He disclosed that Europe alone is currently absorbing 2 million migrants annually which, he said, was too much to cope with.

He noted that the trend might increase by 40 percent in the next 40 years, according to the prediction of the United Nations.

“Africa is the greatest concern of the UN because our border is their border, the key issue for elections — North-South dialogue on border management — requires a frank talk.

”Unless we dialogue, walls will be built because of certain concern, we need to dialogue to find out how migrants from the South can walk in the North legally,” he said.

The Comptroller-General, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the approval of visa on arrival for Africans, saying that the modalities are being worked out.

”By implication, our borders are opening more between the South-South. Our borders are wide open to those government investors, who will bring industries rather than buy our raw materials,” Babandede said.

He called on all stakeholders in the security sector to be more proactive and contribute to the formulation of policies on borders and security.

Declaring the conference open, Oyo State Governor, Mr. Abiola Ajimobi, said it was pertinent to address the centrifugal and centripetal forces responsible for human trans-border migration.

He said the trend was aided by the free movement across borders and that it had created huge security threats in the sub-region.

The governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Adeyemo, said: “Traffickers, terrorists and armed bandits, among others, have taken advantage of the free movement to traverse the sub-regional borders without major challenges.”

”Consequently, this forum is expected to offer tremendous boost to current global and domestic efforts to identify, analyze and tackle frontally the threats and challenges associated with the trans-borders issues.

”The issues of proliferation of small ammunition and light weapons arising from persistent internal conflicts in some African countries in North Africa is equally worth considering,” he said.

Source: http://apanews.net/en/news/nigeria-wants-balance-between-trade-facilitation-border-security

Darls247:
I don't trust this government o..are you sure they're not lying

Order a new passport in December.

This makes me question how valuable Leah Sharibu is as a bargaining chip or slave. If her she outlives her useglfulness they might just kill her. Who knows why they murdered Hauwa Liman. Oh well the government end war for its own sake.

The Boko Haram has killed another worker of the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the ICRC on Sunday raised alarm that the Boko Haram threatened to kill Hauwa Liman within the next 24 hours.

Ms Liman was kidnapped alongside others in March in Rann, Borno State, when the insurgents attacked a camp for displaced persons.

One of the kidnapped aid workers, Saifura Khorsa, had been killed in September.

Reacting to the murder of Ms Liman, the Nigerian government said it is shocked and saddened at the Monday killing.

The government said the aid worker was killed despite the actions taken by the government and the widespread appeal to save the young woman.

After the September murder of Ms Khorsa, the Boko Haram released a video threatening to kill Ms Liman and Leah Sharibu, one of the schoolgirls abducted at Government Secondary School, Dapchi in Yobe State last year.

In a statement issued in London on Monday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, described Monday’s killing as “dastardly, inhuman and ungodly”, saying nothing can justify the shedding of the blood of innocent people.

He commiserated with the family of the aid worker, and said the federal government did all within its powers to save her life.

”It is very unfortunate that it has come to this. Before and after the deadline issued by her abductors, the federal government did everything any responsible government should do to save the aid worker.

”As we have been doing since these young women were abducted, we kept
the line of negotiations open all through. In all the negotiations, we acted in the best interest of the women and the country as a whole.

”We are deeply pained by this killing, just like we were by the recent killing of the first aid worker. However, we will keep the negotiations open and continue to work to free the innocent women who remain in the custody of their abductors,” the minister said.

Mr Mohammed thanked all the friendly governments that have continued to work with Nigeria for the safe release of the abducted women, and the clerics across religious lines who have been pleading for their release.

In a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES Monday evening, ICRC representative in Abuja, Matijevic Mosimann, said the Red Cross would issue a statement on Tuesday.

“We have seen media reports about the possible murder of another worker. But right now, I cannot deny or confirm the report. We will issue a statement on the matter tomorrow.

“If it is true, this will be quite unfortunate,not only for ICRC but for all humanitarian workers all over the world,” Ms Mosimann said.

The Boko Haram insurgency has caused about 100,000 deaths since 2009, according to the Borno State Government.

Despite the efforts of security forces, the insurgents still carry out attacks on civilian and military targets in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/290558-nigerian-govt-reacts-as-boko-haram-kills-another-red-cross-staff.html

He said that the president had directed that NIS officers should patronise the bushes unlike the street patrol system which operated before his administration.

Good news for everyone. The drivers licenses should also be valid for 10 years instead of 3. Im guessing they just want extra cash. I respect the common measures this administration is taking in securing borders. I dont understand why past leaders never bothered with this issue.

Lol why is Buhari waiting on him to resign. Just fire and prosecute him already. His foolishness is too much.

Mohammed Babandede, Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), has said that the issuance of Nigerian Passport with 10 years validity will commence in December, 2018.

Mr Babandede made the disclosure when he visited Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State on Monday in Ibadan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the immigration boss and some senior officers were in Ibadan for the first International Conference on Border In-Transition at the University of Ibadan.

He explained that the new passport would have features that could stand the test of time, adding that it would run concurrently with the old ones.

“We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the new passport with 10 years validity.

“We have also repositioned and improved on our services as directed by the president,” he said.

Mr Babandede said NIS had also improved accessibility to visa through the introduction of visa-on-arrival for immigrants whose countries had no embassy.

“We have initiated the centralisation of temporary work permit for immigrants who are in the country for a temporary assignment as well as made it easy for women to do change of name across the states.

“We have also introduced forward-front-border patrol to curtail activities of smugglers and criminals within the border areas.

“We will continue to ensure adequate security of the border and country at large,” he said.

He said that the president had directed that NIS officers should patronise the bushes unlike the street patrol system which operated before his administration.

In his response, Mr Ajimobi charged NIS to ensure regular monitoring of the nation’s borders for the sustenance of peace in the country.

Mr Ajimobi, who was represented by his deputy, Moses Adeyemo, admonished the NIS boss to initiate policies towards checking illegal immigrants into the country.

He urged them to improve on border policing and ensure recruitment of credible people into the service. (NAN)

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/290558-nigerian-govt-reacts-as-boko-haram-kills-another-red-cross-staff.html

Lamenting the ill treatment the state receives from the Federal Governor, the governor decried that, “A state whose allocation cannot pay its monthly wages being number 35 out of 36 in the allocation table and the third most indebted state in the country

“to please give us the necessary approvals to fast truck the execution of these dream projects that will not only enhance our economic status

What other approvals does the state need? The FG gave conditional EIA after state failed 3 times. The only thing FG hasnt done is decide to fund it. Im not sure the FG was unfair to Cross River. The only critism you can levy is regarding Baksssi is FG refusing to appeal judgement in 2012 and maybe not just going straight to war 2003 if your hawkish. Anyway i hope he gets his second term I want see how this plays out.

By Admin

Cross River State Government has appealed to the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency, fast track processes that will bring about the immediate commencement of actual construction work on its signature projects, the proposed Bakassi Deep Seaport and the 275 kilometers Superhighway.

The state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade made the call in Calabar when he received in audience the Chairman and members of the Bakassi Deep Seaport Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee in company of the project Transaction Financial Advisor prior to their 3-Day fact finding mission to the state.

Ayade who also used the occasion to inaugurate the Project Delivery Team pleaded with the Federal Government “to please give us the necessary approvals to fast truck the execution of these dream projects that will not only enhance our economic status but also attract foreign earnings for the country because as a matter of fact, what we face today was orchestrated by them, occasioned by the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroun and they must support us to fine our bearing, given our comparative advantage as a coastal state.”

Continuing Ayade appealed: “So, we found ourselves before you supplicating for clemency and understanding that we are not seeking as investors but what to us are fundamental issues of existentialism. Unfortunately, I find myself in a macabre dance where anyhow I twist; I am going to have a pain. The only way out therefore, is to turn back to you.”

He further stressed that “there is an urgency, as all the traditional rulers including the Obong of Calabar had gathered to lead a protest that these projects were going to die. And you know if I did not get my nomination back as a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the project would have been dead by now. I plead with you to rescue the state from this economic woes by taking the assignment as a service to humanity and God. Please use your expertise to do the needful for the actualisation of the projects.”

Urging the group to live up to the expectations in delivery on the task, he said: “Please let us not allow that child (Deep Seaport) to die. The journey started officially in 2015, though I had conceived it two years before then with the dream that Cross River State had lost her oil wells and the Bakassi Peninsular and became a weeping child in the comity of states.

“As a result, the state has been reduced to want in body, spirit and in soul as no amount of tourism without an under pinning industry will allow Cross River survive, particularly in the post-restructured Nigeria.”

According to the governor, “So, it was clear to me that as a maritime state, the only way forward was to create a sustainable economy, knowing the international trading history that Nigeria is the eleventh trading partner with China and as estimated, by 2025 to 2030 Nigeria will be the top three trading partner with China.”

Rationalising his assertion, Ayade noted that, “The implication is that, imports into the country will go up as Nigeria industrialised. Obviously, this country cannot afford to operate only one maritime gateway which is Lagos. As we continue our desperate search for an alternative to Bakassi and subsequent loss oil wells, we came to this crystallised position that with the deep seaport and 275 kilometers superhighway as an evacuation corridor to northern part of Nigeria, we would have an anchor solution.”

Lamenting the ill treatment the state receives from the Federal Governor, the governor decried that, “A state whose allocation cannot pay its monthly wages being number 35 out of 36 in the allocation table and the third most indebted state in the country, those statistics confront any governor, no matter how smart or intelligent or how rich you are. The issues therefore, are such that I cannot continue to watch and wait on the federal allocation hence I initiated the process to decouple the state from its over dependency on the federal government.

“There is no way we can progress under the current structured federal republic, which allows you to do any other thing that is domestic but any thing that has to do with maritime, you must refer to the federal government because we are truly not federated as it were. It is obvious that we have to be handheld by the federal government if we must make progress,” he stressed.

The governor disclosed that, “while we were waiting for the outcome of the interface of the transaction adviser, we showed our desperation and commitment to the project by starting the design process of the sea port, de-bushing and mapping out the route for the superhighway, completed and legally acquired 100 percent approval for the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) because the two are twin projects. You cannot do the deep seaport without an evacuation corridor else we will find ourselves where Lagos is today.”

Continuing, he said: “In order to wet the appetite of the investors, we decided that the lest we could do is that anytime the investors come, having gotten the necessary approvals they will arrive at the sites surprise that they are not meeting a green project but one that has taken off already.

“So, as we speak, these projects are already in action, the superhighway route design, including opening it up from Bakassi to northern Nigeria has been completed. We did that over a year ago. Today, the key wall and the entire over 175 hectares of land for the seaport logistics have been fully cleared and completely opened up,” the governor hinted.

While enumerating some of the benefits of the two projects and how it will transform the socio-economic landscape of the country, Ayade stated that, “These projects are not a Cross River’s, not even Nigeria’s but African projects. Our brothers in northern Africa are land locked and hemmed in. our brothers in Niger and Chad Republic have officially written to us seeking access to the proposed sea port to invest but waiting for Federal Government approval.”

Charging the inter ministerial team, Ayade intoned that, “You are here to perform a task that is anointed by God himself because if Allah does not will it, we won’t come this far. If it was not the power of God, every thing that has come together to frustrate us, we would not be talking about it today. However, It took the President to personally call every one involved to order and commanded that the project starts. Mr. President has given the project his full support but resources have held us down.”

Earlier, Chairman of the team and Chairman Bakassi Deep Seaport Steering Committee, Alhaji Galadanchi said the team was in the state to review the report of the recently acquired Financial Advisor to the project with the view to taking the necessary step for its smooth take off.

He assured the government and people of the state that the committee would be very professional in the discharge of its assigned duties and solicited the full cooperation of all relevant agencies to deliver on the task that will see to the speedy execution of the project.

Source: https://calabarreporters.com/36987/ayade-appeals-fg-deep-seaport

I'll be pretty impressed if the dry port is ready by December. It would be something to campaign with. Keep in mind Edo is getting dry port and River port.

Im guessing the six original dry ports will be ready in this order, Plateau, Kano, Oyo, Abia, Katsina then Borno. The rail lines that will have standard guage lines first will be Oyo, Kaduna Kano, Katsina via Lagos-Kano standard guage railway. The other eventually will.

By Ruona Isikeh

Officials of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) have arrived in Benin City to inspect facilities at the AMES-Edo Dry Port that would enable a smooth take-off of the port.

The port, NSC said, would make Edo the desired business hub in the South South region.

Mr Lekan Adekanbi, Chairman, Project Monitoring Committee, Nigerian Shippers Council, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that Edo would get an uplift with the multiplier effects the import and export activities of AMES-Edo Dry Port would bring.

Adekanbi said he and his team were in the State for an on the spot inspection of facilities on ground for the commencement of operations at the port in December.

He also disclosed that the Edo Government was in a Public Private Partnership agreement (PPP) with Atlantique Marine and Engineering Services (AMES), promoters of the project.

He also said that the project had the support of the Federal Government.

He told NAN that the objective of the project was to bring shipping activities closer to manufacturers as well as drive industrialisation in state and neighbouring states.

“I am pleased with the work going on here, they have told me their challenges and weaknesses.

“This project is a gigantic one, which in some years’ time will import and export goods all over the world”.

“The only difference between this port and the port in Ikeja is water,this is a dry pot,” he said.

Adekanbi further said that he was impressed with the work done in the dry port considering the short timing when the project commenced. (NAN)

Source: https://www.nan.ng/economy/nsc-inspects-edos-dry-port/

setting up local production capacity for locomotives and wagons in the medium term, while the long term is the establishment of a Transportation University.

I see why G.E was the sole bidder now. The federal government made a lot of demands. I think the government should expand existing universities institutions instead of staring brand new ones. The manufacturing facility is good idea. I prefer it run by private sector.

The governor, however, disclosed that the state government deploys about N1 billion to payment of pensions monthly and about N7 billion for salaries of the workers in the state.

According to the governor, the state workforce stands at about 50,000.

7 billion ÷ 50k = 140k per month. Unless he means yearly that only adds 11,666.

Stop projecting G.E stands for general electric. Jonathan wasn't mentioned once in the story but you found a way to shoe horn in conversation.

Kenekingisback:
See how they are mentioning GE, GE in the story still obsessed with GEJ.

Politicians sef

Seventeen months after its expected take-off, the narrow gauge is still in limbo, raising fears that it may never materialise. The question whether the narrow gauge concession to General Electric (GE) will ever materialise has been boggling the minds of many since May, last year, writes Yinka Aderibigbe.

Seventeen months after its proposed take-off, the railway concession, which is meant to inject $5.5 million into modernising the rolling stock of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has remained on paper.

If it had taken off, the General Electric (GE)  in accordance with the interim agreement which was meant to run for the first 12 months, would have injected 20 locomotives and commenced the takeover of NRC’s assets and liabilities  in line with the concession agreement.

The concession initially had all the trappings of being the biggest signature project of repositioning conceived by the Buhari administration for the corporation.

However, the administration was almost at a loss to convince the world that concessioning the obsolete narrow gauge to the GE was the best after all.

Burdened by the need to secure funds to help modernise and run the corporation, the Buhari administration had thought of concessioning the railway. According to Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, the government is primed on delivering a standard gauge and premium railway transportation to Nigerians for goods and services movement.

At a roundtable last year, the Minister had disclosed that the GE was actually poised to begin operation with 100 locomotives.

Asked last month on the current status, Amaechi was at a loss for words, avoiding any matter relating to the narrow gauge concession.

According to him, under the administration, railway has received unprecedented attention.

The administration’s adoption of a new funding paradigm, which is to bring renowned investors such as the American leading corporation into a critical sector like the railway, promises to overhaul the nation’s transport architecture.

This is aimed at creating hundreds of primary and secondary job opportunities for the transportation industry. But that was as far as hope could go. Right now, the hope of creating jobs dims by the day.

The over-concentration of the country’s transportation on road mode has badly impacted on the economy. Nigeria was ranked 182nd of 189 countries on trading across borders by the World Bank in its last year’s “Doing Business” report.

The cost and time taken to import and export are well above the average for sub-Saharan Africa and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) high-income countries.

Amaechi had disclosed that the GE was also committed to the establishment of a Transportation University to train qualified personnel for the sector.

“One of the conditions we gave  the GE was for them to come here and build a Transportation University and they agreed,” Amaechi said.

The good thing about concession is that the mode saves the government a lot of money, which is put to other use to create more jobs.

To NRC workers, however, the delay is a welcome development as it postpones the rationalisation, that must of consequence follow the concession agreement.

A top official of the Nigeria Union of Railway (NUR), who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the union is keeping watch on the development and will respond adequately in defence of its members anytime the concession agreement takes off.

Besides the gray issues of rationalisation, the workers said the concession agreement might have run into stormy waters over the scope of operational coverage of the agreement. While the GE insisted on working only on the Lagos axis of the freight business, shuttling between Apapa to Ebute Metta, thus ensuring that cargoes that leave the ports end up at Ebute Metta, the Federal Government has insisted that the new investor do not only run freights on the entire spectrum of the 1200 kilometres Lagos-Kano narrow gauge, but include passenger traffic as its flagship offering.

According to the government, the injection of new and modern locomotives will undoubtedly increase freight traffic between the ports and inland dry cargo terminals, especially in the Northern part of the country.

The NUR had at several fora insisted that none of its members should suffer or be sacked unjustly when the concessioned agreement fully rolls off. They also insisted that the concession agreement should not cover the NUR property, which spread across virtually all the states of the country.

In spite of the delays in concession take-off, the GE International Operations (Nigeria) Limited Transportation Business Development Executive, Mr. Eyo Ekpo, praised the Federal Government for demonstrating the political will to end to the rot in the rail sector.

He said the determination to run the two spectrum of the railway – narrow and standard gauges under the concession initiative, is aimed at creating new funding formula that will ensure that the system continues to be modernised at no cost to the government.

“The GE had resolved not to cut corners in helping Nigeria fix all issues on the development of its rail system. We prefer to go through a process that produces outcomes that are, ultimately, sustainable. There is political will, there is process and there is a plan, all put together by the government and if you combine that with what the GE consortium is bringing to the table, what you’ll expect is an outcome that is actually credible and sustainable, one that will be beneficial to Nigerians,” he said.

Ekpo lamented the decay in the rail system and wondered how the nation with population of over 180 million had survived almost exclusively on road mode of transportation, with the rail playing virtually no role in the transport plan.

According to Ekpo, the GE’s plan was to resuscitate and expand the narrow gauge rail infrastructure along the railway value-chain across the country.

Giving more insights into the concession objective, Ekpo said the Federal Government was looking forward to the American firm setting up local production capacity for locomotives and wagons in the medium term, while the long term is the establishment of a Transportation University.

“The government set out objectives for the rail construction; it was not just about completing a railway line. There was also the other bit, which set up local manufacturing capacity both for locomotives and wagons, within the country.

“The second is the training of human resources, which is not just only a university, but a post-graduate training centre and the GE are fully  committed in writing to achieving it,” Ekpo said.

Though transportation and logistics experts have continued to express fear about “some unreliability of the terms of the contract,” Amaechi again assured that the government was committed to the sanctity of contracts on concession of projects.

He said the government would not only guarantee its concession agreements, partnerships and contracts, but implement those it inherited and safeguard them from being truncated.

The involvement of the private sector, especially in railway system, is the outcome of the amendment of the Nigerian Railway Act 1954, which removed the exclusivity of financing the system hitherto vested on the Federal Government.

Despite the hitches, the Transportation Minister insisted that attracting the private sector into the rail system was the best way out if the nation must join the rest of the world in deploying modern train systems to resolve mass transit challenges facing the country.

Citing the GE’s bold moves to revolutionise activities of the narrow gauge, he said, if one considers that it was coming at no cost to the government, then it ought to be supported and the government praised for discovering willing partners in putting new impetus to the moribund rail system.

NRC Managing Director, Mr. Fidet Okhiria, said the GE’s participation remained the only way by which railway could fulfill its mandate of providing cheap, affordable and reliable mass transit services to Nigerians.

He said Nigerians have the requisite experience and exposure to drive a very efficient and effective railway. He welcomed the bold step to see the government develop local capacity for repairs and production of essential components and hardware needed to run an efficient railway services.

With the coming of the GE, there may be improvement in the NRC’s operations with passengers getting a fair deal.

The other leg of the argument is that GE’s involvement will stimulate active participation of other corporate players. But how far can this argument be sustained with the GE’s continued absence in the nation’s railway sector? Will the government be disposed to ensuring competition on a turf that has almost become extinct in the transportation mode?

Source: http://thenationonlineng.net/narrow-gauge-a-concession-gone-awry/

The governor explained that government’s plan was to develop the airport into a cargo airport, adding that since government could not effectively manage the facility, it resolved to engage the private sector.

Delta wants International opperations and cargo airport. The aviation space looking interesting. Lets see if they can get it done.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State on Friday disclosed that the state’s annual Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has hit N51 billion.

The governor stated this at the 14th All Nigeria Editors Conference in Asaba, the state capital.

According to him, the IGR was as low as N30 billion in 2016 and following some re-engineering, his administration was able to increase it to N51 billion annually.

He noted that government was able to increase its revenue by making sure that all target groups including the market women were captured in the tax system.

“We were able to collect taxes from the market women not just as tax but also as premium for the state health insurance scheme, which they benefit from by paying their taxes,” he said.

He also explained that to effectively manage the Asaba Airport, and improve on the state’s IGR, the government had put necessary machinery in place to commercialise or privatise the airport.

He said the airport, which was downgraded in 2014 had now been upgraded to category six, to enable it take bigger planes like Boeing 737.

The governor explained that government’s plan was to develop the airport into a cargo airport, adding that since government could not effectively manage the facility, it resolved to engage the private sector.

“We got technical advice to privatise or commercialise the airport and we have published for investors to bid for it,” he said.

The governor, however, disclosed that the state government deploys about N1 billion to payment of pensions monthly and about N7 billion for salaries of the workers in the state.

According to the governor, the state workforce stands at about 50,000.

(NAN)

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/south-south-regional/290125-delta-igr-hits-n51-billion.html