₦airaland Forum

By Godfrey Bivbere & Ebuka Oko
The Anambra State government has entered into partnership with a South African company, Arup, to construct a 14,000 Twenty Equivalent Unit, TEUs capacity Inland Container Depot to be located at Ozubulu.

The first phase of the facility is expected to be completed before the end of this year.

The entire project would have a train station, a bonded terminal, dry port and export zone at completion.

The project, to be known as Anambra Bonded Terminal and Freight Station Limited, is expected to serve traders in both Onitsha and Nnewi.

Disclosing this to Vanguard Maritime Report, consultant to the project and National President of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, Tony Iju Nwabunike, said the project is fashioned after that of Kaduna ICD.

According to him, “It is about 14,000 TEUs. We have two phases.  We are doing phase one now.

“The whole project is what we should expect because it is large and they are having an institution there too. So it is going to be a total composition of train station, bonded terminal, dry port and export station. Anambra state government is really working on that.

“It is located at Ozubulu, just 15 kilometers from Onitsha, Onitsha-Owerri road and 10km to Nnewi.’’

On how to move containers to the facility when completed he said, “Just like we are moving containers to Kaduna ICD because the train station is not working yet. Even in  “Kaduna, we are moving the containers there without train. Most of them are by road.

“Jigawa State can’t be industrialised because all the industries are in Kano, we cannot be centre of commerce because Kano is already a centre of commerce.

By Ben Agande, Kaduna

Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru has said that the state will soon start the exportation of goats to Kuwaiti and other Arab countries as its goats multiplication farming programme begins to yields results.

The state government had distributed over 600 goats to 220 women in 2016 Jigawa State in its goats multiplication farming programme.

Each of the women were given three goats and they were expected to make certain returns to the government over a certain period.

Governor Badaru who spoke at a seminar on “Validation Workshop on Capacity Gaps for Implementing Holistic Empowerment for Livelihood Programme (HELP)” noted that 90 percent of the women who benefitted from the programme have abided the conditions by returning three goats each to the government as interest on the goats earlier distributed to them.

“As soon as we have enough of these goats we will export them to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, just to mention a few. In Jigawa we have been able to produce large number of goats after distributing 3 goats each to over 600 women. Now we have large number of goats which in the next few months or years we will be able to export the necessary requirements to Kuwait.

“For you to know how serious we take agriculture in Jigawa, we discuss it every Monday at council meeting.

The governor said because it cannot compete with its bigger neighbour in terms of industrialisation, it had resorted to its area of comparative advantage.

He disclosed that Dangote rice farming has a robust out-grower scheme covering a piloted area of 8’000 hectares, which he said involved 5,000 farmers, launched in Hago village of Kafin-Hausa local government area of the State.

“Jigawa State can’t be industrialised because all the industries are in Kano, we cannot be centre of commerce because Kano is already a centre of commerce.

“But we are not relying on oil revenue because oil Well will soon be history if it runs dry, and for us to survive as a State, we have to work on competitiveness.

“We have to develop our people, our business, develop our agriculture, and this will enable us to keep the State abreast if the oil Well dry up. So agriculture is our life line.

“We have trained over 145,000 youths across the State on rice planting implement, to plant and transplant. We also trained women on rice parboiling. So we have developed alot of jobs on rice value chains. We doing same in Tomatoes, groundnut sectors. etc.

“Our being here is to discuss agriculture because it is a duty we must do for our people” he said.

The workshop was organised by the Arewa Research Development Project in collaboration with Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa and the Nigeria Once tive based Risk sharing system for agricultural lending.

The committee also noted that the contract was awarded on the 27th September, 2005 but the agreement was signed on 30th January 2006, however mobilization of N820million was paid on 9th November 2005 before entering into a formal agreement. 
The committee therefore concluded that the contract for the Science Park did not follow due process.

The company, as earlier stated is an architectural firm based in South Africa. Its claim to have built the Innovation Hub in South Africa was discovered by the House of Assembly Committee to be false. According to the report, the company has not developed nor has it ever been part of the development of such a project in any part of the world.

docadams:
Without decommissioning Atiku's Intel the ports will never operate to their full capacity

For Eteidung James Samuel Akpan, the village head of Ndueotong Oku in Uyo Local Government Area, the announcement by the state governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, that the Akwa Ibom State Government will soon revisit the abandoned multi-million naira Ibom Science Park Project located in the community was the best Democracy Day gift he has had since the return of democracy to the country in 1999. 
The governor had, during a media briefing with journalists in Uyo the state capital to mark the 2018 Democracy Day in the state, disclosed his intension to revisit the project with a view to bringing it back on stream to serve the original purpose it was earlier envisioned. 
Ndueotong Oku is one of the three host communities of the Park located along the Uyo Village Road in Uyo Capital City. 
To the royal father, the project which was started during the second term of the administration of Obong Victor Attah was to open up the area for development, but years after the ground breaking ceremony which was performed by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo on August 11, 2006, the area is still grappling with the reality of a dashed hope. The hope of the community being the landlord of the new vision to convert the state from a civil service economy to an industrial hub that would have automatically changed the status of the area to a mini city overnight. Despondency and despair replaced hope as the expected influx of commercial activities to the area because of the Park disappeared with the stoppage of work at the site. 
Right now, the site of the project which sits on a large expanse of land though fenced round by the government is now serving as farm land to women of the community who moved in to cultivate water leaves and other vegetables in the fallow land as nature abhors vacuum. 
Apart from farming, the site is just like any normal abandoned construction site with uncompleted buildings and few cargo containers strewn casually in the open. Some used equipment lay in a cluster around one of the makeshift shades while part of the site is ravaged by erosion and a new palm tree sprouts by the side of one of the buildings. 
However, pathways have been created recently to provide access to the buildings and containers,indicating renewed interest of the state government in the project. 
According to the report of the ad-hoc committee set up by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on Thursday May 28, 2009, the project actually started in year 2000 under the then Bureau of Science and Technology. 
The state government according to the report had in year 2000, through the Bureau, engaged the services of two consultants; Integrated Cognitive Technologies and Connect Technologies as technical partner and manager of the project with the sum of 197 million naira and 30 million naira, respectively. 
They were however paid off in 2005 on the recommendation of the then special adviser, Bureau of Science and Technology, Dr Linus Asuquo, on the grounds that they have completed their work. 
The report further stated that the Akwa Ibom State government entered into what it termed a “turnkey agreement” in 2006 with SBT Juul of 122 Pybus Road, 3rd Floor, Sandton, South Africa as the development manager for the Ibom Science Park and Technology with a completion period of 18 months. 
The company is registered with the Corporate Affairs commission with registration number RC 618773 as SBT JULL Africa Ltd, 43 Aka Road, Uyo as its address and 10-03-2005 is captured as its registration date. However, the address, a four storey office complex has only the ground floor currently occupied by a Beauty Parlour, the rest of the floors are unoccupied as at the time of filling this report. Nobody on the ground floor seems to have heard anything about such a tenant when this reporter made enquires.
By 2007 when work actually stopped at the site of the project, the Bureau of Science and Technology had evolved to a full-fledged ministry with DrAsuquo now a Professor of Metallurgical Engineering in the University of Uyo, transmuting to a commissioner. The ministry therefore served as the client ministry and by extension the supervisor for the project which contract sum according to the letter of agreement was put at N5.8 billion naira. 
Nature of the Project 
The project which was to serve as an innovation laboratory for research and technological development of the state and the country was modeled after the Innovation Hub in Pretoria, South Africa. It was to also serve as the clearing house for the State University of Technology but the concept of the university was changed by the Godswill Akpabio administration to a conventional university. 
The project had two companies managing it; the Ibom Science Park Company Limited and Ibom Science Park Free Trade Zone with the technological component of the project taking 50 per cent while civil work took 50 per cent. 
Asuquo also told Weekend Pioneer that there was an additional component to the project which made provision for the Department of Customs and Excise as well as the Nigeria Immigration Service to complement the free trade zone. 
The park, he disclosed, was not only an ICT affair but a complete village with its own power and water sources, stressing that if the next administration had completed the project it would have been one of the biggest revenue earners to the country, apart from oil. It was also targeted to employ about 1000 Nigerians just like the Innovation Hub in Pretoria, South Africa which, according to him, the science park was modeled after. 
A False Start 
On paper, the contract with SBT Juul was said to be a ‘turnkey’ project which invariably, according to google.com an online search engine, means “a firm agrees to fully design, construct and equip a manufacturing, business or service facility and turn the project over to the purchaser when it is ready for operation”.This was not the case with the contract SBT Juul entered into with the Akwa Ibom State Government for the Science Park project.Rather, the government had mobilized the company to move to site even before the proper documentation was done. In a supposed turnkey project which the contractor contributed virtually nothing financially, advance payment guarantee, APG and a performance bond is always a condition for the process of the contract award to be dully completed. The APG to the developer is to cover the mobilisation while the performance bond covers 100 per cent of the contract prize. Performance Bond is a written guarantee from a third party (Bank or Insurance Company) submitted to the client by the contractor on winning the bid. It serves as a guarantee against the failure of the contractor to execute according to the specification laid out by the contractor. It guarantees the client compensation for any monetary loss. 
According to the House of Assembly Committee Report, these conditions were not fulfilled by SBT JUUL as the then secretary of the finance and general purpose committee, FGPC, Barr Eno Iduot, had testified before the committee that she had never seen such documents. The commissioner also admitted not sighting such documents before entering into a formal agreement. 
The committee also noted that the contract was awarded on the 27th September, 2005 but the agreement was signed on 30th January 2006, however mobilization of N820million was paid on 9th November 2005 before entering into a formal agreement. 
The committee therefore concluded that the contract for the Science Park did not follow due process. 
Questionable Bidding Process 
The due process of a contract of this magnitude must pass through the FGPC, who after deliberations would forward same to the state executive council for approval. And if approved would be sent back to the FGPC for the process of tendering. The process is usually advertised for competent firms to tender. 
However, some contracts or projects that are very technical like the Science Park, are sometimes not subject to open tendering. The client is at liberty to call for at least three or more competent companies based on their track records of past performances on similar projects to bid for the project. If this is done, advertisement may be dispensed with. 
In the case of the Ibom Science Park, the contract was approved by the state executive through the FGPC. The process of the award of the contract did not go through any tendering. Rather, on December 1, 2003, a panel interviewed three architectural/engineering firms in Sandton, South Africa with the aim of finding a suitable master planner /developer for the Ibom Science and Technology Park. The venue of the interview according to documents available to the Assembly committee was the Conference Room, 3rd Floor 122 Pybus Road Sandton, South Africa. The three companies; Technoparc High Tech, L M Technopole and SBT Juul were the companies invited for the interview. At the end, the panel recommended that SBTJuul should be chosen for the contract for six billion naira or equivalent of $46, 186,968.00 then. 
What this means is that the panel sat in the office of one of the bidding firms and later awarded the job to the owner of the office for creating what it terms ‘best impression ‘ and not because it was found to be more competent than the other two firms. This was not due process neither was it morally right as the word best impression is relative and could have meant so many things at that time. 
Money Paid Out By Government And Level Of Work Done 
From the result of the Assembly investigation, it is clear that the total cost incurred in the course of executing the project to its present status were as follows: Integrated Cognitive Technology—N196m,Connect Technology Limited— N30m, Ibom Science Park Account (other Expenditure) N192, 783,326.00, making a Total of N418, 783,326, while Total Money Expended was N5,618 , 783,326. 
The committee also engaged the services of an estate valuer and an engineering consulting firm to assess the actual work done on the site and other components of the job. It was discovered by the two consultants that N5.2 billion and concluded that the level of work done was not commensurate with the money paid. It therefore concluded that funding was not the problem of the project but implemtnation. 
Did SBT Juul Have The Capacity To Deliver? 
The company, as earlier stated is an architectural firm based in South Africa. Its claim to have built the Innovation Hub in South Africa was discovered by the House of Assembly Committee to be false. According to the report, the company has not developed nor has it ever been part of the development of such a project in any part of the world. Here, Frank Okon differs, he defended the competence of the company insisting that it was involved in the building of the innovation hub in the University of Pretoria, South Africa and also the building of the Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, formerly Le’Meridien Ibom Hotels and Golf Resort in Uyo. 
Okon, a former special assistant to Governor Attah on technical matters said the company was not involved with the ICT components of the Park hence it should not be blamed for the failure of the project even as he insisted that the ICT components were duly imported, cleared at customs and delivered at the site. The Assembly committee report acknowledged this but queried why the equipment was ready when the house to accommodate them was not. 
He rather blamed the succeeding government whom healleges refused to release money for the completion of the project.
A call to Innovation Hub in South Africa did not confirm Okon’s position neither did they respond to enquiries on the issue through email. 
The committee also discovered that some of the communication components of the Park were purchased and shipped to the site without any place for installation. 
Prof Linus Asuquo on his part refused to comment on the competence of SBT Juul to handle the job but insisted that the project was still viable fifteen years after it started. 
Enquiries on the Facebook page of SBT Juul did not yield any response connected to their competence. They refused to answer any of the questions sent to them. Their office in Uyo according to enquires from the Corporate Affairs Commission; 43 Aka Road yielded no result as the place is currently a beauty parlour. 
However, a search on their Facebook timeline threw up a news publication from Vanguard Newspaper of April 20,2011 that sought an amicable resolution of the problem between SBTJuul and the Akwa Ibom State Government. The said publication captioned ‘Ibom Science Park contractor seeks amicable resolution,’gives an insight into why the project was abandoned by the contractor and the part the succeeding government in the state played. 
That report so far serves as the official response of the contractor, SBT Juul of Africa to the entire Ibom Science Park brouhaha. 
Way Forward 
Prof Asuquo and Mr Frank Okon believe the project is still viable and should be revived. Asuquo specifically stated that there is no way the current state government can have industrialization of the state as its core objective and not resort to a Science Park as its research and incubation hub to warehouse technology. Okon, who spoke from London, disclosed that he was presently consulting for Oxford to build a Science Park, insisting that even developed nations were still warehousing innovations which will later be expanded into commercial ventures that bring in revenue to their countries far in excess of natural resources. 
Governor Udom Emmanuel To The Rescue 
On assumption of office on May 29, 2015 as the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Udom Emmanuel promised not to play politics with the development of the state. He promised to continue with projects his predecessors could not complete as long as those projects had economic importance to the state. One of such projects is the abandoned Science Park. True to his promise, the project is in advanced stage of resuscitation as the Gov Emmanuel’s administration has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an Australian-based company with Chinese affiliations, SERGE Capital Investments Company Limited for the completion and management of Ibom Science and Technology Park in Akwa Ibom. 
Speaking on the occasion, the State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel hinted that the Ibom Science and Technology Park is receiving priority attention from his Government as science and technology is the underpin of development across the world. 
The Governor who was represented by the secretary to the state government, SSG, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem said that in reviving the Ibom Science and Technology Park, the State will adopt a bottom up approach to ensure that those incubated at the park would move up to set up cottage industries in the local communities. 
He said the initiative is geared towards enhancing the human empowerment agenda of the state government and promised the investors of government’s cooperation and support in the completion of the project. 
Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Science and Technology, Prof. Nse Essien who described the event as epochal stressed that the signing of the MOU was a culmination of series of discussions with investors on the completion of the Ibom Science and Technology Park. 
He said the state governor; Mr. Udom Emmanuel was determined to ensure that Akwa Ibom State becomes a front line state in science and technology assuring that the science and technology park when completed will open a window of vast opportunities for young scientists and innovators. 
The President of SERGE Capital Investment Limited, Mr. Greg Todd in his remarks said they will combine resources from Australia, China and the local communities to develop industry, agriculture, infrastructure and trade under a model that will be world class. 
He assured that his outfit is ready to reinvent the operational philosophy of the science park in conformity with world leading technologies in order to ensure sustainable development of economic, environmental and social sectors of the State. 
Mr Greg Todd and the company secretary, Mrs Sally Conoid signed the MOU on behalf of the company while the Commissioner for Science and Technology, Prof. Nse Essien, the Executive Chairman of Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation (AKICORP), Dr. Elijah Akpan, the Chairman of Foreign Direct Investment in the State, Mr Gabriel Ukpe and the Permanent Secretary in the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Eno Offiong signed on behalf of the State Government. 
The event featured a presentation of some inventions by Mr Nse Esu, an Akwa Ibom budding scientist and innovator. Some of the inventions presented include; Electric Source Indicator, Automatic Source Control System, Automatic Change over Switch, Solar Charge Controller, Automatic Water Pump Control Switch and Generator Shutdown System. 
And like the village head, the Ndueotong Oku village council chairman, Mr Enefiok Samuel, believes the resuscitation of the park will bring relief and the needed succor to the people of the community stressing that having waited for more than twelve years since the ground breaking ceremony of the Park his people and the entire state will give the state government all the support it need to get the project running. 
He however pleaded with the state government to construct all the link roads within the area because of the expected influx of traffic to the area.

psucc:
Inibeghe, you are doing some good works only that our society does not support such adventures. Can't say more until the court makes known their position.

Neyoor:

I have this feeling the man was sponsored against Cletus. It might be because of these investigative stories he did few months ago.

Publishers were said to have received a bribe of N10, 000 (about U.S $28) each from the Akwa Ibom government to publish the fake stories in their papers.

The editor, Andrew Obot, said he had objected to the story being used in the paper the first day he saw it because, according to him, he sensed that it was fake.

He said the publisher, Joseph Okon, who is Governor Emmanuel’s aide on grassroots mobilization, bypassed him to get the fake story into the paper.

A newspaper publisher in Nigeria has been suspended from a local press union for publishing fake stories.

The suspended journalist, Ephraim Ikpe, was reported to the union for using The Wave, a local newspaper he publishes in Akwa Ibom State, to run fake stories against Cletus Ukpong who is PREMIUM TIMES’ south south editor.

He was suspended on Wednesday at the Congress of the Consolidated Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State Council, through unanimous votes.

A statement issued thereafter by the Secretary of the Consolidated Chapel, Udeme Hosea, said the union was angry that Mr Ikpe, after receiving a previous warning, was defiant in his attack against the PREMIUM TIMES journalist.

The suspended journalist, however, told PREMIUM TIMES, Friday morning, that his suspension did not follow due process.

He said he was not invited to the meeting where the decision to suspend him was taken.

The stories, which Mr Ikpe is being sanctioned for, were fabricated by the Akwa Ibom state government and syndicated to newspapers with the intent to get at the Mr Ukpong for his investigative series which exposed the rot in public education in the oil-rich state, this newspaper learnt.

The attack on the PREMIUM TIMES journalist has been condemned by several groups like the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), and the Independent Newspaper Publishers Association (INPA).

One of the fake stories, which is being circulated on the Internet, claimed that Mr Ukpong duped his uncle, a retired professor, of some huge amount of money, which caused him to die of heartbreak.

The widow of the late professor has refuted the lie against the journalist.

Publishers were said to have received a bribe of N10, 000 (about U.S $28) each from the Akwa Ibom government to publish the fake stories in their papers.

One of the publishers who refused to be part of the campaign against Mr Ukpong told PREMIUM TIMES that Essien Ndueso, a media aide to the Akwa Ibom governor, Udom Emmanuel, informed him that the funding was provided by the Commissioner for Works in the state, Ephraim Inyang.

Mr Ndueso in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES denied having a hand in the campaign against Mr Ukpong. He also denied being the publisher of Global Pilot, a local paper that is at the forefront of publishing lies against the PREMIUM TIMES reporter.

“I have never been a publisher in my life,” he said. “I am not publishing any newspaper.”

The Commissioner for Works, Ephraim Inyang, has not responded to calls and text messages sent to his telephone lines.

A non-governmental organisation in Abuja, the Committee for Political Freedom & Responsibility (Cpfr), said that the suspension of the erring publisher was a welcome development in the fight against fake news.

“The impact of fake news is becoming a major social issue, globally, and it is even more worrisome to see journalists act as fabricators and circulators of fake news,” the group said on Thursday in a statement issued by its National Chairman, Ubong Ikpatt.

“We, therefore, commend the Consolidated Chapel for sanctioning Mr Ephraim Ikpe for this breach of journalism ethics.

“We implore His Excellency Governor Udom Emmanuel and the Akwa Ibom State Government to come clean, by sanctioning its officials said to be responsible for the smear campaign against the Premium Times reporter,” Mr Ikpatt added in the statement.

Meanwhile, the editor of The Anchor, another paper which published the fake stories against the PREMIUM TIMES reporter, said he has resigned his appointment with the paper.

The editor, Andrew Obot, said he had objected to the story being used in the paper the first day he saw it because, according to him, he sensed that it was fake.

He said the publisher, Joseph Okon, who is Governor Emmanuel’s aide on grassroots mobilization, bypassed him to get the fake story into the paper.

“I first saw that same story in Global Pilot, a paper owned by Essien Ndueso, the Special Assistant on Media to Governor Udom Emmanuel.

“I wouldn’t have allowed it into The Anchor newspaper if I were around when they brought it back. Or maybe there would have been a clash between me and the publisher,” Mr Obot told PREMIUM TIMES.

He added, “I have told him if the matter gets to court that it is him, and not me, that will stand in for it. After all, he only put my name there as an editor, whereas it is him that decides everything that is published in the paper.”

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the governor’s aide, Mr Okon, he lied that he was not the owner of The Anchor newspaper, despite the evidence to the contrary.

Raheem Akingbolu writes on the debate that trails the current increase in the prices of various Pay TV services in Nigeria, making a comparison between what is obtainable in the market and global terrain

The last one and a half weeks have seen a return of subscriber anger directed at MultiChoice Nigeria, the Pay TV firm, which recently announced new prices for its services. MultiChoice communicated to its customers adjustment to prices on its DStv platform directly by text messages, which stated that they would take effect from August 1. The company increased prices in 2013, 2015 and 2017.

When the prices kick in, the DStv Premium package will attract N15, 800 as against the current rate of N14, 700. DStv Compact Plus customers, said the company, will pay N10, 650 instead of N9, 900, while Compact subscribers, who currently pay N6, 500, will start paying N6, 800. Prices on its DStv Family and Access packages have been raised to N4, 000 and N2, 000 respectively as opposed to N3, 800 and N1, 900 that are currently being paid.

On GOtv, its Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform, the company announced a price reduction, trimming the price paid for the GOtv MAX package from N3, 800 to N3, 200. This, however, did not calm frayed nerves, as DStv is the focal point. Disaffected, subscribers quickly exhumed the age-old allegation of monopoly against MultiChoice and hanging on to it as the reason it raises prices.

They urged the government to intervene a save them from perceived exploitation by the company.

For most, MultiChoice had no reason to review its prices upward, a belief arising from the assumption that Nigerians pay more for its services than citizens of other countries in which it operates. Some others, especially on the social media platforms, claimed that pay TV rates in Nigeria are the highest in the world.

Findings, however, have shown that MultiChoice increased prices in all the countries it operates. According to findings, the recently announced price regime will see DStv Premium subscribers in Ghana paying Cedis 365 (27, 360.75) and those on Compact plus Cedis 245 (N18, 365.44). Compact subscribers in the country are to start paying Cedis 149 (N11, 169.18), while those on the Family package (the lowest available in the country) will pay Cedis 85 (N6, 961.60).

In South Africa, whose subscribers are believed to be heavily pampered by MultiChoice, the new DStv Premium rate is R809 (N21, 728.47.

Compact Plus will cost R509 (N13, 670), with Compact costing R385 (N10, 340.49). Prices for the Family and Access packages have been fixed at R249 (N6, 687.75) and R99 (N2, 656.98) respectively.

Rates in other countries, especially in Europe and the Americas, also show that claims that Nigerians pay higher or are victims of exploitation are inaccurate.

In the United Kingdom, Sky TV, the country’s leading pay TV operator, charges £79.95 (N38, 167.33) for its premium package and £47.50 (N22, 572.97) for the one below it. Next to that is the package, which attracts £40 (N19, 008.82) monthly. Sky TV’s three other packages cost £30 (N14, 256.61), £25 (N11, 731.54) and £20 (N9, 504.41) respectively.

Sky TV’s rates in Mexico, where it offers four packages, are within the same range. Its premium package costs MXN 1039 (N19, 798.52). The package just below it attracts MXN 829 (N15, 796. 52), while the last two packages cost MXN 649 (N12, 366.93) and MXN 569 (N10, 842.50) respectively.

Australia’s Foxtel also charges similar rates monthly.

The cost of its entry level package is Australian dollars or AUD 26 (N6, 961.60). The one above that costs AUD 46 (N12, 316. 67). Just above that is a package that costs AUD 55 (N14, 726. 45). The provider’s premium bouquet attracts AUD 75 Australian.

US operator, Direct TV, charges $35 (N12, 635) for its lowest package, Select. Its slightly higher package, Entertainment, costs $40 (N14, 440), while the one above that, Choice, goes for $45 (N16, 245). Its Xtra package attracts $55 (N19, 855). Direct TV’s biggest packages, cost $110 (N38, 710) and $60 (N21, 660) respectively.

Investigations show that globally, pay TV price increases draw impassioned subscriber debates, with the prevalent view being that operators are remorselessly exploitative. In most parts of the world, operators increase prices yearly, further inflaming subscriber anger.

According to its most recent report, the US Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau said Pay TV providers are adding the extra fees to cover their rising costs so they can continue to promote relatively attractive prices.

The industry’s ecosystem, findings show, is one that leaves operators at the mercy of content producers/TV networks, with the latter regularly charging more for programming content on which the former depends for viability. For years, Pay TV operators worldwide have battled, unsuccessfully, with hikes in programming costs, which erode their margins. Content owners have also continued to state that the rise in the fees operators pay to broadcast their content is largely a product of the jump in their own costs of producing such content.

In particular, the cost of sporting content, a hot Pay TV property, has continued to climb and very steeply, too. Broadcasters have continued to fork out more money to retain rights to content of sports leagues such as the English Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A and NBA), which fall into the category of must-have programming.

With the lion’s share of out-of-the-world salaries paid to sports stars coming from television revenue, for example, owners of sporting contents, a dealing with rising costs of their own and transferring such to pay TV companies, which have no option than to transfer a slice of such to their subscribers.

According to some analysts’ estimates, these costs have climbed between eight and 10 per cent in each of the past four years.

In certain cases, analysts also said, the rise in pay TV subscription rates are also informed, to a lesser extent, though by better consumer experience, through frequent additions of new features and functions to services.

According to consumerreports.org, most US Pay TV operators hiked their prices in 2018, with some introducing hidden fees.

“The cable companies we contacted said the price hikes are mainly driven by the rising costs they face for carrying traditional broadcast networks, such as CBS and Fox, and regional sports channels,” wrote the site.

Shukuakukobambi:
If you're a newbie here and have never encountered the brain dead posters here, just keep quiet and take several seats

Folks that still believe the proposed refinery for katsina will be financed by Nigeria and use oil from ND are not joking when they spew the sh!t that guy posted

Edit:I just went through your posts and realized you belong to his school of thought. You must have realized how idiotic his post sounds hence your attempt to tag it humor. Keep deceiving your self

Truck Holding Bays, with Electronic Call Up System is one of a combination of solutions that can address the situation. Intelligent Traffic Management System is another.

The Abuja – Kaduna railway services has raked in over N1.1 billion in its first two years of operation, LEADERSHIP Weekend investigation has showed. Data obtained by our reporter showed that the station, which currently operates with 15 coaches, dedicates three to four coaches to baggage, while the remaining 11 coaches are dedicated to passengers.

It was also discovered that in the last two years, the station has transported about 900, 000 passengers along the Abuja – Kaduna route at an average price of N1, 300.

However, the manager of the Abuja – Kaduna train service of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, Pascal Nnoli, explained that there are first class services ranging between N2, 500 to N3, 000.

“Before 2016, we didn’t have any available operational standard gauge rail in West Africa. This was the first one and here we are today, carrying an average of 2000 passengers’ everyday through and fro Kaduna. For two years, we have transported about 900, 000 passengers as at July 24,” Nnoli explained.

When asked if the station has recorded any profit within this time frame, Nnoli said “anybody who says you would break even running a railway business and especially running passenger services, is not being frank with you. You can break even just as an operator. If you are given the whole infrastructure just so you can run the services, you may break even but when you are involved in infrastructure, you won’t.’

To construct a kilometre of track internationally takes a minimum of $2.5million. He however, said “I know that what we are doing now would go a long way to augment our operating cost.”

While speaking on the things to look out for as the station marks two years in operation, Nnoli said: “prior to January 4, 2018, before we added more stock to our rake, we had only five coaches out of which one was a baggage van. This meant that we had only four and the carrying capacity of the four was about 320 passengers per trip. So there were reported cases of ticket racketeering. But with the addition of 10 more coaches on January 4, 2018, which increased our carrying capacity, the reports of ticket racketeering has now become a thing of the past.’

“As a corporation, we are going further to make sure that we give people the best of rail service by introducing e-ticketing. The procurement process has started and we are in the next phase right now. Hopefully, in the next three months, it will be deployed and linked to access control which means that by the time you want to board, you won’t be having human interface with our personnel. All you’ll need to do is flash your ticket at the gate and it opens to you. But if it is not valid, it will not open to you.

On the frequency, he said there are two racks, one from Rigasa, which starts from 6:40 and a second one from Idu station, which leaves by 7am. Both operate four times daily.

Nnoli also explained that in the last two years, the station has employed 779 Nigerians for the station and close to 600 staff are on the Abuja – Kaduna corridor alone from the six man technical committee that started the project.

“Today marks the second anniversary of our commencement of commercial train operations on this corridor. If you recall very well, exactly two years ago, on July 26, 2016, the president, Muhammadu Buhari, was on this ground to commission this train service and it is a thing of joy that we have operated successfully for two years.’’

Amarabae:
Kaduna that has no major water body has a refinery and now a dry port.
But Onitsha that has a major water body River Niger that connects it with Delta state don't deserve any port.
It's alright.
He that holds a man down holds himself - CHINUA ACHEBE

kaorama:
Hope the containers will be adequately checked for content

By Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The federal government has disclosed that the Kaduna Inland Dry Port, an erstwhile inland container depot upgraded to the status of an Inland Dry Port (IDP), has started receiving containers for clearance. In effect, the Kaduna IDP is a port of origin for export.

The government, through the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Mr. Hassan Bello, gave this hint, while delivering an address at the 2018 second quarter meeting of Public Private Partnership Unit Consultative Forum (3PUCF) in Abuja.

According to Bello, “I am really happy to inform this forum that the Kaduna IDP has started receiving containers for clearance. In effect, the Kaduna IDP is a port of origin for export cargo and final destination for import cargo.”

Bello disclosed that, the advantages of having the Kaduna IDP and other IDPs to be delivered very soon cannot be over emphasised.

He said: “One is bringing shipping closer to shippers in the hinterland. Since the creation of PPP Unit in the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in January, 2015, many projects have been initiated which are currently at various stages of delivery.

“An update on our projects, I believe will be presented in the course of your deliberations. You are no doubt aware that some of our PPP projects are already being delivered.

“This pilot facilities management PPP is especially significant for our national PPP agenda, because one; it gives us another opportunity to demonstrate that government’s PPP agenda is designed to accommodate Nigerian businesses; and two; it opens another vista in the commitment of the Buhari administration to engender collaboration between the public and private sector and improve social and economic life in the country through functional and well managed infrastructure assets.”

Furthermore, he said: “Nigeria infrastructure needs is critical and there is no gainsaying that PPP is the way to go in delivering projects for the benefits of the people.”

Bello, represented by the Deputy Director, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Abuja Liason Office, Mr. Ekpeyong Eke, added that “in January this year, President Mohammadu Buhari GCFR, commissioned the Kaduna Inland Dry Port, an erstwhile inland container depot upgraded to the status of an Inland Dry Port (IDP), an initiative of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, with the combined effort of ICNL Limited, Kaduna State Government and guided through the PPP process by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).”

On the issue of the endemic traffic gridlock in Apapa, he stated that, “it’s a challenge that should not only be to maritime agencies but to us all.

“The Nigerian Shippers’ Council Truck Transit Parks (TTPs) project, or more precisely, Truck Holding Bays, with Electronic Call Up System is one of a combination of solutions that can address the situation. Intelligent Traffic Management System is another. These can be delivered by way of PPP without putting a strain on government finances.

“Regrettably, PPPs is fraught with several challenges notably bureaucratic and lengthy process for land allocation by state governments. We shall however, not rest on our oars. We are continuously engaging with all relevant stakeholders to fast track the projects and we have no doubt that these projects would be delivered in not too distant future.”

From Umar Danladi Ado, SokotoThe N3.8billion Sokoto

State Government Independent Power Plant Project (IPP), is expected to be commissioned in the second quarter of this year, says the state commissioner for energy, Barr. Bello Muhammad Goronyo.

It could be recalled that the IPP project was initiated and contract awarded in November 2008, by the immediate past Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko.

Already, the state government has successfully conducted a test-run of the Independent Power Project.

The project, which is the first of its kind in the Northern part of the country, has an installed capacity of a minimum of 30 megawatts and a maximum of 38 megawatts.

Barr. Goronyo stated this when he received a delegation from Energy Research Centre, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto who paid him a courtesy visit.

He explained that the project has reached 95 per cent completion and when completed the project would generate 38 megawatts of electricity and will be connected to the National Grid.

He said this is part of the practical resolve of the Aminu Waziri Tambuwal administration to ensure overall development of the state through energy.

He stated that when completed the project would also generate employment opportunities to the teeming unemployed youths in addition to generating revenue for the state.

The leader of the delegation, Engr. Ismaila Isa, said their visit was to congratulate the commissioner for the establishment of the ministry and to seek for areas of collaboration.

ADEMOLA Nurudeen Adeleke, senator representing Osun West Senatorial District and the state’s PDP gubernatorial candidate, did not graduate from Jacksonville State University (JSU), says the authorities of the  public university located in Alabama, United States.

According to his profile on the National Assembly website, Adeleke has a Diploma in Criminology from JSU and graduated in 1986. He also graduated from Ede Muslim Grammar School, Osun State, where he obtained an Ordinary Level Certificate.

His academic claims have, however, been brutally challenged. According to recently circulated claims, Adeleke registered for GCE O’ Level in 1981 but had F9 in English Language and was recorded absent for other subjects. It also said he has no degree from JSU where he registered as Jackson Ademola Adeleke, while providing what it titled as official records of his enrollment.

Dele Adeleke, Ademola Adeleke’s junior brother, has denied the allegations and encouraged those who disagree to verify the senator’s result at his alma mater. “Do you think the APC would not have raised the issues if he did not have the authentic certificates?” he had asked.

The ICIR can, however, confirm that Adeleke did not graduate from Jacksonville State University, though he has claimed otherwise.

Buffy Lockette, the Director of Public Relations at the university, in response to a mailed enquiry, told The ICIR that though the senator enrolled at the tertiary institution, he was not awarded any degree.

“Your request was forwarded to me,” started Lockette. “According to our records, he attended JSU but did not graduate. I cannot provide any additional information. Perhaps you can learn more at http://www.studentclearinghouse.org.”

https://i1.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2018/07/Inbox-Mozilla-Thunderbird.jpg?zoom=3&w=600&h=216&crop&ssl=1

PROBLEMATIC WAEC RESULT

When The ICIR checked the West African Examination Council’s website to view Adeleke’s O’ level result using examination number 19645/149 as circulated, the site replied, “result not available for this candidate in the specified year and exams diet”.

The Council’s online result verification portal, which claims to contain data from 1980 to 2018, was also consulted with the same details. The result was brief: “candidate does not exist”.

Demianus Ojijeogu, WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, told The ICIR all candidates’ results are in the custody of the Council and should be accessible on the website, regardless of performance in the examination.

“Even if the candidate has F9 throughout or is absent throughout, it is accessible,” he said. He, however, added that the Council is still working on results of candidates who wrote in 1981 and the surrounding years.

“You know there is this change of nomenclature in our examination. We used to have SSCE then WASC, and now WASSCE. So, we are trying to update the website; maybe they took some down.” He promised to confirm and provide feedback on why the results are not presently online.

CHALLENGED IN COURT

Meanwhile, two members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Rasheed Olabayo and Oluwaseun Idowu, have as a result of the controversy applied to the Osun State High Court for an order setting aside Adeleke’s election as the party’s flag bearer in the September gubernatorial election.

Olabayo, in his affidavit, said the senator truly attended Ede Muslim Grammar School “but did not leave with a School Leaving Certificate having absented himself from the school leaving examinations but for English where he scored a failing mark of F9”.

One of the exhibits provided to the court and obtained by The ICIR is Adeleke’s senior secondary school examination statement of result recently collected from Ede Muslim High School. It shows that the candidate had an F9 in English Language, while grades for Literature in English, Mathematics, Biology, Economics, Islamic Religious Studies, Christian Religious Studies and Geography, were said to be pending.

Ruling on the plaintiffs’ ex-parte application on Thursday, the court gave Adeleke six days, that is till August 1, 2018, to provide his certificate.

“It will be inequitable not to allow the respondent to come and show his certificate if he has any but if given the opportunity to present side of the case, the balance which is necessary for interlocutory injunction would be adequately considered,” noted Justice David Oladimeji.

FROM GRASS TO GRACE

Though a newcomer to Nigeria’s elective politics, the 58-year-old senator appears to be flying from triumph to triumph. He was largely unknown politically prior to the demise of Isiaka Adeleke, his older brother, who passed away on April 23, 2017.

Following a bye-election held to fill the vacuum left by Isiaka in the Nigerian senate, he was declared to have had a landslide victory, winning in nine out of 10 local governments. He admitted this was due to his brother’s “historical goodwill” and influence.

According to him: “I was having fun during the campaign and enjoying my dance because my brother had done 70 percent of the job with his historical goodwill right from when he became an executive governor in 1991. I was always with him. I want to follow his footsteps and may God help me.”

On Saturday, Adeleke found himself a step closer to his political ambition as he was declared PDP’s gubernatorial flag bearer in Osun State, after he narrowly defeated Akin Ogunbiyi with a seven-vote difference.

Though what he notes as his target achievement is “to sponsor Bills that would be impactful on my people, especially youths and women”, the senator has in fact not notably sponsored any bills since his election into the red chambers.

On the contrary, he has become notorious for his vigorous, entertaining dance moves and his fondness for flaunting these in public ― a trend that has earned him the name, “the dancing senator”.

The Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside has canvassed for the creation of peaceful and conducive atmosphere at the nation’s seaport so that the number of vessels that come to berth on the seaport can astronomically be increased to boost revenue of the sector.

Dakuku made the advocacy while delivering a speech at the 2nd stakeholder’s forum held in Calabar on Monday, saying that if the collaboration is achieved the sector stand the chance of making more vessels berthed on the ports making it possible for more jobs to be created so that huge number of youths can be taken out from the streets.

The NIMASA DG who spoke on the theme; Harnessing Maritime Potentials in an Untapped Environment Opportunities, Threats and the role of Government, stated that Nigeria has Seven functional seaport as well as 275 identified terminals, jetties, and wharfs in eight ( coastal states which includes the Tin Can Island, Onne, Warri, Calabar, Apapa in Lagos, Bonny Offshore Terminal, and Escravos Oil Terminal.

Over 5000 vessels called at the Nigeria ports annually (both wet and dry cargo vessels). Out of about 3,033 dry cargo vessels that visited Nigerian ports in 2016, Eastern ports accounted for only 631 which are about 20%. In 2017, out of 3106 dry cargo vessels that berthed in Nigerian Ports, Eastern Ports had only 676 about 21%. Furthermore, in Q1 2018 about 749 dry cargo vessels called at the nation’s ports, 292 representing 39% of the total berthed at the Eastern ports.” NIMASA boss added

“In view of the above statistics, you will agree with me that there is need for serious collaboration with the stakeholders in the sector to ensure that the environment is made conducive enough for growth that will be premised on the sustainable development as well as present enormous opportunities for investors both as public and private partnership”. The NMASA DG stressed.

Dakuku said, “This applies especially to investments in maritime infrastructure, shipping and ancillary services, offshore services, ship building repairs, as well as marine and bunkering services.

He said that the threats associated with piracy, sea robbery, and infrastructural challenge, low capacity development and so on will be surmounted if we  government at all levels, business community and the local community play their various roles sincerely.

The NIMASA helmsman added that the Agency has greatly impacted the industry in the areas of Maritime Safety and Security, through the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code stressing that the Ports now have a compliance rate of almost 80% as 114 port facilities out of the total 145 ports in Nigeria had been complaint.

When asked what prompted the agency to organised the stakeholders forum, he said that the meeting was designed to re-engineer the operational efficiency of the Eastern ports and the Nigerian Maritime Domain.

On why the agency decided to choose the theme for discussion at the fora, the NIMASA boss stated that the theme was chosen so that stakeholders can elaborately make deliberations on how to contribute their quota within the context of the law for development of the sector.

He said that this can only be achieved by ensuring optimum maritime potentials to give other multipliers effects on the economy of the nation and as such needed to be overhauled stressing that ports being a critical infrastructure assets  serve as catalysts for economic growth and development.

Dakuku maintained that With the maritime surveillance and domain awareness, the Agency can now achieve a complete profile analysis, which include the flag, registered owner, operator, beneficial owner and movements over a period of time adding that the system enables the agency to take swift decisions, in real time, on any targeted ship stressing that the agency has made another giant stride by recently acquiring 6 fast intervention vessels for Search and Rescue and Enforcement.

Other milestones recorded by the agency include capacity development through the empowerment of the indigenous ship owners by using enabling laws to make public cargo available for indigenous shipping operators in order to increase their commercial capacity and competitive advantage over their extremely capitalized and established foreign counterparts.

“I must not forget to mention the arrival of the modular floating dockyard which will help in dry docking of vessels operating in Nigeria and save Federal Government 100 million dollars annually if those vessels were dry docked outside the country.

He said that through the Nigerians Seafarers Development Program (NSDP) 1,045 beneficiaries have graduated from the project, representing about 42% graduates of the over 2500 NIMASA sponsored beneficiaries.

Other achievement recorded by the agency includes a machinery put in place by the agency for certification of seafarers, conduct of the adult of 16 maritime training institutes, including Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron to ensure that they operate in line with international standards.

signz:
Unfortunately we neither have enough warships/boats nor men to police our waters.

In addition to the asians illegally fishing in our waters, Captain Jack Sparrow's boys are also very much active in our waters (Niger Delta).

“The Benue State government should freeze enforcement of its law banning open grazing, review that law’s provisions and encourage a phased transition to ranching,” the ICG said.

A new report on Thursday found that violence involving armed herdsmen was six times more deadly than Boko Haram in the first half of this year. The report then recommended urgent steps that the Nigerian government must take to stem further attacks.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) estimated 1,300 deaths linked to the farmer-herder violence within the first half of this year, adding that the dimensions of the attack have aggravated in recent months.

“What were once spontaneous attacks have become premeditated scorched-earth campaigns in which marauders often take villages by surprise at night,” the non-profit think-tank said. “Now claiming about six times more civilian lives than the Boko Haram insurgency, the conflict poses a grave threat to the country’s stability and unity, and it could affect the 2019 general elections.”

The report recommended that President Muhammadu Buhari’s approach to solving the crisis is acceptable but largely insufficient.

The government’s “immediate priorities should be to deploy more security units to vulnerable areas; prosecute perpetrators of violence; disarm ethnic militias and local vigilantes; and begin executing long-term plans for comprehensive livestock sector reform,” it said.

The report also found that the anti-open grazing statutes recently enacted by state governments in Benue and Taraba States also contributed to the escalation in latest attacks.

“The Benue State government should freeze enforcement of its law banning open grazing, review that law’s provisions and encourage a phased transition to ranching,” the ICG said.

Two spokespersons for Governor Samuel Ortom could not be reached for comments Thursday afternoon. But Mr Ortom has long argued that the grazing law in Benue was aimed at curbing the activities of potentially deadly herders and not to infringe on the rights of northern residents in the state.

Mr Ortom also argued that claims that the killings escalated as a result of the grazing law, which Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris and Defence Minister Mansur Dan-Ali have also made, were dishonest and dangerous.

The governor said scores of people were being killed in regular attacks since 2010, saying the law has nothing to do with the criminal intents of the attackers.

The agriculture minister, Audu Ogbeh, who is also from Benue, has also said the killing were not caused by the grazing laws.

In Plateau State, where Governor Samuel Lalong has been far more lenient towards herders, frequent attacks are still being recorded. Last month, over 200 people were feared killing in a weekend-long assault on villages in the state, a development that gripped the nation.

On the runaway armed banditry that is currently ravaging Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna and other northern states, the ICG blamed “government’s failure to either punish perpetrators of previous violence or respond to distress calls,” consequently emboldening the attackers.

Presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu did not return requests for comments.

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has vowed to begin a clampdown on illegal fishing within the Nigerian maritime space. LEADERSHIP recalls that a fisheries consultant for Norwegian Seafood Council, Abiodun Cheke has said that Nigeria loses an estimated $20 million annually to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) by foreigners which are predominantly Chinese.
It was gathered that perpetrators of the crime usually come as close as four nautical miles to the nation’s coast, which was not allowed and they deprive local fishermen of the resources. In terms of value of the shrimps and prawns, it was estimated that Nigeria is losing up to $20million a year.
But, speaking to newsmen in Lagos during the 2018 African Day of the Seas and Oceans, director-general of NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside expressed worry over the unregulated fishing on the nation’s waters by Asians, saying that the agency is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture to address the increased illegal fishing in Nigeria.

“NIMASA is working collaboratively with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to address the issue of over fishing especially illegal, unregulated over fishing by foreigners within our space,” he said. On the extent of contribution of blue economy to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP), Peterside acknowledged the fact that Nigeria does not have data on blue economy, saying that NIMASA is looking at the possibility of generating data to that effect.
“The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) doesn’t have data on blue economy. We are looking at the possibility of generating data to the extent of defining the contribution of blue economy to our GDP. All of this is because we keep drawing attention to the blue economy. We are optimistic that if the blue economy is captured in an integrated manner, it has capacity to contribute so much to the GDP of this country and by extension the economy of this country. So, it is a gradual process and we are achieving a lot of results,” he said.
In his remarks, minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, said that the greatest advantage of the maritime resource is not to the sudden realisation of the economic importance of the seas and the oceans.

“Shipping being the preferred transport mode of international trade connects all nations to the international trade transport chain which further confers advantage to coastal states of which Nigeria is one,” he said.
Also, the board chairman of NIMASA, Major General Jonathan Garba noted that half of the world’s population live within 200 km of the coastline.
He said: “Oceans produce 50 per cent of the oxygen necessary for human survival and therefore the sustainable use and management of the oceans, even its resources is critical to us today for future generation.”

NOC1:
What is the reason for abandoning a project that is 80% completed?