Metro
SOAN president says NPA is losing $41bn daily
***urges FG to pay attention to shipping business
The Nigerian Ports Authority is losing whooping $41bn daily due to poor management of the maritime sector, President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, Mkgeorge Oyung, has indicated.
Oyung who gave the indication in Abuja on Monday at a public hearing on a Bill titled the Nigerian Economic Diversification Bill 2022, noted that NPA was making a total of $2m instead of $43bn as daily revenue.
According to him shipping is the biggest business in the world; hence, Nigeria should pay attention to it.
His words, “Shipping is 90% of global trends and as far as the world is concerned, nothing moves and nothing goes on without shipping and like I mentioned, without shipping, there is no shopping.
“NPA makes $2m a day by their revenue, whereas it is an industry where it is $43bn dollars a day; $1.8bn an hour and $30m a minute.
He indicated that NPA is making $2m a day, it means something must give way and my suggestion is that we should relocate from Ajegunle.”
The SOAN president also noted that the ports are functional but the poor management of the ports and lack of diversification has continued to inhibit the optimization of NPA.
Commenting on the functionality of the ports, Oyung said, “All ports are functioning; the constraints of the ports are a matter of congestions due to poor port management of the port.
“I am not trying to indict anybody but the fact that you have to manage the ships that come and make sure that the ships that comes are producing and discharging and you don’t delay them at the port because the ship come to the port, it doesn’t dwell.
“It is supposed to be very controlled, however in our port, especially Apapa port, it is so congested that the roads are not only the problem and of course what need to be done, I have suggested. On other ports, they are bound by infrastructure decay, they are bound by the fact that they are not being utilise.”
He further advised that the Apapa and Lekki ports, “particularly be a feeder ports where when the goods arrive and it has a two put of 3,000 containers a day, we don’t see the possibility of all of that being able to leave that port. So, we have other ships that will take them to other ports.”
He added, “If somebody imports a car, there’s really no reason why he should clear it in Lagos. If the car is taken to Port-Harcourt or Warri or Calabar, and cleared there, person can drive back to Kaduna, Imo, Maiduguri or other states. So, when every car comes to Lagos and we diversify and say that some ports are for the exports, rail road, cars and some ports for minerals, that will help the economy.”
Onyung noted that one of the ways to save the situation praticularly in Lagos was to relocate the Ajegunle community in other to save the ports.
He noted that decisions like that must be taken in order to save the economy.
He said, “There used to be a Tejuosho market, until Lagos state then decided to demolish the market and turn it into a market, today, people use AC there.
“If you go abroad that’s how they started, when the market becomes chaotic and people do not get the value of their money, they try to modernize the market, so that people will be able to enjoy their money.”
Onyung noted that people can be relocated like the case of Maroko but Ajegunle should not be relocated in such manner, but should be compensated properly.
He said, “I understand that the FG has spent N1-3tn on Agriculture, that expenses may not go far because the ports are not working, there is congestions and the ships are not working.
“If that kind of money is invested in the ports and the ships, we’ll get back our economy easily. If N25m is given to bungalow owners and about or more than N45 to N55m is given two storey-building owners, and they leave Ajegunle within six months to one year.
“And within a year based on what NPA is making in a year based on the $2m a day, it will be about $800m a year instead of the full optimization of $1.2bn an hour.
**As thugs loyal to Abure unleash mayhem on LP protesters from Edo
There seem to be no end in sight for the crises in the Labour Party as the Edo State chapter has officially ratified the suspension of the National chairman of the party, Julius Abure.
This was contained in a correspondent to the National Headquarters of the party titled: Ratification. Of the suspension from the membership of Ward 3, Arue, Uromi, Esan North qEast LGA, Edo State.
The letter which was signed by the chairman and secretary of the state chapter of the party, Com. Ogbaloi K.S.E State Chairman and Com. Akhere Frederick respectively and was copied INEC.
The Letter reads,
“Here forwarded to you and for your notification, the ratification of the suspension of Comr Barr. Julius Abure from the membership of Ward 3, Arue, Uromi, Esan North East LGA. Edo State.
“The State Executive Council, Labour Party, Edo State, comprising of the State Working Committee, the 18 Local Government Chairmen and the 18 Local Government Secretaries met on the 24” of May, 2024, at about 11:00pm, to consider the matters presented on the suspension of Comr. Barr. Julius Abure by his Ward in Arue, Uromi, Esan North East LGA, and the upholding of the suspension by the LGA Excos.
“After clinical analysis of the accusation, the Council found them weighty and further ratified and upheld the suspension.
Meanwhile, Thugs suspected to be loyal to the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), on Monday unleashed mayhem on Protesters believed to be LP supporters from the Edo State chapter who were at the party National secretariat to demand Abure’s ouster.
The anti- Abure protesters stormed the party headquarters in a number of vehicles holding placards and chanting solidarity songs.
No sooner than some of the protesters stepped out of one of the vehicles than the suspected thugs swooped on the vehicles with sticks and other objects forcing the drivers to zoom off.
A detachment of armed policemen and operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) intervened when the thugs started throwing stones into the nearby Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, in pursuit of reporters who were convering the fracas.
The intervention of the security officials prevented the situation from further degenerating. A police vehicle is currently stationed in between the warring factions.
By our correspondent
The Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria (KYN) the umbrella body of Kuteb world wide has accused Gen. Theophilus Danjuma ((rtd) of deliberately distorting and inventing new history of Takum Chieftaincy to benefit his tribal people (Chamba)
Chief Emmanuel Ukwen, President General Kuteb Yantso of Nigeria stated this while addressing newsmen in Jalingo on Friday.
The accusation is coming after the recent appointment of HRH Bar. Sopiya Gboshi as chief of Takum who was presented with staff of office by Gov Agbu Kefas to succeed late Ukwe Ali Ibrahim kufang ll who died 28 years ago.
The Kuteb also accused Gen. Danjuma and his associates of making plans to demolish the Takum Central Mosque and the ancestral palace of Ukwe Takum which had been located behind the Mosque.
Chief Ukwen recalled the recent speech presented by Dajuma during the coronation of the newly appointed chief of Takum against the Kuteb and late Ukwe Takum Ali Ibrahim was unjust and unacceptable.
“It is a pity that TY Danjuma referred to late Ukwe Ali Ibrahim as a very bad and terrible chief on flimsy reasons because he was a Kuteb man and a Muslim.
Record have it that late Ukwe Ali ibrahim was an honest and peace loving leader who ruled over the people of Takum from 1963 to 1996 and was adjuged by all as a leader with fear of God.
“We have uncovered a sinister move by Danjuma and his cohorts to force the State Governor to demolish the Takum Central Mosque and the Ukwe Takum Palace which is located behind the Mosque under the guise of Urban development.
“We want the whole world to know that the graves of our late Ukwes who reigned and died are in the palace.
“Any attempt by Danjuma and his cohorts to desecrate the tombs of our fathers will amount to cultural genocide,” he said.
The Kuteb leader also accused Danjuma of preaching peace in the public while he has secretly instigated and funded many crisis in his hometown, Takum.
The very recent was the sponsoring of Fulanis to wipe out over 200 Kuteb villages preparatory to the forceful installation of a Chamba Chief inorder to weaken and silence the Kuteb people in Takum.
“The Kuteb through Ukwe Takum ruled Takum from 1510 to 1996 uninterrupted by any other tribe, how comes Danjuma is forging history that the Kutebs are people from the hills? Ukwen questioned.
Meanwhile, Gen. Danjuma during the convocation of the Chief of Takum described the Kuteb people as troublesome and urged the State Governor, Kefas Agbu to be careful with the Kuteb people.
Forefront recalls that Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria shortly after the appointment of the new chief of Takum, vowed not to recognise the newly crowned chief Sopiya Gboshi from Chamba tribe.
The Kutebs vehemently vowed not to recognise the new Chief and would exhaust every legal means to recover their ancestral stool.
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
Kogi State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has confirmed the death of five persons in a fatal auto crash on Kabba-Obajana road in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of the state.
The State Sector Commander, Samuel Oyedeji, who confirmed the accident and death of the five to newsmen on Thursday in Lokoja said three others survived the accident with serious injuries.
Oyedeji attributed the accident which involved a Ford Galaxy space wagon and a Mazda car, to speeding and wrongful overtaking.
“The head-on collision between the two cars moving in the opposite directions happened due to speeding and wrongful overtaking by one of the drivers.
“We have been preaching against drivers flouting road safety rules and regulations, yet these motorists hardly heed our warnings.
“Five persons lost their lives in the fatal accident that left three others seriously injured,” he said.
The Sector Commander said that officers from the command immediately carried out a rescue operation at the scene of the accident and rushed the three injured persons to General Hospital, Kabba for medical attention.
Oyedeji said the remains of the five dead persons were also deposited at the mortuary of the Kabba General Hospital.
The Kogi Sector Commander admonished motorists to always endeavour to always obey road safety rules and regulations to avoid fatal auto crashes on the highways. (Ends)
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