Category: Special Report

Victims of the January 28 fire at the Sabo Market in Sagamu, Ogun State now have cause to smile again, writes CHINAKA OKORO.

When the Sabo Market in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State went up in flames on January 28, it was as if the lives of many of the victims had come to an end. This is not unconnected to the fact that many business owners in the market reputed to be the largest kola nut market in the Southwest had borrowed funds to enhance their trade.

The fire, which was said to have started around midnight, affected virtually every section, leaving the security guards helpless as the edifice went into ruins.

Men of the Fire Service arrived the scene moments later, but without water to quench the raging inferno. By the time they returned with water, the market had become a shadow of its old self, with people around looking helpless. Traders who had arrived the scene to salvage whatever was left of their properties were handicapped as the gated and the fence prevented them.

When some eventually broke into the place, the inferno had spread all over. It was believed that the harmattan helped the spread of the fire.

By the morning, women who had just re-stocked their shops after making brisk sales during the Christmas and New Year, Kolanut traders and others realised that they had to start all over again.

Alhaji Idris Hamisu, a trader, said the scene looked like a horror film, adding that it was least expected.

Hamisu, who is from the Northern part of the country, has made Sagamu his second home. He was raised from proceeds of Kolanut sold by his late father in the market.

Idris, who inherited his father’s shop, said: “As soon as we were informed about the fire, we all rushed here, but everywhere was on fire.

“Though we were not supposed to break the main gate, we had to, and by the time we got to our shops, everywhere was on fire.

“We want government to come to our aid by re-building the market and help us financially.”

Madam Animotu Obaneye, who is the head of readymade clothes sellers in the market, also pleaded for government support.

Obaneye, who is her 60’s, lamented that the whole of what used to be the readymade clothes section was consumed fire

“We didn’t know when the fire started. We were only informed much later.

“By the time we got there, we couldn’t salvage an ordinary pin.

“Unfortunately, women of today have become bread winners, though men are the head of homes.

“We plead with the government in the name of God to come to our aid. Their property will not go up in flames.

“Though I am old, those under me are still young and we need government assistance. They should not let us go hungry.”

Mrs. Adenike Adekoya, who sells condiments, said the sorrow in her heart was better imagined. This could not be divorced from the fact that the fire destroyed goods worth about two million naira in her two shops.

“This is the only business I have; it is what I use to feed and send my children to school.

“We, the women here, are bread winners of our families, because there are no men to cater for our needs.

“The fire has rendered us idle because we only sleep and wake up now. I had two big shops in the market and I loaned the money to stock the shops.

“In fact, the fire incident occurred few days after stocking the shops. Government should assist and ensure that the compensation is transparent, so that the monies do not get into wrong hands.”

Mrs. Precious Kalu, who has been selling food stuffs and condiments in the market for about 30 years, also made the same appeal.

“We want the government to help us to rebuild the market because the rainy season is fast approaching,” she said.

Hon. Adewunmi Onanuga, who represents Remo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, visited the market last Wednesday to condole with the victims.     The lawmaker, who arrived to a rousing welcome, had on the previous day moved a motion on the fire incident on the floor of the lower chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja.

Hon. Onanuga,  who arrived the Sabo market around 11 am,  was conducted round the market by Chief Folarin Solarin, the chairman  of the committee set up the Akarigbo of Remo land, Oba Adewale Ajayi, on the burnt market .

Solarin told the lawmaker that an audit of the burnt shops and items had been done.  He handed a copy to the lawmaker.

Hon. Onanuga told victims and the executive of the market that she came to condole with them on the incident. She assured them of government’s support in resuscitating their businesses.

She said: “What the Ewedu seller will get will be different from what the cloth seller will get. Those that the Akarigbo have saddled with the compensation assignment have assured that the task will be done.

“They have identified the extent of the fire, those affected and compiled a list of all victims and they will come up with a sharing formula.

“Just yesterday, I told the entire world through the House of Representatives of this fire incident.

“I also expressed disappointment with the fact that the Fire Service arrived late, but claimed that they do not have water to quench the fire. They went away and before they came back, the entire market had gone up in flames.

“We are deeply concerned about this unfortunate incident and we are going to inquire into the cause of the incident because it is not when such happens that we need to conduct an inquiry.

“We are going to get to the root cause, starting from how the money is disbursed up to the purchase of fire materials.

“As soon as compensation is ready, the committee will ask for account numbers, of those to be compensated. It may not be the actual value of what you lost to fire, but a demonstration that you are dear to the government.

“Personally, I will send a bank draft to the committee involved within the next few days or come to deliver my donation, so that it can be added also to what is coming from the government.

She also promised that she would sponsor the repair of the market’s borehole for the toilet to be functional in days.

Abiodun’s promise

Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun, during an on-the-spot assessment of the market in January, said the market would be rebuilt.

He said: “By the grace of God, we will rebuild this market and we will not waste time, we will put measures in place to ensure it does not happen again in the future.

“We will also look at how to ensure the efficiency of our fire service. Please, I want to enjoin you to be patient and calm. Give the government some time, we will do everything we can to bring succour and relief to all those that are affected.

“We must learn a lesson from what has happened here overnight, this must not happen in any of our markets again.

“My visit has thrown up a few things, we must now begin to look at our markets, how to ensure that we don’t have a repeat of what has happened here.

“We must find a way to guard against this occurrence in the future, we also need to look at our market designs, how accessible are they, how easily accessible are they for fire engines in the case of an eventuality like this.

“We are going to take a count and enumerate all those that have been affected by this fire. I will immediately reach out to them so we can bring some succour to them.

“We will try and see how we can give them some reliefs because a lot has been lost in the fire, so, we will try and figure how we can bring some reliefs to them, while also taking stock and looking at how to reconstruct this market as soon as possible.”

There were fears in the height of the Boko Haram menace under the Goodluck Jonathan administration that the insurgents would bomb Lagos. They tried to, Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola revealed on Thursday. PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU reports.

Minister for Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola has narrated how an attempt by terrorists to bomb Lagos State in 2013 was foiled.

Fashola, who was governor of the state at the time, said the security intercepted 17 suitcases loaded with explosives which were smuggled in to wreak havoc.

He spoke while delivering a lecture titled “Insecurity: Taking actions against organised crime” at the fourth annual public lecture of the United Action for Change (UAC) in Lagos.

Fashola said the suitcases were discovered with the help of citizen information.

“It is when information is offered that law enforcement must act to check, recheck and verify. So, when 17 suitcases loaded with explosives were brought into Lagos in 2013, law enforcement missed it.

“It was citizen information, which we did not discard, that led to their seizure, apprehension of the suspects and their cargo of terror. They were tried in Lagos without public show. That was the period new courts were being built in Badagry and we prosecuted them there. They were given a fair trial because they had lawyers representing them. They were over 20 and were convicted and this enabled government put them in a place where they could no longer harm residents of Lagos,” he said.

According to the minister, the collection of information and the use of it to prevent crime or apprehend criminal activity were often discussed as if it was the prerogative of law enforcement agencies alone.

“Let me be clear that this is the duty of the citizen and it starts with all of us being interested in our wellbeing and security. It involves not only careful choices about lifestyle which will prevent us from being attractive as victims to criminals. It requires us to show more interest in what/who is around us and to pay more attention to unusual things.

“It also requires courage, a lot of it, to be able to share information no matter how innocuous, with law enforcement, to enable them to keep us safe. There is no magic to Intelligence gathering, it is rooted in civic responsibility.

“One institution of civic participation that we must revive, reform and reuse are the Residents/Landlord Association. We need them very quickly. Know your neighbour is a critical first line of defence against any criminal activity and in particular against organised crime.

“It helps to occupy the space of anonymity in which all criminals thrive and provides information or suspicion about irregular or abnormal behaviour that requires attention,” said Fashola.

To contain insecurity, the minister said multilevel policing must be allowed to thrive, noting that those opposing the creation of state/community police were denying a reality they were currently living.

He endorsed the Southwest security network code-named ‘Operation Amotekun’, adding that there should be a legal framework to outline the creation of state police for those may wish to do so.

Fashola also advised states and local governments must take control of open spaces, empty buildings, which usually provide free and unmonitored accommodation for criminals, as well as storage for weapons, drugs and proceeds of crime.

He said laws should be put in place to compel people to identify themselves in public buildings, guest houses/ hotels and have surveillance systems in place, adding that unregistered vehicles or covered number plates should not be tolerated.

“We must recognise that organised crime is a business that we must put out of business because it thrived at our collective peril. The people behind organised crime earn their livelihood from it and also employ people, including the young and able-bodied who play critical roles in the value chain of its operation.

“They have collaborators in critical institutions of the state and at sensitive placed like our borders. Seizures of containers of arms and tramadol at our ports are not accidental. They are the product of vigilance and dedication by border security against organised crime.

“But the question to ask is how many got in undetected? Therefore, the case for immediate action by the budgetary commitment and spending against an illegal business that is investing must be a compelling matter of national consensus.

“The United Kingdom recently made the case for investing £2billion to its existing budget, to fight organised crime. Because of the rewards that organised crime offers by way of illicit funds, and its appeal to the young, old, unemployed and vulnerable, we must move financial controls to another level.”

There must be community policing, says Arase

Former Inspector General of Police (IG) Solomon Arase (retd), who chaired the event, said the police as constituted cannot effectively handle internal security, insisting there must be community partnership.

He endorsed the creation of regional security to complement the police but noted that having many armed security outfits may compound the issues.

“That is why I said the regional arrangement is the hybrid between those people agitating for state police and having federal police. I would not advocate for a situation where you have a proliferation of organisations that are allowed to carry firearms.

“The training and importation of those firearms is also a very critical issue. That is why you could situate those security outfits or whatever they are under the command and control of our current policing system so that way there will be no argument about it.

“It will complement the federal police if you look at the way our present policing is structured, the state governments play a very crucial and fundamental role when it comes to funding. They buy vehicles, they fuel these vehicles. Lagos State has the Security Trust Fund which means that when an officer is incapacitated, they have an insurance scheme for dealing with those issues so these are interventions we do not have to throw away.

“All we have to do is to harness it and fine-tune it. Look at those areas where there are differences in opinions and then chart a pathway on how we can get the whole thing work. We face an extinction threat and that we all have to face and if we want to accept that, it means that we have to do something, think outside the box.”

Arase decried the lack of policy sustainability in the country, noting that it was responsible for the absence of a central crime database and effective tracking system, just as he urged politicians to stop the habit of demanding police protection and by extension robbing the masses of more cops to secure them.

“I remember when I was at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) Panti. We had this case tracking system a professor from Harvard Christopher Stones helped establish and the process was driven by Fashola and his government.

“It was a very good initiative where you can track people who go through the justice system. If we arrest you in Panti, we prosecute you and if you are remanded in prison, people know when you are supposed to go to court.

“Then when you leave, there’s what we called the supervisee system where tabs are kept on the suspects. But that was not sustained. The problem is that once the person who initiated it leaves, there will be no continuity.

“When I was the IG, I know I developed a database where people who have firearms and those looking for a tinted permit had a place where they could do so from the comfort of their homes. It was such that even while driving on the highway, all an officer needed was to check the authenticity of such documents through their phones and all the car details will show.

“But like I said, we do not sustain anything in the country. If we have a country that does not sustain its legacies then you have very serious internal security problems. We must develop a succession plan in every organisation.”

Arase also tasked the government on the provision of basic amenities that will enhance the economic, social and general wellbeing of the citizenry.

He said: “Security as a social contract has moved from its traditional position to include economic, social and environmental security of the people. It is a fact that when people are gainfully employed, they will not take to crime. Hence, the crime rate will reduce.”

Banire: there is tension everywhere

The convener of the public lecture, Dr. Muiz Banire, said everybody and organisations interested in public safety and security should review issues in the country.

“We are in a period when the internal security of our citizens in Nigeria as a corporate entity is most challenged. The tense atmosphere in both the north and south requires that we all ponder in the role of the government and the duties of the citizens in nurturing and preserving the security of citizens towards ensuring the preservation of humanity,” he said.

These are not the best of times for the Service Chiefs as federal lawmakers and others are pushing for their removal. The Presidency does not seem in a hurry to accede to this request, OKODILI NDIDI reports.

These are certainly not the best of times for Nigeria’s Service Chiefs. Many are asking for their removal over worsening insecurity across the country.

The new thinking is that the realities of the moment demand that they should be relieved of their duties and fresh hands engaged to reinvigorate the counter-insurgency and counter-terror campaign.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai; and Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas are in the eye of the storm. Nigerians, more than ever before, are having nightmares over the spate of killings across the country. While the Boko Haram insurgents have scaled up their mindless attacks in the Northeast, bandits and other terror groups are wreaking havoc in many parts of the Northwest and Northcentral zones. Bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements have also been haunting residents of Abuja, the nation’s capital city, and its environs. The opinion of many citizens is that the Service Chiefs are tired hands and legs and that it is time for them to go.

The call for the retirement of the Service Chiefs has also echoed in the two chambers of the National Assembly. Many senators and the House of the Representatives’ members have called for the removal or voluntary resignation of the military chiefs. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and two of the leading socio-cultural groups, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Afenifere have also joined the call.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan, while addressing reporters a few days ago, declared that the nation’s security architecture, as presently constituted, could not produce the desired results in securing the nation and its people. Lawan stressed that the Senate owed Nigerians the responsibility to rise above political partisanship and intervene and change the country’s approach to the handling of security matters. At the resumption of plenary shortly after, over 50 senators called for the sacking of the Service Chiefs, insisting that they have served too long and are already “bereft of ideas” to tackle insecurity. The military chiefs were appointed in 2015. About the same time, the House of Representatives called on the military chiefs to voluntarily resign. The lawmakers had urged President Buhari to sack the military quartet if they failed to resign.

Only last Sunday, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, led members of the Church across the country on a peaceful march to condemn the spate of killings across the country.

Apart from the growing attacks Boko Haram, which Nigerians are blaming on the delayed restructuring of the security architecture, others believe that the continued stay in office of the Service Chiefs poses another serious threat to the health of the country’s military.

Security experts and analysts have also learnt a voice to the call on the military chiefs to quit. In an open letter to the President, the founder of PRNigeria, an online news platform, Yushau A. Shuaib, said the retention of the Service Chiefs would jeopardise the careers progression of other senior officers. This, according to him, has induced premature retirements of senior officers without being allowed to reach the peak of their careers.

In the letter to the President, Shuaib pointed out that the Service Chiefs have exceeded their Run-Out-Dates (ROD), which is the mandatory 35 years of military service, and the additional discretionary extension, which he said, is generally time-bound.

Shuaib’s letter reads: “As you may be aware, Mr. President, apart from attaining the ROD, the tenures of the Defence and Service Chiefs have since expired, going by the revised Armed Forces of Nigeria Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS) for officers.

“In Section 09.08 of the said HTACOS, which is the authoritative and official service order in the military, it is stated that an officer appointed to the substantive appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff and the Chief of Air Staff will hold the appointment for a continuous period of two years. The appointment could be extended for another two years from the date of expiration of the initial two-year period.

“The service chiefs were first appointed in July 2015 and their tenures were extended for an additional two years in 2017, which finally expired in 2019. It has always been the standard practice, since the return of democratic governance to Nigeria in 1999, for Service Chiefs to be in office for a maximum term of two years, except on a few occasions of discretionary extension by Mr. President, after which replacements are made.

“As in the practice in the past, the exit of a service chief automatically impels the departure of their course mates from the service, such that officers who are next in seniority, such as the Chiefs of various corps and departments at the service headquarters; general officers commanding; commandants; brigade commanders; and directors then experience an upward movements in their careers.

“As it is now, at least five sets, and generations of regular course (RC) members, including those in the 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd and 33rd Courses, with the exception of Lt. General Adeosun, have left the service without any of them attaining the highest military positions in their various services. There is the likelihood that those of the 33rd and 34th Courses may also not have the privilege of producing a service chief among them if this trend continues. With limited vacancy, only a few officers can be promoted, while several other brilliant officers would be forced to go on retirement.”

He argued further that “With adequate resources provided to the military chiefs for procurements, recruitments and the training of personnel, they have performed to the best of their abilities; yet recent developments call for more strategic thinking, fresh ideas and a change in the administration and style of managing generations of military talents.”

Amid the deafening call for their removal, the military chiefs met with the President. There was no word from the President after the meeting, suggesting that the Commander-In-Chief was still pleased with the performance of his military appointees.

Speaking shortly after a joint security meeting at the State House, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, said the matter of the military chiefs was not discussed at the meeting. The meeting held barely 24 hours after the federal legislature called for the removal of the officers.

Monguno said: “The meeting made an appraisal of the current security situation in the country and took a look at the possibilities, the opportunities available to government in addressing most of the recent challenges.

“There were discussions, and at the end of the day, the most important thing that we came up with was the need for collaboration; both between governmental agencies and the larger Nigerian society, because of the type of the insurgencies we are faced with, the complexities, the multiplicity of all kinds of issues.

“There is a need for parties, governmental agencies on one hand and the larger society, to collaborate more vigorously. There is a need for us to deal with these problems in a comprehensive manner.

“Therefore, the Council has decided to take a closer look at issues that will help us, not just at the federal level or at the state level, but right down to the local government level. But this is going to be done after due consultations with the relevant stakeholders”.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo also spoke along the same line when he spoke on the security situation on Monday. Without a word concerning the military chiefs, Osinbajo announced plans for increased equipment and personnel for the Armed Forces to enable them to tackle the growing insecurity in the land.

Osinbajo said: “Osinbajo, who spoke during the visit to the Villa, of clergymen under the auspices of Arewa Pastors Forum for Peace, was quoted by his spokesman Laolu Akande, as assuring Christians that the Federal Government was “handling security well”.

The Vice President said: “We are doing everything that needs to be done.

“We are handling security well, and as you know, including military deployment in diverse fields, like the Boko Haram in the Northeast.

“We have to now recruit more into the army, and much faster than we ever did because we need men on the ground; resources also – to buy more arms, to buy more platforms.

“At the last meeting of the National Security Council that was held on Thursday, we had discussions on how to beef up the military’s platforms. How do we beef up the numbers? How do we recruit more men and women into the army? How do we collaborate more with local vigilante, the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and all that,”

“So, there is a lot going on in terms of trying to beef up security. The security situation is one that is very challenging. We are also looking at aspects of surveillance – how we can do more aerial surveillance using drones and electronic devices to improve surveillance.”

However, some stakeholders in the security sector do not believe that the security situation would improve simply by removing the Service Chiefs.

A few of them are of the view that a solution lies in enhanced inter-agency collaboration and citizens’ participation. They also canvased robust intelligence gathering and sharing in the counter-insurgency and war against terrorist campaigns.

For instance, Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola believed that effective management and maintenance of peace and security could only be achieved through cooperation among security agencies and citizens. Aregbesola spoke while addressing the Service Chiefs and Heads of para-military agencies during a workshop organised by the Ministry of Defence in Abuja recently.

According to the minister, “We cannot but work together to achieve the desired objective of acquisition of peace. You must acquire peace before you can maintain peace. We are in a special period as a nation considering the spate of economic and consequential security challenges that we are grappling with. For effective containment of the security challenges, we cannot overlook the need for leadership and synergy in the administration and management of the resources which are institutional, material and human that we deploy to neutralize the threat and their promoters. There cannot be any other way. We must respect one another, we must seek to coordinate our activities, we must collaborate and cooperate.”

Speaking after a meeting with the president on Monday, House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said the generality of the opinion “is that the service chiefs should go”.

“That was evident in our debates in the House of Representatives and the Senate, but, sometimes, you don’t want a knee-jack reaction.

“Many of us identify that something drastic has to be done, there’s also the school of thought that says since we are talking about banditry, kidnapping and murders, what have the armed forces got to do with that, anywhere in the world? So the question then arises that if he changes the service chiefs, does that address the issues of kidnapping and banditry? The army, navy and air force are outfits set up to tackle external aggression. It is the police that is set up for internal security, such as we are all witnessing.

“That’s talking about Service chiefs, has the Inspector-General of Police met up with his responsibilities? The question is if we now narrow it that to the Inspector General to Police, many will argue that he has done a very good job and many will argue with you that he’s hamstrung, straight-jacketed, there’s very little he can do in the face of no equipment, no funding and we explained to Mr President that we have to increase funding, we have to recruit more,” he said.

Lawan, who was also at the meeting, said the country should do everything for the security agencies to perform better, concluding that “we have reached a tipping point that everybody in Nigeria is concerned about the security situation”.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) put the environmental cost of gas flaring to Nigeria at N28.8 billion ($94 million) annually. The huge revenue loss to gas flaring could be used to finance key infrastructure projects. Experts are, therefore, calling on the government to tighten the loose ends in its regulatory framework and gas infrastructure to stem the scourge. They note that this will also help make Nigeria part of the global push to achieve zero gas flaring by 2030. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports

It was probably the most comprehensive and promising policy strategy to end gas flaring in Nigeria. But like other policies that came before it, there are concerns that the Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP) may go the way of previous policies that failed to make good their promises of eliminating gas flaring and halting the mind-boggling financial haemorrhage it has continued to inflict on the economy and the environment of oil-bearing communities in the Niger Delta region.

The NGFCP is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources. It was launched on December 13, 2016. The Programme was designed as the strategy to implement the Federal Government’s policy objectives of eliminating gas flaring, reducing the environmental and social impacts of gas flaring, preventing the waste of the natural resource, and creating social and economic benefits from gas flare capture.

To achieve these objectives, the Federal Government, under NGFCP, hire competent third party investors (i.e. licensees) through a transparent and competitive bidding process to capture the flared gas, utilise and monetise it. The licensees will then be required to use the necessary technology to set up facilities for the delivery and collection of gas at the flare points.

To further underscore its resolve to prohibit gas flaring, the government went a notch higher, issuing the “Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations 2018.” The new regulation increased the gas flare penalty for oil-producing companies.

Accordingly, it set a penalty of $2 per thousand standard cubic feet of gas for production of 10, 000 barrels of crude oil per day or more; the penalty of $0.5 per thousand standard cubic feet for those producing less than 10, 000 barrels per day.

The regulation also imposed a mandatory additional payment of $2.50 per cubic feet for failure to produce accurate flare data, sign connection agreement and provide access to flare site.

The NGFCP put the number of gas flare points across the crude oil production fields in the country at 178. A source in the industry said: “Government must roll up its sleeve and address the absence of infrastructural support particularly the lack of processing and storage facilities, as well as pass other components of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).”

He also said despite the Programme’s launch, Nigeria still lacked a clear-cut strategy to end gas flaring. This, he said, stemmed from the country’s weak regulatory framework, below optimal punitive measures for gas flare defaulters, as well as low incentives for investors in the gas value chain.

Gas flaring, according to industry experts, is flared associated gas produced alongside crude oil. This loss may result from inadequate or absence of technology to separate the gas from crude oil and lack of infrastructure to capture, store, process and monetize the associated gas.

Some oil and gas companies are said to prefer to flare gas, as it is cheaper to pay gas flare penalty than building the requisite infrastructure to capture and put the flared gas into use.

This, The Nation learnt, must be why major oil companies prefer the cheaper option of flaring gas as a waste product to deploying huge resources into processing gas for domestic and other uses.

The Chief Executive Officer of Degeconek Nigeria Limited, and former President of Nigeria Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Abiodun Adesanya, confirmed this much when he said fines for gas flaring are not punitive enough to deter companies from flaring gas.

Derefaka, however, insisted that the Regulations 2018 were couched “To make sure that investors have that appetite to say this is actually a viable business and come in.” Exuding so much confidence, he described the NGFCP as “The first global gas flare initiative in the world.”

However, more than three years down the line, the initiative, widely acknowledged by stakeholders in the oil & gas industry as a unique and historic opportunity to attract major investments in economically viable gas flare capture projects and also permanently address a seemingly intractable environmental menace has not recorded much progress.

This is so judging by current statistics and positions of Nigeria in the global push to end gas flaring. Multinational professional services company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) put the situation in perspective when it said in its latest report that the Nigerian economy lost an estimated N233 billion, about $761.6 million, to gas flaring in 2018.

In the report titled “Assessing the Impact of Gas Flaring on Nigeria’s Economy,” PwC, citing the World Bank, said gas flaring cost the global economy $20 billion, about N7.2 trillion, in 2018. It, however, said Nigeria’s economy lost N233 billion ($761.6 million) to gas flaring, which translated to 3.8 per cent of the global total cost in 2018.

As if the monetary cost of gas flaring to Nigeria is not depressing and unflattering enough, PwC, in the report made available to The Nation, also said the environmental cost of gas flaring amounted to N28.8 billion, about $94 million, annually, according to the National Environmental, Economic and Development Study (NEEDS) for Climate Change in Nigeria.

The report, however, noted that the percentage of gas flared in Nigeria has been reducing since 2002, and stood at 10 per cent in 2018. It attributed the drop to increased reinjection of gas to lift more crude oil out of the wells when production declines; significant growth in industrialisation around oil-producing areas, which has been responsible for mopping up gas flares for industrial use.

It also said growing environmental awareness and regulations has compelled International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria to cut down their emissions level due to global outcry. “With global oil markets somewhat depressed, more countries and oil producers are investing in the commercialization of gas as the current growth market,” it added.

PwC, however, said in terms of volume of gas flared, Nigeria still ranked in the top 10 gas-flaring countries in the world, with 7.4 billion cubic feet in 2018. It stated that the total gas flared in Nigeria accounted for 6.9 per cent of the top 10 gas-flaring countries in 2018.

The PwC publication was the first of a three-part series on the Nigerian gas sector, aimed at highlighting the industry issues and challenges, as well as assesses the opportunities across the value chain, in addition to providing an outlook for the sector.

The report, which was authored by a team of six in-house experts led by Partner, Energy, Utilities & Resources Leader, PwC, Pedro Omontuemhen, said the economic effect of gas flaring was quantified in terms of the lost amount of revenue that could have been generated from utilizing the volume of gas flared.

How gas flaring hurts Nigeria

The PwC report gave disturbing details of how gas flaring hurts the economy and the environment. For instance, the report did not mince words when it said the N233billion revenue lost from gas flaring could have been put to economic use. The firm said the huge sum could be used to finance many priority projects.

It said, for instance, that the N233 billion can finance other development projects valued at N9.8 billion; rehabilitate airports and aerodrome worth N12.4 billion; build roads valued at N116 billion; finance housing and health capital expenditure at N12.6 billion and N57 billion, respectively; electricity and climate change, at N10.7 billion and N1.1 billion, respectively.

That is not all. PwC also said from its analysis, Nigeria also lost value from the derivatives that could be produced if gas was transported to refineries for further processing. “The monetary economic value addition that could have been recovered from derivatives of natural gas flared in 2018 totalled $2.73 billion,” it said.

Also, aside from the revenue value from gas derivatives, there are other economic benefits if gas processing activities are carried out, such as more job opportunities, infrastructure development, etc.

Indeed, Derefaka had at a recent conference in Lagos, projected that over two years, the NGFCP could generate approximately 26, 000 direct jobs, with an average labour force of 300 per project and approximately 300, 000 direct and indirect jobs.

Apart from contributing to the nation’s GDP to the tune of $800 million to $1 billion annually, the Programme Manager also said if flared gas is properly exploited, it has the potential to produce 600,000 MT of LPG per year and generate 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of power from new and existing Independent Power Projects (IPPs).

Derefaka revealed that Nigeria currently utilises almost 700 mmscf/d of gas for power production, which could be doubled by capturing and commercialising flared gas. He added that about $3.5 billion worth of inward investments are required to achieve the country’s flare gas commercialisation targets by 2020.

Missed flare-out targets

Although the NGFCP was Nigeria’s latest shot at ending gas flaring and its associated economic and environmental costs, the government had in the past come up with several policies regulating gas flaring, which never worked.

For instance, there was the 1979 “Associated Gas Re-Injection Amendment Decree 99”, to compel oil and gas producing companies to submit proposals for the utilisation of associated gas in their operating areas and stop gas flaring, except by express permission of the Minister.

Where gas is flared without obtaining the permission of the Minister in writing, it amounts to an offence resulting in the forfeiture of concessions granted concerning the field or fields in connection to which the offence was committed.

The minister may grant permission if satisfied that gas re-injection is not feasible, by the issuance of a certificate which permits a company engaged in the production of oil or gas to continue to flare gas upon the payment of charges prescribed by the minister from time to time.

Also, in 2008, the government unveiled the “Nigeria Gas Master Plan.” Its target was to stimulate the multiplier effect of gas in the domestic economy, position Nigeria competitively in high-value export markets, and guarantee Nigeria’s long term energy security. Ultimately, its target was to end gas flaring in 2008. Again, the deadline wasn’t met.

On the strength of the NGFCP, the Federal Government also set another deadline to end regular gas flaring by 2020. But as the 2020 deadline drew closer, Derefaka dashed the hopes of Nigerians when he admitted that the government was experiencing slips. He even requested a change of timeline.

He said: “We have gone back to the drawing board to come up with a robust timeline, where we will actualise some of it. Federal Government has said it would end gas flaring by 2020, but the United Nations’ deadline is 2030. Not all the flare sites will go by 2020. Some will go next year and the rest after.”

What was his reason (s) for shifting the goal post? Again, Derefaka explained: “The reason is that we are not looking to construct long pipelines. But we are looking at scalable technology that can be used to harness flare…”

That was in Abuja, at the unveiling of a documentary produced by Africa Initiative for Transparency, Accountability and Responsible Leadership on the impact of the country’s corruption and growing conflict on investment on the nation’s economy.

Before it became obvious that the zero gas flaring by 2020 was not feasible, the former Group Managing Director of the national oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, had announced that Nigeria would achieve the 2020 target.

The former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, also insisted that the Federal Government’s target to exit gas flaring in 2020 remained.

To end the scourge

Beyond the reasons adduced by Derefaka for Nigeria’s failure to achieve the 2020 deadline, are there other hurdles in the way to eliminating gas flaring in Africa’s largest oil producer?

What can Nigeria, which has the largest proven gas reserves in Africa and the ninth-largest in the world (as at 2018), with 5, 675 billion cubic metres (200.41 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas, do to be part of the global push to end gas flaring by 2030?

The Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) Partnership, which is the leading concerted effort in eliminating gas flaring globally, hopes to achieve zero gas flaring by 2030.

The UN is also looking at 2030 for zero gas flare, just as the International Energy Agency (IEA) said it believes that gas flaring will drop to zero level by 2030, due to individual and joint government commitments via regulatory pledges to the cause.

While President Muhammadu Buhari had on the strength of the 2015 Paris Accord, committed to contributing to reducing gas emissions which of course gas flaring contributes to, experts say that such commitment must be backed by the strong political will to sort out the issues responsible for failure to meet earlier national flare-out targets.

According to them, mustering the necessary political will is required to tighten Nigeria’s perceived loose regulatory framework and legislative backing for initiatives aimed at ending gas flaring. It will also help address the lack of infrastructure required to capture, produce and evacuate the gas.

Massive investments in gas infrastructure (pipelines and processing plant) between gas supply sources and the market, according to experts, would create a sustainable evacuation route for flared gas and other gas sources.

“An infrastructure-enabled system will ensure it is more expensive to flare gas,” PwC said, adding that there is also need to expedite the passage of other components of the PIB into law.

It stated that the Petroleum Industry Administration Bill, Petroleum Industry Host Community Bill and Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill are components of the PIB that are yet to be passed.

World’s leading aircraft manufacturer Boeing has successfully carried out test flight on its latest aircraft-Boeing 777X. It is the largest twin-engine plane designed to revolutionise long-haul travel by making flights more fuel-efficient, writes KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR.

Foremost aircraft manufacturer-Boeing Commercial Airplanes dazzled global aviation last Monday when it carried out test flight on its latest machine-Boeing 777X.

The aircraft is the world’s largest twin-engine plane designed to carry 426 passengers in a two-class cabin configuration.

The manufacturer said the aircraft will revolutionise long-haul travel by making flights more fuel-efficient. It has a unique folding wingtip technology, which makes the aircraft more airport-friendly.

The plane, which is 77m (252ft) long, took off from a runway just outside Seattle on the United States (US) West Coast. Four hours later, it landed at the historic Boeing Field, not far from rows of 737MAX planes grounded after two fatal crashes triggered safety concerns.

Produced since 2017, it took the company three attempts to get Boeing 777X off the ground as the first two planned test were abandoned.

The 777X is a larger and more efficient version of Boeing’s successful 777 mini-jumbos. Standout features include folding wingtips and the world’s largest commercial engines.

“It represents the great things we can do as a company,” said 777X Marketing Director Wendy Sowers.

Boeing said it has sold 309 of the plane – worth more than $442 million each at list prices.

The plane will go head-to-head with the Airbus A350-, which seats about 360 passengers.

Likely to jolt competition in the technologically driven air transport sector, the Boeing 777X  is coming at a time the Boeing Company is exploring strategies to boost its image after its Boeing 737-800Max  was grounded on account of two crashes involving Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines where over 346 persons died.  It has a range of 7,285 nautical miles with a fuselage that’s 251 feet, 9 inches long and a wingspan of 238 ft., 10 inches that include the unique folding wing tips which give the aircraft a distinct advantage. Each 12 feet long, allow the aircraft to operate at the same Code E airport span limit as the smaller A350 and Boeing 777 aircraft.

The 777X will introduce a number of passenger experience improvements, including higher and larger 162 square inch windows. By comparison, the windows on the existing Boeing 777 are 140 square inches while the ones on the Airbus A350 are 125 square inches.

The larger windows will not only give passengers a better view of the skies, but also let in more natural light enhancing the sense of space on board and contributing to passenger well-being. They will also be dimmable; a popular feature first introduced by Boeing on the 787 Dreamliner aircraft, and will include a special film coating that will keep out infrared and ultraviolet rays.

Following the successful maiden voyage, Boeing Executive Stan Deal said: “It’s a proud day for us. It made all of our employees proud one more time of who we are and what we get to do, by flying a brand-new aeroplane that is going to change the world one more time.”

Boeing’s new 777X is expected to enter service in 2021, with development issues. This means that this is a year later than planned. Each plane is worth  $442 million (£338 million).

More than 300 of the planes have already been sold and the jet is expected to compete with the A350-1000, a new offering by rival Airbus. It gets a bit muddy from there, with Emirates telling Flight Global that it’s still expecting 126 777X aircraft in all as “future deliveries”.

In stormy conditions, Boeing needs a big win. Today’s successful take-off is a positive leap forward, reassuring customers that the programme is back on track and giving employees something to cheer about.

Boeing has orders for 309 777X aircraft on the books from eight announced airlines and unidentified customers.

The published list of customers include: All Nippon Airways (ANA) with an order for 20  aircraft; British Airways (18); Cathay Pacific (21); Emirates (115); Etihad Airways (25); Lufthansa (20); Qatar Airways (60) and Singapore Airlines (20). Emirates’ commitment was for 150 of the aircraft type, but following engine-related delays, it reduced the order to 126 at the last year’s Dubai Air Show, taking 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners instead.

In December, as Flight Global reported, the order was adjusted down again. Emirates said 11 of the original 777X aircraft on order were subject to reconfirmation.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would not grant clearance for the planes before 2020.

All versions of the 737MAX were grounded worldwide in March, days after an Ethiopian Airlines plane came down outside Addis Ababa, and five months after a Lion Air flight suffered a similar fate near Indonesia. Boeing has been working with US regulators to ensure the planes are safe – with modifications focusing on an anti-stall device called the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) in the hope of returning the 737MAX to service.

Further tests are needed before the aircraft enters service with Emirates next year.

It is attempting to have the plane re-approved for flight.

The grounding of the 737Max, which had been Boeing’s best-selling plane, is estimated to have already cost Boeing more than $9 billion.

Regulatory hurdles do lie ahead for the 777X, which will be the first major aircraft to be certified since the role of software flaws in two fatal 737MAX crashes emerged.

The Federal Aviation Administration has vowed that rigorous testing will be conducted before the plane is allowed to carry passengers – while Emirates, one of Boeing’s clients, has said the plane should be put through “hell on earth” to ensure it is safe and performs properly.

Sports, apart from helping to keep the body in good condition, have become means of livelihood to practitioners, who are paid for doing well at different tournaments. Host countries or communities always  showcase their economic and tourism potential, which was the major reason for conceiving the Ikogosi 10km marathon, writes ADEYINKA ADEDIPE.

The excitement that greeted the news of the Ikogosi 10kilometre race among long-distance runners in Nigeria, particularly those indigenous to Ekiti State, was encouraging. The feeling was that it would be a worthy addition to many short and long-distance races in the country and give everyone involved in the project the opportunity to be part of history.

Despite the core reason of ensuring that the athletes competed in a convivial atmosphere and be rewarded with cash prizes for their efforts, the race was carefully conceived to bring sports and tourism together, boost the local economy and promote good health, particularly in the state and the country in general.

So, on December 7, last year, the stage was set for the maiden edition of the race, which held in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. The race, which had over 2,000 runners competing, began at Aramoko through Erijinyan and terminated at the famous Ikogosi Resort, where runners, government officials, visitors and residents were treated to the best of comedy and music.

The harsh harmattan weather did not deter runners from joining the race. They were determined to be part of the historic moment. They were cheered by fans in towns where they passed through and those, who needed water and medical attention received them.

At the end of the race, the duo of Sdjo Ismael of Cross River State and Rose Akusho of Plateau State emerged champions in the male and female categories.

Ismael finished in 30 minutes 40 seconds to confine Adamu Shehu Muazu from Plateau State, who clocked a time of 31 minutes 21.09 seconds for second place position, while Osun State’s Oyebode Dada Sunday came third in a time of 31 minutes 47.01 seconds.

Twenty-one-year-old Akusho beat David Adiye from Ondo State, who finished in a time of 36 minutes 51.04 seconds for the second position while Onan Saleh also from Plateau State finished third with a time of 37 minutes 30.09 seconds in the women’s category. The first three finishers in both categories received N1 million, N500, 000 and N300,000 respectively for their efforts.

According to the race organisers, Ikogosi Marathon Initiative (IMI) and the Ekiti State government, the race, apart from providing mouth-watering prize monies, is meant to improve the awareness of health lifestyle through running activities; inspire as many people as possible to take part in physical activity; lowering levels of illnesses caused by inactivity and improving the health of the community. It would also promote Ekiti State and Ikogosi brand worldwide by inviting international and elite athletes, which would, in turn, attract local and foreign direct investments.

Some of the goals that drove this initiative, according to Seun Labiran, the IMI boss, are youth development, making Ekiti more visible to the world through tourism and hospitality, and to attract investments to the state.

The race is also meant to be a platform for regular people and aspiring local athletes to compete with world-class (elite athletes) with the hope that budding talents would be discovered and go on to represent the state and the country at international events.

Remarkably, the number of young men and women, who trained in preparation for the race, was really encouraging. They also turned out in large numbers on the day.

Sports have been known for being all-inclusive activity, which celebrate life, health and fitness. And that was what the organisers had in mind when conceiving the idea. The hosting of events in general and sport events specifically has been revealed as means of improving the economy, especially the tourism or hospitality market.

Labiran also noted that benefits of the race included creation of infrastructure; enhancing community image; investment; marketing; tax generation; positive income; job creation; revenue generation; sport promotion; health and fitness; creating local entertainment; enhancing community pride; urban regeneration and regional development, to mention a few. It was also a deliberate move to name the race after a popular resort in the state, the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort.

“The meeting of the warm and cold water springs at Ikogosi is a rare phenomenon that deserves more attention on the world stage than it is getting right now. By making Ikogosi the centre of the race, we hope to focus the attention of the world on this phenomenon and establish Ekiti as a major tourists centre in the country.

“This should, in turn, lead to a lot of direct and indirect investments in the state that will create jobs for the people and improve the economy of the state. We are strategic about using this initiative to promote this resort, especially as it stands to generate significant revenue for Ekiti people and Ekiti State government,” he said.

He commended Governor Kayode Fayemi for supporting the race.

“We leaned heavily on the state’s infrastructure and models in ensuring that the race became a success. The state Ministry of Youths and Sports, through the Commissioner, Michael Awopetu, as well as the Permanent Secretary, did their best in helping us to secure the needed approval.

“Although the event was completely sponsored by the Ikogosi Marathon Initiative, the state ensured an enabling environment by making sure we had access to all the necessary state apparatus such as security agencies, health agencies and workers, sports agencies and even enabled a seamless relationship with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as we employed the services of corps members as paid volunteers for this event,” he said.

On plans to expand the race next year and attract international stars, Labiran revealed that the race would be upgraded to a half-marathon (21km) with better cash prizes.

He said: “We plan to expand both the elite athletes’ participation and the fun runner participation well beyond the shores of the country as the plan is for the Ikogosi Marathon to be the biggest race event in the country in the next five years.

“Our drive is to ensure that we beat our personal best. By this we mean, we are committed to ensuring that the next year’s edition turn out better on all fronts. No matter what standards we have set or are in the course of setting, we are firmly committed to raising the bar every edition of Ikogosi Marathon.

“We have learnt a lot of valuable lessons from the first edition in terms of organisation and logistics and in terms of understanding the terrain and these lessons are already being used to fine-tune preparations for the next event to ensure that the difficulties faced and the shortcomings of the last event are efficiently dealt with to make subsequent events more successful.”

Governor Fayemi, who commended all the participants, especially those who won cash prizes, said the race would help in projecting the state to the outside world and bring to fore the investment, tourism and sports opportunities of the state.

“The opportunity for Ekiti State to either host or be an integral component of the organisation of a major sports event is good opportunity that cannot be ignored as it serves the interest of the Ekiti people, especially the youth.

“It became readily identifiable that this initiative promises to yield a number of positive long-term benefits to Ekiti State, Ekiti people and the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort. It is in the interest of Ekiti people, who I am elected to serve, that this government gave all the necessary support to Ikogosi Marathon Initiative. They can count on our support in the next edition of this marathon,” the governor said and presented the prizes to the winners.

The Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) rallied all stakeholders to resolve the Apapa Port conundrum. ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE, who was at the meeting, writes.

Perhaps Mr Frank Aigbogun, publisher of BusinessDay, had intended to quietly observe the stakeholders’ forum called at the instance of the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) penultimate week. But when he was invited to give the media side of the conundrum, he left a splatter that shaped the rest of the debate, challenging all to rise in finding a solution to the national embarrassment at the nation’s busiest port.

Aigbogun narrated how shortly before Christmas, he had signed a cheque of N690,000 to carry a 40ft container of newsprint from the Apapa port to his Apapa office.

He said: “I signed a cheque last week (shortly before Christmas), to take three containers of our newsprint and each trailer was N690,000. It was like taking my blood and I am asking myself where do the monies go to? When we started business in Apapa, we were paying at worst N40,000 to bring a container, it rose to N100,000 and now N690,000 for one container. Who is sharing the money? I think we can solve the problem in Apapa. We solved it in September 2019, why can’t we solve it now? Why should we allow this mess to continue?” Participants at the Rockview Hotel Hall, venue of the event were stunned, but he was not done.

For Aigbogun, not only was doing business becoming increasingly difficult, even living, is. He revealed that he had abandoned his house in Apapa.

“These days, it is almost a nightmare coming into or leaving Apapa. Often, my members of staff had asked me to turn back or not to come to the office at all, due to the gridlock. I have lost many members of staff, who resigned because the traffic is telling on their health.

Describing Apapa as the nation’s shame, Aigbogun said: “It is time we all agreed that enough is enough. Let all those who are, or have contributed to turning Apapa on its head be ashamed of themselves, and let all of us repent and decide to make Apapa work again.” Aigbogun’s revelation poignantly pointed at the malady that the Apapa ports – whether the Apapa Wharf, the Tin Can Island Port or the Roll on Roll Off (RORO) have all become.

It was not only Aigbogun that felt the urgency to rewrite the narratives on Apapa. The Executive Vice- Chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Restoration of Order on all access roads and Port Area Comrade Kayode Opeifa feels the same.

He and all at the event believed some people are benefitting from the confusion and these profiteers won’t stop unless there is a concerted effort by all stakeholders to crush it.

Opeifa’s team confronted this truth when he moved to Apapa on May 22. He described the endemic situation at Apapa as “a huge cesspool of organised confusion.”

The Task Team originally had a very short time frame – three weeks. But as at the time Opeifa was briefing residents and other stakeholders on January 15, the Task Team he heads had stayed nine months, with all indicators of its successes heading southwards.

Opeifa aided by a truckload of videos and photo  evidences of various sections of Apapa since he assumed the role in May showed all what his team has been confronting. He asserted that the PTT was recording huge successes until September 2019. “As at September, we were even contemplating moving out of Apapa to allow other government agencies consolidate on our successes,” Opeifa said.

The Presidential directive setting up the Task Team among others mandated it to: – ensure the immediate removal of all trucks from the bridges and roads within Apapa and all adjoining streets leading into the Apapa axis and the development of an efficient and effective management plan for the entire port area traffic, including the cargo, fuel distribution and business district traffic.

The PTT, according to Opeifa, is to enforce the permanent removal of all trucks stationary on the highway, develop an effective manual truck call-up system, pending the introduction of the electronic truck call-up system, develop and implement a workable empty container return and export container truck handling policy, amongst others.

It was also mandated to remove all extortionist and illegal traffic control groups around Port operations.

To facilitate its success, the President also mandated the PTT to ensure all trucks and tanker operators vacate the port access roads within 72 hours, and the immediate withdrawal of all Nigerian Navy and other military formations from traffic management in and around the Apapa axis, dismantle military and paramilitary checkpoints in front of the ports and its environs.

President Muhammadu Buhari also authorised the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), as the lead traffic management agency in Apapa and ordered NPA to commence the immediate use of the Lilypond Terminal and Trailer Park A as a truck transit parks.

Giving his progress report on these mandates to stakeholders, Opeifa, said while the Navy and military authorities largely complied with the directive of the Commander-in-Chief, isolated cases of compromises still abound from the rank and file, mostly at night.

However, military and paramilitary checkpoints in front of the port area and its environs have refused to comply with the presidential order, with the Nigerian Custom Services (NCS) and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) still maintaining check points along Wharf Road, especially opposite Area B Police Command.

LASTMA’s effort to move in as the lead traffic management agency have been resisted with its officers physically attacked, adding that two LASTMA officers and a policeman have lost their lives since the exercise began.

Opeifa reported that the PTT enjoyed the cooperation of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), with the opening of Lilypond, for the staging of trucks while waiting for the manula call up designed by the team.

To evacuate the trucks from the bridges and the port access roads, the PTT approved 40 nominated parks outside Apapa to serve as Temporary Truck Parks (TTP), while it developed a time schedule for all categories of transportation needs of the Apapa Port access roads, providing that all flat beds have easy access to the ports while trucks servicing manufacturing companies move in before 10:00 a.m., while other classes of trucks entering have schedules largely controlled by the call-up system by all the terminal operators.

The mandate according to Opeifa was largely successful, until sponsored protests dipped the gains, discrediting the entire restoration operations.

To ease the pressure NPA Lilypond Truck Transit Park (LTTP) managers worked extra hard to decongest the park, until October 24, when hoodlums, resisting restoration clean ups by the Lagos state Taskforce on Environmental and Miscellaneous Offences attacked Lilypond. The LTTP is yet to recover from the effect of that attack. It is currently operating at just about 5% of its capacity.

Opeifa traced the crisis in Apapa since October to the shutting of Lilypond, urging a return of Lilypond to its pre-October status.

On the restoration of law and order, Opeifa reported that law and order has been fully restored in Apapa Wharf, Lagos Badagry-Iganmu and the Ijora axis, as well as on the Mile 2 to Tin Can Port Gate.

Opeifa believed that to defeat corruption that is fighting back at the PTT achievements, the LTTP, and call up system designed by all stakeholders must work.

The Apapa Ports Manager for the NPA Mrs Funmilayo Olotun, agreed with Opeifa. She said the gains of the PTT’s intervention is being reversed by complicit officials of Nigerian Navy and other paramilitary officials who directly aid flouting of laid down rules by truck drivers.

She said it is common to see trucks moving into Apapa aided by armed military officials, saying that for Apapa to work, there must be concerted effort to end the menace.

“What is going on at Apapa is a shame to Nigerians and we must be desperate to wipe it out,” Olotun said.

The Apapa Port chief also urged the Nigeria Customs Service to rejig its operations by ensuring that when trucks with contrabound goods are impounded and the offenders prosecuted, it does not protect its officers who had approved the cargo to leave the port gates.

She assured the Shippers’ Council of the NPA readiness led by its Managing Director Hadiza Ahmed to co-operate with other federal and state government agencies and other stakeholders to make Apapa work.

The Customs Service represented by Danladi Muazu commended the Nigeria Shppers’ Council for the stakeholders initiative. He said the NSC Comptroller-General is committed to ensuring that the bad eggs within its operations are weeded out.

Representative of the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) Chief Frank Nyiaogu lamented that many of its members are currently operating below installed capacity and some have outrightly closed shop due to the unfavourable environment, especially at the port.

Chief Sam Agu, who spoke on behalf of the NSC praised the PTT.  According to him, the stakeholders’ forum was called by the shippers council to come up with solutions to the lingering challenges at Apapa, even as he said that attempts are being made to commit stakeholders to effecting changes that would make the port devoid of unwholesome practices.

He advocated among others the return of full operationalisation of Lilypond and Tin Can truck terminals.

Akin Onole, Managing Director of GDNL, one of the terminal operators said Apapa as presently constituted is a human crisis and its solution also lies with all agreeing to make it possible.

He said: “If Apapa works, we are all winners, but as it is today, we are all victims. For Apapa to work, all hands must be on deck. There is need for better coordination and co-operation among the task team, the NPA, the shippers council and all other stakeholders.

Femi Olawore a major fish importer said the Apapa traffic congestion has been a major challenge to him and most of his colleagues in the fishmongers business. He wants the NPA and the task Team to continue to work at sanitising traffic management at Apapa.

While Opeifa would want all stakeholders to see Apapa as a wheel where all must fully be committed to make it work, the Chairman of the Apapa GRA Residents’ Association Brig-Gen Ayo Vaughan (rtd) echoed Aigbogun’s agony.

He said he was sent to the summit to make just one plea; “help us return Apapa’s glory.”

Most of us have suffered and have continued to suffer the agony of living here. Many of us retirees have lost our means of livelihoods. At old age, many have had to leave their homes to become tenants in other parts of Lagos. For how long shall these continue?”

That was a question all stakeholders at the summit left unanswered.