The Nation Newspaper

Tag: bans

  • NPA bans empty containers from ports

    Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director (MD) Hadiza Bala Usman has warned truck drivers and owners against bringing empty containers to the ports.

    Henceforth, such containers must be taken to the shipping firms’ holding bays.

    Ms Usman is said to have directed operators to stop using their terminals for storing empty container and no truck driver or owner must be allowed by any official of the NPA and terminal operators to bring empty containers into the ports after delivering goods to importers.

    Ms Usman took the step to manage traffic in and around the ports.

    Over 40 per cent of the space at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) and the Tin-Can Island Port is occupied by empty containers.

    Ms Usman also ordered terminal operators to declare the number of empty containers in their terminals.

    Most of the firms at the ports have no holding bays, despite the huge money they have generated since the ports were concessioned in 2006.

    The NPA, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Shippers Council  and the Nigeria Customs Service, it was alleged, do not have a record of the empty containers in most terminals.

    Speaking with The Nation in Lagos, a senior official of the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMoT), who  pleaded not to be named, urged the government to support NPA in stopping operators from using terminals for storing.

    “The Federal Government must support Ms Usman in her efforts to bring sanity to our ports. The shipping companies who are the owners of the empty containers must acquire holding bays that will receive them. The empty containers are to be evacuated to port terminals for export based on call-up system to be managed by the shipping firms and terminal operators,’’ the official said.

    Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi and the NPA, the  official said, should direct operators to publish weekly the number of cargoes with empty containers, at the ports. Most of the operators, the official alleged, connived with some NPA officials and shipping firms to keep containers at their terminals to create the impression that the ports are busy.

    Lagos State Shippers’Association Chairman Mr. Jonathan Nicol said  shipping firms were required to have bays. He added that most of the containers were in bad shape and could no longer be returned to Europe.

    Nicol said the containers were bought at cheaper prices to ship goods to Nigeria where they were  dumped. “Nigeria is not a dumping ground for containers. Now that there is no space in the ports for these containers, the shipping firms need to get holding bays and if they don’t have, they should hire,” he said.

    He also said the country was losing N1 trillion yearly through cargo diversion to neighbouring countries due to the gridlock on the ports’ access roads.

    Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) immediate past president Prince Olayiwola Shittu advised shipping firms to get holding bays or rent them, adding: “There are so many companies with holding bays that are looking for people to rent them.”

    Shittu said the step being taken by the NPA would save importers demurrage on containers trapped in Apapa gridlock for days and reduce cost of goods in the market.

    Some truck drivers said the challenge was that there was no truck park in Apapa, resulting in a situation where trucks were parked by the roadside and on bridges  waiting to be called up to bring their empty containers into the terminals.

    An importer, Chief Onasanya Ladejobi, expressed concern over the Apapa gridlock, which hinders access to the ports.

    Ladejobi said the bad roads were hampering trade and affecting delivery of cargoes. He said the empty containers must be moved to their ports of origin and  ports infrastructure be revamped to revive the economy.

    The business community,  according to him, is unhappy that measures adopted have not  yielded results to free the roads leading to LPC and the Tin-Can Island Port.

    The business community and port users, he said, were waiting for what he called “positive action” from Amaechi soon, adding that the quick rehabilitation of the road must be one of the minister’s major priorities in salvaging the economy.

    The Federal Government, states and stakeholders, he said, should work together to find a lasting solution to the problem.

    Ladejobi called for the promotion of agro-allied products export to free the ports and boost the economy, noting that he was not happy that about 90 per cent of containers traffic left the ports empty.

    The importer urged the public and private sectors to support government’s efforts at diversifying the economy.

    X-raying the ports’ last quarter operations, he said  there was  the  need to complement the NPA’s efforts at massive investments in infrastructural renewal and automation of port operations by generating enough export cargo to move empty containers out of the ports.

    The NPA, he said, must collaborate with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Abuja Commodities & Exchange Commission in the promotion of solid minerals and agro-allied products to boost the economy. The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and Nigerian Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACIMA), he said, must also work with the NPA in tandem with the Federal Government policy on export promotion.

  • Lagos bans cart pushers, wheelbarrow operators

    Lagos bans cart pushers, wheelbarrow operators

    The Lagos State Government yesterday announced a total ban on the operations of cart pushers and wheel barrow operators in the state, saying that their activities were inimical to environmental cleanliness. In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tunji Bello, the State Government said that with the flag off of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), the continuous activities of cart pushers will pose a threat to the success of the initiative.

    Bello said that investigations had also revealed that the cart pushers are responsible for most of the illegal dumping of waste in canals and road medians at night which causes flooding, adding that aside constituting environmental nuisance, they were also traces of security threats.

    “What the State Government has discovered is that these set of people use the night to perpetrate all sorts of dastardly acts. They dump refuse indiscriminately on the median of major roads and highways. They also pose serious security threats because they use those carts to hide arms and ammunition and hide under the guise of carrying refuse to rob unsuspecting residents,” the SSG said.

    He said that the state government has finalised plans to ensure that the CLI would cover every area of the state and ensure that refuse are well packed and collected, urging residents to desist from patronising them or risk prosecution. “The State Government has declared zero tolerance for the activities of cart pushers and wheel barrow operators. Security agencies in the state have been directed to ensure that those found still operating are arrested and prosecuted according to the state environmental laws.

    “The law also applies to residents who patronise cart pushers. It is an offence and the state government would not hesitate to enforce the law to put a stop to such practice,” Bello said.

     

  • Govt bans open grazing to stop killings by herdsmen

    Govt bans open grazing to stop killings by herdsmen

    Governors offer land for cattle colonies

    40,000 displaced in Benue

    Women protest

    Communique of meeting on killings

    •All animal farmers must ranch their cattle or livestock
    •Livestock farmers to be educated on benefit of ranching
    •Nigerians must avoid hate speeaches

    OPEN grazing of cattle was banned yesterday by the Federal Government – to stem the growing anger sparked by the killings in Benue and other states.

    All herdsmen must henceforth ranch their cattle.

    The decision was taken at the end of a six-hour meeting of a Federal Government delegation, security agencies and five governors.

    Presenting the communique after the meeting, Benue State Governor Samuel Ortorm, accompanied by his Taraba State counterpart, Darius Ishaku, said: “The meeting noted that all animal farmers must ranch their cattle and livestock for better productivity. It also observed the existing synergy between the security agencies and between the states and the Federal Government.”

    Livestock farmers are to be  enlightened on the benefits of keeping their animals in a location.

    The meeting also admonished Nigerians to live in peace, being the only way to resolve the perennial clashes between the herdsmen and farmers.

    It cautioned Nigerians against hate speeches, noting that anyone found engaging in it should be dealt with by the security agencies.

    The communique was agreed upon after a meeting of a Federal Government delegation, top security chiefs and five governors, some of whose states are mostly affected by the herders/farmers clashes met.

    Minister of Interior AbdulRahman Dambazau and Minister of Agriculture Audu Ogbeh met with Governors Samuel Ortom (Benue), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa), Abubakar Bello (Niger)  and Nasir El Rufai (Kaduna).

    Also at the meeting were Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris, Commandant-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Gana Muhammadu, Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) Mammam Daura, among among others.

    Dambazau said the meeting was to primarily share experiences among the stakeholders and agree on measures to tackle the menace.

    Dambazau said: “the current situation is very dangerous to Northern Nigeria in particular and the nation in general.”

    The minister said threats to peace and public safety in any form at any location in the country will not be tolerated.

    ”It is the responsibility of governments at all levels to provide, unconditionally, sustainable peace and public safety within their territorial boundaries. Against this background, the meeting is convened to primarily bring us together to share our experiences on the aforementioned security challenges. The meeting will then agree on necessary measures to be taken and apportion responsibilities.

    ”The immediate repercussion of this menace includes hunger due to acute shortage of food, diseases, criminal activities and deepening animosity between ethnic and religious groups. Knowing that general elections are fast approaching and considering the history of political and election violence in Nigeria, all necessary steps must be taken to ensure that the recently witnessed crimes and violent conflicts are curtailed with utmost dispatch.”

    Ogbeh said the inability of government to pay attention to herdsmen and cow farming, unlike other developed countries, contributed to the killings.

    The government, however, expressed concern that the trend of clashes between herdsmen and famers is dangerous for the development of the country.

    Ogbeh said: “Over the years, we have not done much to look seriously into the issue of livestock development in the country. People ask the question; why should government get involved, why shouldn’t the herdsmen manage their own livestock? I am sad to tell you that in the last 50 years, until recently, we may have done enough for the rice farmer, the cassava farmer, the maize farmer, the cocoa farmer, but we haven’t done much for herdsmen and that inability and omission on our part is resulting in the crises we are witnessing today.

    ”In Europe, every cow that is farmed gets a subsidy of six Euros per day, we have done next to nothing for the cattle rearer and, as a result, his operation has become a threat to the existence of our farmers. That is what this communiqué will seek to resolve.”

    The minister added  that the Federal Government was “planning a programme called cattle colonists, not ranches but colonists where at least 5000 hectares of land would be made available, adequate water, adequate pasture would be made available.

    ”We also want to stop cattle rearers  from roaming about. The culture of cattle roaming about will be stopped. The cattle will be provided with water and adequate security by the rangers, adequate pasture milk collection even security for rustlers to enable them live a normal life. This has been done elsewhere in India, Ethiopia and even Brazil.”

     

  • Edo govt bans road workers’ union

    The Edo State government has banned the state Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).

    The association has been ordered to close its offices.

    The ban, the government said,  was to ensure the protection of life and property as well as prevent the breakdown of law and order in the state.

    The government assured law abiding citizens that security agencies will be available to maintain peace and orderliness, and urged the public to desist from relating or transacting any business with the group for now.

    “The Edo State government is committed to sanitising the road transport sector and will not tolerate actions that could undermine the smooth implementation of the transport master-plan.

    “The state government is resolute about enthroning law and order across the state and urges all law abiding citizens to go about their businesses without any fear of molestation,” said a statement.

  • Fed Govt bans raw solid minerals exportation

    Fed Govt bans raw solid minerals exportation

    Nigeria in the next six month will stop the exportation of raw solid minerals as part of the country’s economic diversification efforts,  Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi has said.

    Fayemi in a lecture titled: Nigeria’s solid minerals: prospects and challenges and the nation’s quest for economic diversification delivered in Abuja during the induction training for non-career ambassadors-designate, said measures have already been put in place to make this a reality by October.

    He said the move to end the era of mining and exporting raw or unprocessed solid mineral from the country was part of the ministry’s roadmap.

    Fauemi therefore charged the ambassadors-designate to attract investors into the mining sector of the economy

    “Before now, a lot of illegality has been going in the sector; people are just shipping out raw minerals which has informed government policy or decision of banning the unprocessed minerals unprocessed mineral.

    “In the next six months, raw minerals would not be allowed to be exported because beneficiation is a priority to this government rather than just exportation of the raw minerals,” he said.

    He said any miner ready to invest in the sector must be willing to set up processing plants in host communities in order to create jobs for the people.

    Fayemi said whosoever that could not afford setting up a plant should collaborate with others.

    He said any miner ready to invest in the sector must be willing to set up their processing plants in host communities in order to create jobs for the people.

    He explained that the enforcement of the ban would not be done arbitrarily as the investor would be given time to establish their processing plants.

    The minister also called for the partnership of the state governments towards developing the sector.

    The minister said although, mining was in the exclusive legislative list of the country’s constitution, there was need for collaboration.

    He said there was no law precluding states with enormous resources from setting up mining companies and approaching the ministry for licenses to explore and exploit such resources.

    According to him, states could do it solely or in partnership with private investors depending on the technical capacity.

    Fayemi noted that given the fact that mining takes place in locations in states, there was need for partnership with host communities and the state to achieve results.

    He said this was necessary especially with the economic diversification drive of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He noted with concern that the right to issuance of consent given to host communities had been abused over the years, adding that the intervention of the state government was paramount.

    The minister said  state governments would be included in the affirmation of genuine land owners with regard to issuance of consent to miners as required by the law.

    He said:“We are a mineral rich country we are not mineral producing country, what we are doing in our road is to take few of the mineral so that we can say we have advantages.”

  • Tanker drivers’ association bans night movement

    the National Petroleum Tanker Drivers’ Association (PTD) has banned it members from embarking on night journeys, especially during the yuletide.

    This, according to the National Chairman Comrade Salimon Oladiti, is because of the unsafe roads. He also urged members to exercise extreme caution, saying “it is better to be late than be the late.”

    The association also attributed the incessant oil tankers explosions and carnage on the roads to poor state of the roads and lack of efficient policy formulation.

    The National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Atanda Adebayo, spoke at the end of a three-day Basic Skills Development Training Workshop for Units Elected Officers in Lagos Zone, held at Apapa.

    His words: “Most of the causes of tanker explosions are due majorly to bad roads and government’s unfavorable policy.

    “The reason why Apapa is congested with tankers is because there is a large concentration of oil depots, as well as seaports, in the area. Every tanker driver and containerised vehicle come to Lagos to load products and this inadvertently put so much pressure on the road which leads to infrastructural degradation. “Many portions of the roads are bad; the tankers cannot ply the road easily. Also the parking lot at Orile-Iganmu is overstretched.”

    Adebayo also attributed the current traffic gridlock on the Mile-2 Apapa Oshodi Expressway, to the continued infrastructural decay. He stressed the need for the immediate intervention of governments at all levels to resolve the gridlock permanently.

    The Secretary explained that the training is aimed at capacity building of members, particularly the leaders, in regards to modern challenges facing security, safety and their relationship with the public.

  • NFF bans Plateau United coach for life

    NFF bans Plateau United coach for life

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has sent a reminder to Nigeria premier league side Plateau United that their newly appointed coach Victor Wikadson has been banned for life after he was involved in some scandalous matches three years ago.

    Plateau United appointed Wikadson in place of sacked Zakary Baraje.

    The Nigeria Football Federation has fired a reminder to the Plateau State Football Association that the ban placed on some football players and officials following a couple of scandalous results in the 2013 Play-Off matches of the Nigeria Nationwide League, in Bauchi Centre, is still in force.

    In results that attracted global alarm and condemnation, Plateau United Feeders, Akurba United FC of Lafia, Police Machine FC of Yola and Bubayero FC of Gombe were involved in unimaginable scorelines of 76-0 and 89-0, and the Nigeria Football Federation set up a panel that recommended that players, team officials and match officials involved in the shameful events be banned for life from the game.

    The letter signed by NFF general secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, on Tuesday instructed the Plateau State Football Association to ensure that the ban is enforced in its domain.

    The reminder became necessary in view of the move by NPFL side, Plateau United on Monday to appoint Victor Wikadson as new head coach.

  • Fayose bans tipper owners

    Fayose bans tipper owners

    Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has banned tipper owners from operating in the state, following their refusal to comply with the new N1,000 per trip tax imposed on them.

    The governor also banned sand excavation in the state, following alleged reported cases of destruction of farmlands, farm produce and other valuables.

    The government had been on air since Tuesday to announce the ban.

    Commissioner for Environment Bisi Kolawole claimed that his ministry received complaints from farm owners, claiming that tipper operators had been destroying their crops.

    Tippers have disappeared from Ado Ekiti and other communities, with residents needing their services hard-hit.

    Union members planned a public protest yesterday but were persuaded to shelve the action by the police and Department of State Services (DSS), citing “unfavourable security reports”.

    But Fayose, in a chat with reporters in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday justified the ban, saying the tipper operators must pay tax and obey the law.

    He said: “They have to obey the law of the land. How can someone be operating here in Ekiti and refuse to pay tax?

    “We cannot run government without money. Apart from tax default, some of their trucks  have no particulars, no headlamps and no brakes. They are also destroying our farmlands and vegetation. We won’t tolerate these.”

  • NFF bans social media in camp

    NFF bans social media in camp

    • Eagles’ players forbidden from tweets
    • Instagram, facebook too

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has hinted that Super Eagles players will be restricted on their use of social media while on international duty following the face off between Sunday Oliseh and Vincent Enyeama last Tuesday.

    NFF supremo Amaju Pinnick made this known after a meeting in Belgium on Saturday with the main protagonists involved in the dispute.

    Lille numero uno Vincent Enyeama made headlines last week after he took to Instagram to express his disappointment on how he was mistreated by Sunday Oliseh.

    “No player launches his career through the social media. When players are at their clubs, they don’t broadcast camp situation on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, ” Pinnick said.

    “The same restraint and discipline must be observed in the national camp.”

    Enyeama won’t be the first Super Eagles player to take to a social networking site to voice his displeasure at team officials, with ex-West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie launching an attack on the NFF via Twitter after his omission from the 2013 African Cup of Nations roster.

  • Saudi Arabia bans recruitment from Ebola-affected countries

    The Saudi Ministry of Labour has imposed a ban on the recruitment of labour from Ebola-affected countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

    Deputy Labour Minister Moufarrej Al-Haqbani said the decision was taken as a preventive measure against the spread of the Ebola virus in the Kingdom, describing it as a temporary ban. “We have taken this action in coordination with the Ministry of Health (MoH), which stopped issuing Hajj and Umrah visas to pilgrims from these endemic countries in April,” he noted.

    The ministry also warned against travel to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The travel advisory issued cautioned citizens and residents to avoid all travel to these countries until further notice due to the active outbreak of Ebola virus in those countries.

    Al-Haqbani said such a ban on these countries will not affect the labour market in the Kingdom since the manpower recruited from these countries are negligible in number. “Until June this year, there was a total of 527 workers deployed in the Kingdom from these three countries,” he said, pointing out that 152 of them are domestic workers. He also noted that the total number of visas issued to these three countries was 120 during this period and 88 of them were domestic workers.

    The deputy minister also said that there is no reason for the Kingdom to impose a similar ban on Nigeria since the Ebola virus did not originate from that country.

    However, Saudi missions abroad have been instructed to take maximum quarantine measures before issuing employment, business and pilgrimage visas to foreigners.

    “All new recruits to the Kingdom are subject to comprehensive medical tests in the their respective countries before the visas are issued by the Saudi missions,” Al-Haqbani said.

    The new recruits will have to undergo medical tests at the clinics assigned by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Accredited Medical Clinics Association (Gamca) in their respective countries.

    Three weeks ago, the GCC countries adopted a unified strategy against the deadly Ebola virus by training its health officials to combat the disease and to make use of the facilities available in the region to diagnose and treat such diseases within the Kingdom.