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Tag: CALABAR

  • 2019: Group promises 90 per cent votes for Atiku in Cross River

    Director General of `Atiku Shall Lead Nigeria 2019’, Mr Patrick Agida, has promised to deliver 90 per cent of Cross River State votes to the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in 2019.

    According to Agida, who spoke with reporters in Calabar, Atiku’s chances of getting over 90 per cent of the votes was premised on the sterling performance of Governor Ben Ayade.

    He said that the group which cuts across all the states in Nigeria was made up of people with great concern to canvass for massive votes for Atiku in 2019.

    According to him, the group had mobilized all its members across the country to polling units to ensure that Atiku’s votes are protected and counted.

    The DG said that the group seeks to make a change in leadership at the national level through the ballot in a free and fair election.

    Read Also: 2019: Group advises Atiku

    “Nigeria is facing serious challenges and we believe that we need capable hands that will move this country forward. As a political support group, we are going to give Atiku 90 per cent of the votes from Cross River.

    “This group is all over Nigeria. We have structures at the national, zonal, states, wards and units. We are all over Nigeria and knowing that it is only through the ballot box that our principal can win,’’ he said.

    He said that Atiku will improve the economy and provide security for all Nigerians if elected president, adding that with a better economy and security, every other sector in the country will be affected.

    He described Atiku as an employer of labour, saying that the former Vice President knows the appropriate government policies to use in promoting the economy if he becomes president.

    He urged security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission to be transparent and fair to all political parties during the conduct of the polls.

  • Navy arrests six Cameroonians smuggling contraband rice into Calabar

    Men of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Victory in Cross River State have arrested six Cameroonians smuggling 700 bags of parboiled foreign rice into the country through the Calabar Channel.

    Also arrested with the Cameroonians, who were in the country without requisite papers, were seven Nigerians, working with them.

    Commander, NNS Victory, Commodore Julius Nwagu, who handed over the illegal immigrants to the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the seized rice and Nigerians to the Nigerian Customs Service, at the NNS Victory jetty in Calabar, said the contraband was worth about N11.2 million.

    “These six Cameroonians got involved in the smuggling of the parboiled rice and they entered into Nigeria without the requisite papers thereby violating the Immigrations Laws in Nigeria and that is why I invited the Immigration to hand him over while the Nigeria Customs Service will take over the rice and the other Nigerians who are involved in the smuggling.

    Read Also: Navy arrests 40 for alleged piracy

    “Christmas is coming and people want to make quick money by smuggling in rice into the country but the Nigerian Navy is hell bent on ensuring that the Federal Government on ban on importation of parboiled rice into the country is upheld.

    “We would never allow it as a service, and under the able leadership of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas, we will not leave any stone unturned in ensuring that our policing roles are upheld and we have the available platforms to patrol the waters, especially in the Eastern flank here,” Nwagu said.

    Assistant Comptroller of Immigration in charge of the Marine Unit, Tsumba Terna, who received the Cameroonians, said anyone entering Nigeria must have the requisite papers.

    He said they would be dealt with according to laid down procedures to handle such situations.

    A Superintendent of Customs, Akpan Ime Edet, also said the rice would be transferred to government warehouse, while the Nigeria suspects would face prosecution.

  • C/River community denies attacking neighbours

    The Ebom Community in Abi local government area of Cross River State has debunked media reports that they invaded their neighbours, the Usumtong Community, last week.

    A Community Leader of Ebom, Chief Irem Enyim-Egu, who spoke with reporters in Calabar, said they were not part of the destruction of houses and loss of lives in a devastating attack on Usumutong.

    He said people from the Ebom Community had been variously attacked and abducted by trespassers in recent times and they had reported the matter to the government and to the police.

    According to him, some young men had attacked the Ebom Community last week Wednesday, and were repelled by the youths who chased them away.

    The community leader said they were chased until they ran into Usumutong, where they retreated.

    “There was an attack in the Ebom community. There was a reaction and because of the attack, we had to chase the people who attacked and discovered that they ran back to Usumutong community.

    Read Also: Community fetches beef as train crushes ten cows in Ogun

    “We have continued to hold our peace. They went and reported that many villages attacked them and they included Ebom.  We did not attack any community. There was no plan to attack them because having reported to government, we were still waiting for the government to act.

    “We only defended ourselves when people came to our community and we had to defend our community and we chased them to Usumtong community and retreated. We did not chase them into their own community because elders had instructed our youths to be of good behaviour. All the reports that the Ebom people attacked Usumutong and attacked their community is a fabrication to buttress their position.”

    Enyim-Egu urged the government as well as the security agencies look into the crisis in the area with a view to ensure lasting peace.

    “There is no gain when people run into crisis. We lose a lot of things. As I talk to you now, we cannot visit our farmlands because of intimidation in our bushes,” he complained.

  • We are at risk of epidemic over location of dumpsite, Calabar residents cry out

    For residents of Ikot Effanga Mkpa community along LEMNA road in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, the permanent stench of refuse has become a part of their lives.

    This is because right within the settlement lay a stretch of the Calabar dumpsite, where all the refuse gathered throughout the city by the waste management agency are disposed.

    It was gathered that the community grew around the dumpsite, which started sometime in the early 2000s. Before the construction of the LEMNA road, there were hardly any resident around there. With the then state government’s city expansion project through the construction of the road that led through an area of the town that was previously secluded, residential buildings started springing up.

    When The Nation visited the area, the stench from the dumpsite was unbearable, yet people were living right across it.

    For Mr Asuquo Inyang, who owns a house right across the dumpsite, several appeals have been made to the government cutting across the previous administrations to relocate the dumpsite but nothing had been done yet.

    “That dumpsite has continued to pose a serious health hazard to this area. We are surviving only by the mercy of God. We have made series of appeals to remove the dumpsite. All appeals have fallen on deaf ears all through successive administrations because that dumpsite has been there since Donald Duke’s administration. Nothing is being done about the relocation of the dumpsite.

    “The odour alone in this area is enough to make one run mad. The flies, rats and other crawling creatures there come into our houses, touching food items and other things in our houses. It is a pathetic situation. There is fear of epidemic. Most of us living here are property owners and we cannot relocate because we have established permanent homes here. But tenants can afford to relocate, but we cannot afford to do so. Where will we go?

    “Please, you the press people  should reinforce the appeal. The earlier government thinks about relocating this dumpsite the better for us to avoid an outbreak of an epidemic here,” Inyang begged.

    Another resident, who simply gave his name as David, said they had learnt to endure the hazardous situation, as their appeals to remove the dumpsite have been futile.

    “Such a dump should not be close to where people are living, not to mention inside a city such as Calabar. The level of risk we are exposed here cannot be quantified, but what can we do? This is the place available for most of us to build our houses. Should we be the ones to leave the place for the dump, or it should be the dump leaving the place for us? Calabar is becoming a fast growing city and you can see the number of houses growing around this new area which the government has opened up. So as a government which, I believe means well for its citizens as well as trying to uphold its status as sanitary conscious, I plead that this dump be moved to another area for the sake of our health.”

    Another resident, Mr Daniel Bassey said: “As it is now, you can smell the pollution in the air around right from my house. But I tell you, that is nothing. Come back in the night and you would wonder how we manage to survive here. In the night, the smell is so thick that you can even taste it. It is even worse when it rains. Even if you like, you can go inside your room and lock everywhere, the smell will meet you. I can only imagine the kind things we breathe into our bodies. The government needs to do something urgently about the situation before some kind of epidemic breaks out here. In my opinion, a dump such as this should not be anywhere close to where human beings are staying. It is a very terrible situation we face here and God is the only one who is keeping us.”

    The Cross River State House Of Assembly had in 2013 resolved that the House Committee On Environment interface with the Waste Management Agency and other relevant agencies to address the health hazard caused by the refuse dump.

    The resolution was sequel to a matter of urgent public interest on the danger of the refuse dump, by the then Deputy Speaker and member representing Akamkpa State Constituency, Rt. Hon. Itaya Asuquo Nyong.

    Nyong had observed that with the fast growing status of the state capital, locating such a dump site in the city was dangerous to the inhabitants.

    Again, sometime in 2014, the House of Assembly had approved a new dump site for the state waste management agency.

     

    The House had approved that the dumpsite for the state management agency be relocated to Awi Gmelina plantation in Akamkpa Local Government Area.

    This had followed the presentation of a report by the chairman of the House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission and Environmental Matters, Joseph Bassey, which noted that the dumpsite  constituted a health hazard to the people in the area.

    Bassey, who represented Calabar South constituency, had said the Ikot Effanga Mkpa was chosen as a dumpsite at a time the area was not a residential one.

  • Ayade berates PDP over primaries

    Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, has berated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over what transpired in the primaries in the Central Senatorial District of the state.
    Although the governor never mentioned the party by its name at any point during, the occasion, he left no one in doubt, what he was referring to.
    Speaking about it for the first time publicly during the launch of the State Microfinance Bank in Calabar recently, Ayade, who called Agara to stand with him on the podium said, “I would like to call my brother, Chris Agara, to please come up here. Let us shame the devil. Let us shame the enemies. Let us shame all those who thought that they can put a fight between two brothers. We have conquered. Our politics has no business with our brotherhood. My brother you are welcome.

    “This is a brother indeed. He is the only brother that can also give his right eye to protect me. It is my brother that even in pains, with all enemies gathered in his house, he said instead of me to hurt my brother, I would rather not be politics. This is politics with ethics. This is true brotherhood. My brother who has said, he would rather forget politics and stand by his brother. But you will be shocked that people we have literally helped in the days of their poverty, they connived to conspire and carry rumours and stories to destroy brotherhood of over 30 years.

    Read Also: 2019: Ayade urges NYSC members to be neutral, firm

    “But God is strong. God has shamed them. If that is all we have achieved in this politics, that blood is stronger than politics. That is what Chris Agara has demonstrated. That inspite of it all, that he has spent more money than any other candidate in this state, a party that is so unfair and has got no conscience, a man came ready for election and you take out his name from the ballot. You take out his name because you know he is too powerful. When people use God given opportunities to do injustice, injustice would wait for them. So for my brother, I asked you to be strong and abide in the faith of God because it is God’s will. But for those who the devil has used to stop the instrumentality, challenge and direction of God at the fullness of time, Holy Ghost would visits them with their own mighty fire.

    “The devil will rise, the demon will rise, but Jesus when he rises, he would quench all of them and he has brought peace and calm, he has brought tranquility, he has restored brotherhood and in his own words, it has only deepened our brotherhood. We would put them to shame. He is going to direct, the campaign, direct the politics, direct the future, and together we would build a better Cross River State.”

  • DPR warns against price hike during festive period in Cross River

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Cross River State has warned marketers against  hiking the pump price of petroleum products during the festive season.

    DPR Operations Controller in the state, Mr Bassey Nkanga, who spoke during the fourth quarter meeting with Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in Calabar, disclosed that the Federal Government has ensured that the depots have adequate product for consumers during and beyond the approaching yuletide period.

    He said this was to prevent scarcity of the product and panic buying by Nigerians during the period.

    “As we all know, we are approaching the festive period and DPR in the state have noticed some sharp practices by some marketers.

    “We have intensified surveillance activities across the state with a view to make sure that marketers operate according to the stipulated guidelines.

    “Government has done so much within this period to ensure the free flow of petroleum product and the depots have been adequately stocked to avoid scarcity and panic buying.

    “I wish to appeal to marketers across the state not to take advantage of the festive period to cheat Nigerians in anyway.

    “Anyone caught going against the rules of operation and the government stipulated guidelines will face the consequences,” he said.

    He urged marketers who have not renewed their operating licenses to do so, adding that anyone caught operating without a valid license will be sanctioned.

    The Operations Controller warned marketers in Northern District of the state to desist from selling a litre of petrol above N145, saying that any further act may lead to a revoke of operating license.

    He also warned marketers against under-dispensing, selling adulterated products and violating the DPR seal whenever they were sealed for violating the operational guidelines.

    Read Also: DPR shuts two illegal gas stations in Akwa Ibom

    IPMAN Chairman in the state, Mr Lawrence Agim, commended the Federal Government for the adequate supply of petroleum product to depots.

    Agim said that IPMAN in the state was fully ready to work with DPR in fighting all forms of illegality in the petroleum sector.

    “We are ready to partner with DPR in ensuring that we dispense the product available to us at the approved government price,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the DPR has warned illegal gas centres operators’ in the stage to desist from the act or face stiffer sanctions.

    Nkanga, who gave the warning during the fourth quarter meeting with Liquefied Petroleum Gas Plant Operators/Retailers in the state, said they would clamp down on any gas operator or retailer operating illegally without a valid license issued by the DPR.

    According to him, several cases of gas explosion had been recorded in the state, adding the DPR was intensifying surveillance activities with a view to curb further explosions.

    He said that the government has demonstrated efforts in making sure that gas is extended and sold to residents in the rural areas due to its affordability.

    The Operations Controller charged the retailers to report anyone operating a gas centre illegally to the DPR.

  • Osinbajo directs Julius Berger to hasten work on Ijora Bridge

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said he has directed Julius Berger, the contractor handling the repair of Ijora Bridge in the Apapa area of Lagos State to hasten work on the bridge and re-open it to traffic as soon as possible.

    The Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Princess Vicky Haastrup recently alerted the nation that closure of a section of the Ijora Bridge, outbound Apapa, is worsening the already chaotic traffic situation in the Lagos port community.

    Speaking on a Lagos-based television station, Wazobia TV, on Thursday, Vice President Osinbajo explained that the reopening of the bridge is vital to the free flow of traffic in Apapa and its environ.

    He said, “So while we are fixing the roads, if you stand in front of the port, the bridge Julius Berger is building, they opened one half of the bridge and closed the other half, so it is not being used. That bridge must be completed and opened. So one of the things we have done is telling Julius Berger about two weeks ago that they must complete and open up the bridge. Even when the construction of Wharf Road has been completed and the bridge has not been opened, we will still experience the same problem.”

    The Vice President blamed congestion on the Lagos port access roads on bad roads and increased cargo volume. He accused past administrations in the country of abandoning the roads to deteriorate to their present state. 

    He said, “The Apapa port was built to handle 38 million metric tons of cargo and now it is handling 84 million metric tons. So it is too small for the volume that it is handling and has resulted in too many trucks going into the port.

    “When we had the problem the first time and I came to Lagos, we noticed that all the roads around Apapa were bad and we agreed that we will fix the roads. We agreed to fix the Wharf Road down to Mile 2. We have almost completed the road around the port now; then move all the way to Mile 2. We must fix the roads, if those roads are not fixed, we will continue to have the problem.”

    He however identified road repair, revival of the rail network, and revival of ports outside the Lagos area as long-term solutions to the Apapa gridlock.

    Read Also: No form required for TraderMoni, says Osinbajo

    “But for long term solution; three things must be done. The first is that now we are building Lagos-Kano Railway and the first phase is Lagos-Ibadan starting from Apapa Port. So many of the goods will be evacuated by rail. The Lagos-Ibadan phase should be completed by January 2019 and hoping to finish construction to Kano in about two and a half years.

    “The second is that we have other ports. We have Calabar, which we are dredging to about 10 meters. So we have to make sure we can divert some traffic there. If we can divert some traffic away from Lagos ports it will help but it will not solve the problem completely because 60 percent of business is being transacted in Lagos. So when people import goods to Nigeria they will want to use it in Lagos, which is the problem we have.

    “So we do the railway, we will finish the roads and then we fix the other ports; it will definitely make things much better. Once we have completed the railway across the country: Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, Lagos-Calabar, Lagos-Kano; once we fix the railway; railway is the best way to transport goods all around the country, inland port, dry port, that is what we should do.

    “Once we fix the infrastructure, the Apapa issue is a small thing because it will boost business, manufacturing activities and people can easily move their goods from one part of the country to another,” Osinbajo added. 

  • NiMet predicts cloudy, sunny weather for Thursday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has predicted cloudy and sunny weather conditions over most parts of the country with chances of thunderstorms over the southern part on Thursday.

    NiMet’s Weather Outlook on Wednesday in Abuja predicted partly cloudy to sunny conditions over the central cities in the morning hours.

    It added that sunny condition would prevail over the entire region in the afternoon and evening hours with day and night temperatures of 29 to 37 and 13 to 23 degrees Celsius respectively.

    Read Also:NiMet donates weather tools to LAUTECH

    The agency predicted that the Northern States would experience sunny conditions throughout the forecast period with day and night temperatures of 31 to 38 and 19 to 20 degrees Celsius respectively.

    According to NiMet, Southern States will experience partly cloudy to cloudy conditions with chances of scattered thunderstorm over Warri in the morning.

    “Cloudy conditions are likely over the southwest inland with prospects of scattered thunderstorms over Bnin, Owerri, Ikom, Enugeu, Port Harcourt and Yenagoa, Calabar during the afternoon and evening hours with day and night temperatures of 31 to 34 and 21 to 24 degrees Celsius respectively.

    “Sunny and partly cloudy conditions are expected over the North and Central region with chances of scattered thunderstorms over some parts of the Inland and coastal region in the next 24 hours,” NiMet predicted.

  • Calabar Port dredging raises hope on $12b investment

    The plan by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to award the contract for the dredging of the Calabar Port has ignited the hope of importers, exporters, clearing agents and terminal operators, it was learnt.

    About N50 billion will be spent by the NPA to make the port attractive for businesses.

    There was optimism, last week over the $12 billion investment in the Calabar Port, following the move by NPA to award the dredging contract.

    Its Managing Director, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, told The Nation that the contract was going through a procurement process.

    She also said the dredging of Warri Port up-to seven meters  was underway and that it would be completed within the next few months.

    Her words: “The development of Calabar port is ongoing through a procurement process. We have an estimated cost of over N50 billion for the dredging of Calabar port. We are looking at the attendant revenue generation that would justify such an investment for Nigerian ports to dredge the Calabar port.

    “We are looking at the numbers to justify that N50 billion required to get Calabar port navigable; we are also encouraging importers to utilise the flat bottom vessels to bring in cargo.”

    Usman said the NPA already has two flat bottom vessels in Calabar port area, which would soon be deployed for movement of cargoes. According to her, the vessels do not require additional draft in the water before navigation.

    “These are vessels that can navigate and come in through the waterways without the extra draft. We have two of the vessels in Calabar, which we are deploring. We are encouraging shipping companies to make use of these flat bottom vessels as this would assist the Nigerian ports to have vessels coming that do not require that level of investment in dredging,” she said

    On the Warri Port dredging, the NPA boss said: “We ought to dredge Warri port up-to seven meters in the next few months and this would go a long way in reducing the congestion we have in Lagos port and provide access for cargoes coming into Nigeria through our Delta Port.”

    Usman urged importers and shipping companies to help the NPA in  revenue generation through the use of flat bottom vessels to justify the N50 billion required to dredge the Calabar Port channel.

    The huge investment in the port, operators said, has been put on hold for several years.

    Some of the companies that have huge stakes in the port are General Electric, Tinapa Business Resort, Calabar Free Trade Zone, ECM Terminals Ltd, Intel Services and Cocoa Industries.

    Some of the officials of the companies, who spoke with The Nation under the condition of anonymity at the weekend, said they were happy over the efforts of the NPA to dredge the channel.

    They, however, expressed worries over the unnecessary controversy surrounding the plan to award the N50 billion contract, which they said may stall the laudable process.

    The shallow nature of the water channel, they said, has made it impossible for bigger vessels to sail through, thus contributing to the reason many importers are not patronising the port and why they have not made profit on their investment.

    Findings revealed that the draft at the approach of the port was 6.4 metres at high tide and 5.4 metres at low tide.

    The concession agreement, the investors said, stipulated that the Federal Government will take the draft to 9.5 metres and that the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) had told them that the draught would be achieved on start of business.

    Between August 2007 and December 2012, it was learnt, only 680 vessels patronised the port.

    “The current effort of NPA is laudable because the non-completion of the dredging of the channel to the advertised draft of 9.4 metres is the biggest threat to the development of the port with adverse effect on our financial projection and cargo throughput was predicted on the completion of the dredging as assured during the concession exercise.

    “Companies like Flour mills, Unicem and Dangote and others do not enjoy the economy of scale in their vessel nominations to Calabar due to the fact that their full load arriving vessel has to lighten some cargo tonnage in Lagos before calling at Calabar Port due to draft limitations. Hence, a cargo ship load that could have come at once per voyage ends up being conveyed down to Calabar Port in two or three voyages,” the official said.

    Findings revealed that only small container ship visited the port in the last few years.

    According to the Managing Director, the channel would be deepened to accommodate big vessels.

    Investigation revealed that it may take the dredging firms up to two years before they will complete the dredging.

    The Calabar Port, she said, would attract more ships by the time the contract is awarded and the contractors finished their job.

    One of the importers operating in the area, Me Joseph Benson said he was not happy about the poor state of the port.

    He commended the NPA for making the necessary move that will ensure that the Calabar channel dredging contract is awarded and completed.

    “We hope that this time around, the project will come to stay. This project is not about dredging of Calabar port channel; it has become a sentimental issue to importers and operators operating in the area.”

    He said the port has underserved the people and has not realised its potential.

    Benson, however, noted that the completion of the project will boost the economy of the state, saying that many companies depend on the port to realise their objectives.

    He said the current activities of NPA would open up  market for Calabar region and the entire Southsouth.

  • Operation Crocodile Smile 3 flags off in C/River

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has flagged off the Nigerian Army operation crocodile smile III exercise in Bakassi local government area to check cases of kidnapping, militancy and armed robbery.
    Ayade, who performed the exercise on Tuesday, said it would also help to maintain peace and orderliness during the annual Calabar festival and the 2019 polls.
    According to him, the exercise will also reduce the proliferation of arms through the Cameroon border at Ikang in Bakassi.
    The governor added that the Nigerian Army has remained disciplined and very professional in the discharge of their constitutional duties.
    The Governor called on all security agencies to work in harmony with a view to bringing the security challenges across the country under control.
    “As the 2019 general elections draw closer, I want to use this opportunity to warn politicians to desist from moving arms and sponsoring violence at polling units.
    “As the Chief Security Officer of the state, I will work with security agencies to ensure that anyone caught is prosecuted,’’ he said.
    In his own remarks, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General. Tukur Buratai, disclosed that the operation was a training exercise aimed at enhancing internal security operations by the Army.
    The COAS, who was represented by Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Kabuk, the General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Enugu, said that the operation was a training exercise to help soldiers of 13 Brigade horn their military capabilities.
    According to him, the exercise was designed to include riverine and land operations with a view to monitoring the creeks by tackling kidnapping of personalities, militancy and curbing the menace of armed robbery.
    “This exercise has been designed to enable officers and soldiers of 13 Brigade to show their proficiency in internal security.
    “The land operation will be conducted to check armed robbery, communal clashes, stop and search of vehicles among others.
    “The riverine operation will equally help us to check the activities of militancy and kidnapping of personalities across the creeks.
    “In addition to the exercise, we will also carry out medical outreach in host communities and schools.
    “As we do this, it will also help us to maintain peace and order and create a conducive environment as we approach the 2019 general elections,’’ he said.
    He urged the soldiers to deal with criminals based on the rules of engagement.
    The Commander of 13 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Calabar, Brig.-Gen. Charles Okulide, disclosed that 800 security personnel drawn from the Army, Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence and Immigration would be participating in the one month exercise.
    Okulide said that the initiative was to foster inter-agency relationship among security agencies in the state, thereby expressing confidence that the exercise will be hitch free.
    According to him, the Brigade has made giant efforts in curbing heinous crime in the state through the sustained collaboration of other security agencies.