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Succor will soon come to users of Apapa Wharf road as Federal government handed over the troubled road to Dangote Industries Limited and Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) for immediate reconstruction with concrete overlay.

After the nation and port users have lost several billions of Naira on the dilapidated road, thenFederal government at the weekend in Lagos signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the two companies to repair the road. The construction of the road will be handled by AGDangote, a subsidiary of Dangote industries limited.

Dangote   Group and FMN are funding the project valued at N4.3 billion. AGDangote is handling the construction of the road. They have constructed concrete roads in Ibese, Ogun State and currently working on roads in Obajana.

Speaking at the MOU signing ceremony held at the Conference Hall of Area B Command of the Nigeria Police, Apapa, Honorary Adviser to the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Engineer Joseph Makoju said the Group is moved by the deplorable state of the road which informed the need to look for like-thinking partners to effect repairs and salvage the road.

According to him, the deplorable state of the road has impacted negatively on businesses, activities and lives of people within the locality. He explained that the state of the road crippled economic activities as people spend whole days in traffic losing precious work hours

Makoju opined that the two kilometer road to the gate of Apapa is vital to the nation’s economy and described it as the national economy’s artery.

He commended the Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority, who he said put in extra efforts to ensure the handing over of the road for reconstruction as the project has been on ground for over a year. The new road, he said will be concrete based in contrast to laterite base and has a life span of between 30 years to 50 years.

He described the road reconstruction as a higher form of corporate social responsibility as Dangote Group is not asking for tax rebates. According to him, businesses need to engage with host communities through corporate social responsibility projects to ensure sustainability.

He said, “here at Dangote, we have built houses, new towns, hospitals, schools, roads, markets and awarded scholarships in the communities where we have our operations but this is a higher form of corporate social responsibility. This project is a higher form of intervention on a national level, intervening in provision of critical infrastructure.”

However, he tasked government to do more in terms of providing a conducive and enabling business environment for businesses to thrive stressing that If the environment is conducive and right, businesses will thrive and do more in terms of interventions in national infrastructure.

Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola in his remarks at the event said, “We are here to embark on what will be the final solution to a massive inconvenience business and people in Apapa suffered over the years. Apapa is the nation’s first industrial base and was served by a good rail system. Cargo and containers were moved by rail to all parts of the country. The road network was for transport of passengers. The roads were good.

However, we allowed the rails to collapse and choose road for evacuation of containers and cargo. But we are working to stop all these. The minister of transport is taking steps to revive the rails and evacuation of cargo and containers from the ports.”

He disclosed that for several years government adopted palliative measures towards the road while waiting for a final solution and especially thanked Dangote Group and Flour Mills for coming take over the road for repairs. He said, “we must thank Dangote Group and Flour mills for coming to our aid via providing the funding for the repairs. The repairs estimated for a duration of one year is valued at N4.3 billion.”

Explaining why it took government some time before handing over the road for repairs, he said, “The delays in handing over the road for reconstruction was because of the need to put final touches to the road design. Apapa has high water table and any road built here must have proper drainages otherwise it will be experiencing constant flooding.”

He added, “We have done the survey and prepared the bill of quantity. The two kilometer road which will be based on concrete is estimated at N4.3 billion. A concrete base instead of laterite is chosen. Concrete base has a lifespan of between 30 to 50 years and in many developed countries, concrete base is used presently for roads. AG Dangote, a subsidiary of Dangote Group is chosen as the contractor. The construction and funding will be on corporate social responsibilities bases as they will not be seeking for tax reliefs.”

Fashola called on all stakeholders to corporate with the constructing company and traffic controllers because there would be distortions and road diversions. All road users should exercise patience because it will get better, he said.

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Court Remands Woman For Allegedly Stabbing Husband To Death In Ibadan

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An Iyaganku Chief Magistrates’ Court yesterday ordered the remand of a housewife, Olajumoke Olalere, 33, at Agodi Correctional facility, Ibadan, for allegedly stabbing her husband to death.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Olabisi Ogunkanmi, who did not take the defendant’s plea for lack of jurisdiction, ordered her remand pending the legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP).

She, thereafter, adjourned the case until March 5, 2025 for mention.

According to The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the police charged Olalere with a count of murder.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Akeem Akinloye, had told the court that the defendant on October 30, at 9.00 p.m. allegedly caused the death of her 39-year-old husband, Oluwasegun Tinubu.

Akinloye said the defendant allegedly stabbed her husband with a knife during a disagreement at their house, at Zone 5, Gbelu, Iyana – Agbala, Ibadan.

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BIG STORY

UPDATE: EFCC Grants Former Delta Governor Okowa Bail Over Alleged N1.3trn Fraud

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The Port Harcourt zonal command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has granted administrative bail to Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, a former governor of Delta State, over allegations of diverting N1.3 trillion in 13% derivation funds from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

Okowa was arrested on Monday, November 4, 2024, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, after reporting to the Port Harcourt Directorate of the EFCC at the invitation of investigators handling his case.

Sources confirmed that the former governor left the EFCC facility around 9 pm on Wednesday night.

A source under anonymity stated: “He left the facility at about 9 pm yesterday (Wednesday).”

“Okowa is expected to return soon to provide documents and answer more questions before the matter will be charged to court.”

The former governor is accused of failing to account for the 13% derivation funds, as well as an additional N40 billion, which he allegedly claimed to have used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Specifically, Okowa is said to have purchased N40 billion worth of shares in one of the country’s major banks, representing an 8% equity stake in the offshore LNG venture.

The funds are also alleged to have been diverted for other purposes, including acquiring properties in Abuja and Asaba, Delta State.

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Oil Marketers Respond To Dangote Refinery Claims, Say SON, NMDPRA Certify Imported Petrol

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The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) certify the imported Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, that is imported into Nigeria, oil marketers have said.

They disclosed this on Thursday in response to claims by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery that off-spec petroleum products were imported into the country by dealers.

On Tuesday, the refinery informed Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited and other oil marketers that the deregulation of the downstream oil sector should not be used as a justification for the importation of off-spec petroleum products or the undermining of Nigeria’s national interests.

Oil marketers denied this claim on Thursday, with the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, Robert Dickerman, revealing that his firm signed a 13-year agreement with the Dangote refinery to distribute the refinery’s petroleum products through pipelines.

Dickerman pointed out that independent inspectors, NMDPRA, and SON, among others, “inspect our products, so we can’t bring in off-spec products into this country.”

His position was confirmed by SON, as an impeccable source at the agency told one of our correspondents that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria was involved in the testing of imported petroleum products.

The official added that the organisation operates its own laboratory facility to check if the commodities are off-spec or not.

“Yes, We are involved in the testing of petroleum products when they come into the country. We are involved in that. We have our laboratory facility where these tests are conducted. It’s to ensure if the commodities meet regulatory standards or off-spec,” the official said.

A major marketer also kicked against the claim that dealers import off-spec products into the country, particularly since the downstream oil sector was deregulated by the Federal Government.

“I once told you what we went through when we brought in our imported cargo of petrol. The product underwent a lot of laboratory tests. I know the NMDPRA carries out tests on imported products. They took a sample of our recent import when it was still in the mother vessel at Atlas Cove before it was moved to Apapa.

“At the point of discharge, they took the sample again before allowing us to put it in our tanks. The NMDPRA has certified laboratories that they use. We have our laboratory, but the NMDPRA will not allow you to do your test without them certifying the product by themselves.

“The testing is in three stages, the one in Atlas Cove when the vessel lands in Nigeria. When the product moves to your point of discharge, they will do another test before they allow it into your tanks and aside from that, the day you want to start loading they will carry another test,” the marketer, who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, Dickerman said the clarification became necessary to debunk the statement from the Dangote refinery, which accused Pinnacle of plans to blend substandard petrol in Nigeria.

The Dangote refinery had also said the Pinnacle MD approached it, pleading with the refinery to extend pipelines to its tank farms in order to blend substandard imported petroleum products with its ‘high-quality’ ones.

Reacting, Dickerman described the statement as defamatory, inaccurate, and intentionally misleading.

The managing director said it proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, saying pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country.

According to him, when the project was proposed to Dangote, it wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with Pinnacle Oil.

“On November 5, Dangote issued a Press Release titled, ’Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE: Our Stand’. It is unfortunate and deeply concerning that this release contained several statements that are defamatory, inaccurate and intentionally misleading. Further, it advocated a national policy that would cause severe economic damage to Nigerians by raising the cost of petrol above global market prices and higher than they are today.

“In our effort to further enhance distribution efficiency, we proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, as pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country. When we proposed this project to Dangote, they wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with us.

“In addition, Dangote facilitated our process of achieving regulatory approval by writing two Letters of No Objection to the regulator to enable our project to proceed. The agreement to allow us to interconnect our pipeline to them was agreed actually in 2022 and I think it was signed in early 2023. So it was about two years ago that we actually reached this agreement, and it was done very comprehensively, from a commercial and a legal standpoint,” Dickerman stated.

He narrated that a lot of processes had gone into the project since it was signed, including the engineering design for the pipelines, surveying, getting the right of way, and letters of no objections from anyone who could be affected by the pipeline.

“There’s a whole bunch of stages to a project. This is not unlike any other construction project. It’s a very simple and straightforward process. This was done first. There was never a hint that this was not a good deal for both parties ever. So, it’s just not true that they opposed it. It’s simply not true that they opposed it. They supported it,“ the Pinnacle boss stated.

This came as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited denied a video clip that claimed the oil firm was selling dirty fuel from an NNPC Retail outlet at Keffi Flyover.

“We have carried out spot checks at all our outlets and found this claim to be false. The product was not, and could not have been bought from any NNPC Retail outlet as the company does not dispense petroleum products into bottles or jerrycans as displayed in the video,” it said in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye.

It added, “NNPC Retail Ltd does not deal in adulterated products as it adheres to rigorous standards and quality control measures at every stage in its operations to ensure that only high quality, safe, and reliable petroleum products are available at its stations nationwide.

“Members of the public should discountenance the spurious claims made in the video and be wary of selfish and unpatriotic elements pushing such a narrative as they do not mean well for the country.”

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