Connect with us

News

Collapsed bridge: Philanthropist builds emergency bypass in Kebbi

Published

on

A Kebbi-born philantropist, Alhaji Hassan Adamu, has constructed a bypass to assist motorists after a heavy flood pulled down the Mayalo Bridge in Maiyama Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bridge links over 20 villages in the council area.

It reportedly collapsed on Friday, following a heavy flood from a torrential two-day rain, which lasted from Thursday to Friday.

The bridge links Mayalo, Sambawa, Gumbin-Kure, and Uguwar Shuaibu, amongst other villages, with the headquarters of the coucil.

NAN also learnt that the flood ravaged the communities, prompting swift response from the residents and their leaders.

Reacting to the development, the Acting Sole Administrator of the LGA, Alhaji Haruna Mashabo-Jega,
pledged immediate support to the affected communities.

Mashabo-Jega commended the efforts of the people in creating an emergency access road.

Also speaking, the philantropist, who hails from Gumbin-Kure, said he was moved by the need to reconnect his hometown to the neighbouring communities.

”My commitment to giving back to my community is what pushed me to come with the idea to sponsor the construction of an alternative access road.

”Previously, I have helped the community in the areas of healthcare facility, police outpost, and construction of an Islamic school,” Adamu said.

He called on the Federal and
State Governments as well as non- governmental organisations to provide support to the flood-ravaged communities.

He also called on the government to urgently reconstruct the bridge in order to restore smooth transportation in the area. (NAN

ALSO READ:  N700bn Fraud Allegations Against Udom Not From Us — Akwa Ibom Gov

News

Afreximbank disburses $50bn into Nigeria in last decade – Oramah

Published

on

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has disbursed 50 billion Dollars into various sectors of Nigeria in the last 10 years.

The President and Chairman of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah disclosed this at the Commissioning of the Afreximbank African Trade Centre (AATC) in Abuja on Thursday.

Oramah said the sectors included energy, infrastructural, manufacturing, healthcare, transport and financial services.

He added that in the last 10 years, the bank’s support to the Nigerian financial services industry amounted to 19 billion dollars.

“This has helped to deepen and expand the sector and elevated their impact on the local economy.”

According to Oramah, the bank is set to commission a 750 million dollar 500-bed African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja in June.

He said the 500-bed medical centre was a quaternary medical facility built to avail top-class care to Africans in the vital areas of oncology, cardiology, and haematology.

Oramah said other interventions by the bank in Nigeria included the operationalisation of the African Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC) in Ogun State.

He said the centre was designed to ease quality infrastructure constraints of exporting agricultural and value-added goods into regional and international markets.

Oramah said similar projects were under development in the states of Imo and Kaduna.

He said in 2024, Nigeria was selected to host the Africa Energy Bank, which was established by Afreximbank and the African Petroleum Producer’s Organisation (APPO).

Oramah explained that the bank was also expected to address the financing constraints in the oil, gas and other energy sectors.

ALSO READ:  MMIM customs surpasses 2024 target, generates N71.6bn

“The Energy Bank will position Nigeria as the continental hub for mobilising energy financing.”

He added that in Ogun, a Special Economic Zone was being developed by Afreximbank’s investee company, Arise Integrated Industrial Platform.

“This over 300 million dollar project is being developed to promote export manufacturing and similar projects are expected in Cross Rivers, Imo, Enugu and Kano States.”

Oramah said the bank’s financing support to Nigeria had also helped to boost the oil refining capacity to about 1.2 million barrels per day.

He added that it also helped to boost urea fertiliser production to 7.5 million tonnes per annum, up from under four million tonnes in 2019.

“We expect urea capacity to rise to about 11 million tonnes by 2027 when Dangote Petrochemical company opens the new lines under development.

“These are remarkable and are contributing significantly to Nigeria’s non-oil export revenues.”

He said Afreximbank was also investing in growing the country’s creative sector, through credit lines support, capacity-building initiatives and market access opportunities.

Oramah said recently the bank opened a dedicated 200 million facility to support the sector under an ongoing partnership with the Federal Ministry of Culture and Creative Industry.

He said the support had helped Nigeria to boost the export of its creative content to the rest of Africa and the world while boosting youth employment.

“These projects and interventions add to the significant investments committed by Afreximbank since its inception some 32 years ago.

“ I am most pleased to put on record that the relationship between the Bank and the Federal Government of Nigeria has been truly mutually beneficial and most cordial.

ALSO READ:  Adeleke orders arrests, imposes curfew after communal clash

“Over the last three decades, successive governments have accorded unflinching support to Afreximbank by responding most positively to capital calls.

“Also creating a congenial environment for its smooth operations while providing the bank significant domestic policy support that helped to execute many of the development programmes in Nigeria.”(NAN)

Continue Reading

News

Rivers: OML-25 host community wants Renaissance to inherit SPDC liabilities

Published

on

Kula community in Asari Toru Local Government Area, Rivers, said Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings should inherit all liabilities incurred by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)

The community disclosed its position at a press conference in Port Harcourt on Thursday following the recent takeover of SPDC of joint venture operations by Renaissance.

Renaissance, a consortium of indigenous and international oil firms, acquired SPDC following recent divestment by Shell UK from onshore operations.

Speaking on behalf of Kula people, Chief Anabs Sara-Igba, said that SPDC incurred liabilities while operating OML-25, an oil facility in the community.

Sara-Igbe, further said that liabilities arising from decades of oil exploration by Shell halted resumption of operations on the facility.

He said that OML-25, with a production capacity of 45,000, barrels of crude oil per day, had been shutdown for about 15 years.

“This followed gross neglect and failure of the firm to employ, undertake social responsibility and environmental preservation projects for more than 67 years.

“We insist that the new operator should inherit all liabilities of SPDC before they will be allowed to operate.

”We are requesting for a stakeholders’ engagement with them to enable us to understand the company’s obligations and models of implementation.

“These moves will enable us to avoid the unfair treatment meted on the community by SPDC,” he said.

Sara-Igbe urged the Federal Government to ensure prompt environmental remediation activities by the operators to restore the ecosystem and livelihoods in the community

Also speaking, the President, National Youth Council of Nigeria, Mr Sukubo Sara-Igbe, expressed worries that the new company had already inherited SPDC staff.

ALSO READ:  "No Injustice Was Done Against Ex-Minister Turaki By the Police Regarding DNA Test Result, Woman Tells Court

“Retaining SPDC staff who were complicit in the dispute with the host communities may undermine trust and sincere engagement,” he said.(NAN)

Continue Reading

News

Dangote Refinery reduces ex-depot petrol price to ₦867 per litre

Published

on

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has reviewed its ex-depot (gantry) loading cost of petrol to ₦867 per litre.

It was gathered that the $20bn refinery informed its marketers and customers of the slash on Thursday.

An official at the refinery confirmed the price reduction from ₦880 to ₦867 per litre to Channels Television.

Checks into petroleumprice.ng also confirmed that the private refinery reduced its gantry price by ₦13 on Thursday morning.

Filling stations like MRS Oil & Gas, Ardova Plc, Heyden, and others with special agreements with the Dangote Refinery are expected to reduce their pump price to around ₦910 from around ₦925 to reflect the marginal reduction in the ex-depot price of the premium commodity.

The price reduction by the private refinery followed a meeting between representatives of the Dangote Refinery and the Minister of Finance Wale Edun on Tuesday.

At the end of the meeting, the government said that the naira-for-crude was still in effect and that the initiative was not a temporary measure but a “key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining”.

The government also said the initiative is still in effect and will continue immediately, overruling the decision of the NNPCL under its former boss Mele Kyari which tenured the initiative.

 

Channels

ALSO READ:  Adeleke orders arrests, imposes curfew after communal clash
Continue Reading