Nation
Lack Of Scanners At Ports Compromising Nigeria’s Security, Reps Lament
The House of Representatives, yesterday, said that lack of scanners at the various ports was compromising the nation’s security.
The House said the ill development has exposed the country to possible importation of illegal arms and ammunition into the country.
The Chairman, House Technical Committee on Customs and Excise, Hon. Leke Abejide, made the observations when he led other members of the committee on the oversight of Customs formations in Zone C of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) with headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
He said that the absence of functional scanners at Customs formations nationwide with its concomitants of illicit arms activities had led financial resources.
The lawmaker also decried the abandonment of scanners purchased for the Customs over the years after removing them from the companies that installed and given them to another company, which according to him, lacked the technical capacity to handle the equipment.
He gave the assurance of a comprehensive investigation into the matter by the House.
The committee expressed which expressed disappointment hock over the long years of abandonment of the multi-million dollars scanners, and insisted that even though there was the need to provide more scanners for the Customs, there was also the need to out-source the service.
The members wondered why the scanners were taken away from the company that installed them and give to another company without the capacity to handle them.
Abejide also underscored the need to declare an emergency on the roads leading to the ports in the zone to avoid degeneration.
The lawmaker, however, said that the committee will work with Customs Service to rid the system of those he identified as quack agents operating in the nation’s port.
According to him, many of the agents had no identifiable office.
In his remarks, the Comptroller of the Onne Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Auwal Mohamed, told the delegation that the zone generated about $136million from export within the zone between 2019 and 2020.
He said the poor access roads to the port and lack of containers were a big challenge to export activities, adding that the volume of export from the zone will increase with good access roads and rail line linking the port as well as an increase in revenue collection.
Nation
Council Boss Impeached 48 Hours To LG Polls In Katsina
The Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, has been impeached.
Maharazu Dayi was impeached yesterday by 11 out of 12 councillors, barely two days before the local government elections in the State.
The councillors reportedly took action following allegations of misconduct and poor governance against the chairman after a dispute over the distribution of the council’s Paris Club funds.
The development has sent shock waves across the local government area, especially as the impeached chairman is among those who failed to secure the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest in the forthcoming election.
Nation
Association Tasks Fubara On Rumuwoji Market Phase Three
The Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association, Mile 1, Port Harcourt, has urged the state government to utilise the available spaces within the area to build phase 3 of the Rumuwoji Market in order to solve the ever increasing needs of traders.
The association, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, also described as a welcomed development the decision by the state Governor to open the phase 2 of the market for business.
According to the association, “We consider it as an answer to the various cries of the people, because he is a man on a mission who is out to place the interest of Rivers people first. It is a dream come true for the first time for the market to be dully allocated and open for business”
Chairman of the association, Hon Godspower Wobo, who briefed the press shortly after a meeting of the association in Port Harcourt, also urged the public to disregard the activities of some persons whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection in the market.
He said the attention of the association was drawn to the activities of some strange fellows who went about misforming the people about situation in the market, stressing that apart from his association, no other group exists in the market except subdiary unions.
Wobo also tasked the reallocation committee to tread with caution so as to avoid being deceived by any group.
According to him, time has come for the state government to engage in robust discussion with aggrieved shop owners who went to court and those who paid monies to the state coffers and issued with allocation certificates for the overall interest of peace.
He also advised the public to deal directly with his association, stressing that the meeting was to review activities for the last year as well as unveil their new Constitution.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the association, Deacon Kenneth Eze urged the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to open the phase 2 of the market, as it is long overdue.
Eze who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association also urged the public to do business with only the Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association as it is the only union recognised by the traders.
Nation
AfDB President Denies 2027 Presidential Ambition
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has debunked reports linking him with the race for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Reacting to the report on his X handle yesterday, following a recent interview with Arise TV, the AfDB boss said his quotes were misrepresented and misinterpreted in several Nigerian media reports.
However, the AfDB president denied the media reports, stating that he never said that he wanted to contest for President.
“A segment of my recent interview on @Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets. What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”
“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.
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