Headlines
Lekki Deep Sea Port: Another Apapa port beckons


The Minister, who was in the company of the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, and the Permanent Secretary of transportation ministry, Dr Ajani Magdalene, lamented that in as much as he would have loved to link the port with the rail line, the paucity of funds has incapacitated the Federal Government to do so.
“If we get the 11.1billion as it is, we would probably have to divert the rail line, because Lagos-Calabar rail line actually goes into Lagos city, we can divert it to come to the seaport in Lekki,” he stated.
The minister further disclosed that Lekki deep seaport, when completed and operational, would contribute $360 billion to the Nigerian economy over the course of 45 years.
He said the deep seaport was “a privately funded project, over time, they (contractors), will collect their revenue from the commercial activities before they hand over to the Federal Government.
“But obviously, taxes will be collected here, even they (contractors) will pay taxes, I am not sure there were any taxes mentioned in the agreement, but I doubt if there is any tax exemption.
“So, we will collect taxes here, the confidence in giving them the project is because of the taxes that we will collect here that will help us in the construction of other projects.”
Amaechi, further explained that the contractors will have to recover the money they invested in the project, stating that “in financial terms, in the process of recovering their money, they will contribute to the GDP of the nation annually”.
He said the project will contribute over “$360 billion over the years. It sounds much, but we actually need more of that money to accomplish what we want to achieve.”
On the expansion of the seaport, the Minister complained that the port was not spacious enough to accommodate high-level economic activities in years to come.
“It also depends on how much the economy will grow before then. The growth of the economy will put pressure on the expansion.
“The argument we had in the cabinet is that the need for a deep seaport at Lekki was a result of the fact that the demand for port activities in the country has exceeded the supply of Tincan and Apapa around Lagos.
“This is the first deep seaport in Nigeria, what we had all this while are river ports, the Tincan is a river port, the Apapa is a river port and port Harcourt.
Economy
Buhari, Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, Abdusalami, Osinbajo, Atiku, others to spend N13.8billon from N27.5 trillion 2024 budget

The Eyewitness Reporter
The Federal government has earmarked the sum of N13.8 billion in the 2024 budget as the cost of upkeep of
former presidents, vice presidents, heads of state, Chiefs of General Staff, retired heads of service, permanent secretaries, and retired heads of government agencies and parastatals.
The beneficiaries include former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, ex-vice-presidents Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo and Prof Yemi Osinbajo.
Also expected to benefit from the windfall are ex-military Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and General Abdusalami Abubakar, as well as a former dictator and self-styled military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, and a former Chief of General Staff, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (retd.).
Also, N1tn was provisioned for the public service wage adjustment for government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (including arrears of promotion and salary increases, and payment of severance benefits and minimum wage-related adjustments).
A breakdown shows that the entitlements of former presidents/heads of state and vice presidents/chief of general staff will cost N2.3bn. At the same time, N10.5bn is proposed as benefits for retired heads of service, permanent secretaries and professors.
The payment of severance benefits to retired heads of government agencies and parastatals is proposed to cost N1bn.
Other allocations include N65bn for the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the reintegration of transformed ex-militants; N1bn for the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Energy; and N108bn for unnamed special projects.
The government is also proposing the sum of N40bn to offset electricity debts owed to power distribution companies by all MDAs.
President Bola Tinubu unveiled the N27.5 trillion budget estimates for the 2024 fiscal year.
The budget was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, where it is currently undergoing scrutiny and deliberation for final approval.
In his presentation, he declared, “The 2024 Appropriation has been themed the Budget of Renewed Hope.
The proposed budget seeks to achieve job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability, a better investment environment, enhanced human capital development, as well as poverty reduction and greater access to social security.
Customs
News Alert: Wale Adeniyi revives CG conference, holds 2023 edition December 13-15 in Lagos.

Headlines
Ukraine blocks Russia’s reelection bid at IMO council elections

The outcome is another blow for Russia after it failed in its bid to return to the UN’s top human rights body in October, in an election seen as a key test of Western efforts to keep Moscow isolated.
Last year, Moscow also failed to win enough votes for re-election to the UN aviation agency’s governing council.
The London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) is responsible for regulating the safety and security of international shipping and preventing pollution and comprises 175 member state countries.
Russia has been a member since 1958 and has been consistently re-elected to the IMO Council.
With voting on Friday, 40 countries were elected by secret ballot to the IMO Council, which supervises the work of the body.
In October, Russia said the IMO was departing from its impartial role due to “external pressure” which it said was impacting the fair treatment of all member countries.
-
Customs3 months ago
Shake-up in Customs as Apapa, Tin Can, Seme, KLT commands get new Area Controllers
-
Headlines1 month ago
Shippers’ Council admits error in process leading to hike in terminal charges, promises to review the increase
-
Customs3 months ago
Adewale Adeniyi: The new Sheriff in Customs.
-
Customs3 months ago
Customs deactivates defaulting authorized dealer banks , as Adeniyi vows to cleanse duty collection process.
-
Headlines3 weeks ago
Port operations resume as maritime workers end 72-hour siege on Nigerian ports
-
Customs2 months ago
Customs, UN agency collaborate to fight smuggling