Business
No Thanks For Junk Buses
Vehicles belonging to the Port Harcourt City Bus Service (PHCBS) now ply the major roads of our state capital in their numbers. The service, as we are told, is a joint venture between the Rivers State Government, Skye Bank Plc and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
Launched in January 2009, the mass transit bus service came as a filler to the gap created by the ban on the operation of commercial motorcycles popularly known as Okada, especially in Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor, Eleme and Oyigbo Local Government Areas.
Much as one will readily commend the scheme as having served in no mean measure to check the anger, exploitation and total frustration that would have attended the Okada ban, it will surely not be out of place to state that the age and make of some of the buses now being deployed under the scheme leaves much to be desired.
Let’s get this straight. Right from inception, Rivers State has always marked itself out as an entity that believes in the provision of quality services for its people. Alfred Diete-Spiff, pioneer military governor of the state and current Amanyanabo of Twon Brass in neighbouring Bayelsa State, always gets a standing ovation whenever his majestic presence is announced at any public gathering in both states. Obviously, this is a people’s way of appreciating a worthy public servant.
The then Navy Commander Diete-Spiff had, while grappling with the task of reconstructing and rehabilitating a newly created but war-torn Rivers state in the early 1970s, insisted on the use of best designs and quality materials in the provision of public amenities for the people. The Secretariat Complex in Port Harcourt, along with its skyscraping Point Block, is one of the many enduring landmarks of that era.
Equally worthy of mention and even more relevant to this discourse is the state-sponsored public transportation system which was introduced by Diete-Spiff. Waterline, as the scheme was then called, had in its fleet some of the sturdiest and most reliable brands of luxury buses and ferry boats of the time. Although succeeding administrations, both military and civilian, tried to add to the fleet inherited from this pioneer regime, their commitments to quality and proper maintenance were largely suspect. And so, only those early post-war acquisitions, particularly the marine vessels, endured until the splitting of old Rivers State in 1996.
Back to the moment. The new bus service scheme now operating in the state started with the deployment of few fairly-used and refurbished Marcopolo (Mercedes Benz) and Ashok Leyland buses adorned with the yellow and blue colours of Skye Bank.
There was an addition of a few Tata buses, later. Most of these vehicles, at their initial outings, still had all their interior and exterior lights and fittings, including in-built radio systems.
Commuters were indeed happy with the state government for such timely intervention. They were equally gladdened by the fact that these buses came in fairly sturdy shapes, with promises of endurance and longevity.
Talking of endurance, the individual strengths of these vehicles can hardly be tested by the excessive loads they convey per trip nor the number of non-stop rounds they make per day, but by the numerous gauntlets they have had to run in the hands of Area Boys (Agberos) at nearly every bus stop along their assigned routes. In fact, only little else can account for the heavily battered panels, missing bumpers and vandalised exterior lamps of most of these buses a few months after their deployment.
It is for this reason that one expects operators of the scheme, particularly Skye Bank, to always go for such vehicles as were already being used. Surely, their latest additions to the PHCBS fleet are glorified scraps, to say the very least. Those vehicles could have been imported from the most impoverished European or Asian country. Their make or model is not readily identifiable. Neither has one, at any time, seen their rear doors open for passengers to enter or exit. In fact, about three of these vans were said to have broken down at various spots along Aba Road on their very first day of operation. Too bad!
Any further importation and use of such apparently scrapped vehicles can only add to the already high cost of operation. And recouping such expenses through whatever marginal increase in fare will most certainly be an uphill, if not futile, exercise.
Ibelema Jumbo
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Enoh said this at the 8th annual induction and conference of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN).
He explained that abandoned projects continue to lock up public funds that could have been used for infrastructure development, industrial growth, job creation and essential social services.
Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Chris Osa Isokpunwu, he said the impact goes beyond financial losses, as incomplete projects affect communities and limit access to important public services
He cited examples of that remain unopened, schools that cannot accommodate students, roads that fail to connect communities and electricity projects that have not delivered their intended benefits.
The Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of CIPMN, Henry Ifeanyi Mbadiwe, also identified poor project management as a major challenge affecting development in Nigeria.
He revealed that the institute had developed a project management curriculum for Nigerian universities, which has received approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC). The programme is expected to enable universities to offer project management as a bachelor’s degree.
Mbadiwe further referenced findings by the Presidential Projects Assessment Committee, which identified 11,886 ongoing federal capital projects in 2011, with an estimated financial commitment of ?7.78 trillion.
He noted that inadequate planning, supervision, accountability and implementation were among the factors contributing to the abandonment of projects across the country.
The minister called for stronger project management structures across ministries, departments and agencies to improve planning, monitoring and evaluation.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had introduced a 90-day implementation reporting cycle to strengthen transparency and monitor the progress of government programmes.
Ikenga said the company remained committed to Nigeria’s power sector and would continue investing in its operations despite the challenging business environment.
He spoke in Lagos at the third edition of the Shell Power Conference, themed “Powering Nigeria’s Progress: Turning Ambition and Action into Sustainable Impact”.
The Transcorp Power chief said the company would sustain electricity generation, invest in its facilities and deliver value to shareholders.
“Transcorp Power is a long-term player, not a short-term player. This year has been challenging, but what is important is getting power to schools, hospitals and businesses to power progress,” he said.
Ikenga said the company’s focus on operational efficiency and investment had strengthened its contribution to Nigeria’s electricity supply.
He disclosed that since acquiring the Ughelli Power Plant in Delta State in 2013, Transcorp Power had quadrupled its available generation capacity.
He also said the company became the first privatised power generation firm to receive a post-privatisation discharge certificate after fulfilling all its privatisation obligations.
The company’s unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, showed a profit before tax of N83.1 billion, while its profit-before-tax margin rose to 31.2 per cent from 29.6 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Its total assets rose to 11.7 per cent amounting to N629.5 billion, while shareholders’ funds grew 8.9 per cent to N199.8 billion. Cash and cash equivalents also rose to N10.3 billion, supported by improved collections.
On the company’s contribution to grid stability, Ikenga said Transcorp Power’s black-start capability enabled it to restart operations without relying on electricity from the national grid.
He explained that the capability allowed the company to support power restoration following grid disturbances, helping to restore electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries.
Ikenga noted that Nigeria had an installed electricity generation capacity of about 13,000 megawatts, with an estimated potential of 50 gigawatts, adding that realising the potential would require effective coordination across the entire value chain.
“Everything in the value chain has to work,” he said.
He called for stronger collaboration among federal and state governments, regulators and private-sector operators, alongside increased private investment, to build a sustainable electricity market.
This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Press Secretary, Maryann Duke.
The statement said Oyedele pointed to “improved digital systems, including electronic invoicing, as a key driver behind a record of N33tn in government revenue collected between January and October 2026.”
The minister said the performance demonstrated the potential of technology to improve revenue administration, strengthen compliance and increase efficiency across government institutions.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Digital Sovereignty and Ethics: Guarding the Economy for the Next Generation,’ Oyedele warned that Nigeria risked losing substantial economic opportunities if it continued to depend heavily on foreign digital infrastructure.
Citing Nigerian Communications Commission figures, he disclosed that the country recorded more than 157 million active internet subscriptions as of May 2026.
He explained that these connections generated significant volumes of information through financial transactions, healthcare, education and taxation.
However, citing estimates from the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Oyedele said as much as 90 per cent of the country’s data was hosted abroad.
According to him, the situation has implications for foreign exchange expenditure, employment opportunities, technological skills and Nigeria’s control over information generated by its citizens.
He compared the country’s reliance on foreign digital infrastructure with its historical dependence on imported refined petroleum products, warning against a situation where Nigerian data would be processed abroad and the resulting services sold back to domestic users.
The minister consequently advocated greater investment in local data infrastructure, technical expertise, cybersecurity and predictable regulations to enable Nigerian businesses to capture more value from the digital economy.
He clarified that digital sovereignty should not translate into technological isolation but should strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to participate competitively in international markets.
Addressing graduating students, Oyedele urged young Nigerians to become developers of technological solutions rather than remain primarily consumers of products created elsewhere.
He identified artificial intelligence as both a disruptive force and an opportunity for innovation, advising graduates to acquire relevant digital skills alongside critical thinking, creativity, sound judgement and integrity.
The minister also cautioned against irresponsible online behaviour, explaining that digital footprints increasingly influence employment prospects, commercial relationships and professional credibility.
Oyedele outlined five priorities for graduates, including continuous learning, value creation, integrity, responsible digital citizenship and active participation in national development.
“Your degree is evidence of what you have learned. Your competence will demonstrate what you can do. Your character will reveal who you truly are,” he told the graduating students.
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