Business

Stakeholders Reach Pact On Apapa Wharf Road Reconstruction

Published

9 years ago

July 3, 2017

Stakeholders of the Apapa Wharf Road reconstruction have reached an agreement to take necessary measures to ensure commencement of reconstruction of the road leading to the nation’s major port on July 7.
The stakeholders agreed on several issues at a meeting held at the office complex of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing headquarters in Lagos, Thursday.
Those in attendance include representatives of traffic regulatory and traffic management agencies, law enforcement agencies, transport unions, petroleum products unions, port terminal operators and the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA).
Others are telecommunication service providers, the Apapa Local Government, representatives of Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd, contractors on the project, among others.
The stakeholders, rising from the meeting, presented a communique read by Mr Godwin Eke, Federal Controller Works, Lagos and a consultant of AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd, Mr Kayode Opeifa.
They agreed that the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and NPA should collaborate to repair all bad roads and diversion routes, including Tin Can Island Road, Creek Road and Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, which will receive heavy traffic.
The stakeholders resolved that a meeting be held between traffic regulatory agencies, law enforcement agencies and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) on July 3 (today) to fashion out a traffic management plan.
“After the meeting and the discussions and approval, it will be communicated to all stakeholders. Then, we can ask the contractors to mobilise and begin the reconstruction of Apapa Wharf Road.
“We all resolve to ensure that parked trucks be removed from Apapa Wharf Road for construction works to commence in phases on 7th July; it will never be a total closure of all the roads, but only on sections of the road where work will be done,” the communique stated.
They agreed that stakeholders will coperate with any changes in time line of traffic management which will be communicated to all parties by both the NPA and the contractor through LASTMA, for effective traffic diversions during the period.
The stakeholders also resolved that traffic management agencies would come up with a periodic traffic management plan backed by security provided by the security agencies.
They agreed that the Sole Administrator of Apapa Local Government, Mr Luqman Alao, would work with all traffic management agencies, security agencies and the NPA, and coordinate activities between them and the military.
The stakeholders commended the NPA, AG Dangote, Flour Mills of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Power, Work and Housing for coming together to execute the project.
The Tide source gathered that the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on June 17, handed over the Apapa Wharf Road to AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd for reconstruction.
The site was handed over after the minister signed a N4.34 billion Memorandum of Understanding with stakeholders who were to fund the project.
The project is to be funded by AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd, an arm of the Dangote Group, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Flour Mills of Nigeria.
The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, on June 22, held the first stakeholders meeting with some concerned parties on how to achieve success and speed on the project.
The ministry held another meeting with telecommunication service providers and others on Wednesday on how to relocate service cables and pipes in the Right of Way of the project.
The two kilometre road has a completion period of one year.

Business

PENGASSAN Tasks Multinationals On Workers’ Salary Increase

Published

3 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has asked companies in the oil and gas sector to undertake urgent review of salaries of their workers in view of the prevailing harsh economic conditions in the country.

Also, the pensioners of Chevron Nigeria, under the aegis PenCoN, have lauded the President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo and his executive on their unrelenting efforts toward addressing pension abnormalities faced by retired workers in the oil and gas industry.

The association also appealed to the federal government to take necessary measures to check banditry and terrorist activities in parts of the country.

PENGASSAN President, Osifo who addressed journalists shortly after the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Abuja, at the weekend, said that though a lot of success has been recorded in negotiating salary reviews for its members, there are still organisations that have failed to lift their workers from the present harsh economic situation.

He said within this period, PENGASSAN has signed numerous Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) which has brought smiles to the faces of its teeming members.

“This is because we recognise that our job, literally, is how to protect the job of our members, and how to enhance their pay,” he said.

Osifo said that operators in the oil and gas sectors always go for the best qualified professionals to carry out their operations.

“So, the same way they recruit the best, we also challenge them to provide the best condition of service and provide the best remuneration.

“Yes, today, a lot of companies will have achieved successes, but there are still few that we are still discussing at their CBAs, that we are not yet there.

“We still use this opportunity to call on these companies that are still foot dragging, that are still holding back, even with the massive devaluation that has occurred in our country, that still don’t want to fix the remuneration of our members.

“We are calling on them to do the needful, because for us in PENGASSAN we will push without holding back. We will push, using everything in our arsenal, to ensure that the needful is done,” he said.

Osifo spoke of the dispute with the Dangote Refinery group, saying there are still pending issues to be resolved.

“Gentlemen of the press, during the networking session, we also looked at the issues that are plaguing some of our branches, and you know that recently, we had some challenges in Dangote Refinery and PetroChemicals Ltd.

“And within this period, since our last National Industrial Action, we have been engaging them in a lot of conversations, but the issues are not fully resolved. There are still a lot of pending issues.

“Yes, the NEC decided that, yes, let us still consummate that process by pushing those issues, by engaging in dialogue to resolve the issues, and by also engaging all our social partners and stakeholders to get the issues resolved,” he said.

Business

SEC Unveils Digital Regulatory Hub To Boost Oversight Across Financial Markets

Published

3 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched the Regulatory Hub, a new centralized digital platform designed to streamline collaboration, strengthen oversight, and improve transparency across Nigeria’s financial and capital market ecosystem.

The Commission disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.

According to the commission, the platform connects key regulatory and security institutions including the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), enabling them to exchange information securely and in real time.

The launch of this regulatory hub comes ahead of the implementation of new tax laws in January 2026, with agencies such as the FIRS spreading its tentacles across sector to monitor compliance.

According to the SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, the launch marks a significant step toward modernizing Nigeria’s regulatory framework through technology.

“The Regulatory Hub is a major step in our commitment to leverage technology for stronger regulatory synergy. By connecting regulators on one platform, we are building resilience, enhancing market integrity, and promoting investor confidence,” he said.

The SEC said the platform would help reduce bottlenecks in regulatory processes and facilitate faster, more informed decision-making across agencies.

Reinforcing the DG’s comments, the Executive Commissioner, Operations, Bola Ajomale, highlighted the operational benefits of the new system.

“The platform will significantly improve the timeliness and quality of regulatory decision-making. It provides a single window for regulators to share data, respond to requests, and collaborate seamlessly in safeguarding our financial and capital markets,” he said.

The commission believes the Regulatory Hub would support its broader mandate to strengthen investor protection, enhance market stability, and harmonize regulatory activities across the financial sector.

It urged stakeholders to initiate interest by emailing the Commission, adding that once registered, participants would be able to access the Hub and take advantage of its features.

Business

NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products

Published

3 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing circulation of banned food products across markets in the country.

The agency, in a Press Release dated 6 December 2025, warned that these items including pasta, noodles, sugar and tomato paste are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are illegal to import.

NAFDAC stated that the sale and distribution of such prohibited items violate national trade laws, compromise the integrity of Nigeria’s food control system, and pose significant public health risks, as they have not undergone the agency’s mandatory safety and quality evaluations.

Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.

The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.

The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.

“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.

NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu