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FG, LASG To Generate $201bn From Lekki Port 

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The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says the Federal and Lagos State government, will generate $ 201 billion through taxes, royalties and duties from the Lekki deep seaport.
He said the port would have a great impact on the economy as it is going to create 169,972 jobs and enable Nigeria to regain the maritime businesses it lost to ports in Togo, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Mohammed stated this on Wednesday during an inspection of the port alongside a team from the Ministry of Transport.
He said with the port, Nigeria will become a trans-shipment hub, noting that the revenue the country is currently losing to neighbouring countries would be regained.
The minister disclosed that the port would commence operation in the last quarter of the year and is expected to help Nigeria’s quest to boost its economy through the window of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) .
“The investment is huge, $1.53 billion on fixed assets and $800 million on construction. But the aggregate impact has been put at $361 billion in 45 years, which will be over 200 times the cost of building it. The direct and induced business revenue impact is estimated at $158 billion, in addition to a qualitative impact on manufacturing, trade and commercial services,” he said.
Earlier, the Managing Director of Lekki Deep Seaport, Du Ruogang, had said the port would change the economic landscape of Nigeria and become a hub in the West and Central African region.
He said the second phase of the port would commence in about six to seven years time, adding that in the long-term, the third phase of the port would be developed.
Ruogang appealed to the government for support in the trans-shipment policy, which he said is an important target for the port.
He also called for government’s support in the cargo evacuation system, noting that the roads connecting to the port are not satisfactory to the demands of the evacuation requirements of the port.
The General Manager/Head of Government Relations and Security, Lekki Freeport Terminal, Fubara Awanta, in his own speech, said with the draft of the port, which is the deepest in West Africa, Nigeria should not lose the huge revenue that it would make from the port due to several bottlenecks.
He appealed to the government to ensure that the key roads connecting the port are completed to boost cargo evacuation as the short-term support, while for the medium term the government should assist in ensuring the movement of consignment through barging.
“In the course of doing barging there are so many additional fees that will be paid like Cabotage, if all these additional costs are not well managed, most persons will not want to evacuate their cargoes, that is why you see from the point of calculating our return on investment, our pricing must be highly competitive,” he said.

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Council Boss Impeached 48 Hours To LG Polls In Katsina

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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.

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Association Tasks Fubara On Rumuwoji Market Phase Three

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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.

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AfDB President Denies 2027 Presidential Ambition

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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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