16112017 - FG revokes Intels' expatriate permits

12-—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2017
8—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2017
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
By
Olasunkanmi
Akoni & Esther
Onyegbula
LAGOS—IN apparent
response to public
outcry over the total
breakdown of law and
order on the Apapa-Oshodi
Expressway by tanker and
other truck drivers, as
highlighted by Vanguard
Newspaper in the last few
days, the Federal and
Lagos State governments
have taken steps to tackle
the resultant gridlock and
other security threats along
the Mile 2 and other
adjourning roads.
In the last one month,
gridlock along Mile 2 axis
of the ever busy dual
carriage way has crippled
business operations and
endangered innocents
lives because of total
disregard to traffic law by
truck drivers aided by
unscrupulous security
operatives who allow the
drivers to park
indiscriminately on both
sides of the expressway
after being compromised.
While Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo, SAN,
Tuesday night said the
Buhari administration
would find all possible
solutions to end the
gridlock, Governor
Akinwunmi Ambode of
Lagos, yesterday directed
heads of security agencies
in the state to immediately
deploy adequate personnel
to tackle the gridlock and
other security threats.
Meeting with
private sector
Prof. Osinbajo spoke at a
Government/Private sector
meeting at the Presidential
Villa, Abuja, on how to
speedily
and
comprehensively resolve
the issue.
The Vice President
directed that the Federal
Ministry of Power, Works
and Housing and the
Nigerian Ports Authority,
NPA, implement clear
objectives to tackle the
Apapa traffic gridlock,
saying “We should look at
all the components and find
a quick solution.”
In his remarks, the
Minister of Power, Works
and Housing, Babatunde
Fashola, noted that Nigeria
ports had capacity for 34
million metric tonnes of
cargoes per annum, but it
was now processing about
80 million metric tonnes
per annum.
He also identified poor
traffic management as a
major cause of the
persistent gridlock along
Apapa access roads.
In the same vein, the
Managing Director of NPA,
Hadiza Bala Usman, said
the NPA would constitute
a strong task force to
address the issue.
Both Fashola and Usman
assured the Vice President
that the issues would be
tackled in a holistic way,
not only to fix the problem,
but also to support the
Federal Government’s
Ease of Doing Business
reforms.
Private sector
stakeholders, including the
President, Dangote Group,
Alhaji Aliko Dangote;
Chairman, Honeywell
Group, Dr. Oba Otudeko;
and the Chairman, BUA
Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad
Rabiu, were present at the
meeting and they all made
commitments.
As part of its Corporate
Social Responsibility, the
Dangote Group will carry
out palliative works and
reconstruction of some
major sections of the Apapa
road, which is expected to
be completed by June/July
2018.
In the same vein,
Honeywell Group will
construct a trailer park,
while BUA Group will carry
out construction works on
the Tin Can road.
Others actions to be taken
by the Ministry of Works
and the NPA include: To
reduce congestion and
ease traffic; empty
containers within the
Apapa area to be relocated
to holding bays; Shipping
companies no longer to be
allowed to operate holding
bays within the Apapa Port
location.
Other lines of action are:
Tanks farms not to be
permitted within the Apapa
area; process of licencing
access to trailer parks and
port location by the NPA to
commence; Advertisement
seeking for expression of
interests from private sector
to operate trailer parks and
holding bays within the Tin
Can Island area to be
issued; and a task force to
manage the flow of traffic
within the Apapa and Tin
Can Island environs to be
established.
Also present at the
meeting were the Minister
of Defence, Mansur Dan-
Ali, and representatives of
the Inspector-General of
Police and the Comptroller-
General of Nigeria
Customs Service.
Reconstitution of
task force
Similarly, Governor
Akinwunmi Ambode of
Lagos, yesterday
reconstituted the Joint
Security Task Force
established to manage the
chaotic traffic situation and
restore sanity on the road.
The Task Force is made
PRESS BRIEFING: Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal (2nd right),
briefing Government House correspondents, shortly after the State Security Council
meeting, presided over by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode at the Lagos House, Ikeja,
yesterday. With him are Commander, 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Ikeja Cantonment, Brig.
Gen. Elias Attu (right); Commander, Nigeria 561Base Service Group, Ikeja, Air
Commodore Musbau Olumide Olatunji (middle); Commander, Nigeria Navy Beecroft
Apapa, Commodore Murrice Ansa Eno (2nd left) and Executive Secretary/C.E.O, Lagos
State Security Trust Fund, LSSTF, Dr. Abdulrazaq Balogun (left).
FG, Lagos Govt move to tackle Apapa
traffic gridlock
•No new tank farm in Apapa, as FG
considers all possible solutions
•Ambode reads riot act, reconstitutes taskforce to restore sanity
up of Police, military,
officials of Lagos State
Traffic Management
Authority, LASTMA and
the Federal Road Safety
Corps, FRSC.
State Commissioner of
Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal,
disclosed the governor’s
directive while speaking
with State House
Correspondents after the
monthly Security Council
meeting, chaired by
Governor Ambode and
attended by heads of
security formations in the
state.
Edgal explained that
while the issues that gave
rise to the gridlock were
being addressed, the Task
Force would ensure that the
roads in the axis were not
totally locked down, and
also prevent criminal
elements from taking
advantage of the gridlock
to perpetrate their nefarious
activities.
Edgal addressed the
media in company of
commanders of security
formations in the State.
He said: “We deliberated
extensively on the Apapa
gridlock and the Governor
has approved with
immediate effect the
reconstitution of a Joint
Task Force made up of
police, the military,
LASTMA and FRSC
officials to ensure that
whilst the major problems
that gave rise to that
situation in the first
instance are being tackled,
we on our part as security
agencies, will ensure that
we have a good semblance
of decency on our roads.
“We will ensure that we
create a corridor for smaller
vehicles and ensure that
there is no complete
blockade to free flow of
traffic. We will also have
plain cloth and uniformed
security agencies ensuring
that there is no crime in the
axis due to the traffic
gridlock.”
The CP, who assured
residents that every
necessary arrangement
had been made to ensure
peaceful yuletide season,
said the Council also
approved increased
visibility and patrol in all
parts of the State, especially
in areas there are traffic
gridlock as a result of
construction activities.
NUBIFIE warns of looming industrial unrest in financial sector
By Victor
Ahiuma-Young
L AGOS—NATIONAL
Union of Banks,
Insurance, and other
Financial Institutions
Employees, NUBIFIE,
yesterday in Lagos,
warned of a looming
industrial unrest in the
nation’s financial sector,
over alleged
determination of officials
of the Federal Ministry
of Labour and
Employment to foist a
caretaker committee on
the union against all
known laws.
Efforts to reach officials
of the Ministry for
comments were
unsuccessful.
Even the text messages
sent to them on the issue
were not responded to at
press time.
However, at a briefing,
President of the union,
Danjuma Musa, called
on the Presidency and
the Head of Service of
Federation, to call the
officials of the ministry to
order before things
degenerated to
industrial unrest and
other unforeseen
reaction.
According to him, the
union had already
notified leaders of the
national assembly, Head
of Service of the
Federation, all relevant
security agencies
including the
Department of State
Service, DSS, over
perceived illegal
activities of officials of the
Ministry of Labour and
Employment that could
lead to industrial unrest
in the financial sector as
well as the union.
Danjuma noted that
though the Ministry and
the Minister of Labour
and Employment were in
the know of a court
process over the
ministry alleged
interference in the
affairs of the union,
some officials of the
ministry acting under an
external influence, were
determined and
desperate to foist a
caretaker committee on
the union and throw it
into turmoil.
He said: “As a union
that believes strongly in
the rule of law and
guided by its own
constitution, we
expected that whatever
grievances arising from
the conduct of our
conference, should be
pursued within the ambit
of the law by any
aggrieved party.
"Unfortunately, certain
elements within the
Federal Ministry of
Labour and Employment
rather than acting within
the ambit of the law,
have taken advantage of
the gullibility of our
aggrieved comrades to
perpetuate actions that
are clearly outside the
rule of law.”
While giving details of
the perceived
interferences in the
affairs of the union, he
said, "We therefore call
on the Head of Service
of the Federation to call
the affected officials to
order so that they do not
throw the financial sector
into turmoil”