13102019

PAGE 2—SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 13, 2019
L-R: Venerable Stephen Ayo Oluwawalemi being assisted by his wife, Mrs Elizabeth
Adeola Oluwawalemi in the cutting of the 60th birthday cake of the Venerable
in Emmanuel Anglican Church, Ota, Ogun State.
NIGERIA BOUND CARGOES: 600% port
service cost responsible for diversion
By Godfrey Bivbere,
Ebuka Oko & Gideon
Nnaemezie
Stakeholders at a round
table session in Lagos
have attributed the diversion
of Nigeria bound goods to
neigbhouring ports to the
600 percent cargo clearance
charges at the nation’s seaports.
Speaking at the forum put
together by Maritime Anti
Corruption Network,
MACN, they stressed the
need for a review of the cost
of port services to stop further
diversion.
Speaking on the issue,
Chief Executive Officer,
CEO, of Proshore, Olufemi
Awoyemi disclosed that a recent
study indicated that people
spend more than 600
percent to clear goods from
the nation’s ports.
Awoyemi noted that the
above is the main reason shippers
go to neigbhouring ports.
He said: “If you try to understand
the economies of the
closure, it is contradictory.
“You cannot close your borders.
There is a very simple
reason people use other ports.
“Businesses are not signed
to any patriotic act, the only
act they know is their responsibility
to their shareholders.
That is the only duty prescribed
by the Corporate Affairs
Commission, CAC.’’
Mining: Host communities allege
neglect by govt, companies
By Gabriel Ewepu
Mining host communi
ties under the auspices
of the Federation of Nigerian
Mining Host Communities,
yesterday, lamented
over what they described as
neglect by the Federal Government
and mining companies
operating in their areas.
This was contained in a
communiqué issued at the
end of its inaugural summit
held in Abuja, which was attended
by representatives of
mining host communities
from the six geopolitical
zones of the country.
The communiqué reads in
part: “The Nigerian constitution
mandates in Section
17 (2)(d) that the exploitation
of human or natural resources
in any form whatsoever for
the reasons, other than the
good of the community shall
be prevented.
“While mining holds the
potential of prospering their
host communities when done
in a sustainable manner, Nigeria’s
extractive industry
faces numerous problems including
fiscal injustice, environmental
degradation,
proliferation of abandoned
open mining pits, consequences
of climate change,
security challenges, the vulnerabilities
of women, children
and disabled persons to
rights violation, water and air
pollution, negative impacts
on traditional livelihoods,
destruction of eco-systems
and water stress, and others.’’
Stallion votes
N120m for
DSC school,
hospital
THE Chief Executive
Officer of Stallion
Group, Mr. Anant
Badjatya, has announced a
donation of N120 million to
their charity arm, Stallion
Empowerment Initiative, to
upgrade facilities at the DSC
Technical High School and
Hospital, operated by Premium
Steel and Mines Limited,
PSML.
Making the announcement
during a facility tour of
PSML premises at Ovwian-
Aladja, Delta State, Badjatya
expressed satisfaction with
the academic performance
of the school and conduct of
the staff and students.
“The school and hospital
are doing incredibly well
and all we want to do is to
intervene in areas of need so
as to boost”, he said the infrastructure
of the facilities,”
he said, noting that the hospital
was already the best in
the area.
He commended Mr. Prasanta
Mishra, CEO of PSML,
for his commitment to the resuscitation
of the company,
even as he noted that the rolling
mill was fully operational
and that the company is in
advanced stages for the next
phase of investment to restart
the SMS, which would start
producing billets locally
once it comes on-stream, evidence
of the over $200 million
investment to resuscitate
PSML to the old glory of the
former Delta Steel Company,
DSC.
On Badjatya’s entourage
were of members of Stallion
Empowerment Initiative:
Ms. Arpita Roy Luthra, Mr.
John Iyalla and others.