FG Releases N2bn for Take off of Maritime Varsity in October
Ndubuisi Francis
The federal gvernment announced yesterday that it had rreleased N2 billion for the take off of the Maritime University, Okerekoko Delta State by October.
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who disclosed this in Akure, Ondo State while declaring open the second National Council on Niger Delta said that academic activities would soon commence at the university, adding: “We believe that as soon as it takes off, of course, academic activities and engagement and all of that will go on within the period.”
The theme of the second National Council on Niger Delta organised by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs is “Fasttracking the development of the Niger Delta region: options and prospects.”
Osinbajo, who restated the commitment of the present administration towards rapid development of the Niger Delta region, added that “for us development of the Niger Delta region is not optional.”
The vice President also noted that the issue of Ogoniland clean-up was very much on course and that the government was working towards ensuring that right things were dome at the right time.
He promised that the clean-up exercise would not be limited to Ogoniland alone but all other affected areas in the oil-rich region.
The present administration, he said, was ready to support the establishment of modular refineries in the region in order to create wealth and employment in the region in particular and the country at large
“One of our plans for the Niger Delta region is to support the establishment of privately owned modular refineries. Many of the licences handed out by the previous administrations have since expired.
“The biggest challenge that these licenses have being facing has been funding,” he said.
Osinbajo also disclosed that the administration was committed and now working towards establishment of Refineries Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to support the investments.”
Unfavourable foreign exchange rates, infrastructure deficit, policy inconsistency, and weak demand, among others, are the bane of the nation’s manufacturing sector, a new survey has revealed.
The Manufacturing Sector Survey 2017 which was conducted by NOIPolls, in partnership with the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), covered a total of 496 companies across 12 states (two per geo-political zone).
It was conducted between February and May 2017 and identified unfavourable foreign exchange rates (55 per cent), bad roads (55 per cent), unavailability of petrol and diesel (47 per cent), limited access to credit (45 per cent), policy inconsistency (44 per cent), lack of infrastructure ( 39 per cent), unstable power supply (31 per cent) and weak demand (29 per cent) as the major challenges facing the manufacturing sector.
The CEO of NOIPolls, Dr. Bell Ihua, who unveiled the