THE Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria (MMWG) has warned against playing politics of money, of religion and of tribalism, stating that this was part of the vices that led to the civil war in the country about 55 years ago.
In its Armed Forces Remembrance Day goodwill message released by its National Coordinator, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, the MMWG described as dangerous what he called the trend in the country’s civilian governance whereby money politics, tribalism, nepotism and religious politics were being amplified to the detriment of good governance, integrity, honesty and transparency.
The group lamented that about 55 years after “some dissident soldiers truncated our hard-earned independence and civil rule, the nation is ‘yet to get it right.”
It attributed the challenges facing the country to “corruption and improper and expensive system of governance, pointing out that the country must look for a cheaper system of governance by amending the constitution and reducing the take-home pay of political officeholders.
The MMWG asserted that the presidential system of government and its operation could not work in present-day-Nigeria, adding that “we should entrust the nation and our states in the hands of God-fearing people who would promote equity, justice and fairness to all.”
The group called on all office seekers in 2023 to put fashioning a new constitution for the country and fighting corruption at the centre of their campaigns.
“There cannot be unity and progress where the nation’s financial resources are concentrated in the hands of a few while millions of people die from lack of job, hunger, poverty, insecurity and disease,” it emphasised.
The MMWG commended security forces in the country for their sacrifices and warned politicians to stop fanning the ember of hatred through religious, tribal or ethnic sentiments.
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The concessionaires complained of poor cooperation from state governments who mostly delay in meeting their own part of the agreement, for instance in the area of land provision.
Another major challenge they emphasised was the lack of narrow gauge rail lines in and out of the dry ports which they noted was important to make the operation of the ports efficient.
They added that access to funds also remained a major issue even as banks and foreign investors make unreasonable demands for assets and bank bonds before the release of funds.
The concessionaires unanimously stressed the need for the ports being constructed to be given the status of port of origin and destination and also to be registered with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) upon completion.
In view of the delay in execution, the concessionaires stressed the need for a new agreement, pointing out that an agreement started in 2017 between them and the NSC but it was yet to be cleared by the Federal Ministry of Justice on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
They however commended the ICRC for its intervention and also appreciated the NSC for their support so far, noting that they were confident that under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the contracts will be sorted out.
The concessionaires pledged their commitment to see the concession to conclusion and the ports operational even as two of the concessionaires, Equatorial Marine Oil and Gas Ltd for the Katsina ports and Dala Inland Dry Port for the Kano Ports declared that their ports will commence operation before the third quarter of 2022.
Managing Director of Equatorial Marine Oil and Gas Ltd, Mr Usman Iya Abbas, informed the ICRC team that the Funtua port was already at over 85 per cent completion and was ready to launch before the end of the second quarter of 2022.
“We hope to commission this project before the end of the second quarter and the ports will become functional immediately. We are lucky to have great relationships in the shipping industry and with major shipping lines.
Managing Director, Dala Inland Dry Port Ltd., Hon. Ahmed Rabiu, concessionaires of the Kano Inland Port also hinted that the construction of the container depot was already nearing completion.
He assured that the company was working assiduously to ensure project completion and take off before the end of March 2022.
On his part, ICRC’s Director of Contract Compliance Department, Dr Ewalefoh who chaired the technical session of the meeting assured the concessionaires of the continuous support of the Commission, charging them however to send a detailed update of the contract status reports to the ICRC.
The Ag. Head, Media and Publicity of ICRC, Manji Yarling said he further enjoined the other four concessionaires who were yet to make remarkable progress in their contract execution to emulate the milestone recorded by the other two who were finalizing their constructions, so that the ports can yield the economic benefits for which the concessions were granted.
While thanking the stakeholders for honouring the invitation of the ICRC, it was resolved that going forward, there will be periodic meetings to ensure that the projects are speedily completed.
and then