The President of Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, has commended the Nigerian Golf Community for setting aside two days to celebrate the revered Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II with a golf tournament.
Runsewe said that the two-day tournament slated to hold at the Benin Golf Club which would involve 100 amateur golfers and invited professionals from the South-South geo-political zone of Nigeria is to honour the Oba as father of golf in Nigeria and renowned traditional ruler in Africa.
Runsewe, who is a decorated Ambassador of Golf by Oba Ewuare, promised to ensure that a tournament befitting of the status, personality and royalty of the Oba is held annually in honour of Oba Ewuare II in Benin City.
He added that in view of the high respect the Oba of Benin commands among the Golfing Community and in the world at large, golf tournament in his honour shall subsequently be full blown Pron-Am, adding that he will give his full support as the president of Nigeria Golf Federation.
“In my capacity as the president of NGF, I shall ensure that a yearly tournament in honour of Oba Ewuare II is a five star event that could boost Golf development in Nigeria and Africa” Runsewe who is also the Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture said.
“The name of the Oba is huge enough to attract huge sponsorship” he pointed out, adding that he will use his wealth of knowledge and position to ensure enhanced organisations.
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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.