Business
Cement Prices Soar, Stall Building Construction In Rivers
Sequel to the sudden rise in the prices of cement in Rivers State, building construction activities in many parts of the state have been stalled.
Some developers who spoke with our correspondent said that they could no longer cope with the current prices of cement in the state.
The Tide’s checks on the current price regime yesterday revealed that a bag of Dangote Cement which was sold at N3,000 last week now goes for between N4,000 and N4,500, while a bag of Elephant Cement that sold for N2,600 now sells at N3,500.
Our correspondent reports that Bua Cement was not available in many stores visited, but attendants told The Tide that a bag of the product is now between N3,300 and N3,500.
The new price regime represents an increase of about N900 per bag, which translates to about 45 percent increase in a swoop.
Further checks by The Tide revealed that the sudden increase in cement prices was not peculiar to Rivers State alone but cuts across the country.
Our correspondent who visited some of the construction sites in the state reports that many builders have stopped works on ongoing constructions.
It was gathered that the sudden increase in price of cement became visible during the #EndSARS protests across the country.
Reacting to the development in an interview with The Tide, a Pastor in one of the new generation Pentecostal churches, Pastor Emeka James, who was undertaking a building construction at Rumuekini Akpor, said he was not willing to pay extra N900 on a bag of cement now, but would rather wait till the situation that led to the sudden increase normalises.
“Just two weeks ago, I bought a bag for N2,600, only to mobilise for continuation of work today and find out that the price has increased to N3,500.
“How many bags will I buy with the little amount I have now. I will wait till things normalise and I know things will normalise,” James said.
In his own response, Mr Chika Ishmael who is a civil servant in Port Harcourt, said he used to buy cement on daily basis due to the ongoing church building project he was undertaking, but that the sudden increase in cement price has caused a setback to the project.
However, a cement dealer in Alakahia, near the University of Port Harcourt, Henry Odum, explained that the shortage in supply of cement was responsible for the sudden increase in cement price.
According to him, the high cost of transporting cement to Port H arcourt occasioned by the #EndSARS protests led to the increase in the price of the product.
Odum who said that he had exhausted all the cements he had in stock, however, expressed hope that things would return to normalcy as soon as the protests are over.
Corlins Walter
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
-
Environment4 days ago
World Water Day And Provision Of Clean Water
-
Rivers3 days ago
Abua/Odual Is Simplified -Board Member
-
Niger Delta2 days ago
C’River, Ebonyi Govts Resolve Boundary Dispute
-
Opinion1 day ago
Leveraging On ICT For Timely Retirees’ Payment
-
Politics4 days ago
Gov Mutfwang Harps On Tolerance Among Nigerians
-
Nation3 days ago
WTD: Banigo Advocates Good Hygiene
-
News2 days ago
Nigeria’s 149 Private Varsities Undersubscribed -NUC
-
News1 day ago
Police Neutralise Notorious Cult Leader In Owube Kingdom