Wednesday, October 8Nigeria's Authoritative Maritime News Magazine
Shadow

Author: Asu Beks

Bayelsa Air Set for Launch as Govt Acquires two aircraft

Bayelsa Air Set for Launch as Govt Acquires two aircraft

News Feature
Bayelsa State has procured two aircraft to commence commercial flight operations at the state’s airport. Governor Douye Diri, who stated this on Monday during the courtesy visit of the Prime Minister of the State of Africa In Diaspora, Dr. Tin Louise-George, to Government House, Yenagoa, said the planes would soon arrive and would operate the Yenagoa, Lagos and Abuja routes. Governor Diri said his administration was determined to make the Bayelsa International Airport more commercially effective for flight operations. While welcoming Dr. Louise-George on his maiden visit to Nigeria and Bayelsa, he described the State of Africa in Diaspora as akin to Doctors Without Borders. He said the state government was ready for partnership in the area of the airport expansion and developme...
Tinubu to inaugrate $400m Rivers crude export termnial

Tinubu to inaugrate $400m Rivers crude export termnial

News Feature
President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to inaugurate the $400m Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal in Rivers State on October 8, the first new crude export facility to be built in Nigeria in over 50 years. The facility, developed by Green Energy International Limited, operators of the Otakikpo field in OML 11, Ikuru town, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, is the first wholly indigenous onshore terminal built in Nigeria. The last such facility, the Forcados Terminal, was commissioned in 1971. The inauguration is expected to attract top government officials, including the Rivers State Governor, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and key stakeholders across the oil and gas sector. According to a ...
GULF OF GUINEA SECURITY: IMO GIVES NIGERIA THUMBS UP

GULF OF GUINEA SECURITY: IMO GIVES NIGERIA THUMBS UP

News Feature
The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr. Arsenio Domínguez, has lauded Nigeria’s remarkable achievements in maritime security, particularly its success in recording zero piracy incidents for over three years and the groundbreaking Deep Blue Project, which he described as a model for regional cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea. Mr. Domínguez, who arrived in Nigeria on Thursday, made the remarks during a courtesy visit to the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola, CON. He noted that Nigeria’s investment in maritime safety infrastructure and the collaboration of its security agencies, especially the Nigerian Navy, have yielded tangible results in combating piracy and maritime crimes. According to him, these effor...
Abuja’s huge Agro Allied Potentials, a boost to Nigeria’s non oil revenue…Dantsoho

Abuja’s huge Agro Allied Potentials, a boost to Nigeria’s non oil revenue…Dantsoho

News Feature, Port News
The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho has said that the centrality of Abuja coupled with its rich agro-allied potentials is germane to strengthening NPA’s commitment to supporting the Federal Government’s efforts to continuously grow non-oil revenue by connecting local value producers in the non-oil value chain to identified international clusters of demand for their goods. According to him, the position of Abuja as the centre of the country is strategic to the NPA’s renewed trade facilitation focus that places a high premium on port-hinterland connectivity, which Abuja’s centrality accentuates, presents a seamless linkage with the comparative advantages inherent in all regions of the federation that can be harnessed to sustain growth in the volum...
Why Gulf Of Guinea Is Crucial To Bayelsa – Gov Diri

Why Gulf Of Guinea Is Crucial To Bayelsa – Gov Diri

Misc, News Feature
Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has said the location of the state around the resource-rich Gulf of Guinea (GoG) region presents unique opportunities for investment, its growth and development. Governor Diri also stated that his administration was ready to deepen collaboration to enhance the security of the contiguous maritime area. The Bayelsa governor spoke at the Nigerian Mission House in New York during a High-Level Discourse on the Gulf of Guinea, with the theme: “Unlocking Energy, Oil/Gas, Mineral Resources, Aviation and Maritime Opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea: A Roadmap for Peace and Security” on the margins of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The event was convened by a policy think tank, The New Diplomat in collaboration with Angola-bas...
At UNGA, Dantsoho Brags About NPA’s Potentials

At UNGA, Dantsoho Brags About NPA’s Potentials

News Feature, Port News
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the authority is working to build a globally competitive port system that will enhance trade facilitation, attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and boost investor confidence in Nigeria’s economic future. Dantsoho disclosed this while delivering a paper titled, "Optimising Nigeria's Port Infrastructure, Enhancing Trade Facilitation and Global Competitiveness," at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Dantsoho disclosed to the global audience that the authority would launch the Port Community System (PCS) by the first quarter of 2026. According to him, "We are building a globally competitive port system that will strengthen trade facilitation, attract Foreign Direct Investme...
Chief Obafemi Awolowo GCFR SAN planned to connect the entire country with trains about 70 years ago.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo GCFR SAN planned to connect the entire country with trains about 70 years ago.

News Feature
Awo said: Chief Awolowo on RAILING up Nigeria 72 years ago. “What the Nigerian economy lacks woefully is mobility.” “Any country that moves sluggishly and slowly will never make it economically. You will carry goods from Kano; it takes two or three days, with the driver languishing on the way.” “So the goods don’t arrive in time at places where they will be consumed or badly needed.” “And when they arrive, they are too expensive and so on. “ “We considered a project when l was in the Western Region, and l thought all of us - the three regions at the time, should cooperate to make the scheme work.” “Well, the basis of the scheme, of course, is that the Federal Government will improve the speed of the railway from Kano to Lagos.” “We suggested that instead of bringing...
Bayelsa clears N12bln LG pension, gratuities arrears  …as Gov. Diri receives award as best governor

Bayelsa clears N12bln LG pension, gratuities arrears …as Gov. Diri receives award as best governor

News Feature
Local Government Councils in Bayelsa State have cleared the N12 Billion arrears of pensions, gratuities and death benefits owed retired workers in the various LGAs. At a programme to celebrate the success of Local Government reforms in the state with the theme: “Promoting Local Government Workers' Welfare: The Bayelsa Model" at the Banquet hall, Yenagoa, the governor received an award as the "Best Governor on Local Government Area Reforms in Nigeria” from the national leadership of Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees(NULGE) and Medical and Health Workers' Union of Nigeria (MHWUN). In his remark, Governor Diri appreciated the union leaders for the award, and promised to continue to prioritize the welfare of local government workers and pensioners in line with the new reforms....
Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro: Between public service and the idle tantrum of a poorly informed group. BY Blessing Harriman

Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro: Between public service and the idle tantrum of a poorly informed group. BY Blessing Harriman

News Feature
Our nation’s discourse can feel like a minefield, making it hard to maintain our witness in these divisive times. It is usual to find some people only on the wrong side of reason, at the seedy confluence where healthy cognition and logical thought are glossed over. Topical issues are assumed, like an invidious chore, through lenses tainted only by unmeaning perception. It is in this context that I ask this pertinent question- why must anyone want to fight or undernine Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro, the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme? He is where he is because he earned it. When retired military Generals took turns at the apogee of PAP leadership, where were these desperate crooners and faltered social ombudsmen? What happened to the voices and press releases of these emergenc...
Africa to halt $120b annual hydrocarbon imports ….Lokpobiri

Africa to halt $120b annual hydrocarbon imports ….Lokpobiri

Misc, News Feature
Nigeria’s Oil minister, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s leadership role in advancing Africa’s energy security. This is as he called for deeper regional integration at the Africa Oil Week (AOW) 2025 Ministerial and CEO Leadership Forum. According to a statement by Nneamaka Okafor, Lokpobiri's media aide, the minister stressed that integration remains the most effective strategy to end Africa’s energy poverty, noting that shared infrastructure, harmonized standards, and technical expertise will enable the continent to secure its energy future. He highlighted Africa’s heavy reliance on imports, revealing that the continent spends over $120 billion annually on hydrocarbon imports. “This is capital flight. These funds should remain within Africa to fuel our own ...