New Sandgrouse Market in Lagos to cost N1.5bn

Lagos State Government has concluded plans to rebuild the popular Sangrouse market in Lagos Central Business District into an ultra-modern facility, using a Public-Private-Partnership arrangement, writes Bennett Oghifo
The Sandgrouse market is hemmed between Simpson and Louis Streets and could be approached from the Third Mainland Bridge through the Sura Shopping complex-Mandillas Building area.
The market is to be upgraded into a mix-use ultra-modern affair, using N1.5 billion private sector funds in a 25-year public, public partnership Lagos signed with D.H.B Construction Limited.
The market is one of the first markets in Lagos central business district that serves high-profile patrons from Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Dolphin and its environs.
Chief Executive Officer of D.H.B Construction Limited, Chief Alabo Bakare, said this was the reason the project was very important to the economy of Lagos.
“We are embarking on the development of the ultra-modern Sandgrouse Market to key into the desire of Governor Babatunde Fashola, who wants to make Lagos a model city and the mega city that it is presently. To have such an edifice will complement the effort of the state government.”
The present makeshift market would be developed into an ultra-modern market and would be the first of its kind in the State, said Bakare, at the weekend.
The development arrangement, he said, was among D.H.B Construction, Lagos Island Local Government and the Lagos State Government, which has a build-operate and transfer arrangement for a period of 25 years after which the project will revert to the government.
He explained the role of the local council in the PPP arrangement, saying all the markets in the state were administered by the local government. “Sandgrouse Market is situated in the Lagos Island Local Government and that is why the local government is the one signing it off on behalf of the state government.”
Bakare urged the existing tenants in the market not to be afraid of being displaced. “Like what we have done in our previous assignment at Gbaja Mall is that they will be right of first choice and we are not displacing anybody. We shall make adequate arrangement to have a place to put them temporarily until we finish the construction.”
He said the market would be developed in phases and would be completed in 18 months. “When we finish the phase, which the present occupants belong to, we shall restore them to their positions. We will try as much as possible to make mortgage available for them as well to ease their purchasing power.”
He said the spaces in the new market were on sale at N500, 000 per square metres and that they have 5sqm, 10.5sqm and other sizes in addition to open spaces for outright purchase for 25 years and renewable.
People asked them if traders in petty items like pepper, meat, among others, could purchase stalls in the new market and that his reply is “we have done it before and we will do it again. We sourced for mortgage for them, which allayed their fears that they would be excluded from the project. They are going to benefit as well.”
The new Sandgrouse Market, Bakare said, would be very secured, explaining that a Police Station would be built there as part of his company’s corporate social responsibility. “The government has done so well by awarding contract for the reconstruction of the road from the end of Hally to that of Gbagbose and this will complement our construction effort and the government will embark on the clearing and reconstructing of the canal. It is good that the government is carrying out its responsibilities and we, ours likewise.”
The said the new Sandgrouse Market would be segmented and that the meat and pepper sellers would be given their spaces.
“We are going to have shops; offices for Lawyers, because of the proximity of the market to the High Court; banking hall; cinema hall; food court, which will take all kinds of food vendors; lots of spaces to let and huge parking to serve both users of the market and residents in the neighbourhood respectively. It is a total package that is the hallmark of a good market.
The market is designed to have four floors and the car park would take a greater part of the ground floor, the cold room would be on the ground floor also as well as the food court, he said. “We have made provision for hawkers’ stands, because we don’t want people to hawk on the road. It is a one-stop shop for people to come into and buy what they need without wandering in the streets of Lagos.”
The market would be built on a total land area of 14,236.974 square metres and the area that would be built is 5,8224sqms.
The complex, according to him, is designed to have ramps to enable those who are unable, to have access to all parts of the market.
There are staircases, lifts for goods and for patrons and ramp for the less able. There would be a fire station, private electricity to complement public power supply. “We will take advantage of the Independent Power Project on Marina to serve the market since it is located within its vicinity.”
All facilities in the market would be controlled and maintained from a service building by D.H.B Construction 24/7.
Governor Fashola, he said would perform the groundbreaking ceremony in December and that thereafter construction would begin.
“It will take a maximum of 18 months to complete the market.”
The construction work, he said would not disturb traffic in the neighbourhood as construction would be restricted within the perimeter fence. “The market will add value to that environment.
He said forms are sold at N5, 000 and that they are available at Wema Bank at Lapa House and at its Head Office. Forms are also available at Skye Bank at City Hall as well as at the Lagos Island Secretariat or at DHB’s corporate office at Gbaja, Surulere. It can also be downloaded at www.sandgrousemarket.com.
 BusinessNews

Igbo presidential dream, and the search for platform

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By NKIRU EVONGWA
Dialogues and presentations made by Igbo leaders at different fora on the nation’s solemn desire to ensure that a president of Igbo extraction emerges in 2015 could be counted as a demonstration of seriousness on their part. Comforting as this might be, political analysts cannot stop at imagining the realization of such herculean dream without a rallying point.
Compared to their South-west counterparts, the Igbo race has not had a platform that they could proudly call an “Igbo Party”, dominating the South-east, since after the Nigerian Council of Nigeria Citizens (NCNC) of the first republic and National Peoples Party / the National Party of Nigeria (NPP / NPN) of the second republic. When the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) was formed in 1923 after the introduction of the first elective principle in Nigeria by the Clifford’s constitution, it was not regarded as a national party because its activities were restricted to Lagos.
But the NNDP led by its first national president, Late Herbert Macaulay, dominated Lagos and won most elections held between 1923 and 1938. Also, under the Macpherson’s constitution when late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, formed the Action Group (AG) in 1951. Its aim was to contest and win elections in the West, which it achieved. Such land slide victory was also replicated when the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), led by Awolowo was formed after the military government of General Olusegun Obasanjo lifted the ban on political activities on Thursday September 21, 1978.
The UPN was recorded to have won election in the then five LOOBO States of the Western and Mid-West region comprising Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Bendel and Oyo states. Those subsequent electoral victories and power control by the founding fathers of the South-western states, observers said could not have been possible if they had not properly defined their goals at the formation of the various parties. And putting their acts together through a platform, which at formation is sown into the hearts of their people as one that would propagate their cause as a nation.
The Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N), which emulated their footprint, has been able to launch itself as a party to be reckoned with on Nigerias political arena within few years of existence. At the formation of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the founding fathers vision was for it to be, “an all-embracing Igbo party that would go beyond Igbo land and accommodate people from all parts of the country”, a vision well accepted by the Igbo and many Nigerians that at last a party that would propagate the cause of the Igbos was born. But the various crises that rocked it created some form of doubts in the hearts of many of its admirers.
But APGA through its Director of Research, Planning and Communication, Chief Ugwunze Campbell, recently claimed that, “APGA is no more in crises; it is just undergoing a transformation.” If the words of some prominent Nigerians were something to go by, all hands need to be on deck for Igbos to scale through the 2015 contest for the office of Nigeria’s No 1 citizen, especially on the assumption that they might need to contest with other geo-political zones of the Country who are also showing serious interest on the seat.
Going by this, political analysts opine that there must be a rallying point from where this cause could be spread. In as much as eminent South-east leaders have imbibed this idea, politicians and political parties there have been ensnared in the web of disagreement over the political party from where this could be achieved. Former Minister for Education, Dr. Igwe Aja Nwachukwu stressed that, “there should be a rallying point. The West are getting many things because they are united.
Whether we like it or not, we have not had it better than the time of NPP because people could not take us for granted, even though we just came out of war.” All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) National chairman, Ogbonnaya Onu in a recent statement made available to the public said, “we should study the political terrain very carefully and take decisions which are in our own very best interest.” The founding chairman of APGA, Chief Chekwas Okorie also threw his weight behind this when he said, “But this cannot be done without a political platform that is sympathetic to that aspiration.”
However, conflict of interest arose when it came to the point of choosing a platform. Chief Guy Ikokwu, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) believes that, “they don’t have to be in one party. Even members of one family don’t have to belong to one party, or same religion to be united. So, you don’t tell people who have conscience and brain that they must take this or that way, it’s not done.
God didn’t make it so.” But Okorie stressed that, “All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), that platform that would have made it possible. Of course, the story of APGA is already well documented. We must understand that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), given its present composition and structure, is not going to give its ticket to an Igbo man to contest on its platform. Given this scenario, is it the ACN, or the CPC that the Igbo should be looking up to?” For ANPP, Onu, warned against relying on the PDP,  “What we have today is that most of the Igbo elite are in the ruling party.
They believe that the ruling party is where the action is. This has its advantages. It certainly has many disadvantages. ‘‘It is very important to always consider what happens in such a case if, for one reason or the other, the ruling party is unable to make available its platform. In that case every effort made then, comes to nothing. The Igbo in politics should look beyond the ruling party. The Igbo need an alternative political party that has a national reach and is not perceived by the general public as a regionally-based party.
The All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, is that political party which the Igbo should embrace so that they can always make a viable choice. The Igbo need to diversify, as an insurance against the unknown and the unseen. However, Senator Okonkwo and his other APGA counterparts stressed that, “APGA is our platform; you can’t get any other in Igbo land. Yorubas have defined their platform; let Igbo people also do the same. I want to reassure you that APGA will be a party to beat in this country.” Whether it is APGA, PDP, ANPP, AC N or CPC, the most important thing to observers is that Igbos harmonise themselves for the great task ahead.
The Sun

Is CPC Pushing Its Luck Too Far?

ISA ALIYU DURBUNDE

Unless General Muhammadu Buhari moves fast enough to rid the CPC of spokes in the wheel, the party faces the danger of losing many supporters and valuable members. Is General Buhari under a spell to continue to show utter indifference to the activities of the same national leaders of the party that led the CPC to fiasco in the 2011 general election? A former Buhari loyalist, Chief Mike Ahamba, identified a clique within the national leadership of the party as being responsible for the internal crisis facing the CPC. Disappointed by General Buhari’s seeming lack of courage to contain this group, Ahamba eventually left the party because of the harmful influence this clique is exerting on the party.
Unfortunately, apart from making passionate appeals to Ahamba to return through newspaper adverts, General Buhari didn’t take any serious action to address the issues raised him. Chief Mike Ahamba had the option of working for the PDP to make money for his legal services, yet he stood by General Buhari because of personal conviction and not because of monetary rewards for his legal services. Despite this loyalty and firm belief in Buhari’s cause, Mr. Ahamba was messed up by this same clique.
The strategy of this clique is to frustrate anybody out of the party once they believe he can exert influence on General Buhari to do the right thing. Which wise political party will frustrate active and popular members in its fold? The current national leaders of the party were elected on the basis of General Buhari’s appeal to the people to put them into office. Without Buhari’s endorsement, they wouldn’t have been in office through free and fair elections. And they know this reality deep down.
According to the author of the ‘48 Laws of Power,’ Robert Green, a leader should not allow himself to be hijacked by a clique or build a fortress around himself that shuts him out from the valuable friends and ideas of others. Once they cage a leader, this kind of clique can manipulate the leader and bend him to their wishes. Sadly, General Buhari has fallen into the trap of this clique, which is determined to frustrate any member with significant political following to enable them to enjoy too much undemocratic power.
Another danger is that members of this clique won’t let Buhari listen to anyone else but themselves because of their own hidden agenda. How can General Buhari surround himself with arm-chair democrats like Buhari Galadima who cannot win any election in their own right? They are largely blamed for misleading General Buhari in 2003, 2007 and 2011, which led to the mismanagement of the party’s enormous goodwill. When you trust people too much, it can be exploited by others who may see it as a weakness.
Rhetoric and good intention alone cannot win election. A political party must be able to identify grassroots politicians who can mobilize their political capital behind its success. In the CPC, however, the reverse is the case. The party’s policy is relentlessly focused on destroying members with grassroots support and backing those who cannot deliver the votes. Which calculating political party would displace Mohammed Abacha and Lado Dan Marke in Kano and katsina states respectively and expect to win the governorship election in 2011?
It is a remote possibility to expect Masari to defeat Lado Dan Marke or Col. Ja’afaru Isa displacing Mohammed Abacha in any free and fair contest. Yet the CPC national leaders defied reason and political reality by imposing Masari and Ja’afaru Isa. This miscalculation led to the PDP defeating the CPC in Katsina and Kano states.
Which realistic political party would organize gubernatorial primaries and then refuse to recognize the outcome because the party’s officially endorsed aspirants were defeated? Is that consistent with democratic principles or justice? Should the CPC leaders be found wanting in terms of justice and respect of the freedom of choice by the voters?
Do the CPC leaders realize that rigging has broad applications? If you refuse to recognize a winner who was legitimately elected and replaced him with your own favoured aspirant who lost the primaries, that is the worst form of rigging. Morally, therefore, can the CPC accus the PDP of rigging when it perpetrated the same evil against legitimately elected candidates?
The CPC can only grow into a strong opposition party if it respects democratic principles. Freedom of choice is the heart of democracy and once you take it away, democracy dies! The CPC leaders lack any justification of accusing the PDP of undemocratic conduct when it denied its supporters from electing aspirants of their choice at the primaries. Imposition and substitution of candidates by the CPC national leaders were mainly responsible for the voter revolt the party suffered at the 2011 gubernatorial elections.
Leadership

East-West Road: Stranded commuters rain abuses on FG, contractor

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME
THE rainy season is a period most travellers on the East- West road in the Niger Delta region wish should never be. This is due to the nightmare and bitter experience they go through on the road during the rainy season . For many years now, the road has been in a very deplorable state and the situation becomes worse for travellers whenever the rains set in.
These travellers could be trapped at a particular bad spot for the whole day.  The foregoing bitter experience played up again Wednesday and Thursday last week when hundreds of travellers were stranded for two days at the Ahoada West end of the road.
The distraught passengers  rained abuses on the Federal Government and Setraco, the construction company handling the  expansion of the road. They blamed them for the pain they went through.
One of the passengers who identified himself as Mr. Olumide said he left Omoku, in Rivers State for Lagos that Wednesday and got to the bad spot at about 9am.  After several hours at the spot, he said he had to cancel his trip when it dawned on him that there was nothing he could do to wriggle out of the long traffic caused by the bad spot.
“I had to call my wife that I was coming back home, so they could prepare food for me,” he told the Vanguard Features.  He was not alone in the pensive mood.
Hundreds of Edo, Lagos and Delta-bound passengers who could not make it through the bad spot after spending a whole day at the long stretch of vehicular traffic, also cancelled their trips and returned  to Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
They looked exhausted as they spoke to the VF at one of the motor parks located along the  Waterlines area of the state capital. According to them,  they slept at a spot on the traffic and when it became very clear that there was no hope of meandering through,  they had to come back to Port Harcourt. They urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to reduce the pain of travellers on the road.  The stranded commuters said they got to the spot on Wednesday morning and were trapped there the entire day.
Some said they slept at various hotels in Okogbe and other neighboring villages on Wednesday night. They said they woke very early the following day, being Thursday, to continue the trip only to be trapped again at the same spot for the whole day. Frustrated they had to cancel their trips.
VF was told that two trailers broke down at the bad spot close to the Mbiama bridge.   Describing their experience as very bitter, Mr Charles said it had become a re-occurring one on the road. He said it was really disturbing that the Federal Government was yet to fix the road.

East-West Road in the Niger Delta region…begging for reconstruction

He said he had been trapped about five different times at several bad spots on the road on many occasions.
A mother of five said she had to come back to Port Harcourt when she could not stand the long wait at the spot with her five children.
She said they were travelling to Edo State ahead of the resumption of their school. According to the lady who simply gave her name as Patience, some of the passengers in the commercial bus she boarded had to disembark to trek several kilometres to board another vehicle at the other end of the road
She said she could not do same because of her little children, stressing that the only option was to lose the transport fare they paid and return to Port Harcourt.
FG, SETRACO toying with our patience
Some of the passengers criticised  President Goodluck Jonathan for not doing much to fix the roads. Another stranded passenger who gave his name as Mr Paul said: “We can’t understand why this road is still in this state when the President is from this region. The area has Niger Delta Ministry, Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. Mr President should reward the electoral support he got from this region by fixing this road urgently”.
Also a female student of the University of Port Harcourt who simply identified herself as Cindy, could not understand why the firm handling the expansion of the road and the Federal Government allowed travellers to go through such a harrowing experience.
Failure of governance
Mr.David said the state of the road was a clear indication that governance had failed in the country. “You can see that Setraco and the Federal Government are just toying with our patience in this country. Is the country at war for us to have this kind of ugly situation”? he queried.
Dave stated that it is only a country in crisis that could allow its road to deteriorate at such an alarming rate. “There is no justification for government’s failure to take care of its basic responsibility such as fixing of this road,” he cried.
Some little children who slept on the road on Wednesday night could not understand why they should.  According to Mrs Vero, her nine-year-old daughter kept asking if President Jonathan is aware that the road is that bad.
Mr Paul said there was also another bad spot before Ahoada when coming from the Warri end of the road. He said the spot, if not taken care of immediately, could cause problems for travellers soon.  He further drew the attention of Setraco to a bad spot in front of the company’s camp on the road and appealed to them to urgently address it before it creates another round of problem for travellers.
Some of the travellers pleaded passionately with government to prevail on the construction company to  repair all bad spots as it carries out the expansion of the road.
It would be recalled that about four months ago, a petrol tanker  veered off its lane on the East-West road and landed on its back, spilling its content and later burst into flames. About one 190 persons were allegedly consumed in the inferno. The deplorable state of the road was largely blamed for the sad incident.
Vanguard

The frequent fuel shortage

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Last week, Lagos residents experienced another round of fuel shortage which led to long queues at the few filling stations that had the product. Filling stations at Ikoyi, Mushin, Ikeja, Ogba and Isolo were mostly affected by the long queues. The scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, made black market operators to sell a litre of the product between N200 and N300, up from its official price of N97, while transporters hiked fares by more than 100 per cent. Prices of goods and services also skyrocketted. Similar incidents were reported in Ogun State, Abuja, Kaduna and Owerri.
According to reports, the development crippled economic activities in Abuja and Kaduna as many filling stations were shut down. The story was the same in Owerri, the Imo State capital. The spokesman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Fidel Pepple, attributed the scarcity of petrol in Lagos area to the closure of the Arepo line that supplies the product to Lagos depots. However, he assured that the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of NNPC, had enough fuel to meet national demand for at least 30 days. It will be recalled that petrol vandals attacked and killed three NNPC engineers carrying out repair work at the ruptured distribution pipeline in Arepo village in Ogun State. Since that heinous incident, motorists in Lagos and Ogun states have witnessed the return of long queues at filling stations.
If the Ogun and Lagos scarcity is due to broken pipeline, what is the cause of the scarcity of the product in Kaduna, Abuja, Owerri and, perhaps, other places in the country? Industry sources claim that the scarcity is further fueled by the refusal of oil marketers to resume importation of fuel due to the N200 billion fuel subsidies owed them since last year under the Petroleum Subsidy Fund (PSF) scheme. Whatever is the cause of the almost nationwide fuel scarcity, let the government do something urgently to address the situation and ensure that there is enough supply of the product nationwide. It is shameful that Nigerians experience frequent fuel shortage. Efforts should be stepped up in ensuring that new refineries are in place so that there can be enough fuel for domestic consumption.
The current reliance on imported fuel for our local use is not tidy at all. That may be partly responsible for the frequent fuel shortage and return of long queues at filling stations. We condemn the heinous killing of the engineers that were detailed to fix the vandalized pipeline at Arepo and urge the NNPC and the security agencies to redouble their effort in securing and repairing the facility. It is quite unfortunate that our oil pipelines are insecure. In other countries that produce crude oil, pipelines are well secured. The problem of oil pipeline vandalization is rare. Government and the relevant security agencies must ensure that our oil pipelines are secure at all times to prevent recurrence of the ugly incident of the killing of oil workers on routine maintenance duties as witnessed at Arepo village.
To reduce pipeline vandalization, we urge oil-prospecting companies to involve communities that the pipes pass through in the task of safeguarding them. If this is done, it will go a long way in stemming the tide of pipe vandalization in the country. Let the NNPC move fast and repair the vandalized system that led to the current fuel scarcity in Lagos and Ogun states. While doing so, it must ensure that adequate security is provided for those undertaking the repairs. Whatever is the cause of the problem should be addressed forthwith so that normal fuel supply can return to the two states to stop the hardship being experienced by motorists in accessing the product.
The vandalized system should not be used as an excuse for imposing fuel scarcity on the people of Lagos and Ogun states. Let the government rise to the occasion and ensure that there is adequate fuel supply to all parts of the country.
The Sun Editorial

Chevron Gets Ultimatum in N’Delta Communities

Chevron Headquarters

Ejiofor Alike

Chevron Nigeria Limited has been handed down a seven-day ultimatum to provide employment to Ijaw graduates from Egbema and Gbaramatu Kingdoms in Warri North and Warri South-West Areas of Delta State.

The company has also been asked to employ 39 Egbema-Gbaramatu applicants, who were successful in the Ogere training programme and interview for the Project Operating Team (POT), for the Escravos-Gas-To-Liquid (EGTL) project.

Handing down the ultimatum in a statement at the weekend, the Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC) also called for the reinstatement of Ijaw indigenes, who were allegedly sacked by the company on February 7, 2011.

President of NDIMRC, Mr. Nelly Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer, Mukoro Stanley, threatened that the group would join forces with KOMBOT Employment Front to disrupt the company’s operations in Egbema and Gbaramatu territories.

According to the Niger Delta group, Chevron has grossly marginalised Ijaw graduates from Egbema and Gbaramatu kingdoms in the area of employment.

NDIMRC stated that the unemployed Ijaw graduates had attended different interviews organised by Chevron for employment but were not considered.

“Whereas their counterparts from the South-West and South-East were recruited and are currently working with Chevron Nigeria Limited,” said the group.

“We are in total support of the earlier ultimatum given to the company by KOMBOT Employment Front. We are ready for a total show-down with Chevron Nigeria Limited in the days ahead,” the statement added.

The group urged the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke; Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu;  and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Ernest Nwapa, to call the management of the company to order.

It also warned the oil company against what it called blind-folding the people with its existing Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) with the Egbema/Gbaramatu Communities Development Foundation (EGCDF).

NDIMRC accused the company of conniving with some selfish leaders to undermine the general interest of the people.

ThisDay

Crude oil exports to hit 6-month high in November

Nigeria’s crude oil exports are due to hit a six-month high in November as almost all its oilfields pump near recent peak levels, provisional loading programmes showed on Monday.
The Federal Government will sell around 2.12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in November, up from 2.05 million bpd scheduled to load in October and 1.84 million bpd in September.
Provisional loading schedules are subject to minor changes but the programme indicates Nigeria plans to ship its highest volume since May, when it sold just less than 2.13 million bpd.
Scheduled maintenance work and some acts of sabotage on oil production facilities in the onshore Niger Delta have reduced output over the last few months.
A total of 72 full or part cargoes of crude oil will load from 17 different production streams in November, the schedule shows, with several streams close to recent highs.
Six full cargoes and three part cargoes will load over 230,000 bpd of distillate-rich Forcados crude in November, up from 194,000 bpd in October, reflecting strong demand for crudes which can produce large quantities of heating oil ahead of the northern hemisphere winter.
The country will export around 380,000 bpd of Qua Iboe crude oil in November, up from 368,000 bpd in October.
BusinessNews