By Ismail Azeez, Osogbo

First lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Tuesday performed the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of an alternative high school for girls in Osun State.

Speaking at the ceremony, the First Lady said the siting of the school in Osogbo, emanated from a fair process and it is a divinely guided one.

Tinubu stressed that Osun State was chosen as the location for the school through a transparent and unbiased raffle draw process at a strategic meeting with the State First Ladies.

She noted that the event marked the beginning of an opportunity for a new chapter and chance of a promising future for the exceptional young girls and women who would walk through the doors of this very school.

According to her, “I envisioned and introduced the idea for the establishment of an Alternative High School for Girls, a vision which was accepted and utilised by the Lagos State Ministry of Education in 2007 when my husband was the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and this particular school still runs till date.

“My motivation as an educationist and life long teacher stemmed from the desire to see young girls and women who dropped out of school due to unplanned pregnancies, cultural barriers, economic or financial reasons and many more, have a second chance to complete high school, acquire higher education and valuable life skills, to enable them reach their full potential in life.”

The first lady stressed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, “values education and therefore he has introduced the National Student Loan Scheme which is now in effect for our youth to have unhindered access to education, knowing that education is the bedrock of national development and the cornerstone upon which dreams are built, skills acquired and aspirations generally realised.”

She emphasised that “In a world where every girl deserves the opportunity to thrive and reach her fullest potential, it is a sad thing to witness the barriers that stand in the way of their education. No doubt, without education, girls would lack necessary skills to support themselves and access information to make informed decisions about their health and future.

“The alarming rate of school dropouts among girls is a stark reminder of the need for alternative solutions in their educational pursuits. The consequences of this challenge are profound, affecting not only their individual lives, but also has attendant socio-economic implications for our Nation. We cannot afford to squander the potential and talents of half of our population.

“Ensuring access to inclusive and equitable quality education that fosters lifelong learning opportunities for everyone is essential, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 4 which is to ‘Ensure Inclusive and Equitable, Quality Education and Promote Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All’.”

Also speaking, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke noted that his administration is also committed to supporting girl child education, saying his  administration also focus on stopping the crisis of sexual violence against women.

 Adeleke stressed that “as your colleague in the Senate in those days, I can affirm your deep love for Nigeria, your commitment to national human development and your particular interest in the welfare of under-privilegded Nigerians.”

Adeleke commended the first lady for her passion for the growth of the nation and for focusing on fairness and justice.

He said that the present administration will follow up and provide needed support to ensure a robust operation upon completion of the school.

Adeleke said, “Our administration is also committed to supporting girl child education. We have introduced a series of programmes which strengthen the capacity of families to provide basic needs. Hence, we emphasise workers welfare as a critical first line item in our five point agenda.

“We also focus on stopping the crisis of sexual violence against women. To that end, Osun is the first state to implement the resolution of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on Action Against sexual violence.  We have met the Ministry of Women Affairs and resolved to set up mobile courts to try domestic sexual violence matters.

“Additionally, we are compiling a list of unfairly jailed girls and women to get them released. This is in addition to an agenda of empowering the womenfolk through the Cooperative loan scheme,” she said.

Among the wives of governors present at the event are Bamidele Abiodun (Ogun), Sefiyat Ododo (Kogi), Professor Olufolake AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Tobore Oborevwori (Delta), Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Betsy Obaseki (Edo) and Olayemi Oyebanji (Ekiti).

The newly inaugurated President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), Mr. Sonny Eja has stated that ship acquisition and access to cargoes are multifaceted issues plaguing shipping in Nigeria

Speaking at the weekend during the inauguration of the new executive of SOAN, Mr. Sonny Eja said that his administration will work assiduously to deliver benefits to all members and protect collective interest, while equally focusing more on policy advocacy, constructively engaging the relevant government agencies/parastatals on policy formulation and implementation as it affects the shipping sector and indigenous ship owners.

According to the SOAN President, “I am indeed honoured and humbled to be President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria and I thank you for the confidence reposed in me and my team to pilot the affairs of our association for the next two years.

“This great association was established in 2015 as a non-profit organization, which serves to promote the interests of Nigerian Shipowners and operators. Representing over 50 ship-owning companies with a combined fleet size of over 150 vessels (ranging from PSVs, AHTS, Tugs, MPSVs, FSIVs, Tankers, Barges, Crew boats, security vessels, etc), SOAN plays a pivotal role in various sectors of the maritime industry, including oil and gas, dry bulk and wet cargo shipping.

“Over the years, SOAN has actively contributed to government policy formulation, facilitated seafarer development activities, and fostered international partnerships within the industry.

“As I assume the responsibilities of the presidency, I am acutely aware of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Together, we must navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving landscape, surmount the multifaceted issues plaguing shipping, especially – ship acquisition, and access to cargoes, and positioning SOAN to maximise shipping potentials in an era where maritime sector is displacing oil as the federal government’s priority as demonstrated by the creation of a distinct Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

“Since we assumed office, we have had a number of strategic engagements with critical industry stakeholders including; The Honorable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola, top management of both Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). Similar fruitful engagements have also been held with the leadership of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Shipping Ltd as well as the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping (NCS). We equally attended the 2023 Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit (CTIS) which was held in London.

“While this administration will work assiduously to deliver benefits to all members and protect our collective interests; we will equally focus more on policy advocacy, constructively engaging the relevant government agencies/parastatals on policy formulation and implementation as it affects the shipping sector and indigenous ship owners.

“The Nigerian Marine and Blue Economy is valued at between $296billion to $300billion with potentially 50 million jobs and these numbers are projected to rise year in, year out. Therefore, harnessing the Blue Economy could be a game changer for this nation, and ship owners must be at the heart of this drive for economic growth via maritime.

“Job creation, food security, renewable energy resources, balanced foreign trade, and stable forex, are just some of the benefits of a well-optimized Marine and Blue Economy for Nigeria; but SOAN and the entirety of Nigerian ship owners will need solutions through the disbursement of Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF), mutually beneficial relationships with the various categories of industry stakeholders, especially NIMASA, NNPCL, Dangote Group, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), NCDMB, NUIMS among others.”

“As we navigate this leadership journey, I promise that it will be an all-inclusive one because I am deeply committed to fostering an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute.”

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) would commence enforcement of sanctions on service providers and port users who are yet to be registered with the Council by July 2024.

Executive Secretary of the Council, Barr Pius Akutah stated this during a sensitisation of stakeholders on registration of regulated port service providers and users, in Apapa.

Akutah who was represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs Department, Chief Carjetan Agu, noted that the National Assembly and the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy had approached the agency since December, demanding a comprehensive data of all port practitioners and service providers.

He said that the essence of the ongoing sensitisation is to bring all practitioners to register with the Council or risk applicable sanctions, lamenting that only 185 port operators are registered with the Council.

His words, “This has been an ongoing service, and this sensitisation has taken us to Calabar, Port Harcourt, and Warri. This is the first one we are doing in Lagos. This particular sensitisation is for terminal operators, shipping companies, off dock terminal operators and Stevedoring companies.

“In 2015, the Council was appointed port economic regulator and the mandate given to the council was to develop a regulatory regime for the control of tariff rates, charges and other economic activities. In doing this, one of its roles is to register all service providers in the sector.

“If you are a regulator, you are supposed to know your customers, it is in this spirit that we are carrying out this exercise. When we started, it was a manual process, but we have now automated the registration process. Within minutes, even from the comfort of your homes, you can go through the registration process, make payments and equally print your certificate by yourself.”

He maintained that registration is compulsory, adding the Council has gone through the list of those registered and realized that many people are yet to register with us.

“Shippers Council believes in persuasion and not coercion, but when we discover that the level of compliance is low, we might be forced to uphold the law, because there are certain provisions that prescribes punishment for non-registration.

“One of the benefits of registration is passing on information. Also in the past, people bring in offensive goods at the port and upon investigation, they will say they were imported by faceless Shippers. But after this registration, the issue of faceless Shippers will become a thing of the past,” he said.

Also speaking, Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Department of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr Celestine Akujobi said that in December 2023, the National Assembly demanded a list of all the port service providers, freight forwarders, and terminal operators.

“We are creating this awareness and sensitization for practitioners, so that when enforcement starts, nobody would say that they are not aware. The emphasis of this registration platform is not for money making, and that is why the rates applicable are so low.

“In terms of sanctions, we have not been carrying out our duty, this is because there are sanctions applicable for non registration, we just want to make sure we carry everyone along,” he said.

Part of the sanctions include; withdrawal of NSC’s services from defaulters, stopping such agency or company from operating at the port, blacklisting defaulters and publishing their names on national newspapers, among others.

He added that any shipping company or terminal operator that offers services to unregistered port service providers and users will also be sanctioned.