The Calabar-super highway is a six-lane wide and 26o kilometers long road. The road which starts from the proposed Bakassi deep-sea port in Calabar and terminates at Benue State via Akamkpa and Ikom and cutting across several protected forests reserves areas and abutting the western boundary of the Cross River National Park – the Oban Division.

Below are the pictures of the proposed road when completed.

Calabar Super Highway

calabar super highway

The road when completed will draw investors to Cross River State.

Abuja – The Federal Government and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the execution of the 11.12 billion-dollar Lagos-Calabar railway project. The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, signed the agreement on behalf of the government, while the President of CCECC, Cao Baogang, signed for the company in Abuja on Friday. He said that the contract was awarded during President Goodluck Jonathan’s regime in the sum of 11.92 billion dollars but was negotiated downward. Amaechi said, “we were able to save 800 million dollars from the initial sum of the project which will be delivered in the next two years. “This contract was awarded by the President Goodluck Jonathan regime at 11.917 billion dollars and when we took over at Ministry of Transportation we negotiated with CCECC and succeeded in reducing the contract sum from 11.917 billion dollars to 11.117 billion dollars. “We are able to save 800 million dollars after negotiation with CCECC and that has to do with the fact that CCECC said prices of commodities like steel and other things have come down. “So, our gathering is to sign same contract but with different price and to make it legal from the initial price to the negotiated price. “As soon as we conclude discussion with China Exim Bank, they will commence construction of the first segment,’’ he said. He said the first segment would be from Calabar, Uyo, Aba and Port Harcourt and it would include all the seaports on the route. “The entire contract covers Calabar, Uyo, Aba, Port Harcourt, Yenagoa, Otuoke, Ughelli, Warri, Sapele, Benin, Agbor, Asaba, Onitsha, Ore, Ijebu Ode, Sagamu and Lagos. “My expectation is that the project can be completed in two years since funding won’t be a problem,’’ the minister said. Earlier, Baogang, said that the railway would contribute immensely to the economic development of the country and open doors of employment. He said that the company was ready to train Nigerians through building of factories, especially those in the grassroots. “I know that railway contributes immensely to the economic development in Nigeria and it is very important. “Railway will open doors for local people and I am sure that we will create more than 400 jobs with this project. “We will execute this project with quality materials and with high speed and we hope to deliver in two years as expected by the minister,’’ he said.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/07/fg-ccecc-sign-mou-11-12bn-lagos-calabar-railway-project/

i know it might sound strange in my area calabar, ikot ansa precisely for more than two months we've been having up to 18hours power supply daily

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has paid two visits to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, at the Supreme Court, Abuja, this month, officials have said.

One of the visits to the CJN, it was learnt, coincided with the day the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, conducted hearing in an application filed by Wike to challenge an order permitting his opponent to inspect the electoral materials used for the poll that brought him to office.

Investigations by our correspondent in Abuja showed that the visits were made without prior appointments.
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The election of the former education minister, who ran for the governorship on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, is being challenged by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Dakuku Peterside.

The Rivers State Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal had on July 9 reaffirmed its ex parte order made on June 11, 2015, granting permission to Peterside, to inspect the electoral materials used for the poll.

Peterside and the APC had on May 3, 2015, filed their petition before the tribunal to challenge the victory of Wike at the poll.

The Justice Muazu Pindiga-led tribunal had in a ruling dismissed Wike’s application asking for the setting aside of the June 11, 2015 order.

The judge also adjourned till July 22 for the commencement of the pre-hearing session in the petition.

Wike has however denied that his visit to the CJN had anything to do with his case.

Our correspondent learnt that Wike did not meet the CJN on his first visit, which was a Monday. The number one judicial officer in the country was said to have travelled to Saudi Arabia for the Lesser Hajj.

Wike however repeated the visit two days later, when he was able to discuss with the CJN.

A source in the governor’s entourage, disclosed to our correspondent that the members of staff in the office of Mohammed were shocked to see the governor.

The source said, “There was no proper appointment because as soon as the governor stepped in and said he would like to see the CJN and was asked if it was on appointment, he answered in the negative.

“Nevertheless, he was allowed to see the CJN; but unfortunately, the CJN was not in the country as he was in Saudi Arabia for the Lesser Hajj.”

The Publicity Secretary of APC in Rivers State, Chief Chris Finebone, said the visit was curious.

Finebone said though his party believed that the person of the CJN was beyond compromise, he nevertheless wondered why Wike refused to carry the media along during the visits.

He said, “We have no cause to doubt the integrity of the CJN, but we must say that the visits must have been made open and known to Nigerians. Why was it not made known?

“Wike believes that every human being has a price. His problem is just to identify the price. His case is pending and he refused to go with the media during the visits.

“We want to believe that the visits didn’t happen and if it happened, he must tell Nigerians why he chose to embark on the visit without the media.”

He called on Nigerians and the people of Rivers to monitor the activities of the governor.

Reacting to the visit, the national leadership of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, said there was nothing wrong with the visits.

Metuh said that the governor had the right to pay official visit to the CJN, adding that he (Wike) should not be vilified because of that.

“Yes, he has the right to pay official visit or courtesy calls on the CJN and I see nothing wrong with that,” he said.

Wike, while denying going to lobby the CJN for his pending tribunal case, told our correspondent that he was at the office because of the issue surrounding the appointment of the acting Chief Justice of Rivers State.

He said since the acting Chief Judge of his state was appointed about three months ago, there was the need to seek the permission of the National Judicial Council to approve and renew the appointment.

Wike said, “I didn’t go there to lobby for anything cynical. If I was going to lobby for anything like that, would I go in the afternoon?

“You may wish to know that we have an acting Chief Judge in my state, and the judiciary is already on vacation and that the NJC may also be on vacation.

“So, I needed to do a letter to the NJC on the need to extend or approve the appointment of the acting CJ in my state. I went there on the two days in daytime; and see Nigerians, they are already imputing another meaning to the visits.”

what goes around comes around

President Muhammadu Buhari has turned down an offer by the Federal Government to procure five new armoured Mercedes Benz S-600 (V222) cars for his use.

The cars which total cost is put at about N400m were planned to be purchased by the State House.

A Presidency source told journalists on Thursday that Buhari got to know of the plan when the Permanent Secretary, State House, Mr. Nebolisa Emodi, was briefing him of his ministry’s activities on Wednesday.
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Miffed by the revelation, the President was said to have told Emodi that the purchase was unnecessary.

Describing it as a waste of scarce resources, the source said Buhari told the permanent secretary that the cars he inherited from former President Goodluck Jonathan were good enough for him.

“I don’t need any new cars. The ones I am using now are just fine,” the source quoted the President as saying.

The top government officials, however, said Buhari welcomed other initiatives presented by the permanent secretary to reduce the operating costs of the State House and strengthen its Finance and Accounts Internal Control Mechanisms.

He however directed that more efforts be made henceforth to capture all State House expenses within the approved national budget.

This, he said, was to avoid the frequent recourse by past administrations to “Presidential intervention funds.”

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, confirmed to our correspondent that Buhari had withheld approval for the purchase of the new cars.

Shehu said the President would continue to use the cars left behind by Jonathan in keeping with his commitment to prudent management of national resources.

Our correspondent learnt that the proposal to procure the new cars was first made to Jonathan before he left office.

The former President was however said to have directed that it be represented to Buhari for approval on his assumption of office since the cars could only be delivered some months after the May 29 handover date.