Gunboats
Rivers government seeks relocation of NIMASA cabotage department
The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has appealed to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to return its Cabotage Services Department to Port Harcourt. Wike made the appeal when the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, visited him in Port Harcourt, recently. Wike said operations of the Cabotage Services Department of NIMASA used to be in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, but it was relocated to Lagos. The governor said in spite of his administration’s procurement of gunboats for security agencies, especially the Police and Navy to assist in the fight against piracy and ensure safety on the waterways for NIMASA’s businesses to thrive, the state did not get anything in return. He commended Jamoh for the initiative aimed at harnessing ocean resources as an ...
Federal government okays N20.1 billion for Nigerian customs equipment
The federal government has approved a total of N20,114,002871 for the acquisition of various operational equipment for the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this to State House Correspondents after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa on Wednesday. The Minister said further that Council also approved the sum of N539,277,673 for the construction of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) building at the Ilupeju Medium and Small Taxpayers’ office in Lagos. On the breakdown of contracts approved for Customs, the Minister said a total of 427 operational vehicles, worth N14.55 billion and nine assorted gunboats worth N5,564,002,871 were a...
Rivers government launches new security outfit
The Rivers State Government has launched a new security outfit to help maintain security in the oil-rich state. The security outfit, called C4i, was launched on Thursday in Port Harcourt by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike. Wike, in a series tweets, said the outfit comprises 400 police officers and 200 officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and that they have been trained in “relevant skills to ensure they carry out their duty efficiently”. “We have made appreciable success in the area of security but we wouldn’t rest on our oars. “With C4i, we intend to take it a step further by adopting a proactive policing approach and nipping the effort of criminals in the bud,” the governor said at the inauguration ceremony which was attended the Assistant Inspector General of...
19 dead as Iran warship hit by ‘friendly fire’ in tense Gulf
An Iranian warship was hit by a friendly fire missile during naval exercises, killing 19 sailors, state media and the army said Monday, amid tensions with the US in Gulf waters. The incident involving the Konarak vessel occurred on Sunday afternoon near Bandar-e Jask, off the southern coast of the Islamic republic, state television said on its website. “The vessel was hit after moving a practice target to its destination and not creating enough distance between itself and the target,” said the channel. The armed forces said in a statement that 19 crewmen were killed and 15 injured. It said the Konarak had been involved in an “accident” during the exercises, without elaborating. The vessel had been towed ashore for “technical investigations”, it added, calling on people to “avoid speculatio...
