By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

The Federal Government has approved the comprehensive modernisation and upgrade of the Onne, Rivers, Delta and Calabar ports as part of efforts to expand Nigeria’s maritime infrastructure and reduce the concentration of cargo traffic in Lagos.

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, disclosed this in a statement posted on his official X account on Sunday.

According to Oyetola, the approval builds on the earlier authorisation for the modernisation and upgrade of Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos, describing the move as part of efforts to develop a balanced, efficient and globally competitive national port system.

He said the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on infrastructure renewal and economic diversification.

“Modern and efficient ports are critical to this vision because they facilitate trade, support industry, attract investment and create jobs,” the minister said.

Oyetola explained that extending the modernisation programme beyond Lagos would complement ongoing investments in the state while easing the concentration of cargo traffic around the country’s commercial hub and creating additional gateways for international trade.

He said the upgrades are expected to improve cargo handling, reduce vessel turnaround times and strengthen regional connectivity.

“Upgraded infrastructure and improved operational efficiency at Onne, Rivers, Delta and Calabar Ports will enhance cargo handling, reduce vessel turnaround times, strengthen regional connectivity and make the movement of goods more predictable and cost-effective,” he said.

The minister noted that the four ports play strategic roles in Nigeria’s trade, industrial and regional development, stressing that the government was committed to equipping them to meet the demands of a growing economy.

He added that the approval forms part of a broader expansion of Nigeria’s maritime infrastructure, including plans for the development of the Ibom, Bakassi, Agge, Gateway, Ondo and Bonny deep seaports.

“Our approach is comprehensive. We are modernising existing ports while facilitating the development of new deep seaports. Together, these investments will expand Nigeria’s maritime capacity, create stronger economic corridors and position our country as a major maritime and logistics hub in Africa,” Oyetola said.

He said the ministry would work with state governments, terminal operators, investors, shipping companies and other stakeholders to ensure the projects deliver tangible improvements to the marine and blue economy.

According to the minister, the government’s broader vision is to establish an integrated maritime and logistics system in which ports, roads, railways, inland waterways and other transport infrastructure work together to facilitate the seamless movement of cargo.

Oyetola said the government was also seeking to reduce the time and resources businesses spend moving goods while creating an environment that supports investment and job creation.

The latest approval follows an announcement on April 3, 2026, that the Federal Government had commenced procurement processes for the modernisation of the Warri, Port Harcourt, Onne and Calabar ports, alongside the previously approved upgrades of Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, as part of efforts to strengthen maritime infrastructure nationwide.

By David Torough, Abuja

Spokesman of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Ima Niboro, has said President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms have halted years of deepening structural problems and laid a stronger foundation for sustainable growth and renewed investor confidence in Nigeria.

Niboro, a former Presidential Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan and former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, spoke during an interview on News Central Television at the weekend.

He said successive administrations had largely postponed difficult decisions on fuel subsidy, foreign exchange, and other structural problems, allowing the burden on the economy to accumulate over the years.

According to him, Tinubu chose instead to confront the problems despite the political and social costs associated with the reforms.
“From the Tinubu government going forward, they will have a foundation to stand on because Tinubu has secured that. So, we will end this whole business of digging ourselves deeper and deeper,” Niboro said.

“From the Obasanjo government, we were doing fuel subsidy, we were subsidising the naira. The more we dug ourselves in, the more we sank. When a new government came, this continued.
“Now, Tinubu has stopped this digging — digging ourselves into fuel subsidy debts, digging ourselves into foreign exchange crisis. This was a surgery that was impossible to avoid by any responsible government.”

Niboro said the administration’s fiscal and foreign exchange reforms were beginning to produce results, arguing that the improved external position had helped restore international confidence in the Nigerian economy.

He recalled that there was a period when Nigerians faced severe restrictions using their bank cards outside the country because of foreign exchange constraints, contrasting that situation with what he described as the stronger external position today.

“These are the foundations already built. This is a new nation. The President could have come and continued with the whole mess that was there,” he said.

Niboro also attributed what he described as Nigeria’s recurring cycle of disappointment with successive governments partly to the failure of leaders to confront inherited structural problems.
“You need courage to do that. When President Tinubu removed fuel subsidy, were there no protests? But he stood his ground as President,” he said.

Comparing the Tinubu administration with that of former President Jonathan, Niboro said both leaders operated under significantly different political circumstances.

He described Jonathan as “decent” and “very brilliant,” but said his political base became fragmented, limiting the administration’s ability to pursue some of its objectives.
“President Jonathan was decent, very brilliant, and you cannot get better than him, but his political base was splintered,” he said.

Niboro argued that Tinubu had drawn lessons from previous administrations by building a broader political coalition around his government.
On insecurity, the APC PCC spokesman said the nation’s security forces were receiving substantial support from the administration and expressed confidence that sustained operations and investment in security would progressively reduce the threat across the country.

From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

Bayelsa State Government has asked Bayelsans to stop wasting money on Medical Tourism when the state can boast of high quality healthcare services across the state.

The improvement of health facilities and health services are not limited to Yenagoa the state capital alone but also to the hinterland where the most vulnerable can easily access healthcare.

Speaking with newsmen in his office in Yenagoa after the official inauguration of the pioneer Management Team of the Bayelsa State Medical University Teaching Hospital (BMUTH), the state commissioner of Health Prof.

According to Prof. Seiyefa Brisibe, the dream of the founding fathers and that of the first civilian governor of the state late Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha has come to pass. “The vision of governor Douye Diri, the bishop of prosperity is that healthcare should be robust and the vision is also to increase life expectancy and quality healthcare services”.

Talking about Bayelsa @30 the commissioner said the scorecard cannot just be this administration alone. “But for governor Douye Diri, there is no projects that is ongoing that will be abandoned. At creation, the only hospital available in Bayelsa was just the Yenagoa General Hospital which is now the Federal Medical Center (FMC), if you look at where we are coming from, the whole hospitals found in this bayelsa was not more than ten, but today in this same Bayelsa the Primary Healthcare alone has increased to 250.

“We have over 10 secondary healthcare facilities, it means that there is progress. For what the governor has done in this last six years, for me is of geometric progression, for the first time, the insurance scheme was expanded and consolidated and the structure was built within this period.

” Recently he built the hemodialysis center, commissioned at BMU, which was initially 500 bed hospital which was later restructure to 350 beds, the PHC has been strengthen in a way that just within this two years of me being commissioner, we have been able to renovate over 30 PHC hospitals, leverage on partnership from a lot of International Bodies to see that we provides quality healthcare services. And at the Secondary level, he has approved the upgrading of the over 10 secondary facilities across the state.

“It means that a lot is happening, he is being able to sign into law very significant milestone documents that will enhance efficient healthcare delivery, signing of Bayelsa Medical University bill into law, the amendment of the Bayelsa Medical University law, executive order of having every child presenting immunization card in school to get admitted and other policies put in place to deepen the health system.

“He has done a lot, and a lot has happened. Within this period, we have provided equipments and facilities in this infrastructure. Presently we have over 30 incubators for paediatric care in the government owned hospitals, well equip laboratories, ultrasound machines even at oporoma referral hospital, that is to say that government is also taking quality healthcare to the most vulnerable people.

“The partnership between the government and private sectors have improved significantly because today we have three functional CT scans in the state. One by private institution and two by government, we are getting reformed to get the private sector involved in the healthcare delivery. We are reforming Ambulances,so that anywhere there is an emergency, an ambulance will be there to convey the patient to hospital. All this reforms can only happens because of the commitment of the governor.

” Understanding that prosperity cannot happened without health, health is prosperity. The power sector has also helped the private sectors to be more involved , the present government has upgraded the School of Nursing to College of Nursing and invested in the infrastructure and facilities, also the College of Health Technology courses has been expanded from 3 to 15 courses and fully accredited.

“That is the type of progress we have made, today we have established the BMU which means that we are going to get more doctors, more nurses, more pharmacists, more lab scientist and in that we will export and we will also have enough to run our system. That is the type of progression we have made as a state, we are not there yet but with time we will definitely get there, is a work in progress and we are doing very well.

“Any Bayelsans that is still going out of the state to do CT scans probably must have been wrongly informed, we have invested in 5D ultra scan at okolobiri Niger Delta teaching hospital, Bayelsa Medical University, this hospitals have high quality 5D ultra scan, that is to say soft tissue are as close as when using MIR. We have ventilators in the state both at FMC and Niger Delta university teaching hospital, we have the critical infrastructures in the health sector, we also want to see that the Bayelsa diagnostic center is been revamped and used effectively.

” We have one of the biggest hemodialysis equipment in the country. Bayelsa diagnostic center was one of the foremost in this country, services are still being provided there efficiently and the center is owned by Bayelsa state government , however there is a private partner that is running it. For 800 workers to be employed into the PHC space, it has never happened in the history of bayelsa state for that much numbers at a time. That is clearly shows the commitment of the governor by strengthening healthcare system and also the introduction of midwives and nurses into that space and also medical officers of health for effective and efficient service delivery”.