The plan is to boost the Lagos-Kano-Jibiya (LAKAJI) economic corridor, which both the World Bank and the US have been highlighting.
As far back as 2016, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/Nigeria, in partnership with the West Africa Borderless Alliance, hosted a road governance caravan on the southern segment of the Lagos-Kano-Jibiya (LAKAJI) transport corridor.
The caravan started in Lagos, passed through Ogun and Oyo, and ended in Kwara State.
A 2013 USAID baseline study on the LAKAJI corridor, showed that it costs over $3,000 and takes approximately 12.5 days to send a 20-foot container from Jibiya in northern Nigeria to Lagos in the southwest. Conversely, it costs nearly $5,000 and takes approximately 19.5 days to ship a 20-foot container from Lagos to Jibiya.
Critics who carpeted the Katsina-Maradi rail as a wrong-headed project argued that it would drain the nation of scarce resources that could have been ploughed to more productive use. But ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE and FAITH YAHAYA, who witnessed the ground-breaking event last Tuesday, report that contrary to their claims, the project when completed, will reposition the economy. Katsina State last week witnessed an unusual throng of people that could be.
•Directs conclusion of financial plan for Lagos-Calabar rail project
By Deji Elumoye, Kingsley Nwezeh and Kasim Sumaina in Katsina
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the military service chiefs to be decisive in dealing with terrorists and ending the insurgency in the North-east without further delay.
Buhari has also justified the extension of the Kano-Katsina-Jibiya rail line to Maradi in Niger Republic, saying the project, when completed, will boost trade between Nigeria and Niger Republic, foster trans-Sahara trade and contribute to the expected gains in the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Oladayo Amao, who spoke on the presidential directive during a visit to Maiduguri, said the president routed the order through the Chief of Defence Staff, Maj.Gen. Lucky Irabor, for them to come up with new strategies to rout the insurgents.
By Adelola Amihere
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday directed the Ministries of Transportation and Finance to immediately conclude financial arrangements with appropriate co-financiers that will partner with the Federal Government for the construction of West-East Coastal rail line from Lagos to Calabar, linking some major cities in South East and South South.
Speaking at the virtual groundbreaking ceremony for the Kano-Katsina-Jibiya-Maradi Rail Line, the President said the West-East Coastal rail line will connect Onitsha, Benin, Warri, Yenegoa, Port Harcourt, Aba and Uyo.
He further disclosed that the Port Harcourt – Maiduguri rail which passes through Enugu and Makurdi with branches to Owerri, Imo state and Damaturu, Yobe state have been awarded for reconstruction to include a deep sea port in Bonny Island and a Railway Industrial Park in Port Harcourt with the objectives of achieving a vibrant and functional railway infrastructure in the Eastern part of the country
South Korean electronic giant, LG Electronics Inc, has said that it will be closing down its loss-making mobile division after failing to find a buyer.
This move by LG is set to make it the first major smartphone brand to completely withdraw from the market.
According to a report from Reuters, this disclosure is contained in a statement issued by LG on Monday in Seoul.
LG had said that its smartphone division has recorded total losses of about $4.5 billion in almost 6 years adding that shutting down that division would allow LG to focus on growth areas like electric vehicle components, connected devices, and smart homes.