SATURDAY 2ND JULY 2022

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First Ship Docks at $2bn Lekki Deep Sea Port Larger vessels to start berthing in Nigeria, NPA promises 60% reduction in waiting time Gilbert Ekugbe Efforts to decongest Apapa Ports and attract larger vessels to Nigeria received a major boost yesterday as the first ship docked at Lekki Deep

Sea Port in Lagos. Managing Director, Nigeria Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko, who received the marine vessel “Zhen Hua 28,” a heavy lift carrier, stated that the Lekki Deep Seaport, when

operational, would reduce ship waiting time by 50 to 60 per cent. The Lekki Deep Seaport, designed to be a significant game-changer in Nigeria's maritime economy and

constructed by China Habour Engineering firm, is a $2 billion investment in the Lagos Free Trade Zone initiated by the Tolaram Group. According to Koko, the cargo dwell time will also reduce by

much more than 60 per cent when operations start before the end of the year. He said the port has the capacity to handle and evacuate more cargoes, adding that the cargo clearing process would

be faster courtesy of automation of the port. "The successful delivery today (yesterday) at the Lekki Deep Seaport of three Super Continued on page 5

Contrary to Joe Igbokwe, Tinubu did not Meet with Wike in Paris... Page 6 Saturday 2 July, 2022 Vol 27. No 9944

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Nigeria, Germany Sign Historic Joint Declaration on Return of Benin Bronzes It is morally impermissible to take the Benin bronzes, it is wrong to keep them, says German minister Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Nigeria and Germany have signed a historic joint declaration that will formally pave the way for the return of

1,130 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, 125 years after they were looted from the ancient Benin Kingdom during the Benin Expedition of 1897. The landmark proclamation

was signed in Berlin, Germany yesterday. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs,

Ambassador Zubairu Dada, signed for Nigeria, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Ms. Annalena Baerbock, and the Minister of State for Culture and the

Media, Ms. Claudia Roth, signed for Germany. Mohammed thanked the German Government for what he described as the “single largest repatriation of artefacts

anywhere in the world.” He said, “We also want to most sincerely thank the authorities of the various Continued on page 5

US Senators Demand Relisting of Nigeria on Religious Freedom Concern List forViolence Against Christians ‘We remain concerned that the Nigerian government is failing to protect the religious freedom and basic safety of its Christian citizens’ Bennett Oghifo Five United State Senators Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio, Mike Braun, James M. Inhofe and Tom Cotton - have jointly sent a letter to the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken urging him to immediately redesignate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the US International Religious Freedom Act. They alleged that recent acts of violence targeting Nigerian Christians have underscored the deteriorating state of religious freedom in the country. In their letter, copied to Honourable Rashad Hussain, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, United States Department of State, the

lawmakers stated, “As you are well aware, horrific acts of deadly violence have been committed against Nigerian Christians in recent weeks, including the massacre of churchgoers on Pentecost Sunday and the stoning of a Christian college student. Sadly, such violence has become all too familiar for Christians in Africa’s most populous country. “Last year, however, you inexplicably removed Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) despite no demonstrable improvement in the country’s religious freedom conditions. On the contrary, the situation in Nigeria has grown worse. We previously urged you to Continued on page 5

NIGERIA, PORTUGAL COLLABORATING… L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari; President of Portugal, Marcelo Robelo de Sousa; Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, and Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Mele Kyari, when the two presidents visited the NNPC stand at the Portugal and Nigeria Economic Forum holding in Lisbon...yesterday

Appeal Court Jails Senator Nwaoboshi 7 Years for Money Laundering... Page 8


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