Paradise News

Category: Business

  • Environmental tax will sanitize our environment – Cross River State Commissioner

    In the bid to sanitize the environment in Cross River State, the State government may soon introduce an environmental tax.

    The new initiative is to further enhance the safety and health of the environment in the state.

    Disclosing this on a radio program, Ayade’s Cross River, on CRBC, an initiative of the Governor’s Office Media Unit, anchored by the trio of Beatrice Akpala, Emmanuel Ulayi and Solomon Asha, the state commissioner for forestry and climatic  change, Mrs. Alice Ekwu said “Very soon, pending on the approval of His Excellency the Governor, we will start collecting taxes from Business owners that have businesses that affects the environmental climate of the state directly or indirectly”

    The measure which will be in partnership with the ministry of environment, she added is to ensure proper management of what goes into the atmosphere.

    According to her the development is to ensure proper management of what goes into the atmosphere and we are going to do that in partnership with the State Ministry of Environment.

    “The trees we planted during the carnivals are doing wonderfully well and we will continue planting more tress. We encourage Cross Riverians to plant more tress. It is no longer news that the Governor has started a superhighway that will serve as an evacuation corridor for goods that will be coming into the state through the seaport and will definitely boost the economy of the state.

    The construction of the superhighway has attracted criticism from some members of the public as regards the impact it will create on the forestry environment and communities around the area; the ministry has been mandated with the responsibility of ensuring that any tree that will be cut-down during this construction process will be replaced. The ministry is doing a lot to ensure Calabar remains clean and green; this is in collaboration with the state ministry of environment.

    Also speaking on the program on how the state can generate huge revenues from her forest potentials, the Special Adviser Biodiversity and conservation, barrister   Edet okon Asim said “Cross River State has one of the largest and natural forests in Sub-Saharan Africa and they are some species of trees in this forest that many people don’t know exist there.

    To this end, he disclosed that there are plans to showcase all of these to the world to know what is in Cross River State.

    According to him they are ongoing plans to cultivate the tourism potentials in these forests, so as to publicize it and show tourist and people all around the world, what is obtainable in the forestry sector of the state.

    The special adviser further revealed that the state can borrow a leaf by embracing the California example by making huge fortune from her forest reservation as a tourist site.

    His words:”there is a tree in California, a bristlecone pine that attracts tourists from all over the world just to have a glimpse of this tree, the tree believed to be 4,845 years, known to be the oldest tree in the world.

    “Cross River State has one of the largest and natural forest in Sub-Saharan Africa and they are some species of trees in this forest that many people don’t know exist there and there are plans to showcase all of these to the world to know what is in Cross River State .They are ongoing plans to cultivate the tourism potentials in this forests son as publicize it and show tourist and people all around the world, what is obtainable in the forestry sector of the state.”

  • Is Buhari’s regime the best? Check out made in Nigeria rice (Photos)

    People are now beginning to thank President Muhammadu Buhari over the production of Nigeria made rice. The rice was made and parked in Niger State and it’s locally produced with rice being farmed here in Nigeria.

    Read Also | Cross Riverians frown at Government over Obudu Rice (Photos)

    A comment from some Nigerians though stated as follows;

    “This is made in Nigeria rice, my brother just bought it now. God bless Buhari for removing our eyes from chemically induced foreign rice. Nigeria is rising again.”

    Others are mumbling, pointing the fact that the government haven’t put anything in the agro sector, that it’s the former administration’s work that is paying.

    Anyways, check out the photos of the made in Nigeria rice below and have your say…

  • Taxation in Cross River State: Economic gain or loss?

    Taxation is an important source of revenue for governments globally. Payment of taxes by citizens and corporate organizations is a civic responsibility of which failure to comply is a crime.

    Effective tax administration and management is essential for good governance and the utilization of tax proceeds must be seen to bring benefits for the citizens and residents alike.

    As much as many citizens are willing to pay their taxes as at when due, some others have complained of multiple and abitrary taxation in Cross River State which is causing many businesses to shut down.

    In Sen. Prof. Benedict Ayade’s first year in office, the governor abolished taxes for small businesses and low income earners. A bill to this effect was passed by the Cross River State House of Assembly and signed into law by the governor.

    The impact of this law is yet to be seen in the state even as citizens and residents complain of the negative impact of over taxation on their businesses and the unruly behaviour of tax agents.

    This is the focus of “The Dialogue with Agba Jalingo” this week with the topic; Taxation in Cross River State: Economic gain or loss.

    With us to discuss the topic are Barr.  Greg  Okem, Director  Legal Services,  Cross River State Internal Revenue Service and Mr. Festus Mbonu Chairman Building Material Traders Association, Calabar.

    Join us on Hit 95.9 fm on Sunday 31st July, 2016 at 6pm to 7pm.

    Call in to make your contributions and ask questions.

    For adverts and sponsorship please call 07051536836

  • Attend a 3-weeks Ankara Skill Acquisition and Capacity Building Seminar in Calabar on August 8-27th

    A man’s Skill maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men. A skill acquired man is a self-employed man.

    Work and make money from your acquired skill. For skills open doors to greatness. A skillful man speaks with confidence while the none skillful is filled with fear.

    Register Now and stand a chance to become, relevant self-employed Man/woman in your society.

    Date: 8th – 27th August 2016
    Time: 10am
    Registration fee: N15,000.
    Venue: Nico Commercial Secondary School, Old Ikang Road, Calabar, Cross River State. 

    For more details, please contact: 07031047619 or 08148279411

  • Book your weddings, portraits and photo coverage of events with Jedahfotography in Calabar (See details here)

    Jedahfotography is a team of professional wedding and lifestyle photographers taking breathtaking pictures all over Nigeria. We do not only photograph your weddings and events, we tell a story of your beautiful day and capture one frame at a time every moment you will like to see in 100years to come, keeping your memories fresh and alive at the sight of each photograph.

    Jedahfotography is located in Lagos and Ibadan, we recently just opened in Calabar at No 8, Archibong Street, off MCC road. 

    To book your weddings, portraits and photo coverage of events; here are our contacts
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  • The Role Of Agriculture In Development; Implications For Nigeria By Utum Innocent

    A majority of Nigeria’s population live in rural areas where poverty and deprivation are most severe. Since almost all rural households depend directly or indirectly on agriculture, and given the large contribution of this sector to the overall economy, it mightnseem obvious that agriculture should be a key component of growth and development.

    However, although agriculture-led growth played an important role in slashing poverty and transforming the economies of many Asian and Latin American countries, the strategy has not yet worked well in what i termed ‘modern Nigeria’.

    Most African countries have not yet met the requirements for a successful agricultural revolution, and factor productivity in African agriculture seriously lags behind the rest of the world. This has led to growing skepticism in the international development community about agriculture’s relevance to growth and poverty reduction.

    This article however, suggests that the ‘Agro-pessimism’ not only is unwarranted but also undermines attempts to accelerate growth and poverty reduction.

    While parts of Nigeria are indeed disadvantaged by unfavorable natural and geographic conditions, agriculture’s poor performance has often been due to under investment in physical, institutional, and human capital, as well as by attempts to bypass agriculture through isolated industrialization, often at the cost of agricultural stagnation and worsening poverty.

    The aim of this article is to also,examine whether the conventional wisdom on agriculture’s role in the development process is applicable to the contemporary circumstances faced by our different Geo-political zones in Nigeria.

    Here I referred to examine the six Geo-political zones and the empirical justification for why agricultural growth has powerful leverage effects on the rest of the economy, especially in the early stages of economic transformation when it accounts for large shares of national income, employment and exports. Through its linkages to the rest of the economy, agriculture can generate patterns of development that are employment-intensive and favorable for the poor.

    While there is a clear understanding of the
    conditions under which agriculture-led growth is most likely to succeed, many of these conditions either do not yet exist in Nigeria or need to improve further.

    However, the huge challenges facing Nigeria’s agriculture cannot be used as a justification for its neglect. Indeed, little evidence or theories exists to suggest that Nigeria can bypass an agricultural revolution if our country is to substantially increase growth and reduce poverty.

    Yet, while agriculture is generally an important component for Nigeria’s development, its ability to generate growth and reduce poverty varies across and within various Geo-political zones, as well as across different agricultural sub-sectors.

    Accordingly, this write-up presents a typology of our different zones contributions to the potential for agriculture to contribute to their growth.

    This typology is supplemented with in-depth case studies that examine the
    agriculture, growth, and poverty dynamics in south-south, south-east, south-west, north-west, north-east and north-central.
    These case studies all highlight that broad-based agricultural growth, particularly in conjunction with growth in the non agricultural sector, could contribute significantly to growth and poverty reduction.

    Within agriculture, the food staples sub-sector can offer the most poverty reduction in the the six Geo-political zones, particularly in the poorest sub regions of the country.

    Although important achievements have occurred in these zones, generating further agricultural growth to transform their economies will require meeting a number of conditions, such as increased investments in technology, infrastructure, markets and health, and improved governance.

    Note;

    • Agriculture accounts for more than half of GDP growth between 1960 and 1990.
    • Agricultural linkages changes with different stages of development.
    • Food availability can become a constraint of Economic growth.
    • Nutrition is a key determinant of  growth.
    • Growth in agriculture benefits the poor in both Rural and Urban Areas. 

  • 7,000 Barrels Per Day Capacity Refinery To Be Built By Russian Firm In Calabar

    The Chairman of a Russian firm, Safinet Group, Mr. Arsen Mudonov, has stated that his company wants to take advantage of the conducive and peaceful environment of Cross River and Calabar in particular to establish the refinery of 7,000 barrels production capacity a day which will be increased to between 60,000 to 65,000 barrels a day in the near future.


    Mr. Arsen Mudonov disclosed this during a meeting with the state governor, Senator Ben Ayade in Calabar recently. He said that his group decided to come to Cross River to establish the refinery because of the peace and tranquility that the state is known for in addition to the hospitable nature of the people. Mudonov added that, his company has been expanding its operations to different parts of the world including Africa in the last five years, and that company is into construction, oil and gas with advanced technology in the construction of oil and gas equipment and machines.

    Delighted to the new development, Governor Ben Ayade said his administration has turned the state into an investors’ haven by creating a conducive atmosphere for investment. The governor also reiterated that the peaceful and hospitable nature of the state and its citizens were recently attested to by the outgoing United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr John Erntwhistle, who picked the state as his most favourite place in Nigeria.

    According to CrossRiverWatch, Governor Ayade informed the delegation that Cross River state is always the first port of call and choice for investors and that the state is on the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean in the South, which makes it a good candidate for oil and gas business.

    “If you are putting a refinery and your sources of shipping in the crude is by barges then the refinery being located by the waterside becomes easy. Even if you want a solid land location, we also have solid earth where you can have access to bring in your crude by barges and then have pipelines to take the crude to your refinery.
    “Cross River is close to so many oil wells, so building your refinery here is like eating your cake and having it. We have good roads, we are building a super highway and a deep seaport at the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean. Again, Cross River is closer to Russia than any other place in Nigeria in terms of seaport”.

    Also speaking was the Chief Executive officer (CEO), Hkzain Corporation Limited, Mallam Muhammad Attahiru, who said that, they were in the state to present technological innovation in the area of oil and gas that will provide job opportunities to the people in line with the vision and policy thrust of Governor Ben Ayade’s administration.

    Mr. Attahiru assured that Safinet has the experience, capability and the expertize in the areas of construction, oil and gas and that they have established in North Africa and South Sudan and that they want the government of Cross River to give them the opportunity to establish their presence in the state, and assured that they will not disappoint the state.

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  • Gov Ayade; Tourism Is What We Have Left, Please Safe It From The Hands Of Kidnappers By Richard Romanus

    One ugly trend that has taken residents of Calabar and indeed Cross Riverians by storm is the rising spate of Kidnapping and other criminality. In its recent edition, a fast rising regional Newspaper in the South South, has as it’s banner headline, Calabar ; And things fall part. Sadly, things have indeed fallen apart for a state that was once reputed to be the safest and peaceful State in the federation.

    Even though stories of Kidnapping are not peculiar to Cross River State alone like some people would quickly argue, the State had remained the only State in the Oil rich South South Geopolitical region with the least number of criminality of any form until the present administration came on board. Like a senior friend jokingly  opined some days back, The State was rather a converging ground for perpetrators of various Crimes from different states who prefer sharing and spending their ill gotten wealth here without hurting the people or tampering with their peaceful environment.

    In less than one month, three high profile kidnaps involving a former Senator, Patrick Ani, Former Special Adviser to Ex Governor Liyel Imoke on Labour, Mr Ededem Ita as well as five expatriates and two Nigeria staff of Macmahon, a contracting firm with Lafarge holding have been recorded at different locations across the State. Surprisingly, no known arrest have been made by the Security agencies apparently leaving the people to the mercies of God.

    Since the loss of the 76 oil wells by the State to Akwa Ibom in a Supreme Court judgement, one area that the government has since turned it focus on towards making it a revenue earner for the State, is the tourism industry. Though tourism was Cross River and Cross River was tourism before the loss, the sector only gained a renewed attention when it dawned on the the then administration on the need to look elsewhere since they was no more oil to depend on.

    The sector has however undergone massive transformation over the years with the introduction of several components in the tourism Calender of the state and has no doubt end the State a reputation of one of the leading tourism destinations in Africa. It is on record that Cross River play host to thousands of visitors who visit the state annually from far and near just to be part of the famous Calabar Carnival  and to get a feel of how the Calabar Christmas festival seems like.

    As I hear, the State is already preparing real big for this year’s edition of the festival with some State officials already paying several visit to different countries of the world in order to lure them to be part of the forthcoming event.

     There is therefore  an urgent need to stern the tide of Kidnapping and other Crimes that is at the verge of taking from us the only thing we now pride ourselves with as indigenes of the state.

    The Operation Show Force declared by the Governor of the State, Senator Prof Ben Ayade in collaboration with Security Agencies has no doubt recorded some successes but the hard truth is that, the situation in the State only degenerated to its present state because little or no interest was devoted on it by the authorities concern.

    In my last article, titled Cross River; The once peaceful State, I had made certain recommendations on how the government can make Calabar and the State safe again which included, provision of more Security vans and gadgets for Security Agencies, Convening of a Security Council Meeting and the deployment of Armed men to Flash points among others. I am glad that some of the said recommendations where taken into cognisance and are now yielding results.

     But I like to add that, Government must urgently  mount a closer watch on Calabar South as it has been observed that, interior parts of the area like Jebs, Marina and Afokang serve as the exit route for Criminals.

    Agreed that the Governor as a politician is required to compensate certain people who worked for his emergence but the Governor must realise that desperate times, require desperate measures. Now is the time for the Governor to appoint a State Security Adviser that will command the respect of the various Security Agencies. While I am not calling for the outright sack of the present SSA, he can possibly be reassigned to different position while a seasoned retired Security expert is brought on board.

    To win the present war on Kidnapping and insecurity, indigenes and leaders of crime prone areas must be carried along. They are the people who interact, eat and walk with them on a daily basis and can be useful in information gathering.

    Finally and most importantly,the enforcement of Anti Kidnapping law. Government must ensure that, anybody who contravenes any part of the law is sanctioned as prescribed, as that will serve as a deterrent to intending persons.

    Governor Ben Ayade who also doubles as the Commissioner of tourism must realise that his Memorandum of understanding with several multinational companies can only be realise if the state is safe and peaceful for business as no investor will make a mistake of investing in a state where his live and and that of his business is not guaranteed.

    Richard Romanus is from Oderegha, Obubra LGA

  • AG Maintains Calabar, Cross River Is Safe And Best Place To Do Business In Nigeria Today

    Somehow, Calabar, the capital of Cross River State has been on the news worldwide amidst security issues in the state and that might have been a threat to business own and investors to trade the Nation’s paradise. But with the full cover and a prolific work from the State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade, we are rest assured that Cross River State is back to the most lovely and peaceful place she use to be.

    A news reaching us says the Attorney General, AG, has declared the State safe for all, especially investors.

    His Statement reads: “Some Abuja Resident Critics l hear have petitioned AG Cross River to the Inspector General of Police, IGP, over their false stories concerning our dear state which I refuted in a press conference last night.

    “Its laughable as these men have not bothered reading the Nigerian Constitution on the duties of my office? Anyway I am waiting for the mischief makers in court and I maintain that Cross River State is the best place to do business in Nigeria today, go and ask the owners SPAR ltd.” JOE ABANG ATTORNEY GENERAL CROSS RIVER STATE.