Second Republic Senate president, Dr. Joseph Wayas, is on warpath with two top shots of the ruling Peoples

Democratic Party (PDP) over the demolition of a part of his Abuja home, allegedly on the orders of the party chiefs.

Daily Newswatch gathered that trouble started about two weeks ago, when one of the PDP chieftains, Chief Olisa

Metuh, National Publicity Secretary of the party, who owns a parcel of land behind Wayas’, reportedly requested the former Senate president to cede part of the land bearing his Abuja palatial home on Plot 1843, Asokoro Extension, to him as his (Metuh’s) was too small.

Wayas reportedly told him that he was not in a position to do that, explaining that it was only Abuja Directorate of Lands and Federal Capital

Development Authority (FCDA) that have the statutory powers to allocate lands.

But unknown to Wayas,

Metuh was allegedly acting at the instance of Dr. Musa Babayo, a former acting chairman of PDP, who

reportedly repurchased the land from him last year.

An explosion yesterday rocked the FESTAC Village area of Lagos, killing at

least one person, with three others critically injured.

The incident, which occurred at about mid-day, shaĴ ered the body of Chief Oladele Pius, aka ‘Apase,’ Chairman of the Miracle Beach Sand Association, a group of sand vendors in the area.

A policeman, said to be visiting the deceased at the time, was also caught in the explosion, with his leg badly damaged and his eyes blinded.

Eyewitness account, which confi rmed that the incident occurred under the popular FESTAC Bridge, oě the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Lagos, said the late Pius died instantly as the blast blew him into smithereens.

Daily NewswatchVol. 1, No. 3 Tuesday, February 19, 2013 N150

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L-R:Project Manager, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Juerg Duerig, Chairman; Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, the company’s Managing Director; Martins Woolnough and Director General/Chief Executive Offi cer and National Offi cer for Technological Acquisition and Promotion (NOPTAP), Engineer Umar Buindir, during the inauguration of Nestle distribution centre, Agbara, Ogun State...yesterday PHOTO: ABIODUN OMOTOSO

Global lull hits Nigeria’s shipping, ports

One killed, 3 injured in Lagos explosion

Bayo Akomolafe

Olalekan Osiade & Juliana Francis

The global lull in con-tainer fl eet, which became idle at the

end of last year, is taking its toll on Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and other African countries’ seaports.

The trend, which rep-resents fi ve percent of container fl eet, totalling 809,000 twenty-foot equiv-alent units, may rise to one million, Twenty Equivalent Unit (TEU), in February, 2013.

Although it is estimated that this may end by sec-ond quarter of this year, the situation has seen con-tainer carriers merging to minimize cost of opera-tions.

Majority of container ter-

minals, which were conces-sioned in 12 West African countries, including Sen-egal, Nigeria and Camer-oon, are not doing well due to decline in clientele and increasing costs of opera-tions in recent years.

Shipping analyst fi rm, Alphaliner, said container ferrying business has been struggling to stabilize since last year as a result of poor patronage and is likely to face tougher times in 2013.

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Wayas battles PDP chiefs over land

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ONYEKA AJUMOBI, Abuja

Market capitalisation dips by N2bn

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MEMMCOL to invest N3bn on meter production Pg. 65

Pg . 69 Pg. 5