FG commences N30,000 grants for okada, taxi drivers, cart pushers, others
The Federal Government has launched a Transport Track Fund which is geared at giving N30, 000 grants to commercial drivers including bus drivers, taxi drivers, motorcycle riders and operators of ride-hailing cabs such as Bolt and Uber.
The Spokesman for the Vice-President, Mr Laolu Akande, said in a statement on Sunday that Nigerians should apply for the grants through their registered associations.
“The MSME Survival Fund, a component under the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan is designed to support vulnerable Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs in the MSMEs sector. The scheme is estimated to save not less than 1.3 million jobs across the country and specifically impact on over 35,000 individuals per state,” the statement read.
US lifts reciprocity visa fees on Nigeria applicants
The US government has lifted the reciprocity visa fees for Nigerian nationals applying for US visas. This is to match the Nigerian government’s removal of additional fees on U.S. citizens applying for Nigerian visas.
In line with this, all non-immigrant visa applicants are required to pay the initial $160 non-refundable MRV fee at the time of application.
Also, no reciprocity fees are remaining on any visa class for Nigerian nationals and reciprocity fees paid before December 3, 2020, are not refundable.
Lagos gives removal notice to communities with unapproved street gates
Lagos State Government has issued a seven-day removal notice to communities with unapproved street gates to either leave such gates open between 5am and midnight or remove them.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, communicated the notice, stating that the gates and structures installed without approval from the Ministry of Transportation contravened the traffic laws and regulations, therefore must be removed within seven days of the given notice.
“During the recent inspection conducted by the Ministry of Transportation, it was discovered that some communities have sited gates on some inner roads to avoid vehicular movement on their streets. This act has contributed to traffic congestion being experienced on our roads on a daily basis,’’ he said.
Ports face total shutdown nationwide
Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has directed its members nationwide to shut ports operations and begin a three-day warning strike from Monday, December 7, to protest the total take over of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway by heavy-duty trucks, which has negatively impacted Apapa and its environ.
The three-day warning strike is one of the resolutions reached by the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) at a meeting held in Lagos State.
A statement issued at the end of the meeting by the union’s President-General and Secretary-General, Comrade Adeyanju Adewale and Felix Akingboye, among others, said: “The National Executive Council in-session wishes to draw the Federal Government’s attention, once again, to the deplorable state of the access roads to the Lagos seaports, and the dangers this pose to lives and properties. To avoid the continuous and unnecessary deaths, as well as loss of man-hour on the failed roads, the NEC in-session hereby calls on the Federal Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to urgently fix the access roads and make them motorable.”
NCDC confirms 318 new COVID-19 cases
