Navy Seizes 25,601 Bags of Rice, Inaugurates 90 Roads, Housing Projects

Navy Seizes 25,601 Bags of Rice, Inaugurates 90 Roads, Housing Projects

The Nigerian Navy last year seized about 25,601 bags of foreign parboiled rice smuggled into the country.

This was revealed in the “Nigerian Navy Scorecard” for the year 2020, which indicates that, as part of the continued drive to enhance Nigerian Navy’s capacity to effectively deliver on its mandates and motivate her personnel for improved output, the Service in 2020 embarked on numerous infrastructural, administrative and welfare projects.

“Notably, over 90 construction and related projects have been undertaken from January to December 2020, with over 80 per cent of these projects completed and others at various stages of completion.

“A key infrastructural project is the reconstruction of Jetties at NSL Port Harcourt, Under Water Warfare School Ojo, NOP KOLUAMA and other FOBs which are at various stages of construction.

“Equally important are construction, paving and surfacing of access and internal roads in NN some NN Quarters in Abuja, Yenegoa and Calabar,” it added.

In the scorecard obtained by PRNigeria, the Navy also arrested over 284 smugglers, between January and December of last year.

“Added to the seizures between 2016 – 2019, the total bags of rice seized becomes 77,680. This is estimated at N1,553,600,000 at N20,000 per bag,” it says.

Within the same period, 140 tankers/trucks and 404 vehicles involved in smuggling activities were also impounded.

It was learnt that various Navy’s operations in 2020, led to the arrest of a total of 593 vessels/trucks/barges/boats, suspected of committing various infractions within the maritime domain.

According to the scorecard, over 31 housing units were initiated across the country, 20 of which have been completed and commissioned for use, while others are under construction.

It further said: “These include the fencing of the barracks and construction of the 163 metre drive way to ratings quarters at NNS LUGARD in Lokoja as well as the connection of the barracks to the national grid.

“Others include various units of accommodation for officers and ratings accommodation at Kubwa, Asokoro, Abuja and Navy Town Lagos.

“Befitting institutional houses were also constructed for CBMs of operational commands while contract has been awarded for the construction of a 320 capacity auditorium for Naval War College in Calabar, Cross River State.”

By PRNigeria