Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu
The
Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC) has given the
Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu a clean bill of
health, dismissing allegation against him that he was romancing with the
leadership of the Delta State Chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A
group, Buhari Movement for Change (BMC) recently wrote an open letter to
President Muhammadu Buhari entitled “Urgent Appeal To President Muhammadu
Buhari to Save Delta State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC from
Extinction over Ibe Kachikwu’s Romance With The Leadership of Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) Delta State Chapter.”
But
in a swift reaction, NDIMRC in a press release signed by its President, Nelly
Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer, Stanley Mukoro, the
group implored President Buhari to ignore the group, saying its members were out
to give the Minister a bad name while at the same time seeking for self
recognition.
The
group said it was not true that the Minister was romancing with the Delta State
Chapter of the PDP, noting that it was too early in the day to call for the
head of the Minister.
According
to the group, the Minister should be allowed to settle down for his national
assignment rather than distracting him at this early stage and crucial period
in the country.
While
giving the President a pat on the back for the wise choice of the Minister, the
group implored the President not to take the allegation against the Minister
seriously.
The
group wrote, “We want to draw your attention to the recent publication by the
group going by the name Buhari Movement for Change (BMC) in which they faulted
you for the choice of Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu as the Minister of State for
Petroleum and also accusing him of romancing with the leadership of the Delta
State Chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”
“Mr.
President, ordinarily, we would not have joined issues with the Buhari Movement
for Change (BMC). But we are constrained to react to the unwarranted accusation
of Dr. Ibe Kachikwu in order to put the record straight,” it stated, adding
that; “Your Excellency, you made a good choice in the recent appointment of Dr.
Ibe Kachikwu as Minister of State for Petroleum, a highly respected technocrat.
Your choice of him was a good one and we want to give you a pat on the back for
making the wise choice. Thank you Mr. President.”
The
group also said, “We want to let you know Mr. President that Dr. Ibe kachikwu
who is from Delta North Senatorial District with the State Governor, Senator
Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa is not romancing with the leadership of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State. He is a clean man and should be spared
of the accusation by the so called group seeking for recognition.”
The
group urged President Buhari to disregard the lies raised in the publication against
the Minister, pointing out that, “This is the time to allow the respected
Minister to settle down for national assignment and not time for unnecessary
distraction that will not do us any good.”
“You
have taken your decision on Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and let it be so. He is a round
peg in a round hole and therefore the accusation against him should be
disregarded. He is not romancing with PDP and we therefore give him a clean
bill of health. We know that you were guided by the Wisdom of Solomon in
picking Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to serve in your cabinet. The accusation against him
is unfounded and it should be dismissed. We salute you for the confidence
reposed on Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and we know he will not betray the confidence,”
NDIMRC stated.
President Muhammdu Buhari Tueday night ordered the arrest of
the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (Rtd), for
allegedly siphoning billions of dollars earmarked for arms purchases.
In ordering the arrest, President Buhari observed that the
actions of the erstwhile NSA brought the nation to international ridicule as
the failure to procure the arms incapacitated the military in the face of the
insurgency orchestrated by the Boko Haram sect.
Former national security adviser of ex-president Goodluck
Jonathan, Sambo Dasuki (R), speaks with his lawyer Ahmed Raji, during his trial
at the federal high court in Abuja, on September 1, 2015. Nigerian prosecutors
on September 1, 2015 slapped a charge of unlawful possession of arms against
Dasuki. Dasuki was arraigned on a "one-count charge of being in possession
of firearms without licence," Prosecutor Mohammed Diri told the federal
high court in Abuja. AFP PHOTO
The order was also extended to several others who were found
culpable in the saga.
The development followedthe release of the interim report by the presidential committee
investigating arms procurement.
The president had on August 31 set up the 13 man committee
to audit the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and Defence
sector from 2007 to date.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media
and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, stated that Dasuki expended $2,193,815,000.83
on arms, a figure he said did not include grants received by the police and the
Department of State Services, DSS, from state governments.
The statement read thus: “As part of the findings, the committee
has analyzed interventions from some organizations that provided funds to the
Office of the National Security Adviser, Defence Headquarters, Army
Headquarters, Naval Headquarters, and Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, both in
local and foreign currencies.
“So far the total extra budgetary interventions articulated
by the committee is Six Hundred and Forty Three Billion, Eight Hundred and
Seventeen Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty
Five Hundred Naira and Eighteen Kobo (N643,817,955,885.18).
“The foreign currency component is to the tune of Two
Billion, One Hundred and Ninety Three Million, Eight Hundred and Fifteen
Thousand US Dollars and Eighty Three Cents ($2,193,815,000.83).
“These amounts exclude grants from the state governments and
funds collected by the DSS and Police. It was observed that in spite of this
huge financial intervention, very little was expended to support defence
procurement.
“The committee also observed that of 513 contracts awarded
at $8,356,525,184.32; N2,189,265,724,404.55 and €54,000.00; Fifty Three (53)
were failed contracts amounting to $2,378,939,066.27 and N13,729,342,329.87
respectively.
“Interestingly, it was noted that the amount of foreign
currency spent on failed contracts was more than double the $1bn loan that the
National Assembly approved for borrowing to fight the insurgency in the North
East.“The committee also discovered
that payments to the tune of Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Fifty Million
Naira (N3,850,000,000.00) were made to a single company by the former NSA
without documented evidence of contractual agreements or fulfilment of tax
obligations to the federal goverment.
“Further findings revealed that between March 2012 and March
2015, the erstwhile NSA, Lt Col MS Dasuki (rtd) awarded fictitious and phantom
contracts to the tune of N2,219,188,609.50, $1,671,742,613.58 and
€9,905,477.00. The contracts which were said to be for the purchase of four
Alpha Jets, 12 helicopters, bombs and ammunition were not executed and the
equipment were never supplied to the Nigerian Air Force, neither are they in
its inventory.
“Even more disturbing was the discovery that out of these
figures, two companies were awarded contracts to the tune of N350,000,000.00,
$1,661,670,469.71 and €9,905,477.00 alone. This was without prejudice to the
consistent non-performance of the companies in the previous contracts awarded.”
Adesina in the statement added that the former NSA also
directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to transfer a certain amount to accounts
domiciled in the United Kingdom and the United States.
“Additionally, it was discovered that the former NSA
directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to transfer the sum of $132,050,486.97 and
€9,905,473.55 to the accounts of Societe D’equipmente Internationaux in West
Africa, United Kingdom and United States of America for un-ascertained
purposes, without any contract documents to explain the transactions.
“The findings made so far are extremely worrying considering
that the interventions were granted within the same period that our troops
fighting the insurgency in the North East were in desperate need of platforms,
military equipment and ammunition. Had the funds siphoned to these non
performing companies been properly used for the purpose they were meant for,
thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been avoided.
“Furthermore, the ridicule Nigeria has faced in the international
community would have been avoided. It is worrisome and disappointing that those
entrusted with the security of this great nation were busy using proxies to
siphon the national treasury, while innocent lives were wasted daily.
“In light of these findings, President Muhammadu Buhari has
directed that the relevant organizations arrest and bring to book, all
individuals who have been found complicit in these illegal and fraudulent
acts”, the statement submitted.
THE uproar over an alleged N2.7
billion severance pay for outgoing chiefs of the electricity regulator
is a rude-reminder of a perverse public service system that enriches a
few at the expense of the overwhelming majority. That a handful of
short-tenured officials are able to approve elephantine sums of money
for themselves sits oddly with a contemporaneous presidential
declaration that the country is broke. President Muhammadu Buhari’s
change promise must start with ending the rent-seeking culture of
legitimised plunder of public funds.
According to the initial report,
the seven-member board of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission approved a severance package that will see each of its six
commissioners receiving N380 million and its Chairman, Sam Amadi, N400
million. Though Amadi has taken out two-page advertorials in the press
to declare emphatically that “the commission has not approved N400
million for the chairman and N380 million for the commissioners…,” he
however justifies their being generously rewarded on the grounds of law
and precedent. It is significant that the House of Representatives has
passed a resolution calling for a halt to the planned pay-off. The two
chambers of the National Assembly should realise that others are simply
taking a leaf out of their book of opulence and legalised plunder with
nary a care for the rest of the populace, 61 per cent of who live in
poverty.
Anayo Nnebe, a member from
Anambra State, rightly observed that it was a common practice for
officials of federal agencies to allocate to themselves huge public
funds “that cannot be defended.” Amadi’s elaborate prose fits into this
pattern. His justification for the generous pay-offs for a five-year
assignment on the grounds that the previous board prepared the template
is self-serving. The self-enriching resolutions of a previous board are
not binding statutes on a new team for whom selfless public service is
paramount.
That the board cherry-picks
actions based on what is convenient to its members is revealed in his
clever-by-half argument that the “commissioners reasoned, rightly, that
it is not bound by the Act to accept recommendations of the National
Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, but rather consider the views of
the NSIWC before approving the salaries and allowances of the
commissioners.” NERC was “not bound” by the recommendations of a
constitutional body, but felt bound by those of previous directors who
were sacked by the government on a similar allegation of
self-enrichment. That the matter was resolved by an out-of-court deal
and members paid their salaries does not obviate the inappropriateness
of using public office for self-aggrandisement. The previous government
was notorious for unorthodox resolutions of corruption cases that
allowed accused persons off the hook but left the public poorer and
bewildered.
But the most egregious of the
payoffs is the two-year upfront payment of salaries and allowances for
each board member. Amadi premised this hefty severance pay cheque on the
Electric Power Sector Reform Act that bars a board member from taking
up appointment in the power sector for the first two years after leaving
NERC, hence the need to “compensate” them. This is unacceptable. As
Mohammed Gololo, a House of Representatives member from Bauchi State,
observed, the lives of the commissioners are not inexorably tied to the
sector as they are free to work anywhere else. It is only in Nigeria
that a statute put in place to avoid a clash of interests will be used
as an excuse for jumbo pay-out by grasping officials. Most of the
current seven commissioners were not engaged full time in the power
sector prior to their appointments. Amadi was known as a lawyer in the
civil society circuit; not as a career power sector executive.
But this practice is widespread
in our public service and it is Buhari’s sacred duty to stop it. It is
particularly galling that agencies like NERC that fail to deliver
quality service end up making their executives rich. The clean-up should
start at the top: ministers and other public officials should not live
like medieval potentates, but be mindful of the 40 per cent reduction in
oil revenues accruing to the Federation Account. It is ridiculous that a
country confessing tight finances spends far more than what the world’s
richest countries spend on officials. We expect Buhari to quickly sell
off at least eight of the 10 aircraft of the Presidential Air Fleet that
his selfish, insensitive predecessors amassed. The ministries,
departments and agencies should be stopped from approving generous perks
for themselves.
Operating by example, ministers
should impress it on board appointees and executives that public office
is a call to national service, not a sure route to wealth for life. NERC
commissioners are not the only officials literally going home with
bagfuls of cash after only five years of service. For many, a mere two
years in public office can guarantee a lifetime of opulence thereafter.
Pay and severance packages should henceforth reflect our fiscal
realities.
The government has an
opportunity to reform public accounts and revoke all statutes that offer
legal loopholes for officials to vote over-generous pay for themselves.
With per capita income of just $3,000 and minimum wage of N18,000, it
is, as Nnebe thundered, “ungodly, wicked and unbelievable” for a few
officials to be taking away so much while the country suffers severe
infrastructure deficit. Of the N4.49 trillion 2015 budget, only about
N556.99 billion was earmarked for capital projects and most has not been
released. The rest is for recurrent in addition to N1.02 trillion
deficit that mostly goes to servicing the pampered bureaucracy.
The National Assembly should
also give up their multibillion naira perks and together with the
Executive usher in a new era of responsible, selfless service.
This will be my last piece on my FIFA election odyssey, an experience so brief but yet so rich and beautiful.
I deliberately choose to look on the brighter side of that adventure,
the side that celebrates the “audacity of faith’, that leaves the
legacy of self belief in thr capacity of our youths to dream big and be
any thing they choose to be by simply ‘daring’.
My philosophy teacher tells me ‘not to curse the darkness but to
behold it, for underneath it is a hidden treasure’. I rest my case on
that wise counsel.
Now let me look at the main issues of the entire project.
To start with I knew that to become the president of FIFA was never
going to be a stroll in the park. It would take tears, sweat and blood
as we are already witnessing in the unfolding drama in FIFA.
Everything tells me that the drama of the 2016 FIFA Presidential election has not ended.
I was taken off the plane as it prepared for take off, left holding
on to the straws of my ambition by those who were themselves not
prepared to embark on the journey and would not let anyone else do so.
Short as my part was in the drama it was a great experience whilst it
lasted. I saw the resurgence and the celebration of hope in many
people. It was going to be a blockbuster script of an adventure where
Nigeria would have created unprecedented global excitement by daring to
be the first black country in the world to climb the Everest of
the politics of football administration.
A few months ago such an ambition would have been considered a
heresy, but by the time of the deadline for submission of documents last
week, Nigerians were brimming with determination and the winning
spirit.
All of that has come to naught, no thanks to a few persons that may
have chosen parochial self-interest ahead of national interest.
I want to put the records straight for the purpose of history only.
Everyone involved will confront their own demons, as they will reap
abundantly from what they have sown, so say all the Holy Books. So,
permit me to state some of the fundamental facts without going too deep
into the details of all that transpired.
Sepp Blatter had just resigned five days after winning yet another
re-election. The stage was set for a massive purge of most of the
executive members of FIFA following the unprecedented corruption scandal
that had engulfed the organisation. There was an opportunity for Africa
to produce the next president because what the situation demanded was a
brand new, untainted leader with the right pedigree and credentials!
I took the bait and for the first time in my life I did all the
preliminary political strategizing and background consultations. Most
importantly I prayed for God’s guidance before embarking on the most
challenging of journeys.
I was very aware of the several odds against me.
To start with, I am not considered a friend by the NFF because I do
not belong to the system that has been controlling the strings of
Nigerian sports since 1993 when Chief Alex Akinyele, without knowing the
import of what he was doing, committed the gravest and greatest error
in the history of Nigerian Sports by appointing a sole administrator for
the Nigeria Football Association.
That innocuous decision eventually led to the financial asphyxiation
of all the federations, transformed the NFA into a body that even the
government that funds it could no longer control, converted FIFA into a
monster that makes Nigerians to catch cold any time FIFA coughs. Nigeria
has now inherited a 4-yearly ritual at its federation elections that
would make the corruption scandal in FIFA look like child’s play.
Being a writer and a newspaper columnist compounds my own matter. You
cannot be an honest critic and have many friends left in the football
system. So, I am not many stakeholders friend because of the views I
express in my writings that would sooner or later not favour them.
That’s why I am not Amos Adamu’s friend in the true sense. That’s why
he could come out, fresh from his global suspension, when he should
have quietly lived his life without drawing too much attention to
himself, and championed the cause of convincing former Governor Orji
Uzor Kalu to run for the FIFA presidency, and for all Nigerians to
support him and not me.
He threw caution to the wind! Amos Adamu would never support me under any circumstance, and I know that fact.
I am not Sepp Blatter’s or even Issa Hayatou’s favourite person in
football. There has not been a more virulent critic of both men about
their perpetual stay in office and their absolute control over national
football federations with the awesome power of incumbency at their
disposal. NFF president, Amaju Pinnick
In the case of Amaju Pinnick, I know he respects me a lot. Like so
many others in the football system, he appreciates my humble
contributions to football and, like the others, he would rather I stayed
away with my ‘puritanical’ ways, and not stir up the dust of the
activities in that agency of government.
So, against all these odds my chances of getting a straight-forward
nomination by the NFF were slim. What happened in the end, therefore,
did not come as a complete surprise.
My only hope was based on the change mantra of the new political
dispensation in the country of which I was a major actor in my
community. I believed the reforms in all other sectors would infect
sports enough to ensure that no one dared deal with sports issues with
the impunity of the past.
I believed that the fear of PMB would affect attitudes in sports.
I was wrong. Otherwise the shenanigans and rigmarole that went on in
nominating me for the FIFA election would never have taken place.
The NFF President went on television several times and promoted Orji
Kalu’s candidacy and suugested that the NFF were considering who to
nominate between the two Nigerians that had applied for nomination. Orji
Kalu issued a press release on the final day of submission of documents
to FIFA that he never indicated or applied for nomination.
So, why the seven weeks charade about who the NFF would nominate?
Not even once did they contact me or responded to my letter despite my
public protestations.
Even at the last minute when they finally did on Thursday October 22,
four days to the deadline for submission of documentation they did not
give me any nomination letter. They did nothing. The information was
leaked to the press after Amaju called me, for the first time in 7
weeks, to tell me that he was going to call his board members and
convince them to nominate me.
The NFF were made to nominate me by the pressure coming from
government when it got to know that the deadline was only two–working
days away. Left to the NFF they would never have responded, and as been
wont in sports since 1993, nothing would happen, no one will raise any
issues, the victims of their inaction can go jump into the Atlantic and
die!
With even more pressure from government, what did they still do? The
letter addressed to FIFA and copied to my mailbox was sent to me at 2pm
on the final day of submission, October 26, following my protestations
to various persons in government and even outside it.
At that point even if I was a magician I could not have got five
endorsements from 5 different countries in the 10 hours to midnight of
the final day.
That Amaju volunteered to seek the endorsements, as good intentioned
as that may be, was really to fulfill all righteousness, that the NFF
did all it could to support me. He knew it could not be done, with the
forces of opposition around him in Cairo – Issa Hayatou sitting and
observing every African federation president, and the presence and
influence of Amos Adamu, who had a preferred candidate, not me.
I stood no chance of getting any country to endorse me.
Whereas, the endorsements could have been done weeks earlier when I
traversed the West African coast, spoke with several of my friends in
CAF, and hired a European consultant to seek out fringe European
countries that could accept me as an option to Michel Platini should he
fail to be accredited.
What every federation president I spoke to wanted was a letter
showing that the well-publicised but non-existent ‘crisis’ in Nigeria
about whom the country was nominating had been resolved. Was it Orji
Kalu, supported by the NFF publicly, or myself? No one would grant an
endorsement when Nigeria had not nominated me. That was my dilemma.
Interestingly, as Amaju Pinnick was seeking endorsements for me on
the final day in Cairo, Orji Kalu’s aides in Nigeria issued a press
release stating that the former governor never applied for nomination
from the NFF in the first place, and curiously, at the same time, was
withdrawing from the FIFA race. He thanked all those that had had been
clamouring for him to contest!
That is a statement that speaks volumes about the whole shenanigans
that played out. Were Nigerians been taking for a ride by the NFF? Or
what?
That’s why I believe that Nigerians must not allow this to go the way
of old, where people in government just did whatever they wanted with
impunity and got away with it.
Nigerians must look beyond the personalities involved and focus on
what could have been lost through this impudent action – sending the
wrong message to the youths that they cannot dare to dream, that
individual interest supersedes national interest, and that we can
forfeit our rights to take a decision for our own good to a foreign
power for paltry economic patronage.
That’s why it is important that an enquiry be set up to look at the
cause of this colossal wastage of a life-time opportunity that had no
stakes attached, nothing to lose but a whole world of opportunity to
gain.
The Federal government, the National Assembly, the National Sports
Commission, must probe and investigate what really happened so that such
would never repeat itself again.
THE Federal Government has said that the survival of the country’s
industrial sector depend on the availability of regular electricity in
the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari, therefore, pledged his administration’s
resolve to enhance the growth of the power sector by using it as the
main driver of development of small and medium enterprises.
Speaking in Abuja recently, Buhari noted that Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) are the bedrock for the development of any society,
hence the performance of the power sector therefore is paramount to the
survival of the industrial sector.
Buhari, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Power, Amb.
(Dr.) Godknows Igali, expressed optimism that opportunities abound in
this sector, despite the challenge, as such government is doing
everything possible to attract massive involvement in the power sector
just as it reiterated that Government will ensure regular and steady
electricity supply for a viable and sustainable development.
He promised that Government will continue to encourage genuine
would-be investors with generous duty free repine for all power project
components, in addition to tax-holiday and restriction reparation of
profits by investors.
He therefore challenged “investors to go into renewal energy
projects, so as to help fill the gap by lighting up our homes,
environment and our businesses”.
He stressed that in line with international best practice, renewable
is the way to go, although it might be expensive initially, the near nil
maintenance cost will make renewable cheap in the long run.
He averred that renewal energy offers enormous business opportunities
for young people especially in the rural areas. As Electro
Entrepreneurs, young people should take advantage of Government
initiatives designed to assist them.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has prescribed yearly $630
billion in worldwide upstream oil and gas investment – the total amount
the industry spent on average each year for the past five years to
compensate for 14 declining production at existing fields and to keep
future output flat at today’s levels.
The IEA, which made this disclosure in its World Energy Outlook 2015
executive summary, said that the short investment cycle of tight oil and
its ability to respond quickly to price signals is changing the way
that the oil market operates, but the intensity with which the tight oil
resource is developed in the United States eventually pushes up costs.
It noted that a more prolonged period of lower oil prices cannot be
ruled out. “We examine in a Low Oil Price Scenario what it would take
for this to happen – and what it would mean for the entire energy sector
if it did. The oil price in this scenario remains close to $50/bbl
until the end of this decade, before rising gradually back to $85/bbl in
2040.
“This trajectory is based on assumptions of lower near-term growth in
the global economy; a more stable Middle East and a lasting switch in
OPEC production strategy in favour of securing a higher share of the oil
market (as well as a price that defends the position of oil in the
global energy mix); and more resilient non-OPEC supply, notably from US
tight oil. With higher demand, led by the transport sector, pushing oil
use up to 107 mbpd in 2040, the durability of this scenario depends on
the ability and willingness of the large low-cost resource-holders to
produce at much higher levels than in our central scenario. In the Low
Oil Price Scenario, the Middle East’s share in the oil market ends up
higher than at any time in the last forty years”, it added.
It stated that the plunge in oil prices has set in motion the forces
that will lead the market to rebalance, via higher demand and lower
growth in supply.
This, IEA noted, may take some time, as oil consumers are not
reacting as quickly to changes in price as they have in the past.
“Although the rise of tight oil has created scope for more short- term
flexibility on the supply side, there is still a significant time lag in
the response of most sources of production to a change in price.
“In the New Polices Scenario, demand initially grows at an average of
900 kb/d per year until 2020, but this subsequently slows, with global
demand reaching 103.5 mb/d in 2040, up nearly 13 mb/d on 2014 levels. By
2040 OECD consumption has fallen by 11 mb/d but this is almost exactly
cancelled out by the twin pillars of demand growth: India and China (up 6
mb/d and 5 mb/d respectively).
Elsewhere the Middle East sees oil
demand climb by 3.5 mbpd, other non-OECD Asian countries by 2.7 mbpd,
and Africa by 2.5 mbpd. The transport and petrochemicals sectors add
16.5 mbpd to 2040, offset only partially by slight reductions in the
power sector and use in buildings. Oil demand for aviation grows faster
than any other sector, with the industry’s goal of carbon-neutral growth
post-2020 out of reach without offsets from other sectors”.
Business activities may slow down across
the country as a nationwide fuel scarcity, which began last week, did
not show any sign of respite on Sunday.
The fuel scarcity in Abuja and
neighbouring states of Nasarawa and Kaduna intensified on Sunday, a
development that led to the flooding of major roads by black marketeers,
who sold the product at exorbitant rates to desperate buyers.
Many petrol stations were shut, leaving
just a few major outlets to serve the hundreds of motorists who queued
for several hours in a bid to get petrol.
Motorists paid between N1,800 and N2,000
for 10 litres of petrol sold by the black marketers on major roads of
Abuja, Nasarawa and Kaduna states on Sunday.
Some petrol filling stations in Lagos,
Ogun, Oyo, and other states in the South also exploited the current
scarcity to sell the product between N100 and N200 per litre.
A majority of filling stations were seen
shut on Sunday but those that were opened for business had long queues
and were selling at prices of their choice.
Some of the filling stations belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation were closed for business.
This development also affected vehicular
movements in the areas, and some commercial bus owners capitalised on
the situation to hike fares.
As of Sunday afternoon, our
correspondent gathered that activities at the petroleum products’ depots
located at Apapa, Lagos were skeletal.
The fuel scarcity in Abuja and its
neighbouring states had lingered for over one week despite claims by the
NNPC and its subsidiary, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, that
there was enough product to keep the country wet for about 30 days.
The Executive Director, Commercial,
PPMC, Mr. Justin Ezeala, had told journalists on Friday that the country
had 656.38 milion litres of petrol, which would last for at least 16.41
days.
Both agencies also put the expected fuel
import from the PPMC and other importers for the end of
November 2015
at 756.99 million litres, adding that when summed with what the country
currently had in stock, a total of over 1.4 billion litres of petrol was
guaranteed.
A member of the Nigeria Union of
Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers at Apapa, Lagos, confirmed to one of
our correspondents that the demand for petrol had far exceeded the
supply from the NNPC.
He also confirmed that rationing of
supply was the order of the day as it was only the NNPC that had the
product, which they said was grossly insufficient.
An official of the union told our
correspondent that the situation was likely to get worse from Monday
(today), if the required actions were not taken fast.
Marketers had on Friday said the current
petrol supply challenge facing the nation was likely to last till
December this year owing to issues bordering on subsidy claims payment,
foreign exchange shortage, logistics, among others.
The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Petroleum
and Natural Gas Workers, Lagos Zone, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, had also
confirmed to one of our correspondents that the supply situation was
unlikely to see much improvement as marketers’ confidence in the
government had seriously eroded.
The Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Ibe
Kachikwu, had, last week, said President Muhammadu Buhari, was seeking
the approval of the National Assembly to pay the N413bn approved last
week as subsidy claims to oil marketers across the country.
The country’s electricity transmission
grid is under threat as a result of the vandalism of a tower in Delta
State, which has led to a fall in power generation by 480 megawatts, the
Transmission Company of Nigeria has said.
According to the TCN, the fall in
electricity generation is due to the vandalism of tower No. 62 along the
Okpai-Onitsha 330kV double circuit transmission line, which evacuates
power from the Okpai Power Station in Delta State.
Power generation in the country had hit
an all-time high of 4,810.7MW on August 25 this year after hovering
around 3,500MW for about a year. This is despite the fact that the
electricity generation and distribution arms of the sector had been run
by private entities all this while.
Findings from the
Federal Ministry of Power on Monday showed that the actual energy sent
out as of November 15 was 3,682.32MW, while energy generation was put at
3,754.96MW.
The transmission company, in a statement
by its management, said the incident involving the vandalised tower
took place at Asaba Uchi, Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta
State, adding that this “has resulted in the reduction of available
power to the national grid by about 480MW.”
It added, “At about 4:51am on Tuesday,
November 10, 2015, the Okpai-Onitsha 330kV transmission line tripped and
the cause of the tripping was traced to tower No. 62, which had been
vandalised.
“Two of the four legs of the
transmission tower were cut by vandals, causing the tower to hang
precariously. This poses a major threat to the transmission grid
integrity as a total collapse of this tower could bring down several
other towers along the transmission line route.”
The firm stated that its engineering
crew inspected the site of the incident the same day and had already
mobilised a reputable engineering contracting firm to anchor the
transmission tower temporarily in order to avoid a total collapse.
“Anchoring the vandalised tower will
enable the TCN to energise one of the circuits on the tower to enable it
recommence partial power evacuation from the Okapi Power Station to the
national grid. This is expected to be achieved within a fortnight,” the
TCN stated.
The statement further noted that the
company would construct a new tower to replace the vandalised one, but
that due to the swampy nature of the site, construction could only
commence in the dry season when vehicular access would be possible.
The TCN said it would continue to work
towards a robust transmission grid and pleaded with the host communities
to work with the company in its fight against the activities of
vandals.
The firm said the construction of a new
tower would cost millions of naira that would otherwise have been
applied to its grid expansion plans.
Returnee striker, US-based Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins, says he feels so excited to play for his country national team once again.
The weapon of mass destruction, as Martins is fondly called, was in the
Super Eagles’ squad that departed Abuja yesterday morning for today’s
Russia 2018 World Cup qualifier against Swaziland.
Obagoal is staging a return to the team after announcing his
international retirement on December 4, 2014 owing to lack of
international games.
The 31-year-old, who last played in a World Cup qualifier under
former Coach Stephen Keshi in 2013 has been in fine form for MLS side
Seattle Sounders with 15 goals so far in the American topflight.
Having netted 18 times in 39 appearances for the country, Obafemi is
looking forward to re-open his goal scoring account today in Lobamba.
The delegation led by NFF 1st Vice President, Barr. Seyi Akinwunmi,
traveled aboard a chartered ARIK Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft from the
Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and landed at the
Matsapha
International Airport, Manzini at 4pm Swazi time (3pm Nigeria time),
aftr six hours.
NFF President Amaju Pinnick, still travel –weary following a 25–hour
shuttle from Chile where the Golden Eaglets retained the FIFA U-17 World
Cup on Sunday, saw off the delegation that also included Chairman of
NFF Technical and Development Committee, Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu.
The delegation also included NFF Technical Committee member, Mutiu
Adepoju, 24 players, Coach Sunday Oliseh, other technical and backroom
staff, NFF Management officials Chris Andekin, Bola Oyeyode, Ademola
Olajire and Tunde Aderibigbe, some football stakeholders, few media
representatives and some members of the Nigeria Football Supporters
Club.
At the Matsapha International Airport, the group was received by
about three dozen excited Nigerians based in Swaziland, who cheered
lustily and sang various songs as players and officials walked into
awaiting buses. They were clad in T-Shirts specially made for the
occasion.
“We really appreciate this show of love from fellow Nigerians, who have
left their businesses in various areas of Swaziland to come and welcome
the National Team of Nigeria,” said leader of delegation, Barr. Seyi
Akinwunmi.
Also at the airport were NFF Executive Committee member, Alhaji
Ibrahim Musa Gusau and Assistant Director (Technical), Rafiu Yusuf, who
had gone ahead of the delegation to make arrangements for the team’s
comfortable stay. Chief Executive Officer of the National Football
Association of Swaziland, Frederick Mngomezulu, was also at the airport.
The Super Eagles had a feel of the Somhlolo National Stadium, venue
of today’s match, as Coach Sunday Oliseh supervised a 45 –minute session
under the floodlights.
Oliseh: “Our objective is clear. We are here to play well and win
well. The NFF are doing their part well by ensuring comfortable
traveling and accommodation arrangements. Now, we will go to the field
tomorrow and give our very best for our country.
“I have confidence in this group. The players still need time and
matches to bond together very well, but I love the hunger to achieve
that I see in these boys.”
Today’s match will kick off at 7pm Swaziland time, which is 6pm in Nigeria.
The winner will go straight into the 20–team, mini-league phase beginning next year.
Obafemi has declared that he would make Nigerian soccer fans happy
with his ‘usual business’ of scoring goals, if Coach Sunday Oliseh
decides to give him chance to do so.
“People know me for goal scoring ability and that is what I have come to
do for the Super Eagles. I will be happy to play if I am given a
shirt,” Obafemi said.
The Super Eagles under Coach Oliseh has prosecuted four matches,
losing 2-0 to Congo, beat Guinea 2-0, drew 1-1 with Tanzania and
defeated the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon 3-0 in recent friendly game
in Brussels, Belgium.
A 36-year-old man has undergone the world’s first successful head
transplant. The groundbreaking operation took a team of surgeons 19
hours to complete and has allowed the patient to be cancer-free.
Paul Horner, who was diagnosed with bone cancer five years ago, was
on the verge of death when he was approved for the controversial and
possibly deadly operation.
Doctor Tom Downey, who was part of the South African team who carried
out the operation, told CNN he is thrilled about the results. “It’s a
massive breakthrough. We’ve proved that it can be done – we can give
someone a brand new body that is just as good, or better, than their
previous one.
The success of this operation leads to infinite possibilities.”
Surgeons at Charlotte Maxexe Johannesburg Academic Hospital in SA did
the operation in February but had to wait until they could confirm it
was successful before they made any public statement.
Downey spoke to reporters on the complexity behind the first ever
head transplant. “This procedure is another excellent example of how
medical research, technical know-how and patient-centered care can be
combined in the quest to relieve human suffering.”
The operation was led by Professor Myron Danus and took place on February 10, 2015.
“Our goal is for Horner to be fully functional in two years and so
far we are very pleased by his rapid recovery,” said prof. Danus.
He added, “Before the operation, Horner’s body was riddled with cancer and he had less than a month to live.
We were fortunate enough to find a donor body; a 21-year-old man who
has been brain dead from a serious car accident that happened in 2012.
BARELY 24 hours after former governor
Rotimi Amaechi was inaugurated as minister, the Rivers State chapter of
the All Progressives Congress on Thursday set an agenda for him to
revamp the Port Harcourt International Airport perceived to be one of
the worst airports in the world.
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The
state APC congratulated the former governor and also urged him to begin
the immediate rehabilitation of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport, Abuja, and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The state APC, in a statement signed by
its Chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, recalled that while the international
airport in Abuja had been rated the seventh worst in Africa, the one in
Lagos was rated the 10th worst airport in Africa.
Explaining that the current conditions
of the three airports were unacceptable, the party expressed the
confidence that Amaechi would use his wealth of experience to correct
the anomaly imposed on Nigerians by the immediate past administration of
Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
“This is not acceptable to us and we
wish that Amaechi quickly corrects this shameful anomaly imposed on us
by the visionless administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and his
misguided Peoples Democratic Party.
“We heartily congratulate our leader on
his meritorious appointment as the Minister of Transport while at the
same time we extend our heartfelt gratitude to President Muhammadu
Buhari for his confidence in Amaechi.
“We wish to assure Mr. President and all
Nigerians that Amaechi, who has a track record of performance, will
deliver even beyond expectations if given the necessary cooperation,”
the state APC stressed.
It noted that the former governor of
River State possessed a track record of performance and expressed
gratitude to President Buhari for appointing Amaechi as a minister.
The party pointed out that Amaechi was
coming into the transport ministry at a time when the railway system in
the country remained moribund with the maritime sector in a chaotic
state.
It said, “Amaechi is coming in as the
transport minister at a time when the railway system is moribund and the
maritime sector is in a chaotic state.
“We know what Amaechi is made of and we
expect him not only to turn around the fortunes of the railway system,
but also to do the same to the maritime sector.”
The party appealed to all Rivers people
and Nigerians generally to accord Amaechi the support and prayers he
needed to enable him to take the sector to the next level.
It also congratulated the 35 other
ministers and called on Nigerians to cooperate with them so that the
citizenry could feel the positive change promised by the APC.
Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has said that low income earners in the state will not pay the Land Use Charge.
The governor, who spoke on Thursday,
said palaces of traditional rulers and places of worship would be
exempted from paying the Land Use Charge.
Civil society groups and some residents
had on Monday protested against the property taxation law, a policy
which they claimed would further impoverish the poor.
But Oshiomhole, who spoke in Benin
during a town hall meeting to mark his seventh year in office, explained
that the law, which was introduced in 2012, was aimed at boosting the
Internally Generated Revenue of the state and using it to improve the
lot of the masses.
He also said that he hoped to bequeath a strong financial base to his successor.
The governor said, “Let me assure you
that over the next 12 months, we will continue to complete the projects
that we have already started. We will start new ones that we need to
start; we will re-engineer the finances of the state. We will enforce
the collection of the Land Use Charge in the areas that are covered.
“And I would like to explain that we
will never, even in the name of revenue drive, collect Land Use Charge
from high density areas; Land Use Charge is restricted to low density
areas.”
He continued, “If you occupy 10,000
square-metre residence, for God’s sake, you have to pay the Land Use
Charge. We cannot accept a situation where one man would own 200 houses,
and 100 of such houses are locked up; you are not paying taxes (but) a
poor man with two wives and 40 children live in a bungalow at Upper
Sakponba. Let me assure our people, we will not collect Land Use Charge
from poor family houses.”
“We will not collect Land Use Charge
from poor communities. We will not collect Land Use Charge from
palaces, from churches, from places of worship. We will not collect from
the poor but this government will collect Land Use Charge from the
rich.”
But
in a swift reaction, NDIMRC in a press release signed by its President, Nelly
Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer, Stanley Mukoro, the
group implored President Buhari to ignore the group, saying its members were out
to give the Minister a bad name while at the same time seeking for self
recognition.
