NNPC to supply 20% of Nigeria’s fuel demand

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) hopes that its domestic refineries can cover 20 percent of Nigeria’s petroleum products needs, the head of refining recently told Reuters.

Ian Udoh, the group executive director of refining and petrochemicals, said that he expected to receive six cargoes a month of Nigerian Bonny Light and Escravos crude oil to run 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) or 40 percent, of Nigeria’s total refining capacity.  He said he expected to produce 8 million litres a day of petrol, accounting for about 20 percent of Nigeria’s estimated consumption.

The 125,000 bpd Warri refinery started production after maintenance and is expected to run at 60,000 bpd. The Port Harcourt complex will start ramping up over the next two weeks but only the newer of the two plants at the site is functional and at 90,000 bpd versus its 150,000 bpd capacity. The last refinery to restart will be the northern Kaduna refinery as it will take about two more weeks to repair the pipeline bringing crude from the oil-rich delta in the south.

Nigeria has wholly depended on subsidised fuel imports and crude-for-product swap agreements and suffered acute fuel shortages in May.

Lamido cries out from prison: I’m being persecuted over 2019 Presidency

After spending 72 hours with his two sons in Kano Central Prison, immediate past governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has imputed political motives to his incarceration.

According to the former governor, he is being persecuted by those who feel that they would not be able to actualise their presidential ambition with him around the political arena.

Lamido, who spoke through his media aide, Umar Kyari, yesterday, drew the attention of Nigerians and the international community to the attempt being made by those he called “my political enemies” to silence him using the instrumentality of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Lamido pointed out that it was clear from the outset that there was a grand design to put him away in prison for a long time under the guise of money laundering and sundry charges so as to pave the way for his political enemies to have their way.

The former governor, whose many supporters relocated to the Kano Central Prison where they kept  vigil over him and his two sons, said he was determined to prove to Nigerians that he was innocent but was merely being witch-hunted by those who feel threatened by his rising political profile.

Lamido’s spokesman said: “This current effort to frame and denigrate the former governor of Jigawa State with a view to rubbishing his high performance in office will come to naught at the end of the day.

“Lamido remains nothing but a scion of accountability and integrity who has always fought on the side of the people, particularly the downtrodden and the vulnerable, since he came into the national political scene.

“He remains unshaken over the trumped-up charges slammed on him by the EFCC knowing that he has not committed any offense to warrant being thrown into the prison over a bailable offense.

“But the refusal by his traducers to grant him and his sons bail when others charged same day and time for even more grievous offences were admitted to bail speaks volume of the intention and mindset of those who are after him.

I’m not caged, Buhari replies Nyiam

President Muhammadu Buhari declared, yesterday, that he was not caged by any group or individuals and that he was in firm control of the presidency and the country.

The President was reacting to assertion by Col. Tony Nyiam (rtd), who in an exclusive interview with a national daily yesterday stated that President Buhari was caged by some powerful forces around him who now dictate and determine most decisions of the President, especially in the areas of political appointments.

Nyiam was quoted as saying that some of the appointments of the president were lopsided.

He said: “One of the greatest things I heard from Buhari was when he said ‘I belong to everyone, I belong to no one.’ I believe him, but I do hope he doesn’t allow some irredentists around him to prevent him from practicalizing it and not for his own ethnic nationality.

“The recent appointments we have seen so far suggest that President Buhari is being misguided and being pushed to be very partial. He has made critical appointments in three critical areas. One is the Accountant General of the Federa­ tion, the Director of DPR and the acting INEC chairman. These three critical appointments and of course that of the Chief of Staff are all coming from the same zone.

“There is also that of the Director General of the DSS, Daura. Not only is he a man that has been in retirement, he is directly from the president’s town. If Jonathan had done the same thing by appointing the Director of DPR and the Accountant General from the South-South, people would have raised hell.

“You must remember that the Accountant General took over from someone from the South-West, Otulana. Why couldn’t Buhari appoint a south westerner, at least as a gesture to the South-West for the support they gave him. The DPR director was an Igbo chap. I think these appointments are clearly indicative that the President has not been allowed to follow his principle that he belongs to everyone.

“President Buhari is a man I served with, he is a man who is a true Nigerian; he is a man who is a true man of God. What I am suggesting is that he appears increasingly and gradually being caged by irredentists who are going to spoil his chances of becoming the Mandela of Nigeria.

“I have said it before that the closest analogue of Mandela in Nigeria is Buhari. But it does seem to me that some elements, some irredentists with agenda will not allow Nigeria benefit from such a figure.”

But reacting to the statement, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said though individuals are entitled to their opinions, the comments credited to Nyiam were not true.

According to him, if Col. Nyiam admitted to have a vast knowledge and workings of the President in the past and also spotted his impeccability, he was in a better position to tell other people that President Buhari cannot change.

Said he: “Well, Col. Nyiam is just an individual. He is entitled to his opinion. But his opinion is not necessarily right. The fact that he said it does not mean it is true.

“I am happy that he knows the person of President Buhari deeply. If that is the case, he cannot easily admit that the man he spoke glowingly about cannot change or be influenced by anybody.

“Everyone in Nigeria knows President Buhari. He had been a Head of State and we saw how he dealt with corruption and even now, he is not relenting. As a matter of fact, he made corruption the chief issue among his campaign promises and he is dealing with that.

“Besides, he has said right from his swearing in that he belongs to no one but everyone. Why would he now change? And don’t forget that the President before he was elected, ran for the same office three times. So, would he win and then give his presidency to someone else to run for him?

“Again, the President has said he does not have northern agenda. Look, Nigerians needed change and they have got that by voting President Buhari to power. He has a national agenda because he was voted for by all Nigerians.

“So, it will be preposterous to accuse Mr. President of having pro-North agenda or that he is caged. Caged by whom? He is the President of Nigeria and should be seen and addressed as such.”

Why we chose Oliseh – Pinnick

 President of the Nigeria Football Federation Amàju Pinnick has for the first time spoken on why former captain Sunday Oliseh was considered worthy replacing sacked Stephen Keshi as the next Super Eagles coach.

 Oliseh, a former Dortmund defensive midfielder is set to be named Eagles coach this week in Abuja and speaking  at the Warri City stadium during yesterday’s league match between Warri Wolves   and Enyimba, Pinnick said Oliseh was deemed the best hand for the Eagles because of his high intellectual capacity in coaching and recommendations by the Federation of International Football Associations.

Oliseh has a UEFA Pro Licence certificate, regarded as the highest coaching certificate in the world but comes with a baggage of no experience managing a top team in Europe, Africa, America and no p riot experience coaching of a junior national side.

But rising to defend their choice of Oliseh, Pinnick said the best experience needed to do the job were intellectual capacity and prior experience as a player.

“I absolutely feel that we have made the right choice by picking Oliseh to handle the Super Eagles. In this age of technological advancement, we must start doing things differently. We need a coach with sound intellectual capacity and one who has the highest coaching certificate. He is working with FIFA at the technical study group. The world recognises him and FIFA even recommended him. He has the passion to coach the Eagles and that is also important for us.

“On his lack of experience, Nigerians must realise that he’s not the first to be first named in the world. Berti Vogts and Juergen Klinsmann didn’t have experience when they were appointed, so why the   noise about Oliseh”, asked Pinnick rhetorically

BREAKING: Court orders ex-Gov. Lamido, sons remanded in jail for 2 months

A federal court has ordered a former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, and his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha, accused of fraud, to be remanded in prison custody in Kano till September 28.

The former governor was arraigned on Thursday alongside his children for receiving N1.35 billion kickback from a government contractor.

The money was paid into accounts controlled by the governor and his sons.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, accused the trio of money laundering, amongst other charges.

They were due for arraignment Wednesday, but the court appearance was rescheduled to Thursday.
Security was stepped up around the court vicinity in Kano ahead of the hearing Thursday.

Delivering her judgement, Justice Evelyn Anyadike ruled that the four accused persons be remanded in a Kano Prison Custody because the EFCC said they lacked enough facilities to accommodate them.

She rejected the pleas of defense counsel, Effiong Effiong, SAN, that the accused by kept at EFCC custody, saying the commission had complained of adequate facilities.

Twenty eight-count charge bordering on a number of alleged breach of trust by Sule Lamido, Aminu Sule
Lamido, Mustapha Sule Lamido and one Aminu Wada Abubakar, was read in the court.

The case involved N1.351 billion.

The judge ruled that the accused persons be remanded pending the hearing of their bail applications.
Earlier, the defense counsel, Mr. Effiong had argued that remanding the accused persons in prison will amount to trampling on their fundamental human rights.

He pleaded they be sent to EFCC facilities.

However, the counsel to EFCC, Chile Okoroma, objected to the plea saying their EFCC facilities were full to capacity both in Kano and Abuja.

The case was adjourned to 28 September for ruling on bail application.
There was pandemonium in court between those supporting Mr. Lamido and those against, leading police to fire into the air to disperse the crowd.

Boko Haram may resume talks with FG

Sources close to the leadership of the Boko Haram insurgents have told Vanguard that the group might have agreed to hold talks with the new leadership in Nigeria with the aim of ending the six-year-old insurgency in the country.

One of the sources which had been involved in previous attempts to broker peace between the Federal Government and the terrorists group confirmed to Vanguard last night that there were some level of discussions between the group and the government but that the “government does not want to be seen to be negotiating with the terrorists.”

The source, who works with an international agency with some presence in Nigeria, said: “I can tell you that there is some behind-the-scene informal discussion with certain segments of the Buhari administration, going on in Nigeria.

“But the truth is that the government does not want to be seen to be talking with the group apparently because of the failure of all previous efforts to dialogue with the Boko Haram men in and outside Nigeria under the previous administration.

“The aim of the renewed effort is to resuscitate the discussions from where we ended abruptly under the Jonathan administration and take it forward from there since there is a new government in place in Nigeria.

“The true position is that some of those with contacts with the leadership of the Boko Haram have gone back to assure them that there is a new government in place and that things can be done differently from what it was in the past when they were dribbled over and over again by top government officials who wanted to make quick gains under the guise of negotiating with the militants.”

The source said the militant leaders had been assured that the Buhari government was more open and ready to negotiate with them.

“Indeed, we have begun the peace process from the Boko Haram side and that may signal a new hope for the release of the missing Chibok girls,” the source said.

It will be recalled that the Presidency had hinted last week that it might negotiate with the dreaded Boko Haram leadership in order to end the cycle of violence that has wreaked havoc in Nigeria in the last six years.

Presidential spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, who gave the hint, did not, however, give a timeline when the negotiation would start and who the government intended to deal with in carrying out the assignment.

Boko Haram is said to be offering to free more than 200 young women and girls kidnapped from a boarding school in the town of Chibok in exchange for the release of militant leaders held by the government.

An Associated Press quoted an unnamed activist as saying that Boko Haram’s current offer is limited to the Chibok girls who were taken in April 2014.

“The new initiative reopens an offer made last year to the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan to release the 219 students in exchange for 16 Boko Haram detainees,” the activist said.

He said the five-week-old administration of President Muhammadu Buhari offers “a clean slate” to bring the militants back to negotiations that had become poisoned by the different security agencies and their advice to Jonathan.