NEWS MIRROR

Men caught with human head  By Akinola Ajibade Police operatives have arrested two married men, Peter Ochigbo, 42, and Samuel Bachu, 35 with a human head. They are Peter Ochigbo, 42 and Samuel Bachu, 35. The two were caught in Abuja with the head of a yet-to-be identified woman. In a video, the suspects could be seen with the head answering questions from a security personnel.  During the interrogation, Peter Ochigbo claimed he was set up by his friend named Peter Etuma. He claims Etuma was the one who took him to Abuja and also provided the human head. He added that Etuma called him to meet him somewhere and he did, not knowing that Etuma had called the police. He said when the police arrived they arrested him with the human head, when asked where the got the head from, Ochigbo feigned ignorance. The police are still investigating the matter and those culpable would face the law.

Usman  By Akinola Ajibade Nigeria's Inspector-General of Police, Bala Usman,  will spend the next three months in prison, if the judgement of Federal High Court sitting in  Abuja is anything to go by. Usman was sentenced to prison for disobeying a court order. The Presiding Judge, Mobolaji Olajuwon,  presiding judge, issued the ruling yesterday ( Tuesday), following a suit filed by Patrick Okoli, a former police officer who claims he was unlawfully and compulsorily retired from the Nigerian police force. In an affidavits signed in support of the suit, the applicant (Okoli) an officer was believed to have been forcefully retired in June 1992. He had challenged his forceful retirement in Court, after which a  Bauchi high court on February 19, 1994, delivered judgment in his  favour and further quashed the letter of compulsory retirement. Also, the court ordered that the applicant be reinstated with all rights and privileges. Recalled that the Poli...

PHOTO AND CAPTION Okunbor   Shell has started distribution of $1million relief materials to victims of flood in the Niger Delta region, just as the International Oil Companies  (IOC) and other stakeholders called on Nigerians to follow suit,  Speaking on the issue, Country Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Mr. Osagie Okunbor, said that it would be a good thing, if other corporate institutions supported the victims during their difficult times.  Okunbor, while speaking during the distribution of relief matr to victims at Ahoada, Rivers state, recently, noted that  Shell commenced distribution of relief materials to   some   impacted communities   in   Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Imo   states. He said that: “Shell is providing these relief materials because we do not want you to go through this sad experience alone   as   government a...

Sadiya Farouk  By Akinola Ajibade The Finance Ministry has  padded the 2023 budget of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs,  Disaster Management and Social Development, with N206 billion, its Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has said. She disclosed this recently during her appearance before the Senate Panel on Special Duties to defend the 2023 budget.. According to her, the inistry requested for some projects for the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and National Social Safety Net Project in the 2022 budget, the funds were however not released to it by the finance ministry. She expressed surprise that the funds found their way into the 2023 budget, only this time they were increased 10 times than the original request made. She said:”Yes we made mention of the projects for 2022 which were not released and part of it was for the NEDC.The money was not released and now we have seen it recurring by almost 10 folds and we are also going to clarify from the mini...

UCH building By Akinola Ajibade No fewer than 780 health workers have resigned from the University Teaching Hospital (UCH) in the past one year. They  include Medical Doctors, Pharmacists, Nurses among other clinical workers.  UCH in a report, said the institution have been finding it difficult to get replacement for them, due to problems such as poor welfare conditions, insecurity among others. The Chief Medical Director, UCH, Prof Jesse Otegbayo said at a news conference to mark the 65th Founder Day of the institution in Ibadan recently. He said that at least 15 Nurses, Doctors and Pharmacists, among others exit the varsity’s teaching institution every week, a figure, which when multiplued by 52 weeks in a year, gives a total of 780 workers. He said: “Every week, I signed resignation letters of 15 health workers at the institution, who are mostly clinicians, that is, Nurses, Doctors and Pharmacists, among others.” According to him,between 2020 and October 15, 202...

Gen Danjuma ( retd) By Akinola Ajibade A firm owned by a Nigerian billionaire and former defense minister, Gen Theophilus Danjuma( rted) is suing an ex-business partner that’s at the center of a high-stakes London trial over an $11 billion arbitration award, previously unreported court documents show. A UK tribunal ordered Nigeria’s government in 2017 to pay Process and Industrial Development Ltd $6.6 billion in damages after a gas-supply deal soured, and the amount has ballooned with interest. Theophilius Danjuma’s Tita-Kuru Petrochemicals Ltd. brought its own arbitration claim against P&ID in London in 2020, alleging that its designs had been “unlawfully misappropriated” to secure the gas contract, Nigeria said in a filing to a UK court in February. “P&ID firmly denies that it unlawfully misappropriated anything from Tita-Kuru,” the company’s majority shareholder, Seamus Andrew, said by email, declining to comment further on the arbitration because the proceedings...

Omo-Agege By Akinola Ajibade The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has revealed how he stopped the 8th Senate led by Bukola Saraki from impeaching President Muhammadu Buhari, saying he does not regret his actions. Omo-Agege, who is the Deputy Senate President, stated this during his governorship campaign in Asaba, Delta State. . He said on April 18, 2018, armed thugs stormed the Senate to allegedly reinstate the then-suspended senator, Ovie Omo-Agege. They overpowered the security men and forcibly took away the mace around 11:30 a.m. “The mace is the symbol of authority of the legislature, without which the Senate cannot commence a legislative session. The invaders, numbering 12, came in three Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), which were parked in front of the National Assembly building that houses the two chambers”. He added that he never regretted thwarting the plan of Saraki and others by shutting down the assembly to save the s...

Yussuf  By Favour Ajibade The current spate of inflation is weakening purchasing power of citizens, eroding incomes and culminated in increase in poverty level, the Chief Executive Officer, Centre For Promotion Of Private Enterprise,Dr.Muda Yussuf,has said.  Nigeria's inflationary rates stood at 20.77 per cent in September before it jumped to 21.09 in October 2022 Inflation is also contributing to the escalation of production costs which negatively impacts profitability,he said in his comment on October inflation in the country. According to him,the development also accounts for erosion of shareholder value in many businesses and weakening of investors’ confidence in the country. Headline inflation accelerated to 21.09% in as against 20.77 in September. On a month-on-month assessment, there was a decline of 0.11% in the headline inflation. It declined from 1.36% in September to 1.24% in October. Food inflation maintained its upward trajectory, accelerating to 23.72...

SNEPCO's FPSO By Akinola Ajibade Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) has completed the its Turnaround  Maintainance(ATM) of the Bonga Foating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO)  The firm, in a statement made available to the Newsmirror, said that the turnaround maintain of the 225kbopd capacity FPSO closed on October 18, 2022. The development, the firm, said would enable it carry out statutory inspections, recertifications and other critical asset integrity restoration activities. The 2022 TAM which was originally planned for 30 days was completed in 22 days on November 9, 2022 due to excellent front-end planning and flawless execution. A statement from the company said commissioning and start-up activities are in progress and will culminate in ramp up of oil and gas production in the coming days.

Femi Kuti Afrobeat star,  Femi Anikulapo Kuti says many people do not like him, because he is a biological son of Fela Anikulapo Kuti.  He said  this during recent episode of #WithChude, to discuss being a single father, the loss of his parents, and the impact it had on his life. He spoke on the challenges in his life,saying: “I have had many low points. The beatings of my father started when I was a teenager. So, schooling was a very depressing time for me because there were teachers that liked [my father], and teachers that didn’t like him. So, if I got into trouble with a teacher that didn’t like him, that teacher will beat me because they didn’t like my father. Then there were the rich children in the same school, and they didn’t like me because I was Fela’s son. So, I was fighting for most of my time in school”. He also spoke on dealing with grief after the death of his loved ones, especially his mother. “I’ve also experienced death. The passing of my mot...

Wabote By Favour Ajibade TheNigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has moved flagship annual Practical Nigerian Content conference (PNC) to Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, its Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote has said.. According to Wabote, the development became necessary due to incessant floodings in the country. He made this announcement in an email to staff and other stakeholders to confirm that the event would still be held on the scheduled dates, which are 5th – 8th December 2022, and would attract major stakeholders in the oil and gas industry from across Nigeria. Wabote explained that the change in venue for the conference was due to the unprecedented flood situation that has ravaged 31 states in the country and its impact on the scheduled conference. He said: “We are saddened to come to the realization that the event is now threatened due to the unprecedented flooding that affected 31 states in the country, including Bayelsa State with...

By  Favour Ajibade Nigeria and 11 other African countries have lost millions of dollars to a hacking group based in an unknown french speaking African country, a Singapore-based cyber security firm Group IB and Orange CERT, the IT security arm of French telecommunications company Orange have revealed in a report.   In the    report Nigeria and 11 other African countries lost millions of dollars to a hacking group based in an unknown French-speaking African country. According to the report, the threat actor, which mainly targeted Francophone Africa was codenamed OPERA1ER and relied solely on known off-the-shelf tools. The report said the threat actor managed to launch over 30 successful attacks against banks, financial services providers, and telecommunication companies between 2018 and 2022, stealing $11 million in the process. The actual amount of damage could be up to five times higher than the amount stolen. “According to our calculations, the total amou...

By Akinola Ajibade Fuel scarcity may linger for some time, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), stock of the product declined marginally by 5,481,239 litres on November 7. This implies that inability of the state owned Corporation to refill its stock is going to have adverse effects on supply of the product to marketers and consumers in general. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which dropped the hint in a document titled: “Petroleum Products Stock & Days Sufficiency Data on 7th November, 2022,” said the total stock, which was 1,912725464 litres on 6th November, 2022, dropped marginally to 1,907,244,225 litres on 7th November, 2022. The NMDPRA based its computation of average daily consumption on 60 million litres. Whereas the stock sufficiency was previously 30.94 days, it dipped to 30.84 days on 7th November, 2022. According to the document, the NMDPRA said on 6th November, it had 620,755,085 litres land-based ...

Buildings submerged by floods By Favour Ajibade Nigeria will experience a more distaatrous flooding incident in 2023, the Director General,  National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Abeeb Muhammed, has said. He attributed the floods that are being experienced in many parts of Nigeria, due to the refusal of state governors to heed the earlier warnings of impending floods in 2022.  He spoke on recently when he appeared  before the Senate Committee on Special Duties led  by Senator Yusuf Yusuf ( APC Taraba state) to defend the 2023 budget proposal of his agency . He urged governments at all levels to prepare  the challenges ahead by establishing local emergency committees to mitigate the devastating impacts of floods and other disasters across the country. “Despite the fact that states are collecting Ecological and other intervention funds from the Federal G0overnment, some of them could not boost the standing committee on disaster managemen...

By Favour Ajibade Oil giants TotalEnergies, Shell and BP, are significantly increasing investments in oil and gas, as part of their long- term to deepening energy diversification plans. The idea is to make them focused in the years ahead. Currently, Shell, BP and TotalEnergies share of low-carbon spend is growing as they try to diversify their portfolios, according to research from credit rating agency Moody’s. The company said: “In the next two decades   BP, Shell and TotalEnergies are aiming to transform themselves into diversified energy companies that own, manage and market energy. They are laying the groundwork for this by gradually repositioning their asset and energy portfolios. “The strategies they are pursuing are broadly similar growing access to renewable energy, investing in existing lower-carbon operations and new energy growth markets but with some differences in emphasis that play to their existing strengths; for example Shell and TotalEnergies have ...

NB, Ibadan Plant, Oyo state By Akinola Ajibade The Ibadan and Ama Breweries may soon get Solar and Battery Storage Hybrid) projects, if all go according to plans. The two are some of the breweries owned by the Nigerian Breweries Plc( NB) in the country. The planned projects are courtesy of the  Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB) and CrossBoundary Energy agreement sealed recently. In a statement made available to the News Mirror, the deal is valued at about $10 million, coupled with the fact it will be one of the largest renewable energy projects for a business in Nigeria. In line with the agreement, CrossBoundary Energy will expand the current renewable energy system at NB’s Ibadan Brewery from a 663 kWp solar PV plant to a hybrid solar-plus-storage facility consisting of a 3 MWp solar PV system and a 2 MW/2 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).  NB Ama Plant,Enugu state NB's Corporate Affairs Director, Sade Morgan, said: “NB’s Ama brewery will receive a 4...

By Akinola Ajibade Universities'Lecturers may go on strike again, following the decision by the Federal Government to renege on some of the promises made to them before the called off their right months old industrial action.  Topping the list of the agreements made with the Academic Staff Union of Universities ( ASUU) was the payments of salaries owed them. However, in a new twist of fate, the lecturers were not fully paid their 'Work Pay' upon resumption of the strike action. Many of the institutions are believed not to be adequately renumerated. They include University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), and other universities that were being paid half salaries for October. The Nigerian government has insisted on implementing the No Work, No Pay policy for the period the university workers who only resumed midd...

Pix showing 20,000 MT cooking gas storage facility in 2023 in Lagos  By Akinola Ajibade Nigeria will in 2023 boasts of the largest Liquefied Petroleum Gas ( LPG) storage facility, with a view to make the product available to more Nigerians and further prevent scarcity, the Chief Executive officer, Ardova Plc, Mr Olumide Adeosun said this recently during a panel session titled: " Emerging Trends in Storage and Distribution of Petroleum Across Africa and Beyond".  The session took place during the Oil Trading Logistics (OTL),  Africa Downstream Conference, in Lagos.  He seized the opportunity offered by the session to show a roadmap of Liquefied Petroleum Gas distribution in Africa. Adeosun, also the Chairman, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), said that the country's largest LPG storage facility will come on stream later in 2023 with 20,000 metric tons in Ijora, Lagos. He  noted that LPG business is going to be well  explored, in...

By Akinola Ajibade The full 23-nation alliance between Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) and and non-members, known as OPEC+, will meet again to review production policy in December,2022, according to Bloomberg's survey. The survey is based on ship-tracking data, information from officials and estimates from consultants including Kpler Ltd., Rystad Energy and Rapidan Energy Group. Meanwhile, OPEC’s crude production was steady in October after the group pledged a symbolic cutback to stabilize market sentiment. The Organization increased daily output by 30,000 barrels to 29.98 million barrels in October, according to a  survey, conducted by the international news agency-Bloomberg.  It had agreed to make a token reduction of 100,000 barrels a day rescinding an increase made the previous month. With so many members already lagging behind their targets few needed to do any actual cutting, and overall output was well below the group’s target even afte...

Shell's Country Chair, Okunbor  By Favour Ajibade Shell in line with its policy to improve the welfare of people in areas of operation, has supported victims of flood disaster in Nigeria with one million US Dollars recently. The aim is to compliment efforts of the Federal Government towards providing relief to  people impacted by the current flood disaster in Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa and Imo States. The company, in a statement, made available to News Mirror, said the donation will be used to procure and distribute food and non-food relief materials, as well as medical supplies, to impacted communities hosting Shell operations in the country. According to Shell, its staff  in Nigeria are also contributing towards a voluntary fund for the purchase of additional relief materials for impacted people,it said in a statement. The Country Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria, and Managing Director, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Mr. O...

Adesina Favour Ajibade  Nigeria, Ghana, Libya, Sierra Leone, Egypt and the remaining fourty nine countries in Africa would need an average of $200billion investments in grid electricity in five years time, the Group Managing Director, Sahara Power Group, Mr Kola Adesina, has said. He said all the countries in the continent, would averagely  invest $40 billion yearly on grid investments in the next five years. Overall, this amount to $200billion in the period stated above. According to him, the investments would the continent to deliver stable electricity to their  citizens for socio-economic growth. Delivering a keynote address on “The Future of Power in Africa”  at the Lagos Business School recently,  Adesina said that the projections indicate an increase in energy demand across Africa in the coming years. He noted that in 2040, this demand could be around 30 per cent higher than what was obtainable currently, adding that it was vital for all stakeh...

Dead bodies in Edo state By Akinola Ajibade It was a gory picture to look at yesterday, as 10 unidentified corpses were put beside the road in  Ibillo Community in Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State yesterday. Guess who did this? Nobody knows.  According to residents, some of the bodies were discovered around 7.30 in the morning, by people, who are  heading to farm to work before the rising of the sun. Immediately, they alerted members of the vigilante group who sarched the area, only to recover more bodies, a development, which brought their  numbers to ten.  A resident in the area, Comrade Victor Arogunyo,who confirmed the incident on phone, said the police  have been contacted, adding that the idea resulted in the evacuation of the corpses  by the people, mostly medical personnel at the  Hospital Ibillo. He said:”This morning, I got a call that our  farmers discovered some dead bodies by the sides of the road. Expecte...

Above: EKEDC's Corporate Head Office  Below, its Chief Executive officer, Mrs Tinuade Sanda By Akinola Ajibade Eko  Electricity Distribution Company (EKDC) has taken delivery of 150 transformers, with a view to improve power supply and socio-economic activities in its areas of jurisdiction, its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Godwin Ihemudia has said. He said in a statement made available to News Mirror that the 150 transformers will be added to the 110 already on ground for distribution to relieve communities whose transformers are currently overloaded. According to him, the initiative is one of the  numerous CAPEX investments the company has made towards improving its services to the customers, assuring that more developments are underway. He explained that this will improve the distribution company’s services to its customers and also assist in providing a steady and stable power supply across its franchise areas.  The  tran...

.         President Muhammad Buhari By Akinola Ajibade The Federal Government has ruled out attacks against the country before and after 2023 general elections, urging Nigerians to go about their daily activities without any fear molestation.  This is coming on the heels of the recent secutiny advisories by the United States and United Kingdom, which warned their citizens to stay clear of impending  attacks against the country.  The two countries have seperatly raised alarm that Nigeria is under serious attacks by insurgents and others soon, and that their nationals in Nigeria should beware. Speaking after a Security Council Meeting presided over by President Muhammed Buhari in Abuja, the  National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno,   said the situation is under control,  and also described as false and irresponsible the perception of heightened insecurity in Abuja as painted by the UK and the US. He insisted...