NEWS MIRROR

By Akinola Ajibade Nigeria, Libya and other African p roducers of crude oil have failed to meet the quote allocated to them by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) in April this year. OPEC has fixed April for Nigeria to meet its quota as part of efforts by the group to buoy prices of the product at the international market and further restore growth.  Nigeria, which is one of the major producers of crudes  in  Africa is bedivilled by problems such. as crude oil theft and  lack of investment in recent times.  The country , on the average, lost 350,000 to 400,000 barrels per day during the period under review according to the minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva. He said the country has, however, begun to ramp up its production level and very soon it would meet the 1.75 million barrels per day allocated to it by OPEC. The country produced 1 .39 million barrels per day as against its April allocation of 1.735 million bpd by OPEC. A rece

  By Akinola Ajibade Ogun state government has paid  N8.4billion outof N14.4b owed its workers, the governor Dapo Abiodun hs said.  It owed salaries from May 2019 to March 2022. He  said efforts were on-going to settle  outstanding balance of N6billion . He spoke in Abeokuta during the 2022 Workers’ Day celebration.  The government, Abiodun said, would look into the non payment of leave allowances spanning seven years as well as issues surrounding Contributory  Pension Law. He added:”Sincerely, we acknowledge your perseverance on the three critical issues that we have had to grapple with. The first is the global deductions which are now 21 months arrears. From May 2019 to March 2022,  total deductions and loans amounted to about N14.4billion  out of which a total of N8.4billion had been paid by our administration to date, including regular payment of check-off dues, loans and shillings deductions. Abiodun said that the government would pay the outstanding balance to N6 bill

By Akinola Ajibade The Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company Plc (“Kaduna Electric”) has announced Engr. Yusuf Usman Yahaya as its new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer. His appointment follows the resignation of Engr. Garba Haruna who has led the Company since 2014 and has intonated the board of the company to move on to pursue other professional and personal endeavours. Yahaya assumes leadership of the power firm with diverse public and private sector experiences and educational background in Petroleum and Gas Engineering from University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria, a Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University, Scotland and is currently a fellow of Doctor of Philosophy.  He has received training in policy design and evaluation at Oxford University and Harvard University.Until his appointment, Yahaya was an expert Consultant with the USAID Nigerian Power Secto

By Akinola Ajibade Nigeria"s electricity network may enjoy a reasonable level of stability soon, if the promises by the European Union ( EU) is anything to go by. This happens as the  country is battling network  problems, occasioned by incessant breakdown of the it's grid and its attendant difficulties in enduring that Nigerians  access electricity adequately. The Team Leader, EU's and Delegation to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) on Green and Digital  Economy  Ms Inga said this during an interview with the media. According to her there was an imbalance in the system,  adding that there are fluctuations to be addressed in tackling electricity problems in the country. “Looking at the northern part of the country, power supply is weaker in that area.We are supporting the TCN to cut off some transmission lines that will help in stabilising the network. “The network in the North West is ongoing at the moment and the EU is funding it to be more

By Akinola Ajibade The Petroleum Industry Act( PIA) will boost the growth of the Nigeria'n oil and gas sector, once the institutions in the industry have the right leadership attitudes and frameworks to spur it's growth and the economy in particular, a professor of petroleum economy, Wunmi Iledare has said.  He said this during his opening remarks at the third Society of Petroleum Engineer, Benin Biennial Technical Symposium recently in Benin, Edo State. According to him,the PIA is legislated for efficient and effective industry governance, adding that this role can be materialised once the leaderdhi of institutions in the sector is anchored on sound knowledge of the businesses in the industry, not sentiments. Such institutions, he said, said must also motivate individuals to engage in critical thinking in order to discourage mediocrity. He also said the institutions should possess leadership that is willing to process diversity of ideas with institutional enri

The  Power Ministry is fond of postulating theories that do not translate into power supply to Nigerians, the House of Representatives Committee on Power has said  Its chairman, Hon. Magaji Da’u Aliyu,said during a  special interactive session in Abuja that the Ministry has practically not addressed issues that surround the sector in Nigeria. She said that  the seemingly  unenthusiastic and fire brigade attitude of the Ministry towards power issues each time there is a national emergency is not good enough. Also, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry  Nebolisa Anoka who represented the Minister, Abubakar Aliyu,  stated that there was nothing in the presentation to show that the Ministry was solving the problems. Anoka  listed challenges facing the sector to include low gas supply,  hydro levels, as well as disequilibrium between power generation, transmission and distribution which led to the collapse of the national grid, stressing that the Ministry has been doing a lot in order to

By Akinola Ajibade The Federal Government has spent  N675. 93 billin on subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit(PMS)  popularly called petrol for the first three months of 2022,  the latest data obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on Wednesday has shown.. Figures obtained by the News Mirror from NNPC in Aburo recently shows that the oil firm has spent N210.38billlion in January, N219.78bilion in February and N245.77 billion in March this year respectively.  Prior to this period, the Nation Oil Company ( NOC) has on behalf of the government informed the Federation Account Allocation Committee that it would deduct or recover  N671.88bn from April 2022 proceeds due for sharing at the May 2022 FAAC meeting. In the formation, the  government  described the N671.88bn as a value shortfall incurred by the NNPC, since  the oil firm  remained the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria and has been subsidising the commodity using billions of naira monthly This implies that within

By Akinola Ajibade  The  Ekiti State Police Command has arrested four people for conspiring together to rape and videotaping a 28 years old lady. In a press statement  signed and released to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP by the Command’s Spokesperson, ASP Abutu Sunday, the Command said that: "The Juvenile Welfare Centre (JWC) of the State CID,, on 21/04/2022 arrested four individuals for raping and other criminal activities. The suspects are Miracle Emmanuel ’19yrs’, Bello Tunde ’20yrs’, Peace Osho ’20yrs’ and Emmanuel Oluwaseun ’22yrs’ for conspiracy to rape a lady on her 20s cyber stalking her among other numerous offences. According to the statement, “The victim narrated that on 5/4/2022, her boyfriend, one Victor who is currently at large, invited her to Lovely Hotel, Ado-Ekiti. She obliged after much persuasion and went to the Hotel to see Victor.” To her dismay, according to her, on getting to one of the Hotel rooms where Vic

By Akinola Ajibade The Nigerian Customs Service( NCS) have seized contrabands worth N232.53 million in the last one month.  The Federal Operations Unit( FOU) Zone B Kaduna of the Service seized thegoods. The items was siezed between March 23 and April 25, 2022. Presenting the stewardship of the Service duringg an interview with the media recently, NCS iComptroller Al Bashir Hamisu, said the items include: 1,314 bags of foreign parboiled rice, a total of 219,000 tablets of Ladinax and Sifdol both unregistered pharmaceuticals, 642 cartons of foreign spaghetti and macaroni, 303 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) 25Liter size. Also, the Customs Public Relations Officer (CPRO) MA Magaji, in a statement, said:that the seizure is part of the efforts of the NCS to free the country of illegally imported goods. The statement said: “Prominent among the interceptions made were 15 bags of 100kg beans containing foreign parboiled rice ingeniously concealed with the beans, 94 bales of

By Akinola Ajibade Three suspects have been remanded by the Badagry Magistrate"s Court for  assaulting a staff of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC). They are  Sikiru Suleman, 43; Omoghene Emmanuel, 19; and Ezike Eucharia, 42.  The trio are cooling their feet at the  Badagry Correctional Centre for assaulting a staff of the utility firm, Janet Onosherena Alugbhe, at Hughes Avenue in Alasia Ijanikin, Lagos. In a statement signed and made available to the News Mirror,. the company's  spokesperson of EKEDC, Godwin idemudia, said that the suspects assaulted  the victim while discharging her lawful duties as a field-representative officer. He said: "  On April 17, 2022, Alugbhe visited the area to collect evidence of meter bypass after she had received information about the massive cases of such illegal activity in that area. On her way out of the avenue, she was mobbed and violated by about 30 people. She was pulled from a bike by her hair, her clothes w

By Akinola Ajibade  The Chief Whip of the Senate,. Orji Kalu, says he would not contest for the office of the President, once the major political parties zone their tickets to the South-Eastern part of Nigeria.  In a statement issued yesterday ( Tuesday) in Abuja and made available to News Mirror',  said that it was his desire and intention to run for the Presidency. According to him, I am committed to this pursuit, but I can’t make an official declaration to this regard without the full support of other regions. He said: " Everywhere in the world, politics is situational and that of Nigeria is exceptionally situational. The situation in Nigeria is that without the support of other regions, it would amount to a shadow chase for a South Easterner to be President. Adding that: " This is the reason I have been in the frontline of the call that the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should zone t

By Akinola Ajibade Zenith Bank Plc has emerged as the Best Bank in Nigeria in the Global Finance Magazine’s Best Banks Awards 2022, retaining the award for a third consecutive year. The Bank was among other banks from 36 countries in Africa recognised as the prestigious Global Finance announced its 29th Annual Best Bank Awards Winners.T he editors of Global Finance made the selections after extensive consultations with corporate financial executives, bankers and banking consultants, and analysts worldwide.G Global Finance considered factors that ranged from the quantitative objective to the informed subjective in selecting the top banks.  Objective criteria considered included: growth in assets, profitability, geographic reach, strategic relationships, new business development and innovation in products, while Subjective criteria included the opinions of equity analysts, credit rating analysts, banking consultants and others involved in the industry. Commenting on the award

By Akinola Ajibade Plans are underway to detonate explosives in some parts of Nigeria', as the 2023 elections are fast approaching, the  Department of State Services (DSS) has said. This happens as wanton killings and destruction of properties continue unabated in the country,  a development widely attributed to Insurgency and armed robbery in Nigeria  DSS drew the attention of Nigerians to the plans that are being orchestrated by criminal elements in the country yesterday.  According to the Service Spokesman, Dr Peter N.Afunanya, plans are been made to return Nigeria to  the pre-2015 era reminiscent of  Improvised Explosive Devices IED attacks on soft and hard targets in parts of the country. He said in a statement issued to the media and which the News Mirror has a copy of that are energies of the State( Government) are making plans to bomb strategic areas in Nigeria soon. Afunnanya said that the Service has uncovered a ploy by suspected criminal gangs to forge allian

Fed Govt gets £62m power equipment from Siemens  By Akinola Ajibade  Nigeria will take delivery of 10 Mobile Reansformers  and 10 Mobile Substations from Siemens soon  The delivery of the power equipment is under the the first phase of the Presidential Power Initiative which the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved to the tune of $1.9 million and €62.9 million in 2021. The Country's Minister of Power,  Abubakar Aliyu made this known after his recent visit to Siemens in Berlin and Frankfurt, Germany. Power minister (second right) and entourage at Siemens in Germany The PPI is a power upgrade and modernisation programme between the Nigerian government and Siemens with the support of the German government. In July 2019, the federal government signed a PPI deal with Siemens AG to increase Nigeria’s electricity generation to 25,000 megawatts (MW) in six years. In July 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the payment of €15.21 million and N1.708 billion as counterpart funding fo

Musk may  buy Twitter at  $43b  soon  By Akinola Ajibade  World richest man, Elon Musk, is about to become the owner of Twitter,  a global social media outfit, which the Nigerian government banned  its usage in the country for a while. Musk, who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer,  Tesla motors, is believed to be on the verge of buying Twitter.  His representative, according to a microblogging site is in talks with Twitter to seal the deal  in order to seal the deal soon. Musk is a globally acclaimed  microbiologist. News Mirror reports  quoting New York Times that the 11-member board of Twitter  was negotiating with Musk yesterday ( Monday) in order to buy the company, valued at $46.5 billion days ago.  It was reported that Elon Musk and Twitter were discussing details including a timeline to lose any potential deal and any fees that would be paid if an agreement were signed and then fell apart . Elon Musk and Twitter logo As of Monday, there was no agreement between both parties.

     Oil exploration facility By Akinola Ajibade The Federal Government will start the process of implementing the Petroleum Industry Act( PIA) in the upstream sector of the nation's oil and gas industry, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources,  Chief Timipre Sylva has said. He said this during a two-day conference organised for stakeholders in Abuja recently.  The conference was organised by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to intimate operators on the process of ratifying the first set of regulations was on the Act  According to him, the first set of regulations  would govern the sector in line with Section 216 of the PIA, stressing that the forum was convened to enable stakeholders provide inputs to fine-tune key regulations as prepared by the NUPRC and the Presidential Steering Committee. He said: " “It is believed that a robust engagement such as this will create the platform for all of us to brainstorm in a constructive man

By Akinola Ajibade The International Oil Companies ( IOCs) operating in the country are dictating the terms of ongoing divestments from onshore to offshore operations, stakeholders alleged.  The Oil Majors are Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Total among others Of note, some of the  firms have a long history with Nigeria, especially oil producing areas of Noge Delta, where they produce and explore oil fir growth  The stakeholders, who expressed their minds in a communique  issued at the end of a ‘Community Dialogue on Motives Behind IOCs Divestment in The Niger Delta’ accused the IOCs of dominating the spate of activities in the region. The event was organised by the  Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. A Professor of Sociology at the University of Port Harcourt, Sofiri Joab-Peterside,and the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke, Professor Teddy Adias,spoke  on “Redefining Divestment: The Nigerian Experienc

By Akinola Ajibade The Federal Government is not leaving any stone unturned in order to deal with operators of illegal refineries' in the country, as it launched a clampdown on them. This happens, as President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday directed the nation’s armed forces, security and intelligence agencies to intensify the clampdown on illegal refineries in the country. Reacting to the deaths of tens of people who died after an illegal refinery exploded on Friday night at Abaezi forest in the Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, the President described the incident as painful, adding that it must be stopped once and for all. Buhari in a statement by his media aide, Garba Shehu, said that the incident is a national disaster, stressing that security agencies should not fold their arms at this trying period in the country. He maintained that the responsibility for the loss of lives and property must squarely lie with the sponsors of the illegal refinery, wh

.. By Akinola Ajibade Barring any hitches, Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) would be supplying gas  to an Independent Power Plant( IPP) with a view to enable it generate 225 megawatts ( Mw) of electricity for the country.  Already, the company has over 150 customers on its list, a development, which implies that the firm is deepening its operation in sector. A statement from Shell said that the plant is located in the South-Eaatern part of the country,  and that it is being promoted by Goodsyenergy Oil West Africa Limited (CS OWA) . The statement quoted the Managing Director,, SNG, Ed Ubong, as saying that the plant would be providing all the gas needed by the plant in order to enhance its productivity.  ' It added that : " The firm  has signed the heads of terms agreement with CS OWA as a prelude to a potential Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement,” adding that the new partnership “will deepen domestic gas utilisation, enhance further industrialisation, and enable local industries to have

By Akinola Ajibade Facts have emerged over the cause of the recent fuel tanker explosion, which claimed the life one person and destroyed properties worth millions of naira  News Mirror authoritatively gathered that scooooers were fingered to be the caus of the fire, which spread through some roadside  makeshift shops to its source at Ajegunle Bus Stop- Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service. Affirming the cause of the inferno, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service said that the  45,000 litres laden petrol tanker exploded in Lagos, killing one and destroying millions of property. Director of the agency, Adeseye Margaret, said in statement said that though her  men successfully combated the Fire outbreak at Ajegunle via Toll Gate Bus Stop, Abeokuta Expressway, bordering Lagos and Ogun States. She blamed the nefarous activities of scoopers at the Toll Gate end for the fire.  She said; " “The emergency which was in the midnight of Friday resulted from a Tanker meant to ser