The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)

  • MAPOLY upgrade: Amosun allays fears of students

    MAPOLY upgrade: Amosun allays fears of students

    Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun says the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic ( MAPOLY ), Abeokuta, will continue to run its normal academic programmes in  the next four years.

    Amosun also dismissed insinuations that the institution had gone into extinction following its upgrade to a university.

    He made the clarification when he spoke to protesting students under the aegis of National Association of Nigeria Students ( NANS ), Ogun chapter, at the Oke-Mosan Governor’s Office in Abeokuta.

    The state government recently upgraded MAPOLY to Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology ( MAUSTECH ).

    It also created Ogun State Polytechnic to be located at Ipokia area of the state.

    Placard carrying students marched from Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) on Abiola Way to the Governor’s Office in protest.

    The demonstration was christened “Rescue Ogun State Education Campaign.”

    Some of the placards had inscriptions which read: “Save Ogun State Education”, “Education must survive” and “Mapoly must survive.”

    Amosun also said he would discuss with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic ( ASUP ) on the problems in the institution.

    He explained that students running various programmes at different levels would complete their studies and would not be taken to Ipokia.

    Amosun, however, said that there would not be automatic appointment for the aggrieved lecturers in both the university and the new polytechnic.

    “I am not happy because this is my school. What is happening today is because those that have been given the privilege to serve us are not serving well.

    “Everybody here will finish their courses; it will take four years before MAPOLY will go into extinction.

    “You are not going to Ipokia. If the lecturers don’t want that, we will sort them out.

    “We will seek for new lecturers for the university and the new polytechnic.

    “Mapoly lecturers are not comfortable with it. I said the appointment they have is for MAPOLY, for the new university, they will have to reapply.

    “If they are qualified, they can take them. I will ask the commissioner to meet them again,’’ he said.

    On the delayed examination, the governor stressed that the lecturers should explain why they decided to hold the students to ransom.

    He argued that the reason should not be because the state government created a new school.

    “We are only admitting ND1, if you have carryover, you are going to Ipokia. I told them (management), don’t admit new students to MAPOLY,” he said.

    He added that education would be free at the primary and secondary schools, adding that government would need to subsidise tertiary education.

    The governor said the state government was working hard to improve the standard and quality of education in the state.

    Earlier, Olawale Balogun, the NANS Chairman in Ogun, explained that the students were not happy with the standard of education in the state.

    Balogun urged the government to address the issue as a matter of urgency.

    He specifically mentioned the delay in the commencement of   examination at MAPOLY, saying the action would affect the career of the students.

    Balogun also decried the cancellation of the payment of Senior School Certificate Examination fee and the hike in the acceptance fee of Olabisi Onabanjo University ( OOU ), Ago-Iwoye.

    Meanwhile, the Rector of the school, Prof. Oladele Itiola, has proceeded on his terminal leave.

    The Secretary to the State Government, Mr Taiwo Adeoluwa, announced the appointment of  Mr Ayodeji Salimon  as the Acting Rector of the school.

    NAN

  • Relocate Apapa tank farms- Lagos Assembly

    Relocate Apapa tank farms- Lagos Assembly

    Lagos State House of Assembly Thursday at plenary called on the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC) to relocate the tank farms in Apapa to a less congested area, saying that it is causing traffic logjam and endangering the lives of the residents.

    Hon. Mojisola Miranda, representing Apapa Constituency 1 raised the issue under matter of urgent public importance during plenary, saying that the activities of the trailer drivers in Apapa are not only affecting traffic in the area, but that it has extended to other parts of the state.

    Adding that the traffic jam is making life difficult for workers and school children in the area.

    She urged the Assembly to invite the state’s acting Commissioner for Transport and the Managing Director of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to brief the House on how they would handle the matter.

    This was supported by the lawmaker representing Apapa Constituency 2, Hon. Olumuyiwa Jimoh.

    Jimoh, who said that he had been having sleepless night on the matter, stressed that the residents of the area have been coming to him on the issue and that it should be resolved once and for all.

    The Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, emphasized that the House should not wait until the necessary officials were invited to brief them, but that necessary steps should be taken urgently to handle the situation.

    “It is better we caution the trailer drivers to stop parking on the roads and bridges in the area. We will definitely call on the officials of LASTMA and Lagos State Safety Commission on the matter.

    “We also have to call on the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to provide alternative roads to motorists, while the roads in Tin Can Island are being repaired,” he said.

    Obasa stated that the tank farms should be relocated from the area because, according to him, they were located in the area before the place became a densely populated area.

    In his comment, Hon. Rotimi Olowo from Shomolu Constituency 1 stated that the activities of the trailer drivers were affecting the economy of the state.

    He said that the House had invited the people in charge of the road in the past and that the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) was a powerful union and that the House should meet the trailer drivers on the issue.

    Also commenting, Hon. Abiodun Tobun from Epe Constituency 1 wondered why the Federal Government that he said is collecting money in the ports was not doing the necessary things about the roads there.

    Tobun added that the government could get a location close to Tin Can Island Port to park the trailers and that Lagos State should be allowed to control the ports.

    Hon. Rasheed Makinde, in his contribution said that some of the trailers come from the eastern and northern parts of the country and that they disobey the laws of the state.

    These views were supported by other lawmakers, who urged the House to urgently handle the matter.

  • Niger Delta youths urge NNPC to implement palliatives promised by FG

    Niger Delta youths urge NNPC to implement palliatives promised by FG

    Niger Delta youth leaders have urged the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to implement the palliatives pledged by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo during his tour to the region.

    The youths made the call when the leadership of the Niger Delta Ex-Agitation Forum and Niger Delta Non Violent Youth Leaders’ Assembly paid a courtesy visit to Mr Kennedy Tonjo-West in Yenagoa on Tuesday.

    Tonjo-West is the Senior Special Assistant to Bayelsa State Governor on Niger Delta Youth Matters.

    Prince Amaibi Horny, who spoke for the ex-agitators under the amnesty scheme, noted that the region was eagerly awaiting the implementation of promises made during the fact-finding visit by the acting president.

    Horny observed that most of the palliatives aimed at stabilising the Niger Delta region and consolidating the peace process lied within the purview of the NNPC.

    According to him, after several months of conclusion of the tour, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr Maikente Baru was yet to take steps on the palliative measures.

    “It is shocking to know that since Maikente Baru assumed office as NNPC Group Managing Director, he has not initiated or implemented any project or programme that will deepen the existing peace painstakingly put in place by the president.

    “The current peace is due to extensive consultative engagement by the acting president’s dialogue with stakeholders during his tour of the region.

    “Instead of commencing some of the projects and issues raised by youths and people of the region in this period of peace to upgrade his score card, the GMD feels very unconcern about the plight of the region,” Horny said.

    Mr Tonye Jeminimiema, who spoke for Niger Delta Non Violent Youth Leaders’ Assembly noted that Dr Ibe Kachikwu had traversed the region promising that President Buhari administration was committed to developing the Niger Delta.

    Jeminimiema urged the acting president to prevail on NNPC to step up its activities to redeem Federal Government’s pledge to the region during his tour which includes the establishment of modular refineries.

    He said that it was evident that the peace deal had resulted in the increase of crude output from 1.2 million barrels to two million barrels after the peace deal but regretted that the NNPC was yet to fulfil its part of the accord.

    In his response, Tonjo-West appeal to the youths in the region exercise patience, adding that plans were ongoing to open a window for discuss with the stakeholders.

    According to him, Chief of Defence Staff, National Assembly, Minister of State, Petroleum and the Group Managing Director of NNPC and himself will look at the issues objectively and iron out the grey areas.

    “My fear is that if the government pays deaf ear to these complaints, crisis is inevitable and one can imagine where that will lead us to, especially when the country is passing through a difficult phase in its nationhood,” he said.

    Tonjo-West commended the Bayelsa governor for the establishment of the state vigilante group and the Bayelsa state volunteers to strengthen security in the state.

    He also applauded the Rivers state government for empowerment of Youths Based Land and Waterway Surveillance to boost security in the state.

    He also commended security agencies in the region for their dogged approach to curbing crime.

    He observed that there was the need for the Federal Government to team up with governors in Niger Delta states for the development of the region.

  • N11b fuel ‘theft’: Court orders DSS to produce Ubah

    N11b fuel ‘theft’: Court orders DSS to produce Ubah

    The Federal High Court in Lagos Tuesday ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to produce Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Ifeanyi Ubah, on Friday.

    Justice Mohammed Idris ruled on an ex-parte application by Ubah through her counsel, Mrs. Ifeoma Esom.

    The businessman is praying the court to compel DSS release him from its custody.

    Esom argued that unless the court orders the applicant to be produced in court within 48hours, the DSS and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would continue to keep him in their custody.

    She said they may “coerce him into acceding to whatever conditions they impose on him in exchange for his freedom”.

    The EFCC, the DSS Director-General, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) are among the respondents.

    The Service arrested Ubah over alleged “economic sabotage” and “illegal sale of petroleum products stored in his tank farm by the NNPC”.

    “So far, it has been established that the products stolen amount to over N11billion,” the DSS said in a statement.

    In a supporting affidavit to Ubah’s application, Capital Oil’s Secretary, George Oranuba, said the DSS acted in disregard of “the constitutional doctrine of separation of power and sanctity of the judicial process”.

    According to him, the arrest was over allegations made by the NNPC and AMCON, which were already subject of a lawsuit.

    “Notwithstanding the pendency of this suit and the service of the originating process as aforesaid, the respondents again invited Ubah to report to their offices in respect of the same allegations made by the NNPC and AMCON, which is the subject matter of the instant suit,” Oranuba said.

    Oranuba said a “throughput agreement” between Capital Oil and NNPC allows for “conversion and diversion of products by ‘operators’ so long as the operator is prepared to re-deliver the products within seven days of demand by the products owner or to pay a penalty for non-re-delivery”.

    According to him, the failure to re-deliver was a “mere” breach of contract, which can be remedied by the payment of penalty to the owner, and was not a criminal act.

    “The throughput agreement expressly states that any penalty due for non-re-delivery is to be treated as a debt and I verily believe that law enforcement agencies are not allowed to operate as debt collectors,” the deponent said.

    Oranuba also said NNPC was indebted to Capitol Oil in “excess of N13billion”, yet the company did not call law enforcement agencies to collect the debt.

    The DSS claimed Ubah had further engaged “in other activities inimical to national security and public order”.

    “In furtherance of his gimmicks to undermine the government and people of Nigeria, he has incited members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), a critical player in the downstream sub-sector of the Petroleum Industry, to refuse/stop the lifting of products,” it said.

    But, the PTD wing of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) faulted the DSS over the allegation, saying no individual or institution can be allowed to use tanker drivers to cause economic sabotage.

    The union, in a statement by its national chairman, Otunba Salmon Oladiti, dismissed the allegation as “baseless and unfounded”.

     

  • Ohanaeze applauds FG on agric initiatives

    The President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, has applauded the agricultural initiatives of the Federal Government saying they are yielding positive results in Igbo speaking states.

    Ohanaeze Ndigbo is the apex socio-cultural organisation of Igbo speaking states in Nigeria.

    Addressing newsmen in Enugu on Wednesday, Nwodo contended that with the implementation of the initiatives, the federal government had taken the best move to take the people out of recession.

    He said that the various agricultural schemes embarked by the government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were a huge success.

    The Ohanaeze chieftain said that the CBN governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, should be commended for the intervention of the apex bank in various empowerment programmes aimed at stimulating the economy.

    Nwodo said: “we want to use this opportunity to salute the governor of the Central Bank.

    “This gentleman has had one of the most difficult challenges that have faced any governor of the CBN.

    “What he has done lately in terms of fighting the value of the naira is most commendable.

    “His programmes at assisting agriculture have impacted positively on the sector.

    “It is working in Imo, Ebonyi, Abia, Anambra and it is beginning to work in Enugu state and we are immensely grateful to him.

    “We encourage him to continue to work in this way to ensure that the ordinary people in Nigeria can bounce back as this recession continues to recede in its calamitously effect on our standard of living.”

    Nwodo said that the achievements of the government in the petroleum sector should not be overlooked as the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had been reinvigorated.

    He said that the achievements recorded in the NNPC during the tenure of Dr Ibe Kachikwu as Minister of State for Petroleum and Managing Director were outstanding.

    “Since the NNPC was incorporated, no minister or managing director has ever put the corporation on public portal.

    “But by the click of the mouse, when our son was there, you could tell how much came into NNPC every day and how much was spent.

    “For the first time, petroleum subsidy was removed without the economy collapsing,” he said.

    The Ohaneze president appealed to the Federal Government to intervene and rehabilitate the Enugu/Port Harcourt expressway which he described as “death trap.’’

    “While we commend the minister of Power, Works and Housing for the work that has started on the Enugu/Onitsha road, we want to draw his attention to the road between Enugu and Port Harcourt.

    “The road is a death trap. It is tortuous and God knows how long it will take to rehabilitate the road especially with all the stops by security men,” he said.

    Nwodo expressed concern that the entire South-East seemed to be under security siege by officers of the armed forces, who he alleged, extort money openly from innocent citizens and road users.

    He said that complaints by the organisation against the brazen impunity of the security agencies on the roads across the zone had remained unattended to.

  • NNPC to champion renewable energy production for food security

    NNPC to champion renewable energy production for food security

    The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is to champion the diversification of the nation’s fossil-based economy to renewable energy to enhance food security.

    The Group General Manager of the Corporation’s Renewable Energy Division, Dr Rabiu Suleiman, made this disclosure at the first public lecture, organised by the University of Ilorin Renewable Energy Centre.

    The disclosure, which was contained in a bulletin of the university, issued on Tuesday, said this would simultaneously guarantee food security and generate clean energy to drive industrialisation in Nigeria.

    Suleiman said that the move would also help Nigeria to achieve its target of becoming one of the top 20 largest economies in the world.

    The General Manager explained that renewable energy sources were becoming widely acceptable because of their insignificant green house gases (GHGs) emissions and carbon neutrality associated with their use.

    He said that the corporation had acquired 20,000 hectares of land in Benue State to establish a $400 million dollar project for the cultivation of sugarcane and other agro-products to generate ethanol, as a renewable energy source.

    Suleiman stated that renewable energy derived from sources such as biomass, hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal, among others, remained the only way to go forward.

    “The main objective is to pioneer the diversification of the Nigerian fossil based economy,” he said.

    Suleiman said that the NNPC Towers in Abuja would soon be cut off from the national grid, as the building would soon run on an alternative source of power.

    “This is a demonstration of our commitment that we intend to go green and we intend to partner with the nation in providing alternative sources of energy,” he said.

    In his speech, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, regretted that 56 years after Nigeria’s independence, stable power supply had yet to be achieved in the country.

    Ambali also disclosed that the university recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with an American firm to build a Solar Power Plant to generate 500 megawatts of electricity.

  • How NPDC lost $36m in five years – Group

    How NPDC lost $36m in five years – Group

    A non-governmental anti-corruption group, Youth Coalition for Change (YCC), has petitioned the Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, over alleged loss of over $36 million by the National Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) through faulty procurement process.

    The group claimed it estimated that the faulty procurement process which makes the NPDC lose not less $20,000 a day, would have cost the company about $36 million dollars of loss in the past five years.

    National Coordinator of the group, Joe Odudu and National Secretary, Innocent Izoma, who signed the petition dated 10 October, 2016 said that are a duly registered anti-corruption, non-governmental organization working to ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari’s change mantra permeates every government institution and leads to cost saving, eradication of corruption and graft for the good of all Nigerians.

    It claimed that the abuse of the procurement process by NPDC officials has been going on since 2008 when the contract for the procurement of security patrol boats to secure oil facilities was signed.

    The group said, “It is sad to note that one of your subsidiaries, the National Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) with a considerable number of oil assets in its portfolio, has been unable to make its mark in the petroleum sector in spite of its huge assets of several oil blocs, freely ceded to it by the Federal Government.

    “It is in the light of the fore-going that we wish to bring to your notice the monumental rot in the procurement process of NPDC generally and OML 119 in particular, especially the procurement of security patrol boats to secure their off-shore asset.

    “This contract was signed since 2008 without competitive bidding, in contravention of extant Procurement Laws, at the rate of $40,000 per day.

    “The contract was for provision of three (3) patrol boats with one boat on standby while two boats will provide security coverage. But from the onset of the contract, there has not been any stand-by patrol boat.

    “The NPDC has also refused to review or put up this procurement for tender even when oil prices have fallen from over $110 per barrel (which was the price when they initially made the award) to about $40 per barrel. Other oil companies, including TOTAL and SPDC have since cut their procurement costs by over half the price to between $7,000 and $8,000 per patrol boat, equipped with naval personnel and ammunition.

    “NPDC advertised the tender for these boats over two years ago, but some criminal cabal within it has refused to process these tenders in line with the Procurement Act.

    “This has enabled them to continue sharing monies and even boast that they have the management staff of NPDC and some top officials at the NNPC Corporate headquarters in their payroll.

    “We estimate that this faulty procurement process which makes the NPDC lose not less $20,000 a day, would have cost the company about $36 million dollars of loss in the past five years!

    “Most scandalous of all, we hear there is a plan to bring in two more patrol boats to this same OML 119 and position them only a few meters from where the other patrol boats are stationed, to protect a platform that is only 14 kilometers away, to be given to the same bogus contractor.

    “We shall resist any attempt to commit this impending fraud and bring the entire scandal to the attention of Mr. President and EFCC if necessary.

    “Again, we have been informed of another fraud in the short term hire of anchor handling tugs being justified on the basis of emergency procurement.

    “This involves the hire of three to four AHTS vessels and three are permanently stationed at OML 119, without the fulfilling of either the Procurement Act or Local Content Act.

    “This arrangement has been ongoing since January last year on “temporary contracts”, totally against the Procurement Act. And it was similar crimes that led to the prosecution of officials of NIMASA by the EFCC.

    “The NPDC argument is that they don’t want to shut down production, and they are paying between $19,000 and $20,000 every day for the anchor handlers! This a gross violation of the Procurement Act and is tantamount to contract splitting

    “To say the least, such expenditure is much above the market price, and it has cost the NPDC about $7.5 million in excess payments in the past fifteen months. We also wonder why any government agency in this era of CHANGE, will award a temporary contract for fifteen months, with monthly or quarterly extensions.

    “It is totally illegal and in breach of all extant laws in the oil and gas sector and we demand that those behind this act of sabotage be brought to book, and the tender immediately advertised and awarded to competent local contractors.”

     

  • Don’t separate offices of Minister of State Petroleum, GMD NNPC – Group

    Don’t separate offices of Minister of State Petroleum, GMD NNPC – Group

    The Niger Delta Youths Coalition on Tuesday opposed the call for the separation of the office of the Minister of State for Petroleum from that of the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

     

    The NDYC in a statement made available to our reporter in Abuja said that the insinuation that the combination of the two offices as presently constituted is too demanding for the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, lacked substance and is not founded on facts.

     

    Endorsed by Comrade Ebipade Jackson (Bayelsa), Comrade Eghosa Idehen (Edo State), Comrade Tony Gbemudu (Delta State), Comrade Amezhinim Ekiye (Rivers State), Comrade Aniebiet Nsikan (Akwa Ibom State) and Comrade Odey Christopher (Cross River State) statement said that the merger of the two offices is also not the cause of the current fuel scarcity.

     

    NDYC said that it is on record that the relationship between the two offices when they were separate, was characterized with friction, power tussle and policy inconsistency.

     

    It added that fuel scarcity had been a perennial occurrence in the country’s history at those times when the offices of Minister of State for Petroleum and the GMD of NNPC were under separate management, as was the case in the era of Funsho Kukpolokun, Austin Oniwon, Andrew Yakubu, Joseph Dawha, and others.

     

    “We wish to condemn in strong terms the call by the President of the Trade Union Congress, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama for the separation of the office of the Minister of State for Petroleum from that of the Group Managing Director of the NNPC because, according to him, the office as presently constituted is too demanding for Dr. Kachikwu.

     

    “Such an argument lacks substance and is not founded on facts. The merger of the two offices era of Funsho Kukpolokun, Austin Oniwon, Andrew Yakubu, Joseph Dawha, and others.

     

    “It is common knowledge that the cause of the present fuel scarcity is as a result of the inability of fuel importers to source enough foreign exchange for the importation of fuel.

     

    “The Central Bank should as a matter of urgency grant these fuel importers access to foreign exchange to alleviate the pains being experienced by all as a result of the scarcity of petroleum products.

     

    “We wish to utilize this opportunity to call on the ordinary Nigerian to rally round Ibe Kachikwu.

     

    “It is on record that Dr. Kachikwu has made some far-reaching changes since assumption of office.

    “His re-engineering of the NNPC to make it more profit oriented and a veritable revenue earner for Nigeria is a great feat which past administrations failed to achieve.

     

    “As a matter of fact, the NNPC has been running at huge losses over the years and was mostly dependent on the finances of the country for sustenance.

     

    “Another major feat recorded by Dr. Kachikwu is the jettisoning of the fraud called fuel subsidy which had served as a drain pipe on the resources of this country for years.

     

    “Available records show that fuel subsidy payments gulped over N5 trillion between 2011 and 2015. With the recent down-grading of the fuel subsidy regime, the system is now free for fair and competitive businesses that can grow the economy unlike in the past where a very few held the system hostage and continually made false declarations on the quantity of products brought into the country.

     

    “Dr. Ibe Kachukwu has been very proactive in the management of the Petroleum sector since assumption of office and we urge him not to be deterred because  President Muhammadu Buhari’s change agenda as is being brilliantly prosecuted by Dr. Ibe Kachikwu through revolutionary policies geared towards revamping the oil and gas sector.

     

    “We also want to use this opportunity to thank and commend His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari for finding in Dr Kachikwua worthy change agent who has the capacity and skills to deliver on the determination of his administration to restore hope to Nigerians.

     

    “We therefore thank Mr President for his unwavering support for Dr. Ibe Kachikwu’sprogrammes in the petroleum sector since assumption of office and urge him to discountenance and disregard all negative insinuations which without doubt, are borne out of greed and mischief.

     

     

    “South South people are solidly behind Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and we remain profoundly proud of his outstanding achievements in life, including the giant strides he has already recorded in the Nigerian oil and gas sector where, on resuming office, he has characteristically grabbed the bull of corruption and inefficiency by the horns, and began a transformation of the NNPC to a modern and more efficient oil company.

     

    “We finally urge Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to remain focused and unrelenting in his commitment to justify the confidence placed on him by Mr President.

     

    “Dr. Ibe Kachikwu remains one of our best brains in the Niger Delta region and we are glad to note that this administration recognizes the importance of engaging our best unlike in the past, to head sensitive positions in government and thus bring good governance to bear not just on the Niger Delta region but in Nigeria as a whole.

     

    “For the avoidance of doubt, it must be put on record that for the first time in the history of this country, the era of profligacy in the management and administration of the oil sector is now over and this is as a result of the dexterous application of the world acclaimed professional skills of a sincere and honest administrator, against all the odds placed on his way by devious persons in the industry who are opposed to the change agenda.”