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Tag: Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

  • Oil production hits 2.5mb/d

    Oil production hits 2.5mb/d

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr. Maikanti Baru on Tuesday that crude oil production was 1.8 million barrel per day without condensate and 2.5million per day with condensate.

    He dropped the hint to reporters after chairing the opening ceremony of the 2018-2019 crude oil term contract in Abuja.

    He had opened 254 bids from indigenous and international companies jostling to lift the Nigerian’s crude in the 2018/2019 term contract.

    According to him, the winners will have to lift 14 cargoes of crude in the term of one year.

    He explained that “the crude oil term contract is not a procurement contract but a process of selecting partners for the sale and procurement of NNPC equity crude oil volumes.”

    Asked when and how many winners would emerge, the NNPC boss said that the evaluation of the bids would take about four weeks and thereafter there will be the request for approval. 

    He, however, said that he did not know how many winners that would emerge from the exercise stressing that “It depends on how good the submissions are.”

     “After evaluation which will take about three to four weeks, we will get the consent. Once we get the approval we will conclude it.

    “I wouldn’t know how many will emerge. It depends on how good the submissions are.”

    Baru explained that NNPC was taking steps to evaluate the submission in order to ascertain the credibility of the companies and their directors.

    According to him, the corporation wouldn’t want its crude to enter questionable hands. 

    The NNPC helmsman said that contrary to the perception that the United States of America has exited completely from the importation of Nigerian crude owing to its own Shale oil, the US last year imported 16.5% of the nation’s crude. 

    His words: “Contrary to people’s perception that because of the Shale oil has taken off most of the markets of Nigerian crude. 

    “That is the perception we have as about two years ago we had very low export to particularly to the US. But last year we had up to 16.5% of our crude going to North America.”

    The Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division, Mr. Mele Kyari in his presentation said that Europe still remains the highest importer of Nigerian crude, while Asia and the Pacific were next to them. 

    He rolled out requirements for qualifying the would be lifters, who have 30 days credit period. The companies, he said, must have a credit network of $250million and $500million turn over. 

    On crude production, Baru said that “As at today Tuesday, crude production without condensate we have gone up significantly today. We have about 1.8million barrels per day without condensate. If we add condensate we have made about 2.25million barrels per day. It is a significant improvement.”

    According to him, the Escravos gas pipeline that there was fire on Thursday last week, had come back on stream leading to a generation 3.100mw. 

    He dropped the hint that NNPC was partnering with key stakeholders to improve the overall security of oil production sites, crude oil export lines and other critical oil and gas infrastructure.

  • Days of fuel scarcity are over – NNPC

    Days of fuel scarcity are over – NNPC

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) on Tuesday assured Nigerians that there would no longer be fuel scarcity which had caused unbearable queues for Nigerians.

    The Group Managing Director of the corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru said this in Abuja at the 2018/2019 crude oil term contract bid opening.

    According to him, the opening of bids is an indication of President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive for transparency and accountability in the conduct of government business.

    He condemned the recent fuel shortage, which lasted a month, describing the corporation’s downstream counterparts as ‘unpatriotic’.

    Baru warned those that would be selected after the bid against indulging in sharp practices.

    “I am happy that this problem has been dealt with and the few pockets of non-compliance have been tackled.

    “It was unfortunate that due to the behaviour of a few bad eggs, the Christmas was a pain. We hope you will never be part of this incident and we also hope this type of thing never happens in the future.

    “NNPC is determined that this year there will be no fuel shortage. Definitely we have seen the last of it,’’ Baru said.

    He said NNPC’s focus was to enhance production volume, while ensuring that the “best value is realised through competitive marketing of our crude grades to international refineries and graders’’.

    “In line with this aspiration, NNPC is collaborating with key stakeholders to improve the overall security of our production sites, crude export lines and other critical oil and gas infrastructure’’.

    He urged the bidders not to patronise fraudsters who promise off takers selection assistance.

    Read Also: NNPC doubles supply as scarcity bites harder

    Speaking with newsmen shortly after the bid ceremony, Baru said the evaluation would take three to four weeks, adding that 16 per cent of the crude was going to North America.

    Also speaking, Mr Mele Kyari, the Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division said “there would be no lobbying in lifting programmes’’.

    “It is fully automated. The customer knows where and when they get their lifting and this is unparalleled.’’

    Kyari said part of the procedure was that the companies selected must have a net worth of about 250 million dollars, turnover of 500 million dollars, letter of credit and years of experience.

    The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN ) reports that 254 companies are bidding for the off take of Nigerian crude grades as against 224 in 2017.

    This round is the third call for bids under the present administration. ( NAN )

  • Fuel scarcity and the way forward

    When fuel scarcity emerged across the country few days to the 2017 Christmas celebration, series of blames and reasons were thrown up  as the cause.

    There were accusations and counter-accusations among the various stakeholders in the oil sector.

    Majorly, the blames were between the oil marketers and government agencies including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

    While the scarcity lasted, not a few Nigerians believed that the oil marketers were up to the games they were known for under past administrations.

    Many accusing fingers were really pointing at the oil marketers suspecting that they were hoarding fuel and manipulating the system in order to force increase of pump price of fuel above the current government price of N145 per litre.

    The NNPC had also claimed that 4501 petrol trucks were untraceable and vanished from the Nigerian radar during the fuel supply crisis.

    Worried by the pains Nigerians went through during the festive season, President Muhammadu Buhari in his New Year message called those behind the scarcity as ‘blackmailers’.

    He also vowed to unmask and punish the perpetrators.

    In his first broadcast to the nation in 2018, he said “Unfortunately, I am saddened to acknowledge that for many this Christmas and New Year holidays have been anything but merry and happy. Instead of showing love, companionship and charity, some of our compatriots chose this period to inflict severe hardship on us all by creating unnecessary fuel scarcity across the country.

    “The consequence was that not many could travel and the few who did had to pay exorbitant transport fares. This is unacceptable given that NNPC had taken measures to ensure availability at all depots.

    “I am determined to get to the root of this collective blackmail of all Nigerians and ensure that whichever groups are behind this manipulated hardship will be prevented from doing so again.

    “Such unpatriotism will not divert the Administration from the course we have set ourselves. Our government’s watch word and policy thrust is CHANGE. We must change our way of doing things or we will stagnate and be left behind in the race to lift our people out of poverty and into prosperity.” he said

    Towards fishing out the ‘blackmailers’ and ensure lasting solution to the problem,  the President last Tuesday mandated his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, to preside over a meeting with stakeholders in the oil sector at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Rather than see oil marketers heading to jail or punished for the scarcity, information at the end of the meeting somehow gave them clean bill.

    As at the end of the meeting, government agencies more or less exonerated oil marketers as they have no evidence against any of them for wrong doing.

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, after the meeting, said: “The thing is even the Nigerians who have suffered will want to be sure that we find a lasting solution and find evidential basis upon which to punish people. This is a democratic government.

    When reminded that the government ought to have got all the evidences it needed with what Nigerians went through, he said “I don’t have one yet if you have one I will like to have it.

    “The Chief of Staff instructed that specific names should be put on the table, those who have gone against the rule, done certain things that are against the book should be punished.

    “But the greatest difficult in Nigeria is that people make allegations when you then ask for evidence even one, everybody now goes back into the safety nets.

    “You cannot prosecute except you have evidence, I’m 30 years old as a lawyer. So we will need to find that evidence, we will definitely punish those who did things that were wrong.” he added

    The oil marketers, after the meeting, also did not fail to exonerate themselves of any blame.

    The Chairman of Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN), Dapo Abiodun, said “Today’s meeting was called at the instance of the Chief of Staff to the President and it was to find out exactly what happened, where we had the problems we had in December with the supply of petrol and how Nigerians was made to go through the pains and suffering.

    “He wanted to know the truth and to ensure that going forward this problem will be solved once and for all. And that is why you saw that we sat in here from 2pm and the meeting just finished after three and half hours.

    “A lot of issues were raised and a committee was constituted that will meet tomorrow under the chairmanship of the Minister of State for Petroleum to further go into the nitty gritty and to ensure that these problems do not reoccur again.”

    Stressing that it was not a marketer-related problem, he said “There was no hoarding on the part of any marketer. Marketers are your brothers, they are Nigerian citizens, they are businessmen, no marketer makes money from hoarding petroleum products, our business is to take petrol and sell.

    “We explained that the problem that you saw is not willful on the part of anyone either NNPC or marketers. The situation from our point of view is that from January to December, the price of crude remained relatively stable following the hurricane Katrina in the month of September October, crude prices went up and marketers lost the ability to import and sell at N145 per liter.

    “Since the price of crude is directly proportional to refined product, we could not import petrol and sell at N145 anymore.

    “And this business is a partnership between marketers and NNPC. Marketers bring in a certain volume and NNPC also brings in a certain volume.

    “In the past, marketers bring in about 60% while NNPC brings about 35 to 40 per cent. But by the month of October marketers completely stopped importing because there was no more subsidy so we can’t sell for profit so we have to stop importing.

    “So, the burden of importing 100% now fell on NNPC. So you can imagine a situation where NNPC was importing in part and marketers were importing in part and then suddenly NNPC begins to import 100%.

    “Couple with the fact that in the months we called the ember months from October to December the consumption of petrol is highest in the country. So you now have what we called a double warning. NNPC is suddenly finding itself importing what they probably didn’t expect in terms of volume and the fact that Nigerians themselves are consuming more volume than they will normally consume in earlier months.

    “Couple with the fact that the countries that are surrounding us as a nation are all selling fuel at more than $1 per liter. $1 today is about N360. If you go to Cotonou, Ghana, Niger so it is not unlikely that some of our petrol is finding itself across to these countries.

    “All these are issues we believe amounted to what we saw in December but thankfully NNPC rose to the occasion, they stepped up import, stepped up supplies that situation has since normalized.

    “Today’s meeting is to ensure that this does not happen again and this we are going to continue tomorrow in the committee that was set up under the chairmanship of the Minister of State for Petroleum to ensure that we find a long lasting and enduring solutions to this problem so that Nigerians will not have to go through this situation again.”

    On the issue of subsidy, he said: “Well, like I said to you there is no subsidy at the moment. The government in its wisdom has decided that the N145 cap will remain because of what they consider will be consequences on Nigerians. This is a government of the people and they believe Nigerians should not be made to buy fuel for more than N145.

    “So, if that is to remain then we have to find other ways to manage the situation so that we will continue to sell fuel at N145. As far as we are concerned, there is no subsidy in the budget, as far as we are concern marketers cannot import and sell at N145, so government has to find a way and ensure that marketers themselves importing alongside NNPC and still sell at N145. So when we meet with the minister tomorrow we will find solution to see how that can be sustained.”

    The National President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Okoronkwo and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees  of IPMAN, Aminu Abdulkadir, also spoke in the same vain defending oil marketers of wrong doings.

    At the follow up meeting last Wednesday, the oil marketers were said to have pleaded for tax holiday to facilitate their importation of fuel into the country in order to continue selling at the N145 government price.

    From the oil marketers’ positions, the blame for the scarcity was directed at happenings at the international oil market, which made landing cost of N171 per litre of fuel more than the government stipulated pump price of N145 per litre.

    Nigeria over the years has not really got value for the millions of barrels of crude oil exported out of the country monthly, which later returned in refined form.

    In the past three months, the NNPC was said to have incurred a cumulative loss of N85.5 billion importing petrol and selling at the current retail price of N145 per litre.

    While the country has continued to suffer, some dubious Nigerians in the system no doubt have been smiling to the banks.

    These set of Nigerians, for their selfish gains, directly or indirectly have made it impossible for existing refineries in the country to operate effectively, the product which Nigeria is richly blessed in.

    Since Nigerians shouldn’t have business suffering from the scarcity or from over pricing of the product, urgent steps should be taken to make the proposed modular refineries realities in no distant time.

    Everything should be done now to bring the hanky panky in the oil sector to an end.

     

  • Electricity: FG plans network expansion with stranded 2,000mw

    Electricity: FG plans network expansion with stranded 2,000mw

    The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola on Monday revealed that the ministry is making a policy to expand the distribution network of the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to distribute the 2,000 that was being stranded.

    He said: “We are also putting together a policy position to help expand the distribution network of the DisCos and use this to distribute the 2000MW that is currently available but cannot be distributed.”

    He called on manufacturers to provide the ministry with information on their location and the amount of power they need from the undistributed 2,000mw.

    According to his speech that was made available to media, he spoke at the 23rd Monthly Power sector operators meeting in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

    He urged the sector to work harder this year to increase people’s access to meters and reduce the incidents of estimated billing, stressing that the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) would conclude the Meter Regulations that would open up the meters supply and installation business.

    Fashola regretted that in the “first few days of the new year we suffered a set back to our power supply which was caused by damage to the gas supply network around Okada.”

    According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had last night informed his ministry on the completion of the repairs.

    The ministry said what was left was to test the lines and restore pressure and supply to the generation companies.

    He promised that “one by one all the stakeholders from GenCos, TCN and DisCos will work to restore supply to the levels they were before the pipeline damage.”

    He recalled that a few months ago the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) formally presented the Mini Grid Regulations, stressing that “at this meeting and its impact is beginning to manifest.”

    Last month in Abuja, according to him, Nigeria through the Rural Electrification Agency hosted a Mini Grids Summit that is the largest ever attended in Africa with 600 participants from about 40 Countries.

    Fashola said that the word was spreading around the world as “mini-grids will help us connect more people and boost incremental power.”

    Giving account of the progress that he had so far made, the minister said that generated power had gone up to 7000 MW in 2017 from 3,000 MW in May 2015

    Transmission Capacity was at 6900MW in 2017 from about 5,000 MW in May 2015, he said. 

    The also noted that “Peak Distribution now averaging 5,000 MW in 2017 from 2,690MW in 2015.”

  • Electricity: Power sector recovers 1,143MW

    Electricity: Power sector recovers 1,143MW

    The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) on Monday recovered 1,143MW from the restoration of the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline (ELP).

    The line which came down last week as a result of a fire incident has been restored and gas supply to customers on the line including power generating companies resumed.

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which disclosed this on Monday said the repair work on the pipeline followed the directive by the Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, to carry out an assessment of the damage with a view to getting a prompt solution.

    The statement NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, issued in Abuja, recalled that a section of the ELP at Abakila in Ondo State blew up in flames on January 2, 2018 as a result of a bush fire.

    According to the statement, the incident affected gas supply to customers in Ondo, Ogun and Lagos States with a subsequent shutdown of a number of power plants.

    With the restoration of the ELP and resumption of gas supply, the affected power plants with a combined generating capacity of 1,143MW would resume power generation.

    The power plants include: Egbin Power Plant in Lagos State; Olorunshogo Power Plant, PEL Olorunshogo and Paras Power Plant in Ogun State; and Omotosho Power Plant in Ondo State.

    The 36-inch Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) is a natural gas pipeline built in 1989 to supply gas from Escravos in the Niger Delta to various consumption utilization areas.

    It supplies gas to power plants in the South-west and also feeds the West African Gas Pipeline System.

  • Fuel scarcity: One storage facility functional at Ejigbo Depot, says IPMAN

    Fuel scarcity: One storage facility functional at Ejigbo Depot, says IPMAN

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN ) has decried the situation whereby only one storage tank out of nine installed at the Ejigbo Depot was working.

    It appealed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) to rehabilitate all the moribund storage facilities within the depots which made up the western zone to enhance effective distribution of petroleum products.

    Alhaji Ayo Alanamu, the Chairman, Ejigbo Satellites Depot of IPMAN, said on Monday that this would address the fuel distribution challenges in the zone.

    He said only one out of nine storage tanks in Ejigbo Depot, was currently working; adding that this was not sufficient for petroleum distribution.

    He said this had also contributed to the scarcity of petrol and the long queues of trucks awaiting loading at the depot.

    According to him, marketers hardly load 50 trucks from the depot due to the dilapidated state of the storage tanks there.

    Read also: IPMAN urges Fed Govt to invest more in modular refineries to end fuel scarcity

    “ We were loading between 15 trucks and 17 trucks daily before it was repaired.

    “That was not enough for marketers to distribute to their customers.

    “ We appeal to the Federal Government through the NNPC to revive all the damaged tanks so as to increase the fuel storage capacity to 200 trucks daily.

    “ Government should ensure effective repairs of all the dilapidated storage facilities within the western zone to beef-up storage and loading capacity to at least 1million trucks on daily basis.

    “This will address frequent fuel challenges in the country,’’ he said.

    The IPMAN boss said if depots had enough stocks, marketers would work 24-hours to ensure that the product gets to every nook and cranny of the states.

    Alanamu appealed to the government to revive the depots so that they could operate to work 24-hours daily and facilitate effective service delivery to reduce queues within the depots.

    He also appealed to government to allow marketers to import petrol and sell at the current prevailing market price.
    According to him, no marketers can import at N171 landing cost per litre and sell at N145 at their stations.

    NAN

  • ICYMI: FG may increase petrol price to N180 per litre

    ICYMI: FG may increase petrol price to N180 per litre

     The Federal Government may increase the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol to a minimum price of N180 and above anytime soon.
    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu who dropped the hint in Abuja on Thursday, said the current price of N145 per litre can no longer be sustained.
    In a presentation he made to a joint committee on Petroleum (Downstream) of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Minister said the landing cost for petrol stood at N171 per litre.
    According to him, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been bearing the cost of N26 per litre, representing the difference between N171 and the current official price of N145 per litre.
    Insisting that independent marketers would not be able to import the product at the current foreign exchange rate, saying the marketers were able to sell for N145 per litre when the exchange rate was N285 per Dollar. The Naira presently exchanges for N365 per Dollar.
    “We now have to go back and find the solution to this problem in order to ease supply gaps and ensure availability of the product at all times,” the Minister said.
    Kachikwu, however, proffered three alternative solutions to pump price increase: getting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce a modulated foreign exchange rate specifically for importers of the product; giving the marketers significant tax adjustments to enable them to absorb the high cost; and a plural pricing system whereby the NNPC would continue to sell at N145 through its numerous outlets while the marketers are allowed to fix their own price.
    The Minister identified causes of the last fuel scarcity to include diversion of products, logistic constraints, bottleneck associated with clearance, bad road network, insufficient product reserves, smuggling through land borders, supply gaps and enforcement challenges.
    He stated that the marketers stopped importing fuel since October 2017, as a result of their inability to access foreign exchange from the CBN, leaving only the NNPC to import the product, which has left a wide gap between demand and supply.
    Dr. Kachikwu lamented that the price of petrol rises with the rise in the price of crude oil in the international, stressing that in such instances, Nigeria spends more to import refined products. In effect, any rise in crude oil price increases the amount the country spends on the importation of fuel.
    To address the situation, the Minister canvassed the opening up of production lines, specifically the refineries, which he said, would address supply gaps that usually leads to incessant scarcity.
    “Rising prices in international market affecting domestic prices. What the country needs is to have the refineries working. It’s a shame that after 40 years, Nigeria cannot produce its domestic consumption.
    “It would take 18 months to address problems of scarcity, price stability and other issues relating to the supply of petroleum products. The pipelines should be concessioned to allow private participation.
    “There is huge infrastructure deficit in the system because the NNPC ought to be distributing products through their pipes but most of the pipes are damaged. The has necessitated the use of trucks to distribute the product across the country.
    “Most importantly, fixing the refineries should be the lasting solution. To discuss and address the issues, we have to seek approval from the President,” the Minister said.
    In his own submission at the hearing, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru said the last scarcity was caused by rumours of price increase in the media that led marketers into hoarding the product in anticipation of higher prices.
    Said he: “So there was a frenzy in the movement of products to the hinterland and diversion of products going to the hinterland in anticipation of the increase in price.
    “The NNPC, or the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) had no mandate to increase pump price.”
    The GMD said that the strike action embarked upon by PENGASAN in December was partly responsible for the scarcity, saying issues raised by the association for going on strike had nothing to do with the NNPC.
    According to him, the strike triggered panic buying by members of the public leading to scarcity of the product. He added that although PENGASAN called off the strike on December 18, the damage had already been done.
    Baru identified other factors responsible for the last scarcity to be the higher price at which petrol is sold in neighbouring African countries, citing Cameroun where he said petrol sells for N300-N400 per litre.
    Stating that the NNPC has enough product to bridge supply gaps, Baru insisted the corporation has sufficient stock to go round even without importation.
    The GMD alleged that about 4500 distribution trucks failed to return to depots to complete their distribution formalities during the scarcity period, meaning that the trucks were diverted.
    “There was no supply gap because we have Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) agreement with 10 consortia involved. Three of them rejected their cargoes, which were reallocated to others.”
    The GMD also hinted that the refineries in Kaduna and Port Harcourt were being reactivated and restreamed and that they have been producing three million litres daily.
    Baru also cited disagreements among the various private operators in the sector as part of the problems that threw up the scarcity, adding that the marketers were busy trading allegations of sharp practices.
    He said: “For instance, IPMAN said MOMAN and DAPPMA were charging over N133.28/litre but when we asked them to provide evidence of overcharging, they could not provide any. If proven, NNPC would have withdrawn the licenses of the errant bodies.”
    The Executive Secretary of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mordecai Baba Ladan told the committee that at the outset of scarcity, the DPR rolled out its machinery across the country, with the directive from the Minister that defaulters be dealt with.
    “Almost every marketer/filling station across the country are defaulters. And if all defaulting filing stations were to be shut down, there may not be anyone left.
    “They horde, sell above official price and also divert products. But we have stepped up our monitoring process now that the NNPC is the sole importer but the corporation cannot do it alone.
    Virtually all the independent marketers that attended the hearing alleged multiple charges by the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), NIMASA and some state governments charging 3 kobo per litre wharf landing fee.
    The Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Mr. Obafemi Olawore said the N800 billion owed marketers by the Federal Government has made it difficult for them to obtain credit from the banks to import the product.
    He appealed to the government to give key players major roles in the importation business, saying that shutting down errant filling stations won’t solve the scarcity problem but rather aggravate it.
    Olawore called for total deregulation of the sector to allow more participants from the private sector.
    Curiously, however, the chairman of the joint committee, Senator Kabiru Marafa who had vowed to grill the Minister and the GMD over secret subsidy payment by the government.
    Briefing newsmen at the National Assembly on Friday, Marafa had raised questions on who pays the difference of the N26 in the landing cost of N171 against the pump price of N145.
    The lawmaker said there were indications that a subsidy of N26 was being paid on every litre of petrol sold in the country and wondered who has been paying the subsidy.
    Marafa had said, “If there is subsidy payment, then who approved it and how much has been paid out as the subsidy so far. If you want to provide the subsidy, it should come through the National Assembly but we have not received any request for subsidy payment from the Executive arm.”
    Stating that about N10 trillion has been paid out as the subsidy, Marafa had lamented that stakeholders in the Petroleum industry, particularly the NNPC, have not been transparent in the running of the sector.
    He said these were some of the issues the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Baru and others would be made to explain to Nigerians at the January 4 hearing.
    “We are going back to the same circle where only a few persons benefit from subsidy payment at the expense of the Nigerian people,” Senator Marafa had said.
    Other members of the joint committee are Senators Tayo Alasoadura, Mao Ohuanbunwa, Sabi Abdullahi, Foster Ogola, Yahaya Abdullahi, Rose Oko, Philip Aduda among others.
  • Ex-commissioner lauds Buhari’s New Year address

    Ex-commissioner lauds Buhari’s New Year address

    The former Delta Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Mr Raymos Guanah, has said that the President Mohammadu Buhari’s New Year address gave hope to Nigerians.

    According to him, the president’s address has information on every sector of the country’s economy.

    Guanah, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Raymos Guanah Farms, gave this commendation in an interview on Tuesday in Asaba.

    “I want to particularly laud the plan to completely ban the importation of rice; this act will surely encourage and boost cultivation and consumption of rice in Nigeria,” he said.

    He called for the imposition of very strict sanctions on rice smugglers and that there should be a jail term without option of fine for a minimum of two years.

    Guanah also suggested that smuggled rice should be given to internally displaced persons and prisoners while the vehicles used in conveying the rice should be donated to security agencies.

    Read also: Sagay: Buhari’s critics over dead men’s appointment are Lilliputians

    He also said that any government official found guilty of involving in rice smuggling be dismissed from service.

    On the fuel crisis, he said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) should not be the sole importer of petroleum products into the country.

    Also, on road infrastructure, he said the Federal Government should complete the Ajaokuta/Alaja railway project, complete the East-West road and rehabilitate the Amukpe/Agbor/Uromie road.

    Guanah said that power generation and distribution should be improved to encourage Small and Medium Enterprises ( SMEs ) in the country.

    On security, he said that the Federal Government had done well in trying to contain the Boko-Haram insurgents, but added that “there is still much to be done’’.

    He urged the government to address the agitations by the Niger Delta militants as well as take steps to intensify entrepreneurship training for the youth to reduce the level of graduate unemployment.

    NAN

  • Archbishop urges government to prioritise welfare of Nigerians in 2018

    Archbishop urges government to prioritise welfare of Nigerians in 2018

    The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins, has urged the Federal and State Government to prioritise the welfare of every Nigerian citizen in 2018.

    Martins made the appeal in his New Year message released on Friday.

    “The low quality of lives that characterised most of the year 2017 led to untold hardships and alarming illegal migration of able-bodied Nigerians to Libya and European countries.

    “The Federal and State governments should wake up to the reality that the electorate – the citizens of this country to whom they campaigned and who voted them into power – deserve better quality of lives in the year 2018 and beyond,” he said.

    Martins also urged political leaders to make concerted effort to restructure the country towards the path of true federalism.

    “As Nigerians, we have every cause to thank God for seeing us through the difficult year 2017.

    “We went through very challenging situations both economically and politically, yet it has pleased the Almighty God to continue to keep us as one and indivisible entity.

    “But we must tell ourselves the gospel truth; the year 2017 was not a very happy one for most Nigerians.

    “Many state governments failed in their responsibilities to their citizens; workers salaries were not paid; unemployment and insecurity were at an all-time high.

    “The Federal Government too did not perform better. It is yet to deliver on many of its electoral promises, including restructuring of the country.

    “In this New Year, leadership at all levels should wake up and be alive to their responsibilities,” he said.

    Martins also urged the electorate to be more discerning.

    The Archbishop scored the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and its subsidiaries low for failing to provide adequate petroleum products during the festive period.

    He said this added to the sufferings of the already impoverished citizens of the country.

    The cleric urged the Federal Government to approach the problem confronting the petroleum sector holistically by considering building of new refineries.

    He said this was better than constantly importing refined products, even though the country is a major producer of oil.

    “So much money has been put into Turn-Around-Maintenance (TAM) over the years without anything to show for it.

    “Licences have been given to private entrepreneurs over the years but we have not seen that making any impact on the lives of Nigerians.

    “Government needs to ensure that the bottle-necks to the success of those initiatives are removed and if there are people not making it work, government should have the moral courage to remove them also,” he said.

    The cleric urged Nigerians to remain steadfast in prayers for the continuous peace and unity of the country.

    He called on the political class to exhibit more transparency, accountability, and selflessness in the New Year.

    Martins said that the present hardship being experienced across the country makes it incumbent on them to re-appraise the huge cost of governance at all levels and make the necessary adjustments for the good of all.

  • FG petrol subsidy now N26 per liter

    FG petrol subsidy now N26 per liter

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Maikanti Baru, on Sunday disclosed that the current Landing Cost of petrol is N171 per litre, meaning that at N145 per litre, the Federal Government is currently paying a subsidy of N26 on a litre of the commodity.

    Speaking with reporters in Abuja, he said that the normal consumption of PMS in Nigeria had risen to over 50 million litres per day, due to hoarding and diversion, mainly as a result of cross-border smuggling, due to the PMS price disparity that exists between Nigeria and its neighbours.

    Commenting on the Landing Cost of PMS, Baru said the Cost, Insurance and Freight price of PMS was $620 per metric tonne, adding that at N305 to a dollar, the landing cost translates to N171 per litre.

    Baru said the Federal Government has given approval for preferential and speedy treatment to be given to vessels carrying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also called petrol, to end the lingering crisis in Nigeria.

    According to him, the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Customs and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA are currently expediting the clearance of fuel vessels and anchorage services to facilitate speedy product transfers to various depots including during weekends and public holidays.

    The NNPC helmsman noted that President Muhammadu Buhari is deeply concerned about the fuel crisis and had ordered al stakeholders involved, including security agencies to ensure a speedy resolution of the situation.

    In addition, he disclosed that the NNPC had commenced a 24-hour loading and sales operations at all depots and its mega stations across the country.

    “Major marketers were also advised to carry out 24-hour operations, most of whom have been complying. This has increased load-out from the Depots significantly and continuous sales at the filling stations nationwide,” Baru noted.

    He affirmed that in addition to the regular supply circle, the NNPC had programmed the delivery of additional 300 million liters in December 20l7 and January 2018 to beef up national reserves to 45 million liters per day, well above the normal consumption requirement of between 27 and 28 million liters per day.

    He also declared that over the last two weeks, the national truck-out capacity has been beefed up to an average of l,500 trucks, about 52 million litres per day, which he explained, was higher than the normal consumption of 850 trucks per day.

    Furthermore, the NNPC boss stated that currently, 13 vessels, with an average capacity of 650 million litres, are discharging the commodity at different ports across the country, while noting that three vessels with the commodity are coming in before the end of the week, bringing the combined quantity of the product in depots to 814 million litres of petrol till the end of the month.

    He added that 14 shuttle tankers, with a combined capacity of 187 million litres of the commodity would also be discharging the product at various destinations across the country in the next three days.

    In addition to the importation of the product, Baru noted that the Port Harcourt and Kaduna Refineries are currently contributing about one million litres per day and 2.8 million litres per day of PMS to the country’s fuel supply respectively, adding that since the fuel crisis began, both refineries had contributed a total of about 61 million litres.

    Also, to ensure the speedy resolution of the crisis, Baru disclosed that the NNPC had activated the ‘Fuel War Room’, comprising the NNPC, Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA and the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, PEF.

    He said the team is tasked with the responsibility of coordinating all intervention activities for supply and distribution of PMS nationwide, adding that with the support of security agencies, the team, with the support of Security Agencies, is already working round the clock to ensure a speedy resolution of the current fuel situation.

    He explained that with all these measures, and if full compliance is achieved, the crisis would end within the next two days, adding that efforts have been put in place to ensure the crisis did not go beyond this week.

    Baru also accused black marketers of sabotaging efforts to end the fuel crisis, stating that most of the peddlers, permanently put their vehicles in queues at petrol stations, and after purchasing, discharge the products into containers and return to join the queues.