The Nation Newspaper

Tag: shuts

  • Ogun shuts more illegal health facilities

    The Ogun State government has shut down three more suspected illegal health facilities in Abeokuta, Ado-Odo/Ota and Ifo local government areas.

    The facilities include Adigbe Medical Centre in Abeokuta, Lolade Scan Centre at Ado-Odo/Ota and a laboratory at Ifo.

    The government sealed them up for operating without registration and revalidating their operational licences with the Ministry of Health.

    Commissioner for Health, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye, broke the news while monitoring health facilities in the areas.

    The commissioner said the government would ensure that the state was rid of quack doctors and illegal health facilities.

    He said: “The health of our citizens is paramount to us. That is why we are safeguarding their health by ensuring that the state is free of quack doctors and illegal hospitals. These, through their unorthodox ways of practices, put the live of our citizens in danger.”

  • DPR shuts two filling stations

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) at the weekend in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, shut two petrol stations for allegedly adjusting their pump prices to cheat the public.

    The stations are NIPCO on Ajase-Ipo Road and Success on New Yidi Road.

    It was learnt that the filling stations adjusted their metres upward, thereby cheating customers.

    Instead of 10 litres of fuel as displayed on the pumping machine, the agency discovered that the stations sold 8.7 litres.

    Members of the DPR task force, who were monitoring activities at filling stations, discovered the fraud and shut the stations.

    The team summoned the management of the stations to appear before it and explain the alleged sharp practice.

    The task force warned three stations in the metropolis to adhere to the rules and regulations of the department or face sanctions.

    The Operation Controller of the state DPR, Mr. Amos Jokodola, an engineer, who spoke on the development, said the agency would not hesitate to close down any station found to be cheating buyers.

    Represented by the acting Deputy Manager, Retails Outlets, Mr. Ishola Joshua, the controller warned filling stations selling fuel at N100 per litre to desist.

    He said the department would continue to monitor the activities of the stations to ensure compliance.

  • Anambra shuts ‘baby factory’ in Onitsha

    Anambra State government yesterday closed the Community Children’s Home at Umunna Street in Onitsha South Local Government, for engaging in alleged child trafficking.

    Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development Lady Henrietta Agbata said 25 babies would be taken to the Nigeria Red Cross Community Children’s Home in Onitsha.

    She handed over a list of registered and government recognised children homes (formerly motherless babies homes) and compassionate homes to the commissioner of Police, director, State Security Service (SSS), the Army and civil defence corps, among other security agencies, and urged them to shut illegal homes.

    The commissioner, flanked by the Director, Child Development, Mr. Emeka Ejide, disowned the woman arrested by the police, saying she was not a worker in her ministry.

    She said the woman was a deputy director in the Local Government Service Commission in Onitsha South Local Government.

    Lady Agbata said: “Babies are not chickens placed for sale and exchanged for financial benefits.

    ‘’God has exposed them. We are investigating the home for an alleged trafficking before this one. Therefore, we have closed the place, but investigation is on. The babies and the items in the store will be transferred to the Red Cross Children’s Home, Onitsha.”

    She said the Christian Relief Compassionate Home, Obosi, remained closed, although respite came its way, following the discovery of the missing child in Okija and the arrest of the parties involved.

    Two women were arrested in connection with the alleged trafficking of two babies, aged three months and three days on February 26.

    Police spokesman Emeka Chukwuemeka confirmed their arrest.

  • DPR shuts NNPC mega station, others for ‘under-dispensing’ products

    •Motorists, motorcyclists decry exploitation in Nnewi

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Abia office at the weekend shut the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mega station in Umuahia and seven other filling stations over alleged under-dispensing of petroleum products to the public.

    The sealing followed a routine

    surveillance carried out by the DPR during which it was discovered that some of the stations were allegedly cheating customers with as much as two litres per every 10 litres they bought.

    Eight filling stations were shut.

    Seven were located in Umuahia. They are NNPC mega station on the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway at Ohuhu

    Umuahia; Sinday Oil Services; NNPC sales outlet and Forte Oil

    (formerly AP) all on Aba Road.

    Others are ELWAZZEY Oil Ltd., Tonimas Ltd. and MRS Ltd. located at Mission Hill, Umuahia.

    The only filling station sealed

    in Aba was Kenjika Filling Station on Aba/Owerri Road.

    The DPR operations controller in Abia, Dr. Jones Ogwo, said it was regrettable that marketers, including the NNPC mega station, wanted to sabotage Federal Government’s efforts in making petroleum products available and affordable by Nigerians.

    Motorists in Nnewi, Anambra State and its environs cried out yesterday over alleged exploitation by filling stations, despite Federal Government’s policy on pump prices.

    A commercial motorcyclist, Mr. Godknows Uchez, said at times he paid for five litres, but in the end he would be given just two or three litres, alleging that filling stations in the area were fond of adjusting their meters to swindle customers.

    He urged government to rescue them.

    A bus driver, Mr. John Ezike, alleged that filling stations sold at N100 per litre.

    He said government should assist transporters by regulating petroleum product prices.

  • Keshi shuts Eagles’ door on Ameobi

    Keshi shuts Eagles’ door on Ameobi

    Super Eagles chief coach Stephen Okechukwu Keshi appears to have to shut the door on Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi.

    Keshi says he has given up on the former England youth international, who is now 31, and believes other players should be given an opportunity.

    “Shola showed a lot of experience when he played against Venezuela last year, but we’ve not been able to get him to return,” said Keshi.

    “His experience would have been valuable to this young team right now but I’ve realised he wants to be left alone for now. He has shown he is not prepared to play for us and we have to move on and give other players an opportunity to represent the country. We can only wish Shola all the best and concentrate on those we have in the present squad.”

    Keshi has also revealed that he wants to give some of the country’s Europe-based players a chance in subsequent matches.

    This could mean another chance for forgotten players such as forward Obinna Nsofor of Russian side Lokomtoiv Moscow, English Premier League side West Brom’s Peter Odemwingie and Obafemi Martins of United States club Seattle Sounders.

  • Capital Oil shuts tank farms, jetties

    An oil marketing firm, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, has shut down its jetties and depots at Apapa, Lagos.

    They were shut following an ex-parte order for the temporary forfeiture of the company’s assets granted by Justice A. Abdu-Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja last week.

    The firm’s Managing Director, Ifeanyi Ubah; auto magnate Cosmos Maduka and Access Bank are quarrelling over a multi-billion dollar loan said to have been granted the oil marketer.

    Ubah’s alleged refusal to pay led Maduka, who allegedly took the loan on his behalf and the bank to go to court to obtain the forfeiture order.

    The company said the discharge and loading of petroleum products at the facilities were suspended last Friday.

    In a statement, the firm said it received “the surprising news” on Friday morning, and was shutting down its petroleum distribution services in obedience to the order.

    “This is to ensure that the order of the court is not in any way violated. We empathise with the long-suffering masses of Nigeria who have been experiencing long queues in filling stations, non-availability of petroleum products, as well as high cost of transportation,” the company said.

    It added: “We wish to emphasise that we stopped operations by 4:37am this (Friday) with a total load-out of 224 trucks of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) – equivalent of 8,151,270 litres of PMS – belonging to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). This will remain our last operation till further notice.

    “We, therefore, have downed tools as we cannot continue to operate under this obnoxious business climate. We hope this will not aggravate the already worsening fuel supply and distribution being experienced in the country.”

    The firm alleged that the Aig-Imoukhuede panel report made it “look like a criminal,” thereby denying it access to credit and payments from the Federal Government.

    It said its operations had been threatened, adding that the order was a manifestation of the “open-secret” plan to take over its business. “This is no doubt a clear case of victimisation. Nigerians will unfortunately be worse for it. If only they had put the nation’s interest first,” the firm said.

    It said despite accounting for 35 per cent of daily petroleum products distribution in the country it was baffling that it could be the subject of such court order.

    “The government has refused to pay us. It would appear that those who want to take over our business are succeeding with the aid of their friends in government,” it said, adding that it managed to pay its workers till last month despite not receiving any payment in the last 10 months.

    According to the company, it has not been found wanting in its obligations, and in terms of cooperating with the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) towards reconciling its position and exposures with AMCON.

  • Crude theft: Shell shuts in 25,000 barrels

    Crude theft: Shell shuts in 25,000 barrels

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) has shut down the Imo River Trunkline in its Eastern operations.

    The company said in a statement that it shut down the facility after several crude theft points were found on it. As a result, production of 25,000 barrels of oil per day is deferred.

    The statement said: “SPDC had shut in the producing stations and isolated the line on 31st October on discovering the first set of leaking points, but an additional leak from the remaining oil in the pipeline occurred about eight days later, when unknown persons installed more crude theft connections, some of which have failed.”

    According to the statement, some six crude theft points have so far been confirmed on the 12-inch trunkline, of which three have been repaired.

    “There have been 26 spills in the Imo River area so far this year; 25 have been due to sabotage, spilling nearly 3000 barrels into the environment,’’ the statement added.

    Shell’s Vice President for HSE & Corporate Affairs, Sub-Saharan Africa, Tony Attah said: “Ground visits showed that the oil had impacted rivers and other water bodies even as we have managed to deploy containment booms and are now starting to recover spilled crude. The evidence is clear for all to see, that crude theft is bad for Nigeria, bad for the people, bad for the environment and bad for our business.”

    Imo River Trunkline is part of the Trans Niger Pipeline which suffered a similar fate at Mogho when unknown persons installed two crude theft valves today (11th November), barely 24 hours after the last of such leaks was repaired at Biara, also in Ogoni land. The two crude theft valves have been closed and the line is being reopened.

    The largest number of spills in Imo River this year occurred in May and August, with six incidents in each month. Five of the spill sites have been fully cleaned and certified while cleanup activities are ongoing in the rest.

    SPDC shut down production in Imo River in August last year because of incessant crude theft activities, and only resumed operations many months later when the broken lines were repaired and conditions had improved.

    Also yesterday, the Chief Executive of French oil major Total (TOTF.PA) said he would not deny a report that the firm was in talks to sell assets in Nigeria, worth about $2.4 billion, to China’s Sinopec. A Bloomberg report last week said Asia’s largest refiner China’s Sinopec (600028.SS) was close to buying stakes in Nigerian onshore oil blocks from Total.

    “Yes we are discussing with certain buyers about selling certain assets in Nigeria,” said Total CEO Christophe de Margerie, declining to name the potential buyer or value of the deal but saying he would not deny the report.

    “But it doesn’t mean we are scared and intend to start some kind of walking out of Nigeria…Total is happy to develop its projects in Nigeria,” he told reporters at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi.

    Nigeria is Africa’s largest crude oil exporter and oil companies operating there have long had to deal with attacks on their pipelines and staff, with the country’s worst floods in 50 years seriously affecting their output over recent weeks.

    The French group said in September it planned to sell assets worth between $15 billion and $20 billion in the period up to 2014 as part of a bolder approach to managing its business, which has seen it buy and sell assets more frequently.

    Total declared force majeure in mid-October on gas supplies to Nigeria LNG’s liquefaction plant, saying it had stopped oil and gas production on one onshore block 58, which was losing 90,000 bpd of oil equivalent, in which it has a 40 percent stake.

    Total’s head of upstream told reporters at the same press conference in Abu Dhabi that it was still too early to say when production might restart, with flooding still posing problems.

    “The water is decreasing, but we still have some problems with the floods,” Yves-Loius Darricare, Total’s head of upstream, said. “I hope we will be able to restart production as soon as we can.”

    At least 363 people have been killed due to the floods since the start of July and 2.1 million people have been displaced, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

    NEMA said last week the oil-producing Niger Delta region was still flooded but water levels were falling and the heaviest rains had passed as Nigeria enters its 6-month long dry season.

  • Subsidy scam: Jonathan shuts out marketers

    Moves by marketers involved in the fuel subsidy scam to get a reprieve from the Federal Government have failed.

    It was learnt President Goodluck Jonathan warned his aides not to meet with any of the indicted marketers.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday said more marketers are still being investigated.

    It was gathered that some marketers, led by an oil baron, had desperately attempted to meet with the President in the last two weeks.

    Although they infiltrated the system to book an appointment, the President refused and read the Riot Act to all his aides.

    It was also gathered that the desperation made the President to declare on Tuesday that the law would take its full course on indicted marketers.

    A government official said: “These indicted marketers have been lobbying for an audience with the President in the last two weeks.

    “They are seeking for reprieve, they would like the President to bend the rules.

    “They do not want to face trial, they don’t want to refund looted cash.

    “They think the situation would be business as usual.

    “The situation got to a point that the President called some of his key aides and warned them against condoning these marketers.

    “He threatened to deal with any aide hobnobbing with the fuel subsidy suspects.

    “The President shut his doors on the indicted marketers and asked them to go and sort themselves out in court.

    “I think their plan was to reach out to the President and whip up sentiments to tarnish the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede Committee Report.

    “The lobbying made the President, who was represented by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, to make a categorical declaration on Tuesday that the “government is taking every legal measure to ensure that those who defraud the government in the petroleum subsidy scheme are made to pay back the stolen fund and are severely punished.”

    Jonathan made his position known during the public presentation of a book, “Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria” written by Finance Minister ,Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.”

    The source added that the Federal Government has discovered that the affected oil marketers have launched covert “personal campaign of calumny” against members of the Aig-Imoukhuede Presidential Committee .

    The government official added: “They are unrelenting in their ploy to blackmail the government and members of the Presidential committee.

    “In fact, one of the marketers on trial, who has been granted bail after being in detention without records of fuel importation, is now leading the propaganda against this administration and the Presidential Committee.

    “The matter is forcing the marketers to become desperate and we are expecting various types of attacks in the next few days.

    “But we are happy that Nigerians are with us on this count.”

    A member of the committee said: “We are aware that they intend to fight back by distracting Nigerians through cheap blackmail but they cannot succeed.

    “We did our job in a transparent manner. The issue is not about media campaign as we know that the police and the EFCC even authenticated our reports because the marketers when questioned could not disprove the allegations against them.

    “ Our report is watertight. What we put down against them was so specific and clear. That is why their campaign to discredit our report is not achieving any success.”

    The EFCC said it has not closed the file on indicted oil marketers as more fuel subsidy fraud suspects are still being investigated.

    A source said: “We are not done yet with the ongoing investigation of fuel subsidy scam. More suspects will still be arraigned in court.”

  • Tension mounts as Saudi shuts out more Nigerians

    Tension mounts as Saudi shuts out more Nigerians

    Nigeria and Saudi Arabia were struggling yesterday to avert a diplomatic row, even as another batch of 512 pilgrims were brought back home, following the refusal of the authorities to allow them entry.

    House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and the Saudi Ambassador, Mr. Khaled Abrabuh, met in Abuja.

    One of the pilgrims is a man, who could not understand why his wife was disallowed from performing the Hajj along with him.

    The refusal of the authorities to allow the man’s wife to join him raised fresh fears in government circles that there might be more to the hostility of Saudi Arabia against Nigeria.

    Besides, Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Azizal –Saud has not given the Federal Government’s delegation to be led by Tambuwal the green light.

    The delegation has been on “standby” in the last 24 hours without any response from the Saudi authorities.

    The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria’s (NAHCON ‘s) Head of Media Unit, Mana Uba, said: “Efforts are still on to resolve the issue. But, as I am talking to you now, out of the 1,200 pilgrims denied entry in Jeddah, 510 are on their way. Among them is a male pilgrim, who has decided not to perform the Hajj because his wife was not allowed to enter Saudi Arabia.

    159 Nigerians were brought back on Wednesday.

    Yesterday, the pilgrims were brought back to home through the Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano.

    They are from Katsina, Taraba, Adamawa and Oyo states.

    Two lorries with registration number KT40A28 and KT41A28 were at the Hajj Terminal, to evacuate the Katsina pilgrims.

    Those from other states were taken to Kabo Guest Inn.

    “These pilgrims were flown to Saudi Arabia by Max Air, but another carrier, Meridien, is assisting to bring them back, based on a mutual arrangement.

    “I think the carrier that flew them to Saudi Arabia does not want to subject them to any further hardship because they had remained at the airport.”

    On attempts being made to resolve the impasse, Uba added: “We are optimistic that the Federal Government team will be able to resolve this challenge.”

    A government source said: “The government team is still in Abuja, the King of Saudi has not given a date to meet with them.

    “What is apparent now is that the motive of Saudi Arabia in denying our pilgrims entry was not about Muharrams (male guardians) as being claimed. Why will the wife of a male pilgrim be denied the company of her husband after meeting the regulations spelt out by Saudi?

    “It is insulting to ask Nigerian delegation to wait for clearance before going to Saudi Arabia.”

    The NAHCON National Commissioner in charge of operations, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammad, said government will transport back to Nigeria all the 908 women pilgrims detained in Saudi Arabia. He spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    He said that the commission had no choice but to bring back the pilgrims as the Saudi authorities insisted that they must be brought back.

    The chairman of the commission, Mallam Muhammad Bello, had on Wednesday told the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs that the Mahram issue was never discussed now with the Saudi officials.

    He said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with the Saudi government for the 2012 Hajj had no provision on the issue.

    Bello said the issue came up when some Nigeria pilgrims arrived at the King Abdul’azeez Airport, Jeddah on Sept. 23, adding that only Nigerian pilgrims were subjected to such treatment.

    Muhammad regretted that the Saudi authorities had rebuffed all diplomatic moves by the commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The commission on Wednesday suspended the transportation of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for 48 hours to resolve the matter.

    So far, 24,886 of the 95,000 pilgrims have been transported to Saudi Arabia by the commission.

    No fewer than 102 women intending pilgrims from Sokoto State were yesterday returned home.

    The situation has delayed the airlift of the first batch of 500 pilgrims from Niger State slated for airlifting yesterday. The trip was cancelled in compliance with the suspension of airlifting of pilgrims directive.

    Niger State Pilgrims Welfare Commission spokesman Alhaji Sani Awwal said in Minna yesterday that the commission compiled with the NAHCON directive. “Therefore, we aborted our planned inaugural flight to Saudi Arabia today (yesterday).  “We had finished the screening of the 500 intending pilgrims from Mashegu, Paikoro and Mariga local government areas but when the message of the suspension reached us, we complied with it.

    “The pilgrims were already at the Minna International Airport after the completion of their screening at the Hajj Camp, while the carrier, MAX Airline had stationed its plane on the tarmac waiting, when the suspension came into effect.

    “We have, therefore, returned the pilgrims to the Hajj Camp, awaiting further directive from NAHCON. Appropriate measures had been taken toward ensuring the comfort of our pilgrims at the camp, including free feeding and medical care,“ he said.

    Awwal assured intending pilgrims that the commission is determined to ensure that all of them are transported to Saudi Arabia immediately the issues concerning the female intending pilgrims are resolved.

    An official has suggested that Nigeria and Saudi authorities should work out laws to accommodate elderly women who have lost their husbands.

    “The laws should also work out ways to accommodate rich women who are capable of sponsoring themselves to the Holy Land without depending on any man as guide,” Alhaji Salisu Musa, Executive Secretary, Plateau Pilgrims Welfare Board, said in Jos.