The Warri and Port Harcourt refineries are back on stream, producing for local consumption, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele said yesterday.
Consequently, Nigerians will soon “start to see a drastic drop in the importation of refined petroleum products,” Emefiele said at the end of the bimonthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.
The Kaduna refinery will follow suit next month, he said. He also threw light on the rise in Nigeria’s foreign reserves.
The major reason, according to him, is the plugging of leakages in the system.
He urged Nigerians to begin to adopt best practices in their dealings giving the disposition of the new government. The Committee underscored the imperative of growing and protecting the country’s foreign reserves and building fiscal buffers in the process of strengthening confidence in the economy which is essential for promoting growth and stability
Emefiele described federal government’s recent financial aid to the states as a loan because the CBN stepped in as a lender of last resort. The CBN he said will encourage benefiting state governments to diversify their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) bases adding that more details of the bailout will soon be made public.
On inflation, the Committee stressed that “some of the drivers of the current pressure on consumer prices are transient and outside the direct influence of monetary policy. Pressure on food prices is expected to gradually wane as the planting season gives way to harvests in the months ahead. Early resolution of fuel scarcity would dampen transportation costs and improve food distribution across the country while improvements in electricity supply could steady output at lower costs.”
As for the national currency the Naira, Emefiele said the CBN cannot continue with intermittent devaluation of the Naira because the Naira is appropriately priced. According to him, “if there is any need to change the value of the Naira, Nigerians will be informed.”
The relatively stable exchange rate in the inter-bank segment, the CBN governor noted “can be attributed to the effects of some recent demand management measures.
Gross official reserves increased from US$28.57billion at end-May 2015 to $31.53 billion as at July 22, 2015, reflecting the blockage of leakages as well as the bank’s management policies.”
At the end of the MPC meeting members of the committee voted to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)/Interest rate at 13 per cent with a corridor of +/- 200 basis points around the midpoint; retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 31 per cent; and retain the symmetric corridor of 200 basis points around the MPR.
Overall, the Committee expressed optimism that business confidence would continue to improve as Government continues to unfold its economic plans.
Emefiele said that ”some of the reassuring measures of the administration including efforts aimed at resolving fiscal challenges at the sub-national levels, and the fight against corruption and improving the business environment would unlock the inflow of foreign direct investment.”
Vitafoam Nigeria Plc has launched its second major sales outlets otherwise known as Comfort Centre, in Warri, Delta State, to boost sales.
Addressing key distributors at the inauguration at the weekend, Group Managing Director, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Mr Taiwo Adeniyi, said the second Comfort Centre in Warri was aimed at meeting the increasing demand for the company’s products.
“Vitafoam Comfort Centre is a retail concept born out of need to providing convenience and complete solution for our esteemed customers’ needs for premium comfort, wellness and relaxation. It is an experimental centre where our esteemed customers view, appreciate and experience Vitafoan products in use and the world of Vitafoam,” Adeniyi said.
He said all the company’s products could be purchased at the centre, including premium health and baby products such as spring mattress, twill, cot, sofa and mat.
He pointed out that over the years, Vitafoam had moved from being a household name in the production of just mattresses and pillows into being a foremost provider of ultimate comfort products.
He commended the distributors for their consistent loyalty and assured them of regular production of top-class products at competitive prices.
Chairman of the occasion, Engineer Eugene Eze expressed gratitude to Vitafoam for sustaining its leadership position through production of quality products that can compete with any of its peers worldwide.
When PIND Foundation, a Chevron Nigeria Limited-funded NGO, disclosed its plan to construct an energy-efficient centre for one of its organs in 2011, its promise to deliver a building that uses75per cent energy elicited suppressed enthusiasm and some doubts. Four years later, the centre opened in Egbokodo-Itsekiri Community in Warri. Southsouth Regional Editor SHOLA O’NEIL, who witnessed the ceremony, reports that PIND delivered on its promises.
In 2011, the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in Niger Delta (PIND) mulled the idea of constructing the Appropriate Technology Enhanced Demonstration Centre in Egbokodo-Itsekiri Community in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State.
• Inside the house
The centre, located within the premises of PIND’s Economic Development Centre in Egbokodo-Itsekiri Warri, was conceived to pioneer a trend in constructing houses using materials that are not only sustainable, but more eco-friendly and reducing the use energy as part of effort to combat global warming.
PIND said the ATED Centre aimed to achieve an energy consumption that is less than 70 percent of existing buildings. To achieve the target, the centre married alternative technologies with shrewd architectural design that takes advantage of its location and available resources.
Four years on, the centre was opened on Wednesday, July 8, much to the delight of guests, environmentalists and members of the local and international communities. And it delivered on all the promises.
PIND’s staff who provided a guided tour of the facility after a brief opening ceremony, explained some unique feature in the construction: Instead of conventional blocks, the centre was built with hydra-form interlocking blocks, which uses laterite, an age-long building materials. Laterite needs minimal cement both in molding and erection of the walls. The use of timber along with the laterite block, double glass window panes etc. reduces heat and eliminates the need for ACs to barest minimum. The building, which has no ceiling board, featured two-layered roof that allows wind to blow in between, keeping the bottom layer cooler due to both the air flow and the protection from direct sunlight. The use of double glass window pane reduces noise, while an air system improves airflow and circulation and aids the inverter type ACs to function optimally.
One of the standout technologies in the futuristic ATED Centre however is the Bio-digester, a system that converts human and animal wastes to clean cooking gas, fuel to power its standby generator and which byproduct is manure. The contraption not only enhances the concept of waste to wealth, but also helps the environment through cleaner energy.
PIND said, “ATED is also using this new building to pilot an ATED-promoted innovation called the bio-digester. This technology turns waste into fuel that may be used in the canteen to cook, or in a back-up generator to create power, and safe fertilizer. Following testing at ATED, the technology will then be piloted in a Niger Delta community.”
The Executive Director of the Texas, US-based Niger Delta Partnership Initiatives Foundation (NDPI), Mr Denis Flemmi, performed the opening ceremony. NDPI administers PIND’s funds from Chevron Corporation’s and other partners. .
Earlier in his welcome address, PIND Executive Director, Mr Sam Daibo, explained that the choice of materials used in the building was informed by the growing concern about global warming and the need to take action to mitigate its effects, especially in the Niger Delta region.
He remarked that it was conceived to demonstrate appropriate technology in building of houses in the Niger Delta region in particular and Nigeria as a whole, adding that it took advantage of strong linkages between the development of appropriate technologies with commercial potential, and the small and medium enterprise support programs of the EDC.
Daibo explained that the initial challenge with the host communities also provided an opportunity for a peace programme and laid the foundation for a mutually benefiting relationship for PIND and its Itsekiri hosts, whose local contractors supplied most of the materials used in the construction.
• Ms Gilbert and others at the event
In her presentation, Nancy Gilbert, manager of the ATED programme, explained that it is all “appropriate technology” – that makes sense in the Niger Delta.
She noted that the region faces challenges like lack of access to clean water, which informed introduction of biosand filter, a simple, but very effective water purification technology, which is able to purify water up to 99percent. The simple filter comprises of just a bucket, small stones and sand.
“This is the kind of technology we are interested in – ways to make life better, improve incomes, and address important issues faced by the people of the Niger Delta.”
She explained that the demonstration centre project was approached with a focus on building a house that show people how they could experience new, innovative approaches that could improve quality of life in view of the global challenge of climate change.
According to her, climate change is one of the greatest problems facing the world, remarking: “Not only does the nature and extent of climate change hamper human development it also forms a major threat to human security and political stability.”
Nancy said global warming is more daunting in Africa because, along with poverty, it is considered its greatest challenge in the 21st century because they link to aggravate the existing vulnerabilities of the poor and creates new risks.
She said the Niger Delta region is particularly vulnerable to effect of climate change as it causes sea level rise, ocean surges, coastal erosion, and floods among others. She posited that the intrusion of sea-water into fresh water sources and ecosystems destroy important systems like mangrove, where fish breed and grow.
“It will also affect agriculture, fisheries and general livelihoods. If sea level rises .5 metres, 35% of the Niger Delta land mass will be lost. Of course, all of this will have significant impact on you, your families and your communities.
“Things have always been changing and nature has adapted. So why is this different? The difference is the rate of change – things are changing so quickly that the natural world doesn’t have enough time to adapt. This means we need to find ways to slow down the negative things we are doing, and give the world a chance to adjust – until we can find a way of living that works in balance with nature.
“To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we have to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions which mean find ways to use less car bon intensive energy.”
While conceding that humans cannot undo all the negative things that have been done to harm the environment and enhance global warning, she said further negative impacts can be mitigated or minimized as the case may.
“How do we improve? We do it through innovation and change. And this will bring new opportunities, new and different jobs. For example solar power is getting cheaper and cheaper. As a result investments are going up: Globally $3.7 trillion in solar investments are expected between now and 2040.
“Solar alone will account for more than a third of new power capacity worldwide And this revolution will be decentralized. The biggest solar revolution will take place on rooftops – in Paris, Los Angeles and in Warri. High electricity prices and cheap residential battery storage will make small scale rooftop solar very attractive.”
“They say a picture is worth a thousand words. And I would venture to add – an experience is worth a few thousand more! Being able to see, learn, and experience innovations, will hopefully lead to interest, knowledge, and change.”
“We hope that this building can in some small way help raise awareness of the challenges we face, and suggest solutions,” she added.
Explaining further to newsmen, Mr. Sylvester Okoh, Field Project Manager, PIND, said beyond the technologies displayed at the centre, Okoh said gains of appropriate technologies range from agriculture to health, that they have helped the method of crop harvesting and food processing, which he said has made life easier for people.
He said has PIND has a very large program on peace building and has partnered with a lot of experts who volunteered to participate in their peace building programs that has helped in reducing violence in the region.
He urged Niger Delta youths to shun violence and embrace peace at all times, saying that their lives are important, and they should be engaged in meaningful ventures that can make people to support them.
Guests, including Mr Tuoyo Omatsuli, Executive Director Project of the Niger Delta Development Commission, who was represented by Mr Alfred Mulade, commended the initiative and promised that the NDDC would continue to partner with PIND and other similar bodies towards the development of the region.
On his part, Mr. Charles Okereke, while commending the initiative and concept of the centre, remarked that the high cost of materials involved meant that the technologies displayed are still out of the reach of the common man. He urged the Federal and State governments to key into laudable programmes of ATED and provide needed supports and encouragements for the youths.
The ATED Centre has offices for ATED program staff, reference library, classroom and workshop for conduction of AT training programs, research and development room, business incubator, exhibition and training hall reception, boardroom, and plant room.
There was tension in Ogbe-Ijoh, headquarters of Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State yesterday, following a plot by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) dominated House of Assembly to impeach an All Progressive Congress (APC) lawmaker and former Deputy Majority Leader, Hon Thomas Emami.
Emami, representing Akpakpa Ward 6, caused uproar in the house when he dumped the ruling PDP.
It was gathered that trouble started when the leadership of the house moved to impeach him even though the clerk of House had read his resignation letter as well his defection notice on the floor of the house.
The embattled Emami, younger sibling of Chief Ayirimi Emami, leader of the PDP in the area, who had earlier defected to the APC, told The Nation in a telephone chat that the move was a cheeky plot to embarrass him.
He said: “My elder brother and well-known leader had earlier defected from the PDP to the APC and I cannot remain in the same party. It was based on this and the cogent reason he gave for his defection that I and other followers resolved to move to the APC with him.
“After my resignation from the PDP, I subsequently informed that House of my decision to step down as the Deputy Majority Leader, because my party, the APC, is in the minority in the House.
“It was very surprising to me this (Monday) morning when they came with TV crew and media men in an obvious propaganda to impeach me. My question is: how can you impeach someone who has already resigned? The interesting thing also is that they read my letter of resignation before moving to impeach me.”
FOUR of the 11-man gang that killed three policemen and two civilians in the March 12 Lekki, Lagos bank robbery have been arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Duke Odogbo, 38; Lawrence Kingsley, 31; Ebi Tosan, 20, and Ekelemo Kuete, 30, were paraded in Ikeja yesterday by Police Commissioner Kayode Aderanti with the exhibits recovered from them. Among the exhibits are a Honda Accord 2008 Model (Evil Spirit), one white blackberry Z10 phone, one white Apple I5, one military cap and 130 expended ammunitions.
The casualties were Inspector Bethel Agbola, Sergeant Odehohwo George, Corporal Imosisiu Ikechukwu, Mr Sowemimo Kabiru and Sarah Ibikunle, 15, fish seller around the area.
Odogbo who hails from Warri North in Delta State, said: “We are 11 in number. We came with two boats but one had problem, so we used only one. We came with seven rifles. The extra three rifles that brought our total rifles to 10 belonged to the three policemen killed by my gang. They were not posted to the bank. My members saw them on road patrol. They interfered and they shot them dead and took their three rifles.
“I was the first to fire a warning shot when we entered the bank, a branch of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) located on Admiralty Way. We collected N15million from the bank’s vault. We sprayed out the money from ATM machine.
They gave me N500,000 as my own share. I was arrested in my house in Warri.”
Aderanti said after the movie-like action, he convened a meeting of all commanders of combat units including Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Operatives, Department of Investigation, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), SARS, Special Investigation Bureau (SIB), Marine and Police Mobile Force (PMF), mandating them that the perpetrators must be fished out.
Aderanti said based on intelligence, six Decoy SARS teams were dispatched to Delta, Ogun, Ondo states and Ikorodu, Lagos under his supervision.
These efforts, he said, paid off on March 20 when Odogbo, the gang’s leader was picked up in Warri, Delta State. Kuete, who drove one of the speed boats, was picked up in Majidun, Ikorodu; Kingsley and Tosan were later arrested.
The suspects, he said, had confessed, adding that efforts were being intensified to arrest their fleeing accomplices.
The Ogbe family in the Ugbuwangue axis of Warri, Delta state, was Tuesday thrown into deep mourning as one of their daughters, known as Omasan, stabbed her teenage younger brother, Laju, to death.
The Nation learnt that Omasan, a 21-year old, was involved in an argument with Laju over house chores, which the younger one was said to have resisted.
According to a source, when Omasan asked Laju, who was the only son of the family, to do the dishes, the boy was said to have resisted, reminding his sister that he had already fetched water and was tired to do more.
The argument resulted to a physical fight and at some point; Laju slammed the sister on the floor. He reportedly ran to the back with his sister on his trail, wilding a kitchen knife and eventually stabbed him in the chest.
‘’He fell to the ground, started screaming, and calling for help before people rushed to the house to attempt to help the boy,’’ the source said.
By the time Laju got help and was rushed to the Warri Central Hospital, he has passed away as he was said to have lost much blood. He was later buried in front of his father’s house at Ugbuwangue.
Meanwhile, realising the magnitude of her action, Omasan, was said to have attempted an escape, but was grabbed by the people around and handed over to the police.
Attempt to get a reaction from the children’s only parent; their mother, as their father was said to have passed away over ten years ago, was unsuccessful.
She was still in shock as at the time of filing this report.
Police Public Relations Officer in Delta State, Celestina Kalu, confirmed the teenager’s death.
She added that investigations into the case had commenced.
There is apprehension among residents of Warri and environs in Delta State.
This followed a fresh wave of robbery attacks targeting customers leaving banks in the area.
Our correspondent learnt that customers leaving a new generation bank on the Ogunu Road in Warri were particularly targeted by the hoodlums.
At least two incidents were recorded last Friday and yesterday morning.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The latest victim was attacked near the Angle Park before midday today (Monday). The victim, a man, had just left the bank with N300,000 and was on his way to the office when he was accosted by gun-toting men, who had apparently trailed him in a Toyota Camry car.”
The Nation exclusively reported the riot act read by the Area Commander of Delta South, Mr Mu’azu Muhammed, to erring bank managers in the city.
The Area Commander, who was apparently unhappy about the development, ordered a crackdown on banks where such attacks were rampant because he believed that there were “bank insiders working with the hoodlums”.
Also, it was gathered yesterday that the victim of Monday’s robbery reported the matter to a special anti-crime unit, tagged ‘QRS’ (Quick Response Squad), in the area.
“He said he was riding on a tricycle (Keke) when the armed hoodlums accosted him near the Angle Park roundabout. The ordered him to give up the money or risk being shot. The hoodlums took the money and sped away,” a police source told our correspondent.
When our reporter visited the scene, detectives from the Area Command and the Officer in Charge of the QRS, Mr Alika Lamido, A Superintendent of Police (SP), were interrogating the victim to extract clues about the hoodlums.
Although Mu’azu could not be reached for comment, a source in his office, who spoke confidence, confirmed the report.
The source added that in line with the commander’s directive, they were beaming their searchlight on bank workers.
The mother of Chief Ayirimi Emami, a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was abducted and beaten to pulp on Friday evening by armed thugs, allegedly working for a former militant leader and Peoples Democratic Party enforcer in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.
Mrs. Elizabeth Emami, was on her way to Ugborodo, an Itsekiri riverside community, when she was snatched by the gang.
She was only released following the intervention of an army brigade commander and a naval officer who moved in to restore sanity.
Emami, a former Chairman of the PDP in Warri SW LGA, who recently switched to the APC with his followers, said the attack was aimed at stopping him from going to his Ajudaibo, Ugborodo community to mobilise and vote for the APC.
He said: “My stepmother was attacked at Kurutie community by three speedboats in a manner similar to the attack on 14 journalists last November. She was abducted and taken to a location and was only released after the intervention of some security operatives.
“Several persons identified as my supporters and members of the APC going to cast their votes in Ugborodo were severely beaten and tortured by the gang and their sponsors who are afraid of losing the election.
“The driver of one of the boats is battling for his life due to the torture he suffered. This is a desperate ploy by our opponents within and outside my area to intimidate me and my supporters,” Emami said by phone.
Votes from Ugborodo and other Itsekiri communities in the area have always been strategic to the emergence of governors in the state since 1999.
An angry mob Friday almost lynched two policemen and a driver of an Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) van in Warri, who were alleged to have attempted diversion of election materials meant for Saturday’s exercise.
The Nation gathered that the driver of the INEC, in company of the two mobile policemen, was driving out of the commission’s complex on Esisi Road in Warri when representatives of some political parties, who had been keeping vigil in from of the complex since Thursday night, suspected a foul play and stopped the vehicle from leaving the gates.
Having stopped the vehicle, with registration number Presidency FG 714V01, the vigilant party representatives searched it and discovered bundles of incident forms and some result sheets concealed under the legs of one of the policemen.
Although the Electoral Officer (EO) for Warri South, Fidelia Omoile, said the materials were not meant for Warri South and that it was being returned to Isoko South, where it belonged, other sources said a call to Isoko South proved Omoile’s claims wrong as party agents their said the INEC office there had all materials intact.
Expressing sadness over the development, the All Progressive Congress (APC) House of Assembly candidate for Warri South 2 Constituency, Robinson Ariyo, who was among those keeping vigil in front of the INEC office said the development had confirmed fears that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was bent on rigging the elections.
“The incident confirms our fear that PDP plan to rig these elections. The position of PDP has always been that card readers should not be used to enable them perfect their rigging strategies. They do not want to relent.
”These incident report forms, in thousands, would have gone out of this INEC office if not for the vigilance of my party members and other parties around here. The implication of the form is that if an electorate is unable to vote with the card reader, the incident report form is filled for such person.
”We have a photograph of the bundles that were smuggled out. The materials were not kept inside the rear compartment of the van but underneath the front seat and a police officer was trying to use his legs to push them in. Eternal vigilance is a price we pay for liberty, we are prepared to pay the price, when election is not free and fair, it is a negation to the idea of democracy,” he said.
Responding to the development, the Electoral Officer for Warri South, Fidelia Omoile, said she stopped at Isoko on her way from Asaba adding that while offloading the materials in Warri, it was discovered the non-sensitive materials belong to Isoko South.
”When I got to Warri, I discovered that the materials are in my vehicle and I have to take them back to Isoko. The party agents saw the materials and said no problem; it is unfortunate that the people did not trust their representatives.
”It took the security men to calm them and for peace to reign, I have dropped the materials to enable my vehicle to leave for Asaba and give me more materials,” she said.
More than 260 illegal oil refineries as well as more than 5000 metric tons of stolen crude oil were Wednesday destroyed by officers and men of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta in the creeks of Warri South council area, Delta state.
Commander of the NNS Delta, Commodore Musa Gemu, who disclosed this to journalists after a show-of-force exercise through many parts of the riverine Warri, also announced that all was set, security-wise, for the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to Ogidigben in Warri South-West council area of the state for the groundbreaking ceremony of the $16 billion Delta Gas City Project today.
Speaking on the operation that destroyed the illegal refineries and stolen crude oil in Otegbene-Agbara community, Bennet Island and Jones Creek, all in Warri South council area, Commodore Gemu said the places touched were new hideouts for oil thieves, where they refine illegally and from where they take illegally refined petroleum products to unsuspecting public.
While lamenting the unrelenting persistence oil thieves had been exhibiting in their attacks on the nation’s economy, Gemu said activities of oil thieves was not just impacting on the economy and the environment, but on the very lives of the people who live in the riverine communities.
“We (Navy) are particularly concerned that in spite of what the federal government, NNPC, NDDC, and DESOPADEC had done and still doing to alleviate the poverty in this region through youth empowerments, job creation and educational up-liftment, some people are just not satisfied. They take to criminal activities as if it’s a way of life and that’s the more reason they indulge themselves in all sorts of criminalities along the creeks.
“Look at the environment here now. They have polluted the waters in the various communities along these creeks as a result of spills from the damaged pipelines points from where they stole the crude. Now, how do the indigenes of these communities cope? Let’s assume that they don’t drink the waters from this river but at least people rely on it as a source of living especially fishermen and also domestic use but as you can see now of what use is this polluted water to the people? So even the communities suffer so much from this act of sabotage,” he said.
Commodore Gemu, warned those behind this dastardly act to desist in their best interest as the navy has improved his surveillance network along to creeks to be able to locate some of the remote hideout where these criminal acts are being perpetrated, stressing that anyone caught in this act should be prepared to face the unpleasant consequences of their actions.
On the show-of-force for the President’s visit to Ogidigben today to commission the multi-billion dollars EPZ project, the Commander said it was part of the military exercise to boost the morale of his men and build confidence among the indigenes along the coastal area on the readiness of the navy to enforce maximum safety of lives and property before, during and after the President visit to the area.
The Commander, urged those who are planning to take advantage of the President’s visit to foment troubles to have a re-think as the navy would be all out to ensure that anybody with an intent to disrupt the peace during the event are decisively dealt with irrespective of position in any community.
