₦airaland Forum

9jatriot:
This re-election thing is why many previous presidents have been afraid to do what they know to be right on the long run, Tinubu has shown himself to be bold and is ready to risk his reelection as long as he does what he believes is right for the nation.

The other guy who was shouting "Komsumption to Production" is now saying he will take loan and use it to defend the naira just to make himself look popular.

Even a whatsapp Admin knows that he has to take certain harsh decision to maintain sanity in a group not to talk of a whole president. If you are insecure and all you think about is for people to like you, you will never do the right now because you will be trying to always please people who you can never really please at the end of the day.

nairalanda1:
I am sorry to hear that your pet wombat has left you and gone to america.

ON the other hand, your concubines have had another set of twins for you...that means you have 90 kids now. No wonder the demonesses in your neighbourhood are eyeing you now. Something about your seed being needed for the next demon sorcerer or something...

nairalanda1:
Because over the years, subsidizing fuel meant that it became unprofitable to produce fuel here, so importing resulted

As an example,.see Venezuela. Fuel is subsidized there to the point that it is free..meanwhile refining capacity has massively fallen as a result.

And it has nothing to do with sanctions. The rot started before the sanctions came into place. And last time I checked, nnpc was not running their refineries there. Nor did they have leaders from Nigeria running their country.

If you were a baker and it cost you 2000 to bake one loaf of your famous bread, and government came in and asked you to sell that bread at 20 naira to help the masses and paid you a subsidy that does not cover the loss,won't your bakery pack up?

Plus subsidy encourage corruption. One can declare any amount as expense from losses and chop the money.


Business needs profit to function. Refinery business is not cheap

nairalanda1:
Nigerians don't get it...if you want the goods and services you want, you have to pay those who provide it a price that would enable them to afford to make their expenses be paid off, pay for the maintenance of production facilites, pay for transport, pay for taxes, pay staff gorgeous salaries, and still earn something to make a living

Paying subsidies and enacting price controls is a nice way of enabling corruption and a large mess. NO profit, people stealing money, etc...wahala starts.

The Soviets subsidised food, petrol and everything....until 1991, when they ran out of money, and began to break up.

MICHEALADEX:
Obi would have done worse

Anither563:
Wale Edun is the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. I have no doubt that he will do a great job in that capacity and earn the respect of all Nigerians, including the critics.

Everyday247:
But if they don't collect tithe, how will they buy private jets to travel around the world to spread the word of God gospel of tithing?

Topman7:
Are you sure this man is okay?

I just saw an Arise interview where this man was proposing borrowing 12 billion dollars?

So this is his big solution to our problems?

More borrowing?

I can’t even imagine how such humongous debt plus interest will be paid.

It seems this man called Obi is being controlled by western banks that want to trap Nigeria in debt.

Despicable.

Last week, President Bola Tinubu once again jetted out to the United Kingdom on a two-week annual vacation. According to his media office, he will “work” from there.

The president’s trip is in breach of Section 145(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended). It provides that WHENEVER the president embarks on a vacation, he must write the Senate and House of Representatives a letter of transmission of power to the Vice President to hold the fort as the Acting President, until he resumes.


Section 145(2) also provides that failure by the President to do so within 21 days, the National Assembly by simple majority resolutions of its two chambers, shall mandate the Vice President to become Acting President until the President returns. These alterations of Section 145 became necessary after the nation was subjected to harrowing experiences due to the medical incapacitation of former Presidents Umar Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari.

It is believed that President Tinubu has chosen to ignore this constitutional requirement, perhaps because of heightened political uncertainties.

He could also have learned from the experience of his predecessor, Buhari, whose absence resulted in some radical decisions by his Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, which departed from Buhari’s personal directions. These included the appointment of Justice Walter Onnoghen as Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN. Buhari had to use the Code of Conduct Tribunal to illegally get rid of Onnoghen and appoint his preferred candidate, Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed.


This cult of excessive suspicion ought not to be. After all, the VP is usually chosen by the President as a running mate. Besides, it is constitutionally impossible for the VP to usurp the President’s office when the First Citizen is ready to resume.

The most worrisome aspect is that Tinubu’s failure to transmit power to his VP hardly sparked the usual furore as we saw in previous instances concerning former presidents, Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Buhari. Are we, as a nation, getting tired of rising against the abuse of power by our leaders? Are we not, by so doing, unwittingly lying supine to allow the wheel of dictatorship roll over us?

We need to wake up and become once again, the collective watchdogs of our democracy, which is being forcefully hijacked. Our leaders have found ways of running this country just as they like, and with very little regard to the provisions of the Constitution.

Instead of adherence to equity and the Federal Character principle of the Constitution, our presidents have entrenched extreme nepotism, and gotten away with it. They enjoy the health services of foreign countries, leaving our system comatose.


The National Assembly no longer raise their voices against constitutional impunities. We must stand up for our Constitution or say goodbye to democracy.

Presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has berated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the sudden fuel price hike from the comfort of an annual vacation.

Daily Trust reports that while President Tinubu who has now headed for France was in London, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), raised the pump price of fuel from N897 per litre to N1, 030 in Abuja; from N855 to N998 in Lagos; N1, 070 in North-East; N1,025 in other South-West states; N1,045 in South-East and N1,075 in South-South.

This had triggered reactions among Nigerians who asked Tinubu to work towards reversing the increment.

But the Federal Government, through Mohammed Idris, Information Minister, said the oil company is solely responsible for the increment.

However, in a series of tweets on his X handle, on Saturday, Obi lamented that Nigerians have continued groaning under extremely difficult economic conditions, largely caused by the Federal Government’s “wrong choices”

“The NNPCL has once again raised the price of fuel (PMS) without providing any explanation. This is both unfortunate and insensitive, considering the wide-ranging negative consequences for our economic survival and well-being.

“This is neither how an economy’s resources should be managed nor how a nation should be governed. In this new measure, there is neither sound economics nor necessary compassion. We are told that the NNPCL is now a limited liability company, regulated by agencies such as the NUPRC and NMDPRA, yet there seems to be growing confusion about the roles and responsibilities of the NNPCL and these regulating bodies,” Obi said.

The former Anambra State governor said that interestingly, both the NNPCL and the regulatory agencies are supposed to be under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, with the President serving as the substantive Minister, wondering who, in this arrangement, is regulating who?

He said, “With the unprecedented but avoidable hardship that Nigerians are enduring, the responsibility for providing a full explanation, offering alternative options, and most importantly, reversing the sudden price hike falls squarely on the Honorable Minister of Petroleum Resources/President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We hope and pray that he acts in the best interest of the majority of Nigerians, who are living under unnecessarily precarious conditions, and that he does so before his return from his working vacation.”

Obi said to casually inflict such a “draconian measure” on the populace from the comfort of an annual vacation amounts to taking the people’s welfare lightly and for granted.

His comment comes on the heels of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s reference to Tinubu as T-Pain over the hike in pump price of petrol

The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party and Former governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, on Saturday, tasked President Bola Tinubu to reverse the sudden increase in the price of fuel, which according to Peter Obi, has further added to the hardship faced by Nigerians


Obi described the sudden increase by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, as insensitive, saying there is growing confusion about the role of NNPCL and regulatory bodies in determining the price of fuel in the country.

Vanguard reported that NNPCL announced the hike in fuel prices days after giving the nod to oil marketers to lift petroleum products from Dangote Refinery, ending its role as the sole off-taker of the petrol from the refinery.

Peter Obi, dissatisfied with the hike, expressed his sadness via his verified handle on X, said Nigerians continue to groan under extremely difficult economic conditions, largely caused by the Federal Government’s wrong policy choices

He wrote: “As Nigerians continue to groan under extremely difficult economic conditions, largely caused by the Federal Government’s wrong policy choices, the NNPCL has once again raised the price of fuel (PMS) without providing any explanation.

“This is both unfortunate and insensitive, considering the wide-ranging negative consequences for our economic survival and well-being.


“This is neither how an economy’s resources should be managed nor how a nation should be governed. In this new measure, there is neither sound economics nor necessary compassion.

“We are told that the NNPCL is now a limited liability company, regulated by agencies such as the NUPRC and NMDPRA, yet there seems to be growing confusion about the roles and responsibilities of the NNPCL and these regulating bodies.

“Interestingly, both the NNPCL and the regulatory agencies are supposed to be under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria serving as the substantive Minister. Who, in this arrangement, is regulating who?

“With the unprecedented but avoidable hardship that Nigerians are enduring, the responsibility for providing a full explanation, offering alternative options, and most importantly, reversing the sudden price hike falls squarely on the Honorable Minister of Petroleum Resources/President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We hope and pray that he acts in the best interest of the majority of Nigerians, who are living under unnecessarily precarious conditions, and that he does so before his return from his working vacation.

“To casually inflict such a draconian measure on the populace from the comfort of an annual vacation amounts to taking the people’s welfare lightly and for granted. A New and more compassionate Nigeria is indeed Possible!”

The Rivers State Government has clarified that the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Abuja did not reinstate the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the State House of Assembly, dismissing claims that they remain members of the Assembly.


In a statement issued on Thursday by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Israel Dagogo Iboroma, SAN, the government insisted that Amaewhule and 26 other lawmakers had automatically vacated their seats upon their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 11, 2023. According to Iboroma, this defection triggered Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates that lawmakers who switch political parties lose their seats.

“The issue of defection of Martin Amaewhule and 26 others was never before the Federal High Court or the Court of Appeal. Therefore, no court has legitimized their membership of the House of Assembly following their defection,” Iboroma emphasized.

The Attorney General further explained that the case at the Federal High Court and the subsequent appeal concerned the 2023 Appropriation Law and the National Assembly’s intervention in Rivers State’s legislative functions, not the status of the defected lawmakers.

Following the dismissal of the state’s appeal regarding the 2023 Appropriation Law by the Court of Appeal, Iboroma criticized the misrepresentation of the ruling. “There is a wave of false reports suggesting that Amaewhule and the others remain in the Assembly with him as Speaker. This is patently untrue,” he stated.

The Attorney General also announced that the state government would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court and file an application for a stay of execution to maintain the current status quo.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara, according to Iboroma, has urged the people of Rivers State to disregard any misleading reports regarding the court’s judgment and assured them that legal steps are being taken to resolve the matter.

The Federal Government has assured that the ongoing construction of the first 47 kilometres of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be ready by May 2025.

The Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, gave the assurance while inspecting an evacuated but now refilled section of the road that had served as a refuse dumpsite.

Umahi said that the construction company was reliable and would achieve one kilometre of concrete pavement in a day, hence the stipulated duration of the project would still be attained.


According to him, squatters along the corridors of the site will soon be dislodged for failure to comply voluntarily.

The minister said: “I am very happy with the work and people have been asking me that we say this 47 kilometre will be commissioned by May 29, and they are counting months for me, and they are counting months for Hitech.

“But I have no fear about what Hitech is doing. First, it is good quality work, the most difficult aspect of this is settlement of the sand.”

Earlier, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mrs Olukorede Kesha, explained that evacuation of the refuse dumpsite had slowed down the construction work.

Kesha, however, assured that the impact of the refuse evacuation would be insignificant for the duration of the project.

“This place where we are standing, we encountered a huge deposit of refuse here; As you can see here, the contractor was asked to excavate and evacuate it.

“In some places, we had as deep as five to six meters of refuse, and the place where we are standing now was just at the formation level, so we are still going to fill on top of this.

“So, it’s an additional cost because it was not envisaged. So, this refuse here is going to be evacuated and taken to as far as Epe or Ojota.


“So, we are here to let you see, just the way we have written to you in Abuja to seek your approval for the contractor to start the evacuation so that the work can continue in earnest,” Kesha said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project is designed to connect Lagos to Cross River.

The highway will pass through the coastal states of Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom, before culminating in Cross River.

The 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal road will be constructed at N15 trillion, and a kilometre of the road will cost four billion naira.

President Ahmed Tinubu has urged accountants to share their unique insights, forge new connections, and develop actionable plans to lead Nigeria towards a future where governance is synonymous with integrity, transparency, and accountability.

He expressed concern that decades of underinvestment have limited the economy from delivering on its potential, stressing that the country is not where it wants to be and is not growing fast enough.

President Tinubu stated that the accountants are convening at a time when the governance landscape is dramatically evolving, presenting challenges and opportunities that demand innovative solutions and proactive strategies.

He noted that the advent of emerging technologies opens new avenues for enhancing accountability and transparency and urged accountants to foster robust collaboration and networking among policymakers, regulators, and professionals to harness these opportunities effectively.

President Tinubu, who was represented by Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, made this statement on Tuesday in his opening address at the 54th Annual Accountants Conference in Abuja, themed “Governance Reimagined: Mapping the Future.”

He said the theme captures aspirations and marks a significant milestone in the journey towards refining governance and fortifying accountability across our great nation.

“As we delve into the complexities of governance, I call upon each of you to participate actively in the dialogues unfolding over the next few days. Share your unique insights and forge new connections. Together, let us develop actionable plans to lead Nigeria towards a future where governance is synonymous with integrity, transparency, and accountability,” Tinubu said.

He called on accountants to use their professional skills to assist the country, stating, “Your profession provides you with the skill set to appreciate a company or government strategy. Some of you are at the heart of or have been involved in turnarounds for companies and in making choices necessary for survival in a competitive environment. The Renewed Hope agenda is our strategy for Nigeria to confront its reality: we are not where we want to be, we are not growing fast enough, and decades of underinvestment have limited the economy from delivering on its potential.”

He emphasized that the collective vision for Nigeria’s future is anchored on strengthening institutions and nurturing a pervasive culture of accountability, stressing that his administration is committed to leveraging cutting-edge technologies to boost transparency and efficiency while cultivating strategic partnerships that pave the way for sustainable development.

“Your role as accountants in cultivating transparency, upholding integrity, and managing our nation’s resources adeptly is indispensable. Your expertise does not merely shape our economic landscape; it fortifies the foundation of trust upon which our societal progress is built,” said President Tinubu.

He noted that the necessary choices, pleasant and otherwise, he made in the last 17 months were designed to halt the decline and set the country on a path to higher, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

“It is encouraging that GDP growth for the first and second quarters of 2024 was positive while inflation turned downward. The foreign exchange market is stabilizing, and we are seeing encouraging investment signals,” he said.

He highlighted that his administration is continuing with innovative reform measures, including the digitization of revenue collection and government services, a consumer credit system to boost manufacturing and enable access to goods and services, mortgage system reform to provide wider opportunities for homeownership, CNG penetration to offer cheaper and alternative energy sources, and an agriculture development fund to further de-risk agricultural investments.

According to the President, “Our reforms include removing punitive subsidies to the economy. Revenue bleeding has reduced, and the three tiers of government are receiving higher allocations, enabling more support for vulnerable populations. Social investment spending is increasing, the minimum wage has risen, student loans are available, and interventions to support NANO, MSME, farming, fishing, and the livestock sector have increased.”

“Our collective vision for Nigeria’s future is anchored in strengthening our institutions and nurturing a pervasive culture of accountability. We are committed to leveraging cutting-edge technologies to boost transparency and efficiency while cultivating strategic partnerships that pave the way for sustainable development.”

He thanked the accountants for their dedication and commitment to the noble cause of reshaping the nation’s destiny and called on all to reimagine governance and map a future that generations will look upon with pride.

The Dangote 650,000 barrels per day Lagos-based refinery has ignored oil marketers’ call on direct lifting of its Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).


The President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi and the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry disclosed this to DAILY POST exclusively in separate interviews.

This comes as a report emerged on Monday that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has quit its role as sole off-takerer of Dangote Petrol.


The development places oil marketers and Nigerians in limbo.

Speaking on the development, Maigandi said all efforts put forward by IPMAN to meet with Dangote Refinery’s management have not yielded results.

“Up till today (Monday) we have not had a meeting and feedback from Dangote Refinery on direct sales of its fuel.


“We cannot talk about the price of Dangote Petrol since we have not been able to buy it directly,” he said.

He noted that there would be a reduction in the price of petrol which currently goes between N950 and N1,200 per liter if Dangote Refinery agrees to sell the product directly to oil marketers.

“There will be a small reduction in price if Dangote refineries sell petrol to us directly”, he added.


When asked how much NNPCL sells petrol to its marketers, “NNPCL sold petrol to us at N840 and N870 per liter depending on the location. We sell at N950 in Abuja depending on the location.”

Speaking on NNPCL quitting role as sole off-taker of Dangote Petrol, Maigandi stressed that, “We’re waiting to hear from Dangote Refinery”, on whether we can lift petrol directly.

On his part, Gillis-Harry re-rechoed Maigandi’s position on Dangote Refinery’s refusal to sell its petrol directly to marketers.


According to him, despite attempts by petroleum marketers to have business discussions with Dangote Refinery, they have not received the green light.

“We have attempted to have a business discussion with Dangote Refinery on direct petrol lifting but as of today, they have not given us greenlight”, he said.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina when contacted by DAILY POST correspondent on the matter, said, “I am not aware”.

On September 15, the Dangote Refinery announced the inaugural distribution of its petrol with NNPCL as the sole buyer.

Upon the lifting of Dangote Petrol last month, had announced a fresh fuel price hike between N950 and N1,100 per litre across its retail outlets.

The fuel price adjustments came on the back of NNPCL stance that it bought Dangote petrol at N898 per liter, however, Dangote disagreed.

The oil firm, owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote had hinted that its petrol pump price would be announced by the Presidential Implementation Committee on Naira-for-crude sales.

However, despite the kick-off of the Naira-for-crude with the expected supply of 24 million barrels by October and November 2024 by the Nigerian government, the price per liter of Dangote Petrol has remained a subject of controversy.

Last month, the House of Representatives urged Dangote Refinery to allow oil marketers to lift its petrol directly.

Earlier, refiners and marketers had hinted that the commencement of the Naira-for-crude sales deal with Dangote Refinery and other refineries would lead to a drop in the pump price of petrol.