₦airaland Forum

DonEd:
Is Dangote group an exploration company?

Is total Energies operating a refinery?

What is then the correlation between the two?

Exploration companies are leaving in numbers and you are here expressing satisfaction.

Justifying failure of your favorite president.

Make una dey talk with sense all the time abeg

The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) says it will follow to the end and ensure justice for the 17-year-old girl allegedly defiled by a police officer at Ogudu Police Station.

The agency’s spokesperson, Mrs Joke Ladenegan-Oginni, stated this in a post shared on its X handle at @LSdsva on Wednesday.

“The agency was notified of a distressing incident involving a police officer who was alleged to have defiled a child in a police station.

“Upon receiving the report, the DSVA immediately facilitated the necessary referrals for comprehensive medical and psychosocial support, which were promptly provided to the survivor.

“This matter was immediately escalated to the Gender Desk Department of the Lagos State Police Command, ” she said.

Ladenegan-Oginni said that a painstaking investigation was ongoing into the matter.

“We wish to assure the public that a meticulous investigation is currently underway.

“We trust in the leadership of the Lagos State Police Command to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into this incident.

“We believe that this is crucial in maintaining public trust.

“We reiterate the Lagos State Government’s Zero-Tolerance Policy for all forms of domestic and sexual violence and reaffirm our dedication to protecting the rights and dignity of all survivors, ” [/b]she said.

Ladenegan-Oginni appealed to the public to report any case of domestic and sexual violence to its toll-free line at 08000-333-333 or via direct message on its social media platforms @lagosdsva.

[b]The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had earlier reported that the senior officer allegedly defiled the teenager at the Area H Command, Ogudu.

The girl was sexually assaulted while trying to recover her phone which was stolen by some suspected criminals.

The officer, who offered to help the girl retrieve her phone, tricked her to the station on the pretext that the phone had been recovered and the thief arrested.

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, sitting at Maitama yesterday declined request by the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who is facing trial, to be allowed to travel abroad for medical examination.

The court, in a ruling delivered by trial Justice Hamza Mu’azu, held that the erstwhile CBN boss failed to adduce any evidence to establish that he was suffering from any life-threatening ailment.

It further held that no medical report was produced to support the claim that the defendant was ill, noting that he was currently facing multiple charges before different courts.

“It is an exercise of the court’s discretion to allow the defendant to go on a medical trip. The defendant through his counsel undertook an affidavit to produce him in court, and his offences are bailable and where there is need for the court to grant him the application to travel, the court should do so, but as it is, I failed to see any letter of medication in the defendant’s applications.

"As it stands, I cannot exercise my discretion to allow the defendant to travel out of the shores of the country, moreover he is also standing trial in three other courts, therefore the application has failed, and hereby dismissed,” Justice Mu’azu held.

Emefiele had through his team of lawyers, approached the court, begging it to permit him to visit the United Kingdom for medical check-up.

He specifically prayed the court to release to him, the international passport he surrendered as part of the conditions upon which be was released on bail.

However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which is prosecuting him, opposed the application.

The anti-graft agency, through its lawyer, Muhammad Omeiza, filed a counter-affidavit to challenge the request. It argued that no medical report was tendered before the court by the defendant.

More so, the prosecution contended that the defendant failed to show that no hospital in Nigeria could handle his medical needs.

It maintained that since Emefiele submitted his international passport to secure his freedom from detention, releasing same to him would amount to a variation of his bail condition.

While insisting that the ex-CBN governor posed a flight risk, the EFCC, added: “The defendant has co-conspirators all over the world.

“One Anita and Tony are all aides of the defendant who are currently in the UK. The defendant might be tempted to jump bail because he is standing trial in three different courts.”

However, Emefiele dismissed EFCC’s allegation as speculative, stressing that the agency had the capacity to secure his arrest from the UK should he refuse to return back for continuation of his trial.

The court, in its ruling, upheld EFCC’s position and dismissed the application as lacking in merit.

Emefiele is answering to a 20-count amended charges bordering on conferment of corrupt advantages, conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery and obtaining by false pretences to the tune of $6,230,000.00.

The lead counsel for the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Aloy Ejimakor, has accused the Department of the State Services, DSS, of denying Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s doctor access to him.

Ejimakor who disclosed this on X Platform, sadly said that Kanu was ill with shortness of breath, low BP and general malaise.

His words: “Yesterday, during our visitation with MAZI NNAMDI KANU, we found him ill, with shortness of breath, low BP & general malaise. For this reason, he requested to see his Doctor & we submitted a letter in this regard. Today, the Doctor arrived the DSS but was denied access to #MNK.

“As a background, the DSS is well aware that MAZI NNAMDI KANU is susceptible to Potassium Deficiency which affects the function of the heart. This problem was diagnosed by DSS doctors some 3 years ago and they confessed to their lack of the expertise to treat the problem, which in all probability is the cause of #MNK’s current illness.

"This is no doubt very serious and deadly to boot. The readings of the electronic heart monitor supplied by the DSS have been recording low pressure levels for nearly 9 days in a row without any medical intervention to ascertain whether the blood potassium level is within the clinically acceptable range”.

The delivery date for the completion of the $700m Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben gas pipeline project, popularly called OB3, has been shifted from March 2024 to August, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited announced its readiness to complete the facility.

On February 28, 2024, The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government had declared that the project would be completed in March this year, a project that commenced in 2016.

It announced this in February through the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo, at the 7th Nigeria International Energy Summit in Abuja, where the minister described the OB3 gas pipeline as one of the biggest gas transmission systems in both Nigeria and Africa.

“I am highly elated to announce that going by the contractor estimates, the OB3 pipeline will be completed by March 2024 and the 42” 127km pipeline will supply 2BCF (two billion standard cubic feet) per day,” Ekpo had stated.

But in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the spokesperson of NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, the oil firm declared that the project would be completed in August.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC, Mele Kyari, confirmed this during an inspection tour of the OB3 pipeline River Niger Crossing operation at Aboh, Delta State, on Saturday, according to the statement.

By design, the OB3 gas pipeline is the interconnector which links the Eastern gas pipeline network to the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System in the West and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline in the North.

The River Niger Crossing operation has been the major impediment to the completion of the strategic OB3 gas pipeline for over three years, NNPC stated.

This, it said, was due to the failure of the various technologies deployed to achieve the construction of the 48-inch pipe under the river bed between Ndoni in Rivers State and Aboh in Delta State.

It, however, noted that with the adoption of the Micro-Tunnelling/Direct Pipe Installation technology, the new contractors, Messrs HDD Thailand/Enikkom and Tunnelling Services Group (TSG), were making a headway with about 860mout of the 1,800m achieved so far.

Speaking after the inspection tour, Kyari expressed delight at the breakthrough, which signalled the imminent completion of the project.

He was quoted as saying, “This is a major project of monumental value to our country. What this means is that this is the only way we can deliver the gas revolution. I am very happy and convinced that, latest by the middle of August, we will complete this project. I have been assured of that by the project team.”

On the significance of the project, he said, “Once completed, we will see about 2.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas coming into our network. We believe that this will give our country a breathing space of demand, I am sure we can catch up with that kind of demand in the next one and a half years. We are happy that this will give us the platform to unleash the gas revolution in our country.”

Also speaking on the project during the tour, Ekpo expressed satisfaction with the pace of work at the OB3 River Niger Crossing operation.

“I was here last year and I saw the work that was going on. There was a promise that it would be completed by December last year. I took it with a doubt. But today, from what I can see, I am confident that by July or August, it will be completed and it will be commissioned by the President,” the minister stated.

The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said she was looking forward to the completion of the project having been assured by the technical team that the right technology had been found to resolve the complex challenges of the River Niger Crossing.

“As the minister and other speakers have said, we are looking forward to having this project deliver prosperity to Nigerians in the form of electricity and other areas,” Verheijen said

The Managing Director, Tunnel Service Group, one of the contractors to the project, Ingo Justen, who was on the ground to supervise the project at the request of the NNPC boss, expressed confidence that the current technology being applied in the execution of the project would lead to its speedy conclusion.

In a presentation, the Managing Director, NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company, Seyi Omotowa, disclosed that at the rate of progress with the new technology deployed, the River Niger Crossing operation, which is the only aspect of the OB3 Gas Pipeline Project left, would be achieved on schedule.

The estimated cost for constructing the OB3 gas pipeline is $700m. The project started sometime in 2016 and is also known as the East-West Pipeline.

It connects the Obiafu-Obrikom gas plant near Omuku, Rivers State, to Oben, Edo State and is to transport over two billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.

The Dangote Refinery is set to export a shipment of low-sulfur straight-run fuel oil (LSSR) from Nigeria to Singapore this week. The information is based on ship tracking data and market sources, indicating that this is the first time Africa’s largest refinery is entering the Asian market.

The shipment initiates a new trade route from the new refinery to Aisa, which reportedly lacks the low-sulfur fuel oil required for powering ships at Singapore, the world’s largest bunker hub

The $20 billion refinery can process about 650,000 barrels of petroleum products daily and is poised to be Africa’s largest and the world’s biggest single-train refinery when it reaches total capacity. The refinery has been touted as the solution to Nigeria and Africa’s petroleum product imports, especially petrol.

Dangote makes bold promise to Nigerians:

Chairman of Dangote Industries Aliko Dangote promised that Nigeria would not need to import petrol when PMS production begins in mid-July.

Reports say the Dangote refinery has shored up its LSSR exports, sending shipments to the Americas and Europe, according to data from Kpler and Vortexa.

The first Asian-bound shipment will arrive on Wednesday, July 26, 2024, aboard the Glencore-chartered vessel Front Brage and will deliver about 124,000 metric tons of LSSR to Singapore.

Market sources say the cargo was redirected to Asia due to weaker European demand. LSSR products from the Dangote refinery are priced against Rotterdam’s 0.5% LSFO quotes on a free-on-board basis. There is currently no pricing differential for the shipment. Another LSSR shipment from the refinery, about 157,000 tons, is expected to reach Singapore in July aboard the Stena Suede vessel. LSSR is always mixed with other fuels to create low-sulfur oil (LSFO) for bunkering or used as feedstock in various refinery processes.

The refinery began exporting petroleum products in February 2024 and bought crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) in December last year.

The National Troupe on Wednesday unveiled a large picture portrait of President Bola Tinubu.

The portrait was unveiled at the Eagles Square during the 2024 Democracy Day celebration parade.

It was announced at the 2024 Democracy Day event that the project was initiated by the Artefact Gallery, Best Theatre Company and the National Council for Arts and Culture.

The portrait has a painting of President Tinubu adorned in cultural attire and beads.

Opeyemi Alaba, the innovator of the painting, described it as a message of hope for Nigerians and Africa.

He said that the painting was created by 37 different painters representing the 36 states and FCT.

The portrait of the president is said to be the world’s largest painting portrait on canvas.

Africa’s largest oil refinery, Dangote Refinery, has moved the date of production of premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, from June to the middle of July.

The President and CEO of the refinery, Aliko Dangote, confirmed the new production date to newsmen at the $20 billion facility in Lagos on Monday.

Dangote mentioned that the change in date was due to a slight delay, prompting the shift from the originally proposed June to mid-July.

The CEO said the refinery will commence production of petrol between 10 and 15 of July, while supply to local marketers will commence from the third week of the same month.

“We had a bit of delay, but PMS will start coming out by 10 to 15 of July. But then we want to keep it in tank to make sure that it settles. So by third week of July, we’ll be able coming out to take it into the market,” Dangote said.

Backstory
Earlier, the Dangote refinery was expected to begin production and supply of petrol this month, according to different reports.

For instance, analyst at the Standard and Poor’s’ Global (S&P Global) Commodities Insights predicted that the refinery will start supply of petrol in the fourth quarter of this year, particularly in the month of June.

“We are starting to see signs of activities, but all eyes are on when we’ll start to see gasoline production will commence from that project. There is a significant amount of pressure from the Nigerian government for significant volume of that supply to be sent to the domestic market.

“In reality, when we see that start scale up is still subject to debate. Dangote has recently been espousing some punchy timelines. They have most recently been saying that they are looking to produce gasoline by May. But in reality, our analyst expect that would be something like the fourth quarter of this year in a more realistic timeline,” the analysts said.

Exportation of Jet Fuel
Meanwhile, the refinery has begun the supply of jet fuel and diesel to domestic marketers in the country.

In addition, the $20 billion facility started exporting its first jet fuel cargo to Europe.

The first shipment, loaded onto the vessel “Doric Breeze,” left the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos on May 27th and is now on its way to Rotterdam, Netherlands, as per data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea.

More Insights
The Dangote refinery is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.

Nigeria, despite being the most populous country in Africa and its top oil producer, ironically imports almost all of its fuel.

Primarily, this is attributed to the nation’s lack of sufficient refining infrastructure, a gap that the new refinery seeks to fill.

Dangote said the refinery is positioned to be one of the best petroleum refineries in the world.

“What we are doing is to be able to export petroleum products to anywhere and compete with any company. By next week, we’ll be producing about ten thousand ppm in terms of diesel which now what’s happening in that we import about 2 to 3 thousand. We will produce the best,” Dangote added.

UN Seeks $ 4.7bn To Meet Urgent Needs Of 21 Million IDPs In Nigeria, Others It warned that lives are at risk unless humanitarians are given the resources needed to respond to these crises.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has said its humanitarian partners require $ 4.7bn in 2024, to meet the urgent needs of 20.9 million Internally Displaced Persons in Burkina Faso, Cameroon’s Far North Region, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria’s Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

It made the revelation in a statement ‘Almost 33 million people in the Sahel need lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection services’, released on Wednesday.

This comes on the heels of record daily raising number of IDP's in Benue state amounting to a record of 2.5 million number internally displaced persons comprising of persons displaced as a result of the Fulani armed herder crisis which has designated Benue state has the Nigerian Headquarters of IDP's in north west Nigeria.

According to them, the lives of 32.8 million people across the Sahel are affected by a complex and interlinked web of crises, which are exacerbated by instability, a deteriorating security situation, and the effects of climate change, leaving them in need of humanitarian assistance and protection services.

“Across the Sahel, growing violence and conflict threaten lives and livelihoods, forcing families to flee their homes and preventing access to basic social services – 2.2 million children are deprived of their right to education due to school closures, and 1,263 health centres are closed.

“The region hosts two million refugees and asylum seekers and 5.6 million internally displaced persons, many of whom have faced multiple displacements. The increasing effects of climate change are multipliers of vulnerability.

“Protection of human life and people’s fundamental rights and dignity remains the most urgent humanitarian need. Women and girls, children, and those with specific needs are particularly vulnerable. In the upcoming June-August lean season, 16.7 million people will struggle to feed themselves,” the statement read in part.

In Nigeria, the UN noted that 7.9m persons from Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states are people in need, but the agency will target 4.4m people with the required funding of $926.5M.

It further disclosed that 2.2 million children in the area were deprived of their right to education due to school closures, 1,263 health centres are closed while the region hosts two million refugees and asylum seekers aside from 5.6 million internally displaced persons many of whom have faced multiple displacements.

“Humanitarian partners require US$ 4.7 billion in 2024 to meet the urgent needs of 20.9 million people in Burkina Faso, Cameroon’s Far North Region, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria’s Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

While it remains a great revelation with regards to the exclusion of Benue state amongst the crop of states requiring urgent humanitarian aid despite the Benue states overwhelming 2 million+ IDP population, It is warned that lives are at risk unless urgent humanitarian aid and priority resources given the areas requiring most needed attention, in order to respond to the most critical crises, and support the region’s most vulnerable people.

A four-story building collapsed on Lagos Island on Thursday, trapping an unknown number of people.

The incident occurred at Iga Iduganran, near the Oba of Lagos’ palace.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, has confirmed the development on his social media account.

According to Omotosho, eight people have been rescued so far

“A four-storey building has collapsed at Iga Iduganran, Lagos Island. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency officials have rescued eight people from the rubble. They are battling to retrieve two others from the rubble. The structure had been marked by LASBCA for evacuation,” Omotosho said.

This is coming less than a week after an 11-year-old girl and three persons lost their lives when a mosque that was hit by an excavator collapsed in the Papa Ajao area of Lagos State.

A one-time Governor of Benue State and a contender to the national chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Gabriel Suswam has said he harbours no do-or-die affairs for the forthcoming party election.

Senator Suswam stated this during the party’s expanded caucus meeting held at the secretariat located along Makurdi/Otukpo road on Monday.

He acknowledged several interests in every contest but argued that he is not taking the election of the party’s national chairman as a do-or-die affair.

Suswam said that his priority was not only in the chairmanship position of the party but to build a virile and strong party that could wrest power in future elections.

He said, “If it works (election ) in my favour, I will get it, but if it doesn’t, I will forget about it. We are building a party that is on its knees, we want it to stand on its toes”.

The immediate past governor of the state, however, sued for inclusivity ahead of the party’s ward and state congresses.

He said there’s so much pain in losing the election and charged party members to come together.

Ortom stated that the party had witnessed a lot of divisions since the last general elections and admonished party members to strive for the inclusivity of all members.

“We have seen the pain of losing and we do not want to lose again. We have put in place a conflict reconciliation mechanism to resolve all issues.

“We must be one and work together, we should not undermine anyone. I strongly believe that the rejected stone will become the chief cornerstone”, Ortom said.

The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro also stressed unity in the party ahead of the congress adding that the opposition PDP should leverage the mistakes of APC and be ready to dislodge the party in the state.

“What we have in Benue is not governance but a one-man show; let there be no dichotomy in the party. We must make sure we return this state to PDP,” Moro said.

In his speech, the state party chairman, John Ngbede promised that the party will embark on aggressive sensitization of its members towards the forthcoming local government election in the State as well as ward/state congresses

Ngbede also hinted at plans to embark on the registration of new members in line with the constitution of the party.

He announced that the congresses will commence on June 29th, adding the sale of nomination forms will commence soon.

He highlighted the amount for every elective position including the chairmanship position of the party is N1m, the state deputy chairman and, state secretary attract N750,000 while all other positions are pegged at N500,000.

‘It is not going to be business as usual as there will be no compilation of names in individual homes. This will not be accepted and there will be no interference from leaders of the party,” Ngbede said.

On the local government election slated for July 6, 2024, the party chairman said that forms for chairmanship aspirants are to cost N150,000 and councilorship N75,000 naira.


He charged party leaders in the council areas against the imposition of candidates but to produce the best in line with consultation with all stakeholders in their locality.