₦airaland Forum

Ejiofor Alike

Exactly six years after the operating licence for Chevron’s Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 83, 85, 88, 89, 90, 91 and 95 expired in December 2008, after 40 years of issuance, the federal government has renewed the licence for these seven leases for another 20 years, THISDAY has learnt.

Chevron Nigeria Limited operates these seven acreages and five others – OMLs 49, 51, 52, 53 and 55, under a joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), with Chevron having 40 per cent interest, while the national oil company holds 60 per cent.

Before the renewal, Chevron had commenced the divestment of its 40 per cent stake in five of these 12 acreages.

THISDAY gathered that Chevron applied for the renewal of the license since 2006, two years before the expiration.

It was however, not clear why the federal government delayed the approval for six years after the expiration; neither was it clear why the recent approval by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, was kept out of the public glare, unlike the renewal of the Mobil license for 20 years, which was signed in full public glare in February 2012.

Chevron’s General Manager in charge of Policy, Government and Public Affairs (PGPA), Mr. Deji Haastrup, declined to comment on the matter, despite several e-mails and text messages.

But a top official of the company, who did not want to be quoted, confirmed the renewal to THISDAY but declined to give details on the reserves capacity of the seven acreages, as well as the financial commitment of Chevron to the federal government, with regards to the renewal, citing “charged political atmosphere.”

He stated that the renewal would inspire the confidence of Chevron and other International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria’s operating environment, which has been characterised by uncertainty due to the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

Rilwon:
My bros. na obino 4 politics section o, he banned me because i protest on his bias action of diggin old thread to provoke APC supporters.... I think it expires tomorrow.

Demdem:
Am sorry, I do not share ur optimism. Our democracy hasn't yet developed to that level.
Debates currently do not swing votes in Nigeria. Next month election won't be an exception.
Considering this fact, it will be foolhardy for the General to enter into the killer party's trap.

Reactions has continued to trail the recent outburst of the Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, over the health status of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari, as Prophet and Head Shepherd, Celestial Church of Christ, Elisha Parishes, Marcus Korode Tomitan, warns the governor to retract his statement or be prepared to sacrifice his life for the ex-head of state.

He also said Buhari would not die now as he and other men of God would put down their blood to plead for long life on the APC's standard bearer's behalf.

It would be recalled that Fayose, recently, placed advertisement in some national dailies, pointing out the health challenges of Buhari and the likelihood of his dying while in the saddle, like some past presidents from his geographical zone of the country.

Prophet Tomitan, who condemned the “death wish” of the Ekiti governor over Buhari and averred that the ex-military leader would not die but emerge as winner of the forthcoming presidential polls in the country, come February 14, 2015.

The clergyman described the action of the governor as a sacrilege, noting that it was a taboo in Yoruba land to wish a living man death.

He however described the array of condemnation and open attacks trailing the candidature of Buhari as “last kicks of corrupt Nigerians, who have seen that their days are numbered with the emergence of a leader like Buhari after the coming elections.

“Fayose is behaving like a bastard. You don’t come out to wish somebody dead. Buhari will not die. What God told me is that he is going to win, landslide, in the coming election. There is no doubt about that. Ironically, Fayose may even die before Buhari. For him to be speculating that before some heads of state and president from his zone have been dying while in office is very unfortunate. The mathematics is very wrong.

“We shall pray for Buhari to live long. We shall donate our blood for him to live long. I tell you today that the coming elections shall produce the leaders that Nigerians want. Any politician who has the mind to kill anybody for him to hold sway shall use the blood of his first and last born,” he said.

The prophet also took a swipe at those questioning the eligibility of Buhari to contest the presidential polls, saying “leadership is not a matter of certificate but a divine gift from God.”

“Abraham has no certificate before he was made a leader. Joseph did not attend any school before he became the prime minister of Egypt. The incumbent president wouldn’t have been fit to rule the nation if we were to judge by his certificate because he is a zoologist by profession, and we are not animals.

“I am so disappointed that all these are happening after the peace accord was signed among the aspirants to use foul language against each other. I want to state categorically here that Buhari would have been killed before now, but his life was spared because he still has something to offer Nigerians,” he stated.

He further stressed that the retired General would do a lot in sanitising the country through efficient control of corruption, noting that his emergence as the presidential candidate of APC was God’s working.

“If you watched what happened during the delegate congress of the APC that produced Buhari as the presidential candidate of his party, you will see the hands of God clearly. Here is a man who has no money to flaunt around like the other candidates, yet he emerged with a landslide,” he said.

He however advised Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, change the naira as soon as he mounted the saddle, as a way of nabbing past and present corrupt leaders.

“I will advise General Buhari to change the naira as soon as he gets to power. I bet you that characters like Fayose will all go to jail if such measure could be taken,” he stressed.

Demdem:
Stop deceiving ursef.......Jonathan failed miserably as governor, debated himself and still emerged President. What does that tell u? Debates don't and will never, at least for now swing votes in Nigeria.
Those that have not made up their mind are few among which won't even come out.
Again, debates don't swing votes in Nigeria, definitely not even Omole/Dokpesi debate.

Demdem:
Rubbish, what propaganda could be worse than the one currently airing on TV? Don't u get, those that will vote the General are already resolute. His refusal to attend a debate organised by Omole inside Dokpesis bedroom won't change that.

The African Union called Friday for a regional five-nation force of 7,500 troops to defeat the "horrendous" rise of Nigeria's Boko Haram insurgents, AU Commission Chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said.

"Boko Haram's horrendous abuses, unspeakable cruelty, total disregard for human lives, and wanton destruction of property are unmatched," Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement after the bloc's Peace and Security Council met late Thursday, ahead of a full AU summit meeting on Friday.

The Boko Haram uprising has become a regional crisis, with the four directly affected countries - Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria - agreeing along with Benin to boost cooperation to contain the threat and to form a Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

"I am deeply concerned by the prevailing situation as a result of Boko Haram terrorist activities, including the recent escalation of violence witnessed on the ground," Dlamini-Zuma added.

"The continued attacks in northeastern Nigeria and the increasing attacks in the Lake Chad Basin, along the border with Chad and Cameroon, and in the northern provinces of that country, have the potential of destabilising the entire region, with far reaching security and humanitarian consequences."

More than 13,000 people have been killed and more than one million made homeless by Boko Haram violence since 2009.

Regional nations pledged earlier this month to commit a battalion each to the force, a total of some 3,000 troops, but Dlamini-Zuma said after meetings Thursday it was decided that "no efforts should be spared" to defeat the fighters.

"Accordingly, it is recommended that the countries of the region be authorized to increase the strength of the MNJTF to up to 7,500," she added.

A key task of the force, to be deployed with an initial mandate of a year, will be "conducting military operations to prevent the expansion of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups activities and eliminate their presence," the statement added.

Nigeria has the largest army in west Africa but has come under criticism at home and abroad for failing to stop the advance of Boko Haram

By Tobi Soniyi

A group, the Society for Advancement and Protection of Public Rights, has applied to the Federal High Court in Abuja to issue an order stopping the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from insisting that only voters with the Permanent Voters' Cards will be allowed to vote.

SUIT NO: FHC/ABJ/CS/06/15 filed by Mr Eze Anumnu is seeking an order of court to compel INEC to allow anyone with a voter's card, either temporary or permanent, to vote.

To do otherwise, the group argued, would amount to dis-enfranchising millions of Nigerians which the group said would result in violence and breakdown of law and order.

The group stated that there was no law that empowered INEC to insist on PVC as the only acceptable card for voting.

On the contrary, the group said that by refusing to allow people with temporary voters cards to vote, INEC is violating sections 77(2) and 117(2) of the Constitution.

Specifically, the group is seeking a declaration that by virtue of sections 77(2) and 117(2) of the Constitution, INEC has no power to deprive any Nigerian, who is eligible to vote ‎the chance to vote on the grounds of non possession of a PVC.

It also asked the court to declare that any provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 or any INEC Electoral Guidelines, which prescribes the use of a card reader machine for screening voters card, which has the effect of preventing a registered voter to vote, is beyond the powers of INEC and therefore unconstitutional.

The court is also called upon to hold that the "Continuous Voters Registration ‎being carried out by INEC now less than 60 days to the 2015 elections is unconstitutional, illegal, ineffectual and unlawful for being in direct contravention of Section 9(5) of the Electoral Act.

"‎That by virtue of Sections 9(5) and 10(4) of the Electoral Act, the current Voters Register to be used for the 2015 general elections is the Register existing, at least 60days to the commencement of the 2015 elections as notified by INEC pursuant to Section 30(1) of the Electoral Act."

…As NYSC sets up electoral security committee

From ROMANUS UGWU, Abuja

The Chairman of In­dependent National Electoral Commis­sion (INEC), Pro­fessor Attahiru Jega, has re-assured members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) participat­ing in electoral duties of adequate protection.

Jega, who gave the as­surance when the NYSC management team led by the Director General, Brigadier- General Johnson Bamidele Olawumi, paid him courtesy visit at the INEC headquar­ters in Abuja, yesterday, ad­mitted that the involvement of the scheme in the conduct of elections has increased the credibility of the elec­tions.

He said: “It is with great pleasure and delight that I welcome the NYSC team. I want to commend you for what the scheme has been doing to improve electoral process. I want to also com­mend the scheme for the professionalism they have added in their involvement in electoral duty since 2011.

“We have enjoyed the collaborative efforts with the management of NYSC. It is very sad to remember the unfortunate incident that happened in the 2011 gen­eral elections, where some corps members lost their lives in a post election vio­lence. We have done every­thing possible to ensure that such incident don’t happen again in this country.

“We are very pleased with the initiatives you have tak­en in establishing the elec­toral security committee to particularly review the par­ticipation of the scheme. It is also good that it factored the Sheik Gumi report on elec­toral violence and I assure you that the recommenda­tions you have made would be of paramount importance to the conduct of the elec­tions in 2014.

“I would like to assure you that we will do every­thing possible to ensure that the corps members on electoral duties are provided adequate security and pro­tection. All hands are on deck to ensure provision of conducive environment to protect and provide for the corps members.”

The INEC boss said, though the involvement of the corps members is volun­tary, “we should also know that it is part of their na­tional service to this country and we will go extra mile to ensure that we minimize the challenges they face dur­ing and after electoral du­ties and protect and protect them.”

Speaking earlier, the NYSC Director General said the scheme, in collabo­ration with the military and other security agents, has set up electoral security com­mittee as part of the arrange­ments to ensure the security of the corps members par­ticipating in electoral duties.

berem:
Yimu!
Go back and read the Op,this time word for word.

A letter was sent to SaharaReporters last week from The Nigeria Group, stating that APC should be weary of participating in any event organized by NEDG because of their alleged pro-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stance. “NEDG cannot organize a credible debate…given its current composition,” and claimed that PDP received the debate questions in advance.

omenka:
Whether or not he shows the certs, there still would be litigation. Some people's minds have already been screwed silly by the controversy surrounding his certs.

But whatever it is, anyone hoping for a disqualification would do themselves a world of good if they buried that thought.

barcanista:
The Lawsuit is a welcome development. However, be rest assured that the suit will be thrown out for lack of merit. Muhammadu BBuhari shall again be vindicated.

Obinoscopy:
If the Military don't come out to accept being in custody of Buhari's credentials or if Buhari don't present his credentials to INEC himself, be rest assured that there will be enough grounds for litigations. Note: I said litigations, not litigation.

lalasticlala:
Wow

Never knew ooo

The Katsina Police Command on Sunday dispelled rumour over the alleged murder of Malam Ballo Isyaku, Principal of Government College, Katsina, who released Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s certificate.

The command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Aminu Sadiq, made the denial to newsmen in Katsina.

He said that the command had contacted top officials of the ministry of education and they confirmed that the principal was hale and hearty.

Sadiq said that the command had also contacted the Commissioner for Education, and the Zonal Director of education, who assured the police that the rumour was false.

“We are surprised to read the story online that the principal had been killed by unknown gunmen.
“The command wish to state that the principal in question is currently organising a naming ceremony for a new born baby that came into his family.”

The PPRO called on the members of the public to disregard the publication as the handwork of mischief makers, adding that some disgruntled elements were out to cause disaffection among the residents of Katsina.

It will be recalled that the social media had been spreading the rumour that Isyaku had been assassinated by unknown gunmen for releasing the certificate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate. (NAN)