₦airaland Forum

Ayo2004:
Omo..e be like say u old pass my grandpa o

Indeed. I was born in Lagos and a stone throw from the National stadium at Surulere. My dad took me for important matches as a kid when he had the time and long before Nigeria deteriorated into the security cesspit it has become.

thatgirl504:
Pardon my Ignorance, who's Richard Owubokiri?

Arguably the finest europro out of Nigeria. Played his top game in Portugal and was the higheat goal scorer in the superliga in the 1991/92 season wirh 30 goals losing out to Ally McCoist of Glasgow Rangers for the Euro Golden shoe if memory servea me right.

His exploits paved the way for Rasheed Yekini at Boavista but unfortunately he could not replicate such goal scoring feats for the Green Eagles.

I watched him play for Nigeria a couple of times and it was.clear he was technically way ahead of his team mates and could not adapt to the long ball system we still played back then, same problem Sam Okwaraji had a bit later.

Great guy. Wonderful player and consumate pro.

thatgirl504:
Iheanacho performance was electrifying, but there's a beast at the middle of the park called NDIDI. Dude had Manchester United midfielders in his pocket last night.

Great player. Been consistent for many, many years now. In my opinion he will become the best Nigerian player ever in Europe. Perhaps outclassing Richard Owubokiri.

Very poignant at a time when the Federal Government props up its failed counterpart with scarce resources.

Nice one from a performing governor.

Game over. Ole looking like an orphan. Can someone please give him a loving hug.

United bringing on their own low budget Nacho. 'Copycatism' does not always work. Sorry reds.

Nacho, well done. Leicester is a solid team with a good, confident coach.

Reacting to the headlines:

If a team is not performimg then the coach is sacked, simple....BECAUSE HE CHOOSES THE TEAM.

That is why 'idiots' like us continue to bark against the 'personalisation of government' and in favour of the norms and best practices of institution building.

To build institutions is akin to installing an autopilot aboard an aircraft. It is not meant to render you jobless or make a 'Captain' a coffee carrier but to reduce your workload resulting fatigue and ensure the most dangerous manoeuvres are conducted precisely and safely.

Whenever 'idiots' like us tackle government on this matter, their lackeys retort with the worn and tattered simplicism that he, they HAVE THE RIGHT to appoint whomsoever they wish.

Good. They also have the right to fail woefully and have the personal responsibility to accept that...but morw often than not they say it is someone else haunting them... voodoo stuff.

lahizak:
It is a state school and with such, the state determined the uniform, and right now the state determined that Hijab is part of the uniform. The only right thing for Christians to do is fight so that the school will be returned to the missionaries so that they can continue to run it the way they want. But the govt can't be paying and paying and not be able to take decision.

Those are just the raw facts. Looking at it another way. It can also be misconstrued that the government is funding religious institutions if non Christians are not permitted to exercise their liberties in such schools.

Ownership is everything. The day for instance Covenant, or Redeemers, or Babcock and all the others begin to receive government subsidies or cede ownership in part or whole is the day changes to their operations will begin.

It is inevitable no matter what agreements were reached prior.

Once again looking at it from a Christian (that I am) perspective, once again I suggest they tow the path of wisdom concerning the biblical Isaac in the land of the Philistines and 'dig new wells'.

It is a bitter lesson but why fight over what God has clearly departed from.

I disagree with Reno on this. I cannot see what makes these achools 'Missionary' schools anymore other than history and perhaps title.

Ownership is everything. The military may have taken them over forcefully but this was decades ago. Why haven't these missions reclaimed them and where such claims failed moved on since democracy was restored and together with it the liberalization of education.

In this period many, many new church based schools have been established with compete, seclusive ownership and are doing very well.

Once again I just think it was case of having ones cake and eating it by these churches/missions and it teaches us all a vital lesson going forward. If you want liberty then you must be prepared to make sacrifices and take responsibility. Freedom does not come cheap.

crossfire:
if u are reasonable u wont say this,if u are normal n u have a brain u wont say this,it pains me so dearly that u can come here n make this write up,cant u see that this government is a complete failure. May God help us

They are not visionaires or at least intellectually endowed. Just opportunists, rent seekers and agents of mercantile who will not bat an eyelid if this country is sold down the river to satisfy their lusts.

What is about the NNPC that we have not heard or seen. This is an organisation that has admitted its serial failings yet we continue to throw good, scare money after them. This is an organisation that in saner climes would have been declared bankrupt and ceased to exist years ago. Yet you borrow to give them a new toy to destroy.

How can Nigerians be so docile, conned so badly financially raped. serially yet remain 'Stockholmed' to their assailants.

You know there was a time that government awarded a contract for.the upgrade and rehab of NITEL facilities.

Some 300billion if memory serves me right. Where is NITEL today. All we talk about today concerning are opportunities missed and funds misolaced.... And only if we had visionaries in position of authority.

In a while to come we will look back with the same regret at the monumental waste and all the good and positive things our resources could have been deployed towards.

Omoboricash:
Nine Reasons Why Refineries’ Rehabilitation Is Justified

By Adewole Kehinde
Mail Express Online
Saturday, 20 March 2021

It is no longer news that the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday, 17th March, 2021 approved the sum of $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery Company Ltd.
Unfortunately, some personalities like Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Gov Nyesom Wike, Activist Aisha Yesufu, Senator Dino Melaye, and Former Gov Peter Obi among others are opposing the rehabilitation/contract award. 
Below are the nine reasons why refineries’ rehabilitation is justified

1. AFTER YEARS OF NEGLECT, THE PLANTS NEED TO BE BACK

Nigeria’s three refineries in Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt with a combined capacity of 445,000b/d capacity were established to ensure energy security for the country. Unfortunately, these refineries have suffered years of neglect due to delays in conducting mandatory Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) that has resulted in performance decline over the past two decades and they have all been shut down to allow proper diagnosis and rehabilitation.

Of these refineries, the most strategic is the Port-Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) with a capacity of 210,000 b/d and can produce 10.4 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) per day. This refinery had its last TAM in the year 2000 (21 years ago).

It is gladdening therefore to see that there is finally a move on the part of government to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt refinery and restore all the numerous advantages that operating the refinery will bring to the Country. This rehabilitation, unlike TAM (which should normally be carried out every two years but was neglected for many years), will involve comprehensive repairs of the plant with significant replacement of critical equipment to ensure the plant integrity is maintained for a minimum of ten years.

2.  REHABILITATION VS BUILDING NEW REFINERIES: WHAT ECONOMICS?

Some critics have said that it is more economical to build a new refinery than “just waste US$1.5bn” to rehabilitate the PHRC, which holds 210,000bpd out of Nigeria’s 445,000bpd refining capacity. On the contrary, a cursory look at brand new refineries built across the world will reveal the following:

US$10bn was budgeted for building Aramco Oil Refinery (250,000-300,000 bpd) in Pakistan

US$12bn was budgeted for building Abrue Lima Project (230,000) in Brazil

US$27bn was budgeted for building Pengerang Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development, RAPID (300,000 b/d + 3 mtpa) naptha steam cracker) in Indonesia.

Closer home, US$19bn was budgeted for building Dangote Refinery (650,000bpd) in Nigeria.

3.  THE LENDER IS SMART, THE CONTRACTOR REPUTABLE

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is the reliable lender that has agreed to raise up to $1billion towards the rehabilitation project. In the same vein, Government will raise the sum of US$550m. A credible and capable lender like Afreximbank would never agree to put such huge amount of money where there will be no value.

Similarly, Tecnimont SpA, representative of the Original Refinery Builder (ORB) which is one of the top ten global Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning (EPCIC) Contractor in refineries, is globally reputable and capable, with requisite experience of similar jobs across the globe.

4.  STRATEGIC ASSETS ARE NEVER FOR SALE

Despite the abundance of hydrocarbon resources, Nigeria is, sadly, the only oil gas producer in the world that does not refine petroleum products. Instead, the country relies heavily on importation for most of its PMS needs locally. This is not a good record to be proud of.

Armchair critics also come up with a shallow argument that it is better to sell off these refineries since they can no longer meet up the nation’s refining needs. Which country sells off its strategic national assets, such as the refineries, to the highest bidder? Who sells off their refinery when even countries who don’t produce a drop of hydrocarbon still go ahead and build refineries?

5.  THE END OF ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’

Armchair critics usually think a mere mention of rehabilitation means another round of “business as usual”, where resources are drained with nothing to show for it at the end of the day. While some of these arguments are justifiable, it is instructive to note that this rehabilitation is different because interested parties who benefit from the age-long importation largesse (and who fleece the nation dry) will potentially be out of business by the time the rehabilitation is completed.

This is the same for critics who see nothing good in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. These detractors probably forgot that this was an administration which, from its inception, made clear its intention to bring back the refineries to their optimal capacities. The Buhari Presidency also threw its full weight and support behind the NNPC and gave the Corporation a free hand to execute the project without any interference in the contracting processes.

6. THE BENEFITS ARE ENORMOUS…AND ENDLESS

There are quite a number of benefits in bringing the nation’s refineries back on stream. From satisfying local energy demand, growing the nation’s GDP, to strengthening the Naira by reducing the demand for Forex to creating thousands of jobs across the value chain (crude supply, operating and maintaining the refinery, product supply etc) including several third-party contractors that will supply outsourced services or goods, the advantages are huge.

The refined products also serve as feedstock for small scale local manufacturing. The most significant and visible benefit is energy security for the country. Imagine if COVID-19 lockdown became global and Nigeria couldn’t import, it would have been a disaster as there was no capacity to refine crude in-country and as such, there would have been no products at all. That will be a true definition of disaster!

7. IT’S OPERATE & MAINTAIN (O&M) MODEL

Having learnt from the experiences of previous models, NNPC is now adopting the Operate & Maintain (O&M) Model as a strategy in the execution of the rehabilitation project, which is also one of the key lender requirements. With the O&M Strategy, the Contractor is expected to:

• Be a single point of responsibility for managing operations, maintenance and technical services within the refinery’s battery limit

• Be a credible, proven refinery operator with preferably FCC experience

• Operate and maintain the refinery efficiently to generate sufficient margins to pay back the debt

• Be Able to manage local and specialized sub-contractors

• Retain current NNPC staff, and actively support employee development to prepare for the transfer of the refinery management back to NNPC (timeline to be defined)

• NNPC will retain 100% of refinery ownership (e.g. no JV structure etc.)

• NNPC does not expect significant capital projects (e.g. upgrades, de-bottlenecking etc) during the O&M contract phase.

• NNPC’s structure and mandates outside of the refinery’s battery limits will not be impacted by the O&M strategy (e.g. PPMC).

8. THE CURIOUS CASE OF SHELL’S MARTINEZ REFINERY ‘SALE’

It is strange to hear people come up with the curious case of Shell’s sale of its Martinez Refinery in California to PBF Holding for $1.2bn “while NNPC is only rehabilitating PHRC for $1.5bn.” Perhaps, what people failed to understand is that Martinez Refinery is 105years old (built in 1916). The refinery had a major fire incident in September 1989 and it is having regulatory challenge with the Californian authorities. The relatively high cost of doing business in California, coupled with challenges with adherence to the State’s environmental regulations were factors in Shell’s decision to sell (https://www.ktvu.com/news/after-105-years-martinez-refinery-no-longer-owned-by-shell).

Also, as part of the condition of the sale agreement, Shell and PBF previously entered into a market-based crude oil supply and product off-take agreements to continue supplying Shell-branded businesses and ensuring that Shell customers continue having access to Shell-branded fields (See https://www.ogj.com/refining-processing/article/14092900/shell-finalizes-sale-of-martinez-refinery).

In a nutshell therefore, what happened between Shell and PBF was just a Management agreement packaged as a sale to manage and protect Shell’s image, hence, it can never be a fair comparison with the cost of rehabilitating an NNPC refinery or even building a new one. Putting up such argument as a defence looks like a well-choreographed attempt by groups who feel that the refineries coming on stream will not only throw them out of business, but will also threaten their long-term interests.

9.  FINALLY, AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT APPROACH THIS TIME AROUND 

Unlike what is obtained in the past, the current refineries rehabilitation project is different for the following reasons:

a. It consists of a governance structure that includes key independent external stakeholders: Ministry of Finance, NEITI, ICRC, PENGASSAN and NUPENG. 

b.        Unlike the regular TAM, this rehabilitation will involve comprehensive repairs of the plant with significant replacement of critical equipment to ensure that the plant’s integrity is maintained for a minimum of ten years.

c.         It is funded through part-loan and part-government, with the financiers actively monitoring the execution of the project.

d.        KBR and NETCO are acting as NNPC Engineers who will be supervising the EPC contract to ensure that the project is delivered on schedule, within budget and at the right quality.

Oga. All this grammer for what.
If the government has all this cash why not just buy a stake in the Dangote refinery that is much bigger, has a petrochemical and fertilizer component and most importantly is just round the corner.

Is the government interested in liberalising the midstream sector or not. If you have issued licences ultimately towards establishing the private sector as a major player then why should the referee put on boots and cleats to play.

Mark this: NNPC and Dangote CANNOT swim in the same waters. ONE WILL SURELY, SURELY, SURELY DESTROY THE OTHER. And your guess is as good as mine how this will all end.

This LAZARUS contract that the government is pretending is just a conduit for corruption and and a certain waste pipe at best. Those refineries have NO FUTURE with the status quo. The problem is not the bolts and nuts of the refineries themselves but thee principles of ownership, management, vision and mission of government and Nigeria.

So what is the government wasting 1.5 billion Greenback's for on its so called 'Lazarus' programme.

You know whenever oil prices rise we all catch the 'Gowon Cold' and lose our sense of proprietary. If not why not just give the cash to Dangote since it is a business venture of which he can make returns which the NNPC by its own admission cannot.

Once again, the unworkable structure of Nigeria that destroys everything in its path is heading for the energy sector once again. The bottom line is clear. The government and the private sector cannot play in the same ball park, the government is either a referee or the game does not exist.

THE PORTHARCOURT REFINERY EITHER DESTROYS DANGOTE'S REFINERY OR DANGOTE'S REFINERY DESYROYS ALL NNPC'S REFINERY DREAMS.

It is simply impossible for both to coexist. And no matter how high cement prices are, once the government enters the game nothing but chaos will result.

What worries me is that a lot of brilliant folks know this but are silent. The government knows this but are adamant leading me to suspect that the motives behind the Lazarus project are just wrong, sinister and likely all about corruption

It is certain the PDP won't field a quality candidate simply because the motives are wrong.

Power for power sake has been our bane since independence. It has destroyed Nigeria and led us to where we are today, a dysfunctional country.

The present regime at least pretended it had a noble social agenda of fighting corruption. The PDP by Wike's assertion is bold in its desire to rape and pillage.

If not the foundation for alternate governance will have been laid with the first gaffe of the APC government way back in 2015 and by now a solid agenda, preset programmes and competent men and women in waiting to move Nigeria forward will have been laid.

I'm afraid the biggest tragedy here is not the APC's barren, wasted years in government, but the PDP's inept, indolent, ignorant and totally shambolic stinct in opposition.

This country and its hapless citizens are yet again holding the short end of the stick. Between a rock and a hard place. Wither Nigeria.

But when we say restructure you will join the 'owners' of Nigeria to say that corruption is the main problem with Nigeria.

I will not even go into the politics of the whole thing as this is certainly towards building a 2023 warchest.

I will not even go into the logic of the whole thing as attempting to raise a thirty year old corpse instead of starting from scratch with investment in modulars is.

But the simple fact if government wants to refine shoulder to shoulder with the private sector as exemplified by Dangote, one will certainly take the other out, pure and simple.

The text read, 'It damaged him politically..'. How is that when he is riding high on the shoulders of his peons...

Do Nigerians even understand what they say, thoughtless of the consequences of their actions...

Folks will soon realise who they vote for is of great importance and next time not only empower him or her that is right but whom they can exert influence over.

Mr Onoghen should refrain from public comments on this matter within this dispensation.

It is belittling of the office and position he held. By this he drags himself into the murky waters of politics and it will surely rub off. Poor judgement.

Record high pump prices, still crazy high subsidies, now a record amount spent on refinery lipstick.... And the oil prices are still not near pre administration levels....

Where is all this money going mbok....

Chain!!!!....I just wanna puke. Just horrible....

JAOS:
The government should arrest this elements that are causing division among Nigerians before it get out of hand

Arrest, arrest, arrest. What nonsense. That is not what proper governments do. What has been said that is tantamount to an arrest on any side of the divide, nothing.

What goverments do, instead of escalating tensions is to create dialogue, to bring interest groups round a table to air directly to themselves their views with an objective of finding common ground and establishing common values.

When citizens know that government actively promotes dialogue in the land you will see credible associations springing up all over the place with strong mandates from their constituents, just as you have the NAACP or UNIDOS in the States.

Why is it so hard for the authorities in Nigeria either to foster cross sectional dialogue or dialogue themselves with their citizens in a constant, deliberate, institutional manner.

Why is government always either ambivalent until violence is the last resort or act violently themselves against their people. Are we not all sick and tired of constant bloodshed and depravity.

There are many, many countries out there who have longer running, deeper and more intractable sectional, ethnic and religious chasms but they all seem to be able to focus their energies on corporate development instead. Why can't we..

Arrest, arrest, kill, kill at every instance....what kind of poorly governed, poorly citizened country is this for heavens sake.

Subsidybad21:
Not here to defend government or to defend bandits or Buhari

But let's be honest, tracing Bandits money is not going to be that easy

For starters, ENDSARS protest leaders used the banks and opened accounts in their name or accounts linked to them. That enabled authorites to trace them with ease.Because they left a paper trail. They even left account details for donations on line....making it easier for everyone including DSS and other government agents to trace them

As for your average bandit....I doubt they use the normal banking system. If anything, they probably keep their money outside of it. Some savvy kidnappers have been reported to use bitcoin, but on the whole bandits probably don't use the banks to keep their money.

Most bandits get money this way...ask the person delivering ransom to drop a bag of money in a remote location. No cops, or else. Not 'transfer money via a bank account'...easy to catch, especially in this era of BVN.

Or if they did, I suspect they have a series of varied fronts, and prolly don't register the accounts in their names.

Once you don't leave a paper trail, the work of the police in tracing you becomes harder.

Oga. Wake up to proper citizenship and stop making excuses for poor governance.
Let the authorities simply apply the same diligence, that's all.
The police and secret services have other tools for obtaining information if they are interested.

NwaNimo1:
[img]https://media./images/1441e1ea5302830fd72cb441cc043b3d/tenor.gif[/img]

Hahahahaha....

This is what we need in Nigeria. Any trigger that will cause public officials to air dirty laundry.

This is what the press and organised media in developed climes do. They bait, sting and rope these folks into all manner of disclosures.

No matter how tight a conspiracy is someone will always baulk.

Italian footy is in a crises, however the knockout rounds are always tricky.

Who decided that rate. Who was consulted on that charge.
Nigerians should ask themselves why they NEVER, EVER participate in anything that affects them. Why they never resist the frequent transfer of wealth from themselves to those in authority. Is this what democracy is all about.

hegej:
Stealing cooked rice? WTF, There is hunger in the land.

He committed an offence so is guilty as charged but the government prosecutor should apply for a non-custodial charge rather than incarceration. This country just cannot afford to lock up every petty thief.

He should be given hard labour building the Lagos-Ibadan expressway or the second Niger bridge or doing a Lazarus on the portharcourt refinery....anything to save pennies for this wasteful, decadent government.

C'mon, community service. Haba. Nigeria cannot afford this kind of miscarriage.

ADAMUdaCOWBOY:
Because of his blunder in the 2010 world cup, it is the wonderful thing that Aiyegbeni was denied the first spot on this list. May he never be given a no. 1 sport for any good thing relating to Nigeria. I remember how he stood in front of the post with a stupid smile that day. The most annoying thing is coaches kept on inviting him for tournaments! God bless Stephen Keshi for the good riddance to bad rubbish!

Just look at the distance to the goal post and it is the 8th wonder of the world how he missed from there.