₦airaland Forum

Investment in the downstream sector, particularly in refinery projects, is now the condition for issuance and renewal of concessions and oil licences to International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria.

Director of the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Billy Agha, who disclosed this at a quarterly media briefing in Lagos yesterday, said Federal Government has directed that companies that fail to meet the fresh condition will not be issued with oil licences and will also not have their concession renewed.

Licences issued in 1968 expired after the 40-year lease on the oil blocks last year, but the government renewed the licences for one more year. They will soon be up for another renewal.

"Before any company will henceforth get its concession renewed, it has to invest in downstream projects and we want this to be in refinery project," he said.

Agha who lamented the poor state of the four refineries in Nigeria stated that at the moment all the refineries are "dead".

He put the combined average performance of the refineries during the period under review at 6.66 per cent, while the average crude oil received was 3,403,432bbls.

He also disclosed that the total crude oil production for the third quarter of 2009 was 214.6 million barrels, at an average daily rate of 2.333 million barrels per day.

Giving further breakdown, he said the July average was 2,260,224 bpd. In August, it was 2,280,197 bpd, while that of September was 2,462,516bpd.

He also revealed that the nation's crude oil reserve has hit 38.6 mostly from the deep offshore.

"As at January 1, 2009, the nation's oil reserves was at 33.41 billion barrels of oil, condensate reserves was 5.20 billion barrels (38.61mmb). There is an observed net increase of oil reserves of 480 million barrels against January 2008 Reserves, representing about 1.46 per cent increase. The increase is noticeable mostly in Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) Assets in the Deep Offshore areas," he said.

Agha said owing to the inclusion of condensate, the country currently produces over 2.2 million as against the 1.67 million barrels per day imposed by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The DPR boss also disclosed that production deferment for the third quarter of 2009 was as follows: June, 634,371bpd, July, 827,517bpd, and August 2009: 893,523 Barrels per day. The deferments, he explained, were as a result of the Niger Delta crisis and other operational problems.

In terms of revenue generation, he said the agency remitted about N312 billion to the Federation Account during the said period.

Meanwhile, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has directed the government team to step up consultations with Labour and other stakeholders to ensure that the issue of deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry is amicably resolved.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian Natio-nal Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, who spoke to journalists yesterday, said the corporation was pushing for the granting of financial independence to the four petroleum refineries as a means of guaranteeing efficiency and viability of the companies.

Barkindo said consultations on deregulation were continuing as directed by Yar'Adua, just as steady progress was being made on several issues.

Speaking on the protracted talks between government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its allies, Barkindo said the president had given his word that negotiations must continue until the matter was amicably resolved and that government would not take any unilateral action to impose deregulation.

"Consultations have been going as directed by Mr. President because he does not believe in unilateral action," he said.

He described the negotiations as very important and critical to the country's national development aspiration.


"I also want to add my own voice to say that Nigerians should take note of the consultations that has been going on between government team and all the stakeholders because good governance is about consultation in decision making devoid of unilateral actions. We believe in collective decision and I believe that the decision that will be arrived at will be in the larger interest of Nigerians," he said.

Barkindo said it is particularly noteworthy the constructive and mature manner in which the labour team has handled its submissions.

"I want to use this opportunity to state that the ongoing consultation between labour and government on deregulation is not deadlocked. The NLC has accommodated our key requests and we have also taken into account their very valid concerns.

"We welcome their setting-up of a 10-man committee under the leadership of the Deputy President of the NLC Comrade Peter Adeyemi to continue with this dialogue and consultation during and after the deregulation," Barkindo stated.

B - Nigeria Police Force

214. (1) There shall be a police force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section no other police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution -

(a) the Nigeria Police Force shall be organised and administered in accordance with such provisions as may be prescribed by an act of the National Assembly;

(b) the members of the Nigeria Police shall have such powers and duties as maybe conferred upon them by law;

(c) the National Assembly may make provisions for branches of the Nigeria Police Force forming part of the armed forces of the Federation or for the protection of harbours, waterways, railways and air fields.

215. (1) There shall be -

(a) an Inspector-General of Police who, subject to section 216(2) of this Constitution shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Nigeria Police Council from among serving members of the Nigeria Police Force;

(b) a Commissioner of Police for each state of the Federation who shall be appointed by the Police Service Commission.

(2) The Nigeria Police Force shall be under the command of the Inspector-General of Police and contingents of the Nigeria Police Force stationed in a state shall, subject to the authority of the Inspector-General of Police, be under the command of the Commissioner of Police of that state.

(3) The President or such other Minister of the Government of the Federation as he may authorise in that behalf may give to the Inspector-General of Police such lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and public order as he may consider necessary, and the Inspector-General of Police shall comply with those direction or cause them to be compiled with.
(4) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Governor of a state or such Commissioner of the Government state as he may authorise in that behalf, may give to the Commissioner of Police of that state such lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and public order within the state as he may consider necessary, and the Commissioner of Police shall comply with those directions or cause them to be complied with:

Provided that before carrying out any such directions under the foregoing provisions of this subsection the Commissioner of Police may request that the matter be referred to the President or such minister of the Government of the Federation as may be authorised in that behalf by the President for his directions.

(5) The question whether any, and if so what, directions have been given under this section shall not be inquired into in any court.

216. (1) Subject to the provisions of this constitution, the Nigeria Police Council may, with the approval of the President and subject to such conditions as it may think fit, delegate any of the powers conferred upon it by this Constitution to any of its members or to the Inspector-General of Police or any other member of the Nigeria Police Force.

(2) Before making any appointment to the office of the Inspector-General of Police or removing him from office the President shall consult the Nigeria Police Council.

By Emma Ovuakporie

ABUJA—THE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri, has identified the judiciary as key to the successful elimination of economic crimes and corruption.

She, however, noted that ”frivolous injunctions” being granted by some courts were inimical to the nation’s justice system.

Waziri said this in a paper, entitled, ”Corruption and Economic Crimes: The Challenges Before Judicial Officers,” delivered yesterday at the on-going Nigeria Judges’ Conference at the Nigeria Judicial Institute, Abuja.

She advocated for a more fundamental approach in the fight against economic crimes and corruption, stressing that Nigeria may not realise its potentials nor attain its vision of becoming a developed nation if the phenomenon is not tackled headlong.

According to her: “I believe and rightly so, that judicial officers are partners of the commission in overpowering those I call “barbarians within the gates” of the system.

”These are the corrupt individuals that stand in the way of economic progress of the country and will at all times corrupt the system for their selfish needs and greed.

”Judicial officers must help this country because so much hope is reposed in them. I believe that the proper, judicious, courageous and innovative use of judicial powers can achieve results.

“I earlier cited the case of Bode George where a conviction was secured within 15 months or so, and will want to contrast it with other equally important cases which were filed and have been pending for over four years not moving beyond the plea stage.

”I believe that the only difference lies in the innovative and judicious use of the powers of the courts. The courts can deny the corrupt the comfort of enjoying their ill-gotten loot by ensuring that they do not abuse basic remedies provided in law for good cause.

“I speak of the grant of exparte injunctions which undermine investigations. At the moment, we are battling with several court orders restraining the commission from ever investigating certain individuals and corporate bodies.

”We are yet to understand the legal reasoning behind a high court restraining the commission from carrying out its statutory duties particularly in the face of notable pronouncements on this point to the contrary by the highest court of the land.

”I speak of perpetual injunctions which in some cases have become permanent immunity to some people who are under investigation even where they have lost their constitutional immunity.

The EFCC Chairman, while acknowledging the commendable efforts of the judiciary in the war against graft, especially with the recent conviction of the former Chairman of NPA Board, Chief Bode George, however, regretted that some high profile cases have not been moved beyond the plea stage for over four years.

Waziri called for the establishment of special courts, which, she said, would fast- track judicial processes in corruption cases.

Beaf Re: Mafia Rules Oil Sector –fg, Name The Mafia - Labour
« #7 on: November 12, 2009, 02:39 AM »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Na so we am!
90% of those in govt in Abuja are into oil bunkering in some way or the other. The same as a huge percentage of ex-Generals and ex-govt people.

Just before Hilary Clinton came here, she made two piercing statements; (1) foreigners know more about Nigeria than Nigerians do and (2) 90% of our oil money benefits only 1% of Nigeria's 140 million!

The mafia can't be too hard to find, in fact we should have more than enough zeal to hunt them out. . . But many waters have flowed under the bridge

From Gnature
Allowing the inclusion of private firms in power generation

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State on Monday disclosed that the state now generates a monthly revenue of N14 billion as tax.

This was contained in his paper titled “Re-Engineering State Tax Administration Strategies, Systems and Processes: Lessons from Lagos State” presented at the first national roundtable strategy session on internally generated revenue holding in Abuja.

According to him, the figure represents over 300 per cent increase against the N3.6 billion the state was generating in 2007 when he came into office.

Governor Fashola added that there was an improved quality of service delivery to tax payers, a wider taxpayer base, increased rate of voluntary compliance, among others in Lagos State.

The governor said: “I must be quick to add that we are far from the Promised Land, but we hope to get there.”

He further stated that the challenge of re-engineering the tax administration strategies and systems of any government is a multifaceted one which must be confronted with thorough dedication.

Fashola however expressed dismay that most companies in the state perform extremely poor in terms of discharging their statutory duty of deductions and remittances of taxes from their employees and contractors.

“Many of them do not deduct the correct amount of taxes prescribed by the law. There are several cases of allowances surreptitiously paid to staff without subjecting them to tax.

“In addition, we have several cases of expatriates’ staff whose emoluments and identity are not disclosed in the companies’ tax returns.

“Many companies even deduct PAYE (Pay As You Earn) and withholding taxes but fail to pay over to government. Those that eventually pay hardly ever do so within the time prescribed by law,” he explained.

Fashola affirmed that over the next two decades, Lagos State would need about N2.6 trillion to provide qualitative and efficient network of roads and drainages; N1.3 trillion for power; N1.2 trillion for inter-modal transportation system, N650 billion for information and computer technology; N390 billion to expand and improve its water supply network, among others.

Earlier in his opening address, Chairman of the forum and Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, stressed that it is expected that states’ budget discussions would be more balanced with comprehensive focus on both revenue and expenditure.

Saraki, whose speech was read by Ebonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi, said: “We must begin as a group to shift away from using the benchmark price of oil as the main factor driving our revenue base.”

-----------------------------Stillwater---------------------------------------------------
As a Nigerian, there are no advantages if you live outside Nigeria. People are treated as individuals not by race, country or gender or how wealthy you are.

@Poster,
From the title, I was expecting something well researched, or a first hand testimony of someone who has experienced or is experiencing life as an illegal immigrant abroad, but all you did was to draw wild conclusions and paste pictures labelled by Associated Press & Reuters .

The issue of the plight of illegal immigrant abroad touches a sore nerve that should give any reasonable person cause for concerns. But I think the summary boils down to the individual involved and what they really want. Travelling or staying abroad without the statutory requirments is a big gamble with so many bad sides and a few good sides. But even with the tales of the deprivations people go through, some people will still want to see it to believe, like Thomas in the bible.
I look forward to the day that home governments, especially in African countries will begin to take the welfare of their people very seriously.
But hey! even life itself is a big gamble.