The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered illegal crude oil warehouses and apprehended two suspects in separate operations conducted across Imo State.

NSCDC shared details of these operations on its official Facebook page on Sunday, along with images showcasing the successful enforcement activities.

The post reads in part: “Intensifying the war against economic saboteurs: The CG SIS arrests two suspected economic saboteurs and impounds one Toyota Sequoia jeep loaded with over 5,000 litres of suspected adulterated AGO at Abacheke of Ohaji/Egbema LGA of Imo State.”

Additionally, NSCDC revealed that during the operations, two illegal crude oil warehouses located in a dense forest in Izorsu community of Oguta II Local Government Area and Umuofor community of Oguta Local Government Area in Imo State were discovered and subsequently destroyed.

Falz, the rapper, has narrated how he and his managers survived a near-death experience in 2013.

In a chat with Gbemi O, the rapper and his managers Femisoro Ajayi and Sidney Sule recounted how they were attacked by armed men.

The trio said they took a trip to Abuja after Falz was invited to perform at a wedding ceremony.

Falz said that, during their trip back, they were shot at by “turban-tying, AK47-wielding, dangerous-looking men” on the expressway.

He said their driver was killed and the vehicle headed towards the forest. He said they all passed out.

The rapper said the armed robbers eventually retreated into the forest after hearing the police sirens.

“It was after NYSC and this was me working in my dad’s firm as a lawyer in 2013,” he said.

“Then we got a call to come to Abuja for a show. The payment was N1 million and logistics will be taken care of. It was a wedding, so we took the trip.

“There was no flight from Abuja to Lagos. So we hired a car from Abuja to Benin. I led a solid prayer and it was probably what ended up saving us.

“It was broad daylight and we started the trip around 2 pm. We fell asleep during the trip.

“Then we just heard a loud bang. We woke up to see these turban-tying, AK47-wielding, dangerous-looking men in the middle of the expressway.

“The bang we heard was a gunshot they had shot at the car. They shot at our car again and the bullet came flying in between everyone. Everything happened so fast.

“They shot at us again and the bullet hit the driver in the eye. The driver died instantly. The car started moving. It was wild. I remember seeing the car heading for a ditch and just thinking this is it.

“Then we passed out. I was the first to come around. I got out of the car and saw one of the men asking ‘Where is the money?’ I told him there was no money. He goes to the car looking for cash.

“We had left Abuja but we hadn’t gotten to Lokoja. It was all forest. It was the peak of Boko Haram and we were somewhere in the north.

“We started to hear sirens from far away. The police did not come near. At this point, they increased fire and started shooting. They later moved away from us and retreated.

“We tried to stop cars on the expressway, but not a single soul stopped. A police guy eventually came and another guy said he was a doctor.”

[TheCable]

Popular Nigerian musician, Adewale Mayowa Emmanuel, a.k.a Mayorkun has disclosed why he decided not to reveal his mother’s identity for years.

Mayorkun, who stated this during a chat with Taymesan on Saturday, explained that the reason was because he didn’t want to be treated with favouritism anywhere.

Speaking in a viral clip on the internet, the singer noted that when he was at the university, he never made it known that his mother, actress Toyin Adewale was a popular movie star.

“Growing up, my brother and I didn’t like the fact that our mom was a popular actress because we wanted freedom, but with her fame came fake attention and all.

“I hated being treated differently, not because you like me but because I am Toyin Adewale’s son.

“Even in my university, people didn’t know she was my mother for four years. I was intentional about this.

“My mum brought food to me at school once, and a girl saw her. I quickly ran to her to get what she came with just so no one else saw her.”

Popular Nigerian On Air personality, Do2dtun, has stated that denying the late Nollywood actor, Saint Obi, access to his children led to his death.

Do2dtun made this known while berating partners who use children as a weapon against their exes.

Recalling his conversation with Saint Obi’s family, Do2dtun revealed that the actor died in his family house in Jos.

In a post on his official X on Sunday, the on air personality wrote: “Let’s normalize the fact that children are not objects. They have rights. When a child demands the right to see or be with a parent and you deny them, you have trampled on their rights. Listen! A child is not a material meant for one person to keep.

“I spoke to a family member of Saint Obi. He passed away in their house in Jos and you have absolutely no idea what that man went through. Denying him his kids and fighting eventually took his life.

“You believe you are winning a fight by weaponizing kids? I am sorry; YOU ARE A LOSER.”

The price of rice in Nigeria is projected to increase by 32 per cent in 2024, according to AFEX’s recent wet season crop production report.

However, the report stated that rice production is expected to rise by approximately 4 per cent.

“While there is an expected increase in production by approximately 4 per cent, we anticipate a potential surge in the price of paddy rice by up to around 32 per cent,” the leading African commodities player stated.

The report attributed the projected production increase to the absence of a flood in 2023.

Meanwhile, DAILY POST gathered a 50kg bag of rice jumped to an average price of N55,000 from N12,000 ten years ago.

The development comes as Nigeria’s food inflation rate increased to 31.52 per cent in October 2023 from 30.64 per cent in September 2023, according to the latest National Bureau of Statistics report.

The crisis rocking the oil and gas transport industry members has taken another dimension as the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, an arm of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, on Sunday, threatened to pull out of NUPENG.

PTD declared it would pull out of the oil union if NUPENG’s National President, Williams Akporeha, and its General Secretary, Olawale Afolabi, failed to resign.

The tanker drivers disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja and jointly signed by Gbenga Olawale and Adekunle Rufai of PTD, Ibadan Depot.

They alleged that the NUPENG president lacked the required competence to lead the union because he was not a member of the oil union.

According to them, Williams was a cook in an oil company from the formal sector and was sacked from the company while holding the office of the national treasurer of NUPENG.

They further alleged that he was later drafted into the Petrol Station Workers Union of NUPENG to enable him to contest the election as NUPENG President.

“NUPENG president lacked the competence to lead the union because he was not a member of the oil union,” they claimed.

The development comes as DAILY POST reported that drivers had protested against NUPENG on November 1 over the imposition of leadership.

• Opposition parties kick against profligacy
• Allegations scandalous, says Rhodes-Vivour
• Official waste complicating state fiscal crisis

Scrutiny over profligacy in statecraft and fiscal recklessness has shifted from the centre to Lagos, the supposed Centre of Excellence, and its peers at the weekend, as the state government was kicked for what its critics described as frivolous procurements, which run into several billions of naira.

Other states in similar baskets are tied with the Lagos State government in a campaign that shocked the social media space. This comes at a time the country is enmeshed in a revenue crisis with the current administration tottering around a fiscal cliff and a debt mess not seen in the history of the country.

Funso Doherty, a chartered accountant and governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2023 election, had hit the social media trend lines at the weekend, after writing an open letter to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, requesting an explanation over certain budget items he dismissed as frivolous and requires “greater scrutiny”.

“Under the office of the Chief of Staff, procurement of a brand-new Lexus LX 600 bulletproof sport utility vehicle for use in the pool of office of Chief awarded for the total sum of N440,750,000.
“Replacement of liquid fragrance in the office of Mr. Governor, Lagos house Ikeja awarded for the sum of N7,475,000.
“In addition, Decorations for the venue of political delegates for the sum of N20,084,550.
“Flying hours expenses for ad-hoc Charter plane by Lagos State Government awarded for the sum of N400,000,000,” he wrote.

The attached document, which has set the Internet on fire with millions of netizens joining the politicians in calling for probity, claimed the government allocated N69.94 billion for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and upgrade of the phase of the Eti Osa/Lekki Epe Expressway (phase b) from Greensprings to Abraham Adesanya in Eti Osa and Ibeju-Lekki local government.

It added that sundry consultancy services received generous allocations ranging from N2 billion to N7 billion from the state, which has been bleeding, like every other state in the country.

The call comes while the state goes cap-in-hand in search of funding from the private sector for critical infrastructure, including rail and road projects.

Two weeks, the governor was in Marrakesh, Morocco where he pitched Lagos to international investors at a boardroom session where he touted Lagos as a city where every African and other people in the rest of the world could come to “play and work”.

In an exclusive interview, he told The Guardian that infrastructure was on top of his shopping list as he mounted the rostrum to engage the international community on the opportunities the coastal state offers.

Recently, Sanwo-Olu signed a partnership agreement worth $1.35 billion with the African Export-Import Bank and Access Bank for the construction of the long-proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge, the Omu Creek Project, the Second Phase of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit and Blue Line from Mile-2 to Okokomaiko.

Also, the state is sinking into a debt crisis like every other state in the country. As at the end of June, the state government sat close to one-sixth of the total domestic debts owed by the sub-national entities. In absolute terms, it owed N996 billion to local debtors captured and managed by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

Sanwo-Olu

Its $1.26 billion external debt is also disproportionately higher – almost 30 per cent of the value of external debt commitments of all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

But the state government has argued that it is unequally yoked with its peers in terms of debt-carrying capacity – the ability to pay, internally-generated revenue, infrastructure need and size of the economy.

Yet, critics said the state government ought to have shown an example in terms of fiscal discipline and others. They are particularly piqued about the nature of expenditures the government has to shoulder.

The spending of over N20 million on political delegates has particularly caught the attention of social media critics. Such responsibility, some have suggested, should have been passed on to the political or offset by the governor.

For featuring in the state procurement book and many others, Prof. Sam Amadi, a lawyer and rights activist, said that redeeming the state is a near impossibility, adding that it has been hijacked by intellectual hypocrisy.

Interestingly, the contentious expenditures are partly funded by debt, with a projected deficit amounting to ₦350.411 billion.

But it is not only Lagos that is battling to assure taxpayers that it has not chosen luxury and waste in place of prudent resource management. The Oyo State government is also being called out to explain how it spent N43.5 million to purchase 55 fire extinguishers in the current budget.

Several other governors face similar queries in what is currently assuming an organised social protest over the state governments’ questionable expenditure lines.

According to state statistics, Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has also sanctioned N2,040,780,000 for the purchase of cars for himself, his deputy, members of the House of Assembly, and other state officials.

The money was approved on September 5, 2023, according to state financial documents. It is just one of the governor’s many questionable expenses, which have totaled more than N40 billion in just five months.

In Abia State, there are concerns that the state government is also spending huge sums of money on road projects and office maintenance.

Meanwhile, opposition parties in Lagos State have lampooned Governor Sanwo-Olu for being insensitive to the plight of the people passing through excruciating pains without meaningful palliatives from the government.

They said it is unfortunate to discover billions of naira budgeted and spent on questionable projects and items in the state.
The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday condemned the “extravagant” spending of Sanwo-Olu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state, particularly about the 2023 budget.

Speaking with The Guardian, the state’s publicity secretary, Hakeem Amode said it is crucial to scrutinise these expenditures to ensure accountability and transparency for the benefit of the people.

He stated that despite being a centre of excellence, Lagos State is in dire need of comprehensive infrastructure development covering vital sectors such as road networks, education, healthcare, environmental services, housing, security, employment, and agriculture, among others.

According to him, this concern arises because of recent discoveries regarding the state government’s expenditure, raising questions about the judicious use of public funds.

“Several line items in the 2023 budget reveal the profligate spending of the Lagos State Government: N7 million for air fresheners, N400 million for Charter flights, N20 billion for consultation fees, N531 million for Church renovation and N20 billion for fans, lighten and fridges.
“We hereby call on concerned agencies to thoroughly investigate these projects and expenditures to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of public funds meant for the development of Lagos State.
“As a party, we advocate for good governance and believe that the people of Lagos deserve better.”

Speaking in this vein, a public affairs analyst and Convener, Reset Lagos PDP, Dr Adetokunbo Pearse flayed Governor Sanwo-Olu’s outrageous spending in the state, saying that it was uncalled for in this time of severe economic hardship for the people.

“At any time, it would be outrageous for the Lagos State government to allocate N 7 million naira for the procurement of Air Freshener, 400 Million naira for Charter flights, N2 billion for fans and fridges, N20 billion for Consultants and N30 million per month for the office of the wife of the Deputy Governor.

“In these times of severe economic hardship for the citizens Nationwide, this reckless spending of taxpayers’ money clearly demonstrates that Governor Sanwo-Olu, and Lagos State Assembly couldn’t care less about the people who voted them in office.
“They claim that there is insufficient funding for Education, Health, and Public Transportation. Most of Lagos neighborhood roads are in a state of disrepair, and you dare to allocate N30 million monthly to your spouse.
“This monumental insensitivity is a sin against God and Man.! We call on all the residents of Lagos to rise in protest against it now!
“And shortly, at the next election, we want Governor Sanwo-Olu, the sycophants, and the Obasa-led rubber stamp Assembly to know that we, the people, will pay them back for this transgression against us.
“They have lost our trust. They have failed to govern with the fear of God. They do not deserve our vote and will not be getting our support!”

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour

On his part, Labour Party (LP) gubernatorial candidate in the last election, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour described it “as frivolous spending and scandalous, adding that it was irresponsible for the state government to spend taxpayers’ money with such recklessness and impunity.
“And the citizens are rightly outraged by this mind-boggling corruption, especially having to deal with the current economic downturn brought about largely by the incompetence and sheer mismanagement of the economy by the APC.
“How can the governor have the audacity to pay his legal fees with state resources? How can they be spending billions on websites and cannot sustainably subsidize public transportation? The governor’s actions are utterly ignominious and he should resign his posting immediately. I also strongly believe that the Speaker of the Lagos House who has failed in providing appropriate oversight should also resign his position as speaker forthwith.

“To your question about the implications of this reckless spending, I would say they are obvious and predictable. Firstly, it explains why there are not enough resources to carry out people-oriented projects in Lagos state. It explains why our roads are terrible, why we can’t power street lights, why the boats on our waterways are rickety, why public transportation is expensive, why there isn’t an affordable housing scheme and why quality healthcare services aren’t extended to the vulnerable.
“In clear terms, what this data has revealed, and I campaigned vigorously on this, is that the state is working hard to enrich a few politically connected individuals and their cronies while taxpayers are left in daily misery. It is unacceptable and we cannot continue like this.”

However, Lagos APC’s Publicity Secretary, Seye Oladejo stated that “budgets are proposals of government spending.”

Speaking to The Guardian, he said, “It’s money on paper, not expenditures. I don’t know why a budget proposal should cause a cry. Lagos PDP has never been in government, hence the lack of knowledge. And that is why we will not mind as a party helping the PDP to be knowledgeable on government functioning by organising a training/workshop to learn the rudiments of government.

“There is no cash backup to the proposal, but if there’s a reason to want to commit funds to such in the future, they will.

“It’s like allocating money for an emergency, which cannot be predicted. If there’s no need to spend the money, it will just be on paper.

“It’s just a budget estimate; it is nothing anyone should lose sleep over. A lot of time, most of this budget ends up not being spent. They are estimates, it doesn’t mean money has been allotted to them. The opposition should stop clutching at straws, elections are over.”

[Guardian]

In a bid to ramp up Nigeria’s oil production output, for the first time in 25 years the federal government is now ready to benefit from what is considered one of the juiciest oil blocks in Africa, the controversial OPL 245, an online media, Empowered Newswire reports.

The oil block is estimated to hold over nine billion barrels of crude oil, nearly a quarter of the nation’s total proven oil reserves.

Authoritative sources say the Tinubu administration is open to releasing the oil block to prospective developers, including local and foreign investors.

Specifically, it was learnt that Shell with headquarters in Netherlands, and ENI, an Italian energy firm, which had both been involved in previous attempts to develop the oil field, are favoured to get President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s nod.

In fact, an Oil Mining Licence, OML, may be issued to the two international oil companies, both of whom have been collaborating on the controversial oil block and the scandal-ridden Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL).

Already, the April 29, 1998 controversial licence to Malabu Oil & Gas Limited has now expired over two years ago and both Shell and ENI – the Dutch and Italian IOCs which had been involved in the oil block deals – have indicated willingness to partake in further development of the block if the Tinubu Presidency grants approval.

A statement from ENI says to further develop the oil block, investments running into billions would still have to be made by whoever gets the mining licence.

An Aso Villa source confirmed that the president is keen to explore the oil block, especially considering its huge reserves at a time that Nigeria’s oil output is struggling to meet its OPEC quota. At the last count, in June this year OPEC had to reduce Nigeria’s future quota by over 20 percent from 1.74 mb/d to 1.38mb/d. This new quota will become effective next January if Nigeria’s output remains low.

Already the federal government has decided to end the legal cases abroad on the contention around the ownership of the oil block.

However, the former attorney-general of the federation Mohammed Adoke, SAN, who was the country’s chief law officer when an agreement was signed for Nigeria to be paid $1.1billion for OPL 245, is still facing prosecution in Nigeria on various allegations, including fraud and money laundering.

But inside sources say no conclusive evidence has been found to prove the allegations against Adoke, on which grounds the former AGF is seeking an exoneration with the emergence of a new administration. The case against Adoke was brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the case files are still open.

But investigators say certain properties were traced to Adoke suspected to have been bought with proceeds of the bribes drawn from the settlement of the case. However, Adoke was said to have shown proof that the property was purchased through a bank loan.

Adoke also argued that he got then President Goodluck Jonathan’s approval for the agreement which saw the $1.1bn settlement money moved from Nigeria’s JP Morgan account in New York to two Nigerian banks where the money was allegedly shared to individuals, according to investigation documents seen by Empowered Newswire. Specifically, it is believed that $800 million was paid to Malabu out of the over $1billion settlement. Nigeria got only about $200 million.

Several local and international court cases were instituted since the OPL 245 was questionably awarded on April 29, 1998 to Malabu Oil and Gas, RC 334442, owned by then petroleum resources minister, Dan Etete, and members of the late General Sani Abacha when he was the head of state.

Meanwhile, authoritative sources also confirmed that the federal government is in fact aware that Malabu Oil and  Gas, owned by Dan Etete and members of the late General Sani Abacha never paid up the signature bonus of $20 million it was obliged to pay within 30 days of the licence grant.

Sources said Malabu initially only paid $2.04 million on May 15, 1999. The legal opinion, according to senior lawyers in the Tinubu administration, is that in fact “Malabu never earned a legal title to OPL 245.”

In 2019 President Muhammadu Buhari rejected a request from ENI seeking to convert the OPL into a mining licence. In the circumstances, authoritative sources say President Tinubu is much more favourably disposed to granting the request now.

Meanwhile, efforts to get comments from the federal government, the oil sector regulator and the operators yielded no positive outcome.

LEADERSHIP sent an email request to the head, Public Affairs And Communications, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Mrs Olaide Shonola but at the time of filing this report, she was yet to respond.

Also, Nneamaka Okafor, the special adiver on Media and Communications to the minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri promised to revert with responses from the minister but failed to do so at press time.

The spokespersons of Shell and Eni too failed to respond.

[Leadership]

Argentines voted Sunday in a nail-biter election pitting Economy Minister Sergio Massa against outsider Javier Milei, polar opposite candidates that have divided the country as it reels from triple-digit inflation.

Voters were gripped by fear, uncertainty and resignation as they cast their ballots, with few confident either candidate could put an end to decades of economic decline.

Massa, 51, is a charismatic and seasoned politician seeking to convince Argentines to trust him despite his performance as economy minister which has seen annual inflation hit 143 percent.

His rival Milei is an anti-establishment outsider, who has vowed to halt Argentina’s unbridled spending, ditch the peso for the US dollar, and “dynamite” the central bank.

Argentines are “on the edge of a nervous breakdown,” said political analyst Ana Iparraguirre of GBAO Strategies, describing tensions over what comes next.

[NaijaTimes]

What is there to market about Nigeria? Everything. The people, the immense business possibilities, the cultures, the endowments of nature, the language, the food, the music, the art, the literature, the talents, the technology, the humanity, the good neighbourliness, and that transcendent seal of excellence, resilience, and courage. Everything.

Nigeria is a prophecy of the ancients, the prophecy of a glorious destiny. Those  arm of the military-industrial complex of the Indian government was granted. A third Memorandum of Understanding on infrastructure development was also signed between the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria Limited (InfraCorp) and Invest India, the National Investment Promotion, and the Facilitation Agency of India.

In Saudi Arabia, during the Saudi-Africa Summit, negotiations were advanced concerning a multi-billion dollar infrastructure finance facility from the Islamic Development Bank to fund a multi-sectoral portfolio of infrastructure projects at the federal and sub-national levels in Nigeria. There have been other investment commitments by Nigeria’s partners as well, and more investments are pouring in.

Nigeria is indeed a fecundated ground for investments. The country offers one of the highest returns on investment. Although there may be some concerns as regards the ease of doing business, these concerns are being addressed significantly.

Last Thursday, the Third Cohort of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) was inaugurated – with members charged to be 100 percent committed to promoting a conducive business environment and to work in tandem with the eight-point Renewed Hope agenda of the administration. This team will be working to further remove existing bottlenecks to business operations, efficiency, and sustainability.

What do you have in your hands? If it is Nigerian, market it. Is it the cuisine, the music, the art, the clothing, the innovation? Market it.

Market Nigeria.

Fredrick Nwabufo is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement