A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has urged President Bola Tinubu to put an end to the constant fuel scarcity in the country.

Oyintiloye lamented that Nigerians believed that fuel scarcity would end after the removal of fuel subsidy but reverse has been the case.

He emphasized the urgent need for the President’s intervention due to the suffering Nigerians face almost monthly as a result of fuel scarcity.

“Nigerians had hoped that the fuel scarcity would end after the Federal Government removed the fuel subsidy.

“However, instead of the situation improving, it has worsened, causing untold hardship for Nigerians who now have to purchase fuel at very high prices,” Oyintiloye stated.

He urged President Tinubu to investigate the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to uncover the root causes of the persistent fuel shortages.

While acknowledging the ongoing economic challenges, Oyintiloye stressed that inadequate fuel supply should not be added to the already tense situation.

“In recent months, Nigerians have faced severe difficulties obtaining petroleum products at filling stations across the country,” he noted. “I appeal to the President to rescue Nigerians who are enduring immense hardship due to the fuel scarcity,” he added.

A Nollywood actress and film producer, Sharon Okpamen has died days after birthing her second child.

The actress had earlier announced the birth of her second child on Instagram.

However, fellow movie producer, Stanely Ontop revealed that the actress had passed on.

Speaking via social media, he wrote, “Nollywood Actress and Producer Sharon Okpamen has unfortunately passed on.

“It’s a sad day for Nollywood & the Edo entertainment industry. Sharon, who was a filmmaker, actress, entrepreneur& humanitarian, has left a significant void in the industry.

“May her soul rest in perfect peace, Amen @sharonokpamen

“It can only get better”

An Instagram user, however, claimed Sharon passed away due to childbirth complications.

Billionaire founder and CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov, is to appear in court Sunday after being arrested at a Paris airport for offences related to his popular messaging app, sources told AFP.

Russia has accused France of “refusing to cooperate” following the arrest of the 39-year-old Franco-Russian billionaire at Le Bourget airport on Saturday night.

Durov had arrived from Baku, Azerbaijan, one source close to the case said.

France’s OFMIN, an office tasked with preventing violence against minors, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov in a preliminary investigation into alleged offences including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime and promotion of terrorism, one source said. 

Durov is accused of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform.

“Enough of Telegram’s impunity,” said one investigator who expressed surprise that Durov flew to Paris knowing he was a wanted man.

– ‘Refusing to cooperate’ –

Russian authorities said they had demanded access to Durov but had no response from France.

“We immediately asked French authorities to explain the reasons for this detention and demanded that his rights be protected and that consular access be granted. Up to now, the French side is refusing to cooperate on this question,” Russia’s embassy in Paris said in a statement reported by the Ria Novosti news agency.

Businessman Elon Musk, who owns the X social media platform, posted the hashtag #FreePavel and commented in French, “Liberte Liberte! Liberte?” (Freedom Freedom! Freedom?).

Former United States presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, said, also on X, that “the need to protect free speech has never been more urgent.”

The encrypted messaging app, based in Dubai, has positioned itself as an alternative to US-owned platforms, which have been criticised for their commercial exploitation of users’ data.

Telegram has committed to never disclosing information about its users.

In a rare interview given to right-wing talk show host Tucker Carlson in April, Durov said he got the idea to launch an encrypted messaging app after coming under pressure from the Russian government when working at VK, a social network he created before selling it and leaving Russia in 2014.

He said he then tried to settle in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco before choosing Dubai, which he praised for its business environment and “neutrality.”

People “love the independence. They also love the privacy, the freedom, (there are) a lot of reasons why somebody would switch to Telegram,” Durov told Carlson.

He said at the time that the platform had more than 900 million active users.

By basing itself in the United Arab Emirates, Telegram has shielded itself from moderation laws at a time when Western countries are pressuring large platforms to remove illegal content.

Telegram allows groups of up to 200,000 members, which has led to accusations that it makes it easier for false information to spread virally, as well as for users to disseminate neo-Nazi, paedophilic, conspiratorial and terrorist content.

Competitor messaging service, WhatsApp, introduced worldwide limits on message forwarding in 2019 after it was accused of enabling the spread of false information in India that led to lynching.

AFP

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has informed potential suitors that he wants to be placed on £500,000 weekly wages, Soccernet.ng reports.

Osimhen’s transfer saga has continued to rage on, with the Nigeria striker still in Napoli’s books despite numerous links with some of the top clubs in Europe.

The Nigerian has drawn interest from clubs like Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Al Hilal, but it has been all talks.

This summer, the teams interested in Osimhen appear to have been streamlined to just three, with PSG, Arsenal, and Chelsea in the mix.

Still, the issue has dragged on throughout the summer. Three weeks ago, strong reports emerged that the Nigerian striker had agreed on personal terms with PSG, but the French champions failed to cut a deal with Napoli, who are asking for over £120 million.

Those talks have since cooled off, and it now appears like Arsenal and Chelsea are in the driving seat. Still, none of them have made headway, and it could be due to Osimhen’s massive wage demands.

According to a report from SunSport on Saturday, Osimhen is asking for £500,000 per week, which Arsenal and Chelsea consider astronomical.

£500,000 per week for Osimhen would see him displace Kevin De Bruyne, who is the highest-paid Premier League player with a £400,000-weekly pay.

If the deal goes through, it would also make Osimhen the highest paid player in the history of the English Premier League. With just five days until the end of the transfer market, Osimhen and his camp have to find a solution so he can start playing top level football again.

The federal government has approved the dismissal of workers in the public and private sectors with fake degree certificates obtained from Benin and Togo Republics.

The minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, who disclosed this during a press conference to celebrate his one year in office in Abuja on Friday, said the measures were approved during a recent federal executive council meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu.

He said the decision is part of the recommendations of an inter-ministerial committee set up by the federal government to investigate an undercover report published by DAILY NIGERIAN in December.

The report exposed how how degree certificates from Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Cotonou, Benin Republic, were obtained by a DAILY NIGERIAN undercover reporter, Umar Audu, in less than two months.

He also used the certificate to participate in the National Youth Service Scheme, NYSC, despite having participated in the scheme legitimately almost five years earlier.
Mr Mamman, however, said most of the institutions attended by Nigerian students from the two countries are not licensed to offer degree programs.

The minister said, “One of the things we did in the course of the year was — remember when information broke out about some of our students going to neighbouring countries —some not even going at all — to obtain certificates.

“The ministry set up a committee to look into that; the committee came up with a detailed review; that review was sent to the federal executive council about a month ago, which approved some of the recommendations from the ministry.

“Now the recommendations will be implemented along with other ministries and agencies affected, including NYSC, Immigration.

“Because we have to take some major decisions here, some staff who are affected faced disciplinary measures, and that the whole unit went through some kind of review.

“But by and large, we can’t have in our midst people who procure fake certificates and to compete with our students who graduated from our universities and polytechnics through their sweat, some spent four, five, six, or more years going out to compete with people who procure certificates right here without going anywhere, for a lot of them.

“So what the FEC now approves is that, through the data, that NYSC has, about 21,684 students that are parading fake certificates from Benin Republic, obtained between 2019 to 2023.

“Togo is about 1,105. How did that happen? They simply attend schools, which are not recognised in those countries.

“Remember, this point is extremely important. The non-recognition itself is in those countries. They are not institutions recognised to offer degree programs in those countries.

“Instead, some of our parents, take their wards to these institutions, and of course there is no way we would recognise qualifications which are not recognised in those countries.

“In the case of Togo, we have three universities that are officially approved and licensed to offer degrees, and in Benin, there are about five of them.

“So anyone who didn’t attend these universities is parading a fake certificate.
“And from 2017, anybody who attended a university solely run in English is wasting his time because it’s not an approved university. That is their policy.

“But a lot of our countrymen went there—some didn’t go anyway; remember, these numbers are just what we have, a lot of them didn’t even bother to go to NYSC.

“The number may be more Some who attempted to but couldn’t succeed in the screening process disappeared into thin air.
“So in the final analysis, what the federal government approved is that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, will issue a circular to all employers, whether public or private, to fish out anybody with a certificate from these institutions—that circular probably would have been out by now.
“And the Head of Service, has also been mandated to fish out from the public service anybody who is parading certificate from these institutions.

“So this is the decision of the federal government on this matter”.

As the 2027 presidential election approaches, President Bola Tinubu has reportedly initiated efforts to win back the support of northern politicians who have expressed dissatisfaction with his administration.

A northerner politician who spoke with Punch on condition of anonymity disclosed that Vice President, Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje have been tasked with reaching out to aggrieved northern stakeholders.

This move comes after several northern political figures voiced concerns about the Tinubu administration’s perceived neglect of northern interests.

Key issues raised by northern politicians include alleged marginalization in federal appointments and governance.

These concerns have led to significant discontent, with some northern leaders openly expressing regret for supporting Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election.

The source said, “Some political bigwigs were interested in certain positions but were not given them, and they have resorted to working against Asiwaju’s return, which is not good. But that does not bring any fear to Asiwaju’s camp. To be a little more open, Vice President Kashim Shettima, the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, and I are all from the North.

“We are reaching out to the aggrieved stakeholders, and we are also accessible. We are critical stakeholders who hold ground for Asiwaju in the North. We will reach out to everyone; it is a collective effort.”

Recall that last week, the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, had also lent his voice to the agitation for a northern leader in 2027, vowing to jettison his presidential ambition if former President Goodluck Jonathan agreed to contest.

According to him, the former president has the requisite experience to revamp the economy and would do a good job if given a second mandate to manage the country.

But a former Minister of Communication and prominent APC chieftain, Adebayo Shittu, said Nigerians should be wary of such moves.

He said, “If you are calling for a change in government, you still have to wait until the current one run its term. Now, you are even calling on Jonathan to come back. He, just like others, is free to return and contest election in 2027. But certainly, there won’t be any election before then and there cannot be any change of government. If Jonathan has done very well, Nigerians won’t have voted him out after spending about six years in office. Tell me, if the PDP had done very well, would the people have voted them out? Nigerians only voted them out after their term expired.”

A former lawmaker who represented Kaduna Central between 2015 and 2019, Senator Shehu Sani, warned against the desperation of some northern elites to return to power.

He said, “If President Tinubu succeeds in addressing the security situation, education, and poverty in Northern Nigeria, no northern elite will stop him from being re-elected in 2027.

“The desperation to return to power in 2027 by some northern political elites is not in the interest of the North but is driven by personal reasons, as some of them have been schemed out. So, they often turn to a sectional agenda when their own personal interests are affected.”

Speaking with Punch, a former Minister of State for Works and National Coordinator of South-West Agenda for Asiwaju, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye, said Tinubu had “sufficient loyalists on his side to confront any opposition coming from any angle.”

“I believe that by the time we approach 2027, Nigerians will know that the president will win his second term as president,” he added.

Several northern political figures and groups have expressed deep dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing him of neglecting northern interests and mistreating the politicians whose support helped him rise to power.

These grievances range from concerns about governance and security to the perception that Tinubu has favored the Yoruba ethnic group in major government appointments at the expense of northern representation.

Prominent northern leaders have pointed to the concentration of key positions, such as the Petroleum Minister, Finance Minister, Chief Justice of Nigeria, and others, in the hands of the Yoruba ethnic group.

They argue that since Nigeria’s independence, no ethnic group has held such a large number of influential roles simultaneously.

This perceived marginalization has fueled growing resentment within the northern political establishment.

The Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), a significant socio-political group in the region, has voiced regret over supporting Tinubu in the 2023 elections.

According to Vanguard, Professor Usman Yusuf, a member of the NEF, reportedly lamented that Tinubu’s administration has led to “deception, destitution, and hopelessness” for many in the North.

He said, “People have lost hope. It pains me to see our people lining up to collect cups of palliatives. Renewed Hope has turned into hopelessness. People have lost hope.”

NEF Spokesman, Abdulaziz Sulaiman echoed these sentiments, promising that the North would not repeat the mistake of backing Tinubu in 2027.

The North-East Governors’ Forum has also raised concerns, accusing Tinubu’s administration of neglecting their region, particularly in the areas of infrastructure development and electricity provision.

The forum’s chairman, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, highlighted the lack of road and rail connections between the South-East and North-East as a particular grievance.

Recent meetings among northern political heavyweights, including former Kaduna State Governor Nasir, El-Rufai and NNPP’s Rabiu Kwankwaso, as well as visits by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar to former President, Muhammadu Buhari, have further stoked speculation of a northern political realignment ahead of the 2027 elections.

Although Atiku described his visit as a Sallah homage, many analysts view these moves as strategic positioning for the next presidential contest.

Controversial cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, has said that he does not mind returning to Kirikiri Correctional Centre.

He explained that he considers his time in jail as a vacation.

The entertainer explained that he has being working hard and rested while he was in prison.

Recall that Bobrisky was released on Monday, August 5, 2024, after serving six months imprisonment for abusing the naira, by spraying it at parties.

He was sentenced to six months imprisonment on April 12, 2024, without the option of a fine by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

Appearing on the ‘Curiosity Made Me Ask’ show, hosted by content creator Bae U Barbie, Bobrisky said he would love to go back to jail.

According to him, “I see my jail term as a vacation. You know, on vacation, you go and rest. I’ve been working so hard, and I think their decision was okay for me.

“The decision was to break me, but sadly, nothing happened to Mummy of Lagos. I’m still fine, I’m still good, and I will continue to be fine and good.”

The host, Bae U, asked, “Prison fit you o! Would you like to go again?”

Bobrisky replied, “I would love to go, maybe for a short term like that again. Short term, not long-term.

“The reason why I would love to go again is that these people really want to break me. I have never seen anywhere you are going to sentence someone to prison for spraying money.

“It’s funny to me. Everything happened like a movie. Spraying of money? It’s my money. I’m not owing anybody money. I did not steal money. I did not kidnap, I did not rape. I did not kill anybody. I spent my own hard-earned money, and I was sentenced to where we have a lot of criminals.

“But like I always say, I’m a very strong person. If I have chosen this lifestyle to be who I wanna be, then I should be ready for the worst. And the worst that has happened is sending me to prison because, obviously, I did not do anything, I did not kill anybody.”

However, he insisted that he is not an ex-convict, arguing that he can’t be convicted for spraying money.

“I’m not an ex-convict because I can’t be convicted for spraying money. So I won’t accept it,” he said.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has expressed his dissatisfaction with Bode George, a former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for asserting that he (Atiku) would have collapsed had he been elected president in 2023.

In a statement released via social media on Saturday, Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, characterized George’s remarks as an ‘unwise’ discourse and underscored the advantages that would have been realized under Atiku’s leadership.

Ibe contended that Atiku’s governance would have fostered prosperity, promoted appointments based on merit, and protected Nigeria’s interests in contrast to the current administration’s prejudice and favouritism.

Furthermore, Ibe lampooned Bode George for his lack of public critique regarding the current administration’s performance, suggesting that his silence may be attributed to Atiku’s non-Southern heritage.

He wrote: “Contrary to Chief Bode George’s imprudent talk, an @atiku presidency would have heralded an era of prosperity, driven by a cabinet brimming with seasoned and adept individuals, chosen solely on merit regardless of their background or beliefs.

“Such leadership would have safeguarded Nigeria’s interests, steering clear of the bigotry and nepotism and brigandage that characterizes this administration. Instead of the current state of disarray, driven by haphazard policies, Nigeria would have thrived under Atiku’s guidance.

“In contrast, we see Bode George, who once threatened exile should Tinubu ascend to power, now oddly silent about the present administration. Is Bode’s reticence caused by Atiku not being from his region? It is prudent to consider Bode’s opinions with caution.

“Furthermore, Bode’s conduct is a disservice to the military, an institution esteemed for its unity. Here is a Commodore who, paradoxically, embraces tribalism and undermines the very principles of the military. It is a source of shame for the armed forces to have such a figure in their ranks.”

I Knew Atiku Would Collapse In The Future

Speaking on Arise TV’s “The Morning Show” earlier, George stated that Atiku would have collapsed in the future, and the country become unstable if a northerner (Atiku), had succeeded Muhammadu Buhari, another northerner.

He stressed that Nigerians would not have accepted this scenario, citing the party’s zoning arrangement as the root of the problem.

“If Atiku had won — I would have stayed in my house because I knew that for real in the future, he would collapse. This country would never accept.

“If he had won that election, you think this country would have been stable? Because somebody from the north (Buhari) had just finished eight years and our own norm is that after the eight years, the presidential candidate must come to the south,” George had said.

The PDP chieftain alleged that the party’s zoning arrangement was manipulated to favour Atiku, leading to the current issues.

The Federal Government has been asked to sell the government-owned Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries to fund modular ones.

All three refineries are under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Federal Government’s oil firm.

The Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria made the call for the sale of the refineries in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, saying that it is the only way out of the incessant fuel crisis in the country.

Since over a month ago, Nigerians started to experience fuel queues in filling stations even as the pump price rose to as high as N1,000 per litre in some areas.

Despite promises by the NNPC, the queues have refused to disappear, and this keeps impacting the cost of transportation,

CORAN Publicity Secretary, Eche Idoko, expressed concerns that the Federal Government has expended over $1bn to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt refinery, yet the facility has yet to start production despite six postponements.

Idoko argued that the fuel queues would not go away unless the country starts refining its crude locally.

According to him, modular refineries should be given intervention funds which would also give the government stakes in the refineries.

He noted that the reason for the fuel crisis in Nigeria was that the country does not have enough refined products as the cost of importing fuel with foreign exchange is a burden on the government, especially when subsidy payment is involved.

“We are not asking for free money. The government should set up an intervention fund in which people can access credit. So, it’s not free money. There are a lot of intervention funds in the agricultural sector,” Idoko said.

He spoke further, “The $1.5bn spent on the Port Harcourt refinery could be used to develop 10 modular refineries to be able to produce PMS of a minimum of 10,000 barrels per day. That is about 100,000 barrels a day.

“And if you have 100,000 barrels per day, at least, with the Dangote refinery, you would have solved that problem. We would actually have enough to begin to export,” he stated.

Idoko maintained that no one else could import PMS because of the government subsidy and the lack of foreign exchange.

Suggesting a way out of repeated fuel scarcity, he said, “The low-hanging fruit is simply to empower the modular refineries.

A modular refinery takes an average of 12 to a maximum of 18 months to set up. This administration can identify and select from the modular refineries that are already on stream to support them.

“Right now, we have about 15 of them – five are operating but not producing PMS; the other 10 are at various stages of completion. If the government supported these 15 modular refineries to produce PMS, in about 12 months or less, they would have solved this problem of fuel scarcity, rather than say, you are putting money into the Port Harcourt refinery, Warri refinery, or Kaduna refinery.

“That was why there was a particular administration that tried to sell those facilities. Most of them are obsolete. Technology has changed. I would have said that the government should sell them off. We know that the issue of fuel crisis is a serious issue, but do we have a solution to it now? We don’t have a quick-fix solution other than what is being done right now, which is importation.

“But that is simply not sustainable. For how long can you continue like this? And so, what we are saying is that give yourself a target of the time to completely wind down the importation of petroleum products. Bring stakeholders like the modular refineries and the traders together. We will all put our heads together and then work out a scheme.”

Idoko added that in countries where there is self-sufficiency, the private sector drives the oil refinery segment.

“Saudi Aramco is a purely private-loaned entity. It has shares, it has boards, it runs as a private entity. In the United States, in all the countries where you are seeing self-sufficiency in their refineries, the private sector takes the lead. All the government does is to create an enabling environment to provide support,” he submitted.

The NNPC said it spent over N9.3tn to import petrol in 2023.

After many months of denying subsidy payment, the firm confirmed on Monday that it imports petrol and sells at 50 per cent below the landing cost, saying the government pays the shortfall.

Many have argued that this is why the NNPC is having challenges to import enough petrol for Nigerians.