Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL has made a promise to Nigerians.

He stated that the refinery in Kaduna State will be ready for production by December 2024.

He disclosed this during a meeting with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria in Abuja.

He disclosed that operations at the Port Harcourt refinery are scheduled to begin in two weeks.

According to Kyari: “We did a mechanical completion of the (Port Harcourt) refinery, that was what we said in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are doing regulatory compliance tests that must happen in every refinery before you start it, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in the next two weeks.

“Completing the mechanical work means that you are done with the rehabilitation work, now you have to test to see how it works. Of course, we have also completed the mechanical work on the Warri refinery.

“It is also undergoing regulatory compliance; processes that we are doing with our regulator, and this will soon be completed and it will be ready.

“The Kaduna refinery will be ready by December. We have not reached that stage in Kaduna, but we promise Kaduna will be delivered by December.”

Afe Babalola (SAN), the founder of Afe Babalola University, has said that indigenes of Ekiti state are facing hardship because all former Governors failed to implement the blueprint for the state.

According to him, the plan was for Ekiti to be the best state in Nigeria but it failed.

Speaking at the commissioning of ABUAD Multi-System Hospital, Annex Odo-Ado, at Igirigiri road in Ado Ekiti, Babalola commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his recent strides, adding that the vision behind the creation of Ekiti was to make it the best state in Nigeria.

He said;

“It pains me that you didn’t become governor of Ekiti much earlier than now. We know what we did to bring Ekiti State into existence. Our vision was for Ekiti to be the best state in Nigeria, that will be setting the pace as my university is setting the pace now.

“Unfortunately those who became governor before you didn’t have the love of Ekiti. Go and tell them that I said so. That is why we are facing so much hardship in the state. When I was a local government councilor in the sixties, I didn’t receive a salary.

“That was when there was development in Ekiti Local Government. We thought that those who are coming to govern Ekiti will follow our footstep and our blueprints but they refuse to follow it. However, this governor is doing a yeoman’s job.”

President Bola Tinubu has been issued a warning by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The party says Tinubu will struggle to get two per cent votes in the 2027 presidential election in the capital if he fails to stop the minister, Nyesom Wike from killing the party.

The party leaders stated this at a press conference in Abuja, lamenting the disregard of APC members in recent appointments made by Wike.

They also said the party may lose the next Area Councils election if the situation remains unchanged, claiming that the minister is killing the political structure of the APC in FCT due to his lack of regard for the party and its leadership.

The APC chieftains, led by convener, Comrade Abdulwahab Ekekhide, and co-convener, David Omobolaji Obaje, said the minister, since assuming office, has refused to sit with the leadership of the party, even though the party has written him a series of letters for him to grant them audience, but all to no avail.

Recall that Wike, a PDP member, was appointed FCT minister by President Tinubu, the leader of the APC.

Ekekhide, however, said the leadership and entire members of the APC family in the FCT, in unison, reject “in very strong terms the continuous lopsided appointments, abandonment and total disregard for the APC in FCT by the minister.”

“We call on Mr. President, who is the Governor-General to call the Minister to order, so that he can retrace his steps and start empowering the party or else, the party will struggle to get 2% for the President in the 2027 Presidential election and may lose the next Area Councils election if the situation remains this way.

“As we all know, the President is the Governor-General of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), but delegates his powers to a Minister, and today Barr. Nyesom Wike is standing in for the President as Hon. Minister of the FCT,” he added.

Clerics have advised the federal government and National Assembly not to succumb to the pressure of legalising gay marriage in Nigeria.

They spoke at the 16th edition of St. Patrick Archdiocesan Feast Day celebration and cultural fiesta and launching of N70 million for community bus, organised by St. Patrick Edo/Delta Catholic Community, Holy Rosary Parish, Wuse-Abuja.

Addressing newsmen at the event, Bishop of Uromi Diocese, Donatus Ogun, said homosexuality was against God’s plan of creation.

He said: “Naturally, homosexuality is contrary to the divine plan. Homosexuality for many reasons opposes God’s plan because it doesn’t lead to procreation.

“When God created man and woman, he said be fruitful and multiply. To multiply is one of the vocations of the human person. The supposed orientation of people going after the same sex, is not part of God’s plan.

“I think personally we are managing a crisis of global economy, those who call themselves the bigger economies, are trying to manipulate the poorer nations.”

Nigeria’s Under-20 female football team, the Falconets, will take on Ghana on Thursday in the final of the women’s football event at the 13th African Games in Ghana.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Falconets booked their place in the finals after defeating Uganda 2-0 in the match played at the Cape Coast Stadium on Monday in the first semi-final.

Ghana also defeated the Teranga Lionesses of Senegal 3-1 to book a place in the final.

The final between Nigeria and hosts Ghana will hold at the Cape Coast Stadium on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, Uganda will face Senegal to fight for the bronze medal in the event, which will hold at Cape Coast Stadium on the same day (Thursday) by 5 p.m.

NAN reports that Falconets won the gold medal in the event at the 12th African Games in Rabat, Morocco, in 2019.

The 13th African Games, which started on March 8, will end on March 23. The ongoing games are being held across three cities: Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast. (NAN)

The Edo State House of Assembly has directed the state Chief Judge, Justice Daniel Okungbowa to set up a seven man panel to investigate the allegations levelled against the state deputy governor Ry Philip Shaibu.

The state assembly is accusing the deputy governor of misconduct and divulging governments information to the public.

The panel is expected to carry out a thorough investigation into the allegations and make necessary recommendations.

The brief sitting was presided over by the Speaker, RT Hon Blessing Agbebaku.

Recall that the Edo State House of Assembly, earlier this month, began an impeachment move against Shaibu, accusing him of constitutional infractions.

But, Shaibu, denied being served with impeachment notice from the state House of Assembly as claimed by the Speaker, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku during plenary.

The inability of the House, according to the Speaker, to physically serve Shaibu led to a substituted service through advertorial in the newspaper.

Meanwhile, in a letter addressed to the Speaker dated March 12, 2024 and titled “RE: Service of Impeachment Notice,” signed by the Personal Assistant to the Deputy Governor, Charles Olubayo, Shaibu denied ever being served any letter and refusing to collect same.

He said Shaibu has been out of the state since March 3 and therefore could not have been served as claimed during plenary.

His supporters, however, believe that he is being persecuted because he is interested to succeed his boss in office, Gov Godwin Obaseki.

Shaibu emerged as the governorship candidate in a parallel primary election held on February 22, 2024.

A Nigerian man, Steven Opeyemi Moses, has cried out after a DNA test revealed that he is not the biological father of a child with an SS genotype, which his wife had claimed was his.

Moses had appeared on a Nigerian-based TV courtroom show last year to present the matter.

He revealed on the show that his wife gave birth one year after marriage, only to discover that while he was AA, his wife, who was AS, had an SS-carrier son. During the hearing, the judge reportedly ordered a DNA test to be carried out, and the DNA analysis revealed a 0% probability of paternity, indicating a negative result.

Following a clip shared by an X user, Moses provided an update revealing that his ‘wife’ has since refused to undergo a maternity test.

He made this known in a series of posts on his X account (@SteveMosoes) on Monday.

He wrote: “I am still in awe of how we got here. We got married precisely on May 21, 2016. A year down the line she got pregnant and gave birth on her birthday November 8, 2018. The first crisis the body had we spent thousands in hospital and that’s when we first discovered he was SS.

“At this point I was confused. She first told me it was the enemy that was doing us through the boy. I didn’t believe and at the same time I didn’t argue with her. I started making my research if it was possible for AA + AS to produce SS.”

“I saw some rare occasions of extreme weather conditions but it wasn’t possible in Nigeria as a result of good weather. I spoke to few councillors and midwives in Ifako General Hospital and Lagos State teaching Hospital.

“We kept on living together, & we kept praying & fasting and nothing change. The boy kept on going through crisis. At this point we were already out of cash and could not afford a DNA test because I was already uncomfortable, having confirmed from many sources that it was impossible.

“For me to produce SS even when I marry SS as a AA. So I started voicing my displeasure out to my friends and one of them pointed me to Justice Court that they will do the DNA test for free. So I contacted them and arranged a sample for me and the boy for Paternity test.

“Paternity test results came out in December, and we had a court session where it was unveiled as seen in the video. Since December, she has been dulging and refusing to pick calls from Justice Court to carry out the Judge verdict to run a maternity test.

“So as I write this story, Justice Court has not been able to reach her over the phone. She is not picking calls. One funny thing in all this is, in November last year. Her family got me arrested from Ajuwon Police Station because I was not dropping upkeep for the said child.

“It took intervention of our family lawyer to get the case out of police station. I remember the police were supporting her. In December, DNA results came out and it was negative. The need to clear herself arises and she went into isolation.”

He also dismissed the possibility of a ‘child-swap’ at the hospital.

“The above video shows the last part that says ‘Is the child swap in hospital?’ It may be possible, but the chances are slim. I was present in the labour room and there were only two woman in labour that day. It wasn’t a hospital; it was Ojodu Health Center at Gbadamosi, Ojodu.

“The other woman already gave birth while she was in labour. I remember following the nurse to clean him up & collected him back. I dropped him beside her on the bed waited for her sister to come and then I left to cook something for her. Honestly, this marriage wrecked me.”

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has released its timetable and schedule of activities leading to the party’s selection of a candidate on April 25, 2024, ahead of the November 16, 2024 governorship election in Ondo State.

The APC timetable released late Monday was signed by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Sulaimon Argungu.

According to the party, the sale of nominations, expression of interest and delegate forms for contestants will begin on April 3 and end on April 10, 2024, while the primary election is slated for April 25, 2024.

The APC pegged the price for the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms at N10m and N40m respectively for Ondo.

The party stated that female aspirants and persons living with disabilities are to pay for Expression of Interest while the Nomination Form is free.

“Youths from 25 to 40 years are to purchase Expression of Interest forms with a 50% discount on Nomination Forms,” the APC stated.

Contenders for the APC ticket in Ondo include Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, former Ondo deputy governor, who succeeded the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu after the latter’s death on December 27, 2023.

A former Commissioner for Finance in the state, Wale Akinterinwa; as well as Senator representing Ondo South, Jimoh Ibrahim, also want the party’s ticket.

Ondo and Edo are two of the eight states where governorship elections are held off-season due to litigations and court judgements.

The others are Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi and Osun.

President Bola Tinubu is preparing to initiate a novel three-step approach for evaluating the performance of Ministers and heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as he approaches the completion of his first year in office.

This innovative strategy aims to incorporate public opinion into the decision-making process regarding the retention or dismissal of cabinet members and key agency leaders by May 29, 2024.

Insiders from the Presidential Villa in Abuja disclosed to BusinessDay that the President intends to launch the feedback platform on Tuesday.

This digital platform is designed to gather assessments from Nigerians on the performance of each minister and their contributions to the administration’s objectives.

However, the inauguration of this feedback mechanism has been postponed to the following week.

The delay allows for the finalization of necessary preparations by the office of the Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, led by Hadiza Bala-Usman.

This extension is to ensure the platform is fully operational and capable of capturing comprehensive and insightful feedback from the citizenry.

The source said, “This will be done at three different levels. First, you have members of the public who can through the platform, get relevant information on the President Bola Tinubu’s targets for each Ministry and through that give feedback on the performance of each Minister based on the targets provided.

“The next stage will be evaluation carried out by the Policy Coordination office, and lastly, a group of Consultants will also give their assessments on the Ministers performance

“So, these will be the basis for determining which Minister stays and those that will leave the cabinet because of poor performance.”

Bala-Usman had earlier in the year indicated that President Tinubu “will drop ministers who do not deliver on their mandates.”

She had stated this at the opening of a technical retreat organised for delivery desk officers of federal ministries, to train them on implementation of presidential priorities and ministerial deliverables, in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.

Usman warned that “President is serious about delivering on his promise to make life better and easier for Nigerians.

“You must understand that as ministerial delivery desk officers you are the engine room that will provide that feedback and constantly track ministerial progress and report challenges and bottle to the CDCU.”

The retreat, according to her, “was to introduce the delivery officers to the framework of the delivery chain for progress tracking and build the officers’ capacity on monitoring of the delivery plan”

The President had tasked the Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, soon after the Ministerial retreat on November 3rd, 2023, to “immediately activate the performance tracking system in a way that maximally leverages on cutting- edge digital innovation to provide real time oversight capability for the benefit of all Nigerians.”

The President also charged the Ministers to demonstrate diligence, innovative thinking, commitment, and an unrelenting focus on resul, added that “I want to reiterate that the Renewed Hope Agenda is about more than just economic growth.

“It is also about building a more just and equitable society for all Nigerians. It is about creating jobs, improving education and healthcare, and reducing poverty. It is about ensuring that all Nigerians have the opportunity to succeed.

“I know that we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am confident we can achieve our goals. We have a strong team in place, and we are committed to working together to build a better future for Nigeria.

“Let me remind you that our people are not interested in excuses, political games, or procrastination. Neither am I. They are interested in tangible results. They seek solutions to the problems that have long plagued our great nation. The challenge before us demands that we must put aside personal ambitions and focus on adhering to the performance bond we have all signed up to on this day. These performance bonds represent a contract we must uphold.”

The President also emphasized the importance of data in governance, saying: “Data is the life- blood of effective governance. It enables us to understand the challenges we face so that we can design and implement effective solutions as well as monitor and evaluate our progress. Without data, we are flying blind.”

It was also gathered on Monday that the Policy Coordination Office will rely mostly on the recommendations made at the first Ministerial retreat, in assessing the achievements of each Minister.

The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) began a three-day national mourning period on Monday to commemorate the 17 soldiers who were killed by angry youths in Okuama, Ughelli South Local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State.

Naija News reports that the soldiers who were deployed on a “peaceful and mediatory mission” were killed during a communal clash between Okuama and Okoloba communities.

Among the deceased are Lieutenant Colonel Abdullahi Hassan Ali, the Commanding Officer of 181 Amphibious Battalion Oleh, Major Gembu Shafa, the JTF Commander in Bomadi, along with another Major and a Captain, making up the total of 17 killed.

To commemorate the lives of heroic personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation, flags will be flown at half-mast across all military installations nationwide, symbolizing respect and mourning.

According to sources, a communication has been dispatched to the Nigerian Army, Navy, and Air Force conveying this instruction.

The source said, “A directive has been issued by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa to the three Services to that effect.

“From Monday March 18, 2024, up till March 20, 2024, all colours, (flags) are to be flown at half-mast in honour of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) personnel Killed In Action (KIA).”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has warned the Okuama community in Delta State that they should brace themselves for the full force of legal repercussions.