Separation in gas, petroleum call for anarchy, stakeholders say
Nigeria heading in direction of Venezuela, experts insist
Bassey: Priorities on gas without ministry of environment, renewable disastrous
Nigeria’s bleeding oil and gas sector, which is gasping for fresh breath after eight years of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s poor handling, may be heading for a final collapse if President Bola Tinubu follows the path of his predecessor by reserving the ministry for himself, stakeholders have warned.
With crude oil production failing from about two million barrels in 2014 to about 900,000 barrels a day in 2022, revenue plummeted to a historic low starving the economy of the needed foreign exchange (FX) with consequences seen in falling external reserves and exhausted excess crude account.
Stakeholders told The Guardian, at the weekend, that any attempt by Tinubu to retain the office of the Minister of Petroleum Resources would amount to an invitation to catastrophe.
They insisted that Tinubu had already shot himself in the foot with the appointment of separate ministers of state for gas and petroleum, adding that only an ill-advised president would have made such a mistake, especially with the operators already struggling with the two regulators.
A few years before Buhari assigned himself the position, oil revenues were buoyant. Oil revenue was $68.44 billion in 2011 while it was $62.84 billion in 2012. It was $58 billion in 2013, $54 billion in 2014 but went nosedived to $24.79 billion in 2015.
In 2016, it was a meagre $17 billion before hitting $20.98 billion in 2017 and $32.62 billion in 2018. It was $34.21 billion in 2019. The total revenue received from the sector was $20.43 billion in 2020.
While Nigeria collected N21 trillion ($45.6 billion) from the sale of crude oil in 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), remittances to Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) were scanty as the government sustained borrowing to sustain fuel subsidy.
Sadly, the leadership issue in the oil sector comes at a time when Nigeria and other African countries are projected to record $6.7 trillion loss in stranded fossil fuel assets due to pressure from the energy transition.
Recall that investment into the sector has plunged just as crude oil reserves have stagnated at about 37 million barrels for over a decade even as religious and regional sentiments escalated in the eight years of Buhari as the petroleum minister.
The two ministers of state who served during the tenure, Ibe Kachikwu and Timipre Sylva were constantly at loggerheads with northerners dominating management of the state oil firm, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, even as decision-making favoured those who had access to the then unavailable petroleum minister.
Renowned energy expert, Prof. Wunmi Iledare, who believes that Nigeria is deliberately pushing its way to the Venezuela situation, urged Tinubu to perish the idea of making himself the Petroleum Minister.
The President, according to him, should avoid adding complex responsibilities to the enormous task of governing a complex nation, stressing: “Perhaps he has not been properly briefed about the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) institutions.”
While the Nigerian economy is on crutches with oil and gas still a major revenue earner, Iledare noted that Venezuela offers Nigeria a great lesson on what not to do concerning managing the oil and gas sector in a petroleum-dependent economy.
“The last eight years under Buhari as the Minister of Petroleum left much to be desired. The mandates in the PIA for the Minister of Petroleum are very tasking and the responsibilities are daunting.
Buhari
The institution, if moved to the presidency as was the case under Buhari, may become weaker and perhaps lead Nigeria to follow the Venezuela experience, which will mean the collapse of the oil and gas industry,” Iledare said.
He said even if the President eventually comes to terms with the complexity of the Nigerian Republic, the complexity of managing petroleum resources and the development process is not child’s play and is global in scope and structurally conservative.
Regarding two ministers of state to manage the petroleum policy anchor institution in the PIA, Iledare said he was baffled at those advising Tinubu, adding that gas resources in whatever forms are part and parcel of Petroleum Resources.
“I am shocked at the designation of a separate Minister of State for Gas Resources and another Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. Honestly, this is erroneous and perhaps, a good reflection of the lack of proper understanding of gas as a secondary energy and natural gas resources as a primary energy source. And decoupling the upstream aspect of crude oil and gas development is not recommended. It is understandable, however, if the present concern of the President is to unlock the midstream and downstream of gas. Then he must define the responsibility carefully to avoid a tug of war in the ministry. Thus, there has to be a rethinking and these are my recommendations.
“First, I still don’t understand the reasoning for separating gas resources and petroleum resources functionally. As I said earlier, petroleum is not crude oil alone. It is inclusive of liquid petroleum and gas resources as well as shale oil, shale gas, gas shale and oil shale resources to manage upstream together,” Iledare said.
The professor noted that there could be a Ministry of Petroleum and Energy with a Minister of State for Power, one for gas and another for petroleum.
He noted that the first two would be dealing with gas and power as secondary energy sources while the Minister for State for Petroleum in the Ministry of petroleum would be responsible for primary petroleum resources and crude oil value chain mandates, adding there is a lesson to learn from OBJ, who eventually surrendered the portfolio.
Iledare said a Coordinating Minister for Petroleum and Energy could then serve as the clearing and consolidating agent of ideas for connectivity concerning petroleum and energy matters in general, but stressed that this cannot be Tinubu.
The Executive Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey is also unsettled with the development, especially the separation between petroleum and gas.
The lineup of Tinubu’s ministries remained a grave danger to the environment, Bassey said as he added that three of the announced ministries, the Ministry of Gas Resources, and the Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy raise special concerns at this time of our history.
“It is shocking to see that the Environment has no minister. Not appointing a minister for the environment sends a signal to Nigerians about the concern of the president for a sector that is so fundamental to their survival.
“While we have continued to raise concerns about the degraded environment, creating a Ministry of Gas Resources would only give license to the continuous gas emissions which are a major cause of climate change and attendant problems faced by our communities,” Bassey said.
He insisted that placing a special focus and promoting the gas industry, would inexorably discourage the development of cleaner and more sustainable energy alternatives thereby further creating a long-term dependency on fossil fuels, at a time when all efforts should be made to “depetrolize” the economy.
A former Chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Joseph Nwakwue said it would be difficult to justify that Tinubu would retain the Petroleum Minister position.
“We have tried that without much success,” Nwakwue said, stressing that it would have been better to appoint an oil and gas technocrat, which the country has in excess to drive growth in the sector.
“This sector is bleeding badly and gasping for air. The Nigerian economy is hugely dependent on this sector. To reverse our dwindling fortunes, nothing but a competent and tested professional would work,” Nwakwue said.
He also insisted that the separation of gas from Petroleum is ill-advised.
Former management staff at Shell, Madaki Ameh noted that the prevailing development showed that the country is headed for another incompetent handling of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu
Ameh said: “Tinubu does not know the Oil and Gas Industry to opt to be the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources. We will see another period of cluelessness and ineptitude in the running of the Petroleum Industry. These initiatives are going to implement the Petroleum Industry Act even more tenuous and duplicative.”
Ameh rejected the separation of the Minister of State for Oil from the Minister of State for Gas, stating that if the intention was to focus on Gas, it would only increase the level of red tape around the running of the industry, thereby increasing the cost of governance.
A renowned energy scholar at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, believes that Tinubu may be able to handle the petroleum industry better and differently than Buhari.
According to him, it has the advantage that the sector would attract the highest level of attention.
“I think the personalities of Buhari and Tinubu are different. It may not be right to use the same brush to paint them. You can infer that in the way and manner labour strikes have been addressed under the two presidents,” he noted.
Adenikinju, however, said the separation of gas from petroleum with a separate minister of state may further complicate the operations of the petroleum sector if not properly managed.
“Operators are already finding it difficult with the two regulators in the petroleum sector. There are overlaps of functions and undercurrent competition between the two regulators,” he noted.
Noting that although the arrangement could have some merits, a lot of work must be done to ensure that lines of responsibilities and jurisdictions are clearly defined.
Director at the Centre for Transparency, Faith Nwadishi, said although the President has not publicly declared himself as the minister of petroleum, such development must not happen.
“If that happens, it will be business as usual because the President is very busy handling the country and ECOWAS chair. Taking over petroleum would be back to square one.
Nwadishi lauded the gas plan, saying that a state of emergency should be declared on gas for the projected plan to be achieved.
She however warned that separating the roles and ensuring that the development does not create further instability is sacrosanct.
Court nullifies El-Rufai's sack and banishment of Arak monarch - Orders payment of N5m damages
AdminKaduna State High Court sitting in Kafanchan has nullified the state government’s order banishing and restricting the Etum Arak of Arak Chiefdom, Gen. Iliya Yammah (rtd), from having access to his family, farms and people.
In a judgment delivered, yesterday, Justice John Ambi declared that Section 11(3) of Kaduna State Traditional Institution Law 2021 applied on Arak chiefdom in Sanga Local Council was inconsistent with the provisions of Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, and, therefore, null and void.
He issued: “An order compelling the respondents (Kaduna State Governor, Attorney General and Ministry of Local Government Affairs) to tender apology to the applicant (Arak chief) in two widely-circulated national dailies for infringement of his fundamental right to liberty.
“An order compelling the respondents to pay the applicant N5 millage damages for breach of his right.”
In April 2023, Governor Nasir el-Rufai sacked and banished the monarch over allegations of insubordination and non-residency in domain.
Counsel to the petitioner, Garba Pwul (SAN) and Y. Kyauta, commended the judge for the judiciary’s courage to ensure that rights of citizens were protected in the country.
Kyauta noted that the judgment nullified Section 11(3) of Kaduna State Traditional Institution Law 2021 and granted the chief of Arak freedom to move freely everywhere in the country, including Arak chiefdom.
There are strong feelers that the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, and the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) may return to the party.
Recall that the duo of Mr Peter Obi and Chief Chekwas Okorie were members of APGA before joining other political parties after serving as governor and National Chairman respectively.
Disclosing this to reporters the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA Bar Sylvester Ezeokenwa said that Mr Peter Obi would surely return to the party’s fold of noting that it is only in the party that he would actualize whatever ambition that he has.
“Peter Obi going to come back to APGA and that is his home and that is the only vehicle that will take him to his destination ”
“He attended the APGA Institute of Good Governance of which I am a student now and I tell you he would return to the party”
Ezeokenwa further announced that he has been in touch with the founding National Chairman of APGA Chief Chekwas Okorie noting that through Chekwas Okorie and other party members, the party would be able to win more states in the country”
“I am going to visit Chief Chekwas Okorie and in fact, I have spoken to him to come back to APGA because it is his home and a house he built from the foundation”
“He is like a father and he started this APGA and I told him that he cannot finish building a house and abandon it and whatever may have been his reasons he will return to APGA and together we shall rebuild the party and win other states ”
Ezeokenwa however contended that those ascribing the success of Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party to the Labour Party is wrong adding that the Labour Party cannot take the glory of APGA.
“The whole frenzy of the Labour Party or the Obidient Movement is an accolade for the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA and whatever achievements that he recorded was because of the ideology and manifesto of APGA ”
“Labor Party cannot take the glory of APGA and if Labor Party wants to campaign for its party the party should talk about the former Ondo state governor Chief Mimiko and not Peter Obi who was a member of APGA and all those achievements were when he was in our party,” he said.
The son of the chairman of Globacom Mike Adenuga, Paddy has revealed that he cooks and cleans.
The 39-year-old via his Twitter page on Monday made this known to prospective single women who’d be interested in him.
Paddy, who is yet to be married, advised unmarried women to take note of this fact about himself.
He wrote: “Ladies..just letting y’all know that I cook & clean, so have no worries – I have that taken care of also.
“Just advertising part of my CV…,”
His tweet gained a little traction, with many women commenting, and even men saying, when he is ready to pick a wife, they can introduce their sisters or female friends to him.
”you want to cause problem in ur DM today?”, one Jide Flash warned him.
”When you are ready for marriage please let me know I have beautiful sisters and female friends I can introduce to you. This your CV is giving husband material vibes.”, Sazee told him
Meanwhile, Paddy, last month, said the cost of divorce scares him.
He said that the fact that lawyers advise one to sign prenup documents before getting married takes love out of the conversation.
The Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr. Dele Alake, has explained the reasons behind his appointment into the ministry by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which stirred controversies. Alake highlighted his sense of responsibility, expertise and track record as what propelled Tinubu’s decision. He clarified that the president decided to shock Nigerians by not appointing him to the information ministry, which he has a background in.
He said: “My portfolio has upset the entire cabinet, because given my antecedents, exposure and experience in the area of perception, information management, and the likes so most people have pigeon-hole me into information and so we decided to shock everybody. “Now if you all can sit down to analyse the global trend of economic development, you would note that the hydrocarbon that is the oil is fading out and the world is moving towards alternatives like gas, electric cars and the rest. So what is the next economic growth factor? It is a solid mineral.”
…Says demolition of illegal structures inevitable
The newly sworn-in Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesome Wike on Monday said he is not in Abuja to fly the party flag, but to work hard and deliver dividends of democracy to the people.
Wike who resumed at the FCTA alongside the FCT Minister of State, Mariya Mahmoud, immediately after the oath-taking ceremony at the Presidential Villa, also vowed to demolish all illegal structures that contravene the Abuja Master Plan.
Wike’s reaction about which party’s flag his official vehicle will fly has further heightened speculations on his party membership status.
According to him, his tenure as Minister of FCT will give special attention to issues that will restore the glory of the nation’s capital, to conform with the founding father’s dream.
He further warned that land racketeering would be a thing of the past, as those who speculate in the land will meet stiff resistance.
“We will bring FCT back to where it ought to be. So many people have complained that this is not the FCT of the founding fathers. We must tackle the issue of security. FCT should be where people come for holidays.”
He warned that the Administration under his leadership will not take excuses from security agencies as they will be provided with the required tools to work as the issue of security is germane.
The minister also disclosed that he will sanitize the city and end the rise of slums and shanties across the city. Abuja has turned into a slum city. Sanitation is bad with refuse everywhere. We cannot allow that. We will look at issues of waste disposals.”
“If you know you have built where it’s not supposed to build, it will go down. Our green areas and parks must come back
“Land racketeering days are over. Those who refuse to develop turning to land speculators will loo their lands. All these are our short-term deliverables so as to bring back people’s confidence in Government.”
Some terrorists have abducted eight members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) along a highway in Zamfara State. The corps members were traveling with AKTC bus from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to Sokoto State en route Zamfara State, to take part in the mandatory national youth service when their vehicle was intercepted along a highway in Zamfara on Saturday. A source in the transport company confirmed the incident yesterday morning.
The source, who did not want his name mentioned in the report because he was not authorised to speak on the incident, said the corps members were 11 in number, but that three escaped from the gunmen. Apart from the eight corps members, the driver of the bus was also abducted, he said. “The corps members were offloaded (from the bus) and taken into the bush,” he said. “The police have recovered the bus.” “They left here (Uyo) on Friday, and slept over in Abuja.
It was when they were proceeding to Sokoto that they were kidnapped,” he said. He said the incident had been reported to government authorities and security agencies. A Facebook user, Malachy Blessed, at about 9:14 a.m. on Sunday disclosed in a Facebook post the identity of one of the abducted corps members as Emmanuel Esudue, a graduate of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University.
He said the corps member’s phone number has been unreachable since Thursday. Another victim has been identified as Betty Udofia. Another Facebook user, Edidiong Richard, said the kidnappers have contacted Ms Udofia’s parents, and that they were demanding N4 million ransom. When the police spokesperson in Zamfara State was contacted by journalists yesterday morning, he said he was going to verify the incident and get back. This newspaper could not immediately reach the NYSC spokesperson, Eddy Megwa for comment.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said the price of fuel surged by 215.95 per cent in one year, as that of diesel also increased by 2.60 per cent. The bureau said Nigerians paid an average price of N794.48 for a litre of diesel in July 2023 compared to N774.38 per litre recorded in the corresponding period last year, while the surge indicated a 215.95 per cent increase in fuel price when compared to the value recorded in July 2022 (N190.01). In its latest report on the automotive gas oil (AGO) price watch for July 2023, the NBS said there was a decline in the price of the product during the period examined, compared to the previous month. “On a month-on-month basis, a decrease of -2.62 per cent was recorded from N815.83 in the preceding month of June to an average of N794.48 in July 2023,” the report said. “Looking at the variations in the state prices, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 indicates that the N193.99 billion received from the Federation account as 13 per cent derivation revenue by oil producing states in the first six months of 2023, is, however, N73.99 billion (27.61 per cent) less than the N267.98 billionthe states got in the corresponding period of last year.
Nigeria’s constitution stipulates payment of 13 per cent of oil revenue from the Federation Account to oil producing states as derivation Fund that would be used for the exclusive benefit of their oil/gas producing communities, as such areas are usually negatively impacted by oil and gas exploration and production activities. For instance, at the end of its meeting last month the FAAC issued a communiqué, stating that it shared N907.05 billion among the three tiers of government for June 2023, of which oilproducing states received N47.48 billion as derivation revenue from the 13 percent mineral Fund. The communique said: “The N907.05 billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N301.50 billion, distributable Value Added Tax revenue of N273.23 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy revenue of N11.44 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N320.89 billion.”
It added that from the total distributable revenue of N907.054 billion, the Federal Government received N345.564 billion, the State Governments received N295.948 billion, the Local Government Councils received N218.064 billion, while a total sum of N47.478 billion was shared to the relevant States as 13per cent derivation revenue. Further analysis of data obtained from the NBS shows that nine oil producing states-Delta, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Abia and Anambra, shared N970.20 billion from the Federation account through the 13 percent derivation formula in 2022. A breakdown of the data shows that Delta state received the highest allocation, totalling N296.63 billion, representing 31 percent of the total revenue from the derivation account. Delta is followed by Akwa Ibom, which got N222.52 billion, representing 19 per cent of the total disbursement during the period. the top three states with the highest average price of the product in July 2023 include Niger State (N892.50), Abia State (N890.63) and Enugu State (N872.73).”
NBS said the top three lowest prices were recorded in Bayelsa (N683.20), Anambra/Bauchi (N700.00), and Ondo (N701.58). Explaining the price comparison by zones, the agency said the North Central sold at the highest price. “The zonal representation of average price of automotive gas oil (diesel) shows that the North Central zone has the highest price of N863.10 while the South West has the lowest price (of) N759.45 when compared with other zones,” it added. Recently, there have been reports of a significant increase in the price of diesel in some states. Oil suppliers had said the frequent fluctuation in the foreign exchange market rate was a major crisis facing the industry. In another report, entitled ‘Premium Motor Spirit price watch for July 2023′, released yesterday, the bureau said Nigerians paid an average price of N600.35 for a litre of fuel compared to N190.01 in the same month last year. NBS said the surge indicated a 215.95 per cent increase when compared to the value recorded in July 2022 (N190.01).
“Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (ie, June 2023), the average retail price increased by 9.99 per cent from N545.83,” the report reads. “On state profile analysis, Borno had the highest average retail price forfuel, at N657.27; Abia and Gombe states were next, with N643.13 and N642.22, respectively. “On the other hand, Edo, Kwara, and Benue states had the lowest average retail prices for petrol at N530.00, N535.44 and N537.00, respectively. “Lastly, on zonal profile, the north-east zone had the highest average retail price of N630.13, while the north-central zone had the lowest price of N551.58.” Last week, President Bola Tinubu said there would be no more hikes in the pump prices of petroleum motor spirit (PMS) otherwise known as fuel.
A chieftain of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, has urged the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, not to play a second fiddle.
He said the best person for Obi to open talks with is President Bola Tinubu and not the duo of his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP).
Isiguzoro warned that Obi will lose support from Nigerians if he plays second fiddle in the future and urged him to pull out of the alliance talks.
The Ohanaeze chieftain in a statement signed by him and made available to LEADERSHIP insisted that though the ongoing reported talks between the opposition political parties leaders might be viewed as a welcome development as it will put the APC led federal government on her toes to ensure that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration delivers all the campaign promises to Nigerians.
He maintained that anything contrary to the expectations of the average Nigerians are regarded as inconsiderate pursuits of drowning politicians whose aims are mischievous and laughable.
He said Ohanaeze Ndigbo has observed that there is the possibility of a collapse in their talks because Nigerians will not accept Atiku or Kwankwaso as the leader of the alliance.
“Nigerians know that the uncharitable disposition and desperation of Atiku Abubakar of PDP will never allow him to support Peter Obi to be the leader of the Nigerian opposition, the ill-fated journey of Atiku/Obi/Kwankwaso will crumble in the future.
“Nigerians are warning the presidential candidate of the Labour Party to be wary of failed politicians whose interests are looking for a way to exploit the credibility and popularity of Peter Obi to see how to depose President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from power.
“Nigerians are watching keenly the latest attempt of other politicians to use Obi to wrestle power from APC in the future or possible Rerun, the indelible stain of such alliance talks between Atiku, Kwankwaso, and Obi will destroy Peter Obi if he decides to play a second fiddle.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo caution the Labour Party candidate Peter Obi that the association with Atiku and Kwankwaso will destroy him except if the two will support him to lead the unified opposition political parties, which is unlikely,” he said.
Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education, took office following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inauguration.
Recall that the president swore in 45 Ministers at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday.
Flanked by the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, said:
I am going to work like a bricklayer.
Explaining how a bricklayer works, he said:
He goes to the sites every day and he is faced with hundreds of blocks to lay and by the end of day he wants to see that the building has come up to a certain level everyday so by three to six months the house is done.
While being welcomed by the Permanent Secretary, David Adejo, he stated that education is the foundation of all other sectors and the basis for everything they can do to help the country develop.
The new minister stated that he had spent ample time working with both the government and the private sector, admitting that there are constraints but promising to do what is best for the sector.
Sununu stated that he has been in the education field for a long time because all of his courses are education-related from beginning to end.
He said:
We will overcome all the challenges and make history. We are going to respect constituted orders as well.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary welcomed the ministers and pleaded with the staff to help them deliver service to Nigerians.
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The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Public Affairs, Ajuri Ngelale, has said that Nigeria spends about $10 billion a year on foreign exchange earnings to the refiners and partners to get crude refined to fuel. He also said during an interview on TVC News, said that more refineries in Nigeria would not lead to lower fuel prices. He stated that people often say that if Nigeria’s refineries were working, fuel pump prices would be cheap.
He, however, added that nothing could be farther from the truth. Ngelale said: “That is a myth, it does not happen anywhere in the world, even if we had the most refineries producing the most PMS in the world, you would find that the most prolific PMS producers with their refineries do not charge different from the countries without refineries. I am not saying that we should not have refineries, but there are benefits to having working refineries. “This is why phase one of our Port Harcourt Refinery is coming on stream in December 2023 and phase two by the end of 2024. Dangote Refinery is already up and is going to start dishing out products very soon. “BUA 200,000 bpd refinery is coming up in Akwa Ibom, we are going to have an excess supply that we can export internationally.
“The point I am making on this is that the reason why the price at the pump will not go down irrespective of what our refining capacity is as a country is that nobody spends tens of billions of dollars on building a refinery because of charity or corporate social responsibility, they do it to make money.” He added: “So that is why you find that no matter how many oil marketers you have, bringing the product into the country, no matter how many refineries you have producing mass amount of PMS (fuel), the price is dependent on an international benchmark of what the crude oil per barrel is. What the cost is. When the oil prices are high, the prices of the pump will go up and when the oil prices go down, the prices of the pump will go down.
“These are market fundamentals that are determined, not in one country but on the international stage. The benefit of having refineries in the country is not that you will have cheap fuel. No. The benefit is that you would have saved the country millions of dollars in transportation and logistics costs that we are spending on an annual basis of having to put refined PMS from an international refinery on the water to come to Nigeria’s shores we will have to offload and send to our distribution centres. You save that money.
“In addition to that, you save about $10bn per year on foreign exchange earnings that we are having to pay out to our refiners and partners to get that product exchanged from crude to refined PMS. We saved all that money within the Central Bank as a result of having a local refinery. So there are benefits, big benefits but one of them is not having cheap fuel.
THE Organised Labour, under the aegis of the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees, NUCFRLANMPE, yesterday, urged the Federal Government to come up with policies to cushion the removal of subsidy on petrol, saying Nigerians, especially workers are suffering.
The union urged the Federal Government to create local policies that would improve the economy and lives of citizens.
President of NUCFRLANMPE, Mr Babatunde Olatunji, who spoke at the opening ceremony of its 31st annual industrial relations seminar with the theme ‘Social Dialogue as a Vehicle for Promoting Decent Work and Industrial Harmony’, lamented that the removal of fuel subsidy had impacted on the citizens, especially workers.
Olatunji said: “We plead with the government to hasten up and come out with policies to lessen the suffering Nigerians, especially workers are going through because of the removal of subsidy on Petrol. Nigerians are suffering.
“It is time to revive the local refineries, build infrastructure such as road networks and electricity supply as well as develop the iron and steel sector which is key to economic growth.
“Insecurity should be tackled, multiple taxation, rent and charges should be regulated to allow manufacturing companies survive and promote Gross Domestic Products in Nigeria.”
Olatunji noted that economic issues in the nation were affecting industrial relations saying “One of the effects is job losses arising from factory closure and redundancy. Some managements have devised strange practices such as outsourcing and contract staffing which are odd to normal employment practices.”
…Says Tchiani’s 3yrs plan to reinstate civil rule provoking
The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, said yesterday it was more likely to use military force to restore constitutional order in Niger Republic, if the military junta, led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, was hell-bent on his three-year transition plan before returning the country to civil rule.
Fielding questions on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, also dismissed insinuations that ECOWAS was acting under the influence of a foreign power.
He explained that the community’s chances of using military force to restore constitutional order in Niger were very likely.
He said: “Right from the 1960s, I have never seen a coup that has not enjoyed continuous support from the people.
“The support can be engineered; you can rent crowds; that does not imply that people are unconcerned about their future.
”The high level of youth unemployment is a factor; mismanagement of our resources is a factor, but is the military a better sort of governance of our economy? Empirical data in our region never demonstrate that. So is that the right way to go about trying to change the system?
“A few years ago, you could not even talk of an incumbent president being defeated in an election. Since about 1992, we have seen alternations of power where sitting presidents were defeated and where ruling parties were defeated, whether in Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, or even Liberia. So there’s already progress.”
On the plan by ECOWAS to pragmatically restore peace to Niger after the crisis, he said: “What plans does the coup led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani have for the country?
”They are now embarking on a blind experiment, saying they are going to have a three-year transition, they are going to consult people, so they themselves came without a plan.
”Now that they have overthrown a democratically elected government, they are thinking about alternatives.
“We have seen that where coups have occurred, we have not seen any major alternative better to save the population the military claim to save in those countries.
”So before the coup, ECOWAS had identified the cascading terrorism moving from Burkina Faso to coastal countries as an existential trend that threatened the livelihood of West African citizens and was an impediment to economic development.
”Let’s first remove that obstacle and put in place a regional plan for governance, which is already there. So there are rules and engagement for developing the country through regional and economic integration and increasing intra- and West African trade.
”All these are there, but they take time to bear fruit, and the military is not an alternative. We are just talking about West Africa as if it were an island. All these challenges we are talking about are global.
”Even in most advanced countries, ordinary people are suffering, and they have not chosen to take part in overthrowing their governments. So why here? The inflation in the US, UK, and other parts of Africa is not better than what we are seeing in West Africa today.
“In terms of ECOWAS reinstating constitutional order, it starts with consultation with all the active forces in the country, including political parties, the labour movement, and civil society organizations, they all have a say in it.
”So at the regional level, ECOWAS is already in the process of developing the economic and social council, which is the interface between civil society and policymaking in the region. The main driving slogan of ECOWAS is transforming the region from an ECOWAS of states, driven by the decisions of heads of state to an ECOWAS of the people. The process is ongoing.”
Asked on a scale of 1-10 how likely ECOWAS would deploy force in Niger, Amb Musah said: “Personaly, my wish is that it should be at zero, but I think given the posture of the regime, I will put it at 7, because if they continue to frustrate the non-violent proposal to reinstate constitutional order and then give an unacceptable timetable for return to constitutional order, they make the use of force more likely.
”At least, they have come forward to say they have an intention to return the country to constitutional order, but ECOWAS does not agree with the time frame, so even that agreement in principle is a move forward by the junta, but we will continue to consult to know the minimum, which would be the decisions by the authority of heads of state.”
Asked if ECOWAS was fixated on reinstating President Mohamed Bazoum, he said: “ECOWAS is asking for the release of Bazoum and his reinstatement. So we are calling on the junta to be reasonable because the three years they are talking about are nothing less than provocation to the ECOWAS community.”
ECOWAS denies influence of ‘foreign power
Amb Musah also disproved claims of manipulation of external powers in its efforts to resolve the political instability in Niger Republic.
While noting that foreign support was not part of the consideration of the West African body, he said: “We’ve never discussed our plans with any foreign power, whether they are on the ground, they are in the air, they are in their countries – ECOWAS is taking an independent autonomous decision.”
He noted that ECOWAS had not given any consideration to the complexities of the nationals and multinationals who had given a foot on the ground.
“I’m just coming from Accra where the chiefs of defence staff finalised their preparation for a potential military intervention in the country – foreign support was never part of the country at all.
“We are in with our contingent, own equipment, and our resources and we are not asking anybody for support, that is the position of ECOWAS,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong to immediately take over negotiations with the organized labour in order to arrive at amicable resolutions that will make workers overcome the current pains.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong disclosed this while addressing directors, heads of parastatals and agencies under the ministry and the entire staff immediately he assumed office.
The Minister also said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu shall not spare any effort to protect the Nigerian workers and guarantee their dignity at all times.
Lalong, flanked by the Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejecha said under his stewardship, the ministry will fulfil its mandate of ensuring decent work for all Nigerians and making sure that citizens particularly the youth and women get opportunity to deploy their energy, creativity, talent and gifts to the development of the nation.
He also assured that the government through the ministry shall work closely with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, the Trade Union Congress, TUC and their affiliates towards ensuring that all pending industrial disputes are settled amicably.
The Minister said the government will be addressing with strong determination the new minimum wage and other palliatives arising from the removal of fuel subsidy.
He said that his appointment and that of the Minister of State is a call to service and promised that they shall do everything within their power to give their best in assisting the President fulfill his Renewed Hope Agenda for a better Nigeria.
According to him, “Nigerians have trusted President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima with their mandate, and therefore expect a better nation where their dreams and aspirations will be fulfilled.
“The President has, in turn, mandated us to handle the very important aspects of Labour and Employment, which are critical to national development and prosperity.
“The task is certainly enormous but achievable, especially with the abundant human resources Nigeria is endowed with. We therefore need your support and understanding to succeed.
“Under my stewardship, the Ministry of Labour and Employment will fulfill its mandate of ensuring decent work for all Nigerians and making sure that our citizens particularly the youth and women get the opportunity to deploy their energy, creativity, talent and gifts to the development of the nation.
“We shall therefore mobilise and deploy all the resources of the Ministry towards ensuring that the matters relating to Labour and Employment are galvanised across relevant MDAs and sectors of the economy in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President. Our workers must get value for their labour and operate in safe and conducive environment.
“Because of the level of unemployment, underemployment, and challenges associated with the work environment, we have been mandated by Mr. President to ensure that Nigerians get decent employment and are adequately remunerated for their labour both in the public and private sectors.
“We shall not spare any effort to protect the Nigerian worker and guarantee his dignity at all times.”
The Minister said the administration will escalate the relations with the private sector, development partners, international agencies, NGOs among others to make sure that unemployment and underemployment is reduced to the barest minimum according to the plan of the Tinubu administration.
He further said, “On the relationship with the organised Labour, the Government through the Ministry shall work closely with the NLC, TUC and their affiliates towards not only ensuring that all pending industrial disputes are settled amicably, but also addressing with strong determination the new minimum wage and other palliatives arising from the removal of fuel subsidy.
“I use this opportunity to specially convey the appreciation of Mr. President to the organised labour and Nigerian workers in general for exercising tremendous understanding and patience with the current situation.
“The Government does not take this for granted and Mr. President has directed that we move on with negotiations to arrive at amicable resolutions that will make our workers overcome the current pains.”
He said that the Ministry shall leverage on technology, skill acquisition, entrepreneurship, agriculture among others to open up more employment opportunities for all Nigerians.
“This is in addition to current Safety Net Jobs and new ones that this Government will initiate within the coming weeks and months, ” he said
On the expectations of Nigerians, he said, ” In the coming weeks, we shall unveil detailed plans of President Tinubu’s vision for Labour and Employment and also spell out the role that the Ministry and its agencies, development partners and Nigerians in general will play in actualizing it.
“We shall be engaging all relevant partners and receiving briefings towards a robust performance.”
In her brief remarks, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon Nkeiruka Onyejecha, said her appointment was not by her might or power, rather by the grace of God.
He advised staff of the ministry to put in their best, stressing, “Whether we like it or not, there will be a time we will give account of our activities.”
He urged the staff to help Tinubu’s administration to implement all the promises he made to Nigerians.