President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Jobson Ewalefoh as the new Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

Mr. Ewalefoh is a professional with years of experience in government and development organizations, in addition to expertise in public-private partnerships, public policy reform and development.

The appointment is subject to the confirmation of the Nigerian Senate.

The President expects absolute dedication and probity in the management of the ICRC and in pursuit of its strategic objective of accelerating investment in national infrastructure through the innovative mobilization of private-sector funding.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Ms. Omolola Bridget Oloworaran as the new Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

Ms. Oloworaran is a finance and banking expert with many years of experience.

The appointment is subject to the confirmation of the Nigerian Senate.

The President anticipates a goal-oriented leadership to drive efficiency and superlative performance in the National Pension Commission as the prime regulator of the Nigerian Pension Industry.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Oluwaseun Faleye as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

Mr. Faleye is a legal and corporate finance specialist.

President Tinubu has also approved the appointment of Mrs. Mojisolaoluwa Kehinde Alli-Macaulay as the Executive Director (Operations) of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

Mrs. Alli-Macaulay is a former lawmaker and former Chairperson of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Women Affairs, Poverty Alleviation, and Job Creation.

The President anticipates a comprehensive re-positioning of the NSITF for enhanced social protection and qualitative service delivery to the Nigerian people.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Dr. Olufemi Adekanmbi as the new Project Coordinator for the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).

Dr. Adekanmbi is a former Commissioner for Special Duties, Culture and Tourism in Ondo State, and a member of the Nigerian Environmental Society (NES).

He holds a Doctorate degree in Environmental Management.

The President anticipates the exercise of competence, dedication, and professionalism in fulfilling the mission of the HYPREP to restore and revitalize communities impacted by hydrocarbon pollution, with a primary focus on Ogoniland in Nigeria.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Baffa Dan Agundi as the new Director-General of the National Productivity Centre (NPC).

Mr. Dan Agundi is a former majority leader of the Kano State House of Assembly. He was also Principal Registrar of the Kano State High Court of Justice.

The President anticipates the Director-General's utmost dedication and patriotic zeal in driving the Centre's mandate of developing a national culture of excellence in operational efficiency and institutionalizing a performance-driven orientation toward measurable productivity in the citizenry for the overall enhancement of service delivery and quality of life across the nation.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Umar Ibrahim Mohammed as the new Director-General of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).

Mr. Mohammed is an architect, and also, a construction technology and environment professional.

The President expects improved outcomes in the agency's objective of operating and maintaining hydrological stations nationwide, as well as carrying out groundwater exploration and monitoring using various scientific techniques in order to provide hydrological and hydrogeological data needed for planning, design, execution and management of water resources and allied projects.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Silas Agara as the new Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).

Mr. Agara is an entrepreneur and sports administrator who previously served as the Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State.

The President anticipates an overhaul of the NDE for optimal performance in designing and implementing programmes to combat mass unemployment.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

President Bola Tinubu extends his warm congratulations to Oba Owolabi Olakulehin on his coronation today, July 12, 2024, as the 43rd Olubadan of the ancient city of Ibadan.

President Tinubu joins the family of the new Olubadan, Ibadan citizens, the Oyo State Council of Obas, and the Oyo State Government to celebrate Oba Olakulehin on his ascension to the revered throne of his forebears.

The President affirms that Oba Olakulehin brings to the throne immense wisdom, experience, character, and strength, and urges the monarch to use the highly esteemed stool of Ibadan to advance the peace, security, and development of the area.

President Tinubu assures the new Olubadan of his support and wishes him success as he works to promote and preserve the culture and traditions of the ancient city.

The President also congratulates Ibadan indigenes on the peaceful succession process and prays that the peace, beauty, and renown of Ibadan will abide always.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

President Bola Tinubu receives the news of the tragic collapse of a school building, which resulted in multiple deaths and many surviving victims in Jos, Plateau State, with profound grief.

President Tinubu describes the unfortunate incident as a huge loss to the nation, as well as a devastating development - too excruciating to imagine.

The President condoles with the bereaved families, families of all the victims, and the people and Government of Plateau State.

President Tinubu commends emergency responders, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), security agencies, and all citizens involved in the search, rescue, and resuscitation efforts.

The President assures the people of Plateau State of his fervent support at this difficult time.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

Eminent lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, has lately been calling for the repeal of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 which is within his rights as a citizen. But in doing so, he has been making some assertions regarding the status and operations of the NNPC Ltd that are not quite true.

This is not an attempt to join issues with him. It is just to set the records straight, knowing that when falsehood is left unchallenged, it is accepted as the truth.  

One of the key reasons he claims to be calling for the repeal of the PIA is that under it, NNPC Ltd is playing the roles of an operator and a regulator. When pressed to be specific on the regulatory roles being performed by the NNPC Ltd, he listed “fixing prices of petroleum products” and “acting as sole importer of petroleum products”.  

The truth, however, is that the PIA does not have any provision that makes NNPC Ltd a regulator in the oil and gas industry. The PIA specifically provides for the establishment of two regulators in the industry. They are: The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

One of the objectives of the reforms that the PIA was designed to bring about was the scrapping of the dual roles of operator and regulator played by the NNPC as a government Corporation. Since the PIA came into force in 2021 and the consequent transition of NNPC into a limited liability company that operates under the Companies and Allied Matters Act in 2022, the Company has ceased to take on any regulatory role in strict compliance with the law.

Contrary to the learned Senior Advocate’s claim that NNPC Ltd fixes prices of petroleum products, the Company does not fix prices. In fact, no agency or entity unilaterally fixes prices of petroleum product as the PIA in Sections 205, 206 and 207 provides for a deregulated market which is currently in operation in the Downstream Sector. Under the deregulated market, every marketer is allowed to determine the price of its products as it deems fit, taking market forces into consideration. Based on this principle, NNPC Ltd through its Downstream subsidiary, NNPC Retail Ltd, fixes the prices of its products. It does not fix prices for the entire market as other marketers are at liberty to set their own prices based on market realities. This is the reason NNPC Retail stations in Abuja sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at N617 per litre while other marketers sell at various prices. Similar conditions prevail across the country with different marketers selling petroleum products at different prices. If the sector was still regulated, it would be the duty of the NMDPRA to fix prices and not NNPC Ltd as a player in the industry.

On the claim that NNPC Ltd is the sole importer of petroleum products, this is also not true. Other marketers import AGO and ATK (diesel and aviation fuel). The reason they are not able to engage in the importation of PMS has to do with foreign exchange issues. But the PIA, apparently envisaging situations like this, provides that NNPC Ltd should serve as a supplier of last resort to guarantee energy security. This is very explicit in Section 64 of the PIA. That is the reason NNPC Ltd is currently the sole importer of PMS (not all petroleum products), and that does not in any way make it a regulator.

NNPC Ltd has since moved on to assume its statutory role as a commercial operator in the entire value chain of the energy industry. It has further sealed its status as a commercial operator with declaration of ₦2.52 trillion and ₦674 billion profit after tax in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

We believe that even if other members of the public, out of ignorance, still see NNPC Ltd as a regulator based on its previous operations pre-PIA, it should not be a learned silk like Dr. Agbakoba who should be familiar with the law.

Mr. Ariamaodo, writes in from Abuja.