Scores of demonstrators took to the streets of Abuja on Monday, demanding the immediate dismissal of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, over the ongoing fuel scarcity that has plagued the nation.

The protest comes at a time when the NNPCL has admitted that its considerable debt to fuel suppliers is jeopardizing the sustainability of fuel supplies across the country.

The corporation has highlighted that the financial burden is severely impacting its operations and could further destabilize the already fragile fuel supply chain.

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, who was recently a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, also voiced concerns regarding the rising cost of living, the arbitrary hike in petrol prices, and the resulting scarcity.

Falana emphasized the need to uncover what he described as the “monumental fraud” in Nigeria’s fuel importation process.

During the protest, demonstrators chanted solidarity songs and displayed banners with messages such as “We are tired of fuel scarcity and stories on why refineries are not working,” “No direction under Kyari,” and “We want accountability in the affairs of NNPCL.”

The protesters decried what they viewed as a dismal performance under Kyari’s leadership, calling for greater transparency and accountability.

The Convener of the Coalition of Concerned Civil Society Organizations, Aminu Abbas, addressed the media at Unity Fountain after the rally, questioning why a country as rich in oil resources as Nigeria continues to face such severe fuel scarcity.

Abbas called for immediate action to address the ongoing crisis and ensure that the country’s refineries are functioning efficiently.

He said, “To President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and all those in positions of power, we say the time to act is now. Show us that you stand with the people, not those who profit from our misery. Mr Kyari must be shown the way out, and the NNPCL must be reformed to serve the interests of all Nigerians. We will not be silenced.

“The fuel scarcity we endure today is not just a mere inconvenience; it is a calculated perpetuation of suffering. Under Mr Kyari’s leadership, the situation has gone from bad to worse, with no end in sight. What has he done to alleviate this crisis? It is clear he seems intent on maintaining a status quo that benefits only a select few while the masses suffer.

“Why do we, the people, have to endure endless queues, inflated prices, and the daily uncertainty of whether we can fuel our vehicles or power our homes? The answer lies in the gross incompetence and mismanagement that have become the hallmarks of Mr. Kyari’s leadership.”

The National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters has put forward a proposal to reduce the salaries of legislators and executive members by 30% and 40%, respectively.

This proposal was discussed on Monday during an interactive session led by Senator Sharafadeen Alli, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters.

The session included members of the judiciary and representatives from political parties, focusing on the review and amendment of the Electoral Act 2022.

The proposed salary cuts aim to reduce government expenditure and are part of a broader discussion on cost-saving measures.

Naija News reports that the committee also reviewed other proposals, including conducting all elections; presidential, National Assembly, governorship, and State Houses of Assembly, on a single day to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.

Additionally, political parties suggested linking voter registration to the National Identity Number (NIN) for improved security and cost efficiency.

They also proposed that the appointment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman should no longer be the responsibility of the executive branch but rather be an open process advertised to interested candidates.

Senator Alli assured that the joint committee would continue to engage with INEC and the public to ensure that future elections are conducted smoothly and with minimal disruptions.

Turkish giants Galatasaray have reached an agreement with Napoli to sign Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen on loan.

The deal comes after Osimhen’s proposed transfers to Chelsea and Al-Ahli fell through during the summer transfer window.

The loan move to Galatasaray offers Osimhen an opportunity to continue his career in Europe, following a successful spell with Napoli, where he made a significant impact in Serie A. Despite interest from top clubs, negotiations with Chelsea and Al-Ahli did not materialize, leading to Galatasaray stepping in. 

Details of the loan agreement, including the duration and potential option to buy, are yet to be fully disclosed. However, this move is seen as a strategic acquisition for Galatasaray, bolstering their attacking options as they aim for success in both domestic and European competitions.

Osimhen, known for his speed, strength, and goal-scoring ability, is expected to be a key player for the Turkish club, bringing his experience and talent to the Süper Lig. Fans of Galatasaray are eagerly awaiting his arrival, hoping he will replicate the form that made him a standout player in Italy.

Several protesters who took part in the August 1-10 #EndBadGovernance demonstrations have been remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre after being charged with treason by the Federal Government.

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the protesters’ remand pending the hearing and ruling on their bail application, which is scheduled for September 11, 2024.

The decision came after the accused pleaded not guilty to the six-count charge, which includes allegations of terrorism. 

The charges, which have sparked significant concern among human rights advocates, have brought attention to the government’s handling of the protests, which were primarily focused on issues such as hunger and misgovernance.

More details are expected to emerge as the case progresses, with the next court session set to determine the immediate future of the accused protesters.

British national, Andrew Wynne and a Nigerian, Lucky Ehims were declared wanted by the Nigerian security agents, Police on Monday placed N20m (Twenty Million Naira) bounty on them.

Police in a statement on Monday afternoon said a reward sum of N10,000,000 awaits any person(s) with information leading to the arrest of British national, Andrew Wynne and a Nigerian, Lucky Ehims .

Vanguard had reported how Police had launched a comprehensive investigation into the activities of a foreign national and subversive elements plotting to undermine the democratically elected government in Nigeria through unconstitutional regime change and orchestrating violence across the country.

Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyuwa Adejobi said “Following extensive intelligence gathering and collaboration with other security agencies, nine suspects have been apprehended, who received substantial financial backing from foreign sources to destabilize the country.

“Preliminary findings suggest they orchestrated and funded violent protests, disseminated false information, and engaged in other unlawful activities to create anarchy and justify their illegal plot to overthrow the democratically elected government.

“Investigations have identified a foreign mercenary, Andrew Wynne (also known as Andrew Povich or Drew Povey), a British national, who built a network of sleeper cells to topple the government and plunge the nation into chaos.

“He rented a space at Labour House, Abuja, for an ‘Iva Valley Bookshop’ and established ‘STARS of Nations Schools’ as a cover for his subversive activities.

“Documentary evidence and confessions revealed that Andrew Wynne issued directives, monitored progress, and provided finance and operational guidance to achieve unconstitutional regime change in Nigeria.

“He mobilized and deployed several billions of naira to his Nigerian collaborators, urging them to mobilize the public to violently storm police facilities and military barracks, anticipating a bloodbath that would instigate international condemnation of the Nigerian government.

“These acts are in clear violation of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 and other relevant laws.

“Since the commencement of investigations, Andrew Wynne has fled the country. He and one of his local coordinators, one Lucky Ehis Obiyan have accordingly been declared wanted and global hunting for them has commenced in connection with this investigation.

“The ten other suspects already apprehended have been arraigned before a competent court of law on Monday, September 2, 2024, for Criminal Conspiracy, Terrorism Financing, Treasonable Felony, Subversion, and Cybercrime.

“They include; Angel Love Innocent (Female), Opaluwa Eleojo Simeon, Michael Tobitoba Adaramoye aka Leni, Suleiman Yakubu, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Abayomi Adeyemi, Abdulsalam Zubairu (M), Nuradeen Hamis, and Bashir Bello.

“These acts are in clear violation of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 and other relevant laws

The force also appealed to the public to assist in any useful information that will help their investigations, saying if Andrew Wynne and Lucky Ehims are seen, they should be arrested and “hand over to the nearest Police Station, or to the office of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Department of Force Intelligence, Force Headquarters, Abuja, or call 08035179870, 09133333785, 09133333786. A reward sum of N10,000,000 awaits any person(s) with information leading to the arrest of each of them”.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday, said that it has written a letter to Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to appear before the recently constituted Disciplinary Committee of the party to answer petitions against him over alleged anti-party activities.

The party also described as disappointing Wike’s recent threat of setting political fire in states controlled by PDP governors who have declared support for their Rivers State counterpart, Siminalayi Fubara.

Deputy national publicity secretary of PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who who disclosed this on Channels TV’s breakfast show, ‘Sunrise Daily’, said Wike should have been able to manage his words carefully, adding that the party does not support his comments.

Recall that the PDP recently inaugurated a Disciplinary Committee headed by former minister of foreign affairs, High Chief Tom Ikimi.

But, shortly after the committee’s inauguration, former national vice chairman of PDP and a member of the committee, Chief Bode George, a known Wike ally, resigned from the committee claiming that it was lopsided.

However, Wike had over the weekend threatened to cause political crisis in the respective states of the governors who decide to support Fubara against him over control of the River State PDP structure.

Recall that PDP Governors’ Forum had during their recent meeting in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, declared support for Fubara, who has been having a running political battle with the minister.

But, addressing the PDP stakeholders during the party’s state congress in Port Harcourt on Saturday, Wike said: “Let me assure you, not while we live, will anybody take away the PDP structure from us.

“Let me tell you people; I hear that there are some governors who said they will take away the structure and give to somebody. I pity those governors because I will put fire in their states.

“When God has given you peace, you said you don’t want peace; whatever you see, you take.”

Reacting, however, the deputy national publicity secretary of the party disclosed that Wike is one of those whom party members have written petitions against for alleged anti-party activities, adding that the committee “has written him a letter inviting him over,” to appear before them.

“We have received petitions with regards to anti-party on those sabotaging the party all through the primaries leading up to where we are today. Those petitions have been aggregated across the country.”

When asked specifically about petitions against Wike, he revealed that party members felt Wike should not have gotten this far still as a member of the party.

He added, “Nyesom Wike is one of the persons expected to face that committee which is headed by no less a person than High Chief Tom Ikimi.”

He said the current party leadership should be given credit for “being able to navigate the waters by not sanctioning people without giving them an opportunity of fair hearing” as against what happened under the immediate-past national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.

On the recent threat by Wike against governors over the River crisis, Abdullahi said: “He (Wike) was referring to something and it was clear for everybody to see that he was referring to the governor of Bauchi State over his interference in the congress in the determination of the congress in Rivers State. I don’t know if Wike will be fair to himself if he expects the governor of Bauchi, who is the chairman of the governors forum and the leader of the PDP going forward to keep quiet in the issues affecting Rivers State because that is one of our states and we worked so hard to get that state. Wike should have been able to manage his words carefully.

“It was a very disappointing remark, we were not expecting him to say that and we are not with him on that.”

When asked if the party was on the side of Bauchi State governor on the matter, he said, “We are with Wike and everybody. What we are saying is that that is a very bad statement for Wike to make and we are not in support of it.”

On resolving the crisis in the party, he said PDP has handled more delicate issues in the past, adding that the current impasse is “one of them and we will go past it.”

The Deputy National Spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ibrahim Abdullahi, has said the three leading opposition figures in Nigeria are discussing the possibility of a merger to salvage Nigerians from hunger and widespread insecurity ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Abdullahi made this statement on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday.

According to him, the three opposition candidates in the last elections—PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP)—would put personal interests aside and form a formidable alliance to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027 and salvage Nigerians from hunger.

He said that had the party’s past leadership managed differences and party conflicts well, high-ranking chieftains like former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, Kwankwaso, and Obi would still be full-blooded members of the PDP, and the party would have defeated Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last election.

“We’ve lost Kwankwaso, we’ve lost Peter Obi, all of these people; imagine if they were in the party, we would have won the elections.

“This APC said they defeated us with one million plus (votes); just one of these names that I mentioned would have covered that gap for us, and we would have been in power today, and certainly Nigerians would not have been confronted with this despair and despondency in the land,” he said.

The President Bola Tinubu-led administration is pushing for a death penalty for ten #EndBadGovernance protesters.

The government accused the protesters of treason, a capital offence punishable by death.

This was contained in a Court document with file number FHC/ABJ/CR/454/2024, indicating the Tinubu regime is seeking death penalty for the protesters.

The arrested protesters include:

Michael Tobiloba Adaramoye
Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi
Suleiman Yakubu
Opaluwa Eleojo Simon
Angel Love Innocent
Buhari Lawal
Mosiu Sadiq
Bashir Bello
Nuradeen Khamis
Abdulsalam Zubairu.

Since the end of the nationwide protests against widespread hardship and insecurity in the country last month, a crackdown on those who participated in the public demonstration by security agencies has been the order of the day.

Hundreds of people have been arrested, including minors, for their alleged involvement in the protest. Many of the arrested persons are being detained without any arraignment.

Critics and human rights organisations have expressed their revulsion at the repressive behaviour of the government, saying the development is deeply disturbing.

Nigeria’s Falconets kicked off their 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over South Korea early Monday morning at the Estadio Metropolitano de Techo, Colombia.

Exciting forward Flourish Sabastine netted the winning goal four minutes from time to hand the Falconets all the maximum points on offer.

The first half was a tense affair, with both teams struggling to create clear chances. However, the Falconets started the second half with renewed vigour.

Imuran tried to set up Mary Nkpa for the opener, but the forward couldn’t capitalise on the opportunity. Imuran had another chance to score from a free-kick, but her effort sailed over the crossbar.

A moment of anxiety followed when goalkeeper Shukurat Bakare misjudged a free-kick, almost gifting South Korea a goal, but the Koreans failed to take advantage. 

The Falconets continued to push for a breakthrough, and their persistence paid off in the 86th minute. Flourish Sabastine’s attempted cross turned into an unlikely goal, evading Korean goalkeeper Woo Seo-Bin to put Nigeria ahead.

Osigwe had a chance to double Nigeria’s lead in stoppage time but missed the target.

With this win, Nigeria join Germany atop Group D and will face the three-time World champions on Wednesday in a crucial match that could secure their progression to the next round.

The Germans were good value for the win in their first game as they smashed Venezuela in a 5-2 victory.

Bayer Leverkusen youngster Loreen Bender bagged a brace in a frantic first half that ended 4-1 in favour of the European giants.

Elsewhere, Spain U20 edged to a narrow 1-0 win over the United States while Paraguay forced a 2-0 defeat down the throat of Morocco.

Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has demanded an investigation into the alleged “importation scam” surrounding petrol in Nigeria.

During an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics program, Falana emphasized the need to probe the ongoing issues related to fuel importation.

He criticized the ongoing inquiries in the National Assembly, labeling them as insufficient.

He said, “It is high time the importation scam was investigated. I am not talking of the joke that is going on in the National Assembly. The media must help, civil society organisations must help to expose the fraud.”

Recent reports have linked a $6 billion debt owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to fuel suppliers as a contributing factor to the worsening petrol scarcity in the country.

In a rare admission, the NNPCL acknowledged on Sunday the “significant debt to petrol suppliers,” warning that this debt threatens the sustainability of fuel supply in Nigeria.

“Once the government begins to speak about affordability and sustainanbility in response to growing queues at filling stations, there are problems,” Falana pointed out.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also criticized the government for a lack of transparency regarding fuel subsidies.

He questioned the logic behind spending “$2.9 billion to fix the refineries” while the dates for their resumption continue to be postponed.

Falana warned that he would take legal action against those responsible for the ongoing delays in the rehabilitation of state-owned refineries if another postponement is announced.