DEPUTY Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu has criticised the response of the Nigeria Police Force after an assassination attempt was made on him and some members of his family early Tuesday.
Ekweremadu’s media aide, Uche Anichukwu, had issued a statement on Tuesday narrating how some hoodlums attacked Ekweremadu’s residence and successfully made it to his room, but a scuffle ensued and one of the attackers was overpowered and apprehended while the others escaped.
Narrating the incident at the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, Ekweremadu berated the Nigerian police for their sluggish response after the incident was reported to them.
“It was about 4 am this morning that some people evaded the security in my house and got all the way to my room where I was sleeping with my wife. There was a struggle, there was a fight with heavy commotion and by the grace of God, we eventually caught one of them and the rest escaped,” he said.
“We handed that one over to the police investigating the matter. The annoying aspect of it or the one that is worrisome is that at that point, I called the inspector-general of police (IGP), his phone was off. I called some of his aides, their phones rang out and nobody replied till now. I called (the) DIG operations, till I left my house, nobody showed up.
“I now had my people invite the DPO in charge of Apo police station. We didn’t see him till about 5:30, he sent his 2nd-in-command who came and he saw the dangerous weapons that they left behind, he left and said that the DPO was coming. Until I left my house by 9 am, the DPO had not come.
“Nobody is safe in this country, I want to appeal to my colleagues and the general public that we all continue to be prayerful, be conscious of our private security, it appears that the security is not in the hands of government but the Almighty God.”
In his response, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, described the alleged slow response of the police as “disturbing”, wondering if the police were “being partisan with the way they treat cases”.
THE Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Suleiman Kazaure, has assured that corps members that will be chosen to work with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2019 general election will not be sent to volatile areas.
Kazaure, a Brigadier-General in the Nigerian Army, gave this assurance when he visited the NYSC Orientation Camp in Sagamu, Ogun State.
In the past, corps members have fallen victims of election violence in several parts of the country, but Kazaure said the ugly trend would not be allowed to continue.
He urged the corps members to always be security conscious and mindful of happenings in their environments.
“Your safety starts first by respecting the traditions of your host communities and being at peace with the people you’ve been called to serve,” Kazaure advised.
“Then you must always look out for one another and try to always move in groups. Unnecessary travelling should also be curtailed as this is not ideal of the NYSC scheme.
“At the elections, you must refrain from being partisan. As ad-hoc INEC staff, you must be neutral always and shun material or financial inducements from politicians for your own good and safety.
“I want to also state it here that no corps member will be used as ad-hoc staff in the volatile regions during the elections as their safety is of paramount concern to the scheme.”
Seven corps members were killed in Bauchi Stateduring the violence that erupted after the 2011 general election. Also, one corps member was killed in Ahoada West local government area of Rivers State during the legislative rerun election in the state in March of 2016.
INEC had clarifiedthat it intends to recruit corps members as ad-hoc staff during the 2019 election, as has been in the case in the past. Other people that could work for INEC during the elections are students of federal-owned tertiary institutions, as well as workers in federal government establishments.
SAUDI Arabia expressed “regret and pain” for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, during a scheduled review session at the UN in Geneva on Monday, while asserting its commitment to achieving the “highest possible standards” in human rights in the country, including for women and migrants
Confirming that an investigation is still on-going into the death of Mr Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on 2 October, The UN News reports that Dr. Bandar bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, President of Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission, and head of the country’s delegation at the 31st Session of the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland told the Member States in Geneva that King Abdel-Aziz had personally initiated the probe.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has already expressed its regret and pain for the death of Jamal Khashoggi,” Dr. Al-Aiban said. “King Abdel-Aziz has already instructed the prosecution to proceed with the investigation into this case according to the applicable laws and preparation to reaching all facts and bringing all the perpetrators to justice in order to bear the facts to the public.”
Following Dr Al-Aiban’s comments, 40 Member States appealed to Saudi Arabia to find out what had happened to Mr Khashoggi, many also calling for reform to the Kingdom’s freedom of expression laws.
Amid concerns over freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi representative insisted that it was a “guaranteed right”, before noting the launch of “many multilingual television and radio channels” as evidence of people’s right to express their opinions.
The issue was picked up by the many member States, including Denmark, France, Germany and the United States, which although it is not a current member of the Human Rights Council, is permitted as a UN Member State to attend UPR discussions.
Specifically, it urged Saudi Arabia to more clearly define what constituted terrorism in law, so as not to criminalize expression, association or peaceful assembly.
Around 10 countries also expressed concern about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has faced criticism for coordinating air strikes which have killed civilians.
On the issue of Yemen, Dr. Al-Aiban insisted that Saudi Arabia “affirms its continuous support for the Yemeni people and their legitimate government”, which had requested assistance against Houthi attackers in 2015.
“The Coalition forces are doing their best to spare civilians, particularly women and children, civilian sites, and infrastructure as a side-effect of the armed conflict,” Dr Al-Aiban said, adding that Saudi communities near the border with Yemen continue to come under attack from the rebel Houthi movement’s militia.
Another non-Council member, the Russian Federation, meanwhile, echoed other countries’ comments that welcomed Saudi efforts to increase women’s participation in social and political life, before expressing concern about possible violations of religious minorities, prisoners and detainees, amid reports of alleged torture in detention centres – and of migrant workers, who make up one-third of Saudi’s population.
In addition to many calls for the abolition of the death penalty amid concerns that its use is increasing in Saudi Arabia, Member States present also urged the kingdom to banish the practice of male guardianship of adult women.
Reforms of the practice had only been put in place “partially”, Switzerland’s delegation said, and in most cases, the discrimination against women “persists”.
“Recent news tells us of the oppressive atmosphere creating lethal consequences,” the Swiss delegation explained. “We call for freedom of expression to be reinforced, freedom of association and expression for all, ensuring security for all journalists and releasing from prison all those who have been imprisoned for freely expressing their opinions.”
A total of 97 countries spoke at the Universal Period Review of Saudi Arabia in Geneva on how the UPR system works.
Dr. Al-Aiban noted that Saudi Arabia had accepted more than 150 recommendations made at its last UPR appearance in addition to another 37 recommendations, which it had accepted partially.
According to UPR rules, all 193 UN Member States are reviewed by their peers, at a rate of 42 a year.
THE planned nationwide strike by the labour unions over a new minimum wage has been shelved for now.
The strike was scheduled to start on Tuesday with immediate effect after Labour leaders, government representatives and organised private sector spent more than eight hours deliberating on Monday to reach a consensus on a minimum wage.
The deliberation was in vain as the Tripartite committee decided to convey the resolution of the meeting to President Muhammadu Buhari, for onward transmission to the National Assembly.
The government wants to pay N24,000 as minimum wage, but the labour leaders are insisting on N30,000.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday intervened in the impasse by appealing to the labour unions, especially the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to consider the rot his administration inherited from the previous governments.
The President explained that the present government was doing more with the ‘fewer resources’ at its disposal in putting the nation’s economy right. (NAN)
Ozone is a layer that protects life on Earth from harmful layers of ultraviolet rays from the sun.
The study shows that the concentration of ozone-depleting substances continues to decrease, leading to an improvement in the layer since the previous assessment carried out in 2014.
The findings are being hailed as a demonstration of what global agreements can achieve, and an inspiration for more ambitious climate action to halt a catastrophic rise in world temperatures.
Ozone in parts of the stratosphere has recovered at a rate of one to three per cent since 2000 and, at projected rates, Northern Hemisphere and mid-latitude ozone is scheduled to heal completely by the 2030s, followed by the Southern Hemisphere in the 2050s and Polar Regions by 2060.
This is due to internationally agreed actions carried out under the historic Montreal Protocol, which came into being over 30 years ago.
The Protocol was in response to the revelation that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting substances – used in aerosols, cooling and refrigeration systems, and many other items – were tearing a hole in the ozone layer and allowing dangerous ultraviolet radiation to flood through.
The Protocol is set to be strengthened in 2019 with the ratification of the Kigali Amendment which calls for the future use of powerful climate-warming gases in refrigerators, air conditioners and related products to be slashed.
Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment Programme said:
“The Montreal Protocol is one of the most successful multilateral agreements in history for a reason.
“The careful mix of authoritative science and collaborative action that has defined the Protocol for more than 30 years and was set to heal our ozone layer is precisely why the Kigali Amendment holds such promise for climate action in future.”
The findings provide a ray of hope, less than a month after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released a watershed report.
The report described the devastating effects of a 2°C temperature rise compared to pre-industrial levels, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres described as an “ear-splitting wake-up call”.
The writers of the report found that, if the Kigali Amendment was fully implemented, the world could avoid up to 0.4 per cent of global warming this century, meaning that it will play a major role in keeping the global temperature rise below 2°C. (NAN)
POPULAR human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on the National Human Rights Commission to investigate the killing of over 492 members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) since 2014.
Falana, who is also the counsel to Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of the Shi’ite sect, made this known in a statement on Monday, condemning the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government for what he described as the “systematic infringements of the fundamental rights” of the group.
He noted that FG “has continued to justify such subversion of the Rule of Law under the pretext of protecting national security”.
Falana’s statement is coming days after the Nigerian army tried to justify the killing of some Shi’ite protesters in Abuja, whom the army said had thrown stones at them.
The protesters were demanding the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky who has been in the custody of the Department of State Services since December 2015.
Falana pointed out that “in two separate suits, the Kano and Sokoto judicial divisions of the federal high court have upheld the fundamental rights of the members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria to life, freedom of religion and freedom of expression including the right to engage in peaceful processions. But in utter contempt of the federal high court, the Federal Government has refused to release Sheik Elzakzaky and his wife from illegal custody,” Falana stated.
The DSS allowed El-Zakzaky to address the press in January as a proof that he is still alive.
“It may interest you to know that the 100 Shiites who were charged with the offence of culpable homicide arising from the alleged killing of a soldier in Zaria on December 12, 2015, have been discharged and acquitted by the Kaduna State high court. Following the dismissal of the frivolous charge, the Kaduna state government has turned around to charge Elzakzaky and his wife with culpable homicide before the high court in Kaduna for the alleged killing of the same soldier!”
Falana also listed nine incidents where members of the Shi’ite sect have been killed but the federal government did nothing to prosecute the perpetrators even though they are “well known”.
Femi Falana (SAN)
The incidents include the killing of 35 Shiites, including three of Zakzaky’s children, at a religious convention in Zaria, in July 2014. According to Falana, Nasir El-Rufai, who at the time was a governorship aspirant, visited El-Zakzaky to condole with him. Also, the National Human Rights Commission, headed at the time by Chidi Odinkalu, apologised to the IMN on behalf of the Nigerian government.
Another of such incidents happened on December 12, 2015, when the army killed 348 Shiites at a religious ceremony for allegedly disrupting the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Tukur Buratai.
“Although Sheik Elzakzaky was not at the religious ceremony the army invaded his house two days later, shot at him and his wife and set the house ablaze. Three of his children were killed in his presence while other family members who survived the violent attack were seriously injured,” Falana stated.
“Since the nation cannot afford to turn the Islamic Movement of Nigeria into another terrorist organization like the satanic Boko Haram sect, we request the National Human Rights Commission to conduct a full-scale inquiry into the gross violations of the fundamental rights of the Shiites highlighted.”
THE National Youth Service Corp members have clamoured for an increase of their monthly allowance.
This was expressed in a social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter, tagged NYSC allowance.
This reaction came after Suleiman Kazaure, the Director-General of Corps on Monday addressed members against joining the proposed strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), urging them to remain at their duty posts as loyal and patriotic citizens.
He added that there was no provision for strike action in the NYSC Act but services that would uphold the corporate entity of the nation.
The NLC has planned to begin an indefinite strike on Tuesday over the labour’s minimum wage.
The payment of N19,800 has been paid as the NYSC allowance since 2011.
Meanwhile, the director-general of the corps in August said the Federal Government has begun an upward review of the N19, 800 monthly allowances paid to members.
“The Federal Government is working to increase your monthly allowance. We received a letter from the Presidency through the Ministry of Youth and Sports and copied to the Ministry of Finance, which shows that the corps members’ allowance will be reviewed upward,” he said in August.
But in September, Kazaure said that the minimum wage would determine the allowance of the NYSC. “Whenever the minimum wage of civil servants is increased, an increment in corps members’ allowance will automatically be effected,” he added.
The current national minimum wage is N18,000, but the organised labour demandedthat the amount be increased to nothing less than N30,000, taking into consideration the hyper-inflation that is currently being experienced in the country. But the federal government said it can only pay N24,000, while state governments proposed an even lower amount of N22,500.
The labour congress, rejecting the offers from both federal and state governments, has planned to commence a nation-wide strike action on Tuesday.
Similarly, a popular outcry of the youth corp members have dominated the social media on Monday
Paul Jesutofunmi, a Twitter user compared the allowance to almsgiving. “It’s so deeply annoying for a corp member to be paid N19,800. N660per day including transportation, accommodation is not just enough,” he tweeted.
Similarly, Habib Lateef tweeted that Nysc allowance could not feed for a month. He tweeted: “This is what they call ‘serving the nation.’”
Also, a tweet by Seun Shewen expressed how the Nigerian government intentionally made the Nigerian youths suffer for a year by paying a meagre allowance.
“ After going through daily stress in school, only to be paid N19,800 as allowance in this harsh economy. He added that the NYSC is a full meaning of ‘Now Your Suffering Continues,”he tweeted.
THE United Kingdom (UK) armed forces have thrown its door open to citizens of Commonwealth nations to be enlisted into the armed forces, according to reports from the BBC.
In a bid to address the shortfall in the numerical strength of the UK armed forces, the Ministry of Defence intends to recruit more servicemen and women to the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
The armed forces are short of 8,200 soldiers, sailors and air personnel, a report found earlier this year reveals.
Ministers are expected to announce the change to recruitment rules today. It is hoped the changes will lead to an extra 1,350 people being recruited every year.
Currently, only 200 Commonwealth citizens per year can apply without having lived in the UK for five years. It is the worst shortage since 2010 said the independent government watchdog, the National Audit Office.
It means people from Commonwealth countries including Nigeria, Australia, Kenya, Fiji and Ghana amongst others will be considered for roles, even if they have never lived in Britain before.
A rule introduced in 2016 already allows 200 Commonwealth citizens who have not met the requirement of living in the UK for five years to apply for a limited number of jobs every year.
The five-year UK residency requirement for Commonwealth recruits was first waived in 1998, before being reintroduced in 2013.
According to the Daily Telegraph, which first published details of the plan in Monday’s paper, the air force and navy will begin recruiting immediately and the Army will open applications early next year.
Applications from citizens of countries outside the Commonwealth will not be accepted, the paper adds. Citizens of Ireland and also Gurkhas from Nepal can already join because of special rules.
April’s National Audit Office report also said there were “much larger shortfalls” in the number of military engineers, pilots and intelligence analysts.
It said the armed forces were involved in 25 operations worldwide in 2016-17 – and the air force is undertaking more missions than it has for a quarter of a century.
And a Conservative MP’s report in July 2017 on the state of Army recruitment warned that the armed forces were “hollowing out” due to recruitment issues.
PRESIDENT of the Nigerian Senate, Bukola Saraki, says the Senate will investigate the recent revelation that billions of Naira being dividends accruable to Nigeria from its shares in the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), were illegally diverted and used to pay for subsidies for petroleum products.
Saraki made this known in a statement issued by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on Monday, hours after the Premium Times published a report detailing how the federal government diverted the sum of $1.05 billion – about N378 billion at N360 to a dollar –to pay for petroleum subsidy despite claiming to have stopped such payments.
Earnings from the NLNG statutorily belongs to the federal, state, and local governments, but according to the report, the federal government unilaterally approved the spending from the NLNG funds without recourse to the other tiers of government or to the legislative arm of government.
Reacting to the recent development, Saraki recalled that a member of theSenate, Biodun Olujimi, had earlier raised concerns over alleged extra-budgetary spendings by the NNPC, andan ad-hoc committee had been set up to look into the allegations.
“Let me assure Nigerians that there will be no cover-up. We are confident the ad-hoc committee will do a thorough job. All the issues will be unearthed,” Saraki stated.
“That is why when the Senate set up investigative committees on issues, we want Nigerians to have confidence in us that we do not act because we want to embark on a wild goose chase. There must be some serious issues to be looked into.
“The revelations by the NNPC GMD have justified the need for this investigation and they have shown that we are acting in good faith.
“When in my ruling on the motion raised by Senator Olujimi, I insisted that we want a transparent, honest and non-partisan investigation on the fuel subsidy issue, it was clear to me and my colleagues that there are certain irregularities being perpetrated and we should let Nigerians know the truth.
“That is why we set up the committee in the first place and to demonstrate the seriousness we attach to the issue, we decided that the adhoc committee should be led by the Leader of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan.
“This investigation will require the GMD (of NNPC, Maikanti Baru) to produce the approval given by the National Assembly and other necessary approving bodies authorizing the NNPC to divert the dividend from the NLNG investment which ought to be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund belonging to the three tiers of government for the payment of fuel subsidy.”
The Senate is currently on a two-week break but the lawmakers are expected to resume plenary on Tuesday, November 6.
THE federal government illegally diverted $1.05 billion (N378 billion at N360 to a dollar) sourced from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividend funds to secretly fund subsidy payment on petroleum products.
The diversion details are coming amidst revelations from accusations the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has a $3.5 billion subsidy fund it is spending without appropriation by the National Assembly.
In October, a motion by Biodun Olujimi, (Ekiti-PDP) had triggered debates in the National Assembly on the purported $3.5 billion fund alleged to be managed by the state oil company.
But the NNPC said it had no such fund in its custody. Rather, it said it has a $1.05 billion fund it is using to stabilise petrol supply and distribution in the country.
While the NNPC, through its spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, initially claimed the corporation sourced the fund from an ‘international agency’, Maikanti Baru, NNPC group managing director, admitted last week that the money was sourced from the NLNG dividend fund.
Documents in the possession of this newspaper have now shown that the fund was sourced at the height of the fuel scarcity crisis between last December and January and was secretly diverted into payments on petrol supply and distribution.
The funds came from dividends paid to the federal government by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) company, a firm in which the government owns 49 per cent equity.
The Nigerian government is represented in the NLNG shareholding arrangement by the NNPC with 49 per cent stake. Other shareholders are Shell (25.6 per cent), Total (15 per cent) and Eni (10.4 per cent).
Dividends from the gas firm are meant to be shared by the federal, state and local governments of Nigeria. The funds are supposed to be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation rather than spent unilaterally by any tier of government.
But PREMIUM TIMES has now confirmed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government unilaterally — without required consultation with states and the national assembly– tampered with the NLNG funds. That was also done without the mandatory appropriation by the National Assembly.
Lawmakers say by his action, President Buhari has violated the nation’s appropriation law, and has therefore committed impeachable offences.
NLNG Plant
Denial
The administration has for years paid huge amounts as fuel subsidy (despite increasing the pump price of fuel), while denying making such payments. Federal lawmakers said the payments were surreptitiously and illegally done and have demanded an investigation.
The lawmakers say spending on fuel subsidy or related spending without the approval of the National Assembly is extra-budgetary and illegal.
Besides, the lawmakers said they were worried about the transparency of the arrangement, as only the group managing director of The NNPC, Maikanti Baru, and the corporation’s chief financial officer in charge of Finance & Accounts, Isiaka Abdulrazaq, were managing the secret funds without appropriation.
But the NNPC said through Mr Ughamadu that what was in existence was a $1.05 billion “revolving fund”, which was adopted by the NNPC as a strategy to comply with the directive by the National Assembly to find all ways possible to resolve the fuel supply crisis in the country late last year.
File photo: NNPC Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru
He claimed the fund, dubbed the National Fuel Support Fund, is jointly managed by the NNPC, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Department of Petroleum Resources and the Petroleum Equalization Fund.
On the source of funds, Mr Ughamadu claimed the agencies jointly sourced the money from an unnamed “international agency”.
But contrary to his claims, documents seen by this newspaper confirmed Mr Baru’s position that the source of the fund was the NLNG dividend account controlled by the corporation.
The flush fund
In a memo dated January 19, addressed to Mr Buhari, the NNPC GMD, Mr Baru, raised concerns over the depletion in the nation’s strategic fuel reserve.
This, he said, was occasioned by massive diversion and hoarding which manifested in the fuel crisis of last year.
To arrest the situation, he said there was a need to access the NLNG dividend fund to purchase the required petrol volume to flush supply and boost strategic reserve.
Mr Baru also complained about the daily consumption of petrol, put at 35 million litres per day at the time, which was becoming problematic for the NNPC to manage after oil marketing companies stopped importing the products.
He told the president petrol consumption had exponentially gone up to 47 million litres per day — even though the actual national consumption was estimated at 35 million litres.
“At the current depletion rate, there is the possibility that the available PMS stock that hovers between 18 to 15 days sufficiency will be depleted by the second week of February 2018 to dangerously low levels if no flush funds are secured,” the memo read. “This may adversely impact the current situation and could lead to social unrest.”
NNPC GMD’s letter to Buhari, apprising him on the measures taken to bridge the gap in PMS sufficiency — NLNG dividends.NNPC GMD’s letter to Buhari, apprising him on the measures taken to bridge the gap in PMS sufficiency — NLNG dividends.NNPC GMD’s letter to Buhari, apprising him on the measures taken to bridge the gap in PMS sufficiency — NLNG dividends.
The memo also advised Mr Buhari on the need to fix the Jebba-Mokwa road to ease distribution of petroleum products, engage the State Security Service in the monitoring of depots selling above NNPC approved prices, among other concerns.
The GMD addressed concerns raised by the president in a previous communication by explaining that by the status of NNPC’s balance sheet and its free cash position, the corporation would not be able to use its funds to import petrol.
He also explained how the government’s financing obligations limited the ability of the corporation to supply 13 cargoes of petrol, being what was needed for national consumption in the absence of private marketers.
He suggested also that the NNPC be allowed access to foreign exchange at the appropriate rate corresponding to the supply of petrol that will ensure stability in price.
The letter concluded by advising the president that NNPC did not have the cash flow to finance petrol importation that would meet immediate requirement of flush volumes and strategic reserve replenishment. Mr Baru advised the injection of 42 cargoes of petrol between January and April to flush supply.
“There is dire need to arrest the erosion of PMS sufficiency with the injection of flush volumes immediately,” Mr Baru said in the memo. “In view of the foregoing, Your Excellency may kindly reconsider and approve our request to utilize $1.05 billion to finance the 42 PMS cargoes as contained in our letter to you dated 8th January, on the subject matter.”
In a separate memo, also dated January 19, the NNPC intimated the president on what it had done to deal with the fuel challenge while also advising the president to quickly approve its request for a flush fund.
Details of Mr Baru’s memos to the president were regurgitated when the NNPC chief appeared before an ad hoc committee of the Senate on the alleged application of $3.5 billion dollars by the NNPC last week.
Speaking at the hearing, Mr Baru claimed that the NNPC’s action to source funds to address PMS supply concerns was triggered by the directive of the Senate at the height of the fuel scarcity crisis that the corporation must do all it could to address the scarcity problems. He added that it was also because there has been no provision for subsidy in the budget since 2016.
Letter to Buhari on provision of flush volumes and the need to replenish onshore fuel reserve.Letter to Buhari on provision of flush volumes and the need to replenish onshore fuel reserve.Letter to Buhari on provision of flush volumes and the need to replenish onshore fuel reserve.Letter to Buhari on provision of flush volumes and the need to replenish onshore fuel reserve.Letter to Buhari on provision of flush volumes and the need to replenish onshore fuel reserve.Letter to Buhari on provision of flush volumes and the need to replenish onshore fuel reserve.Letter to Buhari on provision of flush volumes and the need to replenish onshore fuel reserve.
“This necessitated actions from government and of course in line with the federal government directive which of course was equally endorsed by this distinguished national assembly when during the hearing on the 24th of January 2018 on the fuel crisis, the joint committees of the national assembly directed us and I quote: ‘NNPC should do all it takes to flush the queue and restore normalcy and maintain the minimum of 30 days sufficiency’,” Mr Baru said in his submission. “For us to do that, we took certain actions, Mr Chairman.”
Kabiru Marafa, the Chairman Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), told PREMIUM TIMES the National Assembly indeed gave the NNPC a written marching order to end the last fuel scarcity.
The senator said although the state oil company indicated it was setting up a revolving fund to deal with the problem, the corporation did not indicate how it planned to source the fund.
Senator Kabiru Marafa
Another highly placed source in the National Assembly confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES Sunday that lawmakers never authorised the NNPC to embark on illegal remedial activities devoid of appropriation.
The source, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said the National Assembly was looking into the arrangement because it was not aware of its existence.
Again, it is now clear state governments were not intimated of the transaction. The NLNG shares belong to the Nigerian federation and the three tiers should share in the dividends.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulaziz Yari, said his Forum became aware of the utilisation of the fund after the fact.
“We are now trying to reconcile the balance sheet with the NNPC,” Mr Yari, who is also Zamfara governor, told PREMIUM TIMES. “We want to determine what has happened to the $1.05billion revolving fund and the situation with the entire NLNG dividend fund.”
Mr Baru in his submission at the Senate hearing said the $1.05 billion is being administered by a steering committee which is the central approving body and a working committee that is looking at the daily operations of the fund.
“This committees are comprised of the representatives of the office of the minister of finance, office of the minister of state for petroleum resources, the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, the Petroleum Equalization Funds management board, the Directorate of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,” he said.
“So the fund that we exercise from the Nigerian NLNG fund is being administered, transferred with laid down processes and governance and every cargo that is imported under this programme has gone through a proper checking process through which the most competitive supplier is selected.”
But a January 31 memo seen by this newspaper indicated the fund was being unilaterally controlled by the NNPC rather than by any steering committee.
Memo requesting GMD’s approval for delegating authority to process invoices on flush volume cargoes – NLNG dividends.
In the memo, Mele Kyari, the NNPC group general manager in charge of crude oil marketing department, was seen advising the GMD on huge fund transaction and seeking approval to process invoices on flush volume cargoes.
President Muhammadu Buhari and his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
For long, the government has refused to come clean over the payment as the arrangement, considered illegal and unappropriated, has been shrouded in secrecy.
Last December, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo raised concerns among stakeholders when he said the NNPC and not the Federal government was paying for oil subsidy.
With this revelation, it is now clear the NNPC received the NLNG dividend fund and has continued to use it for fuel supply, as confirmed by Messrs Baru and Ughamadu.
Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, did not answer multiple telephone calls and text message seeking his comment for his story. Mr Ughamadu too did not respond to messages sent to him.
“There is dire need to arrest the erosion of PMS sufficiency with the injection of flush volumes immediately,” Mr Baru said in the memo. “In view of the foregoing, Your Excellency may kindly reconsider and approve our request to utilize $1.05 billion to finance the 42 PMS cargoes as contained in our letter to you dated 8th January, on the subject matter.”
