Top Nigerian newspaper headlines and breaking news in Nigeria today, Wednesday, March 29, 2023.
No Litigations Can Stop Handover to Tinubu – FG
The Federal Government, on Tuesday, said that the transition of power from President Muhammadu Buhari to President-elect, Bola Tinubu, would be smooth and peaceful.
The Chairman of the Transition Committee, Boss Mustapha, while addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, stressed that litigation would not stop the handover ceremony from taking place.
“The committee has been active and the refurbishment of offices for the President and Vice-President elect has been completed.
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“The facility at the Defence House is ready. Security personnel of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force have also been deployed to the President and Vice-President elect.
“Protocol officers have also been assigned to both the President-elect and Vice-President-elect from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Intelligence Agency.
“The transition process is on course and all efforts are being made to ensure that it is smooth. On May 29, there would be a peaceful formal transfer of power to the new President.”
Mustapha noted that the security sub-committee had been saddled with the responsibility to ensure no one truncates the hand-over.
He said,
“All litigation, whether resolved or not, will not in any way stop the process. The President is not spending a day extra in office. The security committee has the responsibility to ensure that nothing happens to truncate the transition process. Nigerians are very law-abiding people.
“Whoever has lost an election, there are provided avenues for those people to make whatever legal inquiry they want to make but the process would continue unabated. We would not create another constitutional crisis. On May 29, the hand-over will take place.”
NNPC Begins Drilling Oil In Nasarawa
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has begun drilling oil in the Ebenyi-A well located in Nasarawa State.
This was made known by the Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari on Tuesday.
He stated that the spud-in of Ebenyi-A well in the Ajibu community of Obi Local Government Area would raise daily production from about 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) to 3m bpd soon.
Also present at the ceremony was President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Buhari, the discovery and drilling of oil in Nasarawa State would lead to greater prosperity for Nigerians and enhance overall energy security for the country.
He said:
“Today’s occasion marks the official commencement of exploration drilling activities in the middle Benue Trough. This is consistent with the commercial discoveries of hydrocarbon in the Kolmani area of the Upper Benue Trough.”
The President also said the surrounding communities would particularly benefit from the value created by the exploration and eventual production activities.
Other areas NNPC was extending its crude oil exploration were Chad Basin, Dahomey Basin, Anambra Platform, the Calabar Embankment, Sokoto Basin, Bida Basin, Benue Trough, and the Ultra-Deepwater Niger Delta.
NLC Extends Nationwide Strike Over Naira Scarcity
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Traders Union Congress (TUC) have extended dates for their planned nationwide action against Naira scarcity.
According to the unions, their planned nationwide strike earlier scheduled for Wednesday, March 29 will no longer hold.
The labour unions made this known at the end of their National Executive Council meeting on Tuesday.
Daily Report Nigeria recalls that both the NLC and TUC had threatened to embark on a nationwide strike to commence over the scarcity of naira notes, fuel scarcity, and electricity tariff hike.
However, NLC President, Joe Ajaero after briefings from its state councils in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, the body decided to put on hold the planned stay-at-home directive issued to workers last week.
Ajaero affirmed the NLC would resume the planned protest should naira notes remain scarce by the end of two weeks.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, had on Monday met with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige over the same matter.
During their meeting with the leadership of Congress, the parties initiated an attempt to avert the impending strike.
Emefiele confirmed steps have been taken to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians about the naira crunch in the country.
According to him, a large volume of funds was dispensed into the deposit money banks.
This was after it directed the banks to open their branches on Saturdays and Sundays.
Petrol to sell for N400 per liter – PENGASSAN
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has pegged the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to be sold for between N360 and N400 a litre once subsidy removal is complete.
This was revealed by PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, while addressing newsmen during the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, in Abuja on Tuesday.
Daily Report Nigeria recalls that the federal government had budgeted N3.35 trillion on petrol subsidy for 2023 even as the it intensifies moves to end the program in June.
Osifo noted that once the subsidy is removed the price of the product, will be determined by the official foreign exchange rate, sourced by Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited for petrol importation.
“Today, the sole importer of PMS into Nigeria is the NNPC. The NNPC is using an exchange rate of the CBN which gives about N400 to N450 depending on the day and depending on the window that you are looking at. So, if you compute that into the model today, PMS should be selling for a region of about N360 to N400 [a litre],” Osifo said.
According to the PENGASSAN president, the association has instructed its member organizations across the country to make the product available to Nigerians.
Osifo explained that members will have their licenses revoked if found guilty of hoarding petrol.
PDP Appoints Illiyah Damagun Acting National Chairman
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has announced Illiyah Damagun as its acting National Chairman.
Damagun’s appointment follows the stepping down of Senator Iyorchia Ayu from the role on Tuesday.
The embattled Ayu stepped aside from the position after a Federal High Court in Makurdi restrained him from parading himself as PDP national chairman.
The order followed the suspension of Ayu by his ward in Gboko over an alleged failure win his units during the just concluded presidential and governorship elections.
Ayu’s suspension was announced by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Deboo Ologunagba during a press conference at the party’s secretariat.
Reacting to his appointment, Damagun said;
“As a party, we are prone to reconciliation. We will review it, we will have an NWC (National Working Committee) meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) and in that meeting we will discuss it, and there will be possible review of whatever is happening.”
Imo Lawmaker, Arthur Egwim Dies in Lagos
Arthur Egwim, the lawmaker representing Ideato North constituency in the Imo state House of Assembly, is dead.
The two-term lawmaker died on Monday days after he underwent surgery in Lagos.
Egwim was first elected into the state House of Assembly in 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress and was re-elected in 2019 with the Action Alliance party.
He contested the House of Representatives seat in the just-concluded National Assembly elections under the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance but lost.
Emeka Nduka, Speaker of the House, in a statement issued on Tuesday described the deceased as “one of Imo’s finest and best legislators”.
“With heavy heart, but total submission to the will of God, we, the members of Imo state House of Assembly, wish to announce the death of one of our own, a ranking parliamentarian of note and a strong voice in IMHA, Rt. Hon. Barr. Arthur Egwim, who until his death represented Ideato-north state constituency,” the statement read.
“His sudden death took place on Monday, 27th March, 2023 after a brief illness.
“Imo House of Assembly has indeed lost one of its finest and best brains. His demise will for a long time create a vacuum in the House
“May his gentle soul rest in peace and may God grant his wife and members of his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. We will miss him dearly.”
Ekiti to Sanction Fuel Stations Rejecting POS Transactions
The Ekiti State Government has come threatened to sanction petrol filling stations following their rejection of POS transactions.
Daily Report Nigeria gathered that the marketers continue to reject Point of Sale Terminal transactions in the face of a continued cash scarcity in the country.
The Special Adviser to the State Governor on Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Omotayo Adeola, gave the warning during a meeting with the State Petroleum Task Force Committee and Representatives of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti.
Adeola said the decision became important in reducing the hardship experienced as a result of the current cash scarcity in the country.
She urged residents to bring their complaints against errant filling station operators via the WhatsApp number 08077772323.
“Residents could make a video call through the above number to report such erring operators for prompt action by the State Petroleum Task Force,” she said.
In separate interviews after the meeting, the Chairman of Ekiti State Petroleum Task Force Committee, Mr. Ayodeji Adesokan, and the NUPENG Chairman, Mr. Olumide Jegede, appealed to petroleum marketers to comply with the directive.
They warned that erring petroleum stations would be sanctioned by the government.
Dino Melaye Joins Kogi Governorship Race
Former Senator, Dino Melaye has declared his intention to contest the Kogi State governorship election billed for November 11, 2023.
The former lawmaker took to his Twitter account on Sunday and called on his supporters to support his gubernatorial ambition.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain while boasting that Kogi will rise again if he is voted into power wrote,
“Let’s do it together. We shall recover Kogi State.”
In another development, the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has suspended the party’s national Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
Ayu was suspended on Sunday by the Ward Executive of the party at Igyorov Ward of Gboko Local Government Area, LGA, of the state
His suspension is coming after the PDP National Working Committee dragged Governor Samuel Ortom, to the disciplinary committee for investigation.
2023 Elections Worse in History– Gani Adams
Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams has knocked politicians playing the ethnic card and failing to abide by the rules of the electoral process.
The founder of Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, also urged all Yorubas, elders, monarchs, socio-cultural groups, etc., to look beyond politics and strengthen the bond of unity.
A statement the Yoruba One Voice (YOV) issued on Monday said Adams addressed a virtual international conference attended by participants from six continents.
At the conference themed “Decolonizing Yoruba land: Speak up, speak out”, Adams stressed that the struggle for the decolonization of ancestral land must be a collective effort.
The Grand Patron of the diaspora organization urged the indigenes to “wake up from their slumber and take their pride of place among other races in the world”.
Iba Adams maintained that the Yorubas are where they are currently “because they lost touch with the core values that are key to the progress of our race”.
The high chief said although the people have unique culture, tradition, language, dress, food, among others, civilization came and slowed down “the glory”.
“Our language, culture, and tradition have gone into extinction. The religious institution has also failed to re-invent the true gospel of God.
China Rejects Nigeria’s $22bn Loan Request
The House of Representatives has approved a counter request for a loan of $973,474,971.38 after the Federal Government’s request for a $22.7 billion loan from China Development Bank was rejected.
The rejected loan was intended to fund the Nigerian Railway Modernisation Project’s Kaduna-Kano segment.
However, due to concerns about Nigeria’s ability to repay the loan and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the project, China Exim Bank withdrew its support.
Abubakar Fulata, the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, proposed a motion to amend the legislative chamber’s previous resolution, which had granted approval for an unsuccessful loan deal.
The motion, titled ‘Rescission of the 2016-2018 Federal Government External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan,’ was based on the fact that the plan had already been approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives on March 5, 2020, and June 2, 2020, respectively.
Fulata reminded the House that the National Assembly had approved $22,798,446,773 for the 2016-2018 Medium Term External Borrowing (Rolling) plan.
He said,
“The House recalls that the National Assembly approved the sum of $22,798,446,773 only under the 2016–2018 Medium Term External Borrowing (Rolling) plan.
“The House is aware of the communications from the Federal Ministry of Finance requesting approval of modifications to the financing proposal for the Nigerian Railway Modernisation Project (Kaduna–Kano segment) occasioned by the COVID–19 pandemic, whereof China Exim Bank withdrew its support to finance the project.”
“The House is also aware that to secure funds for the project, the contractor (CCECC Nigeria Limited), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Transportation, engaged China Development Bank as the new financier in the sum of $973,474,971.38 only.” He added
Fulata therefore, prayed the House to “rescind its decision on the financier and harmonised terms and approve the change of financier from China Exim Bank to China Development Bank.”
The lawmakers unanimously granted the prayer.
The House of Representatives also gave its approval for the conditions outlined in the harmonised term sheet, which includes the following details: the segment covered by the loan is Kaduna-Zaria-Kano; the financier is China Development Bank; the loan is a commercial loan; the maturity period is 15 years; the currency is the euro; the interest rate is 2.7% plus 6 months Euribor; the commitment fee is 0.4%; and the upfront fee is 0.5%.
