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FG, Marketers Say Fuel Crisis Won’t End Soon
Amid the lingering petrol scarcity in the country, a senior government official and marketers have dashed the hope of an early resolution of the problem by claiming that supply hitches may not end any time soon.
The senior official in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH on condition of anonymity on Saturday, said the fuel scarcity might get worse in the days and weeks to come as there were many issues affecting the smooth supply of the product across the country.
According to him, the inability of the NNPC Limited to import sufficient volume of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) is primarily responsible for the current scarcity.
He explained that the NNPCL did not have sufficient funds to import the required quantity of fuel for domestic consumption and the situation was compounded by the falling value of the naira as the company had to source for scarce forex to buy petrol from abroad and pay shipowners, who convey it to the country.
The official stated, “The dollar issue is a major problem as the NNPCL is running helter-skelter to get forex to import fuel, yet the product cannot be sold at the market value; so, it is bearing some part of the cost in the form of subsidy. You can’t get products at higher rates and sell at lower rates and there won’t be crises.
“The Federal Government is worried that the removal of subsidy a month to the general elections will be disastrous as the organised labour will mobilise the citizens to resist it and the security agencies may not be able to contain the attendant upheaval. This, of course, will affect the chances of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the elections.
“The President does not want to leave a country in turmoil for his successor and that is why he made provision for subsidy till June. It will be the decision of his successor to retain or remove it. Whoever wins the presidential election will face a tough time.”
The source also explained that the inability of the country to produce enough crude oil to meet its Organisation of Petroleum Export Countries’ quota was another problem, noting that insecurity and crude theft had significantly affected the production capacity.
He added, “Another issue is the failure of the crude swap for refined products deal that the NNPCL had with major international oil firms and traders. The inability of the NNPCL to meet its own side of the deal by supplying the required quantity of crude has frustrated the arrangement.
“While Nigeria has been taking refined products from the partners, it has not been able to supply the crude equivalent and the international firms and traders have stopped shipping products to the country.”
Oil marketers, on Saturday, also alluded to the problems in the downstream sector and predicted that the current scarcity would not abate until the government comes out with a clear position on subsidy removal, full deregulation and price determination.
They also faulted the claim by the Federal Government that it had not increased the pump price of petrol, as they continued dispensing the commodity at exorbitant rates.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, had announced on Friday that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), did not approve any hike in petrol price.
This was after oil marketers stated that the government might have commenced the gradual removal of subsidy on petrol, as they stated that the cost of PMS was raised on Thursday from N175/litre to N185/litre.
The Punch
Call it the eating of a humble pie, and you may not be wring as the embattled Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, apologised to Governor Godwin Obaseki amid a face-off between them.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday in Benin City, Mr Shaibu appealed to Governor Obaseki to forgive his “mistakes” for them to continue to work together, Channels TV reported.
“I use this medium to appeal to Mr Governor, if there is anything that I don’t know that I have done, please forgive me so that we can develop our state together,” he said.
“We have just one year to go. We have been the envy of the entire country. So, Mr Governor, if there is anything you feel that I have done, please I am sorry. I need us to work together to finish well and strong,” the deputy governor added.
When asked if he had resumed at his new office, Mr Shaibu said, “We have resumed but there is still a lot of work to be done there.
“There is no problem about it. The governor has asked us to go there. Like I have always tried to prove, I am a loyal servant and nothing has changed.
“I took a personal vow to support my governor and you can see my Catholic people are here. When I took a vow with God, nothing can change it and I wish that the relationship that we had will come back in the next few days and weeks.”
Mr Shaibu also said he has been missing the governor since their rift began, and expressed hope that God will “touch the governor’s heart” to forgive him.
“I mean well. If there is any mistake I have made as a human, it is not out of wickedness because I know I’m not wicked. I have a very clean heart.”
The Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has announced the revocation of 167 plots of land in some highbrow districts of the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Areas affected are Maitama, Gudu, Wuye which had the highest revocation, 41; Katampe, Katampe Extension, Wuse 2, Jabi, Utako, Idu Industrial zone, and Asokoro which had the second highest revocation, 39.
In a notice issued Thursday night in Abuja, the administration said the plots were revoked due to the refusal or failure of their allottees to develop them.
“The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA hereby informs the general public that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory has, in the exercise of the powers conferred on him under Section 28(5)(a) & (b) of the Land Use Act 1978, revoked the underlisted plots with names and titles as reflected in our records for continued contravention of the terms of development of the Right of Occupancy to wit non-development”, the administration said in the notice signed by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola.
Some of the plots revoked in Maitama district A05 had names like Liyel Imoke, Musa Aboki Egu, Hassan Hadejia and Ishaya Baba.
In Jabi, some of the plots revoked had allottees such as Sam Nda-Isaiah, and Donubari Josephine Kogbara, while Katampe district had Peter Gregory Obi, BUA international among others.
In other areas, this revoked had names as Julius Berger Nigeria, Honeywell Construction, Uffot Joseph Ekaette, Shittu Mohammed, Udoma Udo Udoma, Kanu Agabi, Niki Niki Tobi, Ishaku Bello, and others.
Wike had on assumption of office vowed to restore the master plan of the territory and revoke plots that had not been developed or those whose ground rents have not been paid for years.
He had consequently given a two-week grace to allottees to pay their ground rents or risk revocation of their allocations.
Vanguard
President Bola Tinubu has appealed against the ruling of Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert, sitting at the United States’ District Court of Northern Illinois which ordered the Chicago State University (CSU) to release all relevant records pertaining to him.
SaharaReporters had reported how the federal court in Chicago, while ruling on the civil case filed by Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday granted the applicant’s request to the court, stating that former Nigeria’s vice-president had been able to sufficiently satisfy the purpose for seeking the records.
In the judgement documents seen by SaharaReporters on Wednesday, Judge Jeffrey Gilbert also ordered a deposition of designated CSU officials within two days after the records have been released, noting further that the process can be conducted during the weekend if necessary.
However, as the school prepared to surrender the papers, Tinubu filed an emergency motion in the district, requesting a higher judge to reconsider Mr Gilbert’s September 19 ruling and postpone the execution until at least September 25, according to People’s Gazette.
“Due to the timing for compliance by Chicago State University – later today – Intervenor is filing this motion separately from its challenge to the Magistrate’s ruling on the application,” Mr Tinubu’s lawyers, led by Christopher Carmichael, said. “Intervenor intends to file, by the end of the day, a substantive brief addressing the errors in the Magistrate’s decision.”
