Headlines
Wike: The Super/Spiderman of Our Time
By Eric Elezuo
The legend of super hero comics remains the major toast among children and the very young at heart. Among such super heroes are Superman, Spiderman, Flash, Ironman and many others. These super heroes have a tendency of appearing unannounced to save the day whenever there is an emergency, and in all the movies they have featured, they are always right on time.
However, right out of the comic books came another super hero, who appeared as a saving grace and averted an uncanny situation. He is the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike.
Very early on Thursday, July 16, as a fall out of the war of words between a former acting managing director of the Niger delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs Joy Nunieh, and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, policemen in their numbers besieged the residence of the former in apparent readiness to ‘arrest’ her.
The news of the siege got out so fast that the newest super hero in town flew in, in quick strides to the venue, matched the policemen out, and took the lady with him to government.
Wike has been known to react the way that suits him each time he feels there is a form of oppression lurking by the corner, and so his response to the calls for a super hero in the affairs of Nunieh was timely because not until 24 hours later, no one knows the reason the policemen came neither were they able to produce their search warrant or warrant of arrest.
Within the brief period the incident happened, one would have expected a call to be put across to the Commissioner of Police in the state, to confirm the reason for the presence of his men at the private residence of Nunieh. It did not happen neither did the officers who were matched bothered to inform their boss of the unfolding events. This lends credence to the fact that he presence of the officers were not logged. Obviously, no one would have been able to account for the woman if she had the house with the officers.
That the commissioner of police in Rivers State and the Inspector General of Police came out later to claim that they were aware of the invasion is not enough. If they were, why was it difficult for the officers to produce any sort of warrant. In the absence of that, they could very well be dismissed as invaders, and prosecuted.
Wike’s tactics may not be the most modern, but somehow, it came in handy to save the day. No one knows how the story would have been told today if he had not shown up.
Joy Nunieh has accused Akpabio of massive misrepresentation in the NDDC, bordering on fraud, intimidation, stealing of public and above all sexual harassment.
Wike’s action is a wakeup call for governors to stay alert and protect their citizens if for any reason they suspect official intimidation and victimisation. It must recalled in that sometime, not long ago, security agencies invaded homes of judges in the dark, and effected unlawful arrests.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), on Thursday, announced discontinuation of the planned 15 per cent duty on imported petroleum products.
NMDPRA’s Director, Public Affairs Department, George Ene-Ita, conveyed the development in a statement while warning the public to shun panic buying.
President Bola Tinubu, on October 29, approved an import tariff on petrol and diesel, a policy expected to raise the landing cost of imported fuel.
The President’s approval was conveyed in a letter signed by his Private Secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, following a proposal submitted by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji.
The proposal sought the application of a 15 per cent duty on the cost, insurance, and freight value of imported petrol and diesel to align import costs with domestic market realities.
Implementation was slated to take effect on November 21, 2025.
The policy aimed to protect and promote local refineries like the Dangote Refinery and modular plants by making imported fuel more expensive.
While intended to boost local production, it is also expected to increase fuel costs, which could lead to higher inflation and transportation prices for consumers.
Experts have argued that the move could translate into higher pump prices for consumers, with some estimating an increase of up to N150 per litre or more.
In an update, however, NMDPRA said the government was no longer considering going ahead with implementing the petrol import duty.
“It should also be noted that the implementation of the 15% ad-valorem import duty on imported Premium Motor Spirit and Diesel is no longer in View,” the statement read in part.
Meanwhile, the NMDPRA also assured all that there is an adequate supply of petroleum products in the country, within the acceptable national sufficiency threshold, during this peak demand period.
“There is a robust domestic supply of petroleum products (AGO, PMS, LPG, etc) sourced from both local refineries and importation to ensure timely replenishment of stocks at storage depots and retail stations during this period.
“The Authority wishes to use this opportunity to advise against any hoarding, panic buying or non-market reflective escalation of prices of petroleum products.
“The Authority will continue to closely monitor the supply situation and take appropriate regulatory measures to prevent disruption of supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country, especially during this peak demand period.
“While appreciating the continued efforts of all stakeholders in the midstream and downstream value chain in ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted supply and distribution, the public is hereby assured of NMDPRA’s commitment to guarantee energy security,” the statement added.
The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to raise N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to cover the unfunded portion of the 2025 budget deficit.
The approval followed the adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt during plenary on Wednesday.
The committee noted that the 2025 Appropriation Act provides for a total expenditure of N59.99 trillion, representing an increase of N5.25 trillion over the N54.74 trillion initially proposed by the Executive.
This expansion created a total budget deficit of N14.10 trillion. Of this, N12.95 trillion had already been approved for borrowing, leaving an unfunded deficit of approximately N1.15 trillion (N1,147,462,863,321).
In a related development, a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi was adopted, directing the Senate Committee on Appropriations to intensify its oversight to ensure that the borrowed funds are properly implemented in the 2025 fiscal year and used strictly for their intended purposes.
President Tinubu had on November 4th requested the approval of the National Assembly for a fresh ₦1.15 trillion borrowing from the domestic debt market to help finance the deficit in the 2025 budget.
The President’s request was conveyed in a letter. According to the letter, the proposed borrowing is intended to bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programs and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.
The Senate has rejected the explanations provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regarding the ₦210 trillion outstanding against the oil firm.
It came to the conclusion on Wednesday that the money, which had not been accounted for, must be refunded to the Federation Account by the company.
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada, which has been on the probe for months, took the decision on Tuesday after the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, failed to turn up at its resumed sitting at the National Assembly.
The session was called to give the NNPCL the opportunity to make clarifications on the answers the company provided to the 19 questions the panel asked the firm about the ₦210 trillion.
Following a review of the operations of the NNPCL from 2017-2023, the committee sighted the unexplained transaction, totaling ₦103 trillion (accrued expenses) and ₦107 trillion (receivables) in the audited financial statements of the firm, prompting it to raise the queries.
After weeks of back-and-forth between the committee and the NNPCL, the NNPCL eventually responded to the 19 questions.
However, at a resumed session, Senator Wadada frowned at the absence of Ojulari, whom the committee said gave no reasons for staying away, consequently rejected the explanations.
The Chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada, while speaking on the panel’s findings, said the responses were not only unsatisfactory, but were also contradictory.
“NNPC claimed ₦103 trillion as accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion as receivables -amounting to ₦210 trillion. On question eight, NNPC’s explanation on the ₦107 trillion receivables -equivalent to about $117 billion -contradicts available facts and evidence provided by NNPC itself. The committee is duty-bound to reject this,” he stated.
Wadada further questioned how the firm could pay ₦103 trillion in Cash Calls to Joint Venture (JV) partners in 2023 alone, despite generating only ₦24 trillion in crude revenue between 2017 and 2022.
“Cash Call arrangements were abolished in 2016 under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. How can NNPC claim to have paid ₦103trn in one year, when it only generated ₦24trn in revenue over five years? Where did NNPC get that money?
“As far as this committee is concerned, that figure is unjustifiable and unacceptable. The ₦103 trillion must be returned to the Treasury. This will be concluded when the NNPCL appears before us,” he stated.
The committee said it would have been better for the current management of the NNPCL to admit that it encountered challenges in explaining what happened to the funds than giving contradictory answers to the questions.
“If the present management of NNPCL is finding it difficult to provide acceptable answers, it is better they say so. The committee will not hesitate to subpoena former officials of NNPCL and NAPIMS,” Wadada added.
