The Federal Controller of Works in Ogun, Mr Olayiwola Komolafe, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

He said the maintenance work would take place on Kara Bridge outbound Lagos between Chainage 5+350 and 6+115.

Komolafe said the repair works, directed by the Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, would last two weeks and end on March 24.

According to him, there will be a partial closure of the affected section during the period, resulting in a narrowed road width for vehicles travelling outward Lagos.

The ministry said the measure was necessary to enable engineers to replace the damaged expansion joints and ensure the safety and durability of the bridge.

He advised motorists to plan their journeys ahead and consider alternative routes to reduce traffic congestion during the repair period.

“Motorists travelling from Ikorodu to Mowe, Sagamu and Ibadan are advised to go through Shimawa or Mosinmi.

“Those travelling from Lagos Island may explore the Epe corridor through Ijebu Ode to connect Sagamu, Ibadan and Mowe,” he advised.

Komolafe, however, noted that a shorter route may not necessarily be the fastest during the repair works.

He urged motorists to obey traffic management directives and drive cautiously around the work zone.

The controller expressed regret over any inconvenience the temporary partial closure might cause and appealed for the understanding and cooperation of road users.

Source: NAN

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Similarly, the chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, has resigned.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, made the resignations known in a statement he issued on Wednesday.

Ahmed’s resignation came amid corruption allegations made against him by the chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.

In a swift reaction to the resignations, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve the nominations of two new chief executives for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC.

Ahmed and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by former President Buhari to lead the two regulatory agencies created by the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA.

To fill their positions, President Tinubu has written to the Senate, requesting expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA.

The two nominees are seasoned professionals in the oil and gas industry.

Eyesan, a graduate of Economics from the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the NNPC and its subsidiaries.

She retired as Executive Vice President, Upstream (2023–2024), and previously served as Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy at NNPC from 2019 to 2023.

Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, born in 1957 in Gombe, graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1981 with a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering.

He was announced today as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.

His prior roles include Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and Nigerian Gas Company, as well as Chair of the boards of West African Gas Pipeline Company, Nigeria LNG subsidiaries, and NNPC Retail.

He also served as Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power Directorate, where he provided strategic leadership for major gas projects and policy frameworks, including the Gas Masterplan, Gas Network Code, and contributions to the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA.

Engineer Mohammed played a pivotal role in delivering key projects such as the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline Expansion, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, and Nigeria LNG Train.

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The post JUST IN: Farouk Ahmed resigns as Tinubu nominates successor appeared first on Frontpageng.

The refinery resorted to crude importation as local supply challenges hindered the new $20bn refinery’s push to reach full refining capacity.

Recall that the refinery plans to reach its 650,000 barrels per day capacity in June this year.

However, low local crude supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is currently a challenge to this plan to ramp up daily production.

The 12 million barrels of crude has already left the United States and will land in Nigeria next month, according to the news from African Report.

“About 12 million barrels of crude have departed the US and should arrive in Nigeria by February,” an insider source told The Africa Report.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery is said to be importing more crude oil as supply from the NNPC becomes insufficient for fuel production at the $20bn Lekki-based facility.

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Officials at the plant said the facility has ramped up production to about 500,000 barrels per day, with the target of hitting the 650,000bpd mark by June this year.

The NNPC is reportedly struggling to supply 350,000bpd to the Dangote refinery from the 450,000bpd crude meant for Nigeria’s local consumption.

With its current production capacity of 500,000bpd, officials said there is a need to look beyond the shores of Nigeria for the feedstock.

It was said that the feedstock needed by the refinery daily cannot be solely supplied by the state-owned oil company, NNPC.

Recall that in July, President Tinubu ordered the NNPC to sell crude oil to local refineries in naira.

According to the crude oil production forecast of producing oil companies and the refining requirement of functional refineries in Nigeria signed by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, the Dangote refinery would require 550,000 barrels of a blend of Nigerian crude oil daily, 17.05 million barrels monthly, and 99.55 million barrels between January and June 2025.

The Dangote refinery is already building eight more tanks to store imported crude.

The facility is planning to stockpile imported crude oil as local supplies become unreliable.

Officials of the refinery were quoted as saying that low crude supply from the NNPC “is driving import dependence.”

The building of eight additional tanks will see crude storage capacity at the refinery jump by 41.67 per cent to 3.4 billion litres.

“Importing crude from other countries instead of buying locally means that our crude stockpiles will have to be higher,” the Vice President in charge of the oil and gas business at Dangote Industries, Devakumar Edwin, was quoted as having said recently.

In May 2024, the refinery reportedly issued a term tender for the purchase of two million barrels of West Texas Intermediate Midland crude monthly for 12 months starting in July last year, amounting to 24 million barrels of crude in one year.

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The announcement is contained in a statement by  Nneamaka Okafor, the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Communications.

The meeting which held on Monday in Abuja had in attendance Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman/ CEO, Dangote Group and Mr Farouk Ahmed, Authority Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA.

Others are Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Commission Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, and Malam Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC Ltd.

It will be recalled that recent face-off in the industry saw the leadership of the Dangote Group, NMDPRA and NNPC Ltd. in a disagreement over some pertinent issues.

Dangote had declared that the NNPC Ltd. no longer own a 20 per cent stake in its refinery, stressing that the Nigerian oil company now owned only 7.2 per cent of the refinery due to its failure to pay the balance of their shares, which was due in June.

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The NNPC Ltd. however, said the decision to cap its equity participation at the paid-up sum was made and communicated to Dangote Refinery several months ago.

The NMDPRA was also at loggerheads with Dangote over issues bordering on licenses, which the authority said the Dangote refinery was at its pre-commissioning stage while its diesel was below international standard.

Dangote, however, refuted the NMDPRA stand on the issue.

Dangote also accused the International Oil Companies, IOCs, of frustrating its refinery operations by selling crude oil to it through their foreign trading arms offering cargoes at two to four dollars per barrel, above NUPRC official price.

On this background, the minister convened the meeting to find a lasting solution to the current impasse affecting the Dangote Refinery, with all parties demonstrating commitment to collaborative and proactive problem-solving.

Lokpobiri emphasised the importance of cooperation and synergy among all stakeholders.

That, he said, would ensure the success and optimal performance of the oil and gas sector, which he described as pivotal for Nigeria’s economic growth and energy security.

The stakeholders expressed their gratitude to the minister for his exemplary leadership and timely intervention in facilitating the dialogue.

The meeting marked a significant step towards resolving the challenges and underscores the minister’s dedication to foster a conducive environment for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

The coming on stream of the $20 billion Dangote Refinery with a refining capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, gave impetus to the country’s oil sector as it would ensure that Nigeria is not reliant on fuel from overseas.

Source: NAN

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The governor spoke on Tuesday at an event to unveil three additional HDCTs by The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, SPDC, operator of the SPDC Joint Venture comprising SPDC, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC, TotalEnergies Limited and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited.

Represented by the state Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Charles Amadi, the governor said the development in oil producing communities as envisaged in the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, would only become a reality if those charged with managing the funds put the people first and make themselves accountable.

HCDT is a creation of the PIA and requires oil exploration companies to allocate three per cent of their operating expenditure in the previous year for the development of their host communities.

The three new HCDTs represent the hosts of SPDC JV at its Logistics Base, Akukutoru and TNP-2 areas and bring to 31 the number so far inaugurated by the Joint Venture out of the 33 for all its operations in the Niger Delta.

Governor Fubara said, “I appreciate Shell for your continued support at ensuring the economic growth of the communities.”

SPDC has been the industry leader in the implementation of the HCDT provisions of the PIA.

Also speaking at the event, Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, acknowledged the challenges of implementing a new legislation like the PIA, noting that SPDC engaged over 300 communities on the provisions of the law and the need for stronger collaboration between SPDC and the communities to ensure the desired growth and development.

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Okunbor, who was represented by the HCDT Project Manager, Dr. Alice Ajeh, said, “Ultimately, community development rests on the shoulders of the communities themselves.”

In his remarks, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, commended SPDC’s leading position in the implementation of the HCDT provisions of the PIA and emphasised the importance of fostering sustainable economic development through robust implementation strategies.

“NUPRC, in line with global best practices and in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, has developed robust implementation strategies for the Trusts. This is for the purpose of fostering sustainable economic development of host communities,” the NUPRC chief said through his representative, Mrs. Chidinma Nwabueze.

Komolafe enjoined the host communities to guarantee seamless oil and gas exploration and production in their respective communities to reap maximum benefits from the trusts.

In his remark, the Chief Upstream Investment Officer of NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), Mr. Bala Wunti, said, “We have high expectations for communities to collaborate with industry stakeholders to achieve peaceful coexistence. The boards of trustees should ensure that there are systems in place to address conflicts or grievances through dialogue that ensures resolutions that are beneficial to all the parties.”

Represented at the event by NUIMS Manager for Stakeholder Relations, Mrs. Ejidoh Uzo, Wunti said, “I commend the host communities for their prompt utilization of the instruments of the PIA as administered. This is a laudable initiative of Shell that will bring about positive development to the communities.”

Chairmen of the respective three new trusts – Mrs. Gogo Helen Osima for Akukutoru; Mr. Promise Wobo Iwezor for Logistics Base; and Mr. Macauley Aminikpo for TNP-2 – thanked SPDC JV, NNPC, NUPRC and their respective communities for the confidence reposed in them.

They promised that the trustees would ensure transparency and accountability in discharging their duties.

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Stakeholders in the oil industry,  including the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri,  Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd, Mr. Osagie Okubor; Chief Executive, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe and the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd, Mr Mele Kyari, stormed Ogun State on Friday on plans by the federal government to start oil exploration in the state.

They were received by Governor Dapo Abiodun and his Deputy, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele.

Lokpobiri, who spoke at the governor’s office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, said Ogun State had always been part of the Dahomey Basin with prospect of having huge deposit of hyrdro-carbon.

The minister said: “We decided that we are going to resume exploration in the different Basins; we decided to come to Ogun State to reassure the people that we have very high potential of discoveries here. Ogun has always been part of the Dahomey Basin and our presence underscores the seriousness the federal government attaches to the exploration activities that we want to carry out in Ogun State.”

Lokpobiri who added that oil and gas remained the quickest way to Nigeria’s economic prosperity, said his team was in the state in continuation of the campaign for exploration activities.

He said the visit was also to demonstrate the seriousness and commitment of the federal government to shore up its revenue through the oil and gas sector.

“Today we are here to tell the people of the federal government’s commitment to ensuring that we continue our campaign and exploration activities across the country. We are doing this exploration activities in several places across Nigeria and today we are in Ogun after which we will proceed to Sokoto State,” he added.

The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, Mr. Mele kyari, while speaking, said Ogun State was blessed to be in the Dahomey Basin corridor with expected high deposit of oil, assuring that the corporation was coming back in earnest to commence exploration activities, even as he expressed the hope that oil would be found in commercial quantity.

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In his remarks, the Executive Director, Nigerians Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, said the coming of the team to Ogun State was to further demonstrate the commitment of the federal government to grow the oil reserves and enhanced federation revenue.

“We all understand that Nigeria is very prolific in oil and gas, but then there is still need to grow the reserves through exploration activities given our huge hyrdro-carbon as a bench mark,” he noted.

Komolafe informed that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) made provision for the funding of the development of the Frontier Basins, adding that in line with the commitment and the aspirations of the government, the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission was working in synergy with the NNPCL to leverage the PIA to aggressively carry out oil exploration in the Dahomey Basin.

“The Dahomey Basin stretches up to Delta, Edo, Ogun and Ondo states. We intend to in the course of this exercise, cover all those states leveraging the provision of Section 9, Subsection 4 of the PIA. This is good opportunity for the people of Ogun State and it would be complementary to the reforms and transformation initiatives of the governor. We want to congratulate the governor and the people for being the beneficiaries of this initiative,” Komolafe said.

Responding, Governor Abiodun said Ogun State was part of the OPLs 302,303 306, 307, saying the acreages presented unique opportunities for the qualification as a Frontier Exploration State as defined in the PIA section 9.

He observed that the history and studies over the years allowed any investment under the frontier exploration basin funding to not only realize the oil and gas potentials, but also acquire data that would aid Bitumen exploration and exploitation in Nigeria.

The country, Abiodun maintained held the second largest resolves in the world of 42,b tons, adding that a lot of studies had shown the potential of the basins, which brought Ogun State to the fore and projecting it towards becoming a beneficiary to achieve commercial success and derive economic benefits from exploration and production within a minimum time schedule.

“It is noteworthy that this is a region of the country that provides ease of access, low entry and operating costs, a safe and welcoming community and a very active state government support and participation.

“Ogun State therefore presents some unique opportunities towards the realization of the full intentions of the PIA section 9 on frontier exploration as it will contribute to guarantee additional petroleum production of additional petroleum products for the country and afford more supply to potential refineries in the area.

“As a low hanging result, this area also presents the opportunity for Bitumen extraction, thereby reducing import dependency and bringing with its savings in foreign exchange expenditure on this single line item,” governor said.

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The visit by the new NCDMB boss was aimed at familiarising himself with chief executives of institutions that are represented on the NCDMB’s Governing Council as well as exploring areas of collaboration.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary conveyed the willingness of the NCDMB to deepen its partnership with key agencies of the Federal Government to achieve the economic aspirations of President Bola Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that cooperation and teamwork were key to accomplishing any noble objective.

He promised that NCDMB would work closely with NAICOM to review and operationalise the insurance services regulations jointly issued by both agencies in June 2022, to get Nigerian oil and gas companies to patronise local insurance firms and retain spend in the economy.

The Commissioner for Insurance of the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, Mr. Sunday Olorundare Thomas, congratulated the Executive Secretary on his appointment, noting that he would be building on the solid foundation laid by his predecessors.

He described NCDMB as a formidable institution and commended the founding fathers of the Board for their foresight in creating such an important agency.

He also lauded the former Executive Secretaries of the NCDMB for their innovative projects and achievements while in office that added value to the economy.

The Commissioner for Insurance described insurance as the oxygen of business operations.

He expressed concern that the insurance services regulations that were signed by the commission and NCDMB were yet to be implemented.

He requested the Executive Secretary to address the challenges, hinting that implementing the regulations would bring the needed changes in the insurance subsector of the oil and gas industry before being extended to other key sectors of the economy.

At the NUPRC, the Executive Secretary reiterated the need for teamwork and partnership amongst various agencies under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, to sustain the growth of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

He hinted that collaboration would create an enabling environment that would attract investments and new projects into the sector, helping to create employment opportunities for youths and address insecurity in the polity.

While noting that local content development would be stunted if projects and investments in the oil and gas sector did not flourish, the Executive Secretary suggested that NCDMB and NUPRC should organise workshops to examine and resolve concerns identified by investors as obstacles to investments and new projects.

He hinted that investment decisions by international oil and gas companies were often affected by their assessment of their Return on Investments, ROI.

In his comments, the commission’s Chief Executive of NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, congratulated the Executive Secretary on his appointment, noting that the industry was pleased to have a person of his pedigree as the new helmsman of the NCDMB.

The NUPRC’s boss highlighted the important role of the NCDMB in the operations of the upstream sector of the petroleum industry and commended the new Executive Secretary for seeking closer cooperation among the agencies.

He described the move as expedient, especially at a time when every hand was on the deck towards increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production, earning higher revenue for the nation, and reviving the economy.

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He remarked that the Nigerian upstream sector was facing severe pressures because of the low crude oil production and lack of investment in recent years.

He pointed out that the energy map of the world had changed considerably with the emergence of several new oil-producing countries.

That situation, he said, had induced a high level of competitiveness for investment capital, stressing that strategic actions must be taken to make the Nigerian environment investor-friendly.

According to him, “we must vacate entry barriers for investment. This is common logic when there is high competition. We need to work together to lower barriers and do everything possible to motivate investment.”

He assured that the NUPRC would partner closely with the NCDMB to achieve some of the programmes it had planned for 2024.

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The spud-in ceremony of the Ebenyi-A, Middle Benue Trough, was conducted virtually on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, pedestaling President Buhari as the leader under whom the oil wealth of the country snowballed into humongous quantity, guaranteeing the prosperity of Nigeria for now and the future.

Writing on the oil find in Kolmani last November, I had described is as “one small step for man, but a giant leap for mankind, for the whole country.” With Nasarawa also in the bag now, Nigeria is not only running as an oil-rich country, it is flying.

Greater prosperity for our people, and especially enhance overall energy security for our country. That’s the way to go, the way to think Nigeria, and be the father of all.

It was a visibly delighted President who welcomed guests and stakeholders to what he called “this very momentous occasion of the spudding of the Ebenyi-A well located in the Middle Benue Trough, Obi Local Government of Nasarawa State.”

He said it was in line with the ongoing campaigns for the exploration of crude oil and gas in the Nation’s Frontier Basins, including the Chad Basin, Dahomey Basin, Anambra Platform, the Calabar Embankment, Sokoto Basin, Bida Basin, Benue Trough as well as the Ultra-Deepwater Niger Delta.

Hear the President: “Today’s occasion marks the official commencement of exploration drilling activities in the Middle Benue Trough. This is consistent with the commercial discoveries of hydrocarbons in the Kolmani Area of the Upper Benue Trough. I am pleased to note that activities are currently ongoing to develop the Kolmani petroleum discoveries to commercial production to add to the nation’s considerable hydro-carbon assets.

“I am encouraged by the enormous work done by NNPC Limited to exploit the prospects in the Middle Benue Trough, leading to the event of today.

“I congratulate NNPC Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and other partners for their immense contributions towards making this day and this event possible.”

It was possible for a less nationalist leader, who also hails from the northern part of the country, to start gloating about the balance of forces that oil find in that part of the country has wrought. But not Buhari. He thinks Nigeria, rather than region, and thus declared: “I am happy that the consequent positive outcomes of these drilling campaigns will lead to greater prosperity for our people and especially enhance overall energy security for our country. No doubt, the surrounding communities will particularly benefit from the value that will be created by the exploration and eventual production activities.”

Greater prosperity for our people, and especially enhance overall energy security for our country. That’s the way to go, the way to think Nigeria, and be the father of all.

Right at that point, the President was also futuristic in thought, borrowing from the experience of environmental degradation in the areas the country had prospected for oil in the past. He counseled: “I am also admonishing NNPC Limited and its partners to take due care of the environmental consequences of these oil exploration activities and to mitigate the negative effects.”

Oil exploration is often accompanied by social unrest and militancy, thus it was very germane for the President to address the Government and people of Nasarawa State- the host community- “for their unfettered support and collaboration towards the success of this exploration campaign.” Indeed, without their support and cooperation, oil would become doom, and not a boom.

Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Ltd, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, described the spud-in as “an important milestone in our efforts to harness the abundant natural resources of our country.

“This is a special occasion for us at the NNPC Ltd and the Nigeria Upstream Regulatory Commission, the Nasarawa people and Nigeria as we spud the first well in the middle Benue Trough while at the same time executing Mr President’s express mandate for us to pursue exploration in the frontier inland Basins with vigor. The mandate no doubt targets growth of hydrocarbon reserves in our country with the ultimate aim of enhancing national energy security and associated economic benefits to our people.”

Enhancing national energy security and associated economic benefits to our people. Did you hear of regionalism or the North? No. It was all about Nigeria. “National energy security,” and not solely about the people of a region, though they equally stand to benefit tremendously from the development. If only we can think Nigeria more, our country would be better.

Going down the memory lane, the GCEO said exploration in the mid Benue trough commenced over a decade ago. “Since 2010, we have executed several geophysical activities, applied niche technologies and conducted very integrated studies leading to the firming up of the Ebenyi-A well. Indeed, our findings are very indicative of potential commercial hydrocarbon discovery in this area.

“Today, we have mobilized the drilling rig to this site, here in Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. We are optimistic that the positive outcome of this campaign  will contribute to the National aspiration of increasing our hydrocarbon reserves from 37 billion barrels to 50 billion barrels, in the short to medium term and increase our crude oil production to a target of 3m barrels.”

Just like the President, Mallam Kyari was also thinking environment. “I would like to use this opportunity to assure our stakeholders that we will conduct this operation with the utmost care and attention to health, safety and the environment. We understand the responsibility that comes with exploring and exploiting natural resources, and we are committed to doing so in a way that will best benefit our country and its people.

“As NNPC Ltd we commit to leading practices and highest standards in the course of our operations and would be engaging in Impact Assessment studies during and after operations to mitigate possible effects of our exploration activities. We will also engage the host communities as major stakeholders and execute Community Assisted Projects in line with NNPC Ltd Corporate Social Responsibility policies and provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

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“Like we witnessed in the successful discovery of oil and gas in the Kolmani River Field, we are here today to celebrate another key milestone in Nigeria’s oil and gas history.”

Key milestone in Nigeria’s oil and gas history. Not Northern, not regional, not Nasarawa, but Nigeria’s oil and gas history. Those are the rhetorics that build and enhance a nation, not divisive, sectional tendencies.

Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, NUPRC Chief Executive, in his Goodwill Message, said the event marked another milestone in the decades of hydrocarbon exploration in the inland frontier basins and underscores the effort government is making in ensuring that requisite investments are made in Frontier Basin exploration in Nigeria.

He then gave honour to whom it was due, paying glowing tribute to President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment to mitigate energy poverty, create shared prosperity and enthrone sustainable growth in the Nigerian Economy.

“We fervently believe that the outcome of the drilling activity will usher in wealth creation and massive economic prosperity for the people of Nasarawa State and the Nation in general.”

For the people of Nasarawa State, and the Nation in general. Thinking Nigeria.

He said one of the key regulatory focus of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is to grow reserves from the current 37 Billion barrels of oil to 40 Billion barrels of oil by 2030.

He said one of the key regulatory focus of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is to grow reserves from the current 37 Billion barrels of oil to 40 Billion barrels of oil by 2030.

“The PIA 2021 provided the regulatory support and framework for achieving this objective by providing for the Frontier Exploration Fund which the NNPC Limited can utilize to deploy world class cutting-edge technologies to de-risk exploration in the frontier basins. The spud-in of Ebenyi-A fields will benefit from the fund and this will significantly contribute to boosting our oil reserves and facilitate sustainable domestic energy security.”

The spud-in ceremony had a touch of royalty and prayers, as Chairman, Nasarawa State Council of Traditional Rulers, Justice Sidi Bage Muhammed 1, used the opportunity to thank President Buhari, all stakeholders in the oil industry, the people of the State, and prayed that the development would signpost the beginning of new things.

President Buhari is an oil man, who had served as Petroleum Minister for over three years in the 1970s, holds the oil portfolio now, and remains squeaky clean. His footprints loom large in the oil sector of the country. And those footprints will remain indelible.

*Adesina is Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity

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In his book, ‘Emergency Politics: Paradox, Law, Democracy’, Bonnie Honig urges democracies to “resist emergency’s pull to focus on life’s necessities (food, security, and bare essentials).” According to him, “these tend to privatize and isolate citizens rather than bring us together on behalf of hopeful futures.”

To start with, it is an undeniable fact that no society develops if and when the forces inhibiting survival instinct far outweighs the idea, fantasy and the pursuit of development. It is also a fact that this has been the bane of Nigeria’s development and her evolution to a nation-state. They are perpetual pulls which focus on unavoidable necessities of life among the citizenry.

Development beckons when the basic needs of life are assured and/or taken for granted. It goes without saying that, for sustainable development to take place, the people must nurture a rich and distinct identity, which must be based on stuff like common interests, geospatial proximity and similar historical and ancestral sociocultural connections. In a word, spewing out government policies or imposing sanctions aimed at uniting the people without the sustenance of the basic needs of life is a futile exercise.

Taking our clime as a case study, there’s no denying that dear fatherland is currently a stratified capitalist society comprising the “small flies” whose “socio-economic conditions reveal little or no intergenerational mobility relative to their parents” and the “great flies” who “abuse their positions for private gains.”

In a functional institution, the first thing to bear in mind is that the institution has assumed abilities and capabilities. Likewise, a political party is supposed to respond to issues thrown at it, based on the understanding and capabilities of its essence! With a particular reference to Africa, what the leadership of most political parties has done so far is to keep the system perpetually unable to respond to them negatively. It is also interesting to note that politics in this part of the world would not have become a one-man show if society had not allowed it. This further explains the diverse methods and approaches explored by political gladiators and governments to define and administer public administration in Nigeria.

While personalization, or myonisation of the political institution is an error that’s capable of destabilizing the society, the indisputable truth about life is that it is never static! It shifts! For instance, an uninformed commentator, especially one with no deep understanding of politics in the African setting, may argue that Bola Tinubu has myonized the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). An unreconstructable wannabe may also hypothesize that the Adeleke Dynasty has become a leech on the destiny of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State; that nobody gets anything in the party and, now, in the government of Osun State without embarking on a ‘deigning’ voyage to their Ede, Osun State ‘Country Home.’ But, if we may ask: how did these suppositions start before we got to where we are? Where did the rain start beating us before it eventually became a manifest phenomenon?

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If the Tinubus and the Adelekes were seen as strange or external agents who crept into their respective parties just to satisfy their individual fantasies, why not maim their aims so that what remained would be political parties, purely? But again, will these political parties survive without these gladiators? If the true ownership of a political party belongs to those who fund it, then, where were those who once went on survival adventures elsewhere when Osun PDP, for instance, was gasping for breath before the Adelekes saw an opportunity and invested their savings as the oxygen for its revival? Now that it has responded in their favour, is it any wonder that the likes of Olagunsoye Oyinlola no longer have control over a vehicle in which he once rode to become the governor of Osun State?

Let’s get it right: political party formation departed from the founding fathers’ ways back, albeit for selfish reasons. Unfortunately, what we have now is the formation of parties behind personalities; and the personalities are not just personalities, they are personalities with wealth. By nature, it is not in their objective interest to wait for the people to come together – as members of the party – to pay their monthly dues and levies, for the purpose of funding its activities. No! The orientation is that members are to be fed and placated; which initiates the ‘entitlement psychology’ in the people. Where then is the commitment to the joint ownership of the party, more so as those who came and were fed were only organized to appear at a particular place; and they did?

Once upon a time in Nigeria, how characters like the late Paschal Bafyau rose to become the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was a function of certain conjectures. Adam Oshiomhole’s case was not any different in that he also came through the implications and the complications of the said system. Isn’t it sad therefore that those who were once beneficiaries of the system’s large-heartedness, so to say, are now the ones destroying its fabric, even within the unit that produced them? Interestingly too, successive governments have so perfected the art that it has more or less become the norm: whenever the government of the day makes a pronouncement that doesn’t go down well with Labour, an industrial action is declared. After some industrial razzmatazz, the government lowers the bar, and Labour suspends the strike, of course, with a warning to the government that a repeat of the act would attract stiffer reactions from Organized Labour. At the end of the day, the general observation is that even those who are remotely connected to the deal would be hugely rewarded, leaving behind helpless and hapless Nigerians who, indeed, can only gnash their teeth.

Emphasizing the connections between contemporary food politics and the infrastructure of consumption, among others, Honig remarked: “we need good citizens with aspirational ideals to make good politics while we need good politics to infuse citizens with idealism.” This again brings us to the effects of emergency politics. Though politics provides governance and the style of public administration, a prominent feature of emergency politics is its capacity to sink into oblivion at the slightest opportunity. Shallow in conception and haphazard in implementation, its benefits may come like a thief in the night but, except by some divine happenstance, they pale into insignificance before dawn.

That the governed appear left with a feigned or an imaginary understanding of the vision of the government is a major problem, which is so real.

Taking our clime as a case study, there’s no denying that dear fatherland is currently a stratified capitalist society comprising the “small flies” whose “socio-economic conditions reveal little or no intergenerational mobility relative to their parents” and the “great flies” who “abuse their positions for private gains.” The more reason ‘our great leaders’ in this fertile ground for political prostitutes are having nothing straightforwardly great to will; and nothing startlingly special to offer the(ir) small men. It is also the reason the(ir) small men are frustratingly searching the dustbin for their daily needs!

Political parties are created for a purpose; and that purpose is as defined by the political gladiators, and the entire people in the society will have to acquiesce. It is the structure of the society that determines governance. It’s only within the precinct of the set barometer that one operates. One cannot operate outside it. The tragic truth is that Nigeria’s democracy is presently grumbling in the gulf of dishonesty and contrived promises, even as cohesion has long left our political platforms. Insecurity is threatening our coexistence and the monetary system is diffidently beaming because it is no longer monitoring anything. That the governed appear left with a feigned or an imaginary understanding of the vision of the government is a major problem, which is so real.

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!

*Komolafe wrote in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State (ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk)

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Parading the suspects before journalists on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti, the Amotekun Corps Commander, Brig.-Gen. Joe Komolafe (retired), said that one of the suspects ambushed the victim on her way to church.

Komolafe said that luck, however, ran out on the suspect, who had attempted to slit his victim throat with a knife, as the teenager, Osigba God-first, struggled with him and raised alarm which attracted people to the scene.

He said that upon the arrest and interrogation of the suspect, he revealed that a herbalist, his accomplice, 53, had instructed him to bring human parts for money ritual.

Komolafe said the two suspects were arrested in Ado-Ekiti following the report of the victim’s family to the corps.

“We had a report at our Ado local government office that some ritualists wanted to kill one lady who was going to church, so we went there.

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“Luckily for her, she was not killed and the guy who attempted to kill her confessed that he wanted to get rich quickly and a ‘babalawo’ told him to bring human flesh.

“So, he had for a period observed the lady passing through the place to church every day.

“Before daybreak, as the lady was on her way to church on Sunday, he came out from the bush with a knife wanting to slit her throat, but she was able to struggle with him and shout.

“Then her younger brother, who was following behind, ran back home and that’s how they came to report to us at Amotekun and we arrested him.

“Getting here, he told us that it was the herbalist that told him that he should bring human flesh for the ritual, so the herbalist was also arrested,” the commander said.

Komolafe also confirmed the arrest of two other suspected kidnappers over the weekend who after collecting ransom still killed their victim.

“They kidnapped the man at Kajola area and still killed him even after collecting ransom.

“We were able to arrest two of the suspects and recovered the weapons they used in killing the man.

“We have, however, handed them over to the police as the law states, and they have been taken to the court.

“The police have also been able to arrest one of them that escaped,” he said.

The commandant also charged residents in the state to be vigilant in the face of insecurity bedeviling the state and the nation at large.

“I want people at home to be very vigilant, things are not going well in the country now, people want to make money at all cost, they want to do everything at all cost too,” he said.

Source: NAN

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