When the news broke last week that an agreement was now in place that would see to NNPCL loading petrol from the Dangote Refinery, it came with a mix of joy and relief for some of us. Whereas the question of pricing was dominant in public discourse at the time, I didn’t think it was that important an issue, as it was obvious that given the fact that the price from Dangote was going to be above the current retail price, leaving the government with the options of either approving a special FX rate, having crude sold at a discount or pushing the burden onto NNPCL to continue to carry the burden, either way subsidy built in, to be able to maintain the current price regime.

That was the backdrop to yesterday when trucks from NNPCL lined up at the Dangote Gantry to load petrol. At the event, Arise TV Reporter, Tokunbo Oyetunji, had a live interview with Devakumar Edwin, Dangote’s Vice President, Oil and Gas on a range of issues. All had gone well with the interview until Oyetunji raised the issue of the price at which petrol was sold to NNPCL. A voice from the background pushed against that line of questioning, stopping Devakumar Edwin from responding to the question. The Reporter was forced to move on to another question.

That was quite strange, given what had been playing out in the public space, with all sorts of speculation about the price petrol was expected to sell, following the commencement of production by the Dangote Refinery. Earlier in the day, Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, had debunked different claims in the media that the company bought Petrol from Dangote at N1,300 or N760. He said, “We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today. The claim that we purchased it at N1,300 per litre or N760 is incorrect. For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per litre. The price is determined by market forces. It’s a deregulated market. I can also confirm, in response to inquiries, that we will receive 16.8 million litres.”

READ ALSO: Flood: Tinubu visits Borno, pledges more support for citizens

So, with heightened public interest in the matter and conflicting claims being bandied, Journalists were eager to have clarification from Dangote Refinery. It thus came as a surprise that the company chose to pass on the opportunity offered to set the records straight. Even stranger was the statement that came from Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer at Dangote Refinery, later in the day which he said was in response to the claim attributed to “NNPCL spokesperson, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, that we sell our PMS at N898 per litre to NNPCL”. The claim, he said, was misleading and mischievous. But the statement only stopped at disputing the claims, it fell short of stating the price at which the product was sold to NNPCL.

Dangote Refinery will do well to be more transparent so that Nigerians can fully benefit from the advent of local refining of crude oil, not only in terms of the availability of products but also affordability.

That must have prompted the decision by NNPCL to release a statement today, doubling down on its original claim and sharing with the public the “estimated prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as Petrol (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) in its retail stations across the country”.

NNPCL made it clear that “in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), PMS prices are not set by Government, but negotiated directly between parties on an arm’s length”. It also made the confirmation that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1st, 2024 while assuring the public that in case of a dispute over the quoted pricing, it will be grateful to pass on in full any discount that might come from the Dangote Refinery to the general public.

The statement from NNPCL is categorical and affirmative, firmly putting the ball back in the court of Dangote Refinery. It is interesting and commendable that this level of transparency is on display by NNPCL which is widely criticised for opacity in its operations. Truth be told, while that accusation might hold for NNPC in the past, the level of transparency that the Company has displayed in the last few years, releasing its Annual Reports and audited statement of Accounts from time to time is there to see. That has drawn commendation from agencies and other organisations that monitor the industry.

Some have said that Dangote does not owe anyone an announcement of its price, as it is not a public company.  Some have introduced the red herring of NNPCL not delivering on its refineries. Can we not have each conversation within its context? What has putting evidence out to support your claim, as a seller, that the price put out by a buyer is misleading got to do with its refineries presently undergoing rehabilitation not functioning?

While it is legitimate to criticise the NNPCL for not delivering on its refineries on schedule, sight might have been lost of the peculiarities and challenges that came with the task of rehabilitation, which many confused with Turn-around-maintenance, during the COVID and the immediate post-Covid period, which have led to difficulties with meeting up with schedule by the Contractors. The same factors were largely responsible for the shifting in the date of commissioning by the Dangote Refinery at different times. Biodun Sowumi, an Energy Expert, who spoke on the matter this morning assured that the time lag between mechanical commissioning and commencement of production, as seen with the Port Harcourt Refinery, is not unusual.

On the issue at hand, NNPCL has done well laying down the marker in terms of transparency, one can only hope that Dangote Refinery will take a leaf from that and open up its pricing template so that Nigerians can come to a full understanding of what is going on in the industry. Over the years, NNPCL has become a beast of burden for Nigeria, taking responsibility for subsidy or under-recovery to ensure that there is energy security. If the Company is allowed to function fully as contemplated under the Petroleum Industry Act, and it can sell products at market-reflective prices, a lot of the burden it has carried will be lifted off its back. The Company will be able to engage more productively in the upstream sector, greater transparency will ensue, and the industry and the country will be better for it. Dangote Refinery will do well to be more transparent so that Nigerians can fully benefit from the advent of local refining of crude oil, not only in terms of the availability of products but also affordability.

*Suleiman Adamu writes from Lagos.

The post NNPCL, Dangote refinery and the price of petrol appeared first on Frontpageng.

This was disclosed by the commission’s chairman, Mr Nasir Kwarra, during a press conference in Calabar on Tuesday.

Represented by Dr. Eyitayo Oyetunji, Chairman, Public Affairs Committee of the commission, Kwarra noted that presently, Nigeria was the sixth most populous nation in the world.

The chairman said that by 2050, Nigeria would be the third most populous country in the globe going by her growth rate.

According to him, that was very significant, therefore, the next census “is not just important to us in Nigeria for planning but has international relevance.”

“The world wants to know whether Nigeria is set to become the third most populous country in the world.

“You hear that Nigeria has the biggest market in Africa and so, whatever happens to its population is of interest to any serious minded businessman and international organisations,” he said.

Kwarra said that was why it used the 2022 Calabar Carnival as a platform to sensitize Nigerians on the importance of the census.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s population is its greatest asset –NPC

He said the commission had planned the 2023 census activities in such a way that it would not get entangled in the political process, had no political undertones but purely for data collection for national planning.

While calling on the media to publicize the activities of the commission towards having a credible census, he said the 2023 enumeration exercise would be the first in Africa where every participant would be geographically defined.

Similarly, Navy Captain Charles Ogwa (rtd), NPC Federal Commissioner for Cross River said the carnival was the biggest and most flamboyant street party in Sub-Saharan Africa with about 2,000,000 live viewers.

Ogwa said because of this huge viewership, the NPC in its strides to sensitize Nigerians about the census had decided to partake in the 2022 Calabar Carnival.

He said the main objective of the commission was to strategically reach a large number of people within and outside Nigeria.

“At the level we are now, we have successfully demarcated Nigeria with the use of high technological methodologies.

“We have also conducted pretests and trial census in the six geopolitical zones and it was successful.

“We are also ensuring that our staff are properly recruited and trained to have a 100 per cent quality man power,” he added.

The Calabar Carnival street party would be held on Wednesday, December 28 along the 12 kilometers carnival route with different bands on parade.

Source: NAN

The post Census: NPC reassures Nigerians of credible, reliable exercise appeared first on Frontpageng.

SP Yemisi Opalola, Osun police spokesperson, made this known in a statement, adding that the suspects attempted to forcefully kidnap Oyetunji at her residence.

“On Monday, at about 5.45 p.m., upon intelligence, three kidnappers, were arrested while trying to kidnap one Mrs Falilat Oyetunji, a.k.a ‘Ero Arike’ at her residence in Olorunda Temidire area of Iragbiji.

“However, in the early hours of Saturday, Aug. 6, an informant had gone to inform Oyetunji, that some people, led by her former employee, one Basiru from Iragbiji were arranging and planning to kidnap her.

“Oyetunji came to inform the Police about the plan and operatives of the anti-kidnapping squad from Osogbo were detailed for the assignment and a surveillance was emplaced.

“The informant too was asked to play along with the kidnappers and on Wednesday, when consummating their plan, men from the anti-kidnapping squad swung into action and nabbed the three suspects while their driver escaped with the vehicle.

“Two dane guns, one long knife and one jack-knife were recovered from the arrested suspects,” Opalola said.

She said one of the suspects wounded himself in the stomach with his jack knife and had been taken to Osun State Teaching Hospital Osogbo for treatment.

She said investigation was, however, ongoing on the incident.

Source: NAN

The post How we arrested three suspected kidnappers in Osun -Police appeared first on Frontpageng.

Its acting chairman, Dr Eyitayo Oyetunji, told newsmen in Abuja on Monday that the commission undertook a successful demarcation of 228 local government areas across the 36 states and the FCT in the 9th phase.

The EAD is the process of delineating the entire land area of the country into small geographical and demographic units called Enumeration Areas.

“The units comprise specified number of persons and households, which a team of enumerators can cover during census.

“Planning for the census is anchored on EAD as the basis for estimating both the human and material resources required for the census.

“In essence, success of a credible and accurate census depends very much on the quality and reliability of the EAD,’’ he said.

He said that the NPC entered into a special arrangement with INEC to create digitised maps of INEC Registration Areas, otherwise called wards.

According to him, the collaboration was the first of its kind and was expected to further enhance the accuracy and transparency of future elections.

The NPC boss reaffirmed the commitment of the commission toward accurate and reliable EAD.

“To this end, the latest technology, including the use of very high resolution satellite imageries as the base map, the use of Global Positioning System for geo-referencing and the use of Geographic Information Science for data management, have been deployed for the exercise.

“I am especially pleased to announce that beginning from this phase, a new software called EAD PAD is being introduced to make the exercise paperless,’’ he said.

Oyetunji explained that the EAD PAD would not only go a long way in enhancing speed, efficiency and accuracy, but also eliminate humongous cost of paper and ink.

He expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment toward the successful completion of the EAD and indeed towards the conduct of the next census with approval of the release of N10 billion for continuation of the EAD.

“The president has graciously followed this up by further approval of an additional N4.5 billion to be included in 2021 budget for the completion of the exercise,’’  he said.

The 10th phase of the EAD ends on October 29.

Source: NAN

The post Population commission begins 10th phase of area demarcation appeared first on Frontpageng.

Idowu, who made the submission in her counter argument before Chief Ademola Odunade, the court’s president, added that her husband was not trustworthy.

She further said that soon after she gave birth to her child, Oyetunji told her that he had married another wife whom his relatives preferred because she was from his community.

“He further told me that he had decided to be shuttling between my home and that of his new wife.

“I was mad with anger because that was never our initial agreement and plan and I could not bear the shame.

“I later told Oyetunji to stick to his new wife permanently because I cannot share him.

“Ever since, Oyetunji refused to cater for the only child between us until recently when he resurfaced to claim the child.

“He only managed to send N30,000 to buy the child’s WASSCE form, but never knew how he sat for all the exams and gained admission to the university.

“However, if the court should grant him custody of the child, I pray for a refund of all that I have spent on him in the past 16 years at N2,800 per day.

“This is not forgetting the fact that I borrowed from the bank and a cooperative society to secure admission for the boy,” Idowu said.

Earlier in his testimony, Oyetunji, a resident of Ogbomoso, identified lack of love, distrust and irresponsible behaviour on the part of his wife as the reasons for filing the divorce suit.

“My lord, it is clear that Idowu doesn’t love me.

“I stopped sending her money for the child’s upkeep last year because she keeps overbilling me.

“I know quite well that one does not need more than N17,000 to buy a WASSCE form in a public secondary school, but Idowu said that she needed N30,000 and I sent it to her.

“The child had disclosed to me that he wants to be with me, but she keeps preventing him,” Oyetunji said.

He, however, refused to comment on the allegations made against him by Idowu.

In his judgment, Odunade, the president of the court, condemned the petitioner’s attitude of dumping his wife, Idowu, for another woman only to return to claim the child of the marriage.

He consequently dissolved the union and awarded custody of the child to Idowu.

The court also ordered Oyetunji to pay N10,000 as the child’s monthly feeding allowance in addition to being responsible for his education and other welfare needs.

Source: NAN

The post I can’t share my husband, divorce-seeking woman tells court appeared first on Frontpageng.