Hell was let loose at the Edo State House of Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, as scores of hoodlums invaded the hallow chamber of the Assembly, shooting sporadically. The hoodlums injured six persons in the process.
Trouble started when the Majority Leader, Hon. Folly Ogedegbe (Owan West Constituency), moved motion for impeachment of the Speaker, Hon. Victor Edoror and the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Bright Osayande.
The motion reads: “We the underlisted and undersigned Honourable Members representing the various constituencies in the Edo State House of Assembly, have on this day 3rd of May 2016 have resolved to impeach our Speaker, Hon. Chief Victor Edoror Tiger and the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Osayande, for acts of gross misconduct.
The motion was seconded by Hon. Gani Audu, (Etsako West I).
The only female member of the House, Hon. (Mrs.) Elizabeth Ativie, (Uhumwode), was elected Speaker while Hon. (Dr.) Joseph Okonoboh (Igueben Constituency, was elected Deputy Speaker during proceeding presided over by the Speaker ex-tempo Hon. Patrick Iluobe (Esan Central).
Mrs Elizabeth Ativie was elected Speaker
Following the election of the new leadership of the House, the impeached Speaker and his Deputy walked into the chamber in company of the suspected hoodlums who shot sporadically to scare people out and in the process, about six persons sustained various degrees of gunshort injuries.
In her acceptance speech, the new Speaker, Hon. (Mrs.) Ativie, said the members can no longer tolerate the greedy nature of the former Speaker.
She said the impeached Speaker has up to six different financial cases with the EFCC and that the members can no longer continue to allow such indecent person to lead the House.
The Speaker disclosed that a five-member Committee to be headed by Hon. Kabiru Adjoto (Akoko-Edo Constituency I), will investigate the financial recklessness of the impeached Speaker from June 2015 to May 3, 2016, adding that if found wanting at the end of the three months when the Committee will submit its report, he will be handed over to appropriate authority for prosecution.
Also speaking, Hon. Adjoto Kabiru, said: “The impeached Speaker is violently corrupt who have flair for eating government money just the
way the red mouth squirrel has mouth for palm kernel as it is eating one, it is looking at another one that is how Edoror is.
“As it is today, Edoror has a lot of EFCC cases hanging on his neck. You media men can go and verify this. Ee cannot afford to have a Speaker that is being investigated by the EFCC because of his corrupt nature.
“As earlier mentioned by our new Speaker, Edoror has a corrupt tendency that cannot be mentioned. Enough is enough, that is why 16 members of the House today signed impeachment notice against him. As we speak today, both APC and PDP members in the House signed impeachment notice against him,” Adjooto said.
Sixteen members signed the impeachment notice circulated to journalists immediately after the House proceedings while seven declined.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Stella Damasus denies granting ThisDay interview
Sultry actress and singer, Stella Damasus, has denied granting ThisDay Life & Style the controversial interview that trended on social media some days ago.
Speaking through her Publicist, Bayo Adetu, Stella reiterated that she hasn’t even granted any Nigerian media platform interview in the last two years. “I can only remember speaking to Golden Icon in an interview more than two years ago, so I was surprised when the local media was awash with a purported interview I granted.
“To set the records straight, I didn’t grant ThisDay any interview,” Stella said.
The multi-talented entertainer, who just released ‘The Alternative,’ her first studio recorded album, adding that, she is focused on her career and the mantle of inspiring every home with the creative piece.
‘The Alternative’ is an 18-track gospel album that touches on faith, love, hope as well as personal experiences in Stella’s life and how her relationship with God helped her though it all.
With this album, Stella hopes to use God’s word to inspire, motivate, encourage and most importantly tell the world of how loving, kind and accepting God truly is.
“The album is not to show perfection of man but to show God’s perfection in the life of an imperfect man,” she said.
She featured Gabriel Afolayan in one of the tracks –‘Get Loud,’ while rapper JQ bounced on ‘Open Up Your Heart.’
Oil Spillage: FG slams N1.3trillion suit on Shell, four others Oil Spillage: FG slams N1.3trillion suit on Shell, four others
President Muhammadu Buhari, has authorised that, the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Attorney General of Federation and Minister for Justice alongside National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) on behalf of 350 communities in Delta and Bayelsa states affected by Bonga Oil spills of 20 December 2011, to commence legal action against Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company.
The Federal Government is demanding for N884 billion as compensation for oil spillage that destroy the affected communities.
The Nigerian government is also demanding for another sum of N495 billion as restitution and restoration of the devastation of the economic zone of the Nigeria territorial water and N50 million as cost of this legal action.
Joined as co-defendants in the ensuing legal battle are, Shell Petroleum N.V, B.V Netherlandse International Indusrie-E Handel Maatschappij, The Shell Transport and Trading Company Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc who are all allied companies of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company.
Shell
In an affidavit sworn to by a deputy director, Oil Field Assessment department of NOSDRA, Mr Akindele Olubunmi and filed before a Federal high Court Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria by a Lagos lawyer, Barrister Awosika Dada Adekunle, the deponent averred that he has the consent and the authority of, President Muhammadu Buhari, A. A. Malami SAN, Attorney General of the Federation and the Director General of NOSDRA to depose to this affidavit, stating that, the plaintiffs brought this legal action for themselves in relation to damage and devastation done to the exclusive economic zone, ecosystem, marine life and the environment caused by Bonga crude oil spills of 20 December 2011.
The Nigerian Government alongside, NOSDRA are also suing in order to protect the interest of fishermen and persons affected by the Bonga crude oil spillage numbering about 285,000 persons from 350 communities and satellite villages with their consent to institute this suit.
Mr Olubunmi averred further that, around 20th December, 2011 Shell in the course of their oil and gas exploration activities within OML 118 approximately 120 kilometers off the coast of Guinea, the defendants export line linking their Float Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel at their Bonga Field deep offshore, which was supplying crude oil to a tanker (MV NORTHIA), ruptured and thereby spewed out crude oil into the sea, the incident was reported to the Federal Government that same day through NOSDRA.
A man walks on slippery spilled crude oil on the shores and in the waters of the Niger Delta swamps of Bodo, a village in the famous Nigerian oil-producing Ogoniland. AFP
“The defendants admitted spewing out 40,000 barrels of crude Oil into the sea causing devastating and degradation of the aquatic life, marine environment including the territorial waters of Nigeria along Niger Delta axis and destruction of the sea beds and aquatic lives in the continental shelf within the Nigeria exclusive economic zone. There were severe disruptions to communities, persons, lives and property of people in the shoreline area as a result of the spill.
The plaintiffs, commissioned consultants and expert, in collaboration with other stakeholders that included, Nigeria Maritime and Safety Agency, Nigeria National Assembly Committee on Environment and Ecology to carry out the mapping area that suffered economic losses and damages.
Aftermath of all the investigations and in line with their statutory duties and obligations, the plaintiffs notified the defendants of their decision to pay $3,600,191,206, representing compensation to the 350 communities and satellite villages impacted by the Bonga Oil spill disaster and Punitive damage which is to be paid to the plaintiffs as sanction totaling $1.8 billion from the said sum to deter occurrence of such dastardly act.
Osagie Okunbor, Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC)
Osagie Okunbor, Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC)
However, it was alleged that despite the facts that the defendants have processed and received insurance claims for the crude oil spillage that occurred at OML 118 Bonga Oil Field on 20 December 2011, the defendants have refused and neglected to pay compensation, punitive damages and cost of restoration, restitution and redemption of the environment statutorily assessed by the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs punitive compensation was adopted after the United States Supreme court decision of 25 June 2008 against Exxon Valdez in Wallings Versus Waillings and in line with international best practices as it has been seen in other climes like Ecuadorian court awarded $9.5 billion against Chevron Corporation and most recently in the United States of America, British Petroleum in April 2011 settled and agreed to pay $20 billion oil spill at Gulf of Mexico to be shared among various communities directly impacted by the disaster.
Consequently, the plaintiffs are now seeking the following reliefs from the court:
An order directing the defendants to pay the sum of N712,837,858,788.00 to the plaintiffs as compensation to the affected communities.
An order directing the defendants to pay the sum of N71,283,785,878.80 representing administrative costs and fees to the consultants and experts engaged to carry out damage assessment.
An order directing the defendants to pay to the plaintiffs the sum of N495 billion for restitution and restoration for the damage and devastation of the Nigeria territorial waters occasioned by the negligent conduct of the defendants.
An order of the court directing the defendants jointly and severally to pay the plaintiffs N50 million as cost of this legal action.
Meanwhile, based on an application filed and argued before the court by plaintiffs counsel Mr Dada Awosika, seeking the order of the court to serve court process on four of the defendants who are based outside the country, the presiding judge, Binta Murtala Nyako while adjourning the case to 6 June 2016 for mention ordered that all the court process in the case should be served on, Shell Petroleum N.V, B.V Netherlandse International indusrie-e handel Maatschappij, the Royal Transcorp and Trading Company PLC and Royal Dutch Plc.
The Federal Government is demanding for N884 billion as compensation for oil spillage that destroy the affected communities.
The Nigerian government is also demanding for another sum of N495 billion as restitution and restoration of the devastation of the economic zone of the Nigeria territorial water and N50 million as cost of this legal action.
Joined as co-defendants in the ensuing legal battle are, Shell Petroleum N.V, B.V Netherlandse International Indusrie-E Handel Maatschappij, The Shell Transport and Trading Company Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc who are all allied companies of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company.
Shell
In an affidavit sworn to by a deputy director, Oil Field Assessment department of NOSDRA, Mr Akindele Olubunmi and filed before a Federal high Court Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria by a Lagos lawyer, Barrister Awosika Dada Adekunle, the deponent averred that he has the consent and the authority of, President Muhammadu Buhari, A. A. Malami SAN, Attorney General of the Federation and the Director General of NOSDRA to depose to this affidavit, stating that, the plaintiffs brought this legal action for themselves in relation to damage and devastation done to the exclusive economic zone, ecosystem, marine life and the environment caused by Bonga crude oil spills of 20 December 2011.
The Nigerian Government alongside, NOSDRA are also suing in order to protect the interest of fishermen and persons affected by the Bonga crude oil spillage numbering about 285,000 persons from 350 communities and satellite villages with their consent to institute this suit.
Mr Olubunmi averred further that, around 20th December, 2011 Shell in the course of their oil and gas exploration activities within OML 118 approximately 120 kilometers off the coast of Guinea, the defendants export line linking their Float Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel at their Bonga Field deep offshore, which was supplying crude oil to a tanker (MV NORTHIA), ruptured and thereby spewed out crude oil into the sea, the incident was reported to the Federal Government that same day through NOSDRA.
A man walks on slippery spilled crude oil on the shores and in the waters of the Niger Delta swamps of Bodo, a village in the famous Nigerian oil-producing Ogoniland. AFP
“The defendants admitted spewing out 40,000 barrels of crude Oil into the sea causing devastating and degradation of the aquatic life, marine environment including the territorial waters of Nigeria along Niger Delta axis and destruction of the sea beds and aquatic lives in the continental shelf within the Nigeria exclusive economic zone. There were severe disruptions to communities, persons, lives and property of people in the shoreline area as a result of the spill.
The plaintiffs, commissioned consultants and expert, in collaboration with other stakeholders that included, Nigeria Maritime and Safety Agency, Nigeria National Assembly Committee on Environment and Ecology to carry out the mapping area that suffered economic losses and damages.
Aftermath of all the investigations and in line with their statutory duties and obligations, the plaintiffs notified the defendants of their decision to pay $3,600,191,206, representing compensation to the 350 communities and satellite villages impacted by the Bonga Oil spill disaster and Punitive damage which is to be paid to the plaintiffs as sanction totaling $1.8 billion from the said sum to deter occurrence of such dastardly act.
Osagie Okunbor, Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC)
Osagie Okunbor, Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC)
However, it was alleged that despite the facts that the defendants have processed and received insurance claims for the crude oil spillage that occurred at OML 118 Bonga Oil Field on 20 December 2011, the defendants have refused and neglected to pay compensation, punitive damages and cost of restoration, restitution and redemption of the environment statutorily assessed by the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs punitive compensation was adopted after the United States Supreme court decision of 25 June 2008 against Exxon Valdez in Wallings Versus Waillings and in line with international best practices as it has been seen in other climes like Ecuadorian court awarded $9.5 billion against Chevron Corporation and most recently in the United States of America, British Petroleum in April 2011 settled and agreed to pay $20 billion oil spill at Gulf of Mexico to be shared among various communities directly impacted by the disaster.
Consequently, the plaintiffs are now seeking the following reliefs from the court:
An order directing the defendants to pay the sum of N712,837,858,788.00 to the plaintiffs as compensation to the affected communities.
An order directing the defendants to pay the sum of N71,283,785,878.80 representing administrative costs and fees to the consultants and experts engaged to carry out damage assessment.
An order directing the defendants to pay to the plaintiffs the sum of N495 billion for restitution and restoration for the damage and devastation of the Nigeria territorial waters occasioned by the negligent conduct of the defendants.
An order of the court directing the defendants jointly and severally to pay the plaintiffs N50 million as cost of this legal action.
Meanwhile, based on an application filed and argued before the court by plaintiffs counsel Mr Dada Awosika, seeking the order of the court to serve court process on four of the defendants who are based outside the country, the presiding judge, Binta Murtala Nyako while adjourning the case to 6 June 2016 for mention ordered that all the court process in the case should be served on, Shell Petroleum N.V, B.V Netherlandse International indusrie-e handel Maatschappij, the Royal Transcorp and Trading Company PLC and Royal Dutch Plc.
Power sector records four system collapses in four weeks
• Electricity generation drops to 3,167MW
The nation’s power sector is apparently characterised with numerous challenges that have continued to halt power evacuation and supply to the yearning consumers. Indeed, the transmission grid has recorded no fewer than four system collapses in four weeks.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has however blamed the low generation on shortage of gas supply to the thermal plants.
A document obtained from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) showed that the national grid experienced total outage on March 31, April 9, April 23, and April 25 simultaneously.
The lowest in the record was on April 23 when it generated a paltry 25.2Mega Watts (MW) of electricity, having fell from 2,749MW generated the previous day.
As at yesterday, electricity generation dropped to 3,167 MW from 3,351MW on Monday, a far cry from the 12,800MW peak demand estimated by the Federal Ministry of Power.
Meanwhile, Eko Electricity Distribution Company has announced that beginning from Tuesday, the 3rd of May, there will be power rationing in Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and some parts of Ajah, all in Lagos Island.
The General Manager, Corporate Communications of the company, Godwin Idemudia, said in a statement that the power rationing is to enable the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to upgrade both Line 1 and Line 2 of Ajah-Alagbon transmission line from 132kv to 330kv.
According to him, during the upgrade operation which will last between three and four weeks, the Lekki Transmission injection sub-station from which most of the areas to be affected by the power rationing are fed would be completely shut down.
Idemudia however said that to ensure that the areas are not completely out of supply for the duration of the upgrade operation, alternative power supply arrangement would be made through back-feeding operation to the areas from Alagbon Transmission injection sub-station via Ijora.
While appealing to customers to show understanding and bear with the situation during the period of the facility upgrade exercise, he further stated that all efforts would be made to ensure equitable distribution of available power to all customers.
He assured customers that by the time the upgrade work is completed, it will result in tremendous improvement in power supply to all customers in the area.
Already, scores of electricity consumers are presently groaning under incessant outages, as they continued to lament high electricity tariff that does not commensurate with supply.
A community leader in Sango, Ogun State, Mrs Olushola Agbedeyi said the power supply in the area is worrisome and tantamount to waste of resources as they continued to pay for facility not enjoyed.
In Mushin, a consumer and entrepreneur, Isa Alausa said the poor power supply has grounded business activities in the area, with more businesses relying on independent power generators.With the lingering fuel scarcity, he said the situation is becoming worse as black markets indiscriminately shoot up the cost of production.
He therefore appealed to the Federal Government to urgently find lasting solution to the power supply crisis in the country.Fashola had explained that the country suffered a terrible power outage in the month of March and April due to low gas supply to the power plants.The minister explained that out of the 78 gas turbines in the country, only 50 were working due to shortage of gas to power the facility.
According to him, “The power being generated comes from about 78 out of 140 turbines and they are largely fired by gas. Now the power has gone down because we have gas outage in one of the gas pipelines.
“We have an installed capacity of 12,000 Mega Watts (MW). We have about 140 turbines installed. But the available capacity today is about 8,000MW both installed and available and this simply means that some turbines are down, some projects haven’t been fully completed,” he said.
General Manager (Public Affairs), TCN, Seun Olagunju, said the partial collapse of the system on April 23 was specifically caused by a sudden loss of 200MW of generation due to technical reasons.
She therefore linked others to shortage of gas supply.Olagunju added that the problem was quickly resolved by the company’s engineers, and immediately restored full power transmission to the grid.
“It would be recalled that low generation has been experienced in the country for the last few weeks sequel to gas inadequacy to the thermal power plants, following the vandalism of gas pipelines,” she added.
According to the statement, “The grid has since been restored and available generation is being evacuated from all running power plants and transmitted by TCN to the networks of the Discos for onward delivery to the customers”.
She further reiterated its commitment to continually work at improving power transmission service in the sector. Although, there were insinuations that the frequent system collapse may not be unconnected with the recent rift between the workers and the management of the Ministry of Power.
Olagunju said the lockdown of the TCN headquarters in Abuja, does not affect technical operations as TCN staff in its regional offices nationwide, who are responsible for the actual wheeling of bulk electricity, are at their duty posts, ensuring that electricity generated by power generating stations is seamlessly transmitted to distribution load centres nationwide.
The nation’s power sector is apparently characterised with numerous challenges that have continued to halt power evacuation and supply to the yearning consumers. Indeed, the transmission grid has recorded no fewer than four system collapses in four weeks.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has however blamed the low generation on shortage of gas supply to the thermal plants.
A document obtained from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) showed that the national grid experienced total outage on March 31, April 9, April 23, and April 25 simultaneously.
The lowest in the record was on April 23 when it generated a paltry 25.2Mega Watts (MW) of electricity, having fell from 2,749MW generated the previous day.
As at yesterday, electricity generation dropped to 3,167 MW from 3,351MW on Monday, a far cry from the 12,800MW peak demand estimated by the Federal Ministry of Power.
Meanwhile, Eko Electricity Distribution Company has announced that beginning from Tuesday, the 3rd of May, there will be power rationing in Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and some parts of Ajah, all in Lagos Island.
The General Manager, Corporate Communications of the company, Godwin Idemudia, said in a statement that the power rationing is to enable the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to upgrade both Line 1 and Line 2 of Ajah-Alagbon transmission line from 132kv to 330kv.
According to him, during the upgrade operation which will last between three and four weeks, the Lekki Transmission injection sub-station from which most of the areas to be affected by the power rationing are fed would be completely shut down.
Idemudia however said that to ensure that the areas are not completely out of supply for the duration of the upgrade operation, alternative power supply arrangement would be made through back-feeding operation to the areas from Alagbon Transmission injection sub-station via Ijora.
While appealing to customers to show understanding and bear with the situation during the period of the facility upgrade exercise, he further stated that all efforts would be made to ensure equitable distribution of available power to all customers.
He assured customers that by the time the upgrade work is completed, it will result in tremendous improvement in power supply to all customers in the area.
Already, scores of electricity consumers are presently groaning under incessant outages, as they continued to lament high electricity tariff that does not commensurate with supply.
A community leader in Sango, Ogun State, Mrs Olushola Agbedeyi said the power supply in the area is worrisome and tantamount to waste of resources as they continued to pay for facility not enjoyed.
In Mushin, a consumer and entrepreneur, Isa Alausa said the poor power supply has grounded business activities in the area, with more businesses relying on independent power generators.With the lingering fuel scarcity, he said the situation is becoming worse as black markets indiscriminately shoot up the cost of production.
He therefore appealed to the Federal Government to urgently find lasting solution to the power supply crisis in the country.Fashola had explained that the country suffered a terrible power outage in the month of March and April due to low gas supply to the power plants.The minister explained that out of the 78 gas turbines in the country, only 50 were working due to shortage of gas to power the facility.
According to him, “The power being generated comes from about 78 out of 140 turbines and they are largely fired by gas. Now the power has gone down because we have gas outage in one of the gas pipelines.
“We have an installed capacity of 12,000 Mega Watts (MW). We have about 140 turbines installed. But the available capacity today is about 8,000MW both installed and available and this simply means that some turbines are down, some projects haven’t been fully completed,” he said.
General Manager (Public Affairs), TCN, Seun Olagunju, said the partial collapse of the system on April 23 was specifically caused by a sudden loss of 200MW of generation due to technical reasons.
She therefore linked others to shortage of gas supply.Olagunju added that the problem was quickly resolved by the company’s engineers, and immediately restored full power transmission to the grid.
“It would be recalled that low generation has been experienced in the country for the last few weeks sequel to gas inadequacy to the thermal power plants, following the vandalism of gas pipelines,” she added.
According to the statement, “The grid has since been restored and available generation is being evacuated from all running power plants and transmitted by TCN to the networks of the Discos for onward delivery to the customers”.
She further reiterated its commitment to continually work at improving power transmission service in the sector. Although, there were insinuations that the frequent system collapse may not be unconnected with the recent rift between the workers and the management of the Ministry of Power.
Olagunju said the lockdown of the TCN headquarters in Abuja, does not affect technical operations as TCN staff in its regional offices nationwide, who are responsible for the actual wheeling of bulk electricity, are at their duty posts, ensuring that electricity generated by power generating stations is seamlessly transmitted to distribution load centres nationwide.
Nigeria loses N1.7 trillion deals to non-passage of PIB
Nigeria loses N1.7 trillion deals to non-passage of PIB
OPEC• OPEC’s $40b projects face setback with unsteady crude prices
• Brent oil price drops to $44.97 per barrel
• Concerns as NNPC delays monthly report
Nigeria has lost estimated $10 billion (N1.7 trillion) fresh investments to the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). The Chairman of Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Bank Anthony Okoroafor, who made the disclosure at the on-going Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas in the United States (U.S.) said Nigeria lost a huge opportunity by not passing the bill when the oil price was high.
But he lauded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for supporting the operations of indigenous companies even in the midst of cash crunch.
His words: “We lost a very big opportunity by not passing the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) when oil price was above $100 per barrel. If we had passed the PIB when the price of oil was high, a lot of companies would have sealed more than $10 billion investment into the country.” Okoroafor argued that the non-passage of the bill presented a confused system that had no direction.
While decrying domestic borrowing as anti-business, the PETAN boss said it was time for the deployment of over $500million that has accrued to the Nigerian Content Fund (NCF) that can be used to build capacity, saying “that is how Korean companies were built. We don’t know why the fund is not used for the benefits of the indigenous operators because this fund belongs to us. There is nothing wrong if the Nigeria Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) decides to empower companies with $20million each with low interest rate to empower their capacities.”
According to the PETAN boss, indigenous companies would continue to partner foreign firms owing to the dynamism of the sector, which is ruled by technology and innovations. He rued the inability of Nigeria to grow its reserves in the last 10 years which may come back to haunt the country.
“There have to be aggressive exploration activities to identify all our reserves and efforts made to develop them. This neglect is what has brought the downstream sector almost to its knees. We need to be proactive because as at today we are not doing exploration and we are not also developing the wells,” he explained.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr.Ibe Kachikwu, stressed the need for the sector to look inwards and see how to reduce the cost of production in order to remain in operation.
Represented by the Group Executive Director, Gas and Power,Seidu Muhammad, Kachikwu added: “With the capacity building that is today going on with fabrication of so many equipment that we need in the oil and gas industry, you can be sure that of course, Nigeria is going in the right path, although, so many things are happening with the oil and gas industry particularly with the dwindling prices of crude oil.”
The minister also hinted that the Federal Government has concluded plans to extend fiscal incentives to all investors that have oil and gas facilities close to rural oil-producing communities. He said that government was refocusing on in-country capacity development as a way of cutting cost and improving efficiency in the oil and gas sector.
Kachikwu said government was pushing to harness the country’s hydrocarbon resources for industrialisation. He noted that government’s emphasis was no longer to generate revenue from exporting crude oil but also to process locally to meet petrochemical, power, energy and domestic home needs of the people.
Kachikwu spoke as the Director, Monitory and Evaluation, Nigerian Content and Development Management Board (NCDMB), Tunde Adelana, disclosed that the local content development fund operating model was undergoing review in order to enhance its accessibility to local service companies for their capacity enhancement activities.
He said the government was determined to accelerate the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme to enable the country’s Small and Medium Enterprises to focus on production and services while infrastructure and facilities are being developed to support domiciliation imperatives.
Adelana stated: “Government is determined to keep our populace productively engaged, as such we are working on enforcing local content practice in other sectors especially power, construction and information and communication technology. The National Assembly is currently in the process of amending our public procurement laws with stricter local content provisions. The cross sectorial synergy that will be created therein will expand market opportunities for oil equipment manufacturers that set up in Nigeria beyond opportunities in the oil and gas sector”.
On his part, the Vice Chairman of PETAN, Geoff Onuoha, stated that Nigerian indigenous companies were making attempts to ensure the full implementation of the country’s local content initiative.
Meanwhile, the fate of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s $14 billion upstream investment plan for this year may be hanging in the balance with crude oil price resuming a downward trend yesterday.
The Brent crude benchmark dropped from $45.63 per barrel on Monday to $44.97 as at 5:00 p.m. yesterday, while WTI crude dropped from $44.42 per barrel to $43.68 per barrel.
This situation, according to analysts may jeopardise the $14 billion investment plan by the 13-member OPEC nations.Besides, concerns have continued to trail the delay in publishing the NNPC monthly report for the March edition.
The cartel’s investment plan showed that about 23 major upstream projects are due for implementation in 2016, while $30 billion and $45 billion were projected for 2017 and 2018 respectively.
It stated: “Regardless of all the challenges and uncertainties, OPEC member countries continue to invest in additional upstream capacities. On top of the huge capacity maintenance costs that member countries are faced with, they continue to invest in new projects and reinforce their commitment to the oil and gas market and as well as to the security of supply for all consumers. Needless to say, this is only a reflection of OPEC’s well-known policy that is clearly stated in its long-term strategy and its statute,”
It noted that in the medium term, about 117 projects, with an overall estimated cost of some $270 billion, are being undertaken by OPEC member countries.
The investment plan showed that the cartel recorded a peak investment of $120 billion in 2014 on 45 major upstream projects undertaken during the period.The price of OPEC basket of 13 crudes yesterday stood at $42.47 a barrel, compared with $42.70 the previous Friday.
The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).
The crude prices have largely impacted on the price modulation strategy of the Federal Government, as the margin between the landing cost of refined product (petrol) and the regulated pump price widens.
The crude prices had risen from $38 per barrel last month to peak at $47 last week before resuming the downward trend. This situation, according to the new template by the Petroleum Product Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has increased the fuel subsidy to N12.62 per litre on NNPC products and N12.88 per litre for other oil marketers.
This shows that the government should be paying about N515 million subsidy daily based on the 40 million litres daily consumption estimates of the NNPC.
The Federal Government said it was able to save about N10 billion as a result of selling the product above the expected open market price in last quarter.
According to the new template, the expected open market price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has risen to N99.38 per litre for independent and major oil marketers and N98.62 per litre for NNPC retail outlets.
A breakdown of the template revealed that for NNPC retail outlets and independent and major oil marketers, the landing cost of PMS imported into the country was N84.32 and N85.08 per litre respectively, It stated that the distribution margin, which include retailers, transportation, bridging fund and dealers margin, among others, stood at N14.30 for both the NNPC and other marketers.
Kachikwu had disclosed that from May 2016, the price of PMS would be reviewed to go in line with current trends in the global petroleum industry.
The NNPC monthly report was expected to have been published on May 1, just as it has been doing since the past five months. But an NNPC official confirmed to The Guardian that the report had not been released for technical reasons.
The last report for February showed that the three refineries produced 90,628 metric tonnes of finished petroleum products out of 32,352 metric tonnes and intermediate product of 74,167 metric tonnes of crude and intermediate processed at an average capacity utilisation of 1.84 per cent compared to 14.10 per cent average capacity utilisation achieved in the month of January 2016.
OPEC• OPEC’s $40b projects face setback with unsteady crude prices
• Brent oil price drops to $44.97 per barrel
• Concerns as NNPC delays monthly report
Nigeria has lost estimated $10 billion (N1.7 trillion) fresh investments to the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). The Chairman of Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Bank Anthony Okoroafor, who made the disclosure at the on-going Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas in the United States (U.S.) said Nigeria lost a huge opportunity by not passing the bill when the oil price was high.
But he lauded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for supporting the operations of indigenous companies even in the midst of cash crunch.
His words: “We lost a very big opportunity by not passing the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) when oil price was above $100 per barrel. If we had passed the PIB when the price of oil was high, a lot of companies would have sealed more than $10 billion investment into the country.” Okoroafor argued that the non-passage of the bill presented a confused system that had no direction.
While decrying domestic borrowing as anti-business, the PETAN boss said it was time for the deployment of over $500million that has accrued to the Nigerian Content Fund (NCF) that can be used to build capacity, saying “that is how Korean companies were built. We don’t know why the fund is not used for the benefits of the indigenous operators because this fund belongs to us. There is nothing wrong if the Nigeria Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) decides to empower companies with $20million each with low interest rate to empower their capacities.”
According to the PETAN boss, indigenous companies would continue to partner foreign firms owing to the dynamism of the sector, which is ruled by technology and innovations. He rued the inability of Nigeria to grow its reserves in the last 10 years which may come back to haunt the country.
“There have to be aggressive exploration activities to identify all our reserves and efforts made to develop them. This neglect is what has brought the downstream sector almost to its knees. We need to be proactive because as at today we are not doing exploration and we are not also developing the wells,” he explained.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr.Ibe Kachikwu, stressed the need for the sector to look inwards and see how to reduce the cost of production in order to remain in operation.
Represented by the Group Executive Director, Gas and Power,Seidu Muhammad, Kachikwu added: “With the capacity building that is today going on with fabrication of so many equipment that we need in the oil and gas industry, you can be sure that of course, Nigeria is going in the right path, although, so many things are happening with the oil and gas industry particularly with the dwindling prices of crude oil.”
The minister also hinted that the Federal Government has concluded plans to extend fiscal incentives to all investors that have oil and gas facilities close to rural oil-producing communities. He said that government was refocusing on in-country capacity development as a way of cutting cost and improving efficiency in the oil and gas sector.
Kachikwu said government was pushing to harness the country’s hydrocarbon resources for industrialisation. He noted that government’s emphasis was no longer to generate revenue from exporting crude oil but also to process locally to meet petrochemical, power, energy and domestic home needs of the people.
Kachikwu spoke as the Director, Monitory and Evaluation, Nigerian Content and Development Management Board (NCDMB), Tunde Adelana, disclosed that the local content development fund operating model was undergoing review in order to enhance its accessibility to local service companies for their capacity enhancement activities.
He said the government was determined to accelerate the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme to enable the country’s Small and Medium Enterprises to focus on production and services while infrastructure and facilities are being developed to support domiciliation imperatives.
Adelana stated: “Government is determined to keep our populace productively engaged, as such we are working on enforcing local content practice in other sectors especially power, construction and information and communication technology. The National Assembly is currently in the process of amending our public procurement laws with stricter local content provisions. The cross sectorial synergy that will be created therein will expand market opportunities for oil equipment manufacturers that set up in Nigeria beyond opportunities in the oil and gas sector”.
On his part, the Vice Chairman of PETAN, Geoff Onuoha, stated that Nigerian indigenous companies were making attempts to ensure the full implementation of the country’s local content initiative.
Meanwhile, the fate of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s $14 billion upstream investment plan for this year may be hanging in the balance with crude oil price resuming a downward trend yesterday.
The Brent crude benchmark dropped from $45.63 per barrel on Monday to $44.97 as at 5:00 p.m. yesterday, while WTI crude dropped from $44.42 per barrel to $43.68 per barrel.
This situation, according to analysts may jeopardise the $14 billion investment plan by the 13-member OPEC nations.Besides, concerns have continued to trail the delay in publishing the NNPC monthly report for the March edition.
The cartel’s investment plan showed that about 23 major upstream projects are due for implementation in 2016, while $30 billion and $45 billion were projected for 2017 and 2018 respectively.
It stated: “Regardless of all the challenges and uncertainties, OPEC member countries continue to invest in additional upstream capacities. On top of the huge capacity maintenance costs that member countries are faced with, they continue to invest in new projects and reinforce their commitment to the oil and gas market and as well as to the security of supply for all consumers. Needless to say, this is only a reflection of OPEC’s well-known policy that is clearly stated in its long-term strategy and its statute,”
It noted that in the medium term, about 117 projects, with an overall estimated cost of some $270 billion, are being undertaken by OPEC member countries.
The investment plan showed that the cartel recorded a peak investment of $120 billion in 2014 on 45 major upstream projects undertaken during the period.The price of OPEC basket of 13 crudes yesterday stood at $42.47 a barrel, compared with $42.70 the previous Friday.
The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).
The crude prices have largely impacted on the price modulation strategy of the Federal Government, as the margin between the landing cost of refined product (petrol) and the regulated pump price widens.
The crude prices had risen from $38 per barrel last month to peak at $47 last week before resuming the downward trend. This situation, according to the new template by the Petroleum Product Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has increased the fuel subsidy to N12.62 per litre on NNPC products and N12.88 per litre for other oil marketers.
This shows that the government should be paying about N515 million subsidy daily based on the 40 million litres daily consumption estimates of the NNPC.
The Federal Government said it was able to save about N10 billion as a result of selling the product above the expected open market price in last quarter.
According to the new template, the expected open market price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has risen to N99.38 per litre for independent and major oil marketers and N98.62 per litre for NNPC retail outlets.
A breakdown of the template revealed that for NNPC retail outlets and independent and major oil marketers, the landing cost of PMS imported into the country was N84.32 and N85.08 per litre respectively, It stated that the distribution margin, which include retailers, transportation, bridging fund and dealers margin, among others, stood at N14.30 for both the NNPC and other marketers.
Kachikwu had disclosed that from May 2016, the price of PMS would be reviewed to go in line with current trends in the global petroleum industry.
The NNPC monthly report was expected to have been published on May 1, just as it has been doing since the past five months. But an NNPC official confirmed to The Guardian that the report had not been released for technical reasons.
The last report for February showed that the three refineries produced 90,628 metric tonnes of finished petroleum products out of 32,352 metric tonnes and intermediate product of 74,167 metric tonnes of crude and intermediate processed at an average capacity utilisation of 1.84 per cent compared to 14.10 per cent average capacity utilisation achieved in the month of January 2016.
Nigeria’s oil exports drop, 20 cargoes remain unsold
Indications have emerged that Nigeria will export about 52 cargoes of crude oil in June, representing a drop from 55 cargoes slated for May in the futures market.
The preliminary loading schedule showed that the nation will be exporting about 1.57 million barrels per day (bpd) during the period as against 1.6 million bpd recorded in May.
This is coming as about 20 May cargoes remained available, while some traders re-offered previously sold cargoes. Grades available included Escravos, Bonny Light and Qua Iboe.
Analysts believed that this might be the lowest export level this year, just as the Shell’s operated Forcados grade remained under force majeure due to damages to the Trans Forcados pipeline early February.Reports predicted that repair works on the pipeline that feeds Forcados terminal will take until June.
The exports plan did not include Erha, which is the subject of a disagreement between ExxonMobil and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
According to the April edition of OPEC monthly oil market report, the production issues pushed Angola’s oil production levels above Nigeria.
Also, some cargoes of Nigeria’s largest crude oil stream, Qua Iboe, planned to be exported in April and May are still struggling to find buyers, even as the June export programme emerged.
Trading sources said buyers from India, which is the single largest importer of Nigeria’s crude oil, were choosing other West African crude grades over Qua Iboe.
Other traders also noted the lack of Qua Iboe cargoes being bought by the usual Indian refineries, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, as well as Indonesia’s Pertamina, during their May tenders.
The tenders instead took similar grade Bonny Light, or other West African crude grades such as Nigeria’s Agbami, or Angola’s Pazflor and Kissanje grades.
Out of the 11 May Qua Iboe cargoes, trading sources said five currently remain unsold, while two April cargoes are still available.Exports of Qua Iboe are expected to rise to 317,000 barrels per day in June.
Meanwhile, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Counties (OPEC’s) oil output rose in April to close to the highest level in recent history, as production increases led by Iran and Iraq more than offset a strike in Kuwait and other outages.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia, however, made no major change to output, despite the kingdom hinting it could boost supply after OPEC and non-member nations failed to agree to freeze output at a meeting on April 17.
Supply from OPEC rose to 32.64 million barrels per day (bpd) in April from 32.47 million bpd in March based on shipping data and information from sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.
The preliminary loading schedule showed that the nation will be exporting about 1.57 million barrels per day (bpd) during the period as against 1.6 million bpd recorded in May.
This is coming as about 20 May cargoes remained available, while some traders re-offered previously sold cargoes. Grades available included Escravos, Bonny Light and Qua Iboe.
Analysts believed that this might be the lowest export level this year, just as the Shell’s operated Forcados grade remained under force majeure due to damages to the Trans Forcados pipeline early February.Reports predicted that repair works on the pipeline that feeds Forcados terminal will take until June.
The exports plan did not include Erha, which is the subject of a disagreement between ExxonMobil and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
According to the April edition of OPEC monthly oil market report, the production issues pushed Angola’s oil production levels above Nigeria.
Also, some cargoes of Nigeria’s largest crude oil stream, Qua Iboe, planned to be exported in April and May are still struggling to find buyers, even as the June export programme emerged.
Trading sources said buyers from India, which is the single largest importer of Nigeria’s crude oil, were choosing other West African crude grades over Qua Iboe.
Other traders also noted the lack of Qua Iboe cargoes being bought by the usual Indian refineries, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, as well as Indonesia’s Pertamina, during their May tenders.
The tenders instead took similar grade Bonny Light, or other West African crude grades such as Nigeria’s Agbami, or Angola’s Pazflor and Kissanje grades.
Out of the 11 May Qua Iboe cargoes, trading sources said five currently remain unsold, while two April cargoes are still available.Exports of Qua Iboe are expected to rise to 317,000 barrels per day in June.
Meanwhile, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Counties (OPEC’s) oil output rose in April to close to the highest level in recent history, as production increases led by Iran and Iraq more than offset a strike in Kuwait and other outages.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia, however, made no major change to output, despite the kingdom hinting it could boost supply after OPEC and non-member nations failed to agree to freeze output at a meeting on April 17.
Supply from OPEC rose to 32.64 million barrels per day (bpd) in April from 32.47 million bpd in March based on shipping data and information from sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.
Enugu killings: Militants give herdsmen 14 days ultimatum to leave South-East, South-South
Enugu killings: Militants give herdsmen 14 days ultimatum to leave South-East, South-South
A g roup o f N iger D elta a gitators, u nder t he a egis o f Concerned Militant Leaders (CML), has said it would declare war on Fulani herdsmen after two weeks, if they fail to leave the South-East and South-South states.
The group made the statement yesterday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following recent attacks and killings of innocent people, particularly in the South- East.
Spokesperson of the group, simply known as General Ben, demanded that Federal Government should within the 14 days deadline, tell Nigerians who the Fulani herdsmen are, otherwise, the spate of kidnapping and killing of the “so-called herdsmen,” would be unprecedented.
Ben said the group had waited patiently to see Federal Government’s reaction to the gruesome murder of innocent Nigerians, with emphasis on the recent attack on a community in Enugu State, expressing disappointment that government had not demonstrated genuine commitment to checkmate activities of the herdsmen.
He declared: “After two weeks, starting from today, Tuesday, May 3, we are going to search for Fulani herdsmen. Since Federal Government cannot tell us who they are up till now, we are going to look for them.
The CML spokesperson described the attacks as provocative and challenging, threatening that they would take their pound of flesh at the appropriate time.
“The Fulani herdsmen have indirectly challenged us, asking us what can we do. But, we promise them that we will not allow them to go without taking revenge. It is an insult and we will give them back,” he vowed.
A g roup o f N iger D elta a gitators, u nder t he a egis o f Concerned Militant Leaders (CML), has said it would declare war on Fulani herdsmen after two weeks, if they fail to leave the South-East and South-South states.
The group made the statement yesterday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following recent attacks and killings of innocent people, particularly in the South- East.
Spokesperson of the group, simply known as General Ben, demanded that Federal Government should within the 14 days deadline, tell Nigerians who the Fulani herdsmen are, otherwise, the spate of kidnapping and killing of the “so-called herdsmen,” would be unprecedented.
Ben said the group had waited patiently to see Federal Government’s reaction to the gruesome murder of innocent Nigerians, with emphasis on the recent attack on a community in Enugu State, expressing disappointment that government had not demonstrated genuine commitment to checkmate activities of the herdsmen.
He declared: “After two weeks, starting from today, Tuesday, May 3, we are going to search for Fulani herdsmen. Since Federal Government cannot tell us who they are up till now, we are going to look for them.
The CML spokesperson described the attacks as provocative and challenging, threatening that they would take their pound of flesh at the appropriate time.
“The Fulani herdsmen have indirectly challenged us, asking us what can we do. But, we promise them that we will not allow them to go without taking revenge. It is an insult and we will give them back,” he vowed.
Again, Buhari orders onslaught against herdsmen
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has reaffirmed his administration’s resolve to deal decisively and swiftly with incessant attacks and bloodletting in the country. In fact, he said heads of national security agencies have been ordered to take necessary action to apprehend and expose those behind the heinous attacks, which have led to the loss of hundreds of lives, sacking of communities and destruction of property, across the country.
According to Buhari who spoke during a meeting with members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) him led by its President, Ignatius Kaigama, on Monday at the Presidential Villa, “We’re determined to secure all Nigerians and I have told the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies, in very strong terms, to deal decisively with the attackers”.
He was joined at the meeting by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, among other aides.
Members of the Catholic Church delegation included Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah; Archbishop of Benin City, Augustine Akubeze; Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Godfrey Onah; Felix Alaba Job; Anthony Obina; Valerian Okeke; Gabriel Abegunrin; Matthew Ndagoso; Lucius Ugorji; William Ayenya; John Nyiring; Camilius Umoh; Ralph Madu; and John Okoye.
President Buhari expressed his personal condolences to the Catholic Bishop of Enugu, the people of Ukpabi Nimbo and all other communities that have suffered fatalities and other losses from the recent attacks.
Following the brutal attack in Nimbo, Enugu community last week, the Federal Government enjoined the people of the South East geo-political zone to be patient, law-abiding and peaceful as Buhari was committed to bringing to a halt the issue of insurgency across the country.
But last Friday, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja was attacked by suspected herdsmen
along the Benin-Ekpoma Road, while on his way from Uromi after attending the 10th anniversary of the enthronement of Akubueze as a bishop and 10th anniversary of the Diocese Uromi.
The President also assured the bishops that he was acting with deliberation and moving methodically to implement his change agenda for the good of the country.
“We need to rebuild our institutions methodically, we need to change the way we do things. In the last 10 years, crude oil sold for more that $100 per barrel, but Nigeria did not save. That is why we have found ourselves where we are today,” he said.
The President further assured the bishops that his administration was working hard to fulfill the promises the All Progressives Congress (APC) made to Nigerians during the electioneering, adding that his greatest motivating factor for him was the desire to bring positive change to Nigeria.
When fielding questions from State House correspondents, Kaigama said the Catholic Church was 100 per cent behind Buhari on his anti-corruption war, describing corruption as a cancer whose defeat was the only way the nation can progress.
“Since 1960, the Catholic bishops have been talking against corruption, telling people to avoid it. It is a cancer, it is dangerous, it is a sickness and it is a social disease. We have assured the President that we are 100 per cent with him in his fight against corruption.
“With corruption, we can’t progress. With corruption, everything goes wrong, immorality takes over, retrogression takes place. So corruption is a huge obstacle that has to be dismantled”, Kaigama said.
The Bishop Conference President who said they were impressed with the passion President Buhari spoke about how to make the county better and to mobilise all Nigerians to selflessly put in their best.
“We assured the President of our prayers, moral support and our desire to cooperate. In the Catholic Church, whether it is education, healthcare or social services, we have done quite a lot over the years. With the willing disposition of the President and his attitude of embracing everyone, we felt we should spell out some areas of closer collaboration.
“We found him a sincere man with great sense of dedication. He wants the best for this nation. We also want the best for this nation.
“He agrees that not everyone is working as he expects. There are some who are clogs in the wheel of progress. We are praying and hoping that such people will see that Nigeria is greater than all of us, that we should develop patriotic disposition and our aspiration should be to put this country first. With that, criminalities and other things that are anti-social will give way. We have every hope. We only need to be a little more patient,” he said
According to Buhari who spoke during a meeting with members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) him led by its President, Ignatius Kaigama, on Monday at the Presidential Villa, “We’re determined to secure all Nigerians and I have told the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies, in very strong terms, to deal decisively with the attackers”.
He was joined at the meeting by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, among other aides.
Members of the Catholic Church delegation included Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah; Archbishop of Benin City, Augustine Akubeze; Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Godfrey Onah; Felix Alaba Job; Anthony Obina; Valerian Okeke; Gabriel Abegunrin; Matthew Ndagoso; Lucius Ugorji; William Ayenya; John Nyiring; Camilius Umoh; Ralph Madu; and John Okoye.
President Buhari expressed his personal condolences to the Catholic Bishop of Enugu, the people of Ukpabi Nimbo and all other communities that have suffered fatalities and other losses from the recent attacks.
Following the brutal attack in Nimbo, Enugu community last week, the Federal Government enjoined the people of the South East geo-political zone to be patient, law-abiding and peaceful as Buhari was committed to bringing to a halt the issue of insurgency across the country.
But last Friday, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja was attacked by suspected herdsmen
along the Benin-Ekpoma Road, while on his way from Uromi after attending the 10th anniversary of the enthronement of Akubueze as a bishop and 10th anniversary of the Diocese Uromi.
The President also assured the bishops that he was acting with deliberation and moving methodically to implement his change agenda for the good of the country.
“We need to rebuild our institutions methodically, we need to change the way we do things. In the last 10 years, crude oil sold for more that $100 per barrel, but Nigeria did not save. That is why we have found ourselves where we are today,” he said.
The President further assured the bishops that his administration was working hard to fulfill the promises the All Progressives Congress (APC) made to Nigerians during the electioneering, adding that his greatest motivating factor for him was the desire to bring positive change to Nigeria.
When fielding questions from State House correspondents, Kaigama said the Catholic Church was 100 per cent behind Buhari on his anti-corruption war, describing corruption as a cancer whose defeat was the only way the nation can progress.
“Since 1960, the Catholic bishops have been talking against corruption, telling people to avoid it. It is a cancer, it is dangerous, it is a sickness and it is a social disease. We have assured the President that we are 100 per cent with him in his fight against corruption.
“With corruption, we can’t progress. With corruption, everything goes wrong, immorality takes over, retrogression takes place. So corruption is a huge obstacle that has to be dismantled”, Kaigama said.
The Bishop Conference President who said they were impressed with the passion President Buhari spoke about how to make the county better and to mobilise all Nigerians to selflessly put in their best.
“We assured the President of our prayers, moral support and our desire to cooperate. In the Catholic Church, whether it is education, healthcare or social services, we have done quite a lot over the years. With the willing disposition of the President and his attitude of embracing everyone, we felt we should spell out some areas of closer collaboration.
“We found him a sincere man with great sense of dedication. He wants the best for this nation. We also want the best for this nation.
“He agrees that not everyone is working as he expects. There are some who are clogs in the wheel of progress. We are praying and hoping that such people will see that Nigeria is greater than all of us, that we should develop patriotic disposition and our aspiration should be to put this country first. With that, criminalities and other things that are anti-social will give way. We have every hope. We only need to be a little more patient,” he said
Attack on dep gov: Edo APC appeals to Presidency
Attack on dep gov: Edo APC appeals to Presidency
THE Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the national leadership of the party and the presidency to wade into what it described as “ugly trend in the ongoing campaign ahead the governorship primary in the state.
In a statement signed by the State publicity secretary, Mr. Godwin Erhahon, the party also sympathized with all victims of the violent attack on the gubernatorial aspiration campaign team of Deputy Governor, Dr Pius Odubu at Auchi, headquarters of Esako West Local Government Area last weekend.
The statement reads: “APC expresses gratitude to God for preventing death so far from the attack and pray for speedy recovery for those who were wounded by gun shots from the hoodlums.
We apologize to the victims and the public for the statements of some of our officials who sounded sadistic and conspiratorial in a feeble but self-indicting attempt to trivialize the near tragic incident.
“Their reckless and ungodly utterances do not represent the culture of APC.
“ It is saddening that these heartless officials could not sympathize with those who were wounded in the attack.
“The party also lauded all the other gubernatorial aspirants who have openly condemned the attack even as it appealed to “the good people of Edo South to resist the temptation of viewing the attack on their illustrious son as an ethnic plot knowing that godly leaders from Auchi and other parts of Edo North have unanimously condemned the attack."
THE Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the national leadership of the party and the presidency to wade into what it described as “ugly trend in the ongoing campaign ahead the governorship primary in the state.
In a statement signed by the State publicity secretary, Mr. Godwin Erhahon, the party also sympathized with all victims of the violent attack on the gubernatorial aspiration campaign team of Deputy Governor, Dr Pius Odubu at Auchi, headquarters of Esako West Local Government Area last weekend.
The statement reads: “APC expresses gratitude to God for preventing death so far from the attack and pray for speedy recovery for those who were wounded by gun shots from the hoodlums.
We apologize to the victims and the public for the statements of some of our officials who sounded sadistic and conspiratorial in a feeble but self-indicting attempt to trivialize the near tragic incident.
“Their reckless and ungodly utterances do not represent the culture of APC.
“ It is saddening that these heartless officials could not sympathize with those who were wounded in the attack.
“The party also lauded all the other gubernatorial aspirants who have openly condemned the attack even as it appealed to “the good people of Edo South to resist the temptation of viewing the attack on their illustrious son as an ethnic plot knowing that godly leaders from Auchi and other parts of Edo North have unanimously condemned the attack."
Herdsmen attack: Enugu police commissioner removed
Herdsmen attack: Enugu police commissioner removed
POLICE Force Headquarters, yesterday, redeployed Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Nwodibo Okechukwu to Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Emmanuel Ojukwu is his replacement.
Okechukwu’s redeployment may not be unconnected with a recent attack by Fulani herdsmen on Nimbo community in Uzo Uwani local government area of the state, where several people were killed and houses and churches burnt by the herdsmen.
Ojukwu is a two-time force public relations officer and one time commissioner of police.
When contacted on the development, Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawoke confirmed the transfer yesterday night.
She did not give any reason for the redeployment.
Also, yesterday, governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stormed the Government House to console Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the people over the attack.
Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, who chairs the APC Governor’s Forum led his colleagues from Borno, Kashim Shettima; Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbosola, and deputy governors of Kogi and Yobe states who represented their governors on the condolence visit.
Okorocha and Shettima, in their separate speeches, extolled the matured manner Ugwuanyi handled the Nimbo attack. They said the incident was capable of having negative ripple effects if not for the method the Enugu governor adopted.
Okorocha, who spoke first, said they were at the government house to commiserate with Ugwuanyi and the people of the state over their grief.
“We are here because of the recent ugly incident that took place in Enugu State where many lives were lost.
He praised the manner Ugwuanyi handled the situation and said: “Your government and the people of Enugu State have shown maturity in handling the matter of this level of provocation; in some areas it could have been a different story by now if you had embarked on retaliation.
“We commend you for holding the fort and making sure that this did not degenerate into ethnicity or tribal crisis.”
Also speaking, Borno Governor, Shettima said they were in the state to register their condolences on the recent killings at Nimbo.
“It is our tradition that as compatriots we must mourn with our people just as we rejoice together in moments of happiness. These are difficult times for our country and it calls for maturity. We are one nation and I want you to sustain that spirit of forgiveness; the Igbo are known for their hard work, enterprise and as very accommodating people.”
Welcoming his colleagues and others to the state, Ugwuanyi said their visit was heartwarming and confirmed that Nigerians all over the country share a common sense of grief and loss with the people of the state over the unfortunate incident at Nimbo.
Other Igbo personalities who were at the visit included the Archbishop of Enugu Anglican Ecclesiastic Province, His Grace, Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma; the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Prof Geoffrey I. Onah, and former Information Minister, Chief John Nnia Nwodo (Jnr).
POLICE Force Headquarters, yesterday, redeployed Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Nwodibo Okechukwu to Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Emmanuel Ojukwu is his replacement.
Okechukwu’s redeployment may not be unconnected with a recent attack by Fulani herdsmen on Nimbo community in Uzo Uwani local government area of the state, where several people were killed and houses and churches burnt by the herdsmen.
Ojukwu is a two-time force public relations officer and one time commissioner of police.
When contacted on the development, Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawoke confirmed the transfer yesterday night.
She did not give any reason for the redeployment.
Also, yesterday, governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stormed the Government House to console Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the people over the attack.
Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, who chairs the APC Governor’s Forum led his colleagues from Borno, Kashim Shettima; Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbosola, and deputy governors of Kogi and Yobe states who represented their governors on the condolence visit.
Okorocha and Shettima, in their separate speeches, extolled the matured manner Ugwuanyi handled the Nimbo attack. They said the incident was capable of having negative ripple effects if not for the method the Enugu governor adopted.
Okorocha, who spoke first, said they were at the government house to commiserate with Ugwuanyi and the people of the state over their grief.
“We are here because of the recent ugly incident that took place in Enugu State where many lives were lost.
He praised the manner Ugwuanyi handled the situation and said: “Your government and the people of Enugu State have shown maturity in handling the matter of this level of provocation; in some areas it could have been a different story by now if you had embarked on retaliation.
“We commend you for holding the fort and making sure that this did not degenerate into ethnicity or tribal crisis.”
Also speaking, Borno Governor, Shettima said they were in the state to register their condolences on the recent killings at Nimbo.
“It is our tradition that as compatriots we must mourn with our people just as we rejoice together in moments of happiness. These are difficult times for our country and it calls for maturity. We are one nation and I want you to sustain that spirit of forgiveness; the Igbo are known for their hard work, enterprise and as very accommodating people.”
Welcoming his colleagues and others to the state, Ugwuanyi said their visit was heartwarming and confirmed that Nigerians all over the country share a common sense of grief and loss with the people of the state over the unfortunate incident at Nimbo.
Other Igbo personalities who were at the visit included the Archbishop of Enugu Anglican Ecclesiastic Province, His Grace, Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma; the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Prof Geoffrey I. Onah, and former Information Minister, Chief John Nnia Nwodo (Jnr).
Alleged N32bn fraud: FG fails to produce Dasuki in court
Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf of an Abuja High Court at Maitama, yesterday, adjourned trial of erstwhile National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), till May 23.
The trial which was originally scheduled to kick off yesterday, was stalled by failure of the Federal Government to produce the defendant in court. Since February 8, when the court ordered full-blown hearing on the matter, the Federal Government has repeatedly failed to produce Dasuki for the trial to commence.
At the resumed sitting, yesterday, though EFCC notified the court that some of the witnesses were present, it blamed the absence of the defendant on refusal by the Department of State Services, DSS, to release him from custody. EFCC lawyer, Mr Oluwaleke Atolagbe, told the court that he made serious efforts to contact the DSS to produce Dasuki in court yesterday for the trial to begin. He said it was regrettable that the efforts turned futile as the DSS still refused to release the defendant.
Atolagbe said there was no indication that the former NSA would be brought to court for the trial, even though the witnesses were available. However, the EFCC lawyer prayed the court for a stand-down to enable the lead prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, who he said was handling another matter at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, to appear and give further explanations on what transpired between the commission and the DSS.
The request was vehemently opposed by counsel to the other defendants, led by Chief Olujimi, SAN, and Solomon Umoh, SAN, who contended that such stand-down would be inconsequential in the absence of the first defendant in court. The defendants, while conceding to an adjournment, urged the court to issue a stern warning to the prosecution to ensure the presence of the 1st defendant on the next adjourned date.
In his ruling, Justice Yusuf stressed that it was the responsibility of the prosecution to produce the defendant in court for trial as required by law. Noting that the prosecuting counsel had previously conducted himself properly before the court, the judge said he was minded to give the Federal Government one more chance.
It will be recalled that the accused persons were arraigned before the court on December 14, 2015, and were subsequently granted bail to the tune of N200million each. Aside seizure of their international passports, the court, ordered the defendants to individually produce a surety who must be a serving or retired civil servant not below the rank of a Director, adding that the said surety must be an owner of a landed property within the Federal Capital Territory worth N200m .
Even though the court granted them bail on December 18, 2015, Dasuki was on December 29, 2015, re-arrested by security operatives, immediately he was released by prison authorities after he perfected all the bail conditions.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/alleged-n32bn-fraud-fg-fails-produce-dasuki-court/
The trial which was originally scheduled to kick off yesterday, was stalled by failure of the Federal Government to produce the defendant in court. Since February 8, when the court ordered full-blown hearing on the matter, the Federal Government has repeatedly failed to produce Dasuki for the trial to commence.
At the resumed sitting, yesterday, though EFCC notified the court that some of the witnesses were present, it blamed the absence of the defendant on refusal by the Department of State Services, DSS, to release him from custody. EFCC lawyer, Mr Oluwaleke Atolagbe, told the court that he made serious efforts to contact the DSS to produce Dasuki in court yesterday for the trial to begin. He said it was regrettable that the efforts turned futile as the DSS still refused to release the defendant.
Atolagbe said there was no indication that the former NSA would be brought to court for the trial, even though the witnesses were available. However, the EFCC lawyer prayed the court for a stand-down to enable the lead prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, who he said was handling another matter at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, to appear and give further explanations on what transpired between the commission and the DSS.
The request was vehemently opposed by counsel to the other defendants, led by Chief Olujimi, SAN, and Solomon Umoh, SAN, who contended that such stand-down would be inconsequential in the absence of the first defendant in court. The defendants, while conceding to an adjournment, urged the court to issue a stern warning to the prosecution to ensure the presence of the 1st defendant on the next adjourned date.
In his ruling, Justice Yusuf stressed that it was the responsibility of the prosecution to produce the defendant in court for trial as required by law. Noting that the prosecuting counsel had previously conducted himself properly before the court, the judge said he was minded to give the Federal Government one more chance.
It will be recalled that the accused persons were arraigned before the court on December 14, 2015, and were subsequently granted bail to the tune of N200million each. Aside seizure of their international passports, the court, ordered the defendants to individually produce a surety who must be a serving or retired civil servant not below the rank of a Director, adding that the said surety must be an owner of a landed property within the Federal Capital Territory worth N200m .
Even though the court granted them bail on December 18, 2015, Dasuki was on December 29, 2015, re-arrested by security operatives, immediately he was released by prison authorities after he perfected all the bail conditions.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/alleged-n32bn-fraud-fg-fails-produce-dasuki-court/
At 73, Buhari lacks ideas to run Nigeria – Fayose
The Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose on Tuesday said his criticisms of President Muhammadu Buhari was not borne out of his hatred for him but out of his conviction that at 73, Buhari was not strong enough to lead a complex country like Nigeria.
The governor, who spoke at an event organised by the Oyo State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day in Ibadan, said those who voted for Buhari in the last presidential election did not know who he was.
He stressed that in the last one year, Nigeria had never had it so bad, noting that the fuel crisis, exchange rate of dollar to naira, killings by Fulani herdsmen and power situation were indices that showed that Buhari’s government lacked the idea to rule the country.
Fayose said, “People say that I abuse Buhari, I am not abusing him because he is like my grandfather but I know the history. Eighty per cent of people that voted for Buhari in the South-West did not know him. They are between 18 and 40. They voted because they wanted change desperately and I agree with them. He left government 32 years ago so they did not experience his rule.
“Today, the Peoples Democratic Party is no longer in government so they should stop blaming the PDP. They told us that dollars would become one to one with the naira. But where is that today? The regime of fuel subsidy is gone and we now have food subsidy. Queues are back at petrol stations. Whatever I say is divine. The next thing to happen will be the removal of the Kogi State governor. I have not lost a battle in my life and when I lost one, I came back to win.
“We have never had it so bad like in the last 12 months; electricity has gone to zero and we no longer have light in our houses. I am here to tell Nigerians that we are in the wrong direction because you cannot give what you don’t have. There is a time to retire because of the diminishing return on the functionality of the brain. At 75, my mother can do little.”
The governor also criticised the anti-corruption war of Buhari, describing it as biased.
“When you want to deal with corruption, do it wholeheartedly. Don’t say because this person has now joined the All Progressives Congress, he is now a saint. When I was supporting the ACN, they gave me many titles. Now that I am no longer with them, they see me as an enemy,” he said.
The governor, who spoke at an event organised by the Oyo State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day in Ibadan, said those who voted for Buhari in the last presidential election did not know who he was.
He stressed that in the last one year, Nigeria had never had it so bad, noting that the fuel crisis, exchange rate of dollar to naira, killings by Fulani herdsmen and power situation were indices that showed that Buhari’s government lacked the idea to rule the country.
Fayose said, “People say that I abuse Buhari, I am not abusing him because he is like my grandfather but I know the history. Eighty per cent of people that voted for Buhari in the South-West did not know him. They are between 18 and 40. They voted because they wanted change desperately and I agree with them. He left government 32 years ago so they did not experience his rule.
“Today, the Peoples Democratic Party is no longer in government so they should stop blaming the PDP. They told us that dollars would become one to one with the naira. But where is that today? The regime of fuel subsidy is gone and we now have food subsidy. Queues are back at petrol stations. Whatever I say is divine. The next thing to happen will be the removal of the Kogi State governor. I have not lost a battle in my life and when I lost one, I came back to win.
“We have never had it so bad like in the last 12 months; electricity has gone to zero and we no longer have light in our houses. I am here to tell Nigerians that we are in the wrong direction because you cannot give what you don’t have. There is a time to retire because of the diminishing return on the functionality of the brain. At 75, my mother can do little.”
The governor also criticised the anti-corruption war of Buhari, describing it as biased.
“When you want to deal with corruption, do it wholeheartedly. Don’t say because this person has now joined the All Progressives Congress, he is now a saint. When I was supporting the ACN, they gave me many titles. Now that I am no longer with them, they see me as an enemy,” he said.
Manslaughter: Synagogue engineers get N20m bail
A Lagos State High Court in Ikeja on Tuesday granted N10m bail each to two engineers, Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, who constructed the collapsed Synagogue Church Of All Nations’ six-storey building.
The building, which collapsed on September 12, 2014 killed no fewer than 116 persons and left many others injured.
The two engineers alongside their companies – Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Limited – are being tried on 110 charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Standing trial along with them are the Registered Trustees of SCOAN, who were charged with the offence of building without the approval of the state.
The defendants were arraigned on April 19, 2016 by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo.
They had pleaded not guilty, following which the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs. Idowu Alakija, urged the judge to remand Ogundeji and Fatiregun in prison custody pending trial.
However, counsel for the 4th defendant, Fatiregun, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, and that of the 5th defendant, Ogundeji, Mrs. Titilola Akinlawon (SAN), respectively filed applications urging the court to admit their clients to bail on liberal terms.
Ruling on the bail applications on Tuesday, Justice Lawal-Akapo said he was inclined to admit Ogundeji to bail because the state did not contradict the argument of his lawyer that Ogundeji was a law-abiding citizen, who did not jump the administrative bail earlier granted him by the police and another bail granted him by a magistrate’s court where he was first taken.
The judge also affirmed the argument of Fatiregun’s lawyer, Ojo, who described as speculative the claim by the state that Fatiregun, who was not resident in Lagos State, might flee the court’s jurisdiction if granted bail.
Justice Lawal-Akapo agreed with the submission of the counsel for the 2nd defendant, Chief E.L. Akpofure (SAN), who argued that “speculation has no place in law.”
The judge said as none of the seven conditions for granting bail listed by the Court of Appeal was against the engineers, he was inclined to exercise his discretion in their favour.
He thus admitted each of Ogundeji and Fatiregun to bail in the sum of N10m each with two sureties in like sum.
One of the sureties, the judge said, must be a civil servant on not less than Grade Level 14, whose employment status must be confirmed by the Head of Service concerned.
The second surety, the judge said, must own landed property in Lagos State and must be willing to deposit the title document with the court.
The court said the surety must show evidence of three years tax clearance by the state, as well as supply his utilities bills and other documents authenticating his residential address.
The judge said the chief registrar of the court must verify the suitability of the sureties to stand for the accused persons.
He also ordered the accused person to deposit their passports with the chief registrar pending the conclusion of trial.
Further proceedings in the case were adjourned till May 19, 2016 when the state is expected to open its case.
The building, which collapsed on September 12, 2014 killed no fewer than 116 persons and left many others injured.
The two engineers alongside their companies – Hardrock Construction and Engineering Company and Jandy Trust Limited – are being tried on 110 charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Standing trial along with them are the Registered Trustees of SCOAN, who were charged with the offence of building without the approval of the state.
The defendants were arraigned on April 19, 2016 by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo.
They had pleaded not guilty, following which the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs. Idowu Alakija, urged the judge to remand Ogundeji and Fatiregun in prison custody pending trial.
However, counsel for the 4th defendant, Fatiregun, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, and that of the 5th defendant, Ogundeji, Mrs. Titilola Akinlawon (SAN), respectively filed applications urging the court to admit their clients to bail on liberal terms.
Ruling on the bail applications on Tuesday, Justice Lawal-Akapo said he was inclined to admit Ogundeji to bail because the state did not contradict the argument of his lawyer that Ogundeji was a law-abiding citizen, who did not jump the administrative bail earlier granted him by the police and another bail granted him by a magistrate’s court where he was first taken.
The judge also affirmed the argument of Fatiregun’s lawyer, Ojo, who described as speculative the claim by the state that Fatiregun, who was not resident in Lagos State, might flee the court’s jurisdiction if granted bail.
Justice Lawal-Akapo agreed with the submission of the counsel for the 2nd defendant, Chief E.L. Akpofure (SAN), who argued that “speculation has no place in law.”
The judge said as none of the seven conditions for granting bail listed by the Court of Appeal was against the engineers, he was inclined to exercise his discretion in their favour.
He thus admitted each of Ogundeji and Fatiregun to bail in the sum of N10m each with two sureties in like sum.
One of the sureties, the judge said, must be a civil servant on not less than Grade Level 14, whose employment status must be confirmed by the Head of Service concerned.
The second surety, the judge said, must own landed property in Lagos State and must be willing to deposit the title document with the court.
The court said the surety must show evidence of three years tax clearance by the state, as well as supply his utilities bills and other documents authenticating his residential address.
The judge said the chief registrar of the court must verify the suitability of the sureties to stand for the accused persons.
He also ordered the accused person to deposit their passports with the chief registrar pending the conclusion of trial.
Further proceedings in the case were adjourned till May 19, 2016 when the state is expected to open its case.
Chaos as Edo Assembly impeaches Speaker, deputy
There was pandemonium at the Edo State House of Assembly on Tuesday when suspected thugs invaded the complex, shooting sporadically and injuring six persons, following the impeachment of the Speaker, Mr. Victor Edoror, and his deputy, Mr. Bright Osayande, by 16 members of the House for alleged misconduct.
It was learnt that trouble started when the Majority Leader, Mr. Folly Ogedegbe, moved the motion for the impeachment of the Speaker and his deputy for alleged gross misconduct, which was seconded by Mr. Gani Audu (Etsako West I).
One of the lawmakers, Mr. Patrick Iluobe, was later appointed to preside over the business of the day where the member representing Uhunmwode constituency, Mrs. Elizabeth Ativie, was appointed as the first female speaker of the House of Assembly, while Dr. Joseph Okonoboh (Igueben constituency), was appointed as her deputy.
Immediately the new speaker was sworn in, Edoror and Osayande were said to have walked into the chamber allegedly in company of some thugs who shot sporadically and left the workers and some journalists to scamper into safety.
A combined team of security operatives from the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps dispersed the thugs with tear gas canisters.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chris Ezike, was later sighted at the assembly complex.
Efforts to get his reaction were, however, unsuccessful.
Call put across to his telephone number rang out while he had yet to respond to a text message sent to his number as of the time of filing the report.
While briefing journalists shortly after the incident, the pro-Ativie lawmakers told journalists that the members could no longer tolerate the alleged highhandedness of Edoror, whom they claimed “ate government money the way the endangered red squirrel eats palm nut.”
They also accused him of allegedly having six pending cases with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, adding that a five-member committee, led by Kabiru Adjoto (Akoko Edo I) had been set up to investigate his alleged financial recklessness, as Speaker from June 2015 to May 3, 2016.
Adjoto, who spoke on their behalf, said, ”We, the members of the Edo State House of Assembly, 16 of us, followed due process to impeach the former Speaker, Mr. Victor Edoror, for reasons stated herein.
“Mr. Victor Edoror is a Speaker that is violently corrupt. He was a speaker that ate government money the way the endangered red squirrel eats palm nut; as he’s eating one, he is looking at the other one to eat.
“He is violently dictatorial; because of that, we came together as honourable members; we are a 24-member House. Sixteen members signed the impeachment of the former Speaker, which constitutes two-third of 24. We have here the list of the 16 members that signed the impeachment notice in their own handwriting.”
He added, “So, we have a new Speaker, Mrs. Elizabeth Ativie, who is the member representing Uhunmwode constituency in the Edo State House of Assembly.”
“We have equally impeached the former deputy speaker, Mr. Bright Osayande, for the same reasons adduced before now (and) replaced by Justin Okonobo, member representing Igueben constituency.”
On her part, Ativie, who alleged that the thugs were supporters of Edoror, also noted that he (Edoror) had been suspended.
The state House of Assembly had on March 8, 2016, adjourned indefinitely following a shouting match among the lawmakers, which led to a rowdy session.
Edoror had also been ordered by a Federal High Court in Benin to explain why he should not be committed to prison for his alleged refusal to swear in a Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Mr. Sylvanus Eruaga, as the member representing Etsako West II constituency, where the governor hails from.
Eruaga was later sworn in.
However, Ativie said that she would provide a robust, corrupt-free and inclusive leadership which would facilitate the development of the people.
She said, “Well, it was the impeached Speaker that brought hoodlums to the place (Assembly) to disturb us but we refused to be intimidated and we went through normal processes even before he came in with his thugs and that is the reason why we have suspended him.
“As the new Speaker, we are going to have a very robust house; a House that is not corrupt, a House that will bring about laws that bring development to our people. I will give my people qualitative leadership; every member will be an inclusive member of the House, not an exclusive member.”
But Edoror, accompanied by six other members, later held a session in the chamber, where the plenary was adjourned to Wednesday to enable the members to hold a closed door meeting in order to “strategise and look at the differences that is in the mind of every member, so that we can put everything to a halt.”
He also said that the House would set up a committee to look into the matter.
While briefing journalists in his office, Edoror described his alleged impeachment as fictitious.
He also dismissed the claim by the pro-Ativie lawmakers that he allegedly sponsored the invasion of thugs into the Assembly complex.
However, Edoror said, “They (pro-Ativie members) don’t have the numbers” to impeach him.
He also denied the allegations levelled against him and maintained that the leadership of the Assembly remained while the issues would be “put to rest.”
A correspondent of The Nation newspaper, Mr. Osagie Otabor, who was assaulted by the thugs explained that one of the youths had accused him of being sent by one of the pro-Ativie lawmakers.
The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Kassim Afegbua, could not be reached to get the state government’s reaction.
But the leadership of the APC in the state, which said that it had not been briefed on the matter, described the incident as “part of democracy.”
The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Godwin Erhahon, said, “Well so far, it’s part of democracy. They are mere allegations until they are proved by a competent authority.
“It has just happened today and we are yet to be briefed by both the Speaker and the House. They should remain peaceful and law abiding.”
When asked if the party would intervene, Erhahon said, “Well, it depends. We will consult.”
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