NSCDC Recovers Over 100,000 Litres of Illegally Refined Diesel, Arrests 14 Suspects In Rivers

 

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has recovered over 100,000 litres of illegally refined diesel in Rivers State.

Spokesperson of the command, Olufemi Ayodele, stated this on Tuesday while parading 14 suspects, in connection to the crime all between the ages of 31 and 49.

While displaying the impounded vehicles and products at the Corps Headquarters in Port Harcourt, Ayodele vowed to intensify the fight against the illegal refining of crude oil in the state, despite the seeming resistance by the perpetrators of the crime.

Addressing journalists, he said operatives of the command deployed to parts of the state intercepted and recovered (103,800) litres of diesel suspected to be illegally refined and being transported in small vehicles and trucks to different locations within and outside Rivers State, in the period under review.

The products displayed were concealed in plastic bags, a common tactic by the criminals to beat security checks.

Speaking further, Ayodele explained that the 14 suspects were arrested for either transporting the products on land and on waterways, or being in possession of aluminum materials used in the fabrication of Illegal refineries.

According to him, they were arrested in Obio/Akpor, Ahoada East, Ikwerre, Degema and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas.

He said two wooden boats, four trucks, and four cars were also impounded in the operation, adding that the suspects will be prosecuted according to the law.

Our Policies Have Made Nigeria A Fertilizer Powerhouse In Africa – Buhari

 

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja attributed Nigeria’s rising prominence as Africa’s fertiliser powerhouse to the implementation of the right policies by the present administration.

“With our over seventy blending plants operating, Nigeria is on its way to becoming Africa’s fertiliser powerhouse. And with our mega Urea production facilities, Nigeria is definitely a global player in the Urea space,” the President said at an audience with the Executive Committee of Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN).

Speaking further, he noted that the remarkable achievement, in a very short period of time, had ensured a steady flow of investments to the sector from the private sector; bringing prosperity to millions of Nigerians and good returns to the investors.

The President expressed delight that the era of persistent shortage of fertilizers in the country was now a thing of the past, commending FEPSAN for partnering with the Government in the very patriotic backward integration project of enhancing the agricultural value chain.

He also used the occasion to recount steps taken by his administration to limit overreliance on imports, ensure the availability of the commodity and achieve self-sufficiency in food production in the country.

“When this administration came to office in 2015, our focus was on three key areas; Security, Economy and tackling corruption.

“For every nation to have peace and prosperity, its economy must be inclusive.

“For Nigeria, a predominantly agrarian nation, having an inclusive economy meant we needed to prioritise the enhancement of our agricultural value chain.

“We quickly identified the persistent shortage of fertilizer as a key reason for the low yields experienced in our farms.

“This historical scarcity of fertiliser was due to our over-reliance on imports and the inefficient participation of the Government in distributing this essential commodity to the farmers.

“As a government, it was very clear to us that these practices needed to change. Nigeria is naturally blessed with most of the raw materials needed to produce fertilisers.

“Nigeria has all the skills and manpower required to convert these raw materials to fertilisers. With the right enabling environment, Nigeria has entrepreneurs who are ready to invest in the sector.

“So we went to work. And as the Chairman of FEPSAN mentioned in his remarks, the rest is now history,” he said.

The President noted that a key indicator of the present government’s successful policies is the fact that the country had no shortages of fertilizers during the global COVID lockdowns.

“Today, I am pleased to hear your assurances that we will not have any shortages in Nigeria because of the Eastern European conflicts that have impacted the global fertilizer trade. All these trends indicate our backward integration policy was the right policy.”

Appreciating those who have invested and continue to invest in the sector, the President said: “Through these investments, you are double blessed as you are making profits and bringing prosperity to millions of Nigerians working in the agricultural value chain.”

In his remarks, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said fertiliser remains a key input to achieving food security and in realisation of this, the apex bank has continued to place great importance on its availability and accessibility by farmers to improve yield, productivity and ultimately, output.

Highlighting some CBN’s interventions, including the Real Sector Support Facility, Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, National Food Security Programme and the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI), Emefiele said a total of over N114.09bn has been disbursed to support the fertiliser industry in the last five years.

He explained that the interventions were long-term loans at concessionary interest rates to support domestic blending and distribution across the country.

Given the massive funding support received by FEPSAN members from the CBN, Emefiele announced that the bank is working with majors in the industry, such as Dangote and Indorama, to ensure that they sell Urea at discounted prices to the blending plants to ensure that the prices of fertilizer are moderated in the market.

“The Bank will equally work with the blending plants to ensure that the blended fertilisers are made available to end-user farmers at affordable prices,” he said.

On CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the CBN Governor said the Bank has disbursed N941.26bn to 4.2million smallholder farmers cultivating 21 agricultural commodities on 5.4million hectares of land across the country.

He added that for the 2021 wet season programme, the CBN disbursed N193.59bn to 923,699 farmers cultivating seven commodities on 1.16 million hectares of land.

According to Emefiele, the CBN currently has a balance of stock of fertiliser from the last planting season under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme to the tune of 1.95 million bags and have committed additional 2.6 million bags for use during the 2022 programme.

Also speaking, FEPSAN president, Thomas Etuh thanked President Buhari for commissioning two facilities by members of the association – Barbedos blending plant in Kaduna and the Dangote Urea plant in Lagos- within two months.

Mr President, FEPSAN’s success is not only evident by the number of factories we commission, but also by the many pyramids of rice, maize and other crops you have been inspecting across the country.

“Mr President, before you created the PFI Initiative in 2016, Nigeria’s fertiliser production base was almost zero. We had less than 7 companies producing at 10 per cent of their installed capacity. Nigeria’s Urea output was reported at less than 300,000 tons,” he said.

Citing recent data from a fertiliser working group that reviews and validates consumption data spanning over 12 years, the FEPSA President said Nigeria recorded its highest consumption of fertilisers at 1.8 million tons per annum in 2021.

He, therefore, assured Nigerians that the association is ready, willing and available to ensure that fertilisers are available in all parts of the country for the 2022 wet season

Conduct Democratic Primaries Or Face Disqualification, INEC Tells Political Parties

 

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday advised political parties to ensure their primaries are properly conducted in line with relevant laws.

The advice was contained in a statement signed by INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.

Mr Okoye warned that the electoral agency will not hesitate to disqualify parties in primaries that do not adhere strictly to the principles of internal democracy.

He also advised parties to avoid contentious primaries that may lead to unnecessary lawsuits.

Nigerians may recall that on Saturday 26th February 2022, the Commission released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election,” the statement read.

“The Timetable provides detailed activities, including the conduct of primaries, nomination of candidates by political parties and other activities leading to the Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday 25th February 2023, followed by the Governorship and State Assembly elections on Saturday 11th March 2023. All the activities are in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022.

“So far, two out of the 14 activities in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities have been successfully accomplished. The Notice of Election was published on 28th February 2022, while nomination forms have been made available on the Commission’s website since 1st March 2022 for political parties to download and issue to their candidates.

“The next activity is the conduct of primaries by political parties in line with the dictates of Section 84 of the Electoral Act for which the Timetable and Schedule of Activities provides a period of 61 days (4th April to 3rd June 2022).

“The Commission wishes to reiterate that parties must adhere strictly to the principles of internal democracy, drawing from their constitutions, guidelines, the Electoral Act and other Regulations and Guidelines issued by the Commission. Their candidates for the 1,491 constituencies for which elections will be conducted in 2023 must emerge from democratic, transparent and valid primaries, in line with the provisions of Sections 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022. Where a political party fails to comply with the provisions of the Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidate shall not be included in the election for the particular position in issue.

“As required by law, the Commission shall monitor the primaries of each political party that provides the required legal notice in line with Sections 82 (1) and (5) of the Electoral Act. Failure of a political party to notify the Commission of any convention or congress convened for the purpose of nominating candidates for any of the elective offices specified in the Act shall render the convention or congress invalid.

“Primaries must be conducted in the various constituencies as provided in Section 84 of the Electoral Act as it is a violation of the law to conduct primaries outside the constituencies for which parties are nominating candidates. The Commission will not monitor such primaries and their outcome will not be accepted.

“Political parties are enjoined to avoid acrimonious primaries that could result in unnecessary litigations that may lead to failure to nominate and field candidates for elections in some constituencies.”

Lawmaker Seeks Six Months Jail Term, N500,000 Fine For Crossdressers In Nigeria

 

A bill seeking to amend the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (2013) and also outlaw cross-dressing in Nigeria has been introduced for first reading at the House of Representatives.

Referencing Section 4 of the same-sex Marriage Prohibition Act (2013) Honourable Muda Lawal Ulnar who sponsored the bill on Tuesday during plenary, proposed that cross-dressing whether done privately or publicly, should be prohibited.

He is also proposing 6 months imprisonment or a fine of N500,000 for anyone found guilty. 

A person shall be deemed to have committed the offence publicly where it is published or displayed publicly notwithstanding that it was committed privately or in any place that would have ordinarily been described as private. Provided that this section of this Act shall not apply to cross-dressing in the course of a stage play or in any bona fide public entertainment.

“That Section 5 is amended by inserting, after the existing sub-clause (3), a new sub-clause (4): That a person engaged in cross-dressing is guilty of an offense and liable to imprisonment for 6 months or to a fine of N500,000.

In addition, Hon. Ulnar is seeking for Section 7 of the Principal Act to be amended by introducing the word “cross-dressing and defining same as the practice of wearing clothes usually worn by a person of the opposite sex”.

FG Detects Over 1,500 Fake Workers In Civil Service

 

The Federal Government has detected over 1,500 workers who presented fake letters of employment to its verification committee.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, revealed this at the ‘National Policy Dialogue on Entrenching Transparency in Public Office Recruitment in Nigeria’ organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in Abuja.

Yemi-Esan said the Federal Government has suspended the salary of 3,000 civil servants who failed to present themselves for verification.

She said the verification exercise is to eradicate fake and illegal recruitment in government agencies.

“Sometimes in March of 2021, this office informed the ICPC that there were quite a number of fake letters of appointments circulating in the ministries,” the civil service chief said.

“At that particular time, we discovered that in just one ministry alone, there were over a thousand individuals bearing fake letters of appointments. And they were already enrolled on the payroll.

“The Office of the Head of Service received another report, this time from the Federal Civil Service Commission itself, forwarding names of over 500 persons in various MDAs that possess fake letters of appointments.”

Several Feared Injured As Bandits Attack Abuja-Kaduna Train

 A train conveying passengers from Abuja to Kaduna has been attacked by gunmen suspected to be bandits in Kaduna State.

Many passengers are feared injured while several others were said to have been kidnapped by the assailants.

Although the police authorities are yet to confirm the attack, Channels Television gathered that the incident happened on Monday night.

The bandits reportedly attacked the train around Dutse axis in Kaduna, just a few kilometres to the Rigasa Train Station in Igabi Local Government Area of the state.

One of the passengers on the train told Channels Television that the bandits bombed the train track with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) which forced the train to derail.

Upon the stoppage of the train, the assailants were said to have begun to fire gunshots sporadically.

He added that the terrorists later forced their way into the train and kidnapped an unspecified number of people, with some others feared killed.

Meanwhile, troops have been mobilised to the scene of the attack to rescue the remaining passengers.

Another passenger on the train, Anas Danmusa, took to his Facebook handle to cry for help.

According to him, nobody could come to their rescue about one hour into the incident as the assailants tried to force their way into the train. 

After about 20 minutes later, Danmusa confirmed that army personnel have arrived at the scene of the attack.

Osinbajo Cancels Lagos Trip, Visits Kaduna To Condole Victims Of Train Attack

 

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday canceled his planned trip to Lagos State for the Tinubu colloquium and travelled to Kaduna State.

The Vice President is on a condolence visit to the Kaduna state following bandits’ attack on an Abuja-Kaduna-bound train conveying hundreds of travellers. Many of the travelers were killed in the attack and others were abducted.

Spokesperson to the Vice-President, Laolu Akande, said Osinbajo was on his way to Lagos for the 13th Tinubu Colloquium before making a detour to Kaduna.

“On his way to Lagos for the 13th Tinubu Colloquium marking former Lagos State Gov’s 70th birthday, VP had to detour to Kaduna this afternoon on receiving news of the extent of human and material losses occasioned by yesterday’s dastardly attack on the Abuja-Kaduna railway route,” Akande said.

The Vice-President was received at Kaduna Airport by the State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

He also visited victims of the attack at 44 Nigerian Army Reference hospital and Saint Gerald’s Catholic hospital both in the Kaduna state capital.

Osinbajo in a video shared on his Twitter handle called on Nigerians  not to allow the terrorists to break their spirits and their resolve.

“We will prevail and our land will be secure,” Osinbajo said.

Following the bandit attack, security agents have been deployed to the scene while the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has suspended train operations along the Abuja-Kaduna route till further notice.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Lucky Irabor as well as the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali were earlier at the scene of the attack.