Gunmen suspected to be members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) on Monday invaded the Comprehensive Secondary School, Nkume in the Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State and stopped students from taking their examination.
The students were preparing to take English in the ongoing Junior Secondary School Examination before the armed men forcibly dispersed them, Daily Trust reports.
Teachers and students were said to have fled in different directions as the gunmen shot sporadically into the air.
The assailants also razed some motorcycles belonging to some of the staff members and students.
Although there were no report of fatalities, a video of the incident revealed the students and staff members were screaming and fleeing for their lives.
Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Mike Abattam, could not be reached for comments.
IPOB had initially declared Monday as sit-at-home day to show solidarity with its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing charges bordering on treason and others before an Abuja High Court.
But the group later said the sit-at-home order should only be observed on days Kanu is to appear in court and not every Monday, as initially directed.
However, that has not stopped residents of the South-East from staying indoors every Monday since the initial directive, with business activities grounded on the first working day of the week.
This week, IPOB expects that the sit-at-home order will be observed on Tuesday to honour members of the group killed by the Nigerian Army in 2017.
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Eminent leaders of thought from the South and Middle Belt of Nigeria, under the aegis of Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination (NINAS), have asked the United Nations to declare the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) as a terrorist organisation.
Communications Manager to NINAS, Maxwell Adeleye, made this known in a statement made available to SaharaReporters on Monday.
File photo used to illustrate story.
In the statement, the group alleged that the actions or inactions of President Muhammadu Buhari have emboldened Fulani militia and worsened insecurity in the country.
It further described Buhari as a leader who values cows more than his people.
Adeleye said that the group is ready to hold a one million-man march in front of the UN Headquarters in New York, the United States from September 14 to 21, 2021 to show to the world the genocide being perpetrated by murderous herdsmen in the name of grazing in the South and Middle-Belt of Nigeria.
Quoting the Chairman of NIMAS, Prof. Banji Akintoye, he added the group will also be demanding a referendum on self-determination and abolition of the 1999 Constitution.
"The land belongs to the people through the grace of Almighty God. We the Indigenous people of the South and Middle-Belt totally reject the illegitimate and imposed 1999 Nigerian Constitution that hijacks our Self-Determination and Assets.
"We want an end to the ethno-religious killings in Nigeria. We want the Government of Nigeria to stop funding terrorism against us. What is happening today in Nigeria is a state-sponsored terrorism.
"The herdsmen you see in the South and Middle-Belt today are different from the nomadic herdsmen we grew up to know. The current ones are imported members of ISIS, AL-QAEDA, ISWAP and Boko Haram Terrorists being masqueraded as Bandits.
"By the grace of God, we shall be demanding from the world leaders to declare Miyyeti Allah as a Terrorist Group. It is dangerous to safety and peace of the South and Middle-Belt people to call Miyyeti Allah a trade Union, it is a Terrorist group being supported by the current Fulanised Government of Nigeria with a mission to overrun the indigenous people.
"The agenda of these government-backed Terrorists killing and maiming our people in the South and Middle-Belt is to take over our ancestral lands for their Fulani people. You see that it is either Buhari is talking about Cattle Colony today or RUGA tomorrow or Grazing Reserves next tomorrow. He appreciates the Fulani Cows than human dignity.
"The Fulani people have even said it openly on Television that all the land in Nigeria up to the Atlantic Ocean belongs to their great-great grand fathers. They said the oil in the South belongs to them because majority of the land mass in Nigeria are in the North.
"We the Indigenous people now say enough is enough. Therefore, as the World Leaders are meeting for the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, we want to use the opportunity to demand for a United Nations Supervised Referendums in our regions so that the indigenous people can decide on what they want for their nationhood.
"First, the fraudulent 1999 Constitution must go down. And this should happen before the 2023 General Elections,” the statement read.
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Eminent leaders of thought from the South and Middle Belt of Nigeria, under the aegis of Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination (NINAS), have asked the United Nations to declare the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) as a terrorist organisation.
Communications Manager to NINAS, Maxwell Adeleye, made this known in a statement made available to SaharaReporters on Monday.
File photo used to illustrate story.
In the statement, the group alleged that the actions or inactions of President Muhammadu Buhari have emboldened Fulani militia and worsened insecurity in the country.
It further described Buhari as a leader who values cows more than his people.
Adeleye said that the group is ready to hold a one million-man march in front of the UN Headquarters in New York, the United States from September 14 to 21, 2021 to show to the world the genocide being perpetrated by murderous herdsmen in the name of grazing in the South and Middle-Belt of Nigeria.
Quoting the Chairman of NIMAS, Prof. Banji Akintoye, he added the group will also be demanding a referendum on self-determination and abolition of the 1999 Constitution.
"The land belongs to the people through the grace of Almighty God. We the Indigenous people of the South and Middle-Belt totally reject the illegitimate and imposed 1999 Nigerian Constitution that hijacks our Self-Determination and Assets.
"We want an end to the ethno-religious killings in Nigeria. We want the Government of Nigeria to stop funding terrorism against us. What is happening today in Nigeria is a state-sponsored terrorism.
"The herdsmen you see in the South and Middle-Belt today are different from the nomadic herdsmen we grew up to know. The current ones are imported members of ISIS, AL-QAEDA, ISWAP and Boko Haram Terrorists being masqueraded as Bandits.
"By the grace of God, we shall be demanding from the world leaders to declare Miyyeti Allah as a Terrorist Group. It is dangerous to safety and peace of the South and Middle-Belt people to call Miyyeti Allah a trade Union, it is a Terrorist group being supported by the current Fulanised Government of Nigeria with a mission to overrun the indigenous people.
"The agenda of these government-backed Terrorists killing and maiming our people in the South and Middle-Belt is to take over our ancestral lands for their Fulani people. You see that it is either Buhari is talking about Cattle Colony today or RUGA tomorrow or Grazing Reserves next tomorrow. He appreciates the Fulani Cows than human dignity.
"The Fulani people have even said it openly on Television that all the land in Nigeria up to the Atlantic Ocean belongs to their great-great grand fathers. They said the oil in the South belongs to them because majority of the land mass in Nigeria are in the North.
"We the Indigenous people now say enough is enough. Therefore, as the World Leaders are meeting for the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, we want to use the opportunity to demand for a United Nations Supervised Referendums in our regions so that the indigenous people can decide on what they want for their nationhood.
"First, the fraudulent 1999 Constitution must go down. And this should happen before the 2023 General Elections,” the statement read.
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The President of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Osakhuesuyi Uyilawa has said that the lingering feud between the union and the Nigerian government would be judged by the National Industrial Court (NIC) on Wednesday.
The union leader also said a recent statement that the striking doctors will go to jail if they do not suspend their industrial action was concocted by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.
Doctors on dutyGoogle
Recall that the doctors, on August 2, commenced an indefinite strike over grievances that include delayed payment of salaries and allowances and poor working conditions, especially with the coronavirus pandemic.
In the latest development, the NIC in Nigeria has ordered the striking NARD members to resume work or risk being jailed.
In a court document obtained by SaharaReporters, the Nigerian Government and Federal Ministry of Health were judgement creditors while members of NARD alongside the association's president, secretary general and Crown Prince were judgment debtors.
In the document issued on September 3, the court also asked the striking members to suspend all forms of hostilities else they will be guilty of contempt of court and “liable to be committed to prison."
“Take notice that unless you obey the directives contained in a ruling delivered on the 23rd August, 2021 by Honourable Justice J.I Targema Ph.D to wit:
“It is hereby ordered that the Claimant/Applicant and the Defendants/Respondents suspend all goes of hostilities forthwith pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
“And other orders made in respect of this suit against the judgement debtors.
“And this honourable court having delivered its ruling, it is hereby ordered as described above.
“Further take notice that the enrolment order of the court is attached herewith.
“You will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison.
“Dated this 3rd day of September 2021.
“This form was issued by D. E. Kaswe Esq of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Shehu Shagari Way, Maitama Abuja.”
Reacting to the statement and the next line of action to be taken by the striking doctors, Uyilawa said, “The statement was from Dr. Ngige. And doctors are still on strike. The strike goes on. And we are going to court on Wednesday to sort this out. There is a court case with National Industrial Court.”
When asked if he was optimistic that the next ruling would be in their favour, Uyilawa said God is the most ultimate decider to determine what happens. “We are heading to court, but God is the Supreme Being. And even God fights for those that cannot fight for themselves.”
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A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Setonji David, has opined that the state will go ahead with the implementation of its recently assented law on Value-Added Tax following a stay of execution by the Appeal Court in Abuja last Friday.
The lawmaker, who represents Badagry II Constituency in the House, said this on Monday when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast programme.
Speaking on the television programme on Monday, David noted that the interpretation of the government of Lagos to the court ruling that they should 'maintain status quo' is that they should implement the VAT law in the state pending any order by the Appeal Court ruling otherwise.
David said, “In Lagos State, we have always clamoured for true federalism. This is a consumption tax from the people of Lagos and it should be domiciled in Lagos and used for the people of Lagos. There are so many hassles that have to do with federalism that we are practising.
“We generate over 55% of the VAT in Nigeria and we get a paltry sum of 10%. Is that fair for a population of over 24 million. We are happy that the Rivers State Government went to court and the court was very clear that VAT was supposed to be a state affair. We have no choice but to follow suit.”
Speaking on whether Lagos State would implement the VAT law despite the Court of Appeal’s ‘maintain status quo’ ruling, the lawmaker said, “The status quo is that we have enacted the law in Lagos and the law is in existence and I believe strongly that until another judgement is passed by the Court of Appeal to the extent that what we have done is wrong, the law subsists.
“By our own understanding, what subsists in Lagos is our own law, until that law is set aside by the Court of Appeal. So, as far as Lagos is concerned, VAT in Lagos will be collected by the Lagos State Government.”
He lamented that the state does not enjoy special status despite generating over half of the country’s VAT. David, however, said with the implementation of the VAT law in Lagos, the interest of small businesses has been taken care of by the law.
“Anywhere we can get money to fund the infrastructural development of the state, we won’t hesitate to do it.
“The Lagos Internal Revenue Service is well-placed, doing excellently well and is well-equipped to collect VAT.”
He noted that though the FIRS has gone to court, there has been “no push back from the FIRS yet” to the state government.
On the prompt passage of the bill, he said: “It depends on the exigency of the situation, we have passed bills like that, there is nothing abnormal about it."
On Friday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja told Rivers and Lagos State governments to maintain status quo regarding collection of Value-Added Taxes.
Justice Haruna Simon Tsanami, in a ruling on Friday, directed that the law passed by Rivers State House of Assembly and assented to by Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike must be put on hold.
The judge gave the order hours before Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State signed the law on VAT.
The appellate court’s decision followed an application by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), seeking a stay of execution of the order of a Rivers State high court in the matter.
Wike recently signed into law the bill on VAT collection in the state.
He signed the bill which was recently passed by the state House of Assembly at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
He said the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had sufficiently addressed the illegality perpetrated by the FIRS.
On Thursday, Lagos State House of Assembly also passed the bill after a unanimous vote by the lawmakers.
However, the court has issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the FIRS and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, from collecting, demanding, threatening and intimidating residents of Rivers to pay to FIRS, personnel income tax and VAT.
Both Rivers and Lagos state governments have already enacted legislation to give effect to the judgment in respect of VAT.
An earlier application by the FIRS to the high court in Rivers to stay execution of the judgment was on Monday refused by Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam on the grounds that the application would negate the principle of equity as the state legislature had already enacted law on the VAT collection.
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A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Setonji David, has opined that the state will go ahead with the implementation of its recently assented law on Value-Added Tax following a stay of execution by the Appeal Court in Abuja last Friday.
The lawmaker, who represents Badagry II Constituency in the House, said this on Monday when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast programme.
Speaking on the television programme on Monday, David noted that the interpretation of the government of Lagos to the court ruling that they should 'maintain status quo' is that they should implement the VAT law in the state pending any order by the Appeal Court ruling otherwise.
David said, “In Lagos State, we have always clamoured for true federalism. This is a consumption tax from the people of Lagos and it should be domiciled in Lagos and used for the people of Lagos. There are so many hassles that have to do with federalism that we are practising.
“We generate over 55% of the VAT in Nigeria and we get a paltry sum of 10%. Is that fair for a population of over 24 million. We are happy that the Rivers State Government went to court and the court was very clear that VAT was supposed to be a state affair. We have no choice but to follow suit.”
Speaking on whether Lagos State would implement the VAT law despite the Court of Appeal’s ‘maintain status quo’ ruling, the lawmaker said, “The status quo is that we have enacted the law in Lagos and the law is in existence and I believe strongly that until another judgement is passed by the Court of Appeal to the extent that what we have done is wrong, the law subsists.
“By our own understanding, what subsists in Lagos is our own law, until that law is set aside by the Court of Appeal. So, as far as Lagos is concerned, VAT in Lagos will be collected by the Lagos State Government.”
He lamented that the state does not enjoy special status despite generating over half of the country’s VAT. David, however, said with the implementation of the VAT law in Lagos, the interest of small businesses has been taken care of by the law.
“Anywhere we can get money to fund the infrastructural development of the state, we won’t hesitate to do it.
“The Lagos Internal Revenue Service is well-placed, doing excellently well and is well-equipped to collect VAT.”
He noted that though the FIRS has gone to court, there has been “no push back from the FIRS yet” to the state government.
On the prompt passage of the bill, he said: “It depends on the exigency of the situation, we have passed bills like that, there is nothing abnormal about it."
On Friday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja told Rivers and Lagos State governments to maintain status quo regarding collection of Value-Added Taxes.
Justice Haruna Simon Tsanami, in a ruling on Friday, directed that the law passed by Rivers State House of Assembly and assented to by Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike must be put on hold.
The judge gave the order hours before Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State signed the law on VAT.
The appellate court’s decision followed an application by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), seeking a stay of execution of the order of a Rivers State high court in the matter.
Wike recently signed into law the bill on VAT collection in the state.
He signed the bill which was recently passed by the state House of Assembly at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
He said the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had sufficiently addressed the illegality perpetrated by the FIRS.
On Thursday, Lagos State House of Assembly also passed the bill after a unanimous vote by the lawmakers.
However, the court has issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the FIRS and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, from collecting, demanding, threatening and intimidating residents of Rivers to pay to FIRS, personnel income tax and VAT.
Both Rivers and Lagos state governments have already enacted legislation to give effect to the judgment in respect of VAT.
An earlier application by the FIRS to the high court in Rivers to stay execution of the judgment was on Monday refused by Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam on the grounds that the application would negate the principle of equity as the state legislature had already enacted law on the VAT collection.
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Nigerians on social media have reacted to a video posted by the country's First Lady, Aisha Buhari taunting the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.
Aisha in an Instagram post on Sunday shared a video showing Pantami, an Islamic cleric shedding tears during one of his sermons.
“A chire tsoro a yi abinda ya dace (Be courageous to do the right thing), ” the First Lady captioned the video in Hausa.
In the video, Pantami burst into tears after his reciter read a verse of the Holy Quran.
“That is the Garden we shall give as their own to those of Our servants who were devout,” read the reciter from Surah Maryam, Verse 63.
In response, Pantami sobbed, “O Allah! Make me one of them. O Allah! Make me one of them!”
Reactions from social media users have trailed the video as many stated that the First Lady was simply being hypocritical.
Others stated that the caption written by the First Lady is a confirmation of the allegations that Pantami had connection with terrorists.
Some queried the inherent message in the caption written by the First Lady, urging her to be more vocal on what she wants the Minister to do.
Below are some of the reactions from Twitter, a popular microblogging platform:
He is a fraud. If he wasn't he wouldn't be procuring fraudulent "Professorial" position for himself even though he knows he is not qualified for it. He is trying very hard to appear normal. A green snake under the green grass.
— Josephine Akioyamen🇨🇦🇳🇬🇺🇸 (@ipn_idoma) September 13, 2021
Everyone of them are terrorist they should all burn in hell
All attack from terrorists to Nigerians gumi is aware of it.this man is evil, just like Buhari curropt jihadist govt yet to proscribed fulani herdsmen terrorists group same way this murderous govt is yet to arrest gumi n pantami n El rufai.These 3 people knows terrorists sponsors
The North is cursed & their curse is Fulani. They are all terrorists & they celebrates terrorism. Its to show that Fulani thrives on terrorism & the conquered indigenous people can't do nothing about it except the JUNGLE(Nigeria) disintegrates.
Aisha Buhari is a hypocrisy.... Unstable character. She know what she's doing.... Buhari know Al-Qaeda Pantami is a terrorist... Buhari is a terrorist too.
From all indications, GMB wants Pantami to be more significant in Nigerian politics. It seems he's grooming him to be president for his ideologies of being happy when people of other faiths die.
Meanwhile, Facebook user, Mrz Moore noted: “Hypocrisy, the north is quiet now, they will soon reap what they sow."
Another user, Alexander Oketa said: "Remove Pantami now pls. He's destroying the image of our party and great country."
Bright Aigbokhae wrote: “I'm sure the US has released sponsors. If you know, you know. Nigerians are quiet. Our country is gradually fading away.”
Alabama Yemight stated: “Hahahaha our first lady, she has spoken several times in parable and action but no one answered her. She has come with a bomb again.”
Adeniyi Adedeji wrote: “Evil people everywhere! This is the same way suicide bombers behave.”
Pantami’s past call to Jihad and unalloyed support for murderous groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda portray him as a dyed-in-the-wool Islamic fundamentalist.
Yet, Buhari appointed him as communications minister to control the country’s massive data and telephone infrastructure and other sensitive details of national intelligence. “This jihad is an obligation for every single believer, especially in Nigeria,’’ Pantami was quoted as saying in one of his vicious preaching in the 2000s.
“Oh God, give victory to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda,” he was quoted to have also said.
In other audio clips that surfaced online, Pantami was also heard as sympathetic to Boko Haram members when delivering sermons at several worship centres in the 2000s.
However, Pantami claimed he had renounced his radical comments and said his views had changed over time. He said he had in the past 15 years been traversing the country to preach against terrorism.
Despite the Minister’s claim, most Nigerians said the minister ought to have resigned due to public backlash and be investigated by the authorities. Should he fail to resign, some commentators said he ought to be sacked by the President.
But the Presidency, showing support for Pantami, dismissed the possibility of sacking the controversial Minister because he had allegedly apologised for his radical views.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement also berated Nigerians for being too harsh on the Pantami and other Buhari’s appointees.
“The views were absolutely unacceptable then, and would be equally unacceptable today, were he to repeat them. But he will not repeat them – for he has publicly and permanently condemned his earlier utterances as wrong,” Shehu had said.
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The Nigerian Navy has said it will establish a base in landlocked Kano state because the state will be home to the Nigerian Navy Logistics College, which is expected to be established soon.
This defence came following various criticisms that greeted its decision to site a base in a landlocked state, with many Southern Nigerians describing the move as an agenda by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to put national projects in the North, his region, at all cost, even when they are not useful there.
The Navy spokesperson, Suleman Dahun, in a statement, said the decision is strategic and aimed at decongesting its presence in Lagos State.
He added that all naval establishments and units are called bases irrespective their physical location.
He said, “The navy board recently approved the establishment of 3 new naval bases in Lekki, Oguta and Kano. Out of these three locations, the decision to site a base in Kano has elicited debates and commentaries in the public.
“The base in Kano is intended to be home of the newly created Nigerian Navy Logistics College. For the benefit of doubt and the reading public, the Nigerian Navy is currently involved in various internal security operations beyond its primary maritime security roles.
“Aside from serving as a training establishment for Nigerian Navy logisticians, the base will also support NN operations in the hinterland.
“Members of the public are requested to note that the Nigerian Navy took a strategic decision to decongest its presence in Lagos area by expanding to other locations other than Lagos, Calabar, Warri and Port Harcourt.
“This decision led to the establishment of the Nigerian Navy Finance and Logistics College in Owerrinta, Abia State, Nigerian Navy School of Armament Technology in Kachia, Kaduna as well as the School of Health Sciences in Offa, Kwara state."
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One Adamu Sabi Sime has been arrested for allegedly having carnal knowledge of his biological mother.
It was learnt that Adamu's brother also has an incestuous relation with their mother, Fati Sime, meaning both brothers sleep with their mother.
Daily Post
Adamu, who is an immigrant from the Republic of Benin, was arrested by the Kwara State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) but his brother is said to have fled.
The spokesperson for the command, Babawale Zaid Afolabi noted that Adamu’s mother, Fati Sime, already had three children with her son, Adamu.
A statement by Afolabi said, “On Thursday, September 09, 2021, one Malam Bandele, the district head of Moshe Community in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara state, reported the incestuous act committed by one Adamu Sabi Sime and his mother, Fati Sime of the same community.
“Men from the intelligence unit and NSCDC operatives in Kaiama swung into action and the outcome of investigations established the fact that the mother (Fati) has three children for her biological son.
“The younger brother of the suspect, who was also confirmed to be sleeping with the mother, is now at large.”
According to the NSCDC, the mother and her two sons are illegal immigrants as they don’t have the necessary papers to stay in Nigeria.
“They have been handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for background checks and further action,” he added.
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The management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has invited newspaper editors to a Lagos hotel with the intention of bribing them to discredit a recent report about ineptitude, mismanagement and corruption in the state oil and gas company.
SaharaReporters learnt that the planned meeting with the editors is scheduled for 1pm on Sunday at Legend Hotel, close to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja in Lagos.
NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari.
A source privy to information regarding the emergency meeting told SaharaReporters it is to bribe editors to discredit a report exposing the incompetence of NNPC executives and their wastefulness.
“They are inviting some editors to Legend Hotel in Lagos to bribe them to discredit a story published by the ICIR on Friday that really embarrassed them. The meeting is scheduled for 1pm on Sunday (today),” the source said.
The content of the text message sent out to the invited editors reads: “Meeting of selected editors scheduled for Sunday 12/9/2021 @ 1pm. Venue: Legend Hotel adjacent Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Please confirm, attendance.”
The report highlighted data collated from audited financial statements released by the NNPC, led by its Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, on Wednesday. The report exposed how Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC), which is managed by Ahmed Dikko, an engineer, reported no income in 2020 but incurred administrative expenses of N19.215 billion, paying salaries, wages and other benefits to unproductive workers to the tune of N22.55 billion.
Despite making zero revenue, Port Harcourt refinery employed 487 new workers and paid N23 billion as salaries in 2020.
SaharaReporters also learnt that the NNPC had already sponsored some groups to criticise the damaging report in an attempt to counter its implications by releasing press statements in the media.
For instance, a coalition of northern and southern groups recently released a joint statement saying the “continuous media attacks were designed to distract NNPC Group Managing Director and Port Harcourt Refinery Managing Director”.
The group said it took a stand during their second-quarter meeting in Kaduna at the weekend, “because the attack dogs of haters of the ongoing reforms at the NNPC are going beyond the boundaries of decency”.
“As Nigerian citizens, we feel duty-bound to draw public attention to a calculated, coordinated and well-funded media agenda designed to purposely distract the NNPC management, including another committed public servant – Dikko – who has been leading the reforms at the level of Port Harcourt refinery,” the group said.
The report on the 2020 financial statement of the company stated that the 487 new workers are being paid N3.93 billion annually, indicating that each of them takes an average of N8.072 million annually or N672,713 monthly.
The amount they earn monthly is about the annual salary of a normal Level 8 Federal Government worker.
Between 2019 and 2020, the refinery employed 1,162 new staff members, paying N41.163 billion in salary and wages, according to The ICIR’s calculations of the company’s wage data on its financial statements.
Also, out of the 487 staff members employed in 2020, 430 were senior and management staff members, amounting to 88.2 per cent, with huge financial implications. Only 57 were junior staff members.
Also, out of 675 staff engaged by the refinery in 2019, 656 were management and senior staff, members, representing 97 per cent of the total, with huge financial implications.
“It is looking like jobs for the boys at our dear refineries. And I wonder, most of these guys are earning heavy wages,” US-based Financial Consultant Ellam Ogochukwu said.
“Whoever is running that enterprise deserves to answer several questions,” she said.
Also, staff pension, gratuity and ‘long service award’ gulped N77.76 billion in 2020 as against N63.41 billion the previous year.
Surprisingly, under Dikko and his boss Kyari, the PHRC’s unproductive staff were allowed to take car loans, compassionate loans and advances valued at N1.001 billion in 2020.
The amount was N597.297 million in 2019.
In 2020, this refinery, which made no revenue, incurred a comprehensive loss of N53.179 billion.
In the previous year, the company made no revenue but incurred N50.530 billion in comprehensive loss.
Between 2017 and 2020, the company comprehensively lost N241.609 billion. Its revenue within this period was merely N6.27 billion.
“This refinery did not produce oil. What you have is that some people just iron their clothes, go to work and come back at the end of the day without adding to the productivity of the company,” Oil and Gas Analyst at Lagos-based Chapel Hill Denham Mustapha Wahab told The ICIR.
NNPC Managing Director, Kyari is the chairman of Port Harcourt refinery. He is followed by Ahmed Dikko (MD), Babatunde Sofowora (Executive Director of Services), Reginald Udeh (Executive Director, Finance and Accounts), James Ifeanyichukwu Ajibo (Executive Director, Operations), and Awaisu Muazu (late, served till July 2020).
These directors took N99.742 million as emoluments in 2020, a 67 per cent increase from N59.650 million they took in 2019.
In 2019, the Port Harcourt refinery did not record any revenue. Yet, it reported N25.19 billion in expenses.
Six directors collected N59.65 million in fees, meaning that each of them received an average payment of N9.94 million a month in 2019.
According to the NNPC, names of the six directors in 2019 were: Group Managing Director of NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari; Managing Director, Abba Bukar (who retired in March 2020); Executive Director of Services, Babatunde S. Sofowore; Executive Director of Operations, Ganiyu Abiodun Owolabi; another Executive Director of Operations, Engr Abel N. Imonighavwe; and Executive Director of Finance and Accounts, Mrs Aramide M. Ekundayo.
Salaries, wages, allowances, redundancy and pension costs gulped N22.195 billion. What that means is that, on average, each staff member received N32.88 million in 2019 from a company that made no revenue. This amounted, on the average, to N2.74 million each month.
Total salaries and pays received by staff members of Port Harcourt refinery between 2017 and 2019 amounted to N80.57 billion. But revenues received by the company within the period were estimated at N6.27 billion – implying that the NNPC sought N74.3 billion from outside the refinery to pay staff salaries.
Rather than privatise the refinery, the NNPC chose to pump an equivalent of 4.5 percent of Nigeria’s 2021 budget ($1.5 billion) into the refurbishment of a refinery that comprehensively lost N206.069 billion between 2017 and 2020.
Oil and Gas Analyst at Lagos-based Chapel Hill Denham, Mustapha Wahab said the investment in the refinery made no sense.
“Dangote refinery is coming on board and can process about 650,000 barrels per day of crude oil – highest in the world. NNPC has taken 20 per cent stake in Dangote.
“Why then are you resuscitating Port Harcourt refinery? We have done the analysis at Chapel Hill Denham and found that government should be spending $3billion or more to ensure efficiency of the refinery. So, it does not make investment sense because you are not going to compete with yourself,” he said.
“Two, Some countries are exiting low-carbon energy sources and migrating to clean energy. So, after rehabilitating Port Harcourt refinery, for how long will you enjoy its benefits, given that your market is not just Nigeria but also those countries exiting what you intend to sell to them?” he asked, urging the Nigerian Government to concession it for optimal benefits to the Nigerian economy.
Oil and Gas Governance Consultant, Henry Ademola Adigun also noted that the refinery was badly managed.
“The point is that the refineries are still badly managed. The faster the corporation becomes a limited liability company, the better,” Adigun said.
“You have a refinery not producing anything and not making revenues but salaries are being paid. How did the NNPC make the profit they said they made when the inefficiencies are there? The profit and loss do not show anything. They simply want to make it attractive to the stockman.”
He said there was no cost-cutting by the NNPC or the refineries, adding that there were also “no innovative efficiency, no restructuring or replanting and no cost-saving on salaries and wages.”
Former President of the Nigerian Society of Petroleum Engineers Joe Nwakwue said the only thing that the corporation could have done was to sell off the refineries.
“If you have a factory and is not producing, you will have to pay the gate man and the even the insurance company.”
The PHRC was commissioned in 1965. It was made up of two refineries: the old refinery was inaugurated in 1965 with capacity of 60,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) and the new refinery was inaugurated in 1989 with an installed capacity of 150,000 bpsd, according to the NNPC.
It has a capacity of 210,000 bpsd with five process areas. In 2000, the then government of Nigeria shut down the refinery for turnaround maintenance. Other three refineries in the country were also expected to undergo a similar process, Oil & Gas Journal said.
As of that time, $364 million had already been spent on endless turnaround maintenance (TAM) services. About $25 billion has been spent on turnaround maintenance in the past 25 years, according to The Guardian.
The Institute for Global Energy Research, in a 2004 article, said the barrage of corruption, poor management, sabotage and lack of the mandatory turnaround maintenance (TAM) every two years had made all the refineries inefficient, making them operate at about 40 per cent of full capacity.
The NNPC said in April 2020 that it would hand over the four refineries in the country to a private firm to manage.
“We are going to get an O&M contract; NNPC won’t run it. We are going to get a firm that will guarantee that this plant would run for some time. We want to try a different model of getting this refinery to run. And we are going to apply this process for the running of the other two refineries.”
However, this has not happened. Rather, the corporation has sought money to rehabilitate the failed refineries.
It has prided itself on cost-cutting efficiency, but its refineries have incurred humongous losses.
Analysts say NNPC has no cause to hold onto the running of the refineries, having shown no capacity to manage it.
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Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has said his government is no longer interested in dialoguing with bandits since they rejected the olive branch given to them.
“My administration will no longer grant amnesty to bandits as they have failed to embrace the peace initiative earlier extended to them,” the governor said.
Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle
Matawalle said he was now backing security agencies to flush out bandits and their collaborators in the state and urged residents to support the exercise.
The governor said the barrage of attacks on bandits by security forces had made them make a fresh overture to the government seeking dialogue.
He said some of the bandits were running out of Zamfara State to neighbouring states due to the new security measures introduced by his government.
Matawalle warned politicians against giving any form of support to bandits, stressing that “politicians should fear God and stop buying motorcycles to distribute to people who, in turn, sell to bandits to perpetrate their evil acts.”
He promised his government would prosecute any politician caught in the act.
Recently, the state government said it had cut off food, petroleum products supply and other essential commodities from the reach of the bandits in their various camps.
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Human rights' lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, has interpreted the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja in the favour of the Rivers State Government, saying the state government should collect the Value-Added Tax (VAT) as opposed to the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS).
Recall that Nyesom Wike-led Rivers State government has been at loggerheads with the nation’s federal tax agency, FIRS, which hitherto held the constitutional power to collect VAT from companies.
Mike Ozekhome
A Federal High Court (FHC) holding in Port Harcourt had on August 10, 2021 ruled that Rivers State should collect VAT in the state, but the Court of Appeal on Friday, on the matter asked both parties to maintain status quo which the majority had inferred to be in the favour of FIRS.
The Haruna Tsanami three-man panel of the appellate court ordered “status quo ante bellum.”
However, Ozekhome argued on Saturday that the latest Appeal Court ruling on the matter upheld the Federal High Court’s judgment.
This was contained in a statement titled, “FIRS & Rivers State Government: Who Should Now Collect VAT?” made available to SaharaReporters on Saturday.
The human rights lawyer clarified that the subsisting law was that Rivers had overpowered FIRS to collect VAT, and as such should be maintained until the higher court rules otherwise.
Ozekhome said, “The Court of Appeal, Abuja division, has just ruled that both parties maintained the status quo in an appeal filed by the FIRS against the judgement of the FHC, Port Harcourt, validating the Rivers State law that empowered Rivers State Government to collect VAT, as against the FIRS that had hitherto collected VAT.
“Clearly, the status quo ante bellum was before the breakout of the hostilities. The hostilities broke out when the FIRS dragged the Rivers State Government to court, arguing that it cannot collect VAT based on its law.
“The said law was already duly passed and made operational by Rivers State House of Assembly that has the constitutional competency under section 4 of the Constitution to do so.
“The FHC, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, had earlier held that it was the Rivers State Government that was competent to collect VAT, not the FIRS.
“Law was already therefore in operation before the FIRS challenged the validity of a FHC judgement, PH, that had given the Rivers State Government the power to collect the VAT.
“So, the status quo is that it is the Rivers State Government that has the power to collect VAT, until perhaps, the Court of Appeal rules otherwise and set aside the FHC judgment.
“However, the Court of Appeal ruled that all parties on the matter (including the FIRS, Attorney General of the Federation and the Lagos State Government that sought to be joined should maintain the status quo, so as to preserve the res and prevent the FHC judgment from being negatively affected.
“Consequently, to avoid unnecessary bickerings and needless head-on collision between the Attorney General of the Federation, the Federal Government ( which owns the FIRS) and the Rivers State Government in a matter that is already sudjudice, I will advise that both the Rivers State Government and the FIRS should both cease hostilities for now and maintain the status quo until the Court of Appeal finally pronounces on the matter.”
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Winning his first Grand Slam at the US Open was enough for Daniil Medvedev to finally celebrate - and he pulled out a move from a video game.
