Business
FG promises to end fuel queues next week, turns back petrol vessels from Belgium
The Federal Government says the lingering fuel crisis resulting in long queues at filling stations will end next week.
It has also turned back five Nigeria-bound petrol-laden vessels from Belgium where the initial bad fuel was said to have been imported.
Group Managing Director of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, disclosed this on Wednesday during a session with House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream).
He also said the corporation had filed for damages against the suppliers of the off-spec fuel.
He stressed that the NNPC was doing everything to ensure product availability.
Already, he said that about 2.5 billion litres of PMS were being expected before the end of the month.
Kyari said, “For this current situation, I assure you that we have taken every necessary step to restore supply into this country.
“We have placed orders significant enough for us to cross into March, with at least 2.1 billion litres of PMS in our custody.
“The situation you’re seeing today, I can assure you that by next week, it will vanish, all things being equal.”
On why inspectors did not detect methanol, Kyari said: “It is not part of their requirements at the load port. So, we didn’t ask them to declare whether it contains methanol because it is not part of our specification.
“Let me make it clear that methanol is not contamination. It is a regular additive to PMS. In China, up to 15 per cent of PMS contains methanol.
“On its own, it is not a contamination. The key issue is handling methanol. If we knew, we will not accept this. Anytime methanol comes in contact with water, it emulsifies, it turns into a different chemical.
“We didn’t know until our inspecting agents, on 20th of January to be precise, called our attention to the fact that they had seen emulsification in some of the depots and this may be a cause of concern.
“That was how we went ahead to check all the deliveries in our hands from all the four vessels that had already been discharged to confirm that all of them contain methanol.
“We quarantined all the volumes wherever they were in depots transit and we were able to track them. We were able to trace all of them and quarantine them.
“Not only that. We are also expecting several other supplies to come from other sources.
“We checked their origin and confirmed that five other vessels are coming from the same shipping terminal that loaded this and we rejected all of them; they did not sail into our waters.”
He added: “We did not test for methanol both at the load port and by the NNPC and the regulatory authority. I was very clear on this.
“What they (importers) are saying is that ‘what I brought met your specification.’ But what they probably also did not know is that it contained methanol and that methanol originated from the loading terminal.
“It is a legal issue, but it is nowhere sustainable because we have also filed liquidated damages which they can pass on until it gets to the originating depot.
“The liquidated damages can be a legal process where you may not even be able to recover your possession.”
Kyari reassured Nigerians every necessary step has been taken to ensure supply sufficiency.
“Let me tell Nigerians that we have a robust supply plan. By the end of this month, we’ll have about 2.1 billion litres of PMS.
“What we call panic buying is a situation where people who usually go the filling stations to buy N2,000 worth now buy five times that volume and those with more than one car will bring out all their cars.
“That is why you see all these cars in the filling stations and it creates supply disruption.
“We are assuring Nigerians that we have a robust supply plan and there is no need to bring out all your cars. Just buy what you need because there are plans to address this situation.”
He expressed regret over the economic disruptions and hardship.
“We are very conscious of the consequences that will come with it – the queues that you are seeing, the disruption of the economic activities that are very obvious. We are aware of this.
“We regret this situation and it is completely unavoidable. We didn’t see it coming. I apologise to Nigerians that we didn’t see it coming.”
A member of the Committee, Adedeji Olajide, said NNPC’s ignorance about the PMS containing methanol was not an excuse, adding somebody must be held responsible.
Business
RT Briscoe appoints Femi Eguaikhide as Deputy Managing Director
RT Briscoe appoints Femi Eguaikhide as Deputy Managing Director
The Board of RT Briscoe Plc has appointed Dr Olorunfemi Abidemi Eguaikhide, the Executive Director responsible for business operations to a new position of Deputy Managing Director.
The appointment, according to the management of the organisation, will take effect from January 1st, 2025.
Born on March 28, 1968, Eguakhide holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration and an MBA in Marketing Management from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology.
He is an Alumnus of the prestigious Lagos Business School of the Pan Atlantic University having attended the Advanced Management Programme (AMP) in 2016.
He is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (MCIPM); associate member of the Nigerian Institute for Training and Development (AITD); Fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration (FICA), Certified Digital Marketing Professional (CDMP) and Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria.
The core experience of the new Deputy Managing Director is in the areas of operations management, sales and marketing management, human resources and business leadership.
Dr. Eguaikhide previously worked with Genesis Group variously as deputy general manager in charge of Human Resources and IT; general manager HR & IT; general manager, operations and chief operations officer at the Bridge Healthcare Company in 2010.
He joined RT Briscoe as group head, human capital development in 2012 and was appointed to manage the Briscoe-Ford Business unit in 2014 as the general manager.
He was subsequently appointed as head of the Briscoe-Motors Business unit in 2017 and later as the group chief operating officer in September 2018.
He obtained his doctorate degree in December 2021 and was appointed a director of RT Briscoe with effect from September 1, 2019.
Reacting to his latest promotion, Mike Ochonma, Chairman of Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA), described the appointment as a square peg in a square hole.
He said it was as a well deserved elevation, coming at a time when businesses are going through very difficult times, adding that he has no doubt that Eguaikhide would bring his wealth of experience to bear on the role in the company.
Business
Food price, transport fare hike push Nigeria’s inflation to 33.88%
Food price, transport fare hike push Nigeria’s inflation to 33.88%
Rising cost of living based on the increase in food prices and transport fares among others has reflected in the latest inflation figures in Nigeria, put at 33.88 per cent.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 33.88 per cent in October 2024, up from 32.7 per cent in September 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Friday.
Newstrends.ng observes that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised interest rates five times this year in an effort to rein in inflation.
The NBS in its latest report attributed the rise in inflation to increased transportation costs and higher food prices.
On a year-on-year basis, the rate was 6.55 percentage points higher than the 27.33 per cent recorded in October 2023, highlighting a substantial increase in inflation over the past year.
On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in October 2024 stood at 2.64 per cent, representing a 0.12 per cent increase from the 2.52 per cent recorded in September 2024
This indicates that the rate of increase in the average price level in October 2024 was higher than the rate of increase observed in September 2024.
Aviation
Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.
The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.
All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.
A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.
Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.
The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.
“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.
“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.
“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”
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