Relief for Lagos farmers as Adebule gives them free fertilizers 

More and cheaper food items are expected from Lagos in the next harvest season as senator representing Lagos West District, Dr Idiat Adebule, has distributed 1,132 bags of fertilizers to farmers in 28 local governments and local councils development areas.

The senator said the gesture was from the Federal Government.

She said the free fertilizers was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment in boosting food production in the country.

The project, she said, would help ease economic challenges.

Adebule said, “If you look at the Renewed Hope Agenda, part of the promises made by President Tinubu was to scale up activities in the agricultural area.

“To keep that promise, the Federal Government under his (Tinubu’s) leadership has released fertilizers to representatives of the people to distribute to farmers in their constituencies.”

She urged the beneficiaries to put the fertilizers into proper use.

Secretary-General of Conference of 57 local governments and local council development areas and Chairman of Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Razaq Ajala, said the Federal Government decided to support the farmers from all the six geo-political zones in other to boost harvest.

Ajala expressed optimism that this gesture would crash food prices.

Vice Chairman, All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, Shakiru Agbayewa, stressed that currently fertilizers now cost between N40,000 and N50,000 which farmers couldn’t afford to purchase.

“The Federal Government in his own wisdom has decided to donate the fertilizers to ease the burden of farmers and enhance food production,” he said.

He hailed the Federal Government for the food security initiative and promised to make good use of the fertilizers received.

A beneficiary, Oluwatoyin Olufuwa, praised the government and said, “They’ve done something great for the farmers because it will help in enhancing food production, quality of food as well as helping farmers to make more profit.”

Coordinator for Badagry farmers, Augustine Onu, noted that the initiative was a huge one

“I’ve never seen this kind of distribution done before since I have been a farmer. We haven’t experienced such massive distribution of fertilizers to farmers at local government,” Onu noted.

FG begins sale of crude oil in naira to Dangote Refinery

The Federal Government has officially begun the sale of crude oil in naira to Dangote refinery as directed by President Bola Tinubu.

This piece of news came from Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, through a statement on the ministry’s official X account.

The statement read, “The sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in Naira has officially commenced as of October 1st, 2024.”

It continued, “Following a meeting of the Implementation Committee, chaired by the Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy on October 3rd, 2024, to conduct a post-commencement review of the Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Naira initiative, the commencement of this strategic initiative was affirmed by key stakeholders.”

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The review meeting involved significant stakeholders, including the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), the Special Advisers to the President on Revenue and Energy, top executives from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), representatives from the Dangote Group, and leadership from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), including its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Executive Vice President (Downstream).

Recall that back in July, President Tinubu approved the sale of crude oil in naira, with the Dangote refinery chosen as the pilot for the initiative.

The long-term impact of this move on petroleum prices remains to be seen.

FG begins sale of crude oil in naira to Dangote Refinery

90 million litres stuck as NNPCL shuts petrol purchasing portal – Marketers

Oil marketers have raised concerns about a potential fuel scarcity following the shutdown of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) petrol purchasing portal.

The shutdown has prevented dealers from placing new orders for fuel, leading to supply disruptions.

According to marketers, over 90 million litres of petrol, worth approximately N79 billion, are pending delivery from NNPCL.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, confirmed that while marketers can still load fuel, they cannot access the portal to check prices or make new purchases.

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Ukadike stated that there are currently over 2,000 pending tickets for 45,000-litre petrol trucks, which amounts to a significant volume of fuel awaiting supply. He warned that the continued closure of the portal could result in another wave of fuel shortages across the country.

Other marketers, speaking anonymously, echoed concerns that the portal’s shutdown is already causing fuel shortages.

One marketer mentioned, “Everyone is affected because we all go to the NNPC portal to place our orders, and when the portal is inaccessible, supply is disrupted.”

As of now, there has been no official response from NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye regarding the situation. However, some marketers believe the portal was shut down temporarily to resolve backlogs of pending orders.

90 million litres stuck as NNPCL shuts petrol purchasing portal – Marketers