FG losing $64m daily to oil thieves, inaugurates investigative panel – Newstrends
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FG losing $64m daily to oil thieves, inaugurates investigative panel

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Worried about Nigeria’s continued loss of revenue to oil thieves put at $64m daily, the Federal Government on Tuesday inaugurated an investigative panel to unravel those behind the criminal act and bring them to book.

The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd) disclosed this in Abuja as he inaugurated a nine-member Special Investigative Panel (SIP) on oil theft with a mandate to unravel individuals, organisations and groups involved in the Niger Delta region.

He said, “Some sources put the figure of daily crude oil losses at 800,000 bpd. This translates to a loss of income of about $64 million daily at the rate of $80 per barrel. Consequently, it is projected that if this trend continues unchecked and these figures keep fluctuating, it will result in a revenue shortfall of approximately $23bn in 2023.

”This translates to a loss of about N10 trillion when calculated at N445 to $1 exchange rate. This menace assumed a more worrisome dimension with recent discovery of illegal pipeline connection through which Trans Escravos pipeline was siphoned for several years.”

Monguno also said that recent interventions by the security agencies had revealed massive illicit platforms of stealing, ranging from marine evacuations via vessels, and load-outs from illegal operations platforms.

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The panel, according to the NSA, is expected to commence its assignment with immediate effect and submit its report on or before February 21, 2023.

He said Nigeria had consistently failed to meet its daily production quota of about two million barrels per day as provided by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) due to oil theft orchestrated by unscrupulous elements.

He added that Nigeria’s current crude production struggled to meet even one million barrels per day.

He said the oil and revenue losses were a major threat to the economy, constraining the present administration to revert to less popular monetary and fiscal policies to address revenue side constraints with dire implications.

He noted that the security operations in the region brought to the fore, “a pathetic pattern of organised criminal enterprise of economic sabotage orchestrated by unpatriotic private individuals/groups, local and international companies, leaders and communities that had shortchanged the economy and portrayed the Administration in bad light.

He said the government had been briefed on the dwindling economic fortunes including, inability to replenish foreign reserves and reduction in revenue thereby, affecting accruals into the Federation Account.

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The NSA said, “With the scale of the theft and losses and the alleged complicity of regulatory agencies/officials and security personnel as well as the involvement of international collaborators, the enterprise is deeply entrenched and would be extremely difficult to exterminate without very stern and decisive action by the government.”

The panel has Major General Barry T Ndiomu (retd.) as chairman and Mr David Attah as secretary.

Other members are Mr. Erobiri Uchena, Mrs. Donu-Kogbora, Colonel B.A. Oguntayo (retd.), DIG Zaki Ahmed (retd), Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Mr. MO Ijere, Rear Admiral Atiku Abdulkadir (retd.), DIG Maigari Abbati Dikko (retd) and, Patrick Okonjo.

According to Monguno, nobody involved in the crime should be spared, whether serving or retired.

“We must fish them out and I guarantee you that they will be taken care of appropriately,” he said.

He rolled out the terms of reference as, to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the illegal insertion into the Trans-Escravos Pipeline (TEP) around Yokri area in Burutu local government area of Bayelsa State; establish the ramifications of crude oil theft/losses in Nigeria; ascertain the causative factors immediate and remote, of crude oil/theft/losses in the country; ascertain the extent of crude oil theft/losses in the country; with the widest possible amplitude identify persons/entities whether public, private or foreign, involved in the criminal enterprise; establish the level of culpability of identified persons/entities in the enterprise; examine the specific roles of Regulatory Agencies; Security Agencies, Tiers/Arms of Government and International Oil Companies (IOCs) in aiding and abetting the criminal enterprise; among others.

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Student Loan Bill: Tinubu passionate about education, says minister

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Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman

Student Loan Bill: Tinubu passionate about education, says minister

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on Monday, March 18, said President Bola Tinubu does not want any child of school age to be out of school, because of his passion for the education sector.

This is even as Senate president Godswill Akpabio said that the legislative agenda of the 10th National Assembly will bring about tremendous improvement in the standard of living of Nigerians.

Tahir and Akpabio spoke in Abuja during a Public Hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and Tetfund and House of Representatives Committee on Students Loan, Scholarship and Higher Education Financing on Student Loan (Access to Higher Education), repeal and reenactment Bill 2024, at the Senate, on Monday.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Mamman, commended President Tinubu for his passion and commitment to the education sector.

He said the president does not want any child of school age to be out of school, given his passion for the sector.

He said the public hearing would provide an opportunity to make further input to improve the bill for the good of Nigerian students.

Represented by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, he commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his foresight and uncommon passion in supporting the students of the country with the loan scheme.

He said the scheme will address the problems of lack of funding among Nigerian students.

“The present 10th National Assembly at its inception in 2023 set out for itself a legislative agenda whose implementation will surely bring about a tremendous improvement in the living conditions/standards of the citizenry with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” Akpabio said.

In amending the bill, Akpabio said the opinions of all stakeholders would be considered to have the best legislation.

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“I wish to urge you to freely express your views and opinions either for or against the subject of this hearing in a manner that will bring about the sustenance of our collective will to be together as a nation to call ours.

“Public Hearings are one of the primary legislative processes that offer the general public and especially relevant stakeholders the opportunity to contribute their quota to law-making.

“There is no doubt that your views at this Joint Public Hearing will go a long way in assisting the committee make an informed recommendation (s) to the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively.

“It is this submission/recommendation of the Committees that the Senate and the House of Representatives will rely on to pass/make relevant laws for the good governance of our citizenry as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended,” he said.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Muntari Dandutse, said access to quality higher education was a pressing concern for many Nigerian students.

He said the student loan scheme offers hope for addressing issues of students and ultimately improving Nigeria’s tertiary education.

He said the scheme would promote access to education and enable more students to pursue their dreams.

Dandutse said the successful implementation of the scheme would unlock a brighter future for the youths and the entire nation.

He stated: “By removing financial barriers, these initiatives will enable more students to pursue higher studies, leading to a larger pool of skilled graduates who contribute to the country’s social and economic development. Increased literacy rates foster economic growth, social progress, and democratic participation.”

He urged all stakeholders to make valuable inputs to effect positive change in the act and drive progress in the nation’s tertiary education sector.

Also on Monday, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), called for the provision of study grants for Nigerian students in the Bill seeking to establish the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (Nelfund).

President of NANS, Mr. Lucky Emonele, in his presentation at the public hearing on the 2024 Students Loans Access to Higher Education Bill 2024, commended President Tinubu for responding to the request of NANS, by including its leadership as representatives of the students on the loan board.

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He also commended the decision to repeal the act to address grey areas that could hinder the success of the student loan scheme.

According to him, there is a need to make provision of grants for students, to enable them to complete or further their studies.

This, he said would encourage more students to enroll in school and alleviate the burden that the loans may place on beneficiaries.

“If the Federal Government through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) could earmark N683 billion on public tertiary institutions in 2024, without requesting for payback from beneficiary institutions, Nigerian students should not be treated any different,” he said.

He said the proposed repayment period of two years post-National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) for the loan was not realistic, saying that less than 10 per cent of Nigerian graduates get absorbed into the labour force upon completion of their NYSC.

The NANS President, therefore proposed for a minimum of five years repayment duration, given the challenges of unemployment after graduation.

He also appealed that the provision of a loan scheme should not be a further reason to arbitrarily increase school fees by the management of tertiary institutions.

He urged the National Assembly to pass a resolution that prohibits public tertiary institutions from increasing school fees in the next 10 years.

This, he said was the only way to sustain the act when enacted.

Some of the stakeholders at the public hearing included officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) among others.

Student Loan Bill: Tinubu passionate about education, says minister

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FRSC officials can operate on all roads in Abuja, Appeal Court rules

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FRSC officials can operate on all roads in Abuja, Appeal Court rules

Patrol officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) can operate on all roads within Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Court of Appeal has ruled.

Justice Okong Abang gave this verdict on Monday while passing the lead judgment in an appeal no: CA/ABJ/CV/243 /2022, filed by Barrister Igwe Onyesom Ugochukwu against the FRSC, Dr. Lawal Akeem O. and Dr. Isaac Nwokeukwu (1st to 3rd respondents).

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Following his altercation with the FRSC officials which led to his car being seized for violating traffic rules, the appellant had sued the FRSC at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on March 9, 2021, before Justice A. I. Chikere, but lost out.

Dissatisfied, the appellant’s lawyer, Austine Ogezi, urged the appellate court to set aside the lower court’s judgment and hold that it was wrong to hold that the FRSC can operate on all public roads including Shehu Shagari way inside the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

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BREAKING: Voice, data services affected by undersea cable cuts restored – NCC

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Fixing damaged undersea cable

BREAKING: Voice, data services affected by undersea cable cuts restored – NCC

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the voice and data services affected by the cable cuts have been restored.

NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Reuben Muoka, stated this in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja.

Muoka said that services were restored, following its disruption on March 14, which affected data and voice services due to cuts in undersea fibre optics on the coasts of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.

“We are pleased to announce that services have now been restored to approximately 90 per cent of their peak utilisation capacities,” he said.

Muoka said that all the operators who were impacted by the cuts had taken recovery capacity from submarine cables which were not impacted by the cuts.

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According to him, mobile network operators (MNOs) have assured the commission that data and voice services will operate optimally, pending full repairs of the undersea cables.

He said that the MNOs had managed to activate alternative connectivities to bring the situation back to normalcy.

“We extend our appreciation to telecom consumers for their patience and understanding during the downtime caused by the undersea fibre,” he said.

BREAKING: Voice, data services affected by undersea cable cuts restored – NCC

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