Fuel queues to end soon, says NMDPRA – Newstrends
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Fuel queues to end soon, says NMDPRA

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The Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) yesterday said the queues at filling stations will soon disappear as marketers commence massive loading of petrol.

The Chief Executive Officer Farouk Ahmed spoke while leading a delegation of the Authority on a stock monitoring exercise within depots in Lagos.

The delegation visited the NIPCO, Total, Aiteo, OVH, Conoil, 11 Plc and HOGL depots in Apapa.

Farouk said: “I am comfortable with the load-out of petrol across the depots.
“The current distribution of petrol across the nation will address the issue of tightness in the market.”

The NMDPRA boss said all depots in Apapa had products and were loading massively to Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and other states.

He said three vessels were also discharging petrol at Apapa jetty to depots.

Farouk urged Nigerians to avoid panic buying.

According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) stock report shows that there is enough product.

Managing Director of NIPCO Plc, Mr Suresh Kumar, said the company had about 28 million litres in stock and has commenced loading to all NIPCO stations.

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”We are expecting two more vessels to come. This will increase our stock capacity to 55 million litres,” he said.

Also, 11 Plc is loading 100 trucks of petrol daily with nine million in stock, while Aiteo is loading 126 trucks daily with 20 million litres of stock capacity.

TotalEnergies loads 100 trucks daily with 65 million litres of stock, and OVH is loading 70 trucks with over 10 million litres.

Also yesterday, the Lagos Satellite Depot Branch of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), urged the Federal Government to ensure that all marketers are given a level playing ground to operate in the industry.

Chairman of the Lagos Satellite Depot, IPMAN, Mr. Akin Akinrinade, alleged that NNPCL of not meeting up the supply needs of marketers.

According to him, IPMAN members are now forced to buy the product from private depots at higher ex-depot prices.

He added that consultations are ongoing for the Association to take a position if the NNPCL does not arrange for IPMAN members to load petrol at the government price of N148.17 per litre within the next seven days.

“How do you explain the fact that major marketers and the NNPC retail outlets sell petrol at N170/litre and N169/litre at their stations, respectively, and still make a profit?

“Why is it impossible for the private depots to sell to IPMAN members at regulated prices since they get their supplies from the same source as major marketers?

“Nobody seems to be interrogating this obvious anomaly,” he said.

Flanked by other executive members of the Association, Akinrinade was categorical that his members have gotten to a point where they may boycott the depots “until the NNPC thinks it fit to arrange depots for us to load petrol at government approved price”.

Ex-depot petrol price soars to N235/litre

Private depots have increased the petrol price to N235 per litre.

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Besides, the regulator (NMDPRA) has not updated the sole importer – NNPCL – of PMS stock sufficiency record on its website since November 24.

The opaqueness is at variance with the transparency that the Federal Government and NNPCL prided themselves on when the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) came into force last year.

Besides, the NNPCL spokesman, Malam Garba Deen Muhammad, has been unreachable since the prolonged petrol scarcity began as Nigerians groan.

He has also refused to reply to the text messages asking to explain why the petrol scarcity persists.

Similarly, the NMDPRA Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Apollo Kimchi, has also not responded to our correspondent’s messages on the lingering scarcity.

IPMAN National Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, said the NNPCL’s distribution tactics had aggravated the dearth of the product.

According to him, NNPCL only supplies petrol to private depot owners and major marketers.

Maigandi said: “The scarcity is because of the way NNPC is distributing the product.

“They are only giving it to private depot owners and when they give private depot owners they sell it at a higher rate to independent petroleum marketers.

“Presently, marketers are buying this product at the rate of N235 per litre.

“Since the time NNPC said the fuel will be available before the festivity period till now we have not seen any change.”

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Police nab lovers for faking kidnap

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Police nab lovers for faking kidnap

Officers from the Akwa Ibom Police Command apprehended Imaobong Sampson, a self-kidnapping suspect, and her boyfriend, Beltus Ebong, in Mbierebe Obio village, Ibesikpo Asutan Area, the state.

Odiko Macdon, the state police command’s spokeswoman, confirmed this on Monday.

Macdon said the suspects were apprehended in their hideout by agents of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad after the case of kidnapping was reported by someone who described herself as a relative last Monday.

“On 11/3/2024 at about 10:00hrs, a report was received from one Enobong Sampson ‘F’ of Nung Oku Village in Ibesikpo Asutan L.G.A that her sister, one Imaobong Francis Sampson, was kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding for a ransom of four million naira.

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“As a result, operatives of Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the command embarked on an intense and intelligence-driven investigation so as to track down the perpetrators and rescue the victim. On 12/3/2024 at about 23:15hrs, the said purported victim, one Imaobong Sampson ‘M’, and her boyfriend, Beltus Ebong ‘M’, were arrested in their hideout at Mbierebe Obio Village, Ibesikpo Asutan L.G.A,” he stated.

Macdon said the suspect, Imaobong, confessed that the kidnap was staged between her and her syndicate for the purpose of extorting money from her aunt.

“She confessed to having conspired with her boyfriend, one Beltus Ebong ‘M’, Dominic Friday Charlie ‘M’, her sister, Enobong Sampson ‘F’, and Inyene Ime Akpan now at large to proclaim her kidnap in order to raise money from her aunty who is based abroad,” he concluded.

It was earlier reported that the Ogun State Police Command arrested one Olumide Openaike, a staff member of a Microfinance Bank, Kemta Oloko, who was reported missing. He staged his abduction over a N1.7m debt and was found in Mokwa, Niger State.

Police nab lovers for faking kidnap

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Troops rescue 16 abducted victims in Kaduna

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Troops rescue 16 abducted victims in Kaduna

Troops from the Nigerian Army’s 1 Division in Kaduna State have successfully recovered 16 abducted victims from the hands of violent extremists and terrorists in Tantatu Community, Kajuru Local Government Area.

Responding to actionable intelligence, the forces quickly traced the militants who had earlier invaded the community in large numbers and captured several of the residents as captives on March 17, 2024, at around 10:30pm.

A statement by Army headquarters said, “On arriving the scene of the incident, the troops tenaciously pursued the insurgents, engaging them in a ferocious exchange of fire and consequently rescuing 16 kidnapped victims.

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“The troops are still exploiting the bushes in continuation of the search and rescue operations to extricate other victims and balk the nefarious activities of the insurgents.

“The Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja has commended the troops for the successful rescue of the kidnap victims.

He charged them to remain vigilant as they conduct ongoing counter insurgency operations to liberate all troubled areas in the country.

Troops rescue 16 abducted victims in Kaduna

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Driver arrested for killing couple, toddler at bus stop

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Driver arrested for killing couple, toddler at bus stop

The driver who ran her SUV into a San Francisco bus stop and killed a couple and their toddler on their way to the zoo has been arrested.

Mary Fong Lau, 78, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, driving the wrong way, driving at an unsafe speed and reckless driving.

On Saturday, three family members, Diego, 40, Matilde, 38, and their one-year-old child died after Lau rammed her Mercedes SUV into the West Portal Muni bus stop. Friends identified the victims, but declined to reveal their last names.

The couple’s other child, an infant, was with them at the time of the fatal crash as the four of them waited to board the bus and head to the zoo. The baby is in critical condition following the horror crash.

‘A lot of things I know about love, I learned from them. They were an amazing couple. They had no issues with anything. It was love, love, love. They took care of the kids and were going to the zoo for a nice day at the park,’ Rogerio Falerio, a close friend of the family, said.

Some witnesses said Lau suffered a medical incident before the crash. Other said she got out of the car yelling ‘What have I done?’ Police have not released details on what led to the horror crash.

Lau was initially taken to the hospital for injuries and it remains unclear what caused her car to hop the curb, crash into a fire hydrant, pole and side of the local library.

Matilde was taken to the hospital after the crash, while her husband and child died at the scene. She died on Sunday in the hospital.

Other people waiting for the bus to arrive were also injured from the crash and received medical attention.

Friends of the family told CBS News the surviving child is about two-months-old and suffered life-threatening injuries.

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They lived in the Mission District, a neighborhood in the Bay Area, and planned to spend a day at the zoo together for Diego and Matilde’s wedding anniversary, friends said.

Falerio said that Diego was from Brazil and his wife was from Portugal.

The crash site has since been covered with stuffed animals, flowers, candles, and a stroller with a heart-shaped cutout that reads: : ‘Remembering the precious lives lost on March 16, 2024.’

Advocates from Walk San Francisco added three pairs of shoes in honor of the mother, father and child who were tragically lost.

Witnesses said that the toddler went flying in the air from the impact of the crash.

Another witness, Nikki Mashburn, told The San Francisco Chronicle that she heard the crash and that is sounded like ‘an explosion.’ She said that the victims suffered head injuries.

‘When the paramedics showed up, you could tell … they didn’t know what to do first,’ Mashburn said.

‘The stroller was clearly destroyed. Yeah, so he was still strapped in there,’ Johanna Dimayuga, a resident in the area told CBS News.

Gabriel Cinquepalm, another witness, said that he saw Lau after the crash as she got out of her vehicle with a look as if to say: ‘What have I done?’ and that she was screaming at the sky.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said Saturday it was investigating the cause of the crash in collaboration with the San Francisco Police Department.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed said on X, formerly Twitter, that she had visited the scene of the collision on Saturday. She called it ‘heartbreaking.’

Walk San Francisco has planned a memorial for the family at 5pm on Monday at the crash site.

‘We are heartbroken and heartsick and horrified,’ Jodie Medeiros, the executive director of the advocacy group said.

‘This is one of the worst pedestrian tragedies to ever occur on San Francisco streets. It is almost beyond comprehension.’

Following the tragedy, the group and locals have voiced their concerns about the intersection of Ulloa Street and West Portal Avenue where the bus stop is located.

The group noted that around the intersection, there are multiple places where families and children frequent, like a library, schools and train stations.

‘It’s time to fundamentally rethink areas like where this crash occurred, where thousands of people walk and cross and wait every day,’ Medeiros said.

This was the second child killed in the city in less than a year, as deadly crashes like these have surged and left residents uneasy.

Driver arrested for killing couple, toddler at bus stop

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