Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has revealed that the Kaduna Refinery was not calibrated to process Nigeria’s crude oil.

Lokpobiri made the shocking revelation on Wednesday when he featured in a Channels TV programme to speak on President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office.

“What I said was that Nigeria had always imported crude based on the peculiarities of the refineries. And that is why I was giving example of the Kaduna Refinery. We were importing crude oil from Venezuela.

“Nigeria’s crude is one of the lightest crude in the world. It is one of the sweetest crude in the world. Some refineries are not calibrated for that.

“That was why the Kaduna Refinery was one that was meant to refine very thick crude oil. So, they were importing from Venezuela. So, it is not happening for the first time,” Lokpobiri said.

…orders Amaewhule, 24 other to stop parading as speaker, lawmakers

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has declared the seats of the 25 lawmakers, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, vacant pending the determination of a suit before it.

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The court, however, ordered the Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, to stop parading as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and bared the 24 lawmakers, who are all Anti-Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of the state, from posing as lawmakers in the state.

Hon. Justice Charles Wali gave the order in Suit No PHC/1512/CS/2024, brought by Rt. Hon. Victor Oko Jumbo, Speaker, Rivers State House Of Assembly, Hon. Sokari Goodboy Sokari and Hon. Orubienimigha Adolphus Timothy, on the crises rocking the legislative arm of the state.

Defendants in the cases are Hon.martin Chike Amaewhule, Hon. Dumle Maol Hon. Major Jack, Hon. Franklin Uchenna Nwabochi, Hon.christopher Kagbang Ofiks, Hon. Azeru Opara, Hon. Enemi Alabo George, Hon.Granville Tekenari Wellington, Hon. Ngbar Bernard, Hon. John Dominic Iderima.

Others are: Hon.queen Uwuma Tony Williams, Hon.loolo Isaiah Opuende, Hon.abbey Peter, Hon. Igwe-obey Aforji, Hon. Justina Emeji, Hon. Ignatius Onwuka, Hon.chimezie Nwankwo, Hon. Lemchi Prince Nyeche, Hon. Barile Nwakoh, Hon. Emilia Lucky Amadi, Hon. Nkemjika Ezekwe, Hon. Davids Arnold Okobiriari, Hon. Nwankwo Sylvanus Hon. Gerald Oforji, and Wami Solomon.

The Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, and the Honourable Chief Judge Of Rivers State, Simeon Amadi, are the second set of defendants in the suit.

Wali in the Interlocutory Order, ordered that the lawmakers, who are Pro-Nyesom Wike, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, from parading as lawmakers to the determination of the substantive case.

The order read, “An Order of Interlocutory Injunction is granted restraining the 1” to 25th Defendants from parading land holding out themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and/or meeting/sitting at the Auditorium of the House of Assembly Quarters located at Aba Road;

“…Port Harcourt or at any other place whatsoever to purport to carry out the legislative business of the Rivers State House of Assembly, their legislative seats having been declared vacant pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

“An Order of Interlocutory Injunction is hereby made restraining the 26th to 28th Defendants from dealing with, interfacing, accepting any resolutions, bills and/or howsoever interacting with the 1at to 25th Descendants in their purported capacities as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly their legislative seats having been declared vacant with effect from 13th December,2023 pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

“That this case is adjourned to 1st July, 2024 for Mention.”

…says application portal for students of state institutions opens in 3 weeks 

…asks state institutions to submit their students’ data

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND said it has received over 60,000 applications from students of federal government institutions since it launched the students loan application portal.

However, NELFUND revealed that 30,000 applications have been successfully processed.

NELFUND also said so far, 90 percent of federal universities have submitted their students’ data to its dashboard, adding that 10 percent of federal institutions were yet to submit theirs.

Besides, the students loan agency declared that its portal for submission of data from state owned tertiary education begins in three weeks time.

To this end, it appealed to state institutions to begin submission of data of their students for onward processing.

Ahmed Musa has called on his Super Eagles teammates to give their all in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin.

Musa reckoned it is important for the team to win the two games after a slow start in the qualifiers.

”Everyone knows the importance of both games, the players understand what’s at stake and I will want them to go all out and win both games,” the former Leicester told SCORENigeria

“I am upbeat they will do this.”

The Super Eagles will welcome Bafana Bafana of South Africa to Uyo on Friday June 7, before they fly out three days later for another World Cup qualifier against Benin in Abidjan.

The Super Eagles are third in Group C with two points from as many matches.

President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau, has reacted to the conflicting interim injunctions that has been granted on the Kano Emirate tussle.

In a statement released on Wednesday, May 29, Maikyau called for an urgent review of the professional conduct of both the counsel and judges involved in these matters.

Maikyau also called for the respective heads of the courts to investigate the conduct of the judges and report their findings to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for necessary action.

He said; 

“I must say, without any equivocation, that the conducts of counsel and the Courts in the handling of the proceedings which culminated in the orders issued by the Federal High Court, the Kano State High Court and again the Federal High Court, in circus, have brought utter disgrace and shame to the profession have exposed the entire legal profession in Nigeria to public ridicule and opprobrium.

“The damage is one that would take the legal profession a long time to recover from. It is unfortunate and was totally uncalled for. For a country whose legal resources and expertise have for several decades been exported and positively impacted not only the African continent but the world at large, it is completely unacceptable that the processes of our courts would be deployed in the manner we have witnessed in the last couple of days, on a subject matter that is as clear as chieftaincy dispute.

“This is a subject that has been sufficiently dealt with by legislation and case law, leaving no one confused about the jurisprudence on the subject-both procedural and substantive.

“Without prejudice to the subsisting actions before both the Federal High Court and the Kano State High Court, it is my considered view that there is an urgent need to scrutinize the professional conduct of both Counsel and the Judges involved in these matters. This is to enable the relevant bodies or institutions to determine their culpability or otherwise, from an ethical and professional standpoint.

“I therefore call on the respective heads of the Courts of the Judges concerned, to take immediate steps to look into their conduct with the view to finding any possible abuse of their judicial offices and file a report with the National Judicial Council for necessary action. The NBA on the other hand will investigate the conduct of the counsel involved in these cases and shall not hesitate to commence disciplinary action against them before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, should there be any finding of alleged professional misconduct against them. The Chairman of the NBA Ethics and Disciplinary Committee has accordingly been directed to invite these counsel for preliminary investigations.

“While the NBA shall continue to stand for and protect the integrity, welfare, and independence of the Bar and the Judiciary, we shall not hesitate to call out any Judge or counsel, who engages in any conduct that is capable of bringing the legal profession to disrepute.”

Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has said the state’s governorship election petition tribunal, which sat in Abuja, exposed the electoral fraud perpetrated by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11, 2023 poll in the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, the party’s chairman and a serving Commissioner of Police.

Recall that the tribunal had on Monday dismissed the APC and Sylva’s petition challenging the declaration of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the election for lacking in merit The Bayelsa governor spoke on Tuesday night at the King of Glory Chapel in Government House, Yenagoa, where he stopped for thanksgiving upon his arrival from Abuja.

A crowd of jubilant party members and supporters thronged the state airport and the Government House to welcome the governor. A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted the governor as saying that during cross-examination at the tribunal, the APC witnesses shot themselves in the foot with frivolous claims and inconsistent exhibits.

The governor narrated how a former Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Tolani Alausa, who was procured as a star witness in the case, tainted his image by tendering false evidence before the court and was humiliated for parading fake INEC documents.

He noted that although Mr Alausa was no longer the CP in the state, the senior police officer presented himself at the tribunal to defend the fraud perpetrated by the APC candidate. Diri also said the tribunal equally excoriated the party’s chairman in the state, Chief Dennis Otiotio, for his “unprofessional conduct” being a legal practitioner. He said: “During one of the sittings, I physically went to the tribunal and I saw what transpired.

“Our party’s secretary, in the witness box, stated that most of the election materials the APC presented as INEC’s documents before the court were manufactured by the APC state chairman, Dennis Otiotio.”

President Bola Tinubu says no amount of foreign aid will help Nigeria unless citizens unite to build the country.

While addressing a joint session of the national assembly in Abuja on Wednesday, Tinubu said no institution or personality would help the country grow except the citizens.

The president noted that without the national assembly, he would not have found a path to the presidency.

“You sang out the latest national anthem, ‘Nigeria we hail thee’. This is our diversity, representing all people, and how we pledge together to be brothers and sisters,” Tinubu said.

“Without this house, I probably would not have found a path to the presidency; I started it all from here. That is why I have given that respect to you this morning and will continue to collaborate with you to build our country together.

“We have no other choice. No other institution or personality will help us, except we do it ourselves.

“No amount of aid from foreign countries can help us. Let us work together to build our nation, charting a new path.”

Tinubu thanked the lawmakers for “building up this institution to this level.”

“Our friends, old and new, to every Nigerian, I say congratulations on 25 years of unbroken democracy,” he said.

“You are the foremost leaders who speak for our people and have been at the forefront of this struggle.”

The president added that the country’s democracy must be nurtured “so that our children and great-grandchildren will be assured of prosperity, progress, and development”.

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) says plans have been concluded for the inauguration of its compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion, filling, reverse engineering, and training centre, in Abuja.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, Khalil Halilu, executive vice-chairman of NASENI, said President Bola Tinubu will inaugurate the facility on May 31.

He said NASENI is dedicated to supporting the federal government’s ‘renewed hope’ agenda, specifically regarding sustainable energy alternatives and a clean energy ecosystem.

Halilu said the NASENI-Portland CNG conversion and training centre was established in partnership with Portland Gas Limited.

“It is a state-of-the-art facility for the conversion of fossil fuel vehicles to CNG, a cleaner and more cost-effective alternative,” Halilu said.

Halilu said the centre, equipped with the latest technology and staffed by highly skilled professionals, would ensure efficient and safe conversions that would enhance local capacity in CNG technology.

He said the facility would also offer thorough training programmes for technicians, engineers, and other stakeholders — fostering the domestication of expertise in CNG systems and promoting the adoption of green energy solutions across the nation.

The executive vice-chairman said the establishment of the centre would mark a transformative moment for Nigeria’s energy sector.

He said the CNG centre demonstrates NASENI’s unwavering commitment to sustainable innovation and the development of home-grown technological and manufacturing capacity.

“At NASENI, we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and providing affordable, eco-friendly fuel alternatives to Nigerians,” Halilu said.

“The initiative is expected to significantly reduce vehicular emissions, contributing to cleaner air and a healthier environment.”

He said the adoption of CNG would boost economic benefits by lowering fuel costs for consumers and creating new job opportunities in Nigeria’s green energy sector.