A former National Vice Chairman, North-West of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr Salihu Lukman has described petroleum pricing since the commencement of production of Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, as manipulative.

Lukman, in a statement issued Tuesday titled, “Nigerian Democracy in ICU”, said the pricing was more about manipulative control and imposition of a parasitic monopoly, which the NNPC represents.

Lukman noted that part of the disturbing reality was how citizens are being pushed to swallow bitter pills of higher prices of petroleum products in a manner that simply devalues local production.

According to him, ”the econometrics of petroleum pricing since the commencement of production of Dangote Refinery is more about manipulative control and imposition of a parasitic monopoly, which the NNPC represents.

“Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, that appears to be the preference of the government. As it is, the issue of the welfare of citizens is not the priority of President Asiwaju Tinubu.

“It is almost as if President Tinubu doesn’t give a damn about whether Nigerians are dying on account of the government’s heartless and mindless policies.

“Rather than push public policy in a direction that relieved the economic burden of harsh living conditions, the federal government is more bent on imposing more stringent measures that drain and devalues the resources of citizens.”

As reactions continue to trail the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s fuel price deal, the House of Representatives Minority Caucus has described the N980 per litre of pump price as outrageous and exploitative.

Chairman of the caucus, Kingsley Chinda, said the development was a burden added to the already struggling Nigerians.

In a statement that he signed and obtained by DAILY POST on Tuesday in Abuja, the lawmaker expressed his outrage over the pump price that varies from N950 to N980 and above N1000 per litre depending on the parts of the country.

The statement said: “We find this pricing regime to be not only burdensome but utterly unacceptable, particularly in light of the fact that this fuel is refined locally.”

The lawmaker emphasised that locally refined fuel should be priced significantly lower than imported fuel, as it avoids costs such as landing charges and import duties, insisting that the pricing model was wrong for all intents and purposes.

“It appears Nigerians are unfairly exploited, especially at a time when many are facing severe economic challenges,” he said, urging NNPCL and Dangote Refinery to reconsider their stand in the interest of the poor masses.

The statement warned that allowing the current pricing arrangement to continue would only deepen the economic hardships of millions and erode trust in local refineries’ ability to deliver affordable fuel. The caucus called on regulatory bodies and the government to urgently review the pricing framework to ensure Nigerians are not subjected to unsustainable fuel prices.

The caucus affirmed its commitment to protecting the welfare of the Nigerian people and pledged to engage relevant stakeholders to ensure fair and just fuel pricing.

The outgoing Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki has warned that the civil servants would be the first victim if his candidate, Asue Ighodalo does not win the next Saturday Governorship election in the State.

DAILY POST reports that Governor Obaseki gave the warning at a thank-you meeting with the public servants at the Sir Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub in Benin City.

Obaseki, however, opined that the only thank-you the civil servants could give him was to come out en masse on Saturday and vote for Asue Ighodalo as the governor of the state.

According to him, I came to appreciate and thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wouldn’t have achieved what we achieved without you.

“Those who want to take over power by all means are uneducated and have never worked in any better place. My message to you is that, that is a risk we can’t afford. It is not about Obaseki but democracy and development.

“The risk is about allowing people without ideas of what to do to lead. People who can’t even articulate their ideas, people who can’t read a balance sheet. They can’t offer us anything but all they talk about is federal might and others.

“Edo will face a major risk if you miss it on Saturday. Any mistake you make will affect you first before others. You will be the first victim.

“What I have started is a long journey. How do we build a society that we are yearning for and stop travelling to other countries? How to build a state where people will be proud to come to. The purpose of governance is to create the avenue to achieve set purposes.

“It’s a journey. I am finishing the first part but the journey must not stop. It must continue, the engine of development must continue to run. The rate at which we need to run will be very high when we make the right decision. We can’t afford any mistakes come Saturday”, he said.

The governor, however, said he would be thanking Asue Ighodalo for agreeing to take over from him, noting that it was a great thing.

While noting that the good news is that Edo State is blessed with high-calibre human and natural resources, he added that there was still a lot of work to be done in the state.

He posited that when he came to office, he told himself that he was going to be the last governor to use paper.

Obaseki, who acknowledged that it wasn’t easy, pointed out that today, the level of technology-driven operation among Edo public servants has no rival in Nigeria.

In his speech, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Asue Ighodalo, said Governor Obaseki has done tremendously well and that the transformation in the civil service is second to none.

“Edo State public and civil service is number one in Nigeria. Obaseki has done well and I will continue from where Obaseki was working.

“You all here will be my priority, work together, function together and continue to make Edo state a progressive state and this shall be our focus.

“We won’t be a lazy government but build more on every foundation already laid down by the Obaseki administration. I promise you all that I will continue what Obaseki has done and build more on it.

“One of the worst things that can happen to a group of people is to get leadership that you cannot be proud of. But Edo State will never be like that.

“When we vote for the wrong person, we go into retrogression and the economy will crash. Edo will not be so,” he added.

Ighodalo, however, charged the people to come out en masse to vote and defend their votes.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club Al Nassr announced the departure of Portuguese coach Luis Castro on Tuesday, a day after starting their AFC Champions League Elite campaign with a disappointing draw.

Monday’s 1-1 stalemate with Iraq’s Al Shorta in the Asian competition compounded a slow start to the domestic season with the current contract of Ronaldo, 39, due to expire next summer.

“Al Nassr can announce that head coach Luis Castro has left the club,” said a statement posted on X.

“Everyone at Al Nassr would like to thank Luis and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 14 months, wishing them the best of luck for the future.”

Castro, 63, is the third coach to depart Al Nassr since Ronaldo’s groundbreaking arrival in early 2023 on a contract that was said to net him 400 million euros over two-and-a-half years.

Frenchman Rudi Garcia quickly left that April, followed by a brief stint by Croatian coach Dinko Jelicic before Castro was appointed in July last year.

The highly decorated Ronaldo is yet to win a Saudi trophy with the Riyadh club, with his sole silverware so far being last year’s Arab Club Champions Cup.

Al Nassr, who finished a distant second in the last Saudi Pro League season, have drawn twice in three matches at the start of the new campaign.

Ronaldo’s arrival heralded a rash of high-profile signings by Saudi clubs last year, with Neymar and Karim Benzema among those opting for the oil-rich, conservative kingdom.

AFP.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday said the Federal Government would create a disaster relief fund to assist Nigerian citizens impacted by floods and other disasters.

The President made the announcement when he visited Borno to sympathise with the government and people over the flooding in some parts of the state occasioned by Alau Dam.

He said the fund was expedient as the climate had become more unpredictable and many places in the country were vulnerable to its vagaries.

He said the Federal Government would collaborate with the private sector to establish the fund.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who accompanied the President on the visit, said the National Assembly would collaborate with the Executive to establish the Fund.

Former Nigeria captain, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha has given his opinion in the debate over who is the greatest footballer of all time, GOAT, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi and Ronaldo’s rivalry has dominated football conversations for almost two decades.

The two players have shared 13 Ballon d’Or awards between them, with Messi taking home eight of that number.

In a recent interview with Pulse Fun Facts, Okocha picked the Argentina captain over Ronaldo.

Okocha said, “They are both GOATs but my personal GOAT is Messi because he looks more natural to me.”

Both Messi and Ronaldo have been left out of this year’s nominations for the Ballon d’Or, in what could spell the end of an era.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it no longer recognizes Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), labeling his continued claim to the position as “illegal and unconstitutional.”

This position was made clear in a counter-affidavit submitted by Ayuba Mohammed, an Executive Officer in INEC’s Litigation and Prosecution Department, in response to a legal suit filed by the Labour Party (Suit NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/1271/2024).

The party had challenged its exclusion from INEC’s training for uploading party agents ahead of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.

The conflict stems from the expiration of Abure’s tenure on June 9, 2024, as confirmed by the Labour Party’s Board of Trustees Secretary, Salisu Mohammad.

INEC contended that it did not monitor or acknowledge the Labour Party’s National Convention held in Anambra on March 27, 2024, where Abure claimed to have been re-elected as chairman.

According to INEC, Abure’s leadership and the convention itself violated the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act. The commission asserted that it only engages with political parties that have lawful leadership in place.

INEC’s legal team, led by Tanko Inuwa, SAN, further argued that the Labour Party had failed to meet legal requirements for holding its national convention, rendering its leadership invalid.

INEC urged the court to dismiss the Labour Party’s lawsuit, stating that the party was not entitled to the reliefs it sought.

The Senior Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, said the accusation that President Tinubu refused to sign the Peace Accord was false.

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Dioceses and the Co-Chairman of the National Peace Committee, Bishop Matthew Kukah, while speaking at the Edo Election Security Townhall on Sunday, in Benin, stated that political parties and candidates cannot be forced to sign the Peace Accord.

“The National Peace Committee, what we do is not in the Electoral Act, it’s not law; it’s moral. You can’t compel people to fall in love or love their neighbour.

“If you go back to the 2019 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the PDP, was not there to sign the Peace Accord. And of course, the opposition went to town, which is what it ought to be, and the next day, he (Atiku) turned up to sign.

“What is also very interesting is that the current president, when he was a presidential candidate, did not sign; it wasn’t our fault that the political opposition didn’t take advantage of it.

“It’s a pity but we are not going to take anybody to court for not signing the Peace Accord. The only thing it does to you as a candidate is that it sends a wrong signal which can be very easily exploited by the opposition,” Naija News reported.

However, Onanuga, in a statement, on Tuesday, explained that the President was represented by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima.

“Contrary to the claims by Bishop Kukah, President Tinubu signed the two peace accords preceding his election in 2023. The first accord, committing the candidates to a free and credible election in the country, was signed on September 29, 2022. Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Tinubu.

“The second agreement, signed on February 23, 2023, was for the candidates to accept the election outcome. Tinubu signed,” Onanuga wrote on his X handle.

President Bola Tinubu has assented to the Bill establishing the National Center for the Control of small arms and light weapons (NCCSALW) to curb proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country.

National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu disclosed this on Tuesday at the workshop on gender mainstreaming in preventing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria and West Africa.

The NSA who was represented by the Director External Affairs, Office of the NSA, Am. Ibrahim Babani said the workshop aims to address an issue of immense importance to Nigeria’s national security.

The NSA said that the President’s assent to the bill was a major milestone in the government’s commitment to curbing the proliferation of illegal arms.

According to him, this legislative backing strengthens the centre’s mandate and paves the way for more coordinated and decisive action.

Ribadu also emphasised the need for gender mainstreaming in preventing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country.

He commended the National Coordinator and the entire team at the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons for their dedication in organising the very important workshop, adding that their tireless efforts towards addressing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria were “invaluable”

He stressed that the workshop was anchored on key international frameworks, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.

According to him, the resolution emphasised the critical need to protect women from the impacts of conflict while also ensuring their full participation in peacebuilding and security initiatives.

“Moreover, the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons underscores the collective responsibility of our region in cutting the spread of these dangerous weapons, which disproportionately affect women and children in conflict zones.

“The importance of gender mainstreaming in preventing the proliferation of SALW cannot be overstated as it strengthens our strategies, and ensures that our approach to security is inclusive and sustainable,” he said.

Ribadu commended the centre for their efforts towards addressing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria.

The National Coordinator of NCCSALW, DIG Johnson Kokumo (Rtd), said the centre has in recent times, made some significant achievements in the fight against illegal proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

Kokumo said the centre had on July 1, retrieved a substantial cache of illegal arms through the Nigeria Customs Service and subsequent arrest of 10 suspects involved in the illicit importation.

He said the suspects were currently being prosecuted by the NCCSALW for illegal importation into Nigeria, prohibited 544 Firearms and 112,500 rounds of cartridges contrary to Section 3 (6) of Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 among other offences.

This, according to him, underscores the centre’s commitment to not only intercepting arms but also ensuring that those responsible for these acts face the full weight of the law.

“In addition to the above, the National Centre has retrieved a total of quantity 3,383 decommissioned, unserviceable, obsolete and illicit small arms and light weapons and 26,749 various calibres of ammunition from the arms bearing agencies of government.

“Later in this quarter, NCCSALW would be conducting an Arms Destruction Exercise which is a critical step in ensuring that recovered arms are permanently removed from circulation,” he said.

Kokumo said the control of small arms and light weapons proliferation was not only a national concern but also a matter of international importance.

He said that the illegal flow of small arms and light weapons had devastating consequences, fuelling violence, instability and insecurity in various parts of the world.

He added that gender mainstreaming in SALW control was not only a moral imperative but also a strategic move, considering the grave impact of armed conflict on women and children.

This, he said, highlighted the need for a gender-sensitive approach to disarmament and security policies.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced it will maintain the Ways and Means Advances to the federal government at a 5% limit for the fiscal years 2024-2025, despite a recent bill from the National Assembly increasing the limit to 10%.

This decision was outlined in the CBN’s Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guidelines for the 2024-2025 fiscal period, released on Tuesday.

These guidelines emphasize the importance of macroeconomic stability and align with the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF), aiming to manage expectations, respond to economic shocks, and sustain the ongoing economic recovery.

The document stated, “Ways and Means Advances shall continue to be available to the Federal Government to finance deficits in its budgetary operations to a maximum of 5.0 per cent of the previous year’s actual collected revenue. Such advances shall be liquidated as soon as possible and shall in any event be repayable at the end of the year in which it was granted.”

Additionally, the advances will now be calculated after accounting for the sub-accounts of various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), which are connected to the Consolidated Revenue Fund to determine the Federal Government’s overall cash position.

Ways and Means Advances are short-term loans from the CBN designed to help the government address temporary budget shortfalls.

Section 38 of the CBN Act of 2007 limits these advances to a percentage of the previous year’s revenue and mandates repayment within the fiscal year.

In recent years, the CBN’s handling of Ways and Means Advances has sparked controversy, particularly in 2023 when former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele was accused of printing ₦22.7 trillion for the federal government without National Assembly approval.

Critics argue that excessive borrowing through this facility has fueled inflation and increased money supply in the economy.

In February 2024, current CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso informed the Senate Committee that the CBN would halt further advances to the federal government until outstanding loans were repaid.

This move is part of broader efforts by the bank to address the economic challenges facing the country.