Connect with us

Business

Airline Operators Accuse NNPC Of Withholding 25,000MT Of Aviation Fuel Approved By FG

Published

on

Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, on Monday, accused the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of withholding 25,000MT of aviation fuel in disregard to the directive issued by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking at a meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the airline operators stated that President Buhari directed that aviation fuel should be sold to them at landing rates with a view to ameliorate the losses they incurred over the months.

The AON Vice President and Chairman, Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, disclosed that the Association was invited by management of Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) to notify them of the President’s gesture, and the need for them to nominate trusted and established oil marketers to take delivery of the 25,000 MT and sell to them at the landing rate.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: Planned Shutdown Of Airline Operations: Aviation Ministry Working To Engage Stakeholders – Minister

He said having nominated 10 established oil marketers to take the product, he, in the presence of his members called the NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari informing him of the President’s gesture and that their selected marketers would be in touch regarding the product, but he(Kyari) vehemently said no.

We were invited by the Midstream and Downstream Authority and we were told that the president approved 25,000 metric tonnes for us as a palliative to help us. We were very grateful to the president. It was not free. We were happy.

Advertisement

“We were told to nominate marketers that would market this product for us. We were told to have a meeting with these marketers. We called all the marketers. We held a meeting with them.

“We decided the logistics, so they would take their logistical costs and everything and at the end of the day that fuel was getting to them. They told us at N335, so we put everything together and it would be getting to less than N400 for the cost and we said even if they sell to us at N450 it would be okay.

“We were told that a week later that is when the consignment would be arriving Nigeria and when this happened, the next we got to hear from the marketers was that they had already been given the consignment that we were all jostling for. So we waited thinking that they would sell as agreed. They never are.

Advertisement

“I actually called the MD of NNPC, in the presence of our members. We wanted to hear from him. He answered that there was no way they would leave us to get direct products that were dangerous.

“But I said no, that the marketers you are going to give are the same marketers that would handle it for us. He (Melee Kyari) said he did not want any crash or anybody adulterating it.

READ ALSO: aJUST IN: Airline Operators Suspend Planned Operations Shutdown

Advertisement

“I said how could they adulterate it because they are the same marketers. We are not taking it on our own. Long and short of the story is that this product was not given to us and we noticed that it continued rising and rising,” Onyema said.

Also speaking, AON President, Abdulmanaf Yunusa who doubles as Chairman of Azman Air explained that the Airline Operators begged the NNPC GMD to give the allocation approved by the President for them to the nominated marketers.

In his response, the NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari said there are considered safety issues involved in releasing aviation fuel directly to operators, or even marketers, saying that not everyone can handle ATK.

Advertisement

Rt Hon Speaker it is more complex than they say. Somebody must handle aviation fuel. We cannot surrender the safety of Nigerians to just anyone. It is not every marketing company that can handle ATK including.”

Business

Fixed Income: CBN Announces Fresh Regulations To Control Nigerian Market

Published

on

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced sweeping regulations to take control of the Nigerian fixed income market.

The regulations expected to begin in November are aimed at boosting transparency across Nigeria’s financial sector.
The apex bank disclosed this in a recent statement.

CBN noted that the intervention is a key part of broader financial market reforms.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:CBN Establishes New Unit To Tackle Financial Crime

Accordingly, it said its core objective is to enhance regulatory oversight and strengthen the market’s ability to effectively support the transmission of monetary policy and, ultimately, foster economic growth.

This transition will enable the CBN to assume direct responsibility for the management of the trading platform and handle end-to-end settlement activities under the bank’s established settlement system for financial market transactions,” the statement read.

Advertisement

According to DAILY POST, Fixed income securities refer to investments which provide a return in the form of fixed periodic interest payments and the eventual return of the principal at maturity.

 

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Business

Confusion Over Euro-Africa CCI’s $250m Investment In Edo

Published

on

The $250m investment deal Governor Monday Okpebholo claimed to have secured during his recent trip to Scotland is generating ripples over capacity of the European African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EACCI) to make such a huge investment.

The EACCI, headed by a Drector General, Dr. Kingsley Obasohan, is not known to have made any prior investment in Edo State or any part of the country.

Obasohan, who attended the Edo State Global Investment Summit virtually, announced the $250m investment.

Advertisement

He said the investment would be made for a period of three years.

An online search was launched to unravel the EACCI as well as the man Obasohan.

READ ALSO:Okpebholo Warns Companies Against Fuelling Edo–Delta Boundary Dispute

Advertisement

A number on the site was answered by a lady who claimed not to understand English language.

Several foreign partners were listed on the site as board members and advisory council.

Some closed associates of Obasohan said he would have to get clearance from the Board members before talking to journalists on the issue.

Advertisement

Spokesman for the Edo Peoples Democratic Party, Daniel Noah Osa-Ogbegi, said the party would hold Governor Okpebholo accountable to Edo people and demanded clarity on the $250m investment from Glasgow.

Osa-Ogbegi said the proposed investment has become a source of embarrassment to Edo people because of unfolding information about EACCI.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Okpebholo Nominates Another 5 Persons As Commissioner-designates

Advertisement

He said the party would shine light on fiscal management practices that appeared to ignore transparency and responsibility.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Umar Musa Ikhilo, had earlier said those that attended the Glasgow summit were interested in keying into the SHINE agenda of Governor Okpebholo.

One of the chambers of commerce that attended, the European African Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed an MoU with the Edo State Government to invest a sum of $250 million over the next three to five years.

Advertisement

“Last year, diaspora remittances were the second-highest source of foreign income in Nigeria after crude oil, over $20 billion, but only 2% of that went into investment. We are creating a vehicle to help convert more of that into direct investments.”

He added that a delegation from Scotland was expected to visit Edo State in the coming months to explore specific investment projects as a follow-up to the summit.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Business

Dangote Hits Out At PENGASSAN, Says Union ‘Serial Saboteurs, Serving Oligarchs’

Published

on

The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has berated the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), accusing the union of decades-long sabotage of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and serving the interests of its leaders rather than ordinary Nigerians.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the refinery described PENGASSAN’s latest directive to cut crude oil and gas supplies to the facility as another act of economic sabotage designed to inflict untold hardship on Nigerians.

“Indeed, over time, the Association has consistently proved itself as serving interests other than those of Nigerians and Nigerian workers,” the statement declared.

Advertisement

Dangote recalled that in 2007, when the Federal Government sold its moribund Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to Blue Star Consortium, led by the Dangote Group, for $750 million, it was PENGASSAN and its ally, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), that sabotaged the deal. “It is now obvious to everyone that the FGN’s decision at the time was the right one and that PENGASSAN and NUPENG ignominiously wrote their names on the wrong pages of history,” the company said.

READ ALSO:Dangote Fuel Sells Cheaper In Togo Than In Nigeria – Falana Laments

The refinery also faulted the union’s role in the much-publicised rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, describing it as a “ruse” which PENGASSAN “knowingly celebrated despite being a scam on Nigerians.” The statement further accused the union of opposing amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that would have freed up federal liquidity and attracted private-sector funding into Nigeria’s upstream oil ventures.

Advertisement

Beyond policy obstruction, Dangote Refinery accused the association of mismanaging billions of naira in annual check-off dues to allegedly bankroll the “lavish lifestyles” of its leaders, without accountability to members. By contrast, the refinery highlighted its own record of economic contributions within a short period, citing road construction, worker training, the creation of thousands of Nigerian jobs, and a compensation structure that “outdistances the best in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.”

“The Dangote Group is the highest employer of labor in Nigeria and the highest contributor to the tax revenues of Nigeria and its sub-nationals. What comparable social responsibility has PENGASSAN, with its billions of Naira in annual check-off dues and subscriptions, lived up to?” the statement queried, challenging the union to publish its audited accounts for the past ten years. “Can it publish publicly its account for the last 10 years and list out its corporate responsibility activities within that timeframe?”

READ ALSO:Dangote Refinery Reduces Fuel Price Nationwide, Provides Update On Petrol Distribution

Advertisement

The refinery insisted that PENGASSAN’s recent directive to withdraw services and cut off essential fuel supplies, including but not limited to petrol, diesel, kerosene, cooking gas and aviation fuel was reckless, lawless and dangerous. It said the order is not about protecting Nigerian workers, but it is about a cabal of oligarchs weaponising hardship against over 230 million Nigerians.

In the process, it (PENGASSAN) cares little if at all about the unbearable hardship and terror it would thereby inflict on all Nigerians, including but not limited to the provision of essential services in our hospitals and medical facilities, schools (nursery and right up to tertiary and research institutions), emergency services, communications facilities, transportation systems, etc,” it said.

Dangote Refinery called on the Federal Government and security agencies to step in immediately to protect the facility and the nation’s energy security, stressing that the union must not be allowed to “bully Nigerians into chaos and economic sabotage.”

Advertisement

According to Tribune Online, the federal government has announced readiness to broker peace between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN, inviting both to a meeting scheduled for Monday.

Continue Reading

Trending