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Bad Fuel: Inland Depots Yet To Receive Clean Petrol, Says IPMAN

Published

4 years ago

February 14, 2022

As the acute shortage of petrol ravaging the country entered its second week Monday, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has disclosed that no inland depot has received clean petrol that would boost supply to filling stations.

IPMAN Public Relations Officer, Chief Chinedu Ukadike who spoke to Vanguard on the situation in a telephone chat said the Federal Government was yet to improve supply, warning that it would take another two weeks for supply to normalize.

In Abuja, there was no sign of let up in the shortage petrol as fewer stations were opened to motorists with black marketers selling at N400 per litre.

Chief Ukadike said the challenges facing the downstream sector were enormous urging the government to begin the process of compensating marketers who have lost a lot of money during the period.

He explained: “Nothing much has changed in the last few days, the issue is that up till now we have not seen the intervention of the NNPC based on evacuating these products (bad fuel) from some of our stations. Some marketers are trying to see if they can get new products and blend it to see if it can move.

“Marketers capitals have been tied down and the bad product is also occupying their storage tank and that is why you are seeing some skeletal services. Some also have their tanks quarantined, so it is not easy.

“We have been expecting products in the inland depots like the Port Harcourt Refinery depot but up till now no product has been received. These things happen. Once there is a break in the supply chain it will take some time to fix. Forget what people are saying it will take one two to three weeks to fill in the gaps. It is talking about evacuating and replacing, it is not just about the shortage, it is also about evacuating and replacing”.

He noted that while Port Harcourt where his based has not witnessed the acute shortage being experienced in many parts of the country, he said most of the marketers who have placed orders have not received supply.

While urging consumers to be patient, he observed that many motorists have engaged in racketeering where they “fill up their tanks, go to sell to black marketers and return to the queues. I want to advise our people to stop patronizing black marketers, this will help also in solving the problem”, he added.

Chief Ukadike also disclosed that private depots have also increased their price to N163 per litre, stressing that it was impossible for marketers to sell at N165 per litre.

He, however, urged the NNPC Limited to supply independent marketers with products to help ease the shortage across the country.

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Putin Says Russia Ready For War, Blames Europe For Sabotaging Peace

Published

3 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was “ready” for war if Europe seeks one, accusing the continent’s leaders of trying to sabotage a deal on the Ukraine conflict before he met with US envoys.

The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow for high-stakes talks on ending the nearly four-year war, which were preceded by days of intense diplomacy.

“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin told reporters in Moscow.

“They have no peaceful agenda, they are on the side of war,” he added, repeating his claim that European leaders were hindering US attempts to broker peace in Ukraine.

He added that European changes to Trump’s latest plan to end the war “aimed solely at one thing — to completely block the entire peace process and put forward demands that are absolutely unacceptable for Russia”.

Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed it as heeding to many of Russia’s maximalist demands.

The plan to end the war is championed by Trump, but European countries fear it risks forcing Kyiv to cave in to Russian demands, notably on territory.

Fearing further Russian aggression, Europe has repeatedly said an unfair peace should not be imposed on Ukraine.

The Trump envoys are now seeking to finalise the plan with the approval of Moscow and Kyiv.
AFP

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US Senator Proposes Bill To End Dual Citizenship

Published

3 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

A United States lawmaker has introduced a bill seeking to abolish dual citizenship for American nationals, a move that could affect thousands of Nigerians who hold both US and Nigerian passports.

Bernie Moreno, a Colombian-born US senator, announced the proposed legislation — titled the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 — arguing that the current system, which allows Americans to hold multiple nationalities, creates “conflicts of interest and divided loyalties.”

“One of the greatest honours of my life was when I became an American citizen at 18, the first opportunity I could do so.

“It was an honour to pledge an Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America and only to the United States of America! Being an American citizen is an honour and a privilege—and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing. It’s time to end dual citizenship for good,” Moreno said.

Moreno, who has since renounced his Colombian citizenship, maintains that exclusive allegiance is essential to national integrity.

If passed, the bill could have far-reaching implications for prominent figures such as US First Lady Melania Trump, who holds both US and Slovenian citizenship. It would also significantly impact Nigerians with dual citizenship.

According to a July naturalisation flow report by the US Department of Homeland Security, 38,890 Nigerians became naturalised American citizens between 2021 and 2023. Nigeria ranked 13th among countries with the highest number of new US citizens and was the only African nation in the top 20.

Nigerian law allows citizens by birth to hold dual nationality without relinquishing their Nigerian citizenship.

This development comes months after President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at denying automatic US citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants born in the country.

The order was immediately challenged by 18 states and multiple rights groups, who argued it violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship. Ongoing legal battles have prevented the order from taking effect.

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

1 day ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP