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Delta NASS Lawmakers Disagree On Subsidy Palliatives

Published

3 years ago

July 29, 2023

Senator Okakuro Ede Dafinone, APC, Delta Central and member, House of Representatives members, Barrister Benedict Etanabene, LP, representing Okpe/ Sapele/ Uvwie Federal Constituency of Delta State have disagreed sharply on the present hike of pump price of Premium Motor Spirit PMS, popularly called petrol from N537/ litre to N617/ litre, and the removal of subsidy by President Bola Tinubu and the proposed palliatives.

While Senator Dafinone threw his weight behind the removal of fuel subsidy, with the explanations that the immediate hike of the fuel price by the Independent marketers forced President Tinubu to finally remove it as his intention was not to do that, Hon. Etanabene on his part dismissed what is called subsidy, saying that there was nothing like and that all the proposed palliatives by the Federal Government will not work, just as he said that the N8000 will also not work and that the best palliative for Nigerians would be to bring down the price of fuel to N65.

According to Senator Dafinone, there was the tendency that the price for fuel would be increased again, just as he urged Nigerians to get prepared for that tighten up their Belts for an economy that would get worse before it gets better apparently after four to six months, adding that President Bola Tinubu has taken some steps, Nigerians should be patient with him and support the Federal Government.

The lawmakers representing Delta State spoke separately yesterday in Abuja, during a reception held in their Honour by the Olorogun Jonathan O. Esin-led Urhobo Leadership Forum Association, ULFA.

The reception was held in honour of Senator, Chief Ede Dafinone, representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Hon. Rev. Francis Ejiroghene Waive, representing Udu, Ughelli North and Ughelli South Federal Constituency; Hon. Mrs. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, representing Ethiope Federal Constituency and Hon. Barr. Benedict Etanabene, representing Okpe, Sapele, Uvwie Federal Constituency.

Senator Ede Dafinone who hailed the people for the reception and promised a robust representation, to among others ensure that the Sapele, Warri and Okhagbue Ports come to life again to provide development and employment in the Senatorial District said, “I am talking about the petrol subsidy, because that is something that affects all Nigerians across the country.

“The economy of the country is being squeezed and personnel economies are also going through a difficult time. With the petrol price escalating over the last two months

“From the backdrop of the campaigns where all political parties agreed that the petrol subsidy must go, that it was impractical for this administration, even past administrations to continue to fund the subsidy especially as a lot of the subsidy that was being given by the government found its way across the borders.

“But the President’s intention was not to remove the subsidy immediately. It was an announcement made to give confidence to the international community and Nigerians that the right thing would be done in terms of the economy and in terms of the funds that would then be released by stopping the subsidy.

“But as soon as that announcement was made, the marketers immediately increased the prices and in view of the potential chaos that was starting to cause within the few days of the announcement, the President saw it deem fit to formally declare that the subsidy was gone.

“The palliatives that would have been put in place before the actual removal of subsidies, there was no opportunity to put them in place.

“The President is blamed for removing the subsidy without a plan but in truth, the public, the marketers had removed the subsidy before he had a chance to formally remove it and he was forced to make the decision public.

“At this point, now the government is putting together policies to ameliorate the situation. But Nigerians must be aware that the next one or two months will be difficult months, the petrol price may still go up again and we must be ready to spend wisely in an economy that will get worse before it gets better.

“So I ask you here as well, people to recognize that it may get worse still, and that belts must be tightened in preparation for what may be difficult, may be four to six months before recovery commences.

“We recognize also that the policies taken by this government so far will attract foreign direct investment and will make the economy of Nigeria more prosperous, but it will take some time and we must be patient with the government.

“The President has taken some bold steps and we must find support for the government to get things right once and for all.

“That being said, hold myself accountable as your representative if I may say so please, hold us all accountable. We are your representatives. You have sent us to the National Assembly to represent you.

“We must take the views of the Urhobo people to the National Assembly and make sure that the interests of all Urhobo people are taken care of in the National Assembly. It is our responsibility and we must be held accountable.”

On his part, Hon. Barr. Benedict Etanabene said, “I do not believe that there is anything called subsidy in the petroleum industry in Nigeria.

” I have held this position since When I was branch chairman of PEGASSON, I argued at the national level when the first increase was to take place that if there is Petroleum subsidy, let us see it with our two eyes.

“And the only way we can determine that is to know how much our consumption of Petroleum is.

“We should know how much we are importing into Nigeria and we will know where they’re going to and know the people they are paying such money to.

“Section 3 of the constitution provides what the duties of government mainly is which is provision of security. So there’s no thing in life goverment should not subsidise. Goverment should subsidise food, water, and petroleum should not be an exception.

“All these palliatives will not work. If we increase workers’ salary, even though I am not against that, how many persons are goverment workers in Nigeria? Less than five per cent. The N8,000 will also not work. I think the best palliative is the one everyone of us will enjoy which means bringing down the price of fuel to N65.”

Earlier in his welcome address,m the President of ULFA, Jonathan Esin tasked the National Assembly lawmakers on robust debate and appropriate legislation that would usher in total transformation of Urhobo Land and to serve its best interest, just as he said that the Lawmakers would be held accountable.

The President of ULFA said, “On behalf of the Urhobo Leadership Forum, Abuja, let me, First of all express how happy I am to welcome you all to this august occasion, It is a historic event as this is the First time ULFA is hosting all our Federal Legislators to a reception of this magnitude.

“As a forum, we are very delighted to have the Senator and the three members of the House of Representatives, all four of you without exception, representing the Urhobo Nation at the National Assembly sitting with us this morning.

“Permit me also to extend our hearty congratulations to his Excellency, the Rt. Hon. Sheriff F.O Oborevovori, the Executive governor of Delta State and all the members of the Delta State house of Assembly for their success at the elections and inauguration into their various offices.

“We wish his Excellency and members of the Delta State house of Assembly excellent success in their tenure in office.

“It is our Fervent hope and prayer that with a clear vision, sincerity of purpose, with all our political leaders working together in a multi-partisan approach to national and sub-national issues, a new Delta State which is Modern, Functional and Equipped with the state-of-the-art infrastructural facilities can emerge in the next one decade.

“All hands must be on the plough, as we roll up our sleeves, to get the job done. It is time to wake up from the slumber and years of decay and turn things around quickly for the benefit of our people.

“Let me digress a little. The question is often asked? What do they stand for? Or sometimes, others confuse it with UPU. The answer to these questions are provided in the brochure given to you. But suffice it to say for clarity of purpose that ULFA is made up of men and women of good standing resident in Abuja, FCT Members are all Urhobo by birth.

“Amongst our members are Royal Fathers, serving and Former retired public Officers, Senior Civil Servants, the academia, retired diplomats, retired senior military officers as well as businessmen and women. Some are proud recipients of National Honors and Medals for gallantry and many have served our country at the highest level of public service.

“ULFA is essentially a think-tank and it is nonpartisan. Realizing therefore, that our homestead (Uhrobo land) is plagued with myriad of problems: political, economic, insecurity, environmental degradation, decay of infrastructure and poverty, we assemble here in this hall, month after month, to x-ray these issues and attempt to proffer solutions to address these issues.

“Some of our modest achievements and interventions in the past are listed in the brochure.

“We also have other laudable projects in the pipeline, for instance, the issue of poor funding of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun and the enlargement of its academic programs to a multi-discipline course-based University as many other specialized Universities have converted to Multidiscipline course-based Universities. As for example all Universities of Agriculture now offer other courses other than Agriculture and its allied courses.

“ULFA has also embarked on the production of a Tv Documentary series on Urhobo history and Culture showcasing the peculiarities of each of our kingdoms in a one hour viewing time.!

“The series is important for two reasons; More people are inclined to visual images, watching television than they would want to read from the book.

“To attract and remind our children and generations unborn of the rich cultural heritage of the Urhobo people. This is a big project which is far beyond the actualization by ULFA alone.

“Distinguished Senator and Honourable members of House of Representatives, as you can see we are non-state actors. There is a limit that we can go.

It is our hope and desire therefore that through you, we can achieve the development agenda for Urhobo Land as enunciated in our Roadmap, through legislation and appropriation in the tenth assembly. I believe that by today’s interaction, we have laid the fertile ground for future interaction, and we can relate and have constructive engagements with you on any issues in the service of our Fatherland.”

Related Topics:Delta NASS Reps Senate subsidy

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Xenophobic Attacks: Oshiomhole Tells FG To Retaliate Against South African Companies In Nigeria

Published

11 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Editor

Senator Adams Oshiomhole has called on the Federal Government to retaliate against South African businesses operating in Nigeria following the recent attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

Speaking during plenary on Tuesday, Oshiomhole said the Federal Government should consider revoking the working license of South African owned companies such as MTN and DSTV.

He argued that Nigeria must respond firmly to what he described as persistent hostility against its citizens.

“I am not going to shed tears. If you hit me, I hit you. I think it is appropriate in diplomacy. It is an economic struggle,” Oshiomhole said.

He argued that while some South Africans accuse Nigerians of taking their jobs, Nigerians should return home and take over employment opportunities created by major South African companies operating in the country, including MTN and DSTV.

“When we hit back, the President of South Africa will not only talk but will also go on his knees to recognise that Nigeria cannot be intimidated.

“We will not condone any life being lost. If a crime has been committed under the South African law they have the right to bring any such person to justice, but to kill our people as if we are helpless, we will not allow that,” Oshiomhole added.

DAILY POST reports that several Nigerians in South Africa have reportedly been attacked, and their businesses destroyed, in ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.

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IGP Orders Officers Display Name Tag On Uniform, Gives Update On State Police

Published

12 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Editor

The Inspector General of Police, IGP, Tunji Disu, has ordered all police personnel to always have their name tags on their uniforms for easy identification.

Disu disclosed that only police personnel who are undercover are exempted from displaying their name tags.

Speaking on Tuesday, Disu said: “All police officers should have their name tags. All of us on the high table have our names apart from the undercover among us so if you look at all the Commissioners of Police we have our name tags, so it’s not our standard.

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Court Orders SERAP To Pay DSS Operatives N100m For Defamation

Published

17 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Editor

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has ordered a non-governmental organization, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, to pay N100 million as damaged to two operatives of the Department of the State Services, DSS, for unjustly defaming them in some publications.

The court also ordered SERAP to tender public apologies to the defamed officers,
Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele, in two national newspapers, two television stations and its website.

Besides, the organization was also ordered to pay the two operatives N1 million as cost of litigation and 10 percent post-judgment interest annually on the judgment sum until it’s fully liquidated.

Justice Yusuf Halilu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory gave the order on Tuesday while delivering judgment in a N5.5 billion defamation suit instituted against SERAP by the DSS operatives.

The judge found SERAP liable for unjustly defaming the two DSS operatives with allegations that they unlawfully invaded its Abuja office, harassed and intimidated its staff, in September 2024.

In the offending publication on its website and Twitter handle, SERAP alleged that the two operatives unlawfully invaded and occupied its office with sinister motives.

The judge held that the publication was in bad taste especially from an organization established to promote transparency and accountability, as nothing in the publication was found to be truthful.

The DSS staff had listed SERAP as 1st defendant in the suit marked CV/4547/2024. SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, was listed as the 2nd defendant.

In the suit, the claimants – Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele – accused the two defendants of making false claims that they invaded SERAP’s Abuja office on September 9, 2024..

Counsel to the DSS, Oluwagbemileke Samuel Kehinde, had while adopting his final address in the mater urged the judge to grant all the reliefs sought by his client in the interest of justice.

He admitted that although the names of the two claimants were not mentioned in the defamation materials, they had however established substantial circumstances that they are the ones referred to in the published defamation article by SERAP on its website.

The counsel submitted that all ingredients of defamation have been clearly established and the offending publication referred to the two officials of the secret police.

However, SERAP, through its counsel, Victoria Bassey from Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, law firm, asked the court to dismiss the suit on the ground that the two claimants did not establish that they were the ones referred to in the alleged defamation materials.

She said that SERAP used “DSS officials” in the alleged offending publication, adding that the two claimants must establish that they are the ones referred to before their case can succeed.

Similar arguments were canvassed by Oluwatosin Adefioye who stood for the second defendant, adding that there was no dispute in the September 9, 2024 operation of DSS in SERAP’s office.

He said that since SERAP in the publication did not name any particular person, the claimants must plead special circumstances that they were the ones referred to as the DSS officials.

Besides, he said that there is no organization by name Department of State Services in law, hence, DSS cannot claim being defamed adding that the only entity known to law is National Security Agency.

The claimants had in the suit stated that the alleged false claim by SERAP has negatively impacted on their reputation.

The DSS also stated, in the statement of claim, that, in line with the agency’s practice of engaging with officials of non-governmental organisations operating in the FCT to establish a relationship with their new leadership, it directed the two officials – John and Ogunleye – to visit SERAP’s office and invite them for a familiarization meeting.

The claimants added that in carrying out the directive, John and Ogunleye paid a friendly visit to SERAP’s office at 18 Bamako Street, Wuse Zone 1, Abuja on September 9 and met with one Ruth, who upon being informed about the purpose of the visit, claimed that none of SERAP’s management staff was in the country and advised that a formal letter of invitation be written by the DSS.

John and Ogundele, who claimed that their interactions with Ruth were recorded, said before they immediately exited SERAP’s office, Ruth promised to inform her organisation’s management about the visit and volunteered a phone number – 08160537202.

They said it was surprising that, shortly after their visit, SERAP posted on its X (Twitter) handle – @SERAPNigeria – that officers of the DSS are presently unlawfully occupying its office.

The claimant added, “On the same day, the defendants also published a statement on SERAP’s website, which was widely reported by several media outfits, falsely alleging that some officers from the DSS, described as “a tall, large, dark-skinned woman” and “a slim, dark skinned man,” invaded their Abuja office and interrogated the staff of the first defendant (SERAP).

John and Ogundele stated that “due to the false statements published by the defendants, the DSS has been ridiculed and criticised by international agencies such as the Amnesty International and prominent members of the Nigerian society, such as Femi Falana (SAN)”.

“Due to the false statements published by the defendants, members of the public and the international community formed the opinion that the Federal Government is using the DSS to harass the defendants.”

They added that the defendants’ statements caused harm to their reputation because the staff and management of the DSS have formed the opinion that the claimants did not follow orders and carried out an unsanctioned operation and are therefore, incompetent and unprofessional.

The claimants therefore prayed the court for the following reliefs: “An order directing the defendants to tender an apology to the claimants via the first defendant’s (SERAP’s) website, X (twitter) handle, two national daily newspapers (Punch and Vanguard) and two national news television stations (Arise Television and Channels Television) for falsely accusing the claimants of unlawfully invading the first defendant’s office and interrogating the first defendant’s staff.

“An order directing the defendants to pay the claimants the sum of N5 billion as damages for the libellous statements published about the claimants.

“Interest on the sum of N5b at the rate of 10 percent per annum from the date of judgment until the judgment sum is realised or liquidated.

“An order directing the defendants to pay the claimants the sum of N50 million as costs of this action.”