News

Fuel Subsidy Removal: Labour Leaders React To Tinubu’s Inaugural Speech

Published

2 years ago

May 29, 2023

Editor

Some stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have commended President Bola Tinubu’s pronouncement on removal of fuel subsidy.

They made the commendations in seperate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Lagos on Monday after Tinubu’s inaugural speech as Nigeria’s President.

Mr Mike Osatuyi, the National Operations Controller, lndependent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), said that the removal was a welcome development geared toward revamping the downstream sector of oil and gas industry.

Osatuyi said that Tinubu had promised to remove fuel subsidy right from the first day of his campaign.

NAN reports that the president during his inaugural address, promised to end fuel subsidy, insisting that no budgetary allocation was made in the 2023 budget.

Tinubu promised to focus subsidy funds on infrastructural projects, education and healthcare.

According to Osatuyi, the pronouncement is part of his campaign promises.

He said that Tinubu during his campaign had said that from day one of his administration that he would remove fuel subsidy.

“The money used on subsidy will be diverted to develop other sector.

“That means Tinubu has begun to fulfill his campaign promises,” he said.

The IPMAN boss said that the removal would bring about competition among players and also address the issue of monopoly.

Osatuyi said that the subsidy removal would lead to market liberalisation, availability of product and check excesses of middlemen.

He, however, said that there would be increase in price of petroleum but added that there would be competition.

Osatuyi noted that the money saved from subsidy removal would be used to boost the economy and the well-being of Nigerians.

“I commend his effort and laud the courage for taking the bull by the horn.”

Also, Mr Tunji Oyebanji, Managing Director, 11 Plc, said that the pronouncement was a timely decision for the country.

Oyebanji, however, said it was not clear if the removal of fuel subsidy was with immediate effect.

“Scarce resources will be channelled to productive sectors of the economy.

“Borrowing levels will reduce significantly. It may possibly lead to the strengthen of the Naira,” he said.

Mr Obafemi Olawore, former Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria

(MOMAN), who supported the subsidy removal, said there was need for the nation to move toward full deregulation.

“However, as a new admintration, it must be done in phases; over six to 12 months to give room for consultation and engagement so as to make it bearable and less painful.”

Mr Joe Nwakwue, an oil and gas consultant and a former Chairman, SPE Nigerian Council, said that President Tinubu was right when he said that petroleum subsidies are no longer sustainable.

Nwakwue said that considering the pain and social implications of removal, it would be irresponsible for any government to just yank it off without a plan.

“A multi-month plan that addresses key fuel market issues/challenges and measures to alleviate the pain needs to be crafted, adopted and rolled out.

“A knee jerk removal would be painful to the consuming public and potentially catastrophic to the economy,” he said.

News

JUST IN: Court Orders IGP To Arrest Mahmood Yakubu, Ex-INEC Chairman

Published

2 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Despite his exit as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, has again ordered the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the former INEC chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, for an offence relating to contempt of court.

The Court order came a few hours after Yakubu left office as the INEC chairman.

The Action Alliance, AA, had instituted a case before the court challenging INEC and its former chairman, Prof Yakubu, over their non-compliance with the judgment of the Court delivered by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi in suit number FHC/OS/CS/194/2024.

In the said judgment, the court ordered INEC to put the names of the National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, and other members of the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, on the INEC portal.

The Court also held that the names of all the state chairmen of the party be uploaded on the INEC portal.

The court held that the elective convention of the party held on the 7th of October, 2023 which produced Omoaje as the national chairman of the party and other NEC members of the party was authentic as it was properly monitored and supervised by officials of INEC in accordance with the party’s constitution and the electoral acts.

However, INEC claimed to have complied with the court judgment, but the party disagreed with the commission, as the name of Omoaje was yet to be uploaded on the commission’s website despite the orders of the Court.

Although the names of the state chairmen of the party under the leadership of Omoaje and those of the NEC members are already on the INEC portal, Omoaje’s name is yet to be uploaded as of press time, a development that the court frowned at.

The court order obtained by our correspondent dated 7th October, 2025, and signed by Mr O.M. Kilani on behalf of the Court Registrar reads in part, “it is hereby ordered that the Inspector General of Police shall cause the arrest and shall charge the defendant/judgment debtors for contempt and committal proceedings within seven days of this ruling.”

The court also awarded a cost of #100,000 against the judgment creditors.

News

Lagos Closes Adeniji Adele–CMS Lane For Six Weeks Of Repairs

Published

3 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has announced a partial closure of the Adeniji Adele Interchange Junction to CMS for six weeks to allow for rehabilitation works by the Federal Government.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, the repair works will run daily between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., starting Sunday, October 12, and ending Sunday, November 23, 2025.

Osiyemi explained that only one lane of the road will be closed during the period, while the remaining lanes will remain open to traffic to minimize disruptions.

He assured motorists that traffic management officers will be stationed along the corridor to ensure smooth vehicular movement and reduce inconvenience during the rehabilitation.

“Motorists are implored to be patient, as the lane diversion is part of the traffic management plan for the rehabilitation of the road by the Federal Ministry of Works,” the commissioner said.

He also urged drivers to comply with the directives of traffic officials on duty to ensure safety and efficient traffic flow throughout the repair period.

News

JUST IN: Tinted Permit Enforcement Placed On Hold Due To Court Order – Police

Published

4 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Nigeria Police Force said on Wednesday that the enforcement of the vehicle tinted glass permit has been suspended following a court order halting the exercise.

Spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this during an interview on Africa Independent Television, AIT.

She said the decision to halt the enforcement came after the police officially received the court order.

Adeh said, “Information reaching me from the office of the PRO is that the order has been received and the enforcement of the tinted permit is now on hold pending the court’s verdict”.

Disclosing that the directive to suspend enforcement would remain in place pending the outcome of the ongoing legal process, Adeh said, “We are waiting for the verdict. We are not against the courts, and we will continue to wait until we get a verdict”.

Speaking on public concerns about the purpose of the tinted glass regulation, Adeh explained that it was introduced for security reasons, noting that some criminal activities had been carried out using vehicles with darkened windows.

“The law was not made by us. We are enforcers. The policy was purely security-driven. Some criminals were using tinted vehicles to commit offences, making it difficult for law enforcement to identify suspects,” she said.

She dismissed claims that the policy was designed for financial gain, noting that all payments related to tinted permits are made directly into the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA), not to the police.