Headline

NECA Expresses Worries Over N3trn FEC’s Approval For Subsidy On Petrol

Published

4 years ago

January 31, 2022

The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA, weekend expressed fears that the N3trillion approved by the Federal Executive Council, FEC, to cover subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, commonly known as petrol for 18 months, was neither desirable nor sustainable for the overall resuscitation of the economy.

It will be recalled that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, forwarded a proposal of N3 trillion to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, last Wednesday to cover cost of subsidy for 18 months, July 2022 to June 2023, stating that its removal would be suspended.

NECA, which is the umbrella body for all employers in the country, however, contended that for government to effect total removal of subsidy on petrol, it must take urgent steps to address the predicted socio-economic issues which would arise as a result.

Speaking on the N3 trillion Subsidy on petrol for the next 18 months by the Federal Government, NECA said: “The subject of fuel subsidy has become a matter of perpetual recurrence.

“In the recent past, we had opined that the removal of fuel subsidy was due and in the best interest of the country.

‘’However, we were deeply concerned about the timing, in view of the nation’s continued dwindling economy.

“Consequently, we encourage the government to engage relevant stakeholders, given the huge impact the removal would have on household income and spending before its implementation.

“The N3 trillion approved by the Federal Government is a follow-up to the suspension of the planned removal of subsidy in the country.

“It should be noted that following the public outcry on government’s intention to stop the subsidy of PMS, the Federal Executive Council approved the sum of N3 trillion to cover subsidy.

‘’In taking this decision, the government noted that the abrupt removal of subsidy would lead to increased hardship in the population and heightened inflation, especially since the necessary structures that would cushion the effects of subsidy removal on the general populace were not yet in place.

“While the Federal Government has rescinded the implementation plan and rather approached the National Assembly to amend the 2022 budget and make additional provision for subsidy from July to June 2023, it is imperative to note that this is certainly not sustainable in the long term, neither is it desirable for the overall resuscitation of the Nigerian economy.

“As often canvassed by the Organised Private Sector on the growing debt debacle, we call for more collaborative efforts in the form of Public Private Partnership, PPP, in addressing the huge infrastructure deficits, in a very short term and at cheaper rate.

‘’ It is our belief that implementing the PPP initiative in provision of the country’s critical infrastructure, decent and sustainable jobs will be provided and desirable number of people will be lifted from the poverty rank, even before the desired date of 2030.

“More so, with the unpredictable nature of global oil prices and developments in usage of alternative sources of fuel and modern technology, it is more appropriate to hasten the process of diversification of the non-oil economy in expanding the revenue sources away from oil.

‘’It is obvious that revenue from non-oil is more feasible than the oil revenue. This will result in a buoyant and robust economy which will reduce the need for external debt to the barest minimum.

“Exploration of the various natural mineral deposits in the country for processing and exportation should be optimized.

“Going forward, government has to take urgent steps to address the predicted socio-economic issues which would arise if subsidy removal is to see the light of the day.

“Government should address the following urgently to foster total removal of subsidy on petrol rather than injecting trillions of naira from an already bleeding economy.

‘’They include the revival of the four refineries in the country to optimal operating capacity and encouragement of more private sector involvement in refining crude oil, complete deregulation of the downstream sector, and provision of socio-economic relief options to address the anticipated drastic reduction in the citizens’ disposable income and standard of living.”

(VANGUARD)

Headline

FULL LIST: Ghana Releases Identities Of Helicopter Crash Victims

Published

3 hours ago

August 7, 2025

Editor

The Ghanaian Government has released the names of individuals who died in Wednesday morning’s military helicopter crash.

The crash involved a Z-9 helicopter belonging to the Ghana Armed Forces, which lost contact during a flight from Accra, the capital, to Obuasi, a gold-mining town in the south, where the crew headed for an official engagement.

In a post via its official X handle on Wednesday, the Ghana Armed Forces said the victims comprise eight people.

The names and portfolios of the victims are listed below:

1. Edward Omane Boamah – Minister for Defence

2. ⁠Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed – Minister for Environment, Science and Technology

3. Muniru Mohammed – Acting deputy, National Security Coordinator and former Minister for Food and Agriculture

4. Samuel Sarpong – Vice- Chairman, National Democratic Congress

5. ⁠Samuel Aboagye – Former parliamentary candidate

6. Peter Baafemi Anala – ⁠Squadron leader

7. ⁠Manaen Twum Ampadu – Flying officer

8. ⁠Ernest Addo – Sergeant

Following the sad development, Ghanaian President John Mahama described the incident as a national tragedy and suspended activities upon receiving the news.

He also directed that flags fly at half-mast to honour the memory of the victims.

Headline

Bodies Of Helicopter Crash Victims Arrive In Accra

Published

4 hours ago

August 7, 2025

Editor

The Ghana Armed Forces on Wednesday confirmed the arrival in Accra of the remains of the victims of the Z-9 military helicopter crash, which claimed the lives of eight personnel.

It stated that the victims’ bodies were transported from the crash site aboard a Ghana Air Force Casa aircraft and received at the Air Force Base in Accra on August 6, 2025.

According to a statement issued by the Acting Director General, Public Relations, Ghana Navy, Captain Veronica Arhin, government officials, military personnel, and sympathisers led by the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Julius Debrah, were present to receive the bodies.

The statement said the remains have since been deposited at the 37 Military Hospital for preservation and preparations for burial.

It noted that all eight bodies were recovered from the crash site located in the Sikaman area, near Adansi Akrofuom in Ghana’s Ashanti Region.

The Ghana Armed Forces extended its appreciation to the people of Sikaman and the security services for their support during the recovery operations.

“The Deputy Minister for Defence, Hon. Brogya Genfi, and the Military High Command extend their deepest condolences to the families in this difficult national tragedy,” the statement added.

Headline

Hiroshima Marks 80 Years As US-Russia Nuclear Tensions Rise

Published

16 hours ago

August 7, 2025

Editor

Japan marked 80 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday with a ceremony reminding the world of the horrors unleashed, as sabre-rattling between the United States and Russia keeps the nuclear “Doomsday Clock” close to midnight.

A silent prayer was held at 8:15 am (2315 GMT), the moment when US aircraft Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” over the western Japanese city on August 6, 1945.

On a sweltering morning, hundreds of black-clad officials, students and survivors laid flowers at the memorial cenotaph, with the ruins of a domed building in the background, a stark reminder of the horrors that unfolded.

In a speech, Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui warned of “an accelerating trend toward military buildup around the world”, against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the chaos in the Middle East.

“These developments flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history,” he said.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said it was Japan’s mission “to take the lead… toward a world without nuclear weapons”.

The final death toll of the Hiroshima attack would hit around 140,000 people, killed not just by the colossal blast and the ball of fire, but also later by the radiation.

Three days after “Little Boy”, on August 9, another atomic bomb killed 74,000 people in Nagasaki. Imperial Japan surrendered on August 15, bringing an end to World War II.

Today, Hiroshima is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million but the attacks live on in the memories of many.

On the eve of the ceremony, people began lining up to pay their respects to the victims in front of the cenotaph.

Before dawn on Wednesday, families who lost loved ones in the attack also came to pray.

Yoshie Yokoyama, 96, who arrived in a wheelchair with her grandson, told reporters that her parents and grandparents were bomb victims.

“My grandfather died soon after the bombing, while my father and mother both died after developing cancer. My parents-in-law also died, so my husband couldn’t see them again when he came back from battlefields after the war.

“People are still suffering,” she added.

Wednesday’s ceremony was set to include a record of around 120 countries and regions including, for the first time, Taiwanese and Palestinian representatives.

The United States — which has never formally apologised for the bombings — was represented by its ambassador to Japan. Russia and China were absent.

Nihon Hidankyo, the grassroots organisation that last year won the Nobel Peace Prize, is representing the dwindling number of survivors, known as hibakusha.

As of March, there were 99,130 hibakusha, according to the Japanese health ministry, with the average age of 86.

“I want foreign envoys to visit the peace memorial museum and understand what happened,” the group’s co-chair Toshiyuki Mimaki told local media ahead of the commemorations.

Pope Leo XIV said in a statement that “in our time of mounting global tensions and conflicts”, Hiroshima and Nagasaki remained “living reminders of the profound horrors wrought by nuclear weapons”.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that “the very weapons that brought such devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki are once again being treated as tools of coercion”.

– Younger generation –
The attacks remain the only time atomic bombs have been used in wartime.

Kunihiko Sakuma, 80, who survived the blasts as a baby, told AFP he was hopeful that there could eventually be a nuclear-free world.

“The younger generation is working hard for that end,” he said ahead of the ceremony.

But in January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ “Doomsday Clock” shifted to 89 seconds to midnight, the closest in its 78-year history.

The clock symbolising humanity’s distance from destruction was last moved to 90 seconds to midnight over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russia and the United States account for around 90 percent of the world’s over 12,000 warheads, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI warned in June that “a dangerous new nuclear arms race is emerging at a time when arms control regimes are severely weakened,” with nearly all of the nine nuclear-armed states modernising their arsenals.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump said that he had ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines following an online spat with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.