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Petroleum Minister, Sylva, NNPC Boss, Kyari Sabotaging Refineries Investigation, Reps Alleges

Published

4 years ago

April 21, 2022

The House of Representatives on Thursday accused the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipreye Sylva and the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari of sabotaging refineries investigation.

Chairman of the House adhoc committee investigating rehabilitation of the refineries, Ganiyu Johnson, accused Kyari and the minister of frustrating efforts by the parliament to unravel why Nigeria’s refineries are not working despite billions of dollars spent on their rehabilitation.

He spoke at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, stressing that the Minister, the Group Managing Director and Managing Director of Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries have refused to appear before the committee on three different occasions.

While summoning them to appear before the House on Thursday, April 28, Johnson said if those concerned had nothing to hide from Nigerians, they would have honoured the invitation from the parliament, adding that failure on their part to honour the invitation is a sign of disrespect for the National Assembly.

The Committee was constituted by the Speaker of the House in January to investigate why the nation is still depending on the importation of petroleum products and a huge amount of money spent on the rehabilitation of the refineries.

He said the NNPC recently awarded contracts for the rehabilitation of the refineries in Kaduna (1.3 billion dollars), Port Harcourt (1.5 billion dollars) and Warri (900 million dollars).

The Committee Chairman said “You may all recall that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila in January 2022 constituted this Committee to determine the actual cost of rehabilitating the refineries and what is needed to bring them back to maximum refining capacity.

“The Committee was mandated to determine the true state of the Refineries, ascertain the actual cost of rehabilitating the refineries and what is needed for the refineries to function at maximum refining capacity.

“The Committee therefore relying on relevant laws and pursuant to the provisions of sections 62, 88, and 89 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), requested the GMD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to forward a Status Report on the Nation’s Refineries and the actual cost of rehabilitating the refineries from 2012 to date.

“The Committee specifically requested the GMD to provide relevant information and documents that will help in the investigations.

“We are compelled to make this Press Statement because of the continued refusal and flagrant disregard of the GMD of the NNPC, the Hon. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the General Managers of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries to the invitations to appear before the Committee.

“We consider this continued refusal and negligence to appear before the Committee as disrespect to the Leadership of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The Committee is worried that the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), Warri Refinery and Petrochemicals Company (WRPC) and Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemicals Company (KRPC) had all been operating at gross losses since 2010 before they were finally shut down in 2019.

“This Committee has the mandate of the House of Representatives and the Constitutional responsibility to demand accountability from those in positions of
managing our resources.

“It is worrisome that the GMD of the NNPC, the Hon. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the General Managers of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries have refused on three invitations to appear before the Committee to account for the Billions of Dollars spent on the rehabilitation of the refineries over the years.

“The Committee is aware that the NNPC recently awarded contracts for Rehabilitation of Refineries (WRPC $900 Million, PHRC $1.5 Billion and KRPC $1.3 Billion)

“As Chairman of this Honourable Committee, I hereby summon the GMD of the NNPC, the Hon. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the General Managers of Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries to appear before the Committee on Thursday 28 April, 2022 to avoid legal, constitutional and parliamentary measures to be taken against them in order to compel them to appear.

“As members of the National Assembly and Representatives of the people, we have the constitutional duty to name and demand from those responsible; the Hon. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, the GMD of NNPC and the Operators of the Refineries to let us know the problems besetting our refineries in order to proffer solutions for a sustainable future and for the benefit of all Nigerians

“We represent the people and we own the people this responsibility and until they appear, they are stalling our investigation. Unless they have something to hide. Otherwise, by now, we should have made progress. So this should be the last time we are calling on them to appear. Why is the refinery not functioning if they do not have anything to hide.”

DAILY POST

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Morocco Jails French Rapper Maes For Kidnapping Bid

Published

7 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A Moroccan court has sentenced French rapper Maes to seven years in prison on charges including the formation of a criminal gang and attempted kidnapping, local reports said Wednesday.

Maes, who has roots in Morocco and whose real name is Walid Georgey, was arrested upon landing in Morocco in January after fleeing the United Arab Emirates, where he feared he could be extradited to France, the reports said.

French authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for him over a separate criminal case.

He appeared in court late Tuesday and was found guilty of “forming a criminal organisation, attempted abduction and unlawful confinement” of a rival in Morocco, news website TelQuel reported.

The rapper with over a billion views on his YouTube channel was accused of tasking a gang and hitmen with killing the rival, but the plot was foiled, TelQuel added.

Maes has denied all charges, with his lawyers calling the case “empty” and “arguing that no evidence linked him to the other defendants”, TelQuel added.

Ten other people were sentenced as part of the case, with terms ranging from one to 10 years, according to news website Media24.

AFP was unable to independently verify the reports as prosecutors were not immediately reachable for comment.

In 2020, when Maes was one of France’s most-streamed rappers, he fell victim to extortion attempts in his native Sevran, a suburb north of Paris, according to reports.

He retaliated by opening fire with weapons he had at home, leading to a shootout. He then fled to Dubai with his family, according to an interview with French YouTube channel LEGEND.

Following the killing of his manager in 2022, he was suspected of ordering reprisals against those he believed were behind the murder, according to reports.

AFP

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UK Court Clears Comedy Writer Of Harassing Transgender Woman

Published

7 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A London court on Tuesday cleared Emmy award-winning comedy writer Graham Linehan of harassing a transgender activist online but found him guilty of criminal damage to their mobile phone.

Linehan, who co-created the popular 1990s sitcom “Father Ted” but has more recently become well-known for his gender critical views, had been accused of sending Sophia Brooks “abusive and vindictive” messages on social media.

He was also charged with criminal damage after deliberately knocking a phone out of Brooks’s hand as they filmed him on the sidelines of a London conference.

Ruling on the case, District Judge Briony Clarke said she was not convinced Linehan’s conduct “was oppressive and unacceptable beyond merely unattractive, annoying or irritating”.

Clarke also concluded Brooks was not “as alarmed and distressed as they portrayed themself to be”.

But convicting Linehan of criminal damage, the judge ruled he was “angry and fed up” and did not use “reasonable force” when the phone was taken from Brooks.

Clarke fined him £500 ($655) and ordered him to pay costs of £650 and a statutory surcharge of £200.

The Irish writer, who also co-created the popular sitcoms “Black Books” and “The IT Crowd”, became embroiled in a free speech row in Britain earlier this year over his anti-transgender stance.

It followed his arrest at London’s Heathrow Airport by armed police over accusations of inciting violence with his X posts insulting transgender people.

The arrest sparked a backlash and claims of state overreach, including from US tech billionaire Elon Musk. But in October, UK prosecutors said they would take “no further action” in that case.

AFP

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Prosecutors Seek Jail For Italian Influencer Ferragni In Fraud Case

Published

7 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

Italian prosecutors asked a court on Tuesday to sentence fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni to one year and eight months in prison if found guilty of alleged fraud over charity endorsement deals.

The Instagram star and businesswoman has been on trial since September for aggravated fraud over promotions of a pandoro cake — a Christmas treat similar to a panettone — and Easter eggs, which purported to raise money for charity or social causes.

The 38-year-old, who is based in Milan, told the court during the closed-door hearing on Tuesday that she denied the charges and had always acted “in good faith”, her lawyer Giuseppe Iannaccone said.

Leaving the audience, Ferragni told a throng of journalists that she felt “confident… I can’t say anymore”.

A verdict is expected in January.

Aggravated fraud carries a jail term of between one and five years.

But Ferragni has chosen a fast-track trial, which gives defendants a sentence reduction — meaning she cannot receive more than a maximum penalty of two years and three months, according to a source close to her team.

In Italy, people sentenced to prison for less than two years rarely serve jail time.

Ferragni started out with a fashion blog, The Blonde Salad, in 2009, and in 2017, Forbes magazine named her its top fashion influencer.

Chronicling her glamorous lifestyle and being paid to promote high-end brands, she built the blog into a lucrative business, then used it as a springboard to launch her own eponymous label with stores around the world.

Her trailblazing story even became a Harvard Business School example of how social media fame can be monetised.

But the fraud accusations have hit her reputation and her endorsements.

Outside court for a hearing earlier this month, Ferragni acknowledged to journalists that it was a “difficult phase of my life”.

The allegations relate in part to Ferragni’s 2022 endorsement of a pandoro cake purportedly to raise funds for children undergoing treatment at a Turin hospital.

In December 2023, Italy’s communications watchdog (AGCOM) fined two of Ferragni’s companies one million euros ($1.2 million) for unfair commercial practices for the “Pandoro Pink Christmas” promotion — around the same sum they had made in the deal.

Shoppers were led to believe that buying the special edition cake made by Balocco would benefit the hospital, but it only received a single 50,000-euro donation from the company.

Balocco was fined 420,000 euros at the same time.

AGCOM also investigated Ferragni-branded Easter eggs from 2021 and 2022, linked to a social enterprise initiative.

Ferragni and her husband, rapper and music producer Fedez, who were one of Italy’s most famous celebrity couples, split in 2024.

AFP