Headline

Refineries Probe: Reps Kick As Kyari Keeps Mum On Oil Swap Deal

Published

3 years ago

May 11, 2022

THE Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, on Tuesday, finally appeared before the House of Representatives’ Ad Hoc Committee on the State of Refineries in Nigeria.

However, Kyari could not answer some of the critical questions posed to him by members of the committee, urging the lawmakers to allow him to come back with documents containing the details.

The details sought by the lawmakers include the actual cost of rehabilitating the refineries, especially the Port Harcourt Refining Company.

This is just as the committee and the GMD failed to disclose the quantity of crude being taken from Nigeria and the volume of petroleum products being delivered to the country on a daily basis, under the Direct Sale Direct Purchase or oil swap deal with firms.

In his presentation, Kyari said, “We recognise that today, none of our refineries are operating for a very obvious reason that I am sure, through the work of this committee, you will find out why they are not operating today. We will hide nothing from you. We will also tell you where we are as we speak.

“Needless is to say that the refineries were essentially not properly managed over time, not just today but in the last 20 to 25 years. The turnaround maintenance processes were clearly mismanaged over time. We clearly admit that those turnaround maintenances were not properly done in the past, leading to where we are.

“When we took over, it is very obvious that what you are dealing with is not turnaround maintenance; you are dealing with a total rehabilitation. The refineries were clearly in situations where ordinary turnaround maintenance would not solve the problem. We have degradation of a monumental proportion that we met. And of course, the only way you can do this is to conduct full turnaround maintenance.”

Kyari also noted that the refineries were shut down as the country was running at a loss using them. He also said the NNPC shopped for “the best of class” contractors to rehabilitate the facilities.

He said, “We did not abridge any process. We took through all the necessary processes of governance to make sure that we have the right contractor in place. And I am happy today that at the end of that exercise that we have put in place, the Federal Executive Council has approved a contractor for the Port Harcourt refinery, the Kaduna refinery and the Warri refinery.

“Even when you rehabilitate the refineries, you must have the pipelines. As we speak now, the pipeline from Escravos, which will feed the Warri refinery and ultimately the Kaduna refinery cannot carry the two refineries as we speak now. This is for many reasons; one is the act of vandals.

“Needless is to say that the rehabilitation work must also be complemented with the replacement of the pipeline network. We are also working on this. It is a very critical component of what we are doing.”

The GMD also noted that the rehabilitation projects would be financed by banks, different from the previous efforts which were frustrated by funding challenges.

A member of the committee, Olanrewaju Edun, however, said Kyari did not speak to the document the NNPC presented to the panel, noting that what the GMD said was not captured in the written presentation.

Responding, Kyari said the committee should adopt his oral presentation also. “We have nothing to hide, that is why I said everything I could remember,” he said. Other members of the committee, however, insisted on getting the details demanded from the NNPC.

Another member, Ayokunle Isiaka, asked if the NNPC was changing the entire structure and systems of the refineries or changing some specific parts. He demanded an asset valuation report on the refineries. He also asked how refined products would be transported from the refineries when they become functional to the depots for onward distribution.

Chairman of the committee, Ganiyu Johnson also said, “It is very important for you to tell us the actual cost of this (Port Harcourt refinery rehabilitation) contract. If there are fluctuations (variations), the original contract sum, we should know.”

Responding, the GMD said, “Chairman, I didn’t say I did not have answers to all the questions but it is very obvious that we did not respond to all the questions – the requests – that this honourable committee asked us to do. If we had done so, many of the questions that were asked today wouldn’t have come up in the first instance. That is why I said give me the grace so that I can respond to all the submissions that you have requested and I would clearly come back to you as you directed.

“Secondly, we know the contract sum. We are hiding nothing from you. There is no variation on this contract. If you look at the document I submitted to you, you will see the approval is for $1.559bn including VAT. So, there is no question that we do not have an answer to. I don’t have all the details; I will not be able to have all the details, definitely.”

Johnson also asked, “What is the quantity of crude oil given out per day under the DSDP programme to refiners outside this country? Two, what is the quantity of PMS received per day in exchange for the quantity of crude oil swap?”

Responding, Kyari said, “Definitely, these are very specific numbers and there is no way I can give you a number on these, at this moment. First, let me tell you the principle around this. I know today, how much PMS we have in the country. I know we have up to 2.8 billion litres of PMS in the country at this moment, sufficient to keep us for 47 days if we don’t import.

“This is the basic information that I know. And all the PMS don’t come in equal volumes every day. Some days you can receive cargo and for three days may not receive cargo, and you can also receive up to four cargoes in a day. This is market-determined, supply-determined; you cannot give the volume for every day but we have data for every volume of PMS.”

Headline

12 Feared Dead In Kenya Light Aircraft Crash

Published

10 hours ago

October 28, 2025

Editor

A small plane travelling from Kenya’s coast crashed on Tuesday, according to the country’s aviation authority, with the 12 people on board feared dead.

The small plane was en route to Kichwa Tembo — a private airstrip located in the Maasai Mara National Park — from the tourist hotspot of Diani when it came down at around 5:30am local time (0230 GMT).

“The aircraft had 12 persons on board,” a statement from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said.

It gave no further details, but said that government agencies were already on site to establish the cause of the accident.

The Guardian reports that plane crashes are fairly common in Kenya in the last 18 months. On March 5, 2024, a mid-air collision between a Safarilink Aviation commercial flight and a 99 Flying School training aircraft occurred over the Nairobi National Park, resulting in two fatalities.

The incident took place shortly after both aircraft had departed Wilson Airport. The collision involved Safarilink Aviation Flight 053, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 carrying 39 passengers and five crew members, and a 99 Flying School Cessna 172M.

AMREF Aircraft Crash

In August, a light aircraft belonging to the AMREF Flying Doctors crashed into a residential area in Mwihoko, Ruiru, Kiambu County, killing six people and injuring at least two others.

The aircraft, a Cessna Citation XLS (registration 5Y-FDM), had taken off from Wilson Airport and was en route to Hargeisa, Somalia, when it went down under unclear circumstances.

AMREF Flying Doctors CEO Stephen Gitau issued a statement confirming the incident. Mr Gitau noted that the aircraft departed Wilson Airport at 2.17 PM before crashing in Mwihoko. He stated that the organisation is “cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation.”

Foreign Couple Killed in Kenyan Plane Crash, Earlier in January, a light aircraft crash killed a foreign couple aboard. The accident involved a Cessna 185 aircraft that departed from Nairobi and was en route to Mbaruk in Nakuru County. It went down in the lakeside town of Naivasha at approximately 5:14 p.m. local time (1414 GMT).

At the time, Naivasha Police Deputy Chief Charles Mwai suggested that poor visibility due to fog in the area might have been a contributing factor. Aviation experts have been called to the scene to conduct an investigation.

Headline

UK Police Arrest Asylum Seeker Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed

Published

3 days ago

October 26, 2025

Editor

The UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by British authorities.

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed around 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.

Kebatu, 38, had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, but was reportedly due to be deported when the Prison Service error occurred on Friday.

His high-profile case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, sparked demonstrations in various English towns and cities where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests.

Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt for him, said “information from the public” led officers to the Finsbury Park neighbourhood of London, where he was found.

“He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service,” he added.

Kebatu is now expected to be deported.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” mistake that saw him freed rather than sent to an immigration detention centre.

The Telegraph newspaper said he was wrongly categorised for release on licence and handed a £76 ($101) discharge grant.

Police had appealed Saturday for Kebatu to turn himself in, after reports emerged that he had appeared confused and reluctant to leave the prison in Chelmsford, eastern England.

A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return several times in a “very confused” state, only to be turned away by staff and directed to the railway station.

The driver told Sky News he saw Kebatu outside the jail, asking, “Where am I going? What am I doing?”

“He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” the driver said.

The father of Kebatu’s anonymous teenage victim told the broadcaster that “the justice system has let us down.”

Police arrested the asylum seeker in July after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.

He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.

He was staying at the time at Epping’s Bell Hotel, where scores of other asylum seekers have been accommodated, and which became the target of repeated protests.

AFP

Headline

Madagascar Revokes Ousted President’s Nationality

Published

3 days ago

October 26, 2025

Editor

Madagascar’s new government has stripped ousted president Andry Rajoelina of his Malagasy nationality in a decree published Friday, 10 days after he was removed in a military takeover.

According to AFP, the decree means that Rajoelina, who was impeached on October 14 after fleeing the island nation in the wake of weeks of protests, would not be able to contest future election.

The decree published in the official gazette said Rajoelina’s Malagasy nationality was revoked because he had acquired French nationality in 2014, local media reported, as photographs of the document were shared online.

French broadcaster RFI said it had confirmed the decree with the entourage of the new prime minister, Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, who signed the order.

The decree cited laws stipulating that a Malagasy who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses their Malagasy nationality.

Rajoelina’s French nationality caused a scandal when it was revealed ahead of the November 2023 elections, nearly 10 years after it was granted.

It triggered calls for him to be disqualified but he went on to win the contested polls, which were boycotted by opposition parties.

The 51-year-old politician fled Madagascar after army Colonel Michael Randrianirina said on October 11 his CAPSAT unit would refuse orders to put down the youth-led protest movement, which security forces had attempted to suppress with violence.

Rajoelina said later he was in hiding for his safety, but did not say where.

Randrianirina was sworn in as president on October 14, pledging elections within two years.