News

Why Tinubu Signed Executive Orders On Gas, Energy – Aide

Published

2 years ago

March 8, 2024

The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen, has given reasons why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed Executive Orders to transform the gas and energy sectors of the economy, submitting that gas remains the best option for Nigeria’s attainment of energy stability.

The presidential aide, who addressed the media in Abuja on Friday, pointed out that the steps taken by the president was to make gas readily available to Nigerians at affordable rates for all purposes and reduce dependence on petrol and diesel.

Mrs. Verheijen said: “Our ambitions to accelerate our economic growth and diversify the economy for the benefit of all Nigerians require timely, credible, clear and consistent policy. We are faced with a revenue crisis which is impacting all Nigerians. To urgently address this, President Bola Tinubu is actively seeking ways to grow revenue and forex to stabilize our economy and currency. The oil and gas sector is critical to our ability to do so. However, our current oil and gas production and investment levels falls significantly short of our potential.

“Since 2016, Nigeria has only accounted for only four percent four percent of Africa’s total oil and gas investments, despite possessing 38 percent of the continent’s hydrocarbon reserves. A society is not rich because of its resources but because of what it does with those resources. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is determined to reverse this trend and take decisive steps to ensure to a conducive business climate and reposition Nigeria as a preferred investment destination for oil and gas sector,” she explained.

The energy adviser said that it was in a bid to reverse the negative tendencies in the sector that the president issued a directive to streamline and clarify the scope of two regulators in the petroleum sectors and to provide certainty and create a conducive business environment for the players.

She pointed out that consequent upon the directive, the TNP pipeline, which had been repeatedly vandalized, is now enjoying improved uptime and doubled its availability, resulting in increased liquids of over 200,000 barrels/day being transported over the last six months and increasing the availability of NLNG Trains 1-6 from 57 percent in 2023 to 70 percent in Q1 2024.

The adviser said the president had also introduced fiscal incentives to deepen Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) penetration all aimed at easing the impact of fuel subsidies on transportation cost, enabling the displacement of PMS/Diesel and contributing to stabilising the price of cooking gas in the market and support the transition to clean cooking.

The presidential aide explained that the Fiscal Incentives for Non-Associated Gas (NAG), Midstream and Deepwater Oil and Gas Developments is aimed at facilitating the monetization of Nigeria’s extensive oil and gas resources.

She said: “For Gas, 76 percent of our gas reserves, remain undeveloped. This explains why, despite possessing one of the largest gas reserves globally, we lack sufficient gas to meet our domestic needs for industry, for power and for cooking. The fiscal incentives introduced will attract the much-needed investments to enhance energy security, catalyze economic activity, attract essential foreign exchange, and promote job creation.

“The President has issued directives to reduce contracting timelines and project delivery. Benchmarking and analysis revealed that the contracting cycle takes up to 36 months. This Directive should have the effect of compressing this cycle to less than 6 months in line with global averages. This will expedite the delivery of oil and gas products to the market and enhance overall value for the country.

“Local Content Practice Reform: This Directive seeks to ensure that local content requirements are implemented in a manner that does not impede investments or the cost competitiveness of oil and gas projects. This Directive aims to reduce the cost premium of operating in Nigeria, presently averaging at 40 percent. We anticipate significant benefits from this reform, including the development of local companies’ capacity, thereby generating additional business opportunities, job creation and boosting economic growth.

On how the new policies would be implemented for effective results, the presidential aide, explained that the assignments had been shared among different levels of government agencies to be followed up by her office.

Under the arrangement, she said, the Minister of Finance/Co-coordinating Minister of the Economy will develop and propose amendments to introduce fiscal incentives for deep-water developments into legislation while the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) will issue guidelines on the implementation of the fiscal incentives.

News

Court Dissolves Petitioner’s Marriage Over Lack Of Love, Care

Published

10 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Editor

An Area Court sitting at Centre-Igboro, Ilorin in Kwara State, on Thursday, dissolved the four-year-old marriage between Aminat Mustapha and Wahab Adeshina, following the petitioner’s insistence.

The petitioner told the court that she was no longer interested in her marriage to her husband following claims of lack of love and care.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), while delivering ruling, the presiding judge, Mr Toyin Aluko, held that the respondent had written to the court, accepting the divorce application made by his wife.

Aluko, consequently, dissolved the marriage between the parties, and ordered the woman to observe one month iddah (waiting period) before she could remarry.

Meanwhile, the court granted custody of the two children in the marriage, ages one and three, to their mother.

He ordered the father to pay a monthly sum of N20,000 for the children’s feeding and maintenance.

The court also held that the respondent will be responsible for their education and healthcare.

Again, the court held that the father has unrestricted access to his children, but at reasonable time adding that he should be notified before any decision is taken on his children.

The judge ordered the petitioner to get a copy of the judgment and send same to the respondent.

News

Tinubu Embarks On Three-state Visit

Published

10 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Editor

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja on Saturday on a working visit to Borno, Bauchi and Lagos.

This is contained in a statement issued by Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Friday in Abuja.

While in Borno, the President will commission projects executed by the Borno State Government under Gov. Babagana Zulum, in collaboration with the Federal Government.

He will also attend the wedding ceremony of Sadeeq Sheriff, son of former Borno Governor, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, and his bride, Hadiza Kam Salem.

From Maiduguri, Tinubu will proceed to Bauchi State to condole with the state government and the family of Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, the renowned Islamic cleric and leader of the Tijjaniyya Muslim Brotherhood.

Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi died on Nov. 27.

After the condolence visit, the President will travel to Lagos, where he will spend the end-of-year holidays.

During his stay in Lagos, Tinubu is expected to attend several engagements, including the Eyo Festival scheduled for Dec. 27.

The festival, to be held at Tafawa Balewa Square, will honour notable personalities, including the President’s late mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, former Lagos State governors Alhaji Lateef Jakande and Chief Michael Otedola.

News

My Wife Dented My Image, Took Our Marital Crises To Radio Stations — Husband

Published

11 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Editor

…He ran away from home after I was delivered of twins —Wife

Grade A Customary Court sitting at Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, has ruled that a couple, Folaji and Ifedayo should go their different ways after it pronounced their marriage dissolved.

The court president, Mrs S.M Akintayo, who gave the judgment, stated that this was imperative to dissolve the marriage for peace to reign.

The plaintiff, Folaji, who dragged his wife to court, accused her of not loving him, always fighting him, and sometimes displaying violence.

Folaji explained that the root of their differences was Ifedayo’s bias for his mode of worship.

According to the plaintiff, he attends a white garment church, which mode of worship the defendant abhors and therefore refused to attend services with him.

Folaji also said that Ifedayo concealed from him the fact that she was suffering from a particular ailment, which he became aware of after she was advised at the hospital to carry out series of tests.

Folaji stated that the differences between him and his wife degenerated to the level that he became a regular face at the police station and also at radio stations, where his wife took their matters to.

The plaintiff told the court that the defendant had done a lot of damage to his image, and thus prayed the court to put an end to their relationship so that he could pick up the pieces of his life.

The plaintiff sought easy access to their children and promised to give them feeding allowance weekly.

He further requested an order restraining his wife from threatening him and from interfering with his private life.

Ifedayo, in her response, agreed that their union be dissolved.

She stated that her husband was inhumane and that he packed out of their house before she was discharged from the hospital after she put to bed a set of twins.

The defendant further said that the plaintiff had never visited her and their children since he walked out of their marriage.

According to her, her husband sent her N20,000 through his counsel after he dragged her to court, but that she declined it because it was a ridiculous amount to feed a set of twins.

Folaji, in his testimony, said: “My lord, my wife, and I had a proper wedding, and I paid her bride price.

“I expected my wife to be submissive to me and do my binding, but the reverse is the case.

“My wife is stubborn and troublesome.

“She swore never to attend my church because it’s a white garment church and that she loathes our way of worship.

“The more I encouraged her to attend, the more she kept her distance.

“She later reluctantly agreed to attend service once a month.

“My wife is secretive. She hid from me for years the fact that she was nursing an ailment. I only became aware of this when the doctor confirmed it after she went through a series of tests when she took ill.

“My wife, rather than being remorseful, decided to make life tough for me.

“She became troublesome and never ceased to fight me.

“She is violent and always hit and harmed me with any dangerous objects within her reach.

“We always dragged ourselves to the police station where we became a regular face.

“My wife, determined to dent my image, took our issues to radio stations where I was invited and our differences were aired.

“I walked out of our marriage when I could no longer tolerate my wife’s misbehaviour.

“She reported me again at the welfare office and, after mediating in our differences, I was asked to provide her with foodstuff and not money, which I did on a regular basis.

“But she has insisted that I would not have rest of mind.

“I pray this court to dissolve our marriage and grant me free access to our children. I promise to make provision for their upkeep on a weekly basis.

“I further request an order restraining my wife from threatening and interfering with my private life.”

Ifedayo, in her response, said: “I agree that our marriage be dissolved. My husband is inhumane and has no conscience, which were the causes of the crisis we experienced in our marriage.

“I was admitted in the hospital to be delivered of our set of twins, but I returned to meet an empty house. My husband deserted me and our newborn children.

“He never checked on them nor gave anything for their upkeep. He only gave them N20,000 of recent through his counsel after he came to court.

“I rejected the money because such an amount can not feed sufficiently two children of their age, not to mention other needs.

“I plead that the court grant me custody of our children and make my husband responsible for their upkeep.

“I want him to give attention to their feeding and pay their school fees as and when due.

“He should likewise be available any time they need medical attention.”

Giving her judgment, Mrs Akintayo said although both had a valid customary marriage and bride price was paid, the court had no choice than to grant their prayers of divorce since they now express their disinterest in it.

Akintayo ruled that they were no longer husband and wife.

She granted custody of their children to the defendant, stating that they were still minors in need of motherly care.

The defendant was granted access to their children on a weekly basis while he was ordered to be responsible for their welfare.