The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the National Assembly will resolve the issues under the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) on gas. Sylva made this known at a National Assembly Public Hearing organised by the Joint Committee on Gas Resources, Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream, on Monday, in Abuja. The hearing was on the topic: “Inclusion of Gas Terms in Production Sharing Contracts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).” He said that issues on gas terms was not captured under the PSC especially with the commercial aspect. “Issues on gas terms was not captured in the PSC because at the time, the offshore was just a frontier territory, today, it is no longer frontier, it is a...
The speaker of the house of representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has advised Nigerians not to believe conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccines. Many Nigerians are wary about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine amid unverified claims that it contains microchips. Faisal Shuaib, chief executive officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), had recently dismissed the claims as false. The first shipment of the vaccines– 3.9 million doses– arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday and the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine was administered today. Speaking at the national flag-off ceremony for the COVID-19 vaccination in Abuja, Gbajabiamila urged Nigerians to rally behind the federal government to fight the pandemic. He also cautioned against playing politics with the vaccinati...
The Senate said the National Assembly Committees on Public Account would probe the allegation of misappropriation of N4.4bn by the federal parliament, as contained in an audit report. The Deputy Director of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Kolawole Oluwadare, had in a statement alleged that an audit report revealed that the fund budgeted for the National Assembly, was misappropriated. SERAP has therefore given Messrs Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila, President of the Senate and Speaker, House of Representatives, respectively, 14 days ultimatum to address and implement the recommendations contained in the audit reports. But the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Ajibola Basiru, in his reaction said the alleged infractions occurred during the 8th Na...
A Bill for an Act to amend the Compulsory, Free, Universal Basic Education Act on Wednesday, passed second reading in the House of Representatives. The bill, which seeks to expand the scope of compulsory free basic education in Nigeria to include, Senior Secondary Education level, was sponsored by Taiwo Oluga and four other lawmakers. Leading the debate, Ms Oluga said the bill sought to amend sections 2, 4, 7, 11 and 15 of the existing Act. The lawmaker said the aim was to provide for rehabilitation of delinquent children and provide comprehensive definition for services, stakeholders, children or wards as captured in the existing Act. According to her, this will be done by providing a role for community based organisations in the development of basic education in states and local governme...
The Federal Government on Monday said that there are no plans to Scrap the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC in the Petroelum Industry Bill 2020 that has been transmitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari. Answering questions from Journalists in Abuja after an interactive meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly, Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, who allayed the fears of staff of the Corporation and Nigerians, said that the bill seeks for the commercialisation of NNPC and not outright scrapping. The meeting which was Presided over by the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, with the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and other Leaders of the National Assembly in attendance is aimed at discussing the deta...
Some Nigerian traders in Ghana are considering suicide as option, following rising cases of frustrations, biting hunger and sad feelings of grave abandonment occasioned by the recent actions taken by Ghanaian government against the traders, Progressives Ambassadors of Nigeria has said. Many shops belonging to Nigerian traders were shut in Ghana following a $1m levy imposed on them by the government of the West African country. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Nigeria’s Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, subsequently visited the country with a view to resolving all the issues. But Daily Trust gathered that the Ghanaian government has not heeded the pleas of the Vice President and the Speaker. Speaking on the latest development on Monday in a statement, the PAN Director of...