Progress
Minister: PIB will address production sharing contracts issues on gas
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...
ECOWAS suggests compensation for coronavirus vaccine adverse reactions
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Vaccine Taskforce has recommended compensation for citizens who suffer side effects or injury from the COVID-19 vaccination. Professor Stanley Okolo, the Director-General of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), disclosed this at the 5th Regional Steering Committee meeting of the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE) project on Saturday in Abuja. Okolo said that the recommendation was one of the resolutions adopted by the taskforce and presented to the ECOWAS Ministerial Coordinating Committee to encourage citizens to receive the vaccine. He explained during the REDISSE virtual meeting that the issue of indemnity was being taken up by the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, the global initiative aimed at equit...
Ex-President Jonathan enlists colleagues to mitigate electoral crises in West Africa
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has enlisted the support of other ex-presidents and Prime Ministers in West Africa to mitigate elections-related conflicts to promote peace in the region. Mrs Ann Iyonu, Executive Director, Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) announced this at a news conference in Yenagoa on Friday. Iyonu said that the former leaders’ group christened West African Elders Forum (WAEF) was inaugurated by Jonathan at a virtual meeting held on Thursday. She said that WAEF was an initiative of the GJF aimed at harnessing the goodwill, expertise and experiences of former leaders to promote peaceful elections and deepen democracy in West Africa. According to her, the forum comprises three former leaders of Nigeria, Ex-President Jonathan, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Retired Gen. A...
Senator Saraki urges President Buhari to include opposition, others in fight against insecurity
A former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to include opposition parties and the international community in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria. He spoke with newsmen shortly after he met with a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, behind closed doors at his penthouse residence located within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State. Saraki, who is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Reconciliation and Strategy Committee, was joined in the meeting by former Governors, Ibrahim Dankwanbo (Gombe), Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Ibrahim Shehu Sema (Katsina) and former Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Mulikat Akande Adeola. Speaking after about two hours c...
OPC nabs four ‘kidnappers’ in Ibarapa
The Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, in Oyo State said yesterday that it arrested four suspected Kidnappers in the Ibarapa, area of the state. The group, under the supervision of its state coordinator, Mr Rotimi Olumo, said it made huge progress with the arrest of the second in command to the dreaded kidnapper, Wakilu, Isiaka Muhammadu was also arrested. The arrest was made around 1 pm on Friday, while the OPC was on a search mission for the dreaded Wakilu that had been terrorising the entire area. Muhammadu, who was arrested around 5 pm, had given vital information that might lead to the arrest of the kingpin. Olumo stated that suspected kidnappers had been a thorn in the flesh of the residents of the community. According to him, the four suspects have been handed over to the police and they ...
Chelsea boss takes blame for Hakim Ziyech struggles at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has shouldered the blame for Hakim Ziyech’s stalled progress at Stamford Bridge, challenging the midfielder to fight for his place in the team. Morocco international Ziyech, who signed in July, has only featured twice so far under Tuchel, leading to suggestions the former Ajax star could seek a summer exit. But Tuchel is adamant he will need to call on Ziyech as the hectic season unfolds. “It is my fault actually, not his,” Tuchel said on Friday. “It is my hard decisions at the moment as well for Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and for Christian Pulisic sometimes in the half positions where we seem the strongest. “It is the same for Hakim at the moment and for some other players — there were hard decisions to make. It is never easy but it is a good thing, we have...
Senator Saraki calls for stakeholders’ meeting on solution to insecurity
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has called for a stakeholders meeting to find solution to the problems of insecurity across the country. Saraki made the suggestion in Minna, Niger State on Friday while fielding questions from newsmen after leading the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Reconciliation and Search Committee to former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida at his uphill residence. “It (insecurity) is of great concern to all of us as I have always said it is a matter that should not just be left to the government. “It is a matter that both the ruling party, opposition and elder statesmen should all meet and contribute to find solution to the problem so that we can successfully address the problem,” Saraki said. On the mandate of the committee, the former Senate Preside...
Anambra election: We shall move our members to the polling booth – PFN chair
File Photo Ahead of the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State, the Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in the state, Bishop Moses Ezedebego, has declared that as part of efforts being made by PFN to make meaningful contributions to the development, peace and progress of the state, all eligible voters that worship in pentecostal churches across the 326 wards in the State would be at the polling booth to participate in electing the next governor of the State. Bishop Ezedebego made the declaration while addressing a press conference in respect of a 3-day camp meeting involving Christians leaders from across Nigeria and beyond organized by Maximum Impact Leadership Development Centre with a view to addressing the challenges facing Nigeria particularly poor leade...
U.S. says North Korea an urgent priority for the United States
North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs are an urgent priority for the United States and Washington remains committed to denuclearization of the country, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. The Biden administration’s lack of direct engagement with North Korea should not be seen as an indication that the challenge posed by its weapons programs was not a priority, department spokesman Ned Price said. “It in fact very much is,” he told a regular briefing. North Korea continued to make progress in its nuclear and missile programs in recent years “which makes this an urgent priority for the United States and one that we are committed to addressing together with our allies and partners,” Price said. “And … the central premise is that we remain committed to denuclearizat...
DPR to upgrade downstream petroleum sector operations
File Photo The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Tuesday, disclosed that it plans to upgrade operations in the downstream petroleum industry, leveraging on its ongoing automation process. In a statement in Abuja, Director/Chief Executive Officer of the DPR, Engineer Sarki Auwalu, stated that the upgrade would be to global standards and would be driven by its deployment of improved technology. Auwalu, who was speaking at a virtual meeting with members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, in Abuja, noted that the DPR was currently deploying appropriate technology to enhance value for operators and investors alike in the downstream sector . Specifically, Auwalu explained that the DPR had concluded plans to launch the Downstream Remote Monitoring Systems, DRMS, an in...
House of Reps allays fear of possible spread of coronavirus inside NYSC orientation camps
The House of Representatives Committee on Youths Development on Tuesday allayed the fear of the possible spread of COVID-19 in the orientation camps of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) currently in progress across the country. The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Yemi Adaramodu, while speaking with newsmen shortly after the oversight visit of the committee to the Nasarawa State NYSC camp at Keffi declared that there was no cause for concern as being envisaged in some quarters. The member representing Ekiti South Federal Constituency 1, Ekiti State under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) stated that the committee was convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that there was no need to entertain any fear of the possible spread of COVID-19 at the orientation camps based on th...
Anti-coup protests ring out in Myanmar’s main city
The din of banging pots and honking car horns reverberated through Myanmar’s biggest city of Yangon late on Tuesday in the first widespread protest against the military coup that overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The party of the detained Nobel Peace laureate called for her release by the junta that seized power on Monday and is keeping her at an undisclosed location. It also demanded recognition of her victory in a November election. A senior official from her National League for Democracy (NLD) said he had learned she was in good health a day after her arrest in a military takeover that derailed Myanmar’s tentative progress towards full democracy. The U.N. Security Council was due to meet later on Tuesday amid calls for a strong global response to the military’s latest seizure o...