The Federal Government says it has facilitated the use of a tracking device to track every truck loading petroleum product from any of its depots as part of efforts to nip smuggling in the bud and arrest culprits. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said this at a forum organised by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to gauge the achievements recorded in the oil and gas sector in the last two years. Sylva noted that a lot had been achieved in the industry but that the activities of smugglers had continued to overshadow the successes especially as it concerned fuel subsidy and the quantity of petroleum products consumed in the country. “This is one big question that we try to answer ourselves because when we look at the number of load-outs from our depots every day...
A bill seeking to regulate tariff of digital satellite service providers was on Wednesday rejected by several participants at the public hearing on the bill. The bill, sponsored by Unyime Idem (PDP, Akwa-Ibom), seeks to give the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the powers to regulate the tariff charged by digital television platforms. The bill proposed that NBC “Regulates and review through broadcasting codes the tariff being charged by the digital satellite television services broadcasting in Nigeria and other subscription policy for subscribers.” If passed, digital satellite service providers like DSTV, StarTimes, TSTV, GOTV and others will have their subscriber fees regulated. It was first introduced to the House on March 19, 2020 and was consolidated with other NBC bills on the ...
National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) on Sunday said that President Muhammadu Buhari has surpassed all past Presidents of the country in the development of the Niger Delta region. The Council said the array of projects that now littered the coastal area was however made possible by the current Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio. The youths, therefore, warned the region’s politicians against blackmailing Buhari and Akpabio. The youths also threw their weight behind the interim sole administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Effiong Akwa for his prudent, transparent, and frugal management of resources which they said witnessed the execution of the projects within a short period of time. In a communiqué issued after a 3-week tour and assessment o...
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has pointed out that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has a mild side effect. Ehanire explained that those vaccinated may experience “small pain” in the area it was injected. He disclosed this after the vaccination of President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo, at the State House, yesterday. Ehanire, however, stated that the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be painless. He said: “The process itself is simple. We are using a narrow gauge syringe, which will be very painless, and it is a small quantity that is injected into the muscle of your upper arm. “The after-effects, as we know so far, are mild. There can be a small pain in the area where it was injected.” Meanwhile, Buhari after receiving the vaccine, had urged N...
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...
The Federal Government has listed conditions for states to meet before the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine being expected wt the end of January would be released to them. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), during a webinar tagged “Sensitisation Meeting with Media Gatekeepers on COVID-19 Vaccine Introduction”, at the weekend, said no vaccine will be release to states until facilities such as cold chains are in place. According to Director, Logistics and Health Commodities, NHPCDA, Kubura Daradara, the vaccine must be administered within five days of receipt for it to remain potent, and only the states that show commitment would receive the doses when available. She added that the 100,000 doses would be administered to 50,000 people, because each person has to take a secon...