Business
Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum replies Olu of Warri, Says NNPCL owes no explanations
…Decribes claims by Itsekiri Pipelines Surveillance Stakeholders as spurious, irritating
The controversy over the termination of the $3.9M monthly contract of the company owned by the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, Pipelines Infrastructures Nigeria Limited (PINL) has continued to linger as Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum (NDSF) once again accused the Itsekiri monarch and the management of PINL of being dishonest.
According to the group, for the Itsek kiiri monarch and PINL to be honest, they have to lay bare the circumstances, which led to the termination of their non-performing Trans-forcados pipeline contract in the public domain
NDSF, in a statement issued on Friday, lambasted a group fronting for the Itsekiri monarch and his company, Itsekiri Pipelines Surveillance Stakeholders (IPSS), of being ingrorant of the facts of the matter “they were hired and paid by the Olu and his company to defend.”
The NDSF in the statement signed by its leader, Chief Julius Daukoru, also described as “laughable” the call by the Itsekiri fictitious group asking NNPCL’s management to provide explanations for the termination of the surveillance job of the Trans-forcados pipelines hitherto handled by the Itsekiri monarch.
The NDSF insisted that the management of NNPCL neither owed the Olu and his company nor the “renegade group” any explanation over the termination of the non-performing contract.
NDSF, which promised to issue another detailed statement soon, said the group led by “one Collins Oritsemeyin Edema, merely demonstrated arrant ignorance and gullibility at the media briefing over the controversy generated by the termination of the Olu of Warri contract recently in Warri.”
The NDSF said “those handpicked as members of the hurriedly formed and non-existent fictitious group were either paid for the hatchet job or merely showing gratitude to the Olu of Warri for previous help and favours rendered to them by the Itsekiri monarch, such as in the case of Collins Edema, who was appointed as self-serving Olu of Warri liason to NNPCL.”
Daukoru said the task expected of the Olu of Warri and his company was simple, which “is to come up with facts and figures of their performances in the handling of the Trans-forcados pipeline surveillance job.”
“But instead of doing what is right, they decided to hire idle hands and surrogates for naming calling and giving of spurious excuses. ”
“Otherwise, how do you explain the attempts by the imaginary Itsekiri Pipelines Surveillance Stakeholders to blackmail the NNPCL that the Trans-forcados pipelines are located on Omadino Land, under the overlordship of the Olu of Warri?”
“By implication, they are saying that the overlordship of the Olu has made it compelling for the NNPCL to sustain a non-performing contract to the Olu of Warri and his company?”
“The Itsekiri Stakeholders also need to answer another question to which, does the Olu of Warri have overlordship over the various communities in Rivers, Imo, Abia and part of Bayelsa where his PINL is currently handling pipeline surveillance jobs for NNPCL? Are there no monarchs, with overlordship authorities in those areas?”
“Why is the Olu of Warri operating outside his domains when it becomes an issue when Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) and other companies are awarded jobs in Omadino? Even the claims of ownershipby the Itsekiri to these areas are spurious and at variance with historical facts.”
“We expect the Olu and some of his subjects, sympathetic to him to come out clean by admitting that the PINL failed to do the right thing in the handling of the $3.9M monthly job awarded to it instead of blackmailing and intimidating the management of NNPCL.”
“Let the management of PINL come out openly with facts and figures to defend the company. Was the Trans-forcados pipeline being incessantly damaged or not under the watch of the company, the developmmey which made it compelling for the contract to be terminated?
“Is it justifiable for the NNPCL to sustain the award of the contract to PINL in the circumstances of continuous wreckage of the Trans-forcados pipelines by oil thieves as PINL appeared helpless and pocketing $3.9M monthly for doing nothing?
“Our Itsekiri brothers and sisters should not be brainwashed to see the decision of the NNPCL to terminate this non-performance contract as an affront against the Itsekiri ethnic nationality. Was the contact awarded to Itsekiri ethnic nationality in the first place or PINL by NNPCL?
It’s not a war against the Itsekiri nation but purely a business transaction in which someone has to justify why he should continue to pocket a whooping sum of $3.9M monthly for doing nothing.”
“So anyone trying to defend this failure should be abreast with the issues and not come to the public space as ethnic bigots.”
“How many Itsekiri even knew about the existence of $3.9M monthly contract awarded to PINL in over 2 years, talkless of feeling the impact of the award of such heavy contract?”
“Our Itsekiri brothers and sisters should borrow a leaf from the patriotic zeal and fervour demonstrated by a prominent Itsekiri leader, Mr. Godwin Ebosa, who came out boldly to state that Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited has been doing a fantastic job and warned that no Itsekiri man should lose sleep over the fate of the Olu of Warri because it was a case of business transaction turned sour.”
“So, why would any sane person demand an explanation from the NNPCL for the termination of a non-performing contract? Are they saying that NNPCL cannot hire and fire? Does the NNPCL requires the approval of anyone before terminating a non-performing contract?
“We know from the reliable authorities from NNPCL that the Trans-forcados contract of PINL would have been terminated long time ago if not for the intervention of the Vice President, Upstream, NNPCL, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, who is playing ethnic cards with her job, by supporting PINL to retain the job for wrong reasons.”
“Even the Olu and management of PINL derive their effontery to challenge the NNPCL to provide explanations over the termination of the contracts from the encouragement being received from Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan. She is using her office to give backing to the Itsekiri monarch in sustaining non-performing contracts.”
“It’s high time that Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan is made to be conscious of the fact that she was not appointed into the NNPCL board to serve the narrow ethnic interests of her Itsekiri kits and kins. She is in the NNPCL’s board to serve the general national interest.”
“If she falls to realise this and continue to exhibit parochial ethnic interest, we will not hesitate to demand for her removal,” the statement by Daukoru added.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has cautioned Nigerians against the excessive desire for money.
The agency issued the advice in a terse post on its X handle on Sunday.
“Love money too much, and Ponzi schemes will love you …..as their next target….be guided, the Eagle loves you all,” the post read.
This is coming amid ongoing investigation into the alleged fraud perpetrated by a digital investment platform, CryptoBank Exchange (CBEX).
CBEX had reportedly crashed on April 14, leading to the loss of billions of naira belonging to Nigerian investors.
Several videos online had shown some Nigerians raising the alarm over the loss of their funds to the scheme.
The EFCC had on Friday declared eight persons wanted over their alleged involvement in a fraudulent scheme linked to the online trading platform.
The move came on the heels of the Federal High Court in Abuja granting the EFCC’s request to arrest and detain persons found promoting the CBEX scheme.
Justice Emeka Nwite, issued the order following submissions by the counsel for the EFCC, Fadila Yusuf, seeking the court’s approval to detain the promoters pending the conclusion of investigations into the alleged offences and their possible prosecution.
The EFCC stated that during the investigation, it found that ST Technologies, while registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, was not authorised by the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct investment activities.
Furthermore, it said the defendants had vacated their last known addresses in Lagos and Ogun States.
The EFCC had argued that a warrant of arrest was necessary to place the defendants on a red watch list to facilitate their capture and ensure they face charges.
The commission said its investigation had also established a prima facie case of an investment scam and that granting the application was in the interest of justice.
During an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on April 16, the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, advised Nigerians against investing in a business without considering the legal framework that regulates it.
Oyewale said, “We know that for every business concern, you declare your profit either quarterly, annually or bi-annually, but if somebody says, ‘Bring your money; I’m going to give you a return in 30 days,’ you know that is not realistic; it’s just not pragmatic.
“Or if somebody says, ‘If you bring your money, we’re going to give you a 100% return on investment,’ that is not possible”.
Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, has clarified why its Benin to Abuja flight P47171 was delayed in the air on Friday.
In a statement issued by the Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, Air Peace Airline on Saturday stated that during the aircraft’s descent into Abuja, the flight encountered turbulence as a result of adverse weather conditions, including thunderstorms.
The statement further stressed that in line with global aviation safety standards, “our crew activated appropriate safety protocols and held in a holding pattern until weather conditions improved.”
Social media users complained on Saturday that the aircraft hung in the air longer than necessary before landing.
Elanza news understands that when an aircraft is held in a holding pattern, this means the plane was instructed to fly a specific course around a designated point while waiting for permission from the control tower to proceed with its planned route, approach, or landing.
This is often due to factors like traffic congestion at the given airport, weather delays, or other operational issues that could result in an incident or accident if the aircraft had landed against instructions.
In simpler terms, a holding pattern is a temporary waiting area for an aircraft in the air, allowing it to remain airborne while awaiting further instructions for landing.
The statement further stated, “We are pleased to confirm that the aircraft landed safely and the passengers disembarked normally. Air Peace is unwavering in its commitment to ensuring the highest standards of safety across all our operations.”
IMF to FG: Enhance transparency in oil sector, contain borrowing
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Nigeria to enhance transparency in the oil sector to ensure that the subsidy removal savings are transferred to the government’s budget.
Abebe Selassie, the director of the African department at the IMF, gave the advice on Friday while presenting the findings of the Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa report at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, DC, the United States.
Selassie was responding to questions on the federal government’s reforms and Nigeria’s debt profile, which currently sits at N142.3 trillion as at September 2024.
Speaking to journalists, the director said the fund has been very impressed by the reforms Nigeria has undertaken to address microeconomic imbalances in the country.
The director said the subsidy was taking “a very large” share of the limited tax revenues, which was not effectively used to help the most vulnerable people.
“So it’s been really good to see the government taking these head on, and also beginning to roll out the third component of the reforms that we’ve been advocating for, [that] government has been pursuing, which is to expand social protection to target generalised subsidies to help the most vulnerable,” he said.
“This has all been very good to see, but more can be done, particularly on the latter front: expanding social protection and also enhancing a lot more transparency in the oil sector, so that the removal of subsidies does translate into flow of revenue into government budget.
“So, there’s still a bit more work to do in these areas.”
Selassie disclosed that the IMF had a mission in Nigeria, where discussions with the authorities focused on issues related to the nation’s macroeconomic conditions.
Still, the director advised the federal government to consider reforms in other areas to engender more private sector investment, and also how more resources can be “adopted” to help Nigeria generate the revenues needed to build more schools, universities, and infrastructure.
“So there’s a comprehensive set of reforms that Nigeria can pursue that would help engender more growth and help diversify the economy away from reliance on oil,”
“And this diversification is all the more important given what we’re seeing happening to commodity prices.”
Selassie acknowledged that while the government is undertaking reforms, there will be a financing need.
He urged the authorities to adopt “a judicious and agile” way of dealing with the financing challenges the country faces.
The IMF official said Nigeria’s financing gap “can only be filled” by permanent sources such as revenue mobilisation in the long run.
“But in the interim, carefully looking at all of the options the country has to borrow in a contained way, will be part of that solution,” he said.
“And I think the government has been going about this prudently and cautiously so far, and we’re encouraged by that.”
In January, the Debt Management Office(DMO) said the total domestic debt was N73.4 trillion ($45.8 billion) while the total external debt was N68.8 trillion ($43 billion).
The debt body said the increase was primarily due to rising domestic borrowing and the impact of exchange rate depreciation on external debt when converted to naira terms.