Aisha Yesufu, a frontline rights activist, on Thursday said she would stop import duties on goods if she were Nigeria’s president. Yesufu said she would make goods cheap, tackle insecurity, and revamp tourism.....Read Full Article>>

In an X post, Yesufu said she would have worked extensively on infrastructure and cheap capital to attract industries to set up shops in Nigeria and produce there. She wrote: “If I was the President of Nigeria, I will propose that we do away with import duties on all goods.

Ensure that goods coming into Nigeria are extremely cheap, then focus on making the default place to come for cheap goods by all other African countries and also other continents.

“Tackle insecurity and revamp tourism. People coming to buy goods will use transportation and stay in hotels. Then extensively work on infrastructure and cheap capital to attract those industries to even come set up shops in Nigeria and produce here.

“Massive training of skilled workers for different jobs. I want Apple to have the skilled workers and infrastructure for them to come make their products here for the African market and the rest of the world.

“I will focus on primary and secondary school education and training for the 21st-century jobs instead of certificates. Yes, I am that crazy. #OneOfMyCrazyIdeasForNigeria.”

Choguel Kokalla Maïga, Prime Minister of Mali, has been dismissed following his criticism of the military rulers. The development was announced on Wednesday by the Secretary General of the presidential office, Alfousseyni Diawara.....Read Full Article>>

He declared that “the duties of the prime minister and the members of the government are terminated.” It was gathered that the move came a few days after Maïga’s remarks at a rally in Bamako, when he accused the junta of unilaterally and indefinitely postponing the transition process that was initially scheduled to begin on March 26.

Maïga also expressed frustration over the lack of debate on the issue, claiming he has been left to rely on media reports for updates.

While military leader Assimi Goïta had previously promised elections would be held in February, those plans have since been delayed “for technical reasons” with no new timeline provided.

Goïta was among the rebels to overthrow the government in 2020 and then became interim president after another coup in 2021.

He then announced a 24-month transition timetable starting in March 2022 to return Mali to civilian rule.

The government has yet to announce who will replace Maïga as prime minister.

Dangote Refinery has resumed the purchase of crude oil from the United States to ramp up refining capacity and production.....Read Full Article>>

According to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, the cargo conveying two million barrels of WTI Midland crude from Chevron Corp. is due to be delivered to the refinery next month.

The new purchase comes after a three-month hiatus in purchasing crude from foreign countries, focusing instead on domestic supply. The latest development may be an indication that the naira-for-crude deal by the federal government may have stalled or that the refinery is not getting enough crude supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Dangote refinery purchased its first shipment of US oil after a hiatus of three months as the site continues to ramp up production.

“The plant purchased about two million barrels of WTI Midland crude from Chevron Corp.,” the report said.

According to the publication, Chevron booked the supertanker Azure Nova to load crude from the US Gulf around December 5 to Dangote, according to tanker fixtures seen by Bloomberg.

Recall that on October 5, 2024, the Nigerian government hinted at the Naira-for-crude sale deal with Dangote Refinery.

However, an economist, Kelvin Emmanuel, recently said Dangote Refinery still buys crude oil from the Nigerian government in dollars.

The Defence Headquarters and a coalition of civil society organisations, CSOs, led by a Tinubu support group, the Renewed Hope Ambassadors of Nigeria, RHAN, and the Centre for Action Against Corruption, CAAC, on Thursday faulted claims made by ex-Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, concerning oil theft in Nigeria.....Read Full Article>>

Tompolo, the Chairman of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, which is executing the pipeline protection contract awarded by the Nigerian government, had while receiving the national leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, on Monday, accused the military, particularly the Nigerian Navy, of involvement in oil theft.

He accused the Navy of working at cross purposes with other state actors and private security outfits tasked with checking oil theft in the Niger Delta.

However, speaking at a biweekly update on military operations on Thursday in Abuja, Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, dismissed Tompolo’s claims, describing it as ‘cheap blackmail’.

The Defence Headquarters spokesman said: “As to the question regarding the Nigerian Navy and the CEO of Tantita, you see, I’m almost laughing because it’s laughable. But what I want to say about this situation is this: We seek cooperation, not conflict.

“But all this cheap blackmail has to stop. Come on, we should move faster. We need to act in the best interest of our nation, particularly at this time when we need that revenue. We will work together with our partners.”

Also speaking on the issue on Thursday, the CSOs, led by RHAN and CAAC, condemned Tompolo’s allegations, which they described as unsubstantiated, baseless, frivolous and lacking in merit.

At a press conference in Abuja, the CSOs insisted that Tompolo lacks the moral justification to denigrate the Nigerian Navy, highlighting his antecedents, including his history as a wanted fugitive and member of a militant coalition that terrorised and kidnapped oil workers.

Abdullahi Bilal and Olayemi Isaacs, leaders of RHAN and CAAC, respectively, who addressed journalists, noted that under the leadership of the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, the Nigerian Navy has achieved significant milestones, including the destruction of illegal refining sites, arrest of sea pirates and reduction in maritime crimes while clocking over 21,630 hours of patrol, resulting in numerous arrests and seizures.

Warning that unsubstantiated allegations could lead to chaos and increased criminality, the CSOs urged the Nigerian Navy to remain focused and resilient in the fight against oil theft.

They added: “It is our collective responsibility to fight against those forces and interests which try to undermine our very collective existence and interests and ensure we annihilate them. This is why we are here today.

“This, to us, is an apt opportunity to take the bull by the horns and conscientise the public on the evil intentions of Tompolo and the sensitive nature of his allegation, as it tries to undermine the Nigerian Navy and also reduce the morale of the fighting gallant men in the field.

“We must also warn of the chaos, destruction and upsurge in criminalities if such misinformation and mischief continue unchecked and unmitigated. Our interest is the national interest.

“We believe that lifting this curtain of secrecy and mischief will move the nation forward, encourage the Armed Forces and indeed the security forces all over the nation, as the sacrifice to secure us.

“We, therefore, call on all lovers of peace and workers with God to join us to condemn this orchestrated onslaught against those men who have decided to haphazard their lives so that we can live in peace and quiet.”

A Finnish court has remanded Simon Ekpa, a separatist agitator and self- proclaimed Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), for allegedly spreading terrorist propaganda via social media. The District Court of Päijät- Häme ordered Ekpa’ s detention following his arrest by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) earlier this week.....Read Full Article>>

Alongside Ekpa, four other individuals were apprehended on suspicion of terrorism- related offenses, including financing activities associated with his propaganda efforts. The NBI disclosed that the alleged crimes occurred in 2021 in the Lahti municipality.

Finnish authorities believe Ekpa used his social media platforms to incite public crimes with terrorist intent, targeting Nigerian elections and promoting separatist agendas. The Central Criminal Police in Finland confirmed the arrests in a statement on Thursday, stating that international cooperation had been vital to the investigation.

According to the statement, ” The main suspect is being held on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent. Four other persons are suspected of financing the aforementioned activity. All five suspects were detained earlier this week. ”

Ekpa, a dual Finnish- Nigerian citizen, has a controversial history of separatist activism. In 2023, he gained notoriety for publicly urging a boycott of Nigerian elections and advocating for violence as a means of resistance. In a widely circulated video, Ekpa declared, ” No elections will be held! Nigerian elections will not be allowed in Biafran territory. ”

The investigation into Ekpa and his associates also includes allegations of financing terrorism. The NBI revealed that two of the four other suspects reside in Helsinki, while the others, including Ekpa, are based in Lahti. Finnish law enforcement is reportedly working closely with international partners to ensure a thorough probe into the matter.

Ekpa’ s detention has prompted discussions about the impact of his rhetoric on Nigeria’ s security and the broader implications for cross- border extremist activities. Finnish police emphasized the importance of international cooperation, stating that the hearings for Ekpa and the other suspects commenced on Thursday.

The case highlights the challenges of addressing separatist movements that leverage global platforms to incite unrest, with Finland taking a firm stance against activities deemed to threaten peace and security.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, has predicted sunshine and dust haze from Wednesday to Friday across the country. NiMet’s weather outlook released on Tuesday in Abuja envisaged moderate dust haze on Wednesday in the northern region with horizontal visibility of 2km to 5km over Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa and Kaduna.....Read Full Article>>

The agency expected a slight dust haze over the remaining parts of the region during the forecast period. In the North Central region, slight dust haze is expected over the region during the forecast period while in the southern region, sunny atmosphere with patches of clouds is expected over the Inland and the coastal cities in the morning hours with the exception of Lagos where mist is expected.

NiMet said that later in the day, localised thunderstorms with rains are expected over parts of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom States.

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has begun the export of refined petroleum products to neighbouring West African countries. This is according to a newspaper report by Bloomberg on Tuesday.....Read Full Article>>

However, there are claims that whereas the Refinery is getting crude from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, in Naira, it is carrying out the export deal in dollars. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered the sale of crude oil to Dangote Refinery in Naira, an order that has been confirmed to have been implemented by the NNPCL.

The Bloomberg publication quoted data sourced from Vortexa, Kpler, Precise Intelligence, a port report, and a ship-tracking platform and noted that a tanker has hauled a shipment of gasoline from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to waters off the coast of Togo, a neighbouring West African country.

Investigation by Bloomberg showed that the tanker named The CL Jane Austen recently loaded more than 300,000 barrels from Dangote.

The tanker sailed west, according to data from Vortexa, Kpler, Precise Intelligence, a port report, and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

“It’s now floating off the coast of Lome, a popular area for ship-to-ship transfers,” the report added.

This comes weeks after the chairman of NPA, Ghana, who spoke at the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference in Lagos, said importing from Nigeria rather than Europe would reduce the prices of other goods and services by removing freight costs.

“If the refinery reaches 650,000 bpd a day capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so instead of us importing as we do right now from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria, and I believe that will bring down our prices,” Hamid said.

Recall that two weeks ago the refinery report emerged that the 650,000 barrels per day refinery was to begin fuel exports to South Africa, Angola, and Namibia.

Speaking on the latest development, sources familiar with the matter said, “I can authoritatively confirm to you that talks are actually at the advanced stage with Ghana, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. Also, the initial discussion is coming up with Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic.”.

However, Dangote has not officially announced that it has begun petrol exports to West Africa.

This comes as Dangote Refinery and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria recently sealed an agreement to directly purchase 60 million litres weekly from the Lagos-based refinery.

DAILY POST reports that fuel recorded a marginal drop in price in the past week upon Dangote Refinery and IPMAN deal.

Economists on Tuesday hinted that Nigeria’s inflationary pressures may drop in the coming months if the price of gasoline continues to ease with Dangote refinery.

The owner of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, has claimed that top oil thieves barons in Lagos State and Abuja, the federal capital territory, want his downfall.....Read Full Article>>

Tompolo disclosed this recently during a working visit of the Nigerian Bar Association national executive, led by its President, Afam Osigwe (SAN), to Oporoza, the headquarters of the Gbaramatu Kingdom. He alleged that powerful people outside the Niger Delta are behind oil thieves in the region.

According to him, he has stepped on many toes while carrying out his job to protect pipelines in the Niger Delta.

This comes as Tompollo called for synergy between the Navy and other security outfits to boost surveillance on the country’s crude oil pipelines in the Niger Delta.

“While doing this work, we have stepped on a lot of toes of people over there in Lagos and Abuja. We have stepped on a lot of toes.

“As I am here, after my court cases, I cannot travel anywhere because of me and the key people (barons) fighting this battle.

“If I want to travel to Abuja to visit you, I must go with security. Even with two or three security personnel, none of them are happy with me, and they are now collaborating with top players involved in oil theft,” he stated.