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December 19, 2023 Wike Fubara Reach 8 Point Truce for Peace in Rivers State
IFMUYONEWS

Wike Fubara Reach 8 Point Truce for Peace in Rivers State

The political crisis in Rivers State may have received a breather as warring parties reached a truce on Monday night at a meeting called by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja. This over three hours of the talks at the Aso Rock Villa, was held between President Bola Tinubu, Rivers Governor, Mr Siminalayi Fubara; his Deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu; a former governor of the State, Peter Odili and the immediate past governor now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike, and other stakeholders in the state. Also present at the meeting was the Vice President, Kashim Shettima; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
According to an eight-point resolution signed at the end of the meeting on Monday night, the President directed that all lawsuits instituted in the courts by Fubara and his team regarding the political crisis in Rivers State be withdrawn immediately. The resolution was signed by  Fubara; his deputy, Ordu; Wike;  Ribadu; factional Speaker of the Rivers State Assembly, Martin Amaewhule;  Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State, Aaron Chukwuemeka, and his All Progressives Congress Chairman, Tony Okocha. According to the directive, Fubara was mandated to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill he had earlier presented to the four-member state House of Assembly to the full House.     Also, the directive read that all impeachment proceedings initiated by the Rivers Assembly against Fubara should be dropped immediately. The eight-point resolutions read: 1. “All matters instituted in the courts by the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Fubara, and his team, in respect of the political crisis in Rivers State, shall be withdrawn immediately. 2. “All impeachment proceedings initiated against the Governor of Rivers State by the Rivers State House of Assembly should be dropped immediately 3. “The leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly as led by the Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule shall be recognised alongside the 27 members who resigned from the PDP. 4. “The remunerations and benefits of all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and their staff must be reinstated immediately and the Governor of Rivers State shall henceforth not interfere with the full funding of the Rivers State House of Assembly. 5. “The Rivers State House of Assembly shall choose where they want to sit and conduct their legislative business without interference and/or hindrance from the executive arm of government. 6. “The Governor of Rivers State, Sir Fubara, shall re-present the state budget to a properly constituted Rivers State House of Assembly. 7. “The names of all commissioners in the Rivers State Executive Council who resigned their appointments because of the political crisis in the State should be resubmitted to the House of Assembly for approval 8. “There should not be a caretaker committee for the local governments in Rivers State. The dissolution of the Local Government administration is null and void and shall not be recognised.” The entire country waits to see if the terms of this agreement will be upheld.
December 18, 2023 December Timeline Sacrosanct – NNPCL
IFMUYONEWS

December Timeline Sacrosanct – NNPCL

The December timeline for completion of the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) remains sacrosanct, says the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). “We have said from time that by the end of December, the mechanical completion of the refinery will be completed. Yes, we are still maintaining that. Nothing has changed,” NNPC Chief Communications Officer Olufemi Soneye told Journalists  yesterday. Soneye had on November 6, 2023, assured that the NNPCL was optimistic about the completion of the rehabilitation this month. He said that owing to the assurance the contractors gave the oil giant, nothing had so far altered the completion date. He added: “What they (contractors) said is that all things working well, the refineries will be working in December and January. Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil) Heineken Lokpobiri while inspecting the rehabilitation, said that the NNPCL should be accountable if the December end timeline was not met. The rehabilitation of the 110,000 barrels per day Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Limited (KRPC) is expected to be completed between October and December 2024. The work was awarded last February to a South Korean firm, Daewoo E&C at $740.6 million.
December 18, 2023 Simon Lalong Quits FEC, to Resume at Senate
IFMUYONEWS

Simon Lalong Quits FEC, to Resume at Senate

The immediate Governor of Plateau State and Minister of Labour and Employment Simon Lalong has left President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cabinet, over the weekend to take the Plateau South Senatorial seat which he won. He is due to be sworn in this week by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Lalong, the Director-General of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation in the rundown to the February Presidential poll, was declared loser of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He challenged the result, and victory was given to him by the Court of Appeal Lalong, a lawyer and two-term Speaker of Plateau State House of Assembly, tendered his resignation after Wednesday’s FEC meeting, in preparation for resumption at the Red Chamber of the National Assembly. A presidential aide Imran Muhammad in his X handle last night wrote “President Tinubu has accepted Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong’s resignation from the cabinet. His valedictory will hold at the next FEC meeting.” Also the spokesman for APC in Plateau State, Sylvanus Namang also confirmed Lalong’s resignation from FEC. Lalong received his Certificate of Return last month. The Court of Appeal ordered the electoral commission to issue him the certificate of return, following the nullification of the election of Air Vice Marshall Napoleon Bali of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who has now vacated the seat. Lalong was accompanied to the INEC Headquarters by his wife, Regina, and children as well as former Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives Idris Wase; member representing QuanPan, Shendam, Mikang Federal Constituency John Dafaan; APC Deputy National Secretary Festus Fuanter; Minority leader of Plateau House of Assembly Joe Bukar and some members of the Plateau Assembly; former Majority Leader Naalong; some former Plateau Commissioners; former Head of Service Sunday Hyat, some serving local government chairmen and other supporters. Also last month, the President and other party leaders held consultations with Lalong after he received the certificate of return on his replacement in FEC. At the meeting, he was given an opportunity to recommend four names as possible replacement in FEC. Party leaders also believe that his experience as a two-term House of Assembly Speaker will come in handy as he will unofficially enjoy the status of a ranking senator.
December 18, 2023 Electricity Subsidy Costs FG N376bn
IFMUYONEWS

Electricity Subsidy Costs FG N376bn

The Federal Government spent N375.8bn on electricity subsidy between January and September this year, as power consumers paid a total of N782.6bn for the commodity during the same period, it was gathered on Sunday. The latest power subsidy figures obtained in Abuja from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, an agency of the Federal Government, showed that the government subsidised electricity in the first, second and third quarters of 2023. It was also gathered that power distribution companies billed electricity users a total of N1.06tn nationwide during the nine-month period, but collected N782.6bn despite the blackouts in many parts of Nigeria. On subsidy payments, it was observed that in the first quarter of this year, the Federal Government subsidised power by N36bn, this increased to N135.2bn in the second quarter, and jumped to N204.6bn in the third quarter. Figures for the fourth quarter are not because we are still in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Providing reasons for the subsidy in its just-released third-quarter 2023 report, the NERC stated that it was due to the absence of cost-reflective tariffs. It said, “In the absence of cost-reflective tariffs, the government undertakes to cover the resultant gap (between the cost-reflective and allowed tariff) in the form of tariff shortfall funding. This funding is applied to the NBET (Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company) invoices that are to be paid by Discos. “The amount to be covered by the Disco is based on the tariff that they are allowed to charge and set out as their Minimum Remittance Obligation in the periodic Tariff Orders issued by the Commission. “It is important to note that due to the absence of cost-reflective tariffs across all Discos, the government incurred a subsidy obligation of N204.59bn in 2023/Q3 (average of N68.20bn per month), which is an increase of N69.37bn (+51.3 percent) compared to the N135.23bn (average of N45.08bn per month) incurred in 2023/Q2; this increase is largely attributable to the government’s policy to harmonise exchange rates. “The rise in the government’s subsidy obligation meant that in 2023/Q3, Discos were only expected to cover 45 percent of the total invoice received from NBET. For ease of administration of the subsidy, the MRO is limited to NBET only with the MO (Market Operator) being allowed to recover 100 percent of its revenue requirement from the Discos.” On the payment of electricity bills, it was observed from the three quarterly reports of the power regulator, that consumers paid N247.09bn, N267.86bn and N267.61bn in the first, second and third quarters of 2023 respectively. This represents a total of N782.56bn. It was also observed that during the three quarters: first, second and third, the electricity bills from Discos to consumers were N349.55bn, 354.61bn and N359.38bn respectively. The total bill for the nine-month period was N1.06tn.

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