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February 25, 2024 80% of Nigeria’s Crude is Stolen – Obasanjo

80% of Nigeria’s Crude is Stolen – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says over 80 per cent of Nigeria’s crude oil were stolen annually.

Obasanjo stated this in Abuja at the launching of a book writer by Dr. Umar Ardo titled, ‘Court and Politics,’.

According to the former president, one of the reasons why Nigeria’s economy is in ruins is that while other oil-producing countries have records of their oil production, Nigeria cannot account for hers due to theft.

Obasanjo, who was represented by a former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, said crude oil theft is one of reasons the Nigerian economy would be in ruins.

The former president said “while the crude oil quota is about two million barrels per day, over 1.7 million are stolen”

February 22, 2024 LAGOS LABOUR PARTY (LP) CANDIDATE DUMPS PARTY

LAGOS LABOUR PARTY (LP) CANDIDATE DUMPS PARTY

On Thursday, Islamiyat Oyefusi, the deputy governorship candidate for the Labour Party in Lagos State, officially tendered her resignation from the party. This decision comes in the aftermath of the 2023 governorship election in which she contested alongside Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour but was unsuccessful, as the incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, emerged victorious.

Oyefusi conveyed her decision to resign through a letter dated February 22, 2024, addressed to the party chairman in Isele 1 ward, Ikorodu area of Lagos State. In the letter, which our correspondent obtained a copy of, Oyefusi cited a misalignment of values as the primary reason for her departure, stating that she could no longer identify with the current values of the Labour Party.

The resignation letter read, “I can no longer see myself aligning with the current values of the Labour Party or as a member of the Labour Party, and the time has come for me to move forward. This letter is to hereby officially notify you of my resignation from the Labour Party.”

Reflecting on her political journey over the past 10 months, Oyefusi expressed gratitude to God for her well-being and thanked her team and supporters across Lagos State and Nigeria for their unwavering dedication during the challenging 2023 electioneering period. She acknowledged the accomplishments achieved during this time and extended appreciation to the ObiDatti family and NCF for their substantial support.

It is noteworthy that Islamiyat Oyefusi had previously contested as the 2019 Lagos East senatorial aspirant for the Peoples Democratic Party and had resigned from that party in 2022.

February 19, 2024 Protest In Ibadan Over High Cost of Living

Protest In Ibadan Over High Cost of Living

Protest has broken out in Ibadan, the Oyo State Capital over the high cost of living, food inflation and the current economic hardship being experienced in the country.

Staged in the Mokola area of the state capital, placard-carrying youths in their droves chanted songs to drive home their points.

Some of the placards have inscriptions such as ‘End food hike and inflation’, ‘The poor is starving’, ‘Tinubu, don’t forget your promises’, amongst others.

Armed policemen were seen at the protest scene even as demonstrators held the peaceful rally against the economic hardship in the land occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange windows.

The police had on Sunday warned that no breach of peace would be allowed during any protest in the state.

The protest in Oyo followed others in Kano, Minna, amongst others, over economic hardship occasioned by petrol subsidy removal, food inflation, and high cost of living.

February 19, 2024 Ekid People’s Union Demands Sit-Down with BUA Refineries Before Commencement of Operations

Ekid People’s Union Demands Sit-Down with BUA Refineries Before Commencement of Operations

The Ekid Peoples Union, EPU, in Akwa Ibom State, comprising Eket and Esit Eket, has called on BUA Petrochemical Refinery Limited to meet with stakeholders of the host communities to address nagging issues before commencement of operations.

Addressing a press conference in Eket on Saturday, the President-General of EPU, Dr Samuel Udonsak, said although the Akwa Ibom State Government was aware of the entrance of the company, it was also expedient for the company to meet with the land owners for proper discussions and agreement.

He said although Ekid people are not allergic to development, it was an affront for their forest reserve to be taken from them by the state government without following due process, saying the people would take every necessary step to stop them even as they have taken the case to court.

According to him, “the manner our land was taken was wrong and oppressive. We would have gotten the compensation if the acquisition was for overriding public interest and for the development of the community.

In the first place the acquisition is not for overriding interest. Government and BUA have to do the needful, they need to sit with the owners of the land and do the needful. What happens to our flora and fauna?” He queried.

Also speaking, the Secretary-General of EPU, Barr Dan Abia, admitted that the state government had earlier attempted to give them compensation for their land taken, noting that that is not what Ekid people want.

He said all they were asking for was for the state government to follow the prescriptions of the law for land acquisition and for them to sit on a dialogue table with the investing company to spell out their terms and conditions especially on the preservations of their flora and fauna.

Abia lamented over what he described as “lots of illegal acquisition in the Stubb Creeks of their forest reserves” noting that Ekid union will no longer allow such to continue under the guise that all lands belong to the government.

He observed that the Akwa Ibom State Government had flouted its ordinance by giving out a forest reserve to a company to build a permanent structure.

His words, “That place is a forest reserve established by ordinance and you have no right to put up a permanent structure, only rights of fishing, tapping palm wine, even the government has violated the law it put in place.

“We have a lot of illegal acquisition going on the stubb creeks of the forest reserves. Sometimes I hear people say government land, there is nothing like government land; rather lands are vested on the governor and there is a process of acquisition. Government can only acquire land for one purpose according to section 44 of the Constitution and section 22 of the Land Use Act which is for overriding public interest.

“It is wrong for the government to acquire public land, convert it to private land and give it to a private individual. That’s not for overriding public interest. How can a private company (BUA) come into a community without sitting down with the owners of the land?

We sat down one day and received a memo from the state government that they will pay compensation to us, compensation for what? The prescription of the law is that you give us notice of your intention to acquire and state the purpose of the acquisition and that purpose has to be overriding, then upon acquisition you give us another notice of acquisition by gazetting, thirdly you pay adequate and prompt compensation, fourthly, you allow us access to the court if we disagree with the first three prescriptions.

“These were not done, the government just sat down and issued Certificates of Occupancies to private companies whose only purpose is to make money, there is no proof that the government has any percentage share in BUA company. This is a clear case of modern day slavery and robbery. We are in court presently and cannot allow that to happen.”

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