Energy
Obi explains how his planned subsidy removal differs from the present forceful approach
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, (LP) Peter Obi in the 2023 general election on Monday diferentiated his planned subsidy removal from the present forceful approach using a toothache analogy.
In the inauguration speech of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, he had stated that ‘subsidy is gone’ which has triggered hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to almost 75percent by marketers a month to the end of the subsidy regime by the former administration.
The situation has created chaos in the polity leading to threats of industrial action by the organised labour in the country.
Obi who admitted his support for the removal of subsidy paid on petroleum products said it is with a condition that should be empirical to the people.
A statement by the Obi/Datti media team said he spoke when he was ambushed by judicial correspondents at the ongoing election petition case at the Court of Appeal headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
The statement quoted him to have indicated that his support for subsidy removal dates back to the Goodluck Jonathan era when he was a member of the Presidential economic management team.
“If you have followed me very well right from the time I was a member of Jonathan’s economic management team, I consistently maintained that subsidy should be removed because I see it as organized crime. People were just stealing the resources of the country and I showed empirically in my statistical analysis that we are not consuming the amount of fuel they claim we consume.
The former Anambra state Governor differentiated his idea of Subsidy removal from what is happening in the country now that they are linking him to the two options available to a person having a tooth arche.
He said that if you approach a dentist to remove a painful tooth, he will apply a local anesthetic to numb the area around the tooth so you do not feel pain.
It’s not the same thing as pulling the tooth forcefully, the pain you feel will be different.
For me, I will go with the approach of the dentist while supporting the removal of the tooth because I wouldn’t want to go through the pain of forceful removal.
Recall that even when Jonathan wanted to remove it they came up with various relieving policies like SureP and others.
“If you read my manifesto you will see clearly how I planned to remove subsidy, I will govern with the people and show them statistically and empirically what we are getting and how we are deploying it.
“The problem In Nigeria is that when people say let’s go and suffer, let’s go and sacrifice, they don’t see the results of their suffering and their sacrifice.
Former Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, has called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to come clean on its operations amidst the lingering fuel scarcity crisis.
Obi, in a statement, lamented the lack of transparency in NNPCL’s dealings, particularly regarding subsidy payments and fuel imports.
He questioned how a company that declared a N3 trillion profit in 2023 could fail to alleviate the fuel scarcity, citing incompetence and mismanagement.
The Labour Party chieftain urged the federal government to take decisive action, ensuring NNPCL’s operations are transparent and accountable to Nigerians.
He emphasized that the current fuel scarcity has inflicted hardship on citizens, and it’s time for those responsible to be held accountable.
Obi’s call for transparency and accountability is a clarion call for good governance and effective management of the nation’s resources.
By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse
The Dangote Group of Companies has promised to boost the power generation at the national grid through increased energy production in the country.
This was contained in a press statement issued by the communication officer in charge of north, Dangote Group of Companies, Malam Jibril Abubakar, said the group general manager of Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR) Numan in Adamawa state, Mr Bello Abdullahi Dan-Musa.
According to the statement, “The company operates an independent power system, and that excess energy will be redirected to the national grid.”
The statement stated further that “the power, from the Dangote Sugar Refinery, Numan, when redirected to the National Grid has the potential to contribute immensely to the rapid development of the economy of the entire Northeast”.
He added that the energy will bring about accelerated development and industrialization in the region.
“President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, had said that upon completion of the BIP projects, his sugar company will be able to create about three hundred thousand direct and indirect jobs, with positive multiplier effects on the national economy”.
The Group General manager added that “The Sugar Refinery (DSR) employs no fewer than 7,000 workers yearly in its Backward Integration Project (BIP) in Numan, Adamawa State
“The Dangote Group is Nigeria’s biggest employer of labour after the government.”
Mr. Dan-Musa said most of the employees are often engaged on a temporary basis during the cane production season.
Recently, he said the company paid over N500 million to the out-growers for the sugarcane they produced under the DSR Numan out-growers scheme.
The current capacity of the DSR Numan refinery of 4,800 Tons of Cane Per Day (TCD), he said, is being upgraded to 6,000 TCD by end of 2023, 9,800TCD by 2024 and subsequently to 15,000TCD.
According to Mr. Dan-Musa, Dangote Sugar Refinery Numan has contributed immensely in the realization of the Backward Integration program of the Federal Government.
He added that the company has acquired state of the art machines to support its production process, adding that its facilities are environmentally friendly.
The Group General Manager stated further that “its Backward Integration goal is to become a global force in sugar production, by producing 1.5M MT/PA of refined sugar from locally grown sugar cane for the domestic and export markets”.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has layed-off some top management staff who have less than 15 months to retire.
This is coming few days after the oil company announced the removal and replacement of three of the its Executive Vice Presidents (EVPs).
Those affected by the previous shakeup included Abdulkabir Ahmed, who was hitherto in charge of gas, power and new energies; Adokiye Tombomieye, who headed the upstream segment as well as Adeyemi Adetunji, who was in charge of the downstream.
They were replaced by Olalekan Ogunleye as EVP gas, power and new energies; Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan for the company’s upstream operations, while Adedapo Segun took charge of the downstream.
The NNPC, in a terse statement, indicated that the new change in the line up was in line with its aspiration to rejuvenate its workforce.
“In our bid to pursue effective organisational renewal to support the delivery of our strategic business objectives, it has become imperative to rejuvenate our workforce.
“Consequently, in addition to the recent exit of three executive vice presidents, other members of management staff with less than 15 months to statutory retirement will be exiting the company effective 19th September 2023,” the statement said.
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