PIB: Dangote refinery, others to buy crude in naira Femi Asu

Holders of refining licences in the country can pay for domestic crude oil supply in naira, according to the Petroleum Industry Bill passed by the National Assembly on Thursday. Companies holding refining licences include Dangote Oil Refinery Company, Waltersmith Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited, OPAC Refineries, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources, BUA Refinery & Petrochemicals and Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited. The Senate and House of Representatives, according to copies of the passed bills seen by our correspondent, recommended that payment guarantees to be provided by refinery licence holders shall be in dollars or naira. “Since refiners themselves may only be paid in naira for deliveries to the domestic market, it may be onerous to require US dollar payments,” the Senate Joint Committee on Downstream Petroleum Sector; Petroleum Resources (Upstream); and Gas said in its report. The bill provides that two regulators be established, namely the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. In Section 109 subsections 2 and 3, the National Assembly said, “The commission may issue regulations or guidelines on the mechanism for the imposition of a domestic crude oil supply obligation on lessees of upstream petroleum operations, including applicable penalties. “The authority shall supply the commission on a regular basis the crude oil requirements of refineries in operation and where shortages or inadequate supply conditions occur report such conditions to the commission.” Petroleum Industry Bill and quest for a New Nigeria The bill sent to the National Assembly provides that “the commission shall ensure that the domestic crude oil supply obligation contains the following: (a) crude oil may only be sold to holders of crude oil refining licences, whose refineries are in operation. “b) the supply of crude oil shall be commercially negotiated between the lessee and the crude oil refining licensee, having regard to the prevailing international market price for similar grades of crude oil; and (c) holders of crude oil refining licences shall provide payment guarantees as required by the applicable lessee and payment for crude oil purchased pursuant to obligations shall be in US dollars.” The lawmakers, however, recommended that “holders of crude oil refining licences shall provide payment guarantees as required by the applicable lessee and payment for crude oil purchased pursuant to obligations shall be in US dollars or naira, as may be agreed between the lessees or suppliers and the licensee of the refining licence.” The Senate said possible penalties should apply to the crude oil supply obligations in order to strengthen possible enforcement. PUNCH.

17 southern govs discuss Buhari’s land recovery order for herders Kayode Oyero

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s (retd.) order on the recovery of grazing routes for herders will top the agenda of today’s meeting of 17 southern governors, The PUNCH has learnt. It was gathered that the meeting, which would hold eight weeks after the governors met in Asaba, the Delta State capital, would further assess decisions taken in Asaba on the open grazing ban, restructuring, fiscal federalism and the call for state police. The governors would be hosted by Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the meeting which would start by 10am today (Monday). Aside from the host governor, others expected at the meeting are Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Emmanuel Udom (Akwa Ibom), Diri Duoye (Bayelsa), Willie Obiano (Anambra), Ben Ayade (Cross Rivers), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), David Umahi (Ebonyi), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun), Oluwaseyi Makinde (Oyo), and Nyesom Wike (Rivers). Recall that the governors in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting in Asaba, banned open grazing as part of moves to address killings and kidnapping by herdsmen. But a few days after the meeting, the Presidency faulted the ban on open grazing. The Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, had, in a statement, said, “It is equally true that their (governors’) announcement is of questionable legality, given the constitutional right of all Nigerians to enjoy the same rights and freedoms within every one of our 36 states (and FCT), regardless of the state of their birth or residence.” Also, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, slammed the southern governors for banning open grazing. According to the AGF, open grazing ban is the same thing as Northern governors banning spare parts trading in their own region, considering the fact that southerners comprise a majority of spare parts traders in the North. The President, during a recorded television interview in June, also backed Malami’s position, adding that he had directed that grazing routes be recovered. When asked if he agreed with the AGF’s position, Buhari had responded, “You want me to contradict my attorney-general?” Explaining further, he said, “What I did was to ask him to go and dig the gazette of the First Republic when people were obeying laws. There were cattle routes and grazing areas. Cattle routes were for when they (herdsmen) are moving up country, north to south or east to west, they had to go through there. “If you allow your cattle to stray into any farm, you are arrested. The farmer is invited to submit his claims. The khadi or the judge will say pay this amount and if you can’t the cattle is sold. And if there is any benefit, you are given and people were behaving themselves and in the grazing areas, they built dams, put windmills in some places there were even veterinary departments so that the herders are limited. Their route is known, their grazing area is known. “But I am telling you, this rushing to the centre (sic) so I asked for the gazette to make sure that those who encroached on these cattle routes and grazing areas will be dispossessed in law and try to bring some order back into the cattle grazing.” Herders face fines as Bayelsa seizes 34 cows during grazing Speaking to The PUNCH on Sunday, a top source close to one of the governors said the southern governors were disturbed about Buhari’s order on grazing routes, adding that they suspected a hidden agenda. The source also stated, “The governors will meet physically tomorrow (Monday) in Alausa, Lagos. All the 17 governors in Southern Nigeria will be present at the meeting. They will speak on some of the issues they raised in Asaba.” Asked of the issues that would top agenda at the meeting, another source close to one the governors in the South-West, South-South and South-East said the governors would deliberate on the pronouncement of the President. The source, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak on the matter said, “They would discuss the issue of security and open grazing ban. They are going to focus on topical political issues. The governors will be deliberating on the recent order by the President that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, recover some lands for herdsmen to graze in the country. They believe it is an agenda to Fulanise the country.” Also, one of the information managers to one of the governors in the region, said, “The meeting will address killings in spite of the ban on open grazing. Aside from open grazing, restructuring, autonomy for judiciary will also be discussed. “The attorney general of the federation is not an attorney general of the Federal Government. He is an attorney general of the federation behaving like the attorney general of the Federal Government. So, any case involving anybody with the Federal Government is a lost case because you have an attorney general of the federation behaving like the attorney general of the Federal Government. “When the southern governors banned open grazing, the AGF declared the act as illegal. They didn’t react when he said that. That is how mature people behave. But tomorrow (Monday), the governors will take a position on the Federal Government’s reaction,” the source said. Asked whether the governors would also discuss the raid by the Department of State Services on the Ibadan house of Yoruba activist Sunday Adeyemo also known as Sunday Igboho, the source stated, “Igboho is not nationalistic. The agenda of the Southern governors is broader than Igboho but you can’t rule it out that when they are talking of regional security, they would talk about him. “They spoke about him when Igboho spoke against herders-farmers crisis but they stopped talking about him the moment some people entered into his head and he started Yoruba nation rally. It is not a right time at all.” PUNCH.

Kwara Assembly attacks Lai Mohammed, faction reports minister to NWC by John Alechenu and Tunde Oyekola

Members of the Kwara State House of Assembly, have dismissed claims by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that he financially supported their electioneering campaigns. They also distanced themselves from his statement that Ward congresses will not hold in the state until a fresh membership registration and revalidation exercise was carried out. The lawmakers insisted that the congress will go ahead on July 24, 2021 as scheduled. They spoke at a press conference in Ilorin, on Sunday. Speaker of the Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Raphael Adetiba, at the event said “Alhaji Lai Mohammed is not an official of the party and cannot speak on behalf of the party. “The right information we have from the governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq who is the leader of APC in Kwara State is that the Ward Congress of our party will hold in Kwara State like in all other states on July 24. “The Minister should be sanctioned by the party for giving wrong information to members of the APC in the state.” Twenty other members of the assembly also attended the conference. It was also gathered that the party leadership is considering sanctions for the minister and his supporters for opening a parallel secretariat, in Ilorin, on Saturday. One of our correspondents gathered in Abuja, on Sunday, that the party leadership is unhappy with his decision to “fight his governor.” A highly placed member of the party caucus said, “We are disappointed that someone who should know the rules of our party is acting like this. “When we had no governor, he (Mohammed) was the party leader. Now, we have a governor, and under our rules, the governor is the leader of the party in the state. “The problem is that the minister does not want to accept the governor’s leadership which is unfortunate. “During our last meeting with all of them, the governor offered the minister and his supporters cabinet positions they refused. One thing is sure, no individual is bigger than the APC, we will apply sanctions if it comes to that.” Also, the state chapter of the APC has sent a formal complaint to the National Secretariat of the party. It was learnt that the state chapter of the APC loyal to the governor has written to the national headquarters accusing the minister and his supporters of anti-party activities. When contacted, the State APC Publicity Secretary, Folaranmi Aro in an interview with one of our Correspondents, said, “The National Caretaker Committee of APC has recognized governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as the leader of the party and he is the leader of the party in the state. “We don’t have a problem with the faction of APC led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in Kwara State, which opened another Secretariat in Ilorin, the state capital on Saturday. “The National Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni, has clarified this on Sunday by sending messages to the officially recognized Secretariat of the party in all the 36 states. “He also sent the names of the Chairman and Secretary of the party in each state. The Chairman of APC in Kwara state is Alhaji Abdullahi Samari and the Secretary is Mustapha Isowo. So, he has settled the matter.” “The APC in Kwara state is one, we don’t have factions, those that gathered on Saturday at that place are wasting their time.” Another APC leader in the state, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We won’t respond to Alhaji Lai because we have reported him to the national secretariat of the party and I can tell you that the national headquarters will take action against the minister because what he had started in Kwara is very dangerous; it’s a very bad precedent. The national body is not happy with what he has done.” Attempts to get an official response from the National Secretary of the party were futile. Calls to his mobile telephone number were neither picked nor returned. A response to a text message sent to him was still being awaited as at 8:42pm. PUNCH.

BREAKING: 17 abducted Kaduna Baptist students return

No fewer than 17 kidnapped students of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna have returned, Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalije, has said. The PUNCH had reported that gunmen attacked the Baptist school, located at Damishi town of Chikun Local Government Area in Kaduna State, and took away scores of students. A teacher at the school, Emmanuel Paul, told AFP that the bandits took away 165 students. On his part, the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Kaduna Chapter, Rev. John Hayab, told NAN that as of Friday, there were 180 boarding students in the school. NAN quoted Police PRO Jalije as saying “17 of the students have been rescued.” Jaliye said that the exact number of students abducted by the bandits had yet to be ascertained, adding that details would be made public in due course. “Tactical police teams went after the kidnappers,” he added. “We are still on the rescue mission.” Hayab, who is also a member of the Baptist Church, said that so far, 26 students had returned and he was hopeful that more would escape from the bandits. The attackers were said to have scaled a fence to break into the School in Kaduna state in the early hours of Monday. “The kidnappers took away 140 students, only 25 students escaped. We still have no idea where the students were taken,” Emmanuel Paul, a teacher at the school told AFP. Around 1,000 students and pupils have been abducted in different Nigerian states since December last year. Most have been released after negotiations with local officials, although some are still being held. Bethel Baptist High School is a co-education college established by Baptist church in 1991 at Maramara village in Chikun district outside the state capital Kaduna. Monday’s attack was the fourth mass school kidnap in Kaduna State since December.

Nnamdi Kanu: IPOB orders members to boycott Kenyan products, airline by Sodiq Oyeleke

Members of the Indigenous People of Biafra have been asked to boycott travelling with Kenya Airways or patronising the country’s products. Head of membership and mobilisation of the group in Australia, Kennedy Ochi, made this known in a statement on Sunday. Despite denial by the Kenyan Government, members of IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu’s family argued that the secessionist was arrested and extradited from Kenya. Kanu, who is facing an 11-count charge of treason, treasonable felony, terrorism and illegal possession of firearms, among others, jumped bail in 2017 and left the country. The former London estate agent disappeared in 2017 after being released on bail, only to re-emerge in Israel and then in the United Kingdom. He was re-arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday and ordered to be remanded in the custody of the DSS, while the case was adjourned till July 26 and July 27. The statement read, “Our leader was arrested, repatriated back to a country he does not possess its passport. “It is our wish to notify the public that President Keyatta Uhuru of Kenya has a question to answer on the role he played in the abduction of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. He betrayed our leader and must be held fully accountable for his atrocities. “This is pure man’s inhumanity to man and he will tell all Biafrans how much he was paid to partake in this devilish act. “We, IPOB in Australia, support the leadership of IPOB worldwide and our able Directorate of States (Chika Edoziem) and the head of our Media and Publicity (Emma Powerful) to categorically state that all IPOB members both home and abroad should boycott travelling with Kenya Air Line; stop patronising any product made in Kenya and all businesses dealing with Kenyans, following their country’s betrayal. The battle line is drawn. “Our question to the Nigeria government is will the abduction of our leader solve the continuous marginalisation of south easterners from the current political structure in Nigeria?” The Federal Government said security and intelligence agencies were on the trail of Kanu for over two years before he was re-arrested, adding that the head of the outlawed IPOB movement was detained again on Sunday – without giving details on the location of his arrest. Kanu was initially arrested in late 2015 after calling for a separate state for Biafra, in South-East Nigeria. His detention sparked mass protests and clashes with security services. IPOB, which agitates for a separate Igbo state, has denied being behind the violence, accusing the government of a smear campaign. Election offices have also been attacked by suspected members of the group.

JUST IN: Lagos Assembly passes bill barring police from parading suspects By Oyebola Owolabi

Lagos Assembly has passed an amended version of the Criminal Justice Law of the State barring the police from parading suspects before the media henceforth. × The bill was passed at a sitting presided over by Deputy Speaker, Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni, on behalf of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa. Section 9(A) of the newly passed bill states: “As from the commencement of this law, the police shall refrain from parading any suspect before the media.” The bill also stipulates conditions under which a policeman can arrest without warrant, one of which is that a person must be reasonably suspected to unlawfully be in possession of firearms or other such dangerous instruments. Read Also: Suspend passage of Electoral Act Amendment bill, PRP tells NASS A subsection of the bill also barred the police or any other agency from arresting a person “in lieu of any other person in a criminal matter”. The bill adds a person who is arrested “shall be given reasonable facilities for obtaining legal advice, bail or making arrangements for defence or release. ADVERTISEMENT “A suspect should also be ‘accorded humane treatment, with the right to dignity of person; not subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment; be brought before the court as prescribed by this law or any other written law; or be released conditionally or unconditionally.” After a voice vote, the Deputy Speaker directed the acting Clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko, to transmit the bill to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for assent.

Crystal Palace appoint Vieira as new manager

t Crystal Palace announced former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira as the club’s new manager on Sunday, following a prolonged search for a successor to Roy Hodgson. Vieira, who won three Premier League titles as a player with the Gunners, has had mixed results in charge of New York City and Nice in his two previous managerial jobs. The Frenchman, who also won the World Cup and European Championship with his country, is highly regarded in England for his stellar playing career under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. “Crystal Palace Football Club are delighted to confirm the appointment of Patrick Vieira as its new manager for the next three seasons,” Palace said in a statement. The Eagles have been searching for a new boss since Hodgson announced in May he would step down at the end of last season when his contract expired. Vieira has a busy few weeks ahead, with a host of Palace players also out of contract and just six weeks until the Premier League season starts with a trip to European champions Chelsea. “I am really excited to have this opportunity to return to the Premier League, and manage this great football club, as we begin a new chapter together,” said Vieira. “It is a project that is really appealing to me, having spoken a lot with the chairman and sporting director about their ambition and plans for the whole club, including the academy. “The club has fantastic foundations in place after many years in the Premier League, and I hope we can make further improvements and continue to drive the club forward.” In his four seasons in charge, former England boss Hodgson managed to keep Palace out of the relegation battle. However, there was a desire at the club to freshen up the ageing squad he had assembled with a younger manager. “I’m delighted and excited that Patrick has agreed to join Crystal Palace as our manager following successfully learning his trade at the City Group, and experiencing positive managerial spells at New York City and then Nice, who he led to the Europa League,” said Palace chairman Steve Parish. “We have a lot to do to prepare in the coming weeks and I look forward to working closely with Patrick and (sporting director) Dougie (Freedman) in bringing in some new faces to help us all to a successful season.” (AFP)