Air Force cuts Boko Haram’s supply routes

A wooden canoe containing supplies to Boko Haram intercepted by the Air Force

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has intercepted supplies to Boko Haram insurgents along Nigeria-Cameroon borders. NAF said last night that it seized over 4,000 drums and several plastic containers filled with petroleum products meant for the insurgents. NAF spokesman Air Commodore Dele Alonge broke the news in a statement in Abuja. The statement reads: “The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) through its intensified and persistent efforts in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) has intercepted over 4,000 drums and jerry cans of petroleum products and other smuggled items. “The items, suspected to be supplies meant for Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) were confiscated from the smugglers in Pepe, Dashin-Hausa, Belel Bilachi, and Konkul villages, all located on the Nigeria-Cameroon borders on Tuesday, 28 July 2015. “The NAF was able to achieve the recent feat through its air patrol activities, covering both land and water, on the Nigeria-Cameroon borders. “The NAF has continued to identify and destroy BHT camps and resupplies by employing surveillance and combat aircraft. Intelligence gathered revealed that these efforts have greatly strained the supply efforts of the BHT.” There was a massive shake-up yesterday in the hierarchy of the Nigerian Army. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Maj-Gen. Tukur Buratai appointed new General Officers Commanding (GOCs) for commands and divisions. He also named new Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) to manage the Army Headquarters. Also appointed were new Corps Commanders, Special Task Forces Commanders, a new Commander for the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to tackle Boko Haram, new Brigade Commanders and new Defence Advisers in Nigeria’s foreign missions abroad. The Deputy Commandant of the National Defence College, Abuja, Maj-Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade, has been named the GOC, 1 Mechanised Division, Kaduna; Maj-Gen. L.C. Ilo replaces Maj-Gen S.M. Muazu as the GOC 2 Mechanised Division, Ibadan, Oyo State. Maj-Gen. Muazu has been moved to Infantry Corps, Jaji as Commander. The new GOC, 3 Armoured Division, Jos, Plateau State, is Maj.-Gen. H. Umaru and Maj-Gen M.A Koleoso has been moved to take charge as Commander at the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Minna, Niger State. Maj-Gen Koleoso takes over from Maj-Gen Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin, who was recently appointed the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) by President Muhammadu Buhari. He was formerly the Director of Administration at the Defence Headquarters. Maj-Gen. Edet, formerly the Commandant, Nigerian Army Training Center (NATRAC), Kotangora, has been named new GOC, 81 Division, Lagos. Brig-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru has been moved from 13 Brigade, Calabar, Cross River State, where he was the Brigade Commander, to take charge as the Acting GOC, 82 Division, Enugu. He will be taking over from Maj-Gen S. Yusuf, who has been redeployed to Defence Headquarters as Chief of Training and Operations.

P’Harcourt, Warri refineries begin crude production – NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has announced the successful re-streaming of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries after nine months of phased rehabilitation conducted by its in-house engineers and technicians. The national oil company made the announcement on Wednesday through a statement. It said the plants had commenced preliminary production of petroleum products after successful test-runs, noting that while the Port Harcourt Refining Company was ramping up capacity to about 60 per cent of the 210,000 barrels per day of crude capacity, production from the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company had been projected to hit 80 per cent of its installed capacity 125,000 bpd. According to the NNPC, the Port Harcourt refinery will have a product yield of five million litres of petrol per day, while the Warri refinery will contribute 3.5 million litres of petrol to the local refining capacity. Providing insight into the rehabilitation of the plants, the NNPC noted that it had to adopt the phased rehabilitation approach after the original builders of the refineries, who were initially contacted for the turnaround maintenance of the plants, came up with unfavourable terms. “Though a decision was taken in 2011 to rehabilitate all the refineries using the original refinery builder of each of the refineries, we were impelled to switch strategy after the ORBs declined participation and nominated some partners in their stead, who came up with outrageously unfavourable terms,” it explained. The corporation stated that the nominated partners, as sole bidders, came up with humongous price offers after two years of thorough and exhaustive scope of work definition and negotiations, adding that the proxies were also unwilling to provide post rehabilitation performance guarantees.

“The phased rehabilitation strategy, which entailed phased and simultaneous rehabilitation of all the refineries using in-house and locally available resources in line with the spirit and letter of the Nigerian Content Law, also involved the use of Original Equipment Manufacturer representatives to effect major equipment overhaul and rehabilitation,” it added. The NNPC also noted that the phased rehabilitation programme, which commenced in October 2014 after the required funding stream was established, created a 70 per cent reduction in costs, which helped largely in mitigating the financing challenges of the rehabilitation. It said that with the successful re-streaming of the PHRC and WRPC, attention had now shifted to the 110,000 barrels per day Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, which is billed to come on stream soon. In a related development, the NNPC has said that it has successfully recovered the System 2B Pipeline, which was breached last week in Arepo, Ogun State. The corporation stated that its team of engineers deployed in the scene immediately after the pipeline was vandalised, was able to access the pipeline after the fire had put out the ensuing fire and commenced repair work immediately. It added, “We wish to announce that the vital System 2B Pipeline, which was breached at Arepo last week, has been fixed and brought back on stream. Pumping of products through the system commenced on Monday upon the successful completion of repair works over the weekend. “We also wish to call on all those engaged in the criminal acts of pipeline sabotage and oil theft to desist in order to avoid such horrendous deaths as was witnessed in the recent incident.”

Tompolo hails Buhari over new Amnesty boss

A former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Chief Government Ekpemupolo a.k.a. Tompolo, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh as the new head of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. He said tha the action of the President only portrayed him as a listening leader with a desire to contribute to the development of the Niger Delta. He also hailed the President for the choice of a retired military officer, rather than the politicians who had been scheming to get the job. He urged the new Amnesty coordinator to ensure that critical stakeholders were consulted in the running of the programme and to avoid political jobbers. He said, “It could be recalled that I called a meeting of ex-agitators, leaders and other stakeholders in the Niger Delta last week as a result of the pressure on me to intervene in the seemingly troubled Amnesty Programme due to the non-payment of the stipends and allowances to beneficiaries for months now. “And so, it gives me joy for the President to appoint a high-ranking retired military gentleman to coordinate the programme, rather than have any of the political jobbers, who had advertised themselves in very negative forms in order to be appointed.” Also, frontline ex-militant leaders from the nine states of the Niger Delta have commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the appointment of Boroh (retd.) as the substantive Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Implementation Committee. According to the ex-militant leaders, the appointment will undoubtedly resolve the concerns raised by the people of the region over the hitches in the Amnesty programme and payment of outstanding allowances and scholarship fees. They said the choice was apt. The former agitators, under the aegis of the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, led by Pastor Reuben Wilson, said on Wednesday that the choice of Boroh was commendable. Wilson said though the appointment was delayed, he said nevertheless, it would calm frayed nerves among beneficiaries of the programme.

Oil worth $13.7bn stolen under NNPC, says NEITI

The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna-Ahmed, on Wednesday said between 2009 and 2012, about 160 million barrels of oil valued at $13.7bn was stolen under the watch of the national oil giant, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. She also said that subsidy payment from 2005 to 2012 indicated that $11.63bn had been paid to the NNPC but that “there is no evidence of the money being remitted to the federation account.” The NEITI boss, who called on the Federal Government to privatize the refineries, stated this during a courtesy call on Governor Nasir el-Rufai, at Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna, on Wednesday. El-Rufai is among the four governors appointed by the National Economic Council to scrutinise the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Excess Crude Account managed by the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. Part of the terms of reference was to unravel the N3.8trn not remitted to the Federation Account by the national oil giant between 2012 and May 2015, as well as $2.1bn said to have been deducted from the Excess Crude Account. Governors of Akwa-Ibom, Edo and Gombe states were members of the team. Hajiya Ahmed said, “Crude product swap of $866m was lost from 2009 to 2011 and $8243m in 2012. Total amount expended in subsidy payment from 2005 to 2012 as captured $11.63bn have been paid to the NNPC. However, there is no evidence that these amounts were remitted to the Federation Account,” she stated. Meanwhile, Governor El-Rufai disclosed that since he called for the scrap of the NNPC, the corporation has being sponsoring articles in the media to attack him to fight on till NNPC will be killed. He added that the corporation would be made to pay all monies it owed before its final death. El-Rufai said, “NNPC has become a monster that is too powerful. I will continue to fight NNPC till it dies for Nigeria to survive. “It is either Nigerians kill NNPC or NNPC will kill Nigeria. “Since, I called for the death of NNPC, the corporation has sponsored articles attacking me, but I am telling them my skin is thicker than an elephant.”

10 things you didn’t know about the late Ooni of Ife

Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I. 10 things you didnt know about the late Ooni of Ife 1. He was born on January 1, 1930 in Ile-Ife to the Ogboru ruling house, grandson of the Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I. 2. He became the fiftieth traditional ruler, Ooni of Ife, on 6 December 1980. 3. He studied at Abeokuta Grammar School and Oduduwa College in Ile-Ife. 4. He worked for three years in his father's business, then for two years with the Nigerian Tribune 5. He studied business management at Northampton College in the United Kingdom. 6. He became a manager in Leventis, a Greek-Nigerian conglomerate at the age of 30. 7. In 1963, he became Sales Director of the state-owned National Motor in Lagos. 8. After spotting a business opportunity during a 1964 visit to the then Soviet Union, he formed a company to distribute Soviet-built vehicles and equipment in Nigeria, which became the nucleus of a widespread business empire. 9. Sijuwade was a Christian. 10. In February 2009, Sijuwade helped mediate in a dispute over land ownership between the communities of Ife and Modakeke, resolved in part through the elevation of the Ogunsua of Modakeke as an Oba.

Ogun pays N496m WAEC debt

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, says the state is no more owing the West African Examinations Council, having already approved the payment of a sum of N496m being owed the examination body. He said this shortly after the inauguration of new transition committee chairmen for the 20 local government areas in the state, held at the Oba’s Complex, state Secretariat, Abeokuta. It will be recalled that WAEC had on Monday threatened to withhold the results of May/June 2015 West African Senior School Certificate Examination for 19 states which allegedly defaulted in the payment of registration fees for state- sponsored candidates. Amosun, who explained that the federal allocation had dropped in recent times, added that this had put government at all levels under pressure, calling for proactive measures. The governor said enrolment figures in schools in the state had increased over the years but the government could not shy away from its responsibilities. He said, “The state is no more owing the West African Examinations Council. I have already approved the payment of a sum of N496m being owed the examination body on Tuesday.” The governor who said his government had, however, been able to meet his financial obligations, added that it had built more than 2,000 classrooms since inception to cater to the rising level in schools’ enrolment. He explained the state wage bill, including workers’ salaries, pensions, tertiary institutions’ subventions and utilities had risen to N9bn monthly. Amosun warned the newly appointed political appointees not to use their position to settle scores with anyone. The governor advised them to see their appointment as a call to service and not for them to work only for their party alone but for everyone in their local governments. He said, “Do not use your appointment as a tool to settle scores. Avoid chest beating and pettiness. You are not being sworn in to work for your party alone but for everybody. “Strive to relate well with your colleagues and workers in your local governments.”

NAF blocks, seizes Boko Haram fuel supply route

The fighter pilots of the Nigerian Air Force have blocked and seized the fuel supply route of the Boko Haram insurgents along the nation’s border with Cameroon. The Director, Air Force Information, Air Commodore Dele Alonge, said in a statement on Wednesday that the Air Force personnel intercepted 4,000 drums and jerry cans of petroleum products and other smuggled items from the insurgents. He said the items, believed to be supplies for the insurgents, were seized from smugglers in Pepe, Dashin-Hausa, Belel Bilachi and Konkul villages located along the Nigeria-Cameroon borders on Tuesday. He added that the Air Force was able to cut off the fuel supply routes of the insurgents through sustained air patrol activities along the Nigeria-Cameroon border. Alonge stressed that the Air Force had continued to decimate the capacities of the Boko Haram through deployment of surveillance and combat aircraft and effective use of intelligence. “The NAF was able to achieve the recent feat through its air patrol activities, covering both land and water, along the Nigeria-Cameroon borders. “The NAF has continued to identify and destroy BHT (Boko Haram Terrorists) camps and supplies by employing surveillance and combat aircraft. Intelligence gathered revealed that these efforts have greatly strained the supply efforts of the BHT,” he said.

Buhari And Osinbajo Get Registered For IPPIS

President Muhammad Buhari and Vice President Osibanjo did their finger print for the integrated personnel and payroll information system (IPPIS) at the Presidential villa earlier today. Pic of Vice President being captured after The cut...

Arsenal keeper Szczesny joins Roma on loan

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has joined Roma on a season-long loan deal. The Polish goalkeeper has slipped down the pecking order following the arrival of Petr Cech from Chelsea last month and Szczesny will now attempt to make his mark in Serie A. Szczesny told the Roma website: “I’ve come here to win games and trophies with Roma and I believe that the team is strong enough to do so.”