TENSION BREWS AS NORTHERNERS PLAN TO TURBAN SULTAN OF SHUWA ARAB OF EDO

     Gov Obaseki

Tension rose in Benin City, Edo State capital, on Thursday over plans by some northerners to turban a Sultan of  Shuwa Arabs of Edo.

The Shuwa Arabs ethnic group from Borno, in the plan, pencilled Idris Addano as the Sultan of Shuwa Arab of the entire Edo State, who will be receiving homage from citizens from his ethnic group dwelling in Edo State.

The widely circulated invitation for the coronation ceremony slated the coronation to hold on Saturday, 21 August 2021, at Rialto Hotel, Eyaen, a suburb of Benin City, owned by a Duke in Benin Kingdom, Osazuwa Iduriase, the Enogie of Enyean.

The invitation provoked many prominent Benin youths to react on Facebook, condemning the planned coronation of a Sultan within the Kingdom.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that unknown to many in the state, the Shehu of Borno, had on August 4 this year, turbaned Addano and gave him the same title.

The planned event is for Addano  to establish the authority given to him in Borno as the leader of the Shuwa Arabs community in Edo State

Reacting to the development, the President of Benin Solidarity Movement (BSM), Elder Curtis Eghosa Ugbo, said Benin indigenes would do whatever it would take to resist what he described as “evil act” by persons who are bent on fomenting trouble.

“This will never happen in Benin Kingdom, we are Benin,” Ugbo added.

The Coordinator-General of Great Benin Descendants (GBD), Imasuen Izoduwa,  on his part said the organisation would meet and lock up the hotel-venue of the coronation, for allowing “such nonsense” in the land”.

“We will meet later today so we can lock up that hotel by tomorrow or next for allowing such nonsense in our land. Enough is enough, I will no longer take any of this in our Kingdom,” he said.

Comrade Amos Ehinomen Uagbor said: “Is this obtainable elsewhere? We should now have oba and Sultan in Edo State? In fact, the venue should be sealed”.

Efforts to reach mobile phones numbers on the card for a reaction failed,as calls made to them failed to connect.

Also, Iduriase, the owner of the proposed hotel for the coronation has also distanced himself from the event.

PIB: PETROL PRICE REMAINS N162 PAR LITRE, COOKING GAS PRICES TO DROP – FG

The price of petrol will still sell at between N162 and N165 per litre despite the signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law, the Federal Government has said.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday assented to the PIB passed by the National Assembly in July.

The assent gives legal backing to full deregulation which means oil marketers would now have the power to fix prices based on market forces.

But the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva on Tuesday said fuel price still remains N162 per litre as there would be no immediate implementation of the aspect that covers fuel price deregulation.

“No fuel price increase, at least, for now. We are not starting the implementation of that aspect (deregulation) now. We would do that only when we have put many things in place to cushion the effects on Nigerians,’’ Sylva said.

The minister admitted that full deregulation would cause hardship and sufferings for Nigerians, but he said “that is the best thing to do.’’

He said the Governors’ Forum was agitating for full deregulation because they knew that was the only way they could get more allocations for capital projects.

He said continuing to subsidize fuel price in the country was “like cutting our faces to spite our noses”.

On the 3% host communities' fund in the PIA, Sylva said that is the fairest rate to every stakeholder.

He said giving more than 3% as host communities' fund would scare away investors.

He said the National Assembly and other stakeholders settled for 3 % for Host Communities Fund because that is what will attract more investments into the oil producing areas.

“Everything was weighed before 3% was settled on. It is in our collective interest. If we put the fund at 10%, the oil companies will only add it to their operational cost and that consequence would come back to the country,’’ the minister said.

Out of $50bn oil and gas investments that came to Africa last year, the minister disclosed that only $3bn came to Nigeria because foreign investors weren’t so sure of the investment climate in the country.

On the hike in prices of cooking gas, Sylva said the Federal Government would meet with gas suppliers in the country to know why the increase and find ways to bring the prices down.