NNPCL CLAIMS NO SUBSIDY WAS PAID ON PETROL, YET SPEND N7.8TN TO COVER ‘SHORTFALL’

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd has stated that it is not paying subsidies on petrol, but rather covering a “shortfall” between the landing cost and the official pump price.

The Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajiya told NAN in Abuja on Monday that the company is bearing the difference, estimated at N7.8 trillion in the first seven months of the year.

Ajiya emphasized that subsidy, typically defined as selling below cost price, has not been paid to any marketer in the last nine months. Instead, NNPC, as the sole importer of petrol, has been selling the product at half the landing cost, with the government directing the price reduction.

The NNPC CFO explained that the “shortfall” is reconciled between the Federation and NNPC, sometimes with financial support from the government.

Ajiya stressed that no marketer has received subsidy payments from NNPC, contrasting the situation with the common understanding of subsidy payments.

“In the last eight to nine months, NNPC Ltd. has not paid anybody a dime as a subsidy; no one has been paid kobo by NNPC Ltd. in the name of subsidy,” Ajiya said.

“No marketer has received any money from us by way of subsidy.

“What has been happening is that we have been importing PMS, which has been landing at a specific cost price, and the government tells us to sell it at half price.

“So the difference between the landing price and that half price is a shortfall.

“And the deal is between the Federation and NNPC Ltd., to reconcile, sometimes they give us money, so there is no money exchanging hands with any marketer in the name of subsidy.”

The clarification comes amid ongoing debates about fuel subsidy and its impact on Nigeria’s economy. The NNPC’s position raises questions about the nature of the “shortfall” and the financial arrangements between the government and the national oil company.

Credit: Ripples Nigeria 

FG, APC GOVERNOR DISAGREE OVER RICE PALLIATIVE TO STATES

  Gov. Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya

The federal government has rejected a claim by the governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, that the state has yet to receive 20 trucks of rice palliatives from it.

Mr Yahaya, on Tuesday in a meeting with civil society organisations, Organised Labour and the Amalgamated Unions of Traders in Gombe, said the state was yet to receive the federal government rice palliative.

PREMIUM TIMES reported Gov. Yahaya saying that the 20 trucks of rice had not been delivered to his state.

Reacting to the governor’s claim on Saturday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in an interview with BBC Hausa programme, said there is no state where the rice was not delivered.

  Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris

The minister said it was dispatched for distribution to the masses two weeks ago.

Mr Idris emphasised that every governor received the allocation, contradicting the Gombe governor’s claim.

“The distribution was made public over two weeks ago, and no other governor has disputed the delivery except from Gombe.

“All the governors were given 20 trucks of rice for distribution to people. The claim that it was not given is a new statement I have heard.

“The distribution was made known over two weeks ago and there is no governor that came out to make this claim except that of Gombe, who said his state was yet to receive its share. But in our records, each governor was given 20 trucks of rice,” the minister insisted.

BIG BROTHER NAIJA ALL-STARS: ALL EYES ON FAN FAVOURITES

The eighth season of the Big Brother Naija reality TV show, dubbed, the ‘All-Star’ edition, starts today. Unlike past outings, this season will feature former housemates of the competition. Sunday Scoop looks at some of the ex-housemates who are quite popular with fans and might be part of the new show

Tobi Bakre

Tobi Bakre is no doubt one former Big Brother Naija housemates who has maximised his opportunities since he left the show. He has starred in a number of movies, including, Sugar Rush, Brotherhood and Gangs of Lagos.

His dedication to his craft has undoubtedly put him in the league of the most sought after ex-housemates.

He won the Best Actor Award at the 2023 African Magic Viewers Choice Awards.

He has 2.4 million followers on Instagram, and is a brand ambassador of the betting platform, Bet king Nigeria.

Tacha

It is no doubt that Natacha Akide has come a long way since her disqualification from the season 4— Pepper Dem edition— of BBN. She has a loyal fan base called the ‘titans’, and boasts of 3.5 million followers on Instagram.

She also competed on MTV’s The Challenge reality show. She was known to be a controversial person, even before partaking in BBN.

She has won a number of awards, including 2021 Net Honours Most Popular Person and Force of Twitter. She has also won the 2021 SCREAM awards for Brand Influencer of the Year, Fashion Brand of the Year and Social Media Influencer of the year. Akide also has multiple businesses to her name.

Elozonam

Elozonam Ogbolu is another ex-BBN housemate who has made good use of the exposure he got from the show. Elozonam is now a content creator, voice artist and TV show host. He won the 2023 AMVCA award for the Best Online Social Content Creator. He is currently a brand ambassador of Premier Cool Nigeria, and has almost a million followers on Instagram.

Kidwaya

Kidwaya Terseer is the son of a billionaire and he is unabashed about it. He is often seen hanging out with people of high calibre. He has 1.5 million followers on Instagram. He also owns a London, United Kingdom-based consulting agency, Kiddwco, which presented the sum of N100m to underprivileged Nigerians on July 13, 2023.

Erica

Erica Nlewedim was disqualified from BBN, but she has not relented in her career. She has acted in movies, such as Blood Covenant, Devil in Agbada, Bitter Rain, The Wig, and Hire a Woman.

She also has endorsement deals with brands such as Aaron Cosmetics, Access Bank Plc and Maltina. She has over three million fans on Instagram.

Nengi

Rebecca Hampson, aka Nengi, is another popular ex-BBN housemate with 3.2 million followers on Instagram. Just two months after emerging the second runner up of BBN in 2020, she was awarded the Black Women Worldwide award for Entrepreneur of the Year on November 1, 2020. She was also declared as the winner of the Online Influencer of the Year Awards at 2022 Gage Awards. Nengi was the first female housemate in the history of the show to have one million followers on Instagram while still in the competition. She has also been signed as a brand ambassador for brands such as, Payporte, Deshapeables Nigeria, and Remy Martins.

Cee C

Cynthia Nwadiora, aka Cee C, gained notoriety for being very controversial while on the show in 2018, but since she left the competition, she has also shown off her calmer side.

The 26-year-old lawyer has bagged many ambassadorial deals, and has over three million followers on Instagram. In 2018, she won the La Mode Award for Fashion Influencer of the Year.

She has also worked with brands, such as Itel, Cassie Hairs, and FTX Africa.

Angel

Like many others on this list, Angel Smith is a controversial ex-BBN housemate. She has 1.1 million followers on Instagram, and is currently one of Get fit Nigeria ambassadors. She has also worked with tea brand, Lipton; skincare brand, Jenny’s glow; and phone brand, Oppo.

Khloe

Oluwabusayo Abiri, popularly known as Khloe, is another controversial ex-BBN housemate that is loved by many. She set a lot of tongues wagging when she underwent cosmetic surgery in 2020.

With many businesses to her name, she made the 2023 Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Ozo

While on the show, Ozomena Chukwu, aka Ozo, was the butt of jokes for many because of his doting affection towards another housemate, Nengi. However, that also endeared him to many fans. He currently has 1.5 million followers on Instagram.

He has worked with brands such as FIFA, Nike, Budweiser, and Tecno.

BREAKING: TINUBU PLANNING TO ATTACK PEPC JUDGES, OBI, AND ATIKU'S LEGAL TEAM – DAVID HUNDEYIN

    ■ DAVID HUNDEYIN 

Investigative Journalist and author of The Jungle, David Hundeyin, has released a scathing allegation against Bola Ahmed Tinubu via his Twitter handle @DavidHundeyin

He said the source of the allegation has never given him any false information, and he hopes this is the first. He posted a screenshot showing his conversation with the source.

It will be recalled that David Hundeyin was the journalist who exposed Bola Tinubu’s dual citizenship and Guinean Passport and also the one who released Tinubu’s drug dealing and money laundering forfeiture case in the USA.

On a day when Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar submitted their final addresses to the Presidential Tribunal against Tinubu, he chose to use the various security apparatus against his opposition. It is important to note that in that meeting, the highly controversial Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, who got to power through a highly controversial judicial judgment, was in attendance.

Attached below is David’s Tweet.

PSG STAR, ACHRAF HAKIMI’S WIFE DEMANDS Half Of HIS PROPERTY IN DIVORCE SUIT, BUT THE FOOTBALL PLAYER REGISTERED EVERYTHING IN MOTHER'S NAME

Paris Saint-German defender, Achraf Hakimi left his wife, Hiba Abouk, empty-handed and without any alimony following a divorce application she filed over allegations of infidelity.

She approached the court to seek the dissolution of their marriage and demanded half the football star’s property in divorce settlement, however, it was discovered that he had no assets.

Hakimi had registered all his properties and assets under his mother, Sadia Mouth’s name, so legally, he is not worth a dime on paper.

When Abouk, 36, took her 24-year-old husband to court, she expected to get an equal share of his €70 million upon separation, but she was informed that documents showed his assets all belong to his mum.

According to Stades Football Club; “Ashraf Hakimi’s wife had taken the court for a divorce case and wanted them to separate the assets and divide them in court.

When the divorce took place and they agreed to share the assets, they realized Ashraf Hakimi had no assets and neither did the bank. Ashraf Hakimi had put all his fortune in his mother’s name a long time ago.”

Paris Saint-German defender, Achraf Hakimi left his wife, Hiba Abouk, empty-handed and without any alimony following a divorce application she filed over allegations of infidelity.

She approached the court to seek the dissolution of their marriage and demanded half the football star’s property in divorce settlement, however, it was discovered that he had no assets.

Hakimi had registered all his properties and assets under his mother, Sadia Mouth’s name, so legally, he is not worth a dime on paper. He has no property, cars, houses, Jewelry or even clothes in his name.

When Abouk, 36, took her 24-year-old husband to court, she expected to get an equal share of his €70 million upon separation, but she was informed that documents showed his assets all belong to his mum. Anytime, he wants anything, he asks his mother who buys it for him.

According to Stades Football Club; “Ashraf Hakimi’s wife had taken the court for a divorce case and wanted them to separate the assets and divide them in court.

When the divorce took place and they agreed to share the assets, they realized Ashraf Hakimi had no assets and neither did the bank. Ashraf Hakimi had put all his fortune in his mother’s name a long time ago.”

Hakimi who receives €1 million monthly started dating his wife in 2018 when he was 19 years and she was 31.

The star defender had earlier been accused of raping a woman he invited to his matrimonial home when his wife and the family were in Dubai.

The Morocco International is currently under investigation over the allegation.

COURT OF APPEAL, ABUJA, HAS DISMISSED AN APPEAL BY THE ALLIED PEOPLES MOVEMENT, APM, SEEKING TO DISQUALIFY PETER OBI

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, seeking to disqualify Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, from the February 25 general election.

In the appeal marked: CA/ABJ/CV/1414/2022, the Movement had approached the court, contending that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, ought not to have recognized Peter Obi as a valid candidate for the presidential poll.

APM said this was in consideration of the time Obi defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the LP.

The party argued that the period of Obi’s defection for the purpose of contesting the presidential election was in violation of sections 77(2) and (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

They also argued that before Obi’s defection, the LP already sent a list of its registered members to the INEC.

According to the appellant, Obi lacked the right to be recognized as the LP flagbearer because his name was not on the list of the party members that was submitted to INEC.

APM further urged the court to set aside the Federal High Court judgment which dismissed the suit it filed to challenge Obi’s candidacy.

In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices, the appellate court said there was no merit in the appeal filed by APM.

Recall that this is one of the grounds the All Progressives Congress APC Candidate and President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in response against Peter Obi’s Petition.

LT. GENERAL OLADIPO DIYA IS DEAD, FEC MOURNS.

  Late Gen. Diya

THE Federal Executive Council (FEC), has expressed shock over the death of the former Chief of General Staff, Lt. General Oladipo Diya (rtd), which sad event occurred on Sunday.

Lt. General Diya (rtd) served as the Chief of General Staff to the late head of state, General Sani Abacha.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja

described General Diya as a seasoned military officer with admirable administrative capabilities in his various functions as the Military Governor of Ogun State (1984 – 1985), Chief of Defence Staff, and the Chief of General Staff (1993 – 1997); as well as a notable statesman who made invaluable contributions to nation-building.

“FEC condoles with the government and people of Ogun State, his family and friends, and prays to God to grant the soul of the deceased eternal rest,” SGF stated.

AMAECHI, WIKE RENEW SUPREMACY BATTLE IN RIVERS STATE

As the governorship and State House of Assembly elections hold tomorrow, Saturday, some residents of Rivers State are cut in between the line on who to vote for, especially for the position of Governor and of course the houseof assembly seats contestants in the state.

Some observers hold the opinion that the governorship and the state Assembly candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party are likely to win.

This is because, they believe Governor Nyesom Wike’s influence will give a landslide victory to his party, the PDP.

The PDP had won 90% of the National Assembly seats in the state, including the 3 Senatorial districts and 9 House of Representatives seats.

The Labour Party won 1 House of Representatives seat and the All Progressives Congress won 1 seat at the House of Representatives too. However, two constituencies are yet to be announced.

The PDP is being been accused of hijacking the process of the February 25 election.

The Labour Party in the state had claimed that they won the presidential election in the state, as well as most of the National Assembly seats, but their mandate was allegedly stolen by the PDP.

For the March 18 election, it is widely speculated that the APC and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the state, have great interest in the elections, despite not showing much interest in the presidential and National Assembly elections.

The Labour Party is also not left out as some “Obidients” have vowed to vote for LP from top to bottom, as a revenge for what happened in the February 25 election.

Meanwhile, some residents of the state have promised to follow through with Governor Wike’s alleged directive during the presidential election, to vote for the APC.

Wike is believed to have worked for the presidential candidate of the APC, now president-elect, Bola Tinubu, to make him remove his interest in APC winning Rivers governorship election.

Tinubu is reportedly caught in the middle on who to support among the guber candidate of his party, which is the APC, Patrick Tonye-Cole, the guber candidate of the SDP, which is his longtime ally, Magnus Abe or the guber candidate of the PDP, Siminalaye Fubara, whose boss (Wike), allegedly worked for his victory in the state.

Tension seem high in the state as various political parties, especially the APC and the SDP, have vowed that the PDP will not hijack the electoral process like they supposedly did with the presidential and the National Assembly elections.

The guber candidate of the Labour Party, Beatrice Itubo is also gathering momentum, as the electorates and the Obidients are gearing towards her. The support for her candidacy increased after the former state chairman of LP in Rivers state, Dienye Pepple, as well as the state executives of the party, publicly endorsed the guber candidate of the PDP.

Their decision, they said, was hinged on the fact that, “they want to support a candidate that can win the election.”

They also accused their party’s guber candidate of being, “unserious and unready to run an election.”

As for the candidate of the SDP, Abe, he has been endorsed by several groups in the state, including the Igbo community, of which the leadership have come out to refute.

He also has a large number of followers and has been described as, “a grassroots politician.”

He worked with the previous administration, where he served as Secretary to the State Government. Abe is also said to have a stronghold in his area, which is the Ogoni axis.

The candidate of the PDP is said to also have a great chance. This is because Governor Wike has managed to poach some influential leaders of the APC and SDP in the state to join his camp.

He has equally had meetings with several groups and sectors, to woo them to vote for his party’s candidate.

A week ago, he went as far as promising to employ 10,000 youths in the state, promotion of civil servants, an employment scheme and promotion of several persons. However, this strategy may have won some people to the side of the strategic Governor.

The candidate of the APC, Tonye-Cole, had earlier gathered some level of support from the people, after the presidential and National Assembly elections. Some electorates described him as, “the best man for the job.”

But this did not last, as he allegedly posted a congratulatory message to the president-elect, Tinubu on his Facebook page.

However, some people, despite the congratulatory message, have decided to vote for him, because of his experiences.

The physical campaign of former Governor, Rotimi Amaechi has also helped him gather support from people who are not in tandem with Wike’s style of leadership.

Amaechi has been vigorously campaigning for the APC candidate in what could be seen as a renewal of the supremacy battle between him (Amaechi) and Wike.

People are also expecting some guber candidates from the Kalabari extraction, where Tonye-Cole is from, to step down for him, as the many candidates from the Oceania LGA’s, will mar the possibility of a Kalabari Governor.

The guber candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Tonye Ibraye, as well as his Deputy, Tonto Dike are the first to step down.

It is uncertain if others, including Dumo Lulu-Briggs of Accord, Dawari George of Action Alliance and Sogbomabo Jackrich of National Rescue Movement, will step down for Tonye-Cole.

Tension is high, as many fear of possible violence in the Saturday’s election in the state.

The candidates of the APC, LP, PDP and SDP, all stand a good chance of winning the election. It is quite difficult to say who is likely to win as the race in the state is too close to call.

NATIONAL YOUTH COUNCIL OF NIGERIA TAKES OVER EMPLOYMENT OF 10,000 CIVIL SERVANTS IN RIVERS

Gov. Wike

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has asked the National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, to take charge of the planned employment of 10,000 persons into the state’s civil service.

This was coming less than 72 hours to the governorship and state houses of assembly election in the state.

Wike also released N570 million to youths of the state, adding that part of the money would be used to build a secretariat for the youths.

The governor made the announcement in Port Harcourt during a state rally in solidarity with the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Siminialaye Fubara.

Gov. Wike, during the event, handed the allocation of the 10,000 jobs into the state’s civil service to the state’s leadership of NYCN.

He mentioned that N70 million of the announced sum was for the accumulated subventions for youths, while N500 million is for building a secretariat for youths.

Wike urged the state leaders of NYCN to follow right channel to the Government House and collect their accumulated subventions, totalling N70 million.

He then announced the sum of N500 million to start the construction of what he called a “befitting state secretariat in PH”.

Wike further stard that his administration was prosecuting the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Tonye Cole, and Chibuike Amaechi over the alleged sale of some state assets.