Missing $20bn oil revenue: No presidential directive on kerosene subsidy –NNPC

 

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi
| credits: File copy

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has said it never received any presidential order to stop subsidy payment on kerosene during the late President Umaru Yar’Adua administration.

The acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, told Saturday PUNCH in Abuja on Thursday that the corporation should not be blamed for not implementing the directive on kerosene subsidy because the NNPC did not get any instruction to end subsidy payments on kerosene.

He said, “The point of contention is about kerosene subsidy. We do not doubt that there could be a directive. But what the NNPC is saying is that it is one thing for the President to give a directive, it is another thing for the directive to be communicated down to the various agencies of government.

“The communication line in matters like this is between the President and the minister. And the minister will direct subsidiaries or parastatals working under the ministry. So in a situation where a directive was given by the President to a minister, then for reasons that are best known to the minister or the ministry, that information was not communicated to the parastatals, then you can’t hold us responsible for not implementing the directive.  As far as we are concerned, we have not received the directive.”

He argued that the NNPC was a structured organisation and would not take decisions based on “hearsay.”

Asked to comment on the allegedly missing $20bn, Ibrahim said the corporation would be able to reconcile its account before the end of the week. According to him, the NNPC would brief the Senate on its findings soon, stressing that “a large chunk of this amount is what we are reconciling now and we believe that by the end of the week, we should be able to give our report to the Senate.”

Jonathan can’t grant Ibori pardon – Clark

Former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark

Ijaw leader and First Republic Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has dismissed calls for a presidential pardon for the embattled former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, who was convicted by a United Kingdom Court.

Clark said only the Queen of England could grant Ibori pardon.

According to him, Ibori must show good character and repentance before being given amnesty by the Federal Government, adding that “amnesty is not granted overnight.”

He spoke with Saturday PUNCH in Abuja when a group of Niger Delta protesters under the aegis of Coalition of Urhobo Nation Youth Leaders and Stakeholders led by a civil rights activist, Mr. Rex Anigboro, besieged his (Clark’s) Asokoro residence demanding a state pardon for Ibori.

The group also alleged marginalisation of the oil-rich region in federal appointments.

Clark said, “The question of granting amnesty to James Ibori does not arise because he wasn’t sentenced by a Nigerian court. He is serving imprisonment in Britain and it is only the Queen of England (that) can grant him amnesty and it is only when he is in Nigeria that he could be granted pardon. You can’t grant amnesty to somebody in another man’s country.”

But when asked whether he would subscribe to the idea that the ex-governor should be granted amnesty after serving his imprisonment in UK, he retorted with some conditions.

APC carpets Jonathan over youth neglect

 

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
| credits: File copy

Interim Chairman, All Progressives Congress, Bayelsa State chapter, Mr. Tiwe  Orunimighe, said President Goodluck Jonathan had failed the youths of the country.

Orunimighe said this during the inauguration of the interim leadership of the party in Yenagoa on Thursday.

He told the youths that President Jonathan, though from the Niger Delta region, had failed to guarantee their future.

He said politics should be devoid of ethnic sentiments, urging the people to forego tribal politics and identify with positive change.

“They have always said our son is the President. Yes, we agree. But you and l know that as youths, you don’t have a future,” he said.

He said PDP, both at the centre and in the state, had been hijacked by power people whom he said were lording it over other members of the party.

“Have you ever seen where sitting governors abandon their party to embrace the opposition? This is to tell you the level of impunity that exists in PDP,” he said.

Orunimighe said the APC with 16 states was already in control of the majority in the country, explaining that APC states boasted of population “two times the population of PDP-controlled states”.

Law school undergoes rehabilitation after PUNCH report

 

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola
| credits: File copy

The once suffocating 1,400-capacity lecture hall of the Nigerian Law School, Lagos Campus, now has newly installed air conditioners.

Our correspondent observed the development during the presentation of a book written by Justice Oludotun Adefope-Okojie, which took place in the hall recently.

The book titled: “Civil Litigation – Quick Reference Guide to Substantive Law and Procedure,” brought together many dignitaries including Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola.

Some students, who pleaded anonymity, were full of praises for Saturday PUNCH over the report, which was titled: “Suffering and smiling … Law School students live in uncompleted hostel, faint in overcrowded hall.”

The students said that since the December 7, 2013 publication, they had experienced many changes in the school.

Speaking sarcastically, a student said, “We are no longer getting suffocated in the lecture hall as it used to be. In fact, we are now freezing from the cooling effects of the 16 newly-installed air conditioners.

“We also close from lectures as and when due. We are really grateful to PUNCH for that report.”

WAEC introduces 39 new subjects

WAEC logo

The West African Examinations Council has announced the introduction of 39 new subjects in its examinations.

 The Council’s Acting Head, Test Development Division, Mrs. Olayinka Ajibade, who announced this, said the new subjects would commence in this year’s May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

Ajibade said this while delivering a paper titled “The New Senior Secondary Education Curriculum in Nigeria: Implications for Assessment” at the council’s monthly seminar in Lagos on Friday.

The fresh initiative, she said, was in accordance with the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council’s new secondary school curriculum.

The NERDC is the body responsible for reviewing primary and secondary schools’ curricula in the country.

She said, “The implementation of the new SSCE curricula began in September 2011, meaning that the maiden public examinations based on the new/ revised curricula are expected to be held in May/ June 2014.

“Each WASSCE syllabus is derived from the senior secondary education curriculum. In addition to the 39 new subjects for which NERDC engaged in curriculum development, curriculum review was also carried out for 35 existing subjects.”

Restaurant Review: Akbar's, City Quadrant, Newcastle 

Food hits the spot, pity about the wait, Gordon Barr reviews Akbar's Indian restaurant in Newcastle city centre

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Akbar's Indian Restaurant

Time was of the essence.

Not only had the taxi turned up late, we were on a tight schedule to see the celebs and professional dancers strutting their stuff at Strictly at the arena.

As it happened we reckoned we still had a good hour and a half or so to enjoy our meal, but I decided to tell staff at Akbar’s that we had to be away by 7pm. That would give us plenty of time to pick up our tickets and settle in at the arena, which is a relatively short walk from the restaurant.

We were assured we would be away by 7pm, and with that we started to peruse the menu. Not before taking a good look around the restaurant, though, the ambience and decor of which proved an immediate hit with both of us.

Man arrested after armed siege at Consett home

Police have arrested a 52-year-old man after an armed-police stand-off at a Castleside home

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An elderly woman was led to safety after an armed-police stand-off at a Consett home.

Police were called just after 2.30pm this afternoon to an incident on Front Street in Castleside.

Officers attended and after becoming concerned for the occupants of the house armed response units and dog handlers were deployed.