APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report of the interception of a suspicious vessel carrying 800,000 litres of stolen crude oil en route to Cameroon by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Guardian reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it intercepted a suspicious vessel carrying 800,000 litres of stolen crude oil en route to Cameroon.
This is contained in a statement by its spokesperson, Garba Deen Muhammad, on Monday.
On Friday, July 7, a Private Security Contractor engaged by NNPC, Messrs. Tantita Security Services, intercepted a suspicious Vessel with a Cargo of Crude oil on board, according to Muhammad.
Muhammad disclosed that the vessel in question, named MT Tura II (IMO number: 6620462), is owned by Holab Marine Services Limited, a Nigerian registered company with Registration Number RC813311.
He stated that the vessel was apprehended at an offshore location (Latitude: 5.8197194477543235°, Longitude: 4.789002723991871°) while en route to Cameroon with the illicit cargo. The vessel’s captain and crew members were also on board at the time of the interception.
Muhammad noted that preliminary investigations revealed that the crude oil cargo on board was obtained illegally from an offshore well jacket in Ondo State and that neither the vessel nor the crude oil cargo had valid documentation at the time of the arrest.
“Further investigation into the activities of the vessel at the NNPC Ltd. Command and Control Centre also revealed that the Vessel has been operating in stealth mode for the last twelve (12) years. The last reported location of the Vessel was Tin Can Port in July 2011,” Muhammad added.
The newspaper says that Nigerians, yesterday, expressed satisfaction with the emergence of President Bola Tinubu as Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), but not all.
Tinubu took over from President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau on Sunday, during the 63rd Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.
While Benue State governor, Hyacinth Alia; his Katsina State counterpart, Dikko Radda, and others applauded the news, Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum (YRLF), a Southwest group, was cautious.
YRLF President, Akin Malaolu, declared: “The era of building castles in the air is over, if we desire a flourishing society and democratic governance.”
In a statement, he said: “Following the not-too-good performance of President Tinubu at the well-attended 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, we must caution Nigerians and indeed the West African community that when leaders pour out platitudinous speeches and draw ovations, then we are willing to accept just any promises or gesticulations as products of good thinking.”
He explained that the Forum “evaluated the speech delivered by the newly elected chairman of ECOWAS, in the person of President Tinubu, and we must confess that it fell short of our expectations. And from our accumulated experience, through observations over the years, the chairman was only punching the air.”
He added: “We are, therefore, going to ask the newly elected chairman to embrace ‘charity begins at home’ and do the following: fight corruption, reduce the allowances and salaries of political office holders as well as promote human-faced economic policies. He should also convoke a sociological enquiry on insecurity, and name and prosecute sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria.”
But Governor Alia described Tinubu as a vastly experienced leader who would positively impact the West African sub-region, urging Nigerians to give the President moral support to succeed in the task.
Also, Katsina governor, Radda, “believes Tinubu’s selection as ECOWAS chairman is not only perfect but also timely, given his wealth of experience and leadership acumen.”
The Punch reports that Nigeria currently accounts for 33 per cent of the total gas reserves in Africa, the Federal Government said on Monday.
While disclosing this through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, it added that the gas reserves in Nigeria could last for about 94 years.
The Chief Executive Officer, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this in Abuja at the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics 16th Annual International Conference, with theme, ‘Energy evolution, transition and reform: Prospects for African economies’.
He said it was important to note that oil and gas would continue to guarantee energy security for Nigeria’s massive population estimated to be about 200 million.
Komolafe said, “With a reserve base of 36.97 billion barrels of oil and 208.83 trillion cubic feet of gas which represents 33 per cent of Africa’s total gas reserves of 620TCF, Nigeria can be described as a gas rich nation ranking number one in Africa in reserves with a life index of 94 years.
“This clearly presents Nigeria in a dominant position in the entire Africa gas market. Nigeria has the potential to ensure sustained supply of natural gas across the sub-Saharan region of Africa, if the necessary financing and infrastructure are in place.”
He noted that over the last two centuries, the world had witnessed the evolution of various energy sources, from the traditional biomass to coal, oil and gas, hydropower, wind, solar, blue hydrogen and other renewable.
“However, today, oil and gas has remained the most dominant source in the energy mix,” he stated.
The newspaper says that members of the Organised Private Sector, on Monday, intensified calls for the formulation of policies to articulate a definite roadmap for non-oil export and non-traditional tradable goods and services.
They said the panacea for employment generation, foreign exchange earnings and investments in non-oil exports, particularly in the agricultural sector, must be backed by relevant laws and regulations.
Speaking at the second edition of the Nigeria Employers summit themed, ‘Trade and non-oil export: Changing the narrative for rapid national development’, in Abuja, the OPS explained that with the current fiscal challenges, the government needed to diversify its revenue base to increase economic growth, so that trade and non-oil exports would boost its foreign exchange reserves.
The Director-General of the African Development Bank’s Nigeria Country Department, Lamin Barrow, stated that Nigeria’s exports of goods and services as a percentage of GDP, at 10.7 per cent, was the lowest among its middle-income peers in Africa, compared to 31.2 per cent for South Africa, 44 per cent for Mauritius, 44.6 per cent for Botswana while Tunisia and Angola stood at 42.1 per cent and 44.3 per cent respectively.
He noted that while Nigeria’s economy was one of the most diversified in Africa, the oil sector accounted for 75 per cent of export revenues, and 50 per cent of all government revenue.
In his welcome address, the Director-General, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, Adewale Oyerinde, noted that NECA and its partners were aiming at expanding the employment net in Nigeria by deepening economic activities in the area of non-oil trade export.
According to him, the summit was organised to boost forex and to address declining oil export revenues.
GIK/APA
Nigerian press focuses on interception of vessel with stolen crude oil, others
