The report that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria on Wednesday threatened showdown with the Nigerian Government over the massive oil thefts in the Niger Delta region of the country dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Punch reports that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria on Wednesday threatened showdown with the Federal Government over the massive oil thefts in the Niger Delta.
The President, PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, in an interview with journalists in Abuja, blamed soldiers and other security agents protecting pipelines in the country for the continued oil theft.
He said the association would halt oil production if the government failed to stop the theft.
He also disclosed that the association would hold rallies simultaneously on Thursday (today) in Abuja, Warri, Kaduna and Lagos.
According to him, the rallies would let the government know that PENGASSAN members were tired of producing oil that would be stolen eventually by thieves despite the protection of pipelines by security agencies.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, had last week Tuesday said the spate of vandalism had prompted the NNPC to shut down its entire network of pipelines conveying petroleum products nationwide.
The newspaper says that the All Progressives Congress should review its decision to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election, the Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Dr Henry Ndukuba, advised on Wednesday.
According to him, the decision by the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to pick Kashim Shettima as his running mate meant that the party was insensitive to the feelings of the people.
Ndukuba expressed these views in an interview with journalists in Abuja ahead of the 4th Standing Committee Meeting of the church following its 2020 General Synod.
The Primate said as innocuous as the idea of the same-faith ticket might sound, the country was not ripe for it.
He said, “We are opposed to it. When you appoint or choose people of the same faith, either Christian-Christian or Muslim-Muslim, you are being very insensitive to the feelings of the people. For us, it portends danger.
“Until we can deal with the issues that are causing disharmony and distrust in our nation and be able to provide credible leadership, we cannot pretend that we must be able to live above these (sentiments).
“It is one step at a time. Do the needful. Give credible leadership that will win the confidence of the people, and then; when you tell us anybody can rule, we will agree.
“It is unwise to continue to promote those things that further divide the country.
“There is a need for politicians to be sensitive to the feelings and aspirations of the people. Nigeria is a secular state, and great efforts were made in the past to ensure that it remained so.”
Ndukuba also decried the breach of the power rotation agreement by some political leaders, warning that religion and tribal issues were still volatile areas of national life.
The Guardian reports that the Federal Government, yesterday, vowed it would sanction foreign airlines selling tickets to Nigerians in dollars, stressing that the practice violates the country’s laws.
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, disclosed this while fielding questions from reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Sirika said Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) officials have already been directed to protect the interest of Nigerians, adding that no violator will be spared.
The minister said reports reveal some of the airlines were refusing naira and charging fares in dollars, while others blocked local travel agencies from accessing their websites.
He said: “That is a violation of our local laws. They will not be allowed. The high and the mighty among them will be sanctioned, if they’re caught doing that.
“NCAA had been directed to swing into action. And once we find any airline violating this, we will definitely deal with them. They blocked travel agents from access. They also made only expensive tickets available.
“Our regulators are not sleeping. We have a very vibrant NCAA. Once they find any airline guilty, that airline will be dealt with because we need to protect our people. It is according to our agreements; what we have signed, and this is according to international convention.”
The newspaper says that by monetising over 60 per cent of flared gas through its different trains, Nigeria LNG Limited, yesterday, said Nigeria was already on the path to achieving its energy transition goals.
According to the firm, energy transition does not have to be a huge leap, adding that getting out of dirty fuels and flare reduction are steps in the right direction.
In a country with a huge energy deficit, NLNG’s Managing Director, Philip Mshelbia, noted that reducing carbon footprint starts by providing cleaner alternative energy sources for a population that depends on dirty fuels.
To him, monetising associated gas has helped Nigeria to reduce flares, provide thought leadership on the decade of gas agenda and generate revenue for investment in critical infrastructure to improve the wellbeing of the people.
Speaking on the sidelines of this year’s ongoing GASTECH exhibition and conference in Milan, Italy, Mshelbia added that in line with its goal, the company was equally committed to supplying 100 per cent of its Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) production to the domestic market to support the growth of LPG utilisation in the country and help reduce the health, safety and environmental risks associated with the use of other domestic fuel sources.
Speaking on ‘Concerted industry action on ending energy poverty’, he added that through the supply of LPG, NLNG prioritised the supply of clean energy in Nigeria, while working collaboratively with the government to grow LPG consumption in Nigeria as part of the national journey to a clean energy future.
“We also expanded our capability in running our plants to generate electricity. We generate over 300MW of electricity to power our community on the Island from where we operate,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has said Nigeria is positioning to become a major gas supplier to Europe following the global energy crisis caused by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The minister, during a panel session on the topic: “Just Energy Transition for Developing Nations”, maintained that funding for gas development at this point was a win-win for Europe and Africa.
“Today we are seeing gas being weaponised and every country will at least require some alternative supply.
“We believe that Europe needs this gas and it is a win-win for all of us and it is in their interest to reduce this discriminatory investment that their banks are doing.”
GIK/APA