The report by a coalition of 40 groups, comprising civil society, labour unions, socio-cultural and professional bodies in Nigeria, led by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) said that Nigerians do not want separation, but justice and fairness is one of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
ThisDay reports that a coalition of 40 groups, comprising civil society, labour unions, socio-cultural and professional bodies in Nigeria, led by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has disclosed that from its recent engagements around the country, Nigerians do not want separation, but justice and fairness.
The Chairman, NIPR Citizens’ Summit for National Integration, Peace and Security, Dr. Ike Neliaku, while speaking during a media briefing in Abuja, explained that since the inauguration of the National Planning Committee (NPC), the group had in the last three weeks travelled around some parts of the country, to consult with various sections on the heated issue of nationhood.
The committee said the outcome of its consultations and deliberations clearly showed that a greater percentage of Nigerians believe in preserving the corporate integrity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FGN), rather than secede.
Neliaku, stated that from the observation of the coalition, there has been lack of proper engagement and communication, noting that if certain issues that formed the fundamentals of agitations across the country are resolved, Nigerians would prefer to live together.
“If matters that have caused certain misconceptions, misunderstanding and distrust, are taken care of by leadership across board, Nigerians will prefer the option of staying together and building a strong, viral and formidable nation in Africa,” the group stated.
The newspaper says that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday charged the Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, to stop lamenting over the persistent banditry in his state, but be on the side of the people by boldly telling President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) federal government that they have failed in the area of security.
The PDP, which asked Buhari to either shape up or ship out, asserted that Governor Masariwas doing a great disservice to his people, who have fallen victims to persistent banditry, owing to President Buhari’s incompetence and inability to secure the nation, by not shading his parochial politics to join other patriotic Nigerians in voicing out to President Buhari, the truth of his failures.
In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said it was indeed a distressing and colossal mark of failure that President Buhari’s home state, Katsina, was being taken over by bandits, who were overrunning local governments, killing, raping, maiming and pillaging innocent citizens, while the President, who promised to lead the fight against insurgency from the front, continued to recede deeper into the safety and comfort of Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to the PDP, “It is totally upsetting that while Mr. President is busy with his unnecessary rhetoric in Abuja, bandits, according to Governor Masari, are having a field day in persistent attacks on 10 local government areas, killing and robbing innocent citizens on daily basis.
“While it is common knowledge that President Buhari has failed and especially, in his three-pronged focus of security, economy and anti-corruption, it is however regrettable that his administration could be so aloof, cold and unperturbed as bandits ravage our citizens in most states and particularly in Mr. President’s home state. What a failure!,” the party said.
The Punch reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Sunday announced a trading surplus of N43.57bn in April 2021, representing a 23.64 percent increase over the N35.24bn surplus it recorded in the preceding month of March 2021.
It disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Kennie Obateru.
Trading surplus or trading deficit is derived after deduction of the expenditure profile from the revenue for the period under review. NNPC stated that the surplus was contained in its April 2021 report, adding that its group operating revenue in the review month, as compared to March 2021, increased by 17.73 percent or N80.67bn to stand at N535.61bn.
Similarly, expenditure for the month increased by 17.24 per cent or N72.34bn to stand at N492.05bn.
The report attributed the rise in trading surplus to the activities of the corporation’s upstream subsidiary – the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company – such as crude oil lifting from OML 119 (Okono Okpoho) and OMLs 60, 61, 62, 63 (Nigerian Agip Oil Company), as well as increase in gas sales.
The NNPC said the outlook was further consolidated by the robust gains of two other subsidiaries namely, Duke Oil and National Engineering and Technical Company.
The Sun says that electricity challenge confronting the country appears to have attained a worrisome dimension as there is an estimated 22 million small generators in households use and MSMEs in Nigeria.
Operations Director/Executive Director, Selattyn Energy Plc, Mr. Effiong Okon, stated this during a panel session at the 44th edition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) with the theme “Energy Security and Sustainable Development in Nigeria” held in Lagos last week.
Okon said these generators are expensive to buy and run and responsible for particulate and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution.
The Seplat Director, who was the lead presenter at the panel, maintained that energy security remained the bedrock of the nation, as Nigeria should have a robust energy base to meet its present and future energy needs for it to sustainably develop.
He added that economic development is a function of both access to energy and the quality of the access.
Providing insight into the country’s current energy challenges, he said: “Nigeria has less than 11GW generating capacity on grid and much of it remains unused owing to inefficiencies and gas supply constraints; distribution is not well developed across the country and suffers poor maintenance, with frequent blackouts which leads to supplementing on-grid generation with generators.
The Nation reports that the Nigerian Government is losing over N5 trillion revenue yearly, based on the inability of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to find solutions to the highly corrupt business environment at the port,
it was learnt. The Federal Government, it was gathered, loses over $1.95 billion in government revenue and $8.15 billion in private sector revenue annually due to corruption at the nation’s sea ports.
Speaking with The Nation at the weekend, the Vice-Chairman, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr Kayode Farinto, said the government needed to beam its searchlight on its agencies at port to fix the economy, invest on infrastructure and create jobs for millions of Nigerians.
The agencies, to be focused on, according to Farinto, include the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigerian Maritime administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) and the Standard Organisations of Nigeria (SON).
“The Federal Government is losing over N5 trillion to corrupt officials and foreigners operating at the port.
GIK/APA