The just concluded Kenya presidential election that saw the deputy president, William Ruto surprisingly winning the election was the most tensed election Africa has had in recent times. This is due to the fact that actors in the election are majorly bigwig political leaders in the East African country.
The battle was between DP William Ruto and a well-experienced fifth-time contestant in Kenya presidential election, Hon Raila Odinga but the outcome of this election can best be described as astonishing especially for the fact that Raila Odinga was hugely and openly supported by the current president, Uhuru Kenyatta.
No doubt, every ‘sensible’ individual in Kenya knows that Odinga was the candidate to beat in the election because he has the resources and the support needed; there was nothing hidden in the fact that the president wanted him at all cost to succeed him against his deputy, William Ruto who has been at loggerheads with him since they secured their second term ambition.
Some of these factors made it impossible for the election to be predictable and as a matter of fact, everyone that had the guts to predict the outcome projected Raila Odinga, considering all he had on his side.
However, when all odds and predictions seem to be against DP William Ruto, one lone voice that gave an assurance of victory for him was that of Nigerian prophet, Primate Elijah Ayodele who has been talking about the presidential election in Kenya since 2020.
Checks have revealed that there was no prophet that revealed that William Ruto was going to win, it was a very difficult prophecy to make but because Primate Ayodele is a true man of God who doesn’t speak except God says a thing, He spoke ahead of time and gave some spiritual directions for William Ruto to secure his victory in the election.
His last statement about the election went viral especially in Kenya after it was published by notable newspapers in the East African country. Primate Ayodele was quoted saying without rigging in the election, William Ruto will be Kenya’s next president.
These were his words
“Without rigging, William Ruto will become Kenya’s next president and will make the country better for the people. Of paramount is that he should employ a new strategy and work more on Mount Kenya, the youth and women,’
“Ruto must follow up with the election closely because I see plans to rig the election. He must ensure he wins in the first round and, avoid court cases hanging around his victory.
“The DP should follow these instructions and must be very radical on the day of the election because if he isn’t careful, he will be robbed of his win,’’ (https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/78030-nigerian-pastor-blasted-false-prophesies-predicts-ruto-win)
His prophecy was perceived by many as untrue due to the power at play, some called him names and promised to mock the prophet when it ‘fails’ but unfortunately, God’s name has been glorified with victory of William Ruto in the just concluded election.
Sahara Reporters is set to pay N10bn for lying against Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai (retired) who has filed a suit against the online newspaper over a report linking him to a N1.85 billion recovered loot.
In the suit with number FCT/HC/CV/252/2022 filed by his lawyer, Dr Reuben Atabo (SAN), Buratai asked the FCT High Court to declare the Sahara Reporters’ publication captioned, “Exclusive: Anti-graft agency, ICPC uncovers billions in cash meant for arms, ammunition to fight Boko Haram in Abuja home of ex-Chief of Army Staff, Buratai” of June 23, 2022 as pure defamation of character. The ex-COAS wants the court to award him the sum of N10 billion in general and aggravated damages over the use of libellous words in the publication of the online platform.
He further demanded an order of the court compelling the newspaper to publish a retraction and an apology in two national dailies and its online platform “where the defamatory publication was made.”
Buratai, who was appointed Nigeria’s ambassador to the Benin Republic after he retired from the army, averred that the publication damaged his reputation after he diligently served Nigeria in various capacities and was awarded various meritorious honours for his distinguished service. No date has been fixed for the hearing.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Adamu Abdullahi, may not serve to the end of his tenure as plots have begun to remove and replace him with a Northern Christian.
Strong indications have emerged that APC governors and other stakeholders wants Adamu replaced by a Christian from the North-Central and this might be carried out during the ruling party’s upcoming National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for September.
Naija News recalls that Adamu had in March emerged as the APC chairman after backing from President Muhammadu Buhari despite APC governors throwing their weight behind a former Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-Makura.
A member of the National Working Committee (NWC) told Saturday Sun that the ongoing financial audit, non-payment of staff salaries and inability of the party to meet other financial obligations, were already generating concerns.
He said APC governors, who are worried about the fallout of the Muslim-Muslim ticket, are planning to replace Adamu with a Christian from any of the six North Central States.
While stating that Buhari had not been briefed over fears that he might not support the move, the source said the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, is in support of any move to appease Christians.
“Akume is Tinubu’s man,” he revealed, adding that “other acceptable names are being searched for to be submitted to President Buhari for consideration. Whether or not Buhari will accept the move, I don’t know.
“Buhari, if you remember, personally insisted on the choice of Adamu. The President also knows that Christian leaders in APC are unhappy. In the interest of reconciliation and inclusiveness, the President may just approve it.
“These issues will gain momentum as soon as NWC announces a date for the NEC meeting. The presidential candidate of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is also in support of any move that will placate Christians.
“If Tinubu decides to personally table it before President Buhari, it may work. If you recall, Adamu didn’t support Tinubu’s candidacy. He was the one who, without the endorsement of NWC, announced Ahmad Lawan as the consensus presidential candidate of the APC.
“Tinubu didn’t like that and he has expressed his displeasure many times with governors and other party leaders. Although he has not asked for Adamu’s replacement, he won’t oppose it if the move is made.
“But Tinubu has no hand in pushing for this. However, he won’t resist anything that will raise his chances of winning next year’s presidential election.”
Veteran actor, Emeka Ike, has alleged that some leaders of Nollywood and officials of the Bank of Industry squandered the N3 billion provided by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013 for the Nigerian movie industry.
In March 2013, former President Goodluck Jonathan at a presidential dinner to celebrate the industry at 20, held at State House, Marina, Lagos announced a grant of N3 billion to help turnaround Nollywood.
The ex-president had said the package, to be launched as “Project Nollywood”, included grants for the best film scripts, a capacity development fund, and funds for supporting the industry’s infrastructure.”
Nollywood has seen growth in film production and sales in past years but remains heavily criticized for low content quality, poor infrastructure, and lack of capacity building.The industry had by then over 150 film producers.
But Speaking in an interview with THE WHISTLER , Ike aalleged that the N3 billion given by Jonathan was squandered, instead of using part of it to build structure for Nollywood.
He said, “Bank of Industry was a fraud, Bank of Industry money that Jonathan gave us, N3 billion was a fraud. Please tell me why are the journalists not asking, where is that money today?
“Where is that N3 billion? There’s no contact address for Nollywood. If you say I’m I’m in America and want to locate Nollywood, where are you going to go?
“They shared the money among people who are connected to them, and their governors’ recommended letters.
“The same corruption killing Nigeria came into the industry, and the real producers who were spending money were played out; the real actors that did what they had to do were tagged old Nollywood, and then this new Nollywood that has no experience is about to crash.”
He further noted that he had advised his colleagues to seek more support from the ex-governors of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, and Bola Ahmed Tinubu who could have supported the industry by allocating land for Nollywood.
He said further, “So when I talk, they say Emeka Ike is being too whatever, what will I say? We got N3 billion and I say let us go to Fashola, the man is crazy for technology and development, with this N3 billion let’s not touch it.
“Let’s tell him, sir, we got N3 billion from FG and we want to set up a mega movie city in Lagos State to house us for ages, give us land, give us an extra N3 billion, and he might even add an extra N2 billion to us because they’re development crazy, Fashola and Tinubu I know.
“If we’re given a huge hectare of land to develop, then we look it out and share the money between the arms of the industry, not individuals, that was what I said.
“You don’t share the money among bankers, you share it among structures that can distribute it and make it have a residue; I mean people down to the grassroots, bodies like AGN (Actors Guild of Nigeria) should be given like half a billion, bodies like the marketers that were producing the movies should be given like half a billion, we just spent N1 billion out of the N3 billion.
“We have free land, bodies like the Yoruba movie makers, Hausa movie makers, and the Igbo movie makers should be given like N200 million each to go set up their departments, all on the project land.
“By the time we finish investing this money, we will have a structure. The banks will come in, other infrastructure will be there. We have theaters, the AGN with their N500 million can build apartments, build rehearsal places, and buy cameras.”
He said a friend called him from the United States of Americaasking to visit Nollywood. “But where’s the contact address of Nollywood”?
“That’s just telling you that we’ve been in a hollow, it keeps getting worse and the government is not helping because they don’t understand what we do, all they care about is the revenue that comes out of it and the monies they can make from the people that are playing these games and whatever.
“So, the maximum GDP that Nollywood can give to Nollywood is just a few efforts from a few people, and it’s no more going around as it should be, so it’s a sad story.”
The actor also blamed the government for the way the BOI fundwas disbursed.
“We need to know who got what, what did they do with it,” he asked.
Ike, who spoke in obvious anger, suggested that the N3 billion was squandered by those who accessed it on “bringing Hollywood and Bollywood” to Nigeria.
“Nollywood is an African product. Genevieve is a Ph.D. holder, Ramsey is a professor, and Emeka is a doctorate, we break it down.
“How many people are acting based on Genevieve’s reflection today? How many young guys are acting like Emeka Ike today?
“These are the understudies we need to put in so that people can understand our acting tendencies in movie making, not bringing someone from America to come and start teaching me with a bigger ascent on what movie making is all about.”
When THE WHISTLER contacted the National President, Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, he said, “Nollywood is not a body, it’s just an acronym that somebody named. Every other association in Nollywood has a physical address.
Emeka Rollas
“Also, I was not the president of the AGN when N3 billion was given to Nollywood, so I cannot particularly begin to say how the money was used or how right it wasn’t used.
“People who were leaders at that time must have had their ideas and worked according to their ideas. If they used their initiative and it didn’t materialize nobody should be blamed much because all the initiatives that Nigeria has been using in the last 50 years none has ever worked and nobody has killed anybody, so Nollywood’s own shouldn’t be an exception.”
Some residents of areas close to the 2 Division Nigeria Army at Odogbo in Ibadan are living in fear following the constant shelling of their buildings by soldiers during shooting exercises.
Residents who took journalists around the area on Thursday showed damage done to their buildings and vehicles by bullets fired by soldiers during the last shooting exercise.
They said many residents had relocated from the area while some who have completed their buildings have not packed there because their roofs and walls had been perforated by flying bullets.
Some of them complained about how bullets hit their walls or fall on their beds during the shooting training and they said despite the destruction of their property and complaints from the community, the army has refused to stop.
One of the residents, whose windows and roofs were damaged, told journalists that they had staged protests and had complained but no positive result came out of their efforts.
A community leader, Asimiyu Abdulrauf, told journalists that the people had become frustrated while appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate as well as the House of Representatives Committees on Nigeria Army to come to their aid.
He said, ” Government should help us. They should not wait till they finish destroying us before taking a step to stop this.
” We daily live in fear because we don’t know who would be affected. Windows are broken by bullets, roofs are perforated, vehicles are damaged and that is how we have been living.
” The area was not acquired by government or Nigeria Army. If it was, we would not have built here. We have lost so much to this but the army authorities are not concerned because we don’t have influential people who can tackle them.
“We are appealing to army authorities again to stop shooting into our areas because our lives are in danger. Some have died as a result of shock due to shooting. Is government going to wait till they kill of of us before they will stop them?”
Another resident, Mrs Kemi Oyewole, said she just brought back her sick husband from hospital on Tuesday when the shooting started again.
She said, ” I picked bullets right inside this room. My husband sat there when he came back from hospital and he just left when bullets landed there. Others landed in different places but I picked three and here are they. That is what we live with here.
“We have complained many times but it seems as if the soldiers are above the law so we are just praying to God to spare our lives.”
But the Deputy Director of Information at 2 Division Nigeria Army, Lt. Col Charles Ekeocha, could not be reached on the phone. Messages sent to him have not been replied to as at the time of filing this report
…Says Minister Cannot Claim Ignorance Of A Policy Approved By FEC
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed on Thursday faulted the opposition of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami on the five per cent increase on data calls.
Zainab made her position known in a statement released by her Media Adviser, Yunusa Abdullahi and made available to THE WHISTLER.
The federal government had announced plans to implement the new tariff hike of five percent on calls and data.
The government said it will begin the implementation of five percent excise duty tax on all voice calls, SMS and data services, in addition to the existing 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax paid for goods and services across all sectors of the economy.
But shortly after the announcement of the new tax rate was made, Pantami rejected the planned implementation, claiming he was never consulted during the conceptualization stage of the policy.
He had expressed his disapproval of the policy at a telecom forum in Lagos, organised by the Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecoms Sector, an agency domiciled in the Nigeria Communications Commission.
Pantami had said that he would explore every legitimate means to stop the planned five percent excise duty tax on telecom consumers, faulting the timing and process of imposing the tax on the telecom industry.
He had insisted that part of the responsibility of a responsive government was not to increase the challenges that citizens were facing.
When implemented, the excise duty would rise to 12.5 per cent. Telecom operators had also said the burden will be pushed to the consumers.
Pantami had said, “The ministry of communications and digital economy is not satisfied with any effort to introduce excise duty on telecommunication services.
“Firstly, I have not been consulted officially and part of the rulemaking is to invite stakeholders to make contributions, I was not consulted officially. Secondly, if we have been contacted, we would have challenged the submission.
The sectors that are contributing to our economy today are few. What we should be doing is to ensure that all other sectors can also contribute. A lot of sectors are consumers, these are the sectors that we should be tasked to contribute.
“A sector cannot be a consumer today; each sector must contribute a certain percentage to the economy. And if we fail to do that, we would be increasing the pressure and by doing that we would be destroying the digital economy sector.
“Excise duty is introduced to discourage the consumption of certain commodities like alcohol, and tobacco. But today, without broadband penetration, how can you perform financial transactions, how can you deliver lectures without that, how can you work in a hospital, these services are a necessity.”
But reacting to Pantami’s comments, Zainab said that the communication minister cannot claim ignorance of the plan to implement a five per cent increase on data call because the policy went through the Federal Executive Council which he is a member.
Former CBN Deputy Governor, Moghalu Blames Emefiele For Nigeria’s Forex Crisis
Aug 5, 2022
She said, “In view of the position of Prof. Pantami, there could be the question whether he was absented in the whole processes that resulted in the Finance Act, which is a product of both the National Assembly and Federal Executive Council.
“Suffice this to say that before the Act, the Finance Bill would have been through the FEC of which Prof. Pantami is a member and the National Assembly. In other words, he was involved in the making of the Finance Act which spells the said excise tariff hike policy.
“Therefore, he could not obviously have had a point in his dissenting views even as the National Assembly could not have contradicted itself on this matter, because the parliament had passed the Finance Bill before President Muhammadu Buhari signed it into law.”
The Minister added that the five percent excise duty has been in the Finance Act 2020, but has never been implemented.
“Henceforth, the five percent excise duty will be collected by telecom operators and payment made to the federal government on a monthly basis, on or before 21st of every month,” she added.
She said apart from FEC, a circular was issued to all stakeholders, adding that the finance bill which is the instrument upon which the increment was based went through the National Assembly.
She said the circular with referenced no. F. 17417/VI/286 dated 1st March 2022, and titled “Approval for Implementation of the 2022 Fiscal Policy Measures and Tariff Amendments” was addressed to different Ministers, including Minister, Communications and Digital Economy and other heads of government agencies.
The circular was also addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Attorney-General of the Federation, Ministers of Industry, Trade and Investment, Agriculture and Rural development, Mines and Steel and Development.
Others are Ministers of Health, Aviation, Information and Culture, Budget and National Planning.
Other heads of agencies copied in the circular are Accountant-General of the Federation, Comptroller-General of Customs, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, among others.
Part of the circular signed by the Finance Minister reads: “This is to convey that his Excellency Mr. President has approved Supplementary Protection Measures (SPM) for implementation of ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) 2022-2026 and excuse duties on non-alcoholic beverage, cigarettes and Tobacco products as well as telecommunication services with effects from 1st April 2022.
“A grace of 90 days commencing from the date of implementation of this circular i.e April 1, 2022, shall be granted to all importers who had opened Form M and must have entered into irrevocable trade agreement before the coming into effect of this circular to process and clear these goods at the prevailing duty rates.
“However new import transaction entered from the 1st of April 2022 will be subjected to the new import duty regime.”
Telecoms subscriber number continues to grow substantially, having increased from about 180 million subscribers in 2019 to over 200 million active subscriptions in 2020.
This represents an increase of over nearly 11 percent in total subscriptions.
Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa such as Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and Burundi currently impose excise duty on telecommunication services ranging between five per cent to 20 per cent.
The Police Service Commission (PSC) is presently considering promoting more officers in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) but is looking at gallant and well-behaved personnel.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police for zone six Calabar, Kola Kamaldeen made this known Thursday when he decorated six newly promoted officers in the zone to the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP).
“The PSC and the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba are considering regular promotions of more gallant officers to appreciate their efforts.
“However, they won’t do so just yet if we do not stop the ill-treatment of members of the public, Kamaldeen said.
” We have to treat members of the public well to reduce the amount of hatred they have for the police.”
He admitted that a handful of personnel are highhanded and compromised which is why the public abuses and seem to dislike them.
He charged the officers to realise that they are also Nigerians and members of the public.
“The amount of hatred for the Police force is much. This might be a result of the way we ill-treat them.
“We should begin now to treat members of the public well. This way, it will reduce the height of dislike and hatred they have for us. We were supposed to be friends of the public but that is not the case now.”
He also cautioned officers to reduce their quest for money which often leads to problems, adding that their behaviour could link them to prosperity or otherwise.
He charged the promoted officers to do more to commensurate with their new ranks, warning that insubordination would not be tolerated.
The six promoted officers include Nelson Okpabi, PRO of the zone, Anne Duru who is the zonal Admin officer, Bala Hassan, head of the zonal monitoring unit, Innocent Ibor, the zonal provost, Patience Larry, the senior staff officer and Etim Udobong, zonal transport officer.
Nelson Okpabi expressed gratitude on behalf of others, assuring that they will live up to their billing.
A leaked memo written by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and exclusively obtained by THE WHISTLER has revealed how the Minister attempted to undermine the regulatory power of the National Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission in the $1.28bn Seplat deal with ExxonMobil.
The memo, dated August 9 with reference number HMS/MPR/005/Vol1/105 was titled, “Re: Grant of Ministerial Consent to the acquisition of
Exxonmobil Companies shares in the USA by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.”
It was personally signed by the Minister and addressed to NUPRC’s Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe.
Seplat Energy Plc had in February this year announced an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Delaware for $1.28bn.
The transaction involved the acquisition of ExxonMobil Nigeria’s entire offshore shallow water business. According to the deal, ExxonMobil Nigeria’s shallow water business is an established, high-quality operation with a highly skilled local operating team and a track record of safe operations.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has a pre-emptive right over the asset and had last month won a court decision temporarily blocking Exxon Mobil Corporation from selling assets in Nigeria to Seplat Energy Plc.
A Judge in Abuja had granted NNPC an “order of interim injunction” on July 6, 2022, barring Exxon Mobil “from completing any divestment” in a unit that ultimately operates four licenses in Nigeria.
Despite the verdict of the Court, reports emerged on Monday that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved that the deal be consummated by Mobil and Seplat.
The Presidency’s announcement of the approval of the deal took many industry players by surprise because the transaction had initially been declined on July 5 this year by the President who is himself the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
As soon as the announcement for the approval of the deal was made last Monday, Komolafe had clarified that the Commission, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 is the sole regulator in dealing with such matters in the Nigerian upstream sector.
In a statement personally signed by him, the NUPRC Boss stated that the issue at stake is purely a regulatory matter and the Commission had earlier communicated the decline of Ministerial assent to ExxonMobil in this regard.
In line with the decline of Ministerial assent, he said the Commission is calling on all parties involved in the deal to maintain status quo which in this case referred to the decline of Ministerial Assent.
In reaching the decision, NUPRC said it relied on Section 95, sub-section 10 of the PIA which states: “Where the application for an assignment or a transfer of a petroleum prospecting license of petroleum mining lease is refused, the commission shall inform the applicant of the reasons for the refusal and may give reasonable time within which further representations may be made by the applicant or by third parties in respect of the application.”
Sub-section 14 of Section 95 also states: “For the purpose of this section, change of control means any person or persons acting jointly or in concert, to acquire direct or indirect beneficial ownership of a percentage of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the holder, by contract or otherwise, that exceeds 50 per cent at any time.”
Similarly, sub-section 15 states: “A holder of a petroleum exploration license shall not assign, novate or transfer his license or any right, power or interest without prior written consent of the Commission.”
Also, Section 95, sub-section 8 states, “Where the consent of the minister is granted in respect of the application for a transfer, the Commission shall promptly record the transfer in the appropriate register.”
Sub-section 9 adds, “The Commission shall communicate the refusal or approval of an application for an assignment, novation or transfer of a license or lease in writing to the applicant.”
But shortly after Komolafe issued the statement affirming the no-consent position of the Commission as a regulator in the deal, Sylva issued the memo faulting the move.
In the letter, the Minister in a move intended to undermine the regulatory power drew the attention of Komolafe to the fact that NUPRC is still an agency under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
He claimed that the regulatory power given to the Commission under the PIA 2021 is also embedded in the Minister’s role as stated in Section 3(b) of the PIA 2021.
In the letter, Sylva went further to claim that contrary to what was stated by Komolafe, the Ministerial Consent was granted in exercise of the powers conferred on the Buhari who is himself the Minister of Petroleum Resources by the provisions of Paragraphs 14-16 of the First Schedule to the Petroleum Act, 1969.
He argued that this is because the assets upon which the deal is based are Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) which have not been converted to the regime established by the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 (PIA 2021), but remain under the regime of the Petroleum Act, 1969, a legislation that has been preserved and grandfathered by Section 311 (9) of the PIA.
The Minister told the Commission in the letter that even if the Ministerial Consent was made pursuant to the regime established by the PIA 2021, the Act is also clear on the consent required of the minister on assignment of interest.
Quoting Section 95(2), of the PIA 2021, Sylva stated in his memo that ‘the consent of the Minister shall be granted upon recommendation by the Commission’, adding that Section 95(7a) states that ‘where the Minister rejects the recommendation of the Commission the Minister shall provide the reasons for such rejection.’
Drawing from these provisions of the PIA 2021, Sylva told the regulator in his memo that a recommendation by the Commission is not cast in stone and as such, Buhari who is the Minister of Petroleum Resources is not entirely bound by the recommendation of the Commission in the deal.
The letter reads, “You will recall that under cover of the referenced letter, I conveyed the Ministerial Consent by Mr. President and Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources (HMPR) dated 29th July 2022, in relation to the sale of the shares of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) by ExxonMobil Corporation companies, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc. (MDNI) and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc. (MENI), both of which are registered in Delaware, USA, to Seplat Energy Offshore Limited – a wholly owned subsidiary of Seplat Energy Plc.
“My attention has been drawn to the unfortunate incident of press conferences that you granted on 8th and 9th August 2022, in electronic and print media, rejecting the approval of Mr. President and Ministerial Consent on the grounds that it did not comply with the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 (PIA 2021), after the Presidency had issued a press release on Mr. President’s approval.
“The CCE is aware of an extant Presidential directive that all memoranda from his office should be passed through the Board of NUPRC to the Office of the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, for onward transmission to Mr. President. The CCE had in the past adhered to this directive, except in cases in which, for whatever interest, he chose not to.
“For the avoidance of doubt the NUPRC is still an agency under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, and the regulatory power given to the Commission under the PIA 2021 is also embedded in the Honourable Minister’s role as stated in Section 3(b) of the PIA 2021, which is to ‘exercise general supervision over the affairs and operations of the petroleum industry in accordance with the provisions of this Act
“Contrary to what you stated, the Ministerial Consent was granted in exercise of the powers conferred on the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources by the provisions of Paragraphs 14-16 of the First Schedule to the Petroleum Act, 1969.
“This is because the assets are Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) which have not been converted to the regime established by the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 (PIA 2021), but remain under the regime of the Petroleum Act, 1969, a legislation that has been preserved and grandfathered by Section 311 (9) of the PIA.
It added, “Even if the Ministerial Consent was made pursuant to the regime established by the PIA 2021 , the Act is also clear on the consent required of the minister on assignment of interest. Section 95(2), PIA 2021 states that ‘the consent of the Minister shall be granted upon recommendation by the Commission’, while Section 95(7a) states: ‘where the Minister rejects the recommendation of the Commission the Minister shall provide the reasons for such rejection’.
“The above sections of the PIA 2021 state unequivocally that a recommendation by the Commission is not cast in stone.
“The approval of Mr. President, who doubles as the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources, therefore supersedes any other position on the subject matter.
“The CCE is hereby directed, as a matter of urgency, to implement Mr. President’s approval conveyed under cover of my letter dated 8th August 2022 on the above subject.
“While awaiting your confirmation of full compliance as directed above, please accept the renewed assurances of my highest considerations.”
Barely 24 hours after the letter was written by Sylva, President Buhari reversed his approval of Seplat Energy’s purchase of ExxonMobil’s Assets, and backed the decision of the Commission.
The President ‘s Spokesperson Garba Shehu had said that the President had taken a decision that the position of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission be supported.
He said the earlier confusion was because “various agencies involved in (the) decision had not coordinated well among themselves.”
“It has become clear that the various agencies involved in the decision had not coordinated well among themselves and having looked at all of the facts with all of the ramifications, the president decided the position of the regulator is to be supported.”
Sources within the Presidency had told THE WHISTLER on Monday that there are extant laws governing such transactions, arguing that this statutory mandate lies within the purview of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
A Tanzania-based show promoter, Steven has claimed that Kizz Daniel’s missing gold chain was not the reason he refused to perform.
Steven said this during an interview with Daddy Freeze and Kizz Daniel’s brother Tolu.
He said that certain technical issues stopped the ‘Buga’ Crooner from performing.
Steven also claimed that the $60,000 he said was paid to the singer was actually sent directly to an agency managed by music executive, Paul Okoye.
He admitted that the singer tried to make amends when he arrived in the country one hour before the show after an 8-hour flight delay in Kenya. However, the show promoters told him there was no need for that as they will take care of it, but never did.
Sharing his brother’s side of the story, Tolu said Kizz was not paid in full while also adding that the contract for the show allowed for it to be postponed.
He argued that the father of two also offered to pay for a hall and for other things to ensure that the show was successful if postponed, which the show promoters agreed to but reneged after things took a negative turn.
Steven also admitted that all Tolu said was true but said they were only trying not to have issues with authorities because they are new in business in the country
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday appointed a former Permanent Secretary, Ecological Project Office, Dr. Habiba Muda Lawal, as Special Adviser to the President, Policy and Coordination.
Her appointment is contained in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.
Lawal is a technocrat in management, planning and project execution and has distinguished herself in various assignments in various areas in the public sector.
Before her retirement as Permanent Secretary in the Ecological Office, she had successfully supervised a team that ensured the management, identification, planning and execution of projects that mitigated serious ecological challenges across the country.
The successful implementation of these projects yielded commendable results for the country.
She attended Ahmadu Bello University Zaria from 1982 to 1986 for B.Sc. Chemistry where she won the Nigerian Tobacco Company Prize for the Best Year II Student 1984/1985.
She also won the Imperial Chemical Industries Prize for the Best Graduating Student in Chemistry (Second Class Upper) and the Imperial Chemical Industries Prize for the Best Graduating Project 1985/1986.
In 1991, Habiba obtained a Master’s Degree in Inorganic Chemistry from ABU, Zaria and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi (1997).
She also holds Certificate in Professional and Personal Competence in Women’s Development from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, Britain.
The statement reads, “President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed former Permanent Secretary, Ecological Project Office (EPO), Dr. Habiba Muda Lawal, as Special Adviser to the President, Policy and Coordination.
“Before retirement, Dr Lawal had successfully supervised a team that ensured management, identification, planning and execution of projects to mitigate serious ecological challenges across the country, with commendable results.
“She attended Ahmadu Bello University Zaria from 1982 to 1986 for B.Sc. Chemistry; there, she won the Nigerian Tobacco Company Prize for the Best Year II Student 1984/1985, the Imperial Chemical Industries Prize for the Best Graduating Student in Chemistry (Second Class Upper) and the Imperial Chemical Industries Prize for the Best Graduating Project 1985/1986.
“In 1991, Dr. Habiba obtained a Master’s Degree in Inorganic Chemistry from ABU, Zaria and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi (1997). She also holds Certificate in Professional and Personal Competence in Women’s Development from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, Britain.
“Dr Lawal, who served as Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation, 19th April 2017 to 30th October, 2017, has resumed in her new office.”
