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The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria has commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for successfully running the revamped Port Harcourt Refinery for 180 days non-stop

National Public Relations Officer, Dr Joseph Obele, who gave the commendation in a statement on Tuesday, also commended the host communities for their cooperation and support during the rehabilitation of the refinery.

He stated, ”The refinery has been dormant for over 20 years.

“It was commissioned in October 2024 and has been running continuously for 180 days, up to March 2025; it is a remarkable feat that underscores the effectiveness of the rehabilitation project.

“PETROAN is pleased to note that its members are currently loading Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) and Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) from the refinery, while NNPC Ltd. retail marketers are loading Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), called fuel.

“This development has not only ensured a steady supply of petroleum products but has also helped to eliminate the circulation of fake kerosene and diesel in the market.

PETROAN wishes to extend special commendation to the Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), Mr Ibrahim Onoja, for his exceptional leadership, technical expertise, and dedication to ensuring the successful operation of the refinery.

 

“PETROAN wishes to extend special appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for making funds available for the rehabilitation of the refinery.”

 

He also commended the Federal Government and the management of NNPC Ltd. for their vision and commitment towards the revitalisation of the refining industry.

 

According to him, the association believes that the achievement will have a positive impact on the country’s energy security, economy, and employment opportunities.

 

(NAN)

 

The National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, has dismissed the recent call by the Nigeria Labour Congress for the probe of the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, and others over allegations of forgery, describing it as a waste of time and a political ploy.

 

Arabambi, in a statement on Tuesday, said the allegations had long been settled by a March 2023 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, as well as forensic and police investigative reports, which cleared Abure of any wrongdoing.

 

His reaction followed a demand by the NLC Political Commission Chairman, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, and the Chairman of the Nigerian Corruption Watch, Dandy Rowland, for Abure’s prosecution over allegations of perjury, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.

 

The Senator Nanedi Usman-led Labour Party Caretaker Committee had also insisted that Abure and some national officers of the party be prosecuted, lamenting what it described as an unjustifiable delay in their prosecution.

 

However, Arabambi described the calls as a desperate attempt to tarnish the reputation of Abure and the party’s National Secretary, Alhaji Farouk Umar Ibrahim.

 

“The forensic report and the police investigative report clearly stated that there was no forgery. The case file forwarded to the Attorney General of the Federation was returned to the police on the grounds that the forensic report exonerated all four accused persons,” Arabambi stated.

He further noted that the Court of Appeal judgment, delivered on March 6, 2023, by Justices Hamma Akawu Barka, Adebukola Banjoko, and Peter Chudi Obiorah in suit No. CA/ABJ//CV/559/2023, set aside all allegations of forgery, perjury, and conspiracy, adding that only the Supreme Court has the authority to overturn the ruling.

 

He maintained that the Inspector General of Police cannot be blamed for refusing to prosecute Abure, as the appellate court’s ruling prevented any further legal action on the matter.

 

Arabambi also took a swipe at Ndubuaku and NLC President, Joe Ajaero, accusing them of attempting to use intimidation tactics to discredit the party leadership.

 

“At this point, Ndubuaku and his master, Joe Ajaero, must understand that Abure, Ibrahim, and Clement Ojukwu have no case to answer. It is laughable that someone is issuing ultimatums to the Attorney General of the Federation over a case already settled by the Court of Appeal,” he said.

 

He insisted that the continued attempts to smear the party leadership through what he termed baseless allegations would not be tolerated.

 

A businessman, Sunday Okorie, collapsed in court on Wednesday while standing in the dock.

 

Okorie had been arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday for allegedly failing to declare $299,000 and being in possession of counterfeit foreign currency.

 

Justice Deinde Dipeolu had ordered Okorie to be remanded after he pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. The judge then adjourned the trial to Wednesday.

 

When the case resumed on Wednesday, Okorie’s lawyer, Uche Okoronkwo, told the court that his client wanted to change his plea to guilty.

 

Okoronkwo asked the court to allow the charge to be read to Okorie again.

 

The lawyer for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Chineye Okezie, confirmed that Okorie had decided to plead guilty.

 

Okezie said, “In view of the defendant’s wish to change his plea from not guilty to guilty on counts one and two, the commission would like to withdraw counts three and four.”

 

Justice Dipeolu agreed and ordered counts three and four to be withdrawn. He then asked the court registrar to read counts one and two to the defendant.

 

As the registrar was about to read the charges, he asked Okorie if he understood English. Okorie did not respond. Seconds later, he collapsed in the dock.

His wife and daughter, who were in the courtroom, started crying.

 

Mrs. Okorie knelt and cried out, calling on Jesus.

 

The EFCC had arraigned Okorie on four counts related to money laundering and importing counterfeit currency.

 

The EFCC prosecutor, Chineye Okezie, told the court that Okorie hid the $299,000, the counterfeit $250, and €100 inside relaxer containers. He then tried to take them through the Nigerian Customs Service at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.

 

Okezie said Okorie committed the offence on March 19, 2025.

She explained that he illegally brought five pieces of counterfeit $50 notes, totalling $250, into Nigeria. The fake notes had serial numbers MB67951730 D, MB93612802 A, MB67957416 D, MB67957308 D, and MB121997428 C.

 

According to her, Okorie knew the money was fake but still had it in his possession.

 

She said the offences violated Sections 3(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and Sections 3(1)(a), 5(1)(b), and (2) of the Counterfeit Currency (Special Provisions) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

OpenAI, the AI startup that owns ChatGPT, has integrated image generation directly into the chatbot, enabling users to create and modify images using GPT-4o, the company announced in a blog post on Tuesday.

 

The Microsoft-backed firm described the update as a significant step toward making image creation a core part of AI-driven communication.

 

As part of the announcement, OpenAI shared a sample image on its website demonstrating improved text accuracy in AI-generated visuals compared to older models.

 

The update aims to enhance the quality of AI-generated content, addressing past limitations in rendering text and intricate details.

 

ChatGPT, specifically with DALL·E integration has been capable of generating images for some time. However, OpenAI’s latest update improves this capability by integrating it more seamlessly into ChatGPT, likely making it faster, more interactive, or enhancing features like inpainting

“At OpenAI, we have long believed image generation should be a primary capability of our language models. That’s why we’ve built our most advanced image generator yet into GPT‑4o. The result—image generation that is not only beautiful but also useful,” the blog post stated.

 

The feature is now available across Plus, Pro, Team, and Free subscription tiers.

 

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the rollout marks a new level of creative freedom, acknowledging that while the tool will enable users to create remarkable content, some outputs may be controversial.

 

“People are going to create some really amazing stuff and some stuff that may offend people; what we’d like to aim for is that the tool doesn’t create offensive stuff unless you want it to, in which case, within reason, it does,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

 

“As we talk about in our model spec, we think putting this intellectual freedom and control in the hands of users is the right thing to do, but we will observe how it goes and listen to society

 

 

 

Shops and goods estimated to be worth multi-million naira have been burnt during a night fire incident that occurred at the popular Iweka Road, close to Ochanja market, Onitsha, Anambra State.

 

Our correspondent gathered that the fire, which started at about 8.30pm on Tuesday, razed many shops, burning goods and property to ashes.

 

Although the cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained, it was gathered that the fire raged for several minutes before the arrival of firefighters, as some of the traders had gone home.

 

Confirming the fire incident on Wednesday, the Media and Publicity Unit of the Anambra State Fire Service, led by the state fire chief, Chukwudi Chiketa, said it received a distress call at about 9.40pm and immediately deployed a crew of firemen and firefighting equipment to the scene.

Chiketa said, “Anambra State Fire Service at about 9.40pm on Tuesday, March 25, received a distress call about a raging fire outbreak at the popular Iweka road, close to Ochanja Market, Onitsha.

 

“Immediately, a crew of firemen and firefighting equipment were deployed to the scene of the fire outbreak. They fought gallantly and contained the incident, stopping the fire from further escalation.

 

“The incident affected four shops, and many others were saved in a two-storey building. These shops contained furniture materials such as leather, foam and others.

 

“The cause of the fire outbreak has not been ascertained. The crew of firemen withdrew from the incident’s scene at 03:05 h3.05am) of the next day, Wednesday 26th March.”

 

 

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has mourned Ebunoluwa, the wife of the state chairman of the All Progressives Congress Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi.

 

In a post via his Facebook page on Monday, the governor also expressed his condolences to Ojelabi and asked God to grant him comfort in this difficult time.

 

The governor wrote, “I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in Lagos State, on the passing of his beloved wife, Ebunoluwa Esther Ojelabi.

 

“Please know that my thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

“While this is an extremely difficult loss, I encourage you to take heart. Mrs. Esther Ojelabi lived a remarkable life and was a nurturing mother.

 

:Her warmth, kindness, and spirit touched many lives and she will be deeply missed.

 

“May God bless her soul and grant you comfort. We share in your grief and are here for you.”