News
FG increases number of oil blocks for 2024 bid round
The federal government has increased the number of oil blocks on offer in the 2024 marginal bid round.
Gbenga Komolafe, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), spoke on Tuesday at the pre-bid conference for the 2024 licencing round in Lagos.
On May 8, NUPRC invited investors to bid for 12 oil blocks and seven deep offshore assets in the 2024 marginal bid round.
In addition to the previously disclosed 12 oil blocks available in the bid round, Komolafe said the nation has placed more oil blocks for sale.
He said this follows the acquisition of more geological data, which resulted in the discovery of more prospective blocks — a feat achieved in partnership with multi-client partners.
Komolafe said details of the newly identified oil blocks “would be made available on the portal”.
“The newly identified blocks will be added to the pool of blocks originally scheduled for the bid exercise and their details will be made available on the bid round portal,” he said.
“In addition to these blocks, the seven deep offshore blocks from the 2022 mini-bid round exercise which cover an area of approximately 6,700 km2 in water depths of 1,150m to 3,100m shall also be concluded along with this licensing round.”
Komolafe expressed the commission’s determination to carry out the bid round in a transparent manner in line with section 76 (1) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
He said each bloc was picked for its potential to strengthen the nation’s reserve and economic posterity, adding that as of April, Nigeria’s oil reserve stood at 37.5 billion barrels of oil, while gas reserve was 209 trillion cubic feet (tcf).
“We are not just a regulator, but a business enabler. This bid round will enable us an unprecedented opportunity to unlock Nigeria’s vast hydrocarbon potential, attract investment and propel our nation towards greater economic prosperity and shared prosperity,” Komolafe said.
The CEO called on investors to trust their investments in the Nigerian oil sector because it is cheaper for them to conduct exploration and production of oil in the country due to the depth of the oil wells.
“In the past the award of oil blocks culminated to the non-development of over 90 per cent of marginal fields, thus denying the federal government of reaping the intended benefits because such awards were not based on technical and financial considerations,” he said.
Going forward into the 2024 oil bid round, Komolafe said only investors with sufficient financial and technical capacity would be given consideration.
News
Fuel, diesel prices will drop in Nigeria as crude oil slumps
Domestic prices of petrol and diesel are expected to decline following a sharp drop in global crude oil prices triggered by the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
As of Saturday morning, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude fell by 11 percent and 9 percent to $83.85 and $90.38 per barrel, respectively, down from about $100 per barrel.
The decline comes after Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz has been fully reopened for vessel passage.
The development has begun to reflect in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market, where depot marketers have slightly reduced fuel prices.
Petrol prices at depots now range between N1,205 and N1,206 per litre— about N5 to N6 higher than the Dangote Refinery price of N1,200 per litre.
This pricing trend was observed among marketers such as Aiteo, Bono, and NIPCO.
Meanwhile, diesel prices at depots in Lagos, including Menj and Duport, stood at N1,775 per liter.
Market observers say the drop in crude oil prices has triggered panic selling among depot marketers.
Despite this, retail pump prices have remained unchanged as of filing this report, with petrol selling between N1,290 and N1,333 per litre, while diesel ranges from N1,850 to N1,900 per litre.
The President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, Abubakar Maigandi, confirmed the development, noting that further reductions are likely if the downward trend in crude prices persists.
“We expect fuel prices to drop in the coming days if crude oil prices continue to decline.
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News
Wife demands divorce from husband for being poor
An Area Court at Centre-Igboro, Ilorin, Kwara State, has dissolved the Islamic marriage between a couple, Toyin Ajibola and Bashirat Mohammed on grounds of lack of money.
The presiding judge, Hammad Ajumonbi, while delivering ruling said that even though Toyin did not want to divorce his wife, she still had the needed to move on not be left stranded.
He, dissolved their marriage and granted custody of the three children from their union to the wife.
The court also ordered the woman to observe the three months iddah (waiting) period before remarrying.
Ajumonbi ordered Toyin to be responsible for the feeding of their children.
“The defendant should have unrestricted access to their children, while the plaintiff should always make their children available any time the defendant requested to see them,” the judge said.
Earlier, Bashirat had applied for divorce saying that she was tired of her marriage to her husband due to paucity of fund and her husband’s irresponsibility.
“I want the court to grant me divorce so that I can have rest of mind,” she said.
The husband, however, told the court that he was still interested in his wife even though he was financially handicapped.
“I have been trying hard to get money to feed my family, but couldn’t.
“It is so painful that I can’t get money to visit her and the children when they left home,” he said.
News
Angry Ex-Senate president, Saraki slams Kwara gov, says “you never completed secondary sch education”
Ex-Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has described as a “desperate ploy by a drowning politician” the move by Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, to initiate a case of criminal culpability against him over the Offa robbery incident of 2018 “which I know nothing about”.
While describing the criminal case as “dirty politics taken too far and too low”, Saraki warned Abdulrazaq to desist from this despicable act of using the Offa robbery incident as a weapon anytime he came under political pressure over his poor policy conception and failure to live up to expectations as a governor of a state known as the State of Harmony.
Ordinarily, my attitude to this insidious move by the incumbent Governor of Kwara State to initiate a case of criminal liability against me in the unfortunate incident of armed robbery which happened in Offa community eight years ago should be to shrug it off and say that we will meet in court since I know I have nothing to do with the incident or any other crime for that matter.
“However, I have been inundated with calls from many well-meaning Nigerians who were surprised by this turn of events. Thus, for the benefit of the general public, let me categorically state that I have nothing to do directly or indirectly with any case of armed robbery or any criminal matter, whatsoever. The Offa robbery incident was designed under the Buhari administration with the connivance of some individuals from Kwara State as an instrument of blackmail to seize political power from our group in 2019.
“The case was investigated by the police team from the office of the Inspector General of Police. However, following the investigation, in two separate legal advices dated June 22nd, 2018, and August 23rd, 2018, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) stated that there was no evidence directly or indirectly linking me to the robbery incident.
“ The DPP in his first legal advice stated that “For the Senate President and the Kwara State Governor, this office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects”.
In a second report, the DPP stated that “With regards to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, since there is no departure from the earlier findings in the interim report, this office is still unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide”.
Based on the DPP’s advice, four suspects were charged in court by the Kwara State Government. They were convicted at the trial court and the conviction was upheld by the appellate court. The matter is now before the Supreme Court.
Suddenly, the governor woke up after I granted my interview to Channels TV where I commented on the insecurity in the state and thought he could resurrect these baseless charges against his two predecessors. I noticed that in his propaganda plan to circulate his frivolous charges and other skewed documents as paid advertisements in the national newspapers, even before serving the defendants, he intentionally hid the DPP reports and other documents which put a lie to the charade he is perpetuating. These are deliberate efforts to mislead the media and induce them to give purchased publicity to the frame-up.
“Therefore, I am under no illusion that this case was a frivolous move and an abuse of court process to embarrass my person. My legal team will definitely meet this governor in court. I believe that Abdulrahman just feels that he could still use this case to harass and defame my person by abusing the judicial process. He had tried to induce the families of the victims to initiate civil litigations against the other respondents and me, but he seemed not to be making progress with that mischievous effort because the families backed out.
“I need to remind him that this vicious attack on my reputation because he enjoys the immunity of a governor is a huge joke on him. A sitting governor who is accusing his two immediate predecessors of armed robbery is only making a mockery of the institution. He is only taking the governorship of our dear state to the gutter.
This is an example of dirty politics taken too far and too low. He ought to know that nobody at the national or state level is buying his claim. He is the butt of a crude joke. Many of those involved in the plot to blackmail me with the Offa robbery case have since faced judgements of the law of karma. I do not doubt that this governor will end up the same way.
“One would have thought that a governor whose state has lost over 400 lives to banditry between January 2025 and March 2026, with over 100 others kidnapped in the worst cases of insecurity since its creation, would concentrate efforts and focus attention on taming the menace by getting the bandits arrested to face justice. No. He is fixated on filing frivolous and politically motivated charges against his predecessors.
This shows the dark mindset of the man who is the governor of Kwara State today. A man who emphasises dirty politics over development and security of life and properties of the citizenry. He started working on this plot immediately after my interview on Channels TV where I flayed his lack of capacity in tackling the security crisis in the state. He thought this case would erase his record as the governor with the worst cases of insecurity under his watch in the state’s history. It is an unenviable record he has sustained by his lack of capacity and ability to tackle serious issues of the state.
“This is a mere act of a desperate politician who is losing control in his party and knows that his days in governance are numbered.
It is the reason Nigerians should always take into consideration the level of education of those we elect into office. For a man who never completed secondary school education, it is difficult for him to appreciate the issues involved in any matter. His level of education is definitely affecting his judgement.
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