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Dangote Petroleum Refinery has indicated that it will no longer sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to major oil marketers that hold valid licences to import the product.

Industry sources said the refinery’s decision is targeted at companies that continue to bring petrol into Nigeria despite the increasing availability of locally refined products.

According to figures cited by Dangote Refinery, imported petrol accounted for about 43 per cent of total PMS supply in July.

The refinery is concerned that the continued influx of imported petrol is reducing the market available to domestic refiners and could undermine investments in local refining capacity.

Under the new arrangement, Dangote Refinery is expected to prioritise marketers that do not have petrol import licences.

Companies that continue to import PMS under the Federal Government’s approved import regime may therefore no longer be able to purchase petrol directly from the refinery.

Six companies were issued licences by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in May to import PMS. They are Matrix Energy, A.A. Rano, AYM Shafa, NIPCO, Pinnacle Oil and Gas, and Bono Energy.

Such a situation, the sources said, could make it difficult for consumers and regulators to distinguish between Dangote’s products and imported fuel. Any quality-related complaints could consequently affect the refinery’s reputation.

The refinery has also questioned whether NMDPRA currently has sufficient laboratory capacity to conduct comprehensive testing of imported petrol entering the Nigerian market.

Dangote Refinery’s latest position represents a further escalation of its longstanding concerns over continued petrol imports into Nigeria.

The refinery has previously warned that sustained imports could force it to export more of its refined products rather than incur the high cost of storing unsold petrol locally.

The development could lead to a more divided supply system in the Nigerian downstream oil market, with Dangote Refinery supplying mainly marketers that do not import petrol while licensed importers source a larger share of their products from overseas.

The development could lead to a more divided supply system in the Nigerian downstream oil market, with Dangote Refinery supplying mainly marketers that do not import petrol while licensed importers source a larger share of their products from overseas.

This could affect the availability of petrol at different depots, demand for imported cargoes and, potentially, pump prices across different parts of the country.

The Federal Government had approved petrol import licences as part of efforts to ensure adequate supply and maintain competition in the downstream petroleum sector. Dangote Refinery, however, maintains that continued dependence on imported petrol could weaken the market for locally refined products and discourage further investment in domestic refining capacity.

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The conviction of former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis by a Las Vegas jury has reopened an old wound in American popular culture — the 1996 murder of Tupac Amaru Shakur, better known to the world as 2Pac.

For those of us who encountered 2Pac during our secondary school days, his music was more than entertainment. His lyrics spoke of struggle, injustice, poverty, violence, ambition and the contradictions of life.

Decades after his death, his voice remains remarkably alive, particularly among a generation that grew up listening to his songs and debating the circumstances surrounding his death.

He died six days later, leaving behind a career that had barely reached its peak and a murder mystery that would remain unresolved for decades.

A Las Vegas jury found Davis guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon in connection with the killing. He was the only person ever charged in the case.

But Davis was not accused of being the man who pulled the trigger.

Instead, prosecutors presented him as the person who orchestrated the attack and supplied the firearm used in the shooting.

That distinction is important.

The prosecution’s case reportedly leaned heavily on Davis’s own public statements over the years, including admissions he made in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend. His words, once part of his attempt to tell his own story, ultimately became important pieces of evidence against him.

Under Nevada law, a person who aids and abets a killing can face the same legal consequences as the person who physically pulls the trigger. And unlike many lesser offences, murder does not have a statute of limitations in Nevada.

In other words, time does not automatically erase accountability for the most serious crimes.

How many murder cases remain unresolved because investigators ran out of leads, witnesses remained silent, evidence disappeared or perpetrators simply believed that enough years had passed for the law to forget?

2Pac’s murder became one of the most famous unsolved killings in modern American popular culture. His fame ensured that the case never completely disappeared from public consciousness.

Fans continued to ask questions. Investigators continued to revisit the evidence. And theories — some credible, others wildly speculative — proliferated for nearly three decades.

This conviction is therefore more than a legal development concerning one defendant.

It is a reminder that unresolved does not necessarily mean forgotten.

Justice can be painfully slow. Sometimes it takes years. Sometimes decades. And in some cases, it may arrive long after the victim’s family has stopped expecting it.

For 2Pac’s family, friends and millions of admirers around the world, nothing can bring back the young rapper whose life was cut short at 25.

But accountability, whenever it comes, still matters.

There is also a lesson here for societies everywhere: a cold case is not necessarily a closed case.

Evidence can resurface. Witnesses can eventually speak. Investigative techniques can evolve. And, sometimes, the people who once believed they had escaped justice can become the very witnesses against themselves.

2Pac once rapped extensively about life, death, injustice and survival. Nearly 30 years after his death, his story has once again reminded the world that some questions refuse to die.

Justice delayed may be frustrating. But when justice finally arrives, it still matters.

For Tupac Amaru Shakur, perhaps this conviction represents another step toward closing one of the most enduring chapters in the history of American music and crime.

Justice delayed, but not denied.

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Ex- Deputy Governor of Osun State, Mrs Titi Laoye-Ponnle, has declined her nomination as a member of the governing council of Osun State University, UNIOSUN by Governor Ademola Adeleke.

It was gathered that the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru, conveyed Laoye-Ponle’s decision to the governor during a courtesy visit to the Government House, Osogbo, on Sunday.

Basiru said the former deputy governor would have joined him on the visit to personally explain her position, but could not be present.

Basiru noted that the former deputy governor is currently holding the position of chairman of the Governing Council of a federal institution.

“She said I should tell you she is not concerned about capacity, but she is presently the Chairman of the Governing Council of one of our federal institutions,” Basiru stated.Ordering Custom Wall Maps

He added that Laoye-Ponnle thanked the Governor for the consideration and expressed her willingness to work for the success of the state at any other time.

Governor Adeleke, on Friday, dissolved the Governing Council of the university and constituted a new council to strengthen the administration and governance of the institution.

The newly constituted council has Prof. Adewale Oladipo retained as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman.

Other members of the reconstituted council are Alhaji Gbadegesin Lawal; Otunba Titi Laoye-Ponnle; Mr Akinola Franklin Omoniyi; Chief Funminiyi Awotide; Mr Orija Samuel Adebayo; and Mrs Adewale Adetayo Bola.

Adeleke charged the new council to build on the achievements of the university and provide the necessary support for its continued growth.

The new council members were inaugurated by the Governor on Monday at the Government House.