The Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has confirmed that petrol from the PortHarcourt refinery will be sold at N1,030 per litre, as disclosed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

In a statement released on Thursday night, PETROAN’s spokesman, Joseph Obele, stated that the NNPCL officially communicated the pricing to the association.

However, in a statement on Thursday night, PETROAN mentioned that a portal for product booking has been opened and petrol is being sold at N1,030 per litre.

PETROAN spokesman, Joseph Obele said, “NNPC Retail Ltd has officially announced the PMS price at the Port Harcourt refinery as N1,030 per litre. It was also communicated to PETROAN that the product request portal was open for booking/request.”

Obele further clarified that despite earlier claims of the refinery being non-functional, the plant is currently running at 70% of its capacity.

The refinery’s full capacity, which is 60,000 barrels per day, is expected to increase to 90% soon.

This news comes as part of NNPC’s ongoing efforts to revive its refineries, with plans for the new refinery, which has a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, to begin production shortly.

Obele emphasized that both refineries, located in the Eleme area of Rivers State, are crucial for the country’s oil production, with PETROAN expressing interest in collaborating with all active refineries in Nigeria.

Additionally, the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources recently visited the refinery, confirming its functionality and witnessing petroleum trucks being loaded.

World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was reappointed Friday for a second term, in the shadow of the coming return of Donald Trump and his disdain for international trade rules.

Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and the first African to head the WTO, was the only candidate in the race, and had been all but assured a second term.

The organisation’s 166 members “today agreed to give incumbent Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala a second term as director-general,” the WTO said in a statement.

But with Okonjo-Iweala the only candidate, African countries called for the process to be speeded up, officially to facilitate preparations for the WTO’s next big ministerial conference, set to be held in Cameroon in 2026.

The unstated objective is to “accelerate the process, because they did not want Trump’s team to come in and veto her as they did four years ago”, said Keith Rockwell, a senior research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation.

The common practice of appointing directors-general by consensus made it possible in 2020 for Trump to block Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment for months, forcing her to wait to take the reins until after President Joe Biden entered the White House in early 2021.

Northern Senators convened a closed door meeting on Thursday, lasting over two hours, following the Senate’s passage of the contentious Tax Reform Bills for a second reading.

The closed-door session, held in Room 301 of the National Assembly Complex, was announced during the day’s plenary, igniting speculation about the agenda.

However, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, refrained from divulging the details of their deliberations.

The Tax Reform Bills, which include significant changes to Nigeria’s fiscal landscape, have drawn considerable attention. Earlier in the day, the Senate instructed its Committee on Finance to organize a public hearing involving state governors, the Governors Forum, traditional rulers, and other key stakeholders. The committee is expected to present its findings and recommendations within six weeks.

During plenary, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) spearheaded discussions on the bills, emphasizing their importance for modernizing the nation’s tax framework. The four bills include:

The Nigeria Tax Bill 2024 – designed to establish a comprehensive fiscal framework for taxation in the country.

The Tax Administration Bill – aimed at providing a unified legal structure for all taxes in Nigeria while minimizing disputes and ambiguities.
The Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill – which seeks to repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and establish the Nigeria Revenue Service for improved efficiency in tax collection.
The Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill – intended to create a tax tribunal and a tax ombudsman to resolve disputes and enhance accountability in revenue management.

The Senate described the reform bills as critical to ensuring sustainable revenue generation and streamlining tax administration. Lawmakers highlighted the need for robust engagement with stakeholders to address potential concerns and ensure a fair and inclusive tax system.

However, the Northern Senators’ meeting has raised questions about whether regional interests or specific provisions within the bills influenced the closed-door discussions. The region’s lawmakers have previously expressed concerns about the disproportionate fiscal burdens placed on states with lower internally generated revenues, often reliant on federal allocations.

Observers are keenly watching for outcomes from the public hearing and the Senate Finance Committee’s report, as the Tax Reform Bills could significantly reshape Nigeria’s fiscal policies and their impact on citizens and businesses.