News

Nigeria Fast Becoming A Failed State- Catholic Bishop

Published

2 days ago

October 14, 2024

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Catholic Bishop of Idah Diocese, Reverend Anthony Adaji, has lambasted the administration of President Bola Tinubu, saying he is leading Nigeria into a failed state.

Adaji stated this on Sunday at Our Lady Mother of Mercy Catholic Church Idah as he marks his 60th birthday.

Speaking to The PUNCH on the state of the nation, Adaji said, “Nigeria is becoming a failed state. A state where the people can no longer trust the government. If you look at the political arrangement right now, the governor is in charge of the state through a political party.

All the Local Government election results are declared with no other party winning any election and we still call it democracy. Democracy is failing in our country called Nigeria. We cannot pretend things are getting well. It is getting worse every day.

People are dying because of a cup of garri right now in our country. I would recall that the former ambassador to Nigeria when he came to commission something in Abuja, said Nigeria is the most concentrated country with black intellectuals around the world. He was a black American who served as an Ambassador many years ago. Even in America, the black people, Nigeria has the highest intellectuals among the black people in the world.

“How can such a country be gradually sinking and becoming a failed State? We cannot pretend about that. The politicians in Nigeria are not helping democracy to grow. So, you cannot tell me that in a particular state that is being controlled by a particular political party, there is no local government that can choose a candidate. This is not true because I don’t believe that. It is a deliberate attempt by politicians to destroy democracy.”

The clergy asserted that the current economic hardship in the country was self-inflicted.

He said, “Nigeria has enough resources that every child in Nigeria should not be hungry. There is a great endowment of wealth in this country, but the mismanagement of wealth has led us to where we are now. This is the situation Nigerians are facing.

“God has blessed Nigeria abundantly, but unfortunately, the mismanagement of Nigeria’s resources over time has brought us to where we are now. If nothing is done it can only get worse and never get better.

News

BREAKING! FG delegation in meeting with NLC, TUC

Published

45 mins ago

October 16, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Federal government delegation is currently meeting with the leaders of organised labour at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The meeting is centred on the state of the nation, especially the petrol pricing system.

The meeting is taking place at the Secretary to the Office of the Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume.

At the meeting are Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, NSA; Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the Labour Minister; and Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

Others are the Information Minister, Petroleum Minister, State Minister of Gas, and representatives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Limited.

News

Reps Ask FG To Reverse Petrol Pump Price Hike, Cooking Gas Price

Published

47 mins ago

October 16, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

…urge NNPCL, others to expedite repairs of refineries

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to reverse the recent Pump Price hike and take immediate steps to stabilise petrol and cooking gas prices through targeted interventions such as temporary price relief measures, tax reductions, or subsidies on LPG for low-income households.

The House also called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ministry of Petroleum Resources and other relevant agencies to expedite the repair/maintenance of domestic refineries and increase local refining capacity as a stop-gap measure to reduce thedependence on imported refined petroleum products.

The lawmakers furtwhr urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement monetary policies that will mitigate the adverse effects of fuel price hikes on inflation, particularly with regards to essential goods and services.

These resolutions was sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance on the “Urgent need to suspend the increased cost of petrol and cooking gas in the country and provide a stop-gap”, moved by the House Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda and 111 other lawmakers.

Debating the motion, the Deputy Minority Leader, Rep. Aliyu Madaki, said that Nigeria, as an oil-producing nation, has historically relied on petroleum products and cooking gas (LPG) as essential sources of energy for both domestic and industrial purposes.

He expressed concern that in recent months, the prices of petrol and cooking gas have skyrocketed and continue to so do, creating an unsustainable financial burden on ordinary Nigerians and exacerbating the cost of living:

According to Madaki, the removal of fuel subsidies, coupled with global oil price volatility and the depreciation of the Naira, has contributed significantly to the rising cost of petrol at the pump and cooking gas for households.

The motion reads: “Worried that the escalating fuel and gas prices are impacting the cost of transportation, food, essential goods and healthcare, further increasing inflation and pushing many families into deeper financial hardship.

“Further concerned that businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are struggling to manage their operational costs due to increased fuel prices, threatening economic stability and job security.

“Acknowledging that the Federal Government has previously announced plans to repair domestic refineries and boost local refining capacity to address some of these issues but has yet to deliver significant results in this regard;

“Mindful that the rising cost of petrol and cooking gas poses a significant threat to the livelihood of millions of Nigerians and unchecked inflationary pressure caused by the increased prices can lead to social unrest, increased poverty rates, and negative long-term economic effects; Also worried that unless urgent and pragmatic steps are taken to control the rising cost of petrol and cooking gas, the Nation will go into economic crisis leading to negative outcomes like increased crime rate and mortality rate.

The House unanimously adopted the motion urging the Federal Government to explore alternative energy sources and diversify the country’s energy mix to reduce reliance on petrol and gas, promoting renewable energy solutions that are more sustainable and affordable in the long term.

The lawmakers also encourage State Governments to adopt policies that alleviate the financial burden on their citizens, such as waiving taxes or levies on transportation and goods affected by high fuel costs.

The House further mandated its special adhoc committee investigating fuels price increase to investigate and report back within two week for further legislative action.

News

PMS Prices Determined By Market Forces, No Price Deal With IPMAN – NNPC

Published

1 hour ago

October 16, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has debunked claims that it reached an agreement with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), on the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, saying fuel prices are now determined by market forces.

Reports credited to IPMAN President, Abubakar Maigandi had stated that NNPC agreed to reduce the ex-depot price of petrol for its members from N958 per litre to N955 per litre.

Refuting the claim in a statement on Wednesday, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the national oil company, Olufemi Soneye, emphasised that under the current deregulated regime, fuel prices are determined by free market forces, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021 rather than by agreements.

Refuting any form of price deal with Marketers, Soneye said NNPC had only provided a one-time N3 discount to marketers with funds deposited at NNPC to facilitate fuel lifting and prevent shortage, saying the initiative “was a temporary measure”.

Maintaining that prices are still determined by market forces, not by NNPC Ltd, Soneye said, “The market has been deregulated, meaning that petrol prices are now determined by market forces rather than by the government or NNPC Ltd.

“There is no price agreement between IPMAN, NNPC, or any marketer. The market forces determine prices under the current deregulated regime.”