Nigeria’s Federal Government may heed the advice of a special committee it set up, which recommended the establishment of Special Courts to prosecute the rampant cases of oil theft and bunkering in the Niger Delta region.
The Committee, headed by the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa state, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah, made the recommendation to the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, which held on Thursday at the Aso Presidential Villa, Abuja, presided over Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The Committee said: “Federal Government should set up special courts for speedy prosecution of oil bunkerers and oil theft suspects.”
it also recommended engagement of traditional rulers to sensitize their communities on the criminal and environmental dangers of oil theft.
The Committee recommended that procurement and deployment of appropriate technology in surveillance and combat vehicles/boats in difficult terrain be effected to drastically reduce incidents of oil thefts and illegal bunkering “and this would ensure full benefits of uninterrupted supply.”
Other highlights of the NEC meeting which lasted for several hours and attended by governors of the 36 states, relevant ministers, Central Bank Governor and others are:

1. REPORT ON EXCESS CRUDE PROCEEDS

• Honourable Minister of Finance (HMF) reported to the Council that the balance in the ECA stood at (USD 2,259,688,878.06 billion) as at 30^th April, 2016.  She disclosed that interest accrued on the account is USD 429,903.55 for the month of April 2016 experiencing a little drop in interest.

1. UPDATE ON THE RECONSTITUTION OF THE BOARD OF NIGER DELTA POWER HOLDING COMPANY (NDPHC)

The Chairman of Council, the Vice President informed that His Excellency, the President has approved the reconstitution of the board, which will be effected in due course.

UPDATE BY NEC AD-HOC COMMITTEE ON MANAGEMENT OF THE EXCESS CRUDE ACCOUNT (ECA) AND PAYMENT INTO THE FEDERATION ACCOUNT

Edo State Governor reported to the Council that their sub-committee endorsed the forensic auditors firms as earlier proposed by the Finance Minister to audit the ECA.

UPDATE BY NEC AD-HOC COMMITTEE ON CRUDE OIL THEFT PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Bayelsa Deputy Governor reported to the Council that, the Committee set-up sometimes in 2013 consulted widely with relevant stakeholders including the Armed Forces Joint Task Force (JTF), Oil Companies, Oil Producing States, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) among others.

• Key findings of the Committee as to the causes of crude oil theft include:

1. Inadequate operational patrol vessels to conduct patrol of entire pipeline network;
2. Massive unemployment among youths in the region attributed to increasing incidence of theft and vandalism;
3. Non availability of petroleum products in the Niger Delta Area also responsible for reoccurrence illegal bunkering.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Among the key recommendations of the Committee are:

1. Procurement and deployment of appropriate technology in surveillance and combat vehicles/boats in difficult terrain would drastically reduce incidents of oil thefts and illegal bunkering and this would ensure full benefits of uninterrupted supply.
2. Federal Government should set up special courts for speedy prosecution of oil bunkerers and oil theft suspects.
3. Engagement of traditional rulers to sensitize their communities on the criminal and environmental dangers of oil theft.

WAY FORWARD

Among others are:

• Increase the refining capacity of the domestic refineries through relocation/co-locating smaller cost-efficient refineries within time frame of 12 – 24 months.
• Focus on restoring upstream production by positively engaging host communities to put the current militancy to an end.
• Focus on improving Government funding in the upstream sector where funding has been less than 30%.
• Relieve Government of monthly cash-call funding and create a sustainable self-funding arrangement.
• Continue to engage the general public and all stakeholders by providing relevant information and education.

UPDATE ON STATES THAT HAVE RECEIVED BAILOUTS FUNDS AND THOSE OUTSTANDING

CBN Governor reported that:

• 30 States have so far benefited with the salary bailout as at 18^thMay, 2016
• 35 States have applied for the Excess Crude Account-backed loans

1. UPDATE ON FUEL SUPPLY AND MARKETING

The Minister of State for Petroleum briefed the Council, and stated that:

• Fuel scarcity was due to non availability of FOREX as a result of significant decline in government foreign earnings due to 60% drop in global crude oil price compared to 2014.
• NNPC supply dynamics had crumbled and NNPC is now straining to supply over 90% of the national demand for PMS from the 48% it was designed to supply.
• Prevalent hoarding, smuggling and diversion of the product have reduced volumes available for citizens/end users.
• Scarcity has created abnormal increase in prices resulting in our people paying an average of N150 – N300 per litre.
• There is no provision for subsidy in 2016 Appropriation as current estimated subsidy claim per month is N16.4 billion
• Consequences of imminent difficult situation if not addressed would be:

• Inability of government at all levels to pay salaries or meet financial obligations
• Increased scarcity of product leading to long queues
• Continuous upward surge of prices across the nation.

PRESENTATION ON STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 2016 BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION

Minister for Budget and National Planning made a presentation to the Council on Strategic Implementation Plan for the 2016 Budget of Change.

• Key highlights of the presentation are:

• Implementation of 34 priority actions across 4 fundamental areas to progressively facilitate true national transformation.
• The 4 fundamental areas constitute the focal points for prioritized execution and implementation of the Government’s short -term strategy as follows:

1. Investing in critical infrastructure
2. Embracing and encouraging private sector
3. Continuously advocating for greater social inclusion
4. Improving security and tackling corruption.

• Among the strategies for achieving the goals across 6 thematic areas of the 2016 budget are as follows:

1. Changes in the policy environment, National Security and Governance
2. Diversifying the economy by fast-tracking Industrialisation, Agriculture and Agro-Allied Processing, as well as attracting investment into solid minerals, Tourism and Entertainment sectors.
3. Priority critical infrastructure, focused on increasing investment in power, rail, roads and housing.
4. Oil and Gas Reform
5. Ease of doing business
6. Social investment

• Robust Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E Framework)

• The Strategic implementation plan would be incomplete without a focus on systematically tracking the achievement of actual outputs and outcomes.
• Ministry of Budget and National Planning will, going forward, utilize the revised National Monitoring &Evaluation framework to institutionalise the process of carrying out physical inspections and other verification exercises
• Impact Assessment of policies, projects and programmes on regular basis at the national level
• The M&E reports will be an input into the process for capital allocation releases to MDAs.
• NBS tracking of statistical indices are critical in measuring performance and rewarding delivery.

1. PRESENTATION OF POLICY DRAFT ON FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY PLAN

In response to previous requests, the Honourable Minister of Finance made a presentation to the Council on Fiscal Sustainability Plan and Fiscal Framework for Sub-National Governments in Nigeria.  This included:

• Five (5) key strategic objectives and recommended action points with a view to achieving objectives around improved fiscal behaviour that will align both short-term and long-term sustainability objectives of the Federal and State Governments
• The 5 key elements are:

1. Accountability and Transparency;
2. Increase in Public Revenue;
3. Rationalisation of Public Expenditure;
4. Public Financial Management Reforms; and
5. Sustainable Debt Management.

Council then approved the Fiscal Sustainability Plan.

PRESENTATION ON POLICY PAPER ON SOLID MINERALS EXPLORATION BY BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS

Minister of State for Solid Minerals presented a policy paper to the Council.  The highlights of the paper among others are:

1. Nigeria was once a mining nation and ranked as a leading producer and exporter of columbite, sixth producer/exporter of the metal and producer of coal amongst others.
2. Nigeria lost those positions due to greater attention to oil exploration and exploitation, and also the indigenisation Decree of the 70s that led to the departure of the multinationals that owned the then Tin and Columbite mines.

• The policy paper was presented to NEC to apprise the reforms of the minerals sector and to particularly address issuance of licences for solid minerals exploration by both Federal and State Governments. [myad]

“The current problem (of Nigeria) is not really about subsidy removal. It is about that Nigeria is broke. Pure and simple!

This statement was made today by the information minister, Lai Mohammed while speaking to news men shortly after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja today, Wednesday.

He went on: “it is like somebody who has been earning N100,000 a month and he is faced with a situation where his employer says henceforth you will be earning N10,000 a month. He would need to make some very painful decisions and some very painful adjustments.

“That is the situation with Nigeria today. A few months ago, we were earning as much as $100 for every barrel of crude. In the months of February and March, we were short of…so, we no longer have the resources, the foreign exchange to bring in refined fuel products.

“And our economy is shrinking. We appreciate the fact that the decision is going to affect everybody. We appreciate what we are going through, but Nigerians should also know that the government has the responsibility at times to take very difficult decisions. So, it is not always about popularity.”

Lai Mohammadu spoke along with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola as well as Labour Minister, Dr. Chris Ngigie. FEC was held to review most contemporary national issues which prominently revolved around the fuel hike, its attendant challenges and industrial action by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).

This came even as the Minister of Labour, Ngige denied allegations that the government is encouraging labour factionalism by negotiating with both Ayuba Wabba and Joe Ajaero led factions at separate meetings to forestall the planned strike.

Ngige said that the door is still open for talks with the federal government, saying: “we are ready ‎to discuss with anybody even civil society groups. We as government will not ‎encourage factionalism, if for anything we are unifying them by ‎bringing them together to talk about issues that concern their unions ‎and Nigerians.

“We have a right to talk to whoever we want‎. We will open our doors to them for negotiations when they come back.”

The Minister said that government has agreed to reconstitute the Board of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) which is one of the demands of the NLC.

According to Nigige, the reconstitution would be done within a fortnight from now to accommodate input from Labour in the new development.

Similarly, the AGF, Malami discountenanced criticisms arising from the federal government legal approach for injunction against the industrial action, saying that it was necessary especially as NLC did not give the government the constitutional 15 days notice. [myad]

A call for a nation-wide strike by a faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) failed today in many states of the federation as workers reported at their work places even as normal activities of the day continued.

Reports reaching us from various states, indicated that workers and residents virtually ignored the call by the labour union to embark on strike over the increase in pump price of fuel.

The News Agency of Nigeria correspondents who monitored the situation in states report that key institutions like banks, schools, state and federal secretariats, hospitals, markets and all major commercial centres were opened for normal activities.

In Bauchi State, where some youths demonstrated the previous day in support of the deregulation of the downstream oil sector, labour officials did not attempt to enforce the strike.

A civil servant working with the state government, Sanusi Ibrahim, said most workers were not in support of the strike.

“When we were not paid our salary for over eight months, what did the NLC do?

“Before the removal of subsidy, we were buying fuel at the cost of N300 per litre; in some states, even N500. Now the fuel is available at maximum of N145. The NLC should leave us alone.”

Normal activities are also going on in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, with banks, schools, hospitals, state and federal secretariats open for business.

NAN correspondents in Yola also report that normal activities are going on in Yola and other major towns of Adamawa State as schools, banks, markets, as well as the State and Federal secretariats remained open.

Many people who spoke on the failure of the strike said they were not convinced that the action was the best alternative in the present circumstance.

Mallam Adamu Danwanzam, the Chairman of Yola Perishable Food Items Sellers Association, said his members were not in support of the strike action.

Also speaking, the state chairman of Private School Proprietors in Adamawa State, Hajiya Dijatu Balla, said her members had no business with the strike action.

Malam Husaini Isa, the Chairman of Commercial Tricycle Association in Adamawa State, also distanced his members from the strike, pointing out that for many months, his members had been buying fuel for N200 per litre and as such the new prize of N145 per litre was a relief.

The situation is the same in Dutse, Jigawa State as people went about their normal businesses. At the State and Federal secretariats, civil servants were seen attending to their official duties.

A bank staff who pleaded for anonymity said that they observed the situation for some time and decided to open at about 9am as against official time of 8am.

Officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force were seen in strategic places to ensure safety of lives and property.

There was however a partial compliance in Gombe State as the NLC Monitoring Committee went round to ensure compliance.

Most places of work, schools, banks and the state radio and television stations were closed.

NAN. [myad]

One of the over 200 girls abducted by  Boko Haram insurgents from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno state, rescued today from the notorious Sambisa Forest has confirmed that all the girls are still in the Forest.

The rescued girl whos name was given as  Amina Ali Nkeki girl Amina, said however that six of the girls, abducted along with her in April 2014, have died.

Amina Nkeke, who is now 19 year old said: “all the girls are in Sambisa forest, but six of them had died.”

She said that the remaining girls are “well secured and protected” to stop the Nigerian Army from rescuing them.

After her rescue, Amina who is now with a four months old child, was taken to Chibok, where she was identified by her parents. A family member, Yakubu Nkeki, said his wife had a telephone conversation with Amina`s mother and confirmed that they had been reunited.

“It’s a joyful time for me,” said Nkeki, who is the father of another of the abducted girls. He said:  “the girl will be taken to the state capital Maiduguri on Thursday.”

The Chibok girl was said to have been rescued by members of the Civilian JTF, a paramilitary force that assists the military in the fight against insurgency in the north-east.

The vigilante group was said to have found her on Tuesday in the Sambisa Forest, close to the border with Cameroon.

An eye witness, Aboku Gaji, gave an account of how he took part in a nightly patrol with the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF), on the edge of the Sambisa Forest when the girl and some companions wandered out at about 7 p.m.

He said that he recognized her as one of the missing schoolgirls, although she looked different and in poor physical condition.

“Their bodies didn’t look good. They had had no bath and were in a dirty condition,” he said.

He added that the young woman was part of a group asking for help, including a man who identified himself as her husband and the father of her baby.

The man said that he had been kidnapped by Boko Haram from the town of Mubi, taken to Sambisa Forest and married to Nkeki.

However, acting director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, who identified rescued girl as  Falmata Mbalala, said she had been rescued by government troops at Baale near Damboa – an account corroborated  by  the minister of information, Lai Mohammad.

The   Army  said: “in continuation of Operation CRACKDOWN, troops of 25 Brigade Damboa in conjunction with Civilian JTF deployed in one of the blocking positions at Baale, near Damboa, rescued one Miss Amina Ali  and a suspected Boko Haram terrorist, Mohammed Hayatu, who claimed to be her husband. Both were brought to Headquarters 25 Task Force Brigade Damboa at about 2.30pm today.”

“Preliminary investigation shows that she is indeed one of the abducted Chibok School girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists on 14th April 2014 in Chibok and her name is Amina Ali as against Falmata Mbalala that was earlier stated. In addition, she is a nursing mother with a 4-month-old baby girl who was named Safiya. Both the suspected Boko Haram terrorist and the nursing mother have been taken to Maiduguri for further medical attention and screening.” [myad]