Members of Nigeria’ s major labour unions in the oil and gas sector have suspended the strike they embarked upon in protest against the non -payment of their salaries .
Officials of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers said the strike was called off after various agreements were reached with the Federal Government.
The National Public Relations Officer , PENGASSAN , who doubles as the Rivers State Secretary of the Trade Union Congress , Fortune Obi , confirmed the suspension to newsmen .
“ Strike suspended as Federal Government agrees to pay the owed salaries while the IPPS ( Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System ) is sorted out in the future , ” he said .
On August 13 , 2020 , The PUNCH reported that members of PENGASSAN in the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and some of its agencies commenced a three- day warning strike .
The senior workers had downed tools in protest against the non – payment of their salaries for the past three months.
They also embarked on the strike to kick against the Federal Government’ s inclusion of oil workers in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System .
It was , however , gathered morning that the two unions had an impromptu meeting with the Accountant- General of the Federation in Abuja.
At the meeting , it was resolved that the three months salary arrears owed the oil workers be paid through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System platform .
The House of Representatives will today grill ministers and other top officials of the Federal Government over Nigeria ’ s external borrowings , especially from China .
The House Committee on Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements had summoned the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed ; Minister of Communications and Digital Economy , Isa Pantami ; Minister of Power , Saleh Mamman ; Minister of Transportation , Rotimi Amaechi; and Director- General of the Debt Management Office , Patience Oniha , among others.
Chairman of the committee, Mr Nicholas Ossai , told news correspondent on the telephone that those summoned were expected to appear before the panel .
Ossai said , “We are sitting tomorrow ; we adjourned to August 17 . We expect everybody to be there. ”
The committee had earlier on July 28 , 2020 , grilled the Minister of Transportation , asking him to reappear before it on August 17 .
The panel had on July 28 , 2020 , begun an investigation into the external loans taken by Nigeria , beginning with a $ 500 m loan taken from China for rail projects .
The lawmakers had raised the alarm over loan agreements Nigeria signed with China , pointing out that the agreement might force Nigeria to concede its sovereignty to the Asian country if the loans were not paid back .
But Amaechi, who appeared before the committee, had said the probe would send a wrong signal to China , which could stop the loans , thereby thwarting the nation’ s rail projects .
The Senate has said it will persuade the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd ), to sack the military chiefs, comprising the Chief of Defence Staff , Chief of Air Staff , Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Naval Staff .
The upper chamber had, on July 21 , asked the CDS and the service chiefs to step aside , following the killing of soldiers fighting insurgency and banditry in some parts of northern Nigeria .
The decision came after a motion moved during plenary via a point of order by the Chairman , Senate Committee on Army , Senator Ali Ndume .
Ndume ’ s motion titled ‘ Matter of urgent national importance ’ was premised on the rising number of casualties among the armed forces and other security agencies due to escalating banditry and insurgency in the country. He described the situation as worrisome .
He said , “Just recently , 24 soldiers were ambushed and killed along the Gamboa – Maiduguri Road in Borno State . At least 19 were wounded , while nine were declared missing in action .
“ It is also disturbing that in Katsina recently , about 20 soldiers were ambushed and killed , while several others were wounded . The number of civilian casualties is not known .
“ If the trend continues , it will have serious implications on the fight against insurgency , banditry and other forms of criminality in the country.
“ Recently , it was alleged that over 236 soldiers voluntarily resigned from the Nigerian Army. ”
Meanwhile , the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, in his prayer , as an addition to Ndume ’ s point of order , demanded that service chiefs step aside .
The Senate approved the prayer and passed a resolution on it accordingly .
The Federal Government has said the likelihood of Nigeria sliding into another recession in the Third Quarter of 2020 , making it the second time within four years .
The Minister of State for Finance , Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba , said this in Abuja at the beginning of a five-day interactive session on the 2021 – 2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper .
The event was organised by the House of Representatives ’ Joint Committee on Finance; Appropriation; National Planning and Economic Development ; and Aids , Loans and Debt Management .
The World Bank had in July warned that the collapse in oil prices resulting from COVID- 19 pandemic was expected to plunge the Nigerian economy into a severe economic recession , the worst since the 1980 s .
The global bank had stated this in its latest Nigeria Development Update .
Agba had read out a written presentation by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed , titled ‘ Draft 2021 – 2023 MTEF / FSP : Presentation to the House Finance Committee . ’
The minister said the Nigerian economy faced serious challenges in the first half of 2020 with the microeconomic environment significantly disrupted by the pandemic .
The document partly read , “The impact of these developments is about 65 per cent decline in projected net 2020 government revenues from the oil and gas sector , with adverse consequences for foreign exchange inflows into the economy .
“ Nigeria is exposed to spikes in risk aversion in the global capital markets , which will put further pressure on the foreign exchange market as foreign portfolio investors exit the Nigerian market .
“ Nigeria ’ s Q 2 GDP growth is in all likelihood negative , and unless we achieve a very strong Q 3 2020 economic performance , the Nigerian economy is likely to lapse into a second recession in four years , with significant adverse consequences .
“ In response to the developments affecting the supply of foreign exchange to the economy , the Central Bank of Nigeria adjusted the official exchange rate to N360 / USD 1 , and more recently to N379 / USD .
“ The disruptions in global trade and logistics would negatively affect Customs duty collections in 2020 .
“ The COVID- 19 containment measures , though necessary , have inhibited domestic economic activities, with consequential negative impact on taxation and other government revenues .
“ Consequently , the projections for Customs duty , stamp duty, Value Added Tax , and Company Income Tax revenues were recently reviewed downwards in the revised 2020 budget .
“ Customs revenue has generally performed close to target over the last few years , exceeding target in 2019 . ”
While noting that there had been some improvement in Company Income Tax and VAT remittances , the minister said the Federal Government expected significant improvements in VAT collections with the new VAT rate of 7 . 5 per cent .
The minister said , “Over the past five years , actual revenue performance averaged 61 . 4 per cent .
“ Some of our reforms are yielding positive results , with significant improvements between 2018 and 2019 . We believe we can do more to improve revenues , especially remittances from GOEs , possibly up to N1 tn per annum . ”
Speaking on the key assumptions of the MTEF / FSP , the minister , among other , said , “ Inflation , however , is expected to remain above single digit over the medium term , given the structural issues impacting on cost of doing business , including high cost of distribution . ”
On management of the fiscal crisis , the minister noted that fiscal measures were being instituted to improve government revenue and entrench a regime of prudence , with emphasis on achieving value for money .
“ The goal of fiscal interventions will be to keep the economy active through carefully calibrated regulatory / policy measures designed to boost domestic value addition , de -risk the enterprise environment , attract external investment and sources of funding, etc . , ” the minister stated .
The minister noted that the draft 2021 – 2023 MTEF /FSP was prepared against the backdrop of a global recession and heightened global economic uncertainty .
The document further read , “The medium – term outlook for Nigeria suggests that fiscal risks are somewhat elevated , largely due to COVID- 19 related disruptions, which have exacerbated structural weaknesses in the economy .
“ Nigeria faces significant medium -term fiscal challenges , especially with respect to its revenues , which , if not addressed , could snowball into a debt sustainability crisis . ”
Already, Nigerians are becoming agitated by the rising debt profile of the country, with the National Assembly raising concerns over external loan agreements between Nigeria and global bodies , especially the China Export Import Bank.
A former President , Chief Olusegun Obasanjo , has asked African youths to dislodge older generation from leadership positions .
Obasanjo enjoined the youths to participate actively in the activities of political parties with a view to taking over the structure from them.
Obasanjo said this while delivering a keynote address at an interactive session held virtually to mark this year ’ s International Youth Day.
The programme was organised by the Youth Development Centre , an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library at Oke- Mosan , Abeokuta.
According to him , unless old people are forced out of the political stage, they will continue to occupy the leadership positions to the detriment of the youths .
Obasanjo said “ Unless you squeeze out those who are in office and those who want to remain in office perpetually , some after the age of 80 , unless you squeeze them out, they will not want to be out .
“ The type of change I am talking about , that I believe we can all embark upon is to subscribe to the constitution of political parties in favour of youths . Or if you like it you call it affirmative action in favour of youths . For instance , if you say, in the constitution of a political party , not less than 50 per cent of those who hold executive office within the party will be less than 40 years .
“ You can even go beyond that and say that people who will be put up for election, not less than 50 per cent of them will be less than 40 years of age . That ’ s affirmative action . That ’ s positive discrimination in favour of youths .
The 2020 / 2021 post- Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination screening will commence in Nigeria’ s higher institutions on September 7 .
The agreement was reached at a meeting between the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and Vice -Chancellors , Rectors , and Provosts of tertiary institutions .
Registrar of JAMB , Prof Is – haq Oloyede , who made the announcement, said the screening would now hold between September 7 and November 18 .
Earlier , the board had issued a guideline for all tertiary institutions to begin their admission with effect from August 20 .
Oloyede said the adjustment in the date would allow students taking the 2020 O ’ level examinations to be able to participate in the screening.
He said , “ Presently as you are aware, WAEC starts the Senior School Certificate Examination on August 17 , it will go on till September 7 .
“ Similarly, on September 21 or thereabout , NABTEB will commence its examination that will go on till on the 15 of October , and immediately after that , NECO starts on the 5 th and will hold till 18 of November .
“ Rather than making candidates run , particularly, when they will have to write their school certificate exam in different towns and rush to university elsewhere for post – UTME , like somebody rushing from Sokoto to Ibadan for post- UTME , we believe as a custodian of the highest sector of the education system , we should avoid that .
“ For those (institutions) who want to take post- UTME , that cannot be earlier than the 7 th of September and it will be held twice – September 7 to October 4 , and then it will be held for the second time on the 18 November to mop up those who are taking their school certificate examination. ”
The Nigeria Football Federation would decide on what to do with COVID- 19 palliatives released by FIFA and CAF at its Executive Committee meeting on Saturday, according to reports .
NFF President , Amaju Pinnick, confirmed this to our correspondent via a message .
“ The decision will be taken after our executive committee meeting on Saturday, ” Pinnick said in reply to our correspondent ’ s enquiry .
According to reports, FIFA approved $ 1 m as universal solidarity grant to all member associations , while an additional $ 500 , 000 was specifically assigned for women ’ s football.
“ This relief plan is a great example of football’ s solidarity and commitment in such unprecedented times , ” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said .
CAF also released $ 300 , 000 as grant, to mitigate challenges as a result of the COVID- 19 pandemic .
“ Normal eligibility , requirements , to access the funds has been waived due to the exigencies occasioned by the coronavirus , ” CAF said in a statement .
As more marketers raised the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit ( petrol ) , the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria have voiced their opposition to the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector when the country is still relying on imports for refined products .
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency had yet to issue its guiding retail petrol price for the month of August , leaving operators confused.
Following the sharp drop in crude oil prices which led to the reduction in the pump price of petrol in March , the PPPRA had said it would advise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and oil marketing companies on the monthly guiding retail price at which the product shall be sold across the country.
In July , the agency announced a new price band of N140 . 80 to N 143. 80 per litre, up from N121 . 50 to N 123. 50 per litre in June .
Although it released the ex – depot price for the commodity on Tuesday , the PPPRA had since remained silent as regards the guiding retail price for the month .
It increased the ex – depot price by N6 to N138 . 62 /litre for the month , a development that prompted marketers to hike the pump price of the product to between N148 and N150 / litre.
The Chairman , Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria , and Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer, 11 Plc , Tunji Oyebanji , told one of news correspondents that some members of the association had increased petrol price to N148 – N 148 . 80 per litre.
He said marketers had interpreted PPPRA’ s silence to mean that they should go ahead to fix the price themselves .
“ There is a need for some clarity. If we are to fix the price of the product , we should be told so . There is a lot of confusion and people are not clear as to the direction . All we have is silence , ” he added .
When contacted to get the PPPRA’ s comment on the development, its spokesperson , Kimchi Apollo , again did not answer phone calls .
Apollo had told one of news correspondents on Monday that the agency had yet to complete its work on a new pump price for petrol .
The General Secretary , NUPENG, Mr Afolabi Olawale , said any form of deregulation based on the importation of petroleum products would not help Nigerians .
He said , “ Our position is that we don ’ t support any form of deregulation that is based on importation. We support deregulation that is based on local refining of products .
“ If we are refining in the country, a lot of costs will be taken away and Nigerians will be able to benefit . But as long as we are not refining , Nigerians will keep experiencing an increase in fuel prices if crude oil price continues to rise .
“ Nigerians are suffering ; the country is in a dire situation, considering the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic . Things are hard , and we add a higher cost of transportation to it; it is going to be a very terrible period for Nigerians . ”
The National Public Relations Officer , PENGASSAN , said the Federal Government should ensure that the nation’ s refineries “ are fully commercialised using the Nigeria LNG model . ”
The Chairman , IPMAN in Rivers State , Dr Obele Ngechu, stated this in Port Harcourt while reacting to the new ex – depot price of petrol .
He said , “ For 17 years now , Kaduna refinery is not working . Two years now , Warri refinery is not working . For three years now, the new Port Harcourt refinery is not working ; and for 22 years , the first Nigerian refinery is not working .
“ Information reaching us now is that the monthly allocation of crude oil for local refining for these four refineries are still being giving to them till tomorrow and they are selling it in dollars . ”
The President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ) , has approved the extension of the current phase of the national response to COVID- 19 by another four weeks .
The implication is that all the guidelines put in place to curtail further spread of the virus under the second phase of the eased lockdown which started on June 1 will remain in force with slight modifications to address the economic , socio- political and health concerns as contained in the latest report by the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 .
The Chairman of the task force , who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation , Boss Mustapha , disclosed this at the briefing of the task force in Abuja .
Within the next four weeks , Mustapha said state governments and authorities of the Federal Capital Territory would be mandated to enforce non – pharmaceutical measures and intensify measures such as contract tracing .
The SGF said , “ After due consideration of the recommendations , Mr President approved the following : maintaining the current phase of the national response to COVID- 19 for another four weeks in line with the modifications reflected in the report .
“ He approved the partnering states and local governments to improve community sensitisation and engagement to the COVID- 19 response ; and mandating state authorities and the FCT to enforce non – pharmaceutical guidelines, primarily the use of face masks in public appearance and places .
“ The President approved that state governments should be encouraged to collaborate with local government authorities to intensify necessary measures such as contact tracing , grass – roots mobilisation and risk communication ; and strengthening of collaboration with other mandate groups at federal /state levels to harmonise the country ’ s COVID- 19 response , on the short, medium and long – term basis. ”
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enforce the use of face masks in public places across the country.
The Chairman, Presidential Task force on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, made this known at the daily briefing in Abuja.
Mustapha, while reviewing the activities of the committee, said the president also approved that the current phase of the National Response to COVID-19 should be maintained for another four weeks, but with some modifications.
“President Buhari also asked the PTF to partner with states and local governments to improve community sensitisation and engagement to step up response to the COVID-19 response.
“He also encouraged state governments to collaborate with local government authorities to intensify necessary measures such as contact tracing, grassroots mobilisation and risk communication.
“He also ordered that collaboration with other mandate groups at federal/state levels to harmonise the country’s COVID-19 response be strenghtened on the short, medium and long-term basis,” he said.
“I wish to remind all Nigerians that this fight is for every one; everyone must take responsibility.
“Disbelief and skepticism will further complicate our situation; we should not stigmatise anyone infected. Our communities should own the response and educate our citizens,” he said.
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