News
Senate Probes NNPC Over $396m Refinery Maintenance Fee …Urges Isolation Of Travellers From China, Others To Check Coronavirus
The Senate has directed its Committees on Petroleum Resources to investigate the expenditure of over $396million on the Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) of the nation’s four refineries between 2013 and 2015.
This move followed a motion titled: “The moribund refineries in the country,” sponsored by Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf, representing Taraba Central Senatorial District.
Yusuf, in his lead debate, noted that the country has four petroleum refineries with two located in Port Harcourt and one each in Kaduna and Warri, respectively.
He noted that the refineries were established to adequately supply and serve needs for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO), High Pour Fuel Oil (HPFO) and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) for both local consumption and exports.
He lamented that despite the alleged spending of $396million for TAM of the refineries between 2013 and 2015 there is no tangible result to show in terms of local production.
He insisted that the amounts being expended on TAM of the refineries in the last 25 years notwithstanding, Nigeria is still solely dependent on importation of petroleum products for domestic use.
He said that the country will likely slide into recession once again if the humongous amount for TAM is added to the huge ‘under recoveries’ presently being incurred by the NNPC in the importation of petroleum products, put at over N123.25billion.
“The country through NNPC has in the past 25 years spent billions of US dollars in Turnaround Maintenance of the refineries, the latest being over $396million spent between 2013 and 2015 without meaningful result,” Yusuf said.
He added that “the refineries have remained in moribund state in the last 15-20 years and is almost reaching total collapse due to lack of proposer maintenance of the facilities with a poor average capacity utilization hovering between 15 percent and 25 percent per annum.”
Senator Yusuf said “despite the huge spending on turn-around Maintenance of refineries, NNPC recently announced a cumulative loss of N123.25billion in 10 months (January to October, 2019), putting the total revenue of facilities at N68.82billion, while total expenses incurred was N192.1billion within the same period.”
He warned that “such huge wastage and slippages amidst the nation’s tight economy, if not addressed, may lead the country back to recession.”
“Such losses, when averted and combined with the huge expenditures in ‘under recovery’ on fuel pump price and properly channelled into full rehabilitation and construction of modern refineries, would positively impact on the economy and save the country from the embarrassment of importation of petroleum products and its ripple effect,” he said.
In his contribution, Senator Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun Central) said one of the challenges confronting the country is lack of maintenance culture.
He said it was not the first time attention was being drawn to the near collapse of the refineries in the country.
He urged his colleagues to do a thorough job during the investigation process.
“Oil should be a blessing to us but in Nigeria, it makes a lot of establishments lazy. We should be concern about it.
“The refineries are bad and people are now taking the crude outside the country and bringing back refined products to the country on exorbitant prices,” Amosun said.
In its resolutions mandated the Committee on Petroleum Downstream, Upstream and Gas to carry out a holistic investigation on the Turnaround Maintenance expenditures and the current state of the refineries as well as convoke stakeholders’ conference with the aim of finding ways to revamp them.
Meanwhile, worried by the recent outbreak of the deadly disease – Coronavirus in China, which has spread quickly to some other countries, the Senate, yesterday, advised the Federal Ministry of Aviation to immediately take steps to ensure that all persons arriving from China, especially Chinese citizens, be self-isolated for, at least, two weeks to ascertain their health status before mixing up with the public.
The Senate also extended the call for self-isolation to travellers from other countries that had recorded incidents of the infection.
The upper chamber also advised the Nigerians who intend to travel to Asian countries to put all arrangements on hold until the Coronavirus outbreak is eliminated.
The lawmakers further called on the Federal Government to allocate more funds to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to enable it be at its best to ensure the safety of the people.
These resolutions, among others, came sequel to the consideration of a motion titled: “Coronavirus Outbreak and Preventive Response Towards Stemming it’s Spread in Nigeria”, sponsored by Senator Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North).
Utazi, in his presentation, explained that the virus was spread through the air by coughing or sneezing, close personal contact, touching a contaminated object or surface, and rarely by facial contamination.
He added that the human Coronavirus was previously reported to cause severe symptoms such as acute respiratory syndrome, following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) outbreak that began in Wuhan, China.
Utazi recalled that in response to the outbreak of the killer virus, “China put millions of people in three of its cities on lockdown in an effort to contain a Coronavirus outbreak that has killed 170 and infected more than 7,000 persons.”
According to him, “Health officials fear the number of infected people will rise rapidly as hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel within China and abroad during the weeklong Lunar New Year which begin on Saturday.”
The lawmaker commended the efforts already being made by the Federal Ministry of Health through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in monitoring the outbreak of the respiratory tract infection caused by the Coronavirus.
According to him, the aviation regulatory agencies recently stepped up surveillance across operating airlines and international airports nationwide, as well as issued a travel advisory in a bid to contain any case of the Coronavirus pandemic.
In his contribution to the motion, Senator James Manager (Delta South), raised alarm that Nigeria and other countries are at risk of experiencing an outbreak given what he described as the uncontrolled influx of Chinese nationals from one country to another.
Manager, who likened the Coronavirus to the deadly Ebola virus, urged Nigerian authorities to rise to the occasion, warning that “almost all powerful countries in the world are already affected.”
In his remarks, Senator Jibrin Barau (Kano North), described the motion as a wake-up call for health officials across the country to deploy early preventive measures.
His words, “I was thinking whether our health officials are doing everything possible to prevent the coming of this disease into the country.
“This motion is a wake-up call to our health officials to deploy preventive measures.
“We should find a way to send a message through this motion to make sure the proper thing is done to a safeguard the health of citizens and the nation,” the lawmaker advised.
While the lawmakers advised Nigerians to maintain good personal hygiene by constantly washing their hands with water and soap or through the use of liquid sanitizers, they also urged Nigerians with any reported cases of likely infection or with symptoms similar to those associated with Coronavirus to visit hospitals for urgent health check.
By: Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja
Rivers State Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, has called for renewed commitment, transparency, and collaboration among stakeholders in the health sector in the State.
The deputy governor particularly urged synergy between the Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP) and the Primary Health Care Management Board towards improved healthcare delivery in the State.
?Prof. Odu made this call during the 2026 First Quarter Review Meeting of the Task Force on Primary Health Care at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.
?She stressed the importance of honesty and urged all parties to be truthful and open in addressing challenges within the system.
?According to her, transparency remains critical to identifying and resolving underlying issues affecting healthcare delivery, noting that “if we are not truthful, we will not cure the disease, but merely cover it up.”
The deputy governor recounted a personal experience at a Primary Health Center where a patient, despite being duly registered under the RIVCIPP scheme with completed biometric capture, was still asked to make payment for services.
According to her, intervention by relevant authorities later confirmed the patient’s eligibility, exposing a communication gap between the scheme and healthcare providers.
Odu warned that such incidents could discourage community members from enrolling in the scheme, thereby undermining its objectives.
“When this happens, we are disenfranchising our people. The message that goes back to the community is that even when you register, you are still made to pay,” she stressed.
?While commending the leadership and staff of the Primary Health Care Management Board, Ministry of Health, Development Partners as well as other supporting units, for their efforts, ty deputy governor stressed that performance should not lead to complacency.
She urged stakeholders to continuously strive for improvement, raise standards, and leave lasting positive impacts within the system.
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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the opening of examination slip printing for candidates registered for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB made the announcement yesterday, urging candidates to visit its website to download their slips ahead of the examination.
“Examination Slip Printing is now available. The slip contains details of the venue, date and time of your examination and gives you access to the examination hall,” the board said.
Candidates are to visit jamb.gov.ng and click on “2026 Slip Printing” to print their slips.
The development comes after JAMB dismissed a viral press release falsely claiming the examination had been postponed.
The board described the notice as “malicious and fake” and urged candidates to disregard it.
The 2026 UTME is scheduled to hold from Thursday, April 16, to Saturday, April 25, 2026.
The examination follows a mock test conducted on Saturday, March 28, which recorded technical difficulties at some Computer-Based Test centres.
Of the 224,597 candidates who registered for the mock, 152,586 sat for the test across 989 CBT centres nationwide.
JAMB said over 20 centres were delisted for technical inadequacies.
The board also warned candidates against fraudsters on WhatsApp claiming to facilitate score inflation, describing such claims as “false and criminal”, and threatening cancellation of registration or withholding of results for any candidate found involved.
Over two million candidates, according to JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, registered for this year’s UTME.
News
RSU Unveils Five-Year Strategic Dev Plan …Calls For Collective Commitment To Institutional Excellence
In a decisive step towards redefining its future, the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, has formally unveiled its Third Five-Year (2026-2030) Strategic Development Plan.
The development plan is a comprehensive roadmap designed to strengthen the university’s position as a leading institution in Nigeria and beyond.
The unveiling took place during a high-level engagement with the Governing Council, Principal Officers and the university congregation, at the Convocation Arena, recently.
Delivering his remarks at the unveiling ceremony, the Pro-Chancellor of the university and Chairman of Council, Hon. Okey Wali, SAN, charged all members of the university community to align their activities with the strategic direction of the institution, emphasizing that the success of the plan depends on collective commitment.
He noted that the plan is not merely a document, but a working framework that requires discipline, accountability and unity of purpose.
According to the Pro-Chancellor, only through coordinated efforts from all stakeholders can the university fully realize its vision.
“I hereby invite the Visitor to the University, donor agencies, friends and well-wishers, and all stakeholders to support and fund the implementation of this strategic plan. We are confident that this plan will take RSU to greater heights in the comity of higher institutions,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, described the Strategic Development Plan as a document that would enhance the university’s corporate strengths, mitigate current weaknesses, leverage its corporate opportunities and address perceived existential threats.
“This Five-Year Strategic Plan sets out RSU’s goals, strategic objectives, expected outcomes and impact, including intervention strategies,” he said.
On his part, the Chairman of the Strategic Development Planning Committee, Prof. Emeritus Joseph A. Ajienka, noted that the 2026-2030 Strategic Development Plan represents a bold reaffirmation of the university’s founding ideals of excellence, creativity, innovation and inclusivity, aimed at positioning the institution to respond effectively to contemporary challenges in higher education.
Prof. Ajienka, who is also a member of the Governing Council, disclosed that the plan was developed through an extensive and inclusive consultative process, which he said reflects contributions from Faculties, Departments, Satellite Campuses and Administrative Units.
At its core, the plan seeks to advance the university’s vision of becoming a “unique and uncommon” institution that is structurally and philosophically oriented towards solving practical societal problems and ranking among the top ten universities in Nigeria.
The strategic framework identifies six key challenges confronting the university, including funding constraints, infrastructure deficits, limited research collaboration, and service delivery inefficiencies.
A statement by the university’s Acting Director, Corporate Affairs, Victor G. Banigo, further stated that the university has articulated four broad strategic goals supported by eight targeted objectives.
A central priority of the plan, according to him, is the strengthening of governance and administrative systems, alongside deliberate efforts to expand the university’s funding base. Others include enhanced alumni engagement, strategic partnerships and innovative fundraising initiatives aimed at ensuring long-term financial sustainability.
“Equally significant is the commitment to upgrading physical infrastructure across all campuses. Plans are underway to modernize lecture halls and laboratories, expand student accommodation, improve campus security and deploy advanced ICT systems to support teaching, learning and research.
“Recognizing that human capital is the backbone of institutional success, the university has placed strong emphasis on staff development, recruitment and productivity enhancement. Through targeted training programmes, mentorship initiatives and performance management systems, the plan aims to foster a highly skilled and motivated workforce.
“In addition, the university is poised to deepen its focus on research, innovation and entrepreneurship. By reviewing academic curricula, strengthening industry partnerships and establishing innovation incubation centers, Rivers State University seeks to translate research outputs into practical solutions that address societal needs and drive economic growth,” he said.
The PRO disclosed that the implementation of the strategic plan is projected at ?110 billion, reflecting the scale of transformation envisioned.
“While the university is committed to funding a significant portion internally, additional resources will be mobilized through government support, donor agencies, alumni contributions, and public-private partnerships.
“This multi-channel funding strategy aligns with the university’s broader goal of building a resilient and self-sustaining financial model capable of supporting long-term development,” he explained.
To ensure effective implementation, he said, “the plan incorporates a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework, complete with performance and impact indicators. A mid-term review is scheduled within the first two years to assess progress and make necessary adjustments.
“Furthermore, the establishment of a dedicated Strategic Planning Office will provide oversight, coordination and accountability in executing the plan across all units of the university.”
According to the statement, “As the university embarks on this transformative journey, the message from leadership is clear: the Strategic Development Plan is a collective mandate.
“For staff, students, alumni and stakeholders, it represents an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the growth and advancement of the institution. For the university, it is a pathway to consolidating its legacy while embracing innovation and global relevance.
“With a clear vision, defined priorities and a united community, Rivers State University stands poised to translate this strategic blueprint into measurable progress, advancing knowledge, empowering people and shaping the future of higher education in Nigeria.”