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FG To Review NNPC’s $6bn Oil Swaps
Apparently scandalised by the acute petrol scarcity, which marred the Yuletide celebrations, the Federal Government is set to review the $6 billion Direct Sale-Direct Purchase (DSDP) contracts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The objective is to blacklist some oil traders whose failure to meet their petrol supply obligations plunged the country into the fuel crisis.
Speaking to newsmen on the fuel crisis in an interview, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu stated that some of the oil traders failed to deliver petrol to NNPC due to either lack of capacity to deliver or for profiteering reasons.
According to him, the failure of the companies to meet their contractual obligations caused the fuel crisis, which was aggravated by the high cost of crude oil in the international market.
The minister stated that in order to avert future fuel crises, the federal government would explore support mechanisms, by way of tax relief to boost the capacity of marketers to import petrol on their own.
Kachikwu said the federal government would review the list of the beneficiaries of the DSDP contracts to ensure that those companies that breached their contractual agreements would not benefit from the contracts.
Kachikwu said: “I think the immediate cause of this (fuel crisis) is the increase in the price of crude, and then a lot of deliveries at obviously a loss that NNPC is doing just to keep the nation going – also not the fault of NNPC.”
“That is what caused it. So we need to do better planning obviously in terms of foreseeing this and trying to provide for this. And there were a lot of people who took the DSDP programme to deliver products that failed in their deadlines – some for profiteering reasons, some for just sheer lack of capacity.
“So, we need to look at that list again and see who performed this year and who breached the contracts and make sure that those who did not perform are not back on that list again as we go forward,” Kachikwu explained.
Kachikwu said the long-term solution to the perennial crisis would be to encourage private marketers to import petrol on their own without relying on NNPC.
“I would like to see marketers being able to bring in their own products on their own and not NNPC bringing products for them. I would like to see NNPC bring its own products.”
“If there is a support mechanism, we have to find a way – either through tax relief or whatever it is to try and address that issue so that everybody has the capacity to do business.
“That is one of the things I will be developing and try to see my principal (President Buhari) obviously in the coming days to address the long-term problems.
“Final one is that the refineries should work. All these will fall into insignificance if the refineries are up and running. And we are working hard to begin the refinery repairs.
“We are almost at the end of the recommendations that will go to Mr. President,” Kachikwu added.
He stated that the federal government would develop a model that would allow NNPC and the marketers to import their own products.
“At the end of the day, that is the solution. And I will have to sit down with the Group Managing Director of NNPC and obviously get approval of Mr. President and put together structures that will enable us to address this, so that people take responsibility and answer to liabilities.
“If you say you are going to bring a cargo and we depend on you, we are going to add a penalty on it if you fail to perform. We are going to be doing that, going forward,” Kachikwu noted.
Speaking to journalists while monitoring the fuel situation in Lagos on Christmas Day, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo also attributed the scarcity to the failure of some companies to deliver petrol to NNPC.
“I think that going by what we have seen, there is what is called winter deliveries. Towards the end of the year, the premium goes up – the cost of fuel goes up in many parts of the world for those who are importing.
“Obviously, that gave rise to problems for those who were bringing in products. We had one or two short deliveries by the importers and that accounted for some of the problems,” he said.
“I think that over time – in fact, if you look at the past few months, NNPC has been importing and they have been doing a very good job because we didn’t have a shortage in October and we did not have a shortage in November; it is only in December that we had a disruption,” Osinbajo added.
Last April, NNPC signed about $6 billion in deals with local and international traders to exchange about 330,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil for imported petrol.
Our correspondent gathered that the oil traders engaged by NNPC were meant to import petrol into the country after shipping crude oil to international refiners.
It was, however, learnt that in the months of November and December, some of the companies converted their DSDP contracts into diesel, as they could not bring back petrol owing to the high cost of the product in the international market.
The implication was a flooded domestic market with diesel, which is also imported by other private marketers as a deregulated product, while petrol, which other marketers lacked the capacity to import and had been relying on NNPC for supply, became scarce.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.