News
‘I’ve No Regret Joining N’Delta Struggle’
Former leader of the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Victor Ben Ebikabowei aka Boyloaf, has said he has no regret joining the Niger Delta struggle.
Boyloaf, in conjunction with Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo, Eris Paul aka Ogunboss, Bibopere Ajube aka Shoot at Sight etc. were the brains behind MEND which took the Niger Delta struggle to another dimension prompting the Nigerian government-led by the late Umaru Yar’Adua to declare Presidential amnesty to all ex-agitators.
Boyloaf, in brief remark during the celebration of his 50th birthday and formal launch of the Boy Child Project by the Boyloaf Foundation in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital over the weekend, said he and others were pushed to rise up and defend the people.
According to him, the Niger Delta struggle became a symbol of strength because of the neglect and perceived injustices meted out to the people of the region.
Boyloaf, who insisted that he had no regrets defending his people said, his desire to give back to the society led to the establishment of his foundation.
The Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd), Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri; the President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Benjamin Okaba; among others, took turns to pay glowing tributes to Boyloaf.
Dikio, Diri and Okaba described the former warlord as a phenomenon and commended him for his agitation towards the emancipation of the Niger Delta region.
Delivering a keynote address on the topic, “Peace a Priceless Asset for Niger Delta Growth and Development”, Dikio remarked that peace remains indispensable in the quest to make the Niger Delta the safest place to live and do business.
According to him, the struggle for a better deal for the Niger Delta can be achieved if there was a change of approach and tactics.
Dikio, who said he was excited about the achievements of the celebrant after leaving the creeks and dropping his weapons, urged him to continue to be a worthy example and lead the way for others to follow.
He also commended Boyloaf and other ex-warlords for their efforts which brought the attention of the world to the issues bedevilling the region but added that there was still a lot to be done for the Niger Delta.
“Ebikabowei Victor-Ben, Tompolo, Bibopere Ajube and others have fought their own battles. This generation and future generations will also have their own battles to fight”.
“The present and future battles cannot be fought the same way; they are more intellectual and economic battles than muscle. We need to prepare and get into the space where we can win and win for the region and Nigeria in general.”
Diri, who was represented by the Secretary to the Bayelsa State Government (SSG), Konbowei Benson said Boyloaf played a significant role in sustaining the peace and stability in the region.
In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion, and President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Benjamin Okaba; went down memory lane to what led to the proclamation of the amnesty programme, and also paid tributes to those who had been part of the struggle for environmental and social justice for people of the region.
He decried the seeming unwillingness to inaugurate a substantive board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as one of the actions militating against its development.
He said: “The sustainable peace and development in the Niger Delta must be anchored on justice, equity and fairness. These ingredients have been lacking because of government’s approach to solve the region’s problems which includes the age long neglect of the area”.
Okaba lauded Boyloaf for floating a foundation aimed at tackling the problems of the boy child and appealed to well-meaning Individuals and groups to support the course.
He also thanked him for his commitment to peace and capacity building in the region, and charged other leaders of the Niger Delta to invest in the area and on the people.
By: Akujobi Amadi
Nigerians may experience an increase in the prices of premium energy products diesel and petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery temporarily halts the sale of petroleum products in Naira.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
The $20billion refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the company explained.
The refinery said it remained committed to serving the Nigerian market and would resume the sale of its product to the local market in Naira as soon as it received crude cargoes from the NNPCL in Naira.
“As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira,” it said.
The announcement by the refinery comes amid its price war with the NNPCL.
As part of moves to reduce the strain on the US dollars, and guarantee price stability of petroleum products, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in July 2024, directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States’ greenback.
In the beginning of March 2025, the NNPCL said its Naira-denominated crude sales agreement with the Dangote Refinery was structured for six months with March 2025 as the expiration date.
The state company, however, said that talks were on to replace the contract, and that over 48 million barrels of crude oil have been made available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024 under the Naira-denominated arrangement.
The NNPCL also said it had made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the private refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until 2024. The country was heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPCL being the major importer of the essential commodities.
Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol more than quadrupled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, from around ¦ 200/litre to about ¦ 1,000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
Last December, the billionaire industrialist commenced operations at the facility situated in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.
Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player in the world, now sitting at 18th in the week 12 ranking released on Tuesday.
Aruna moved up from 19th place in week 11 to 18th in the latest ranking, while Assar dropped from 17th to 19th.
Denmark’s Jonathan Groth took over Assar’s 17th place, moving up from 18th.
Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have boosted his ranking.
Aruna remains the only African male player to have reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year in January.
This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who beat him to become the champion of the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.
Aruna’s next tournament is the WTT Contender Chennai which serves off in India from March 23 to 20.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda maintained her top spot in Africa, moving up one place to 26th in the week 12 ITTF ranking. Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, remained static at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.
China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player globally, behind his compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot. Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto dethroned China’s Liang Jingkun as the third-best player in the world after his semifinal finish in Chongqing.
In the women’s ranking, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.
