*Accuse agency of recruiting 535 northerners, 93 southerners

Southern and Middle Belt Leaders have condemned the latest recruitment exercise carried out by the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr. Yusuf Bichi where 535 northerners and 93 southerners were allegedly employed.

Citing the People’s Gazette report based on official documents and contributions of senior intelligence officials, the leaders alleged that Bichi allegedly activated lopsided hiring process that flooded the DSS with personnel from the Northern part of Nigeria.

The leaders in a statement jointly issued yesterday by Mr. Yinka Odumakin (South-west); Chief Guy Ikokwu (South-east); Senator Bassey Henshaw, (South-south) and Dr. Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt), lamented that barely 24 hours after both Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha warned separately that cracks on the Nigerian wall could lead to its break-up, a scandalous report came out in the People’s Gazette showing how the DG of DSS has put a sharp knife to the rope holding what is left of Nigeria together through an insensitive and impunitous lopsided recruitment into the agency.

They noted that this fits perfectly into the ethno-agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari, which has manifested in running the country as if he heads only a section of it.

The leaders said Bichi’s regional recruitment agenda came three years after his predecessor implemented a similar hiring process that failed to reflect Nigeria’s diversity.

The statement, which quoted copiously, a report on People’s Gazette, read in part: ‘’The Gazette’s findings obtained over a period of two weeks showed that the North has a massive share of the roughly 1,300 Nigerians currently undergoing cadet training at two different camps of the secret police in Lagos and Bauchi. Of the total 628 cadet trainees who had resumed at the Bauchi facility as of September 23, 2020, 535 trainees joined the service from either the North-east or the North-west. Only 93 were from either the South-east, South-south, South-west or North-central.

‘’The Gazette’s findings also show that at least 71 of those currently undergoing cadet training hail from Bichi Local Government Area of Kano State — the director-general’s home local government area. Officials said the number was more, but the Gazette could not independently confirm the higher figures — as well as a slew of other disturbing allegations of bigotry against, Mr. Bichi — prior to its publication.

“The list of candidates was not compiled by the state, but officials believe a state-by-state breakdown would exist at the headquarters in Abuja. In Lagos, the Gazette was unable to obtain official attendance records of trainees at the camp in Ojo, but multiple participants, including senior officials, said Mr. Bichi disregarded the federal character concept and skewed the process for Nigerians from the North.

‘’A top official estimated 708 trainees were at the Lagos training facility as of September 26. Officials were unsure how many people were taken as cadet trainees in total because some were still arriving three weeks into the six-month exercise. Senior intelligence officials said even though the sectional disparity mirrors Nigeria’s reality under President Muhammadu Buhari, they are, nonetheless, worried that the development could potentially tip the ethnic and religious balance of national security in favour of a section of the country for decades.

‘’Some of us are worried less about the audacity of focusing on one part of the country to bring in new cadets than we are about its long-term implications,” a senior DSS official told the Gazette

“We know he might find it difficult, but the DG would leave a better legacy if he sees himself first as a Nigerian. In July, the Yellow House sent out a memo to all state and FCT commands, informing them that Mr. Bichi had ordered a fresh round of recruitment for the agency’s next generation of intelligence officers.

‘’Mr. Bichi directed that each state command should conduct a rigorous selection process and forward four successful candidates to the headquarters for possible admission into the service. The DG also imposed strict entry guidelines for every potential recruit, according to the July 6 memo.

“The directive also cancelled a 2018 recruitment process that was underway at the time, but said those who were successful in that process may join the fresh exercise. Mr. Bichi emphasised that the four candidates for each state must be below 30 years of age and be selected across the three senatorial districts that make up a state.

“It was confirmed that all commands complied with the directive, conducted a thorough selection of four candidates and sent the results to the headquarters. But shortly after the candidates were cleared and sent to the headquarters before the July 15 deadline contained in the memo, Mr. Bichi seized the moment and initiated a recruitment process of his own, the Gazette learnt.

‘’On September 1, Mr. Bichi told a few officials at the Yellow House to call people from a prepared list and offer them a role at the SSS. Those who were called were immediately asked to go to the Lagos or Bauchi training school, officials said. Starting September 8, cadet candidates reported for training in Lagos and Bauchi, in some cases without the awareness of the director of state security in the state they applied from, documents and officials said.

“I just heard that some people from the state where I work, including some who did not make the cut for the four candidates we selected and passed to the headquarters, had reported to the training school either in Lagos or Bauchi,” an SSS chief said.

“Based on the four-per-state arrangement, only 148 people should have been employed across 36 states and the FCT,” the SSS chief said.

“But we suddenly discovered that training schools in Lagos and Bauchi had over 1,300 between them. Mr. Bichi kept the list of those he had been sending to the training school secret, officials said. It was unclear how many people he intended to recruit, but they kept showing up. Mr. Bichi has kept the process largely to himself, making it difficult for insiders to access his list or the criteria with which he was selecting cadet candidates, officials said.

“For a long time, the SSS did not admit candidates who had a third-class university degree or lower into the service. Only those who did well in university and polytechnic were admitted as a security intelligence officer (level two), equivalent to an assistant superintendent of police.

‘’In recent years, however, the service has been admitting candidates who graduated with a third-class, but it has been placing them on a rank below that of a security intelligence officer, officials said. In Bauchi, some of the candidates were asked not to bother checking in for training at all, according to information gathered. In at least one case, a candidate was asked not to go to Bauchi for training, but to resume directly at the DDS state command in Kano, the Gazette learnt,” the leaders quoted the report as saying.

The southern and middle belt leaders said they had taken the federal government to court based on its serial sectionalism, adding the case comes up at the Federal High Court in Abuja on October 2.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday insisted that it has abided strictly by the rules governing recruitment, promotion and appointment into its management cadre.

It faulted accusations that the Service was pushing a ‘northernisation’ agenda following recent appointments into the senior management level.

The NCS Spokesman, Mr. Joseph Attah, in a statement, maintained that the country’s six geo-political zones were equally represented at the management cadre.

He said vacancy for new appointment was only made available through retirement, resignation, dismissal or any natural cause, adding that: “When any of the above occurs, such vacancies are filled by new appointments from the zone(s).”

He explained that in the last few months, there had been retirements of two Deputy Comptroller Generals (DCGs), each from the North-east and North-west regions as well as three Assistant Comptroller Generals (ACGs) who exited the service by way of two retirements from the Northwest and one dismissal from the North-east region.

Attah said two DCG vacancies provided spaces for two senior serving ACGs from the same zones of North-east and North-west to be appointed to the rank of DCG.

He said the development had therefore increased the number of ACG vacancies to five, which must be filled from the two zones that had the vacancies.

According to the statement, “Following the seven recent appointments in acting capacity, the service management cadre is currently made up of four officers from the North Central; three from the Northeast and four from the Northwest.

Also, the South-south had two officers, three from the Southeast and four from the South-west region.

Attah said: “As can be seen above, those who have chosen to impugn ‘northernisation’ or any other sentiments are far from the truth.

“The intention of those promoting this negative narrative is suspicious as the same people did not come out to shout ‘marginalisation’ when due to disciplinary issues, two ACGs from the same zone of North-west were affected by forced retirement and dismissal.

“It is therefore surprising that these people will wish their replacements had come from different zones.”

The interim Coordinating Committee of the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 And Beyond (ASCAB) has written a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, debunking the claim that fuel subsidy was removed because it benefits only the rich and not the masses. The group went ahead to pulverize the lack of funds argument, listing areas where N94 trillion is trapped.

The group, in an open letter, dated 28 September and signed by Mr Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, lamented that petrol prices had increased for three straight months, rising from N122 per litre in June to N142 in July, N150 in August and now N163! , saying there is no good reason for this!!

In March and April of this year the Government, the Committee went ahead, reduced the price of fuel by about 15%, but it has now increased the price again so the new price is now about 12% higher than it was last year (N145). “The new price of fuel does not make any sense in terms of the global price of crude oil and the exchange rate of the naira and the dollar.”

It went further: “Last year the price of crude was about $60 a barrel and the dollar was about N360. Now the cost of crude is about $45 and a dollar is worth about N390. So, last year the cost of barrel of crude oil was about N22,000 a barrel and now it is only N17,500 a reduction of about 20%.

Why is the Government forcing us to pay 12% more for fuel than last year when the cost of oil has significantly reduced?

Unconstitutionality and illegality of deregulation of fuel price. Mr. President, your officials and representatives argue that your government has decided to remove ‘fuel subsidy’ because it benefits only the rich and not the masses.

We reject this argument, as you rejected it during your pre-2015 electoral campaigns, when you argued correctly then that any government that said there was fuel subsidy was a fraudulent government. We agree and adopt your argument then that what is being subsidised is corruption, inability to fight corruption, incompetence and inefficiency in the oil sector.

Mr. President, your electoral promises to the Nigerian people was that the Federal Government under your watch would subsidise production and not importation, that you would make the refineries work and in fact build more refineries so that apart from satisfying domestic demand, your government would also export petroleum products.

Unfortunately, your Government has failed to fulfil these electoral promises. Mr. President, your pre-election electoral promise remains the only solution. The ordinary people of Nigeria continue to reject any other measure as fraudulent, anti-poor people and pro-oil dealers.

The policy of fuel price increases hurts the masses. There is a relationship between the price of fuel and the prices of all other goods and services. The masses rely heavily on road transportation; once there is a rise in transportation costs, the prices of all ither goods and services are bound to rise simultaneously. Therefore, the policy of fuel price increase is a conscious policy to directly impoverish the poor.

Mr President, when the N30,000 National Minimum Wage was passed into law, that rate lagged behind the rate of inflation. With the increases in electricity tariffs since 2016 and the recent increase by about 100%, coupled with increases from about N120/litre of fuel in June 2020 to N162/litre in September, the rise in VAT from 5% to 7.5%, devaluation of the currency among other policies, only a conquered people with slavish mentality would not resist the punitive economic policies your government has imposed on them. Nigerians have been driven to the wall and now have no choice but to resort to section 40 of the Constitution to peacefully protest policies that seek to annihilate them.”

Below is ASCAB’s letter to Buhari:

28th September, 2020

The President

Federal Republic of Nigeria Office of the President

Aso Rock Presidential Villa Federal Capital Territory Abuja.

Dear Mr. President,

Open letter to Mr. President:

GOVERNMENT POLICIES MAKE THE DOWNTRODDEN POORER

Introduction

This letter has been authorised by the interim Coordinating Committee of the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 And Beyond (ASCAB) on behalf of the teeming masses of Nigeria on the main issues of unprecedented and sharp increases in fuel price and electricity tariff.

Mr. President, in comparing the burden any past government has heaped on the masses with the agony the masses go through today under your government, the public perception of the effects of public policies under your government is akin to the Biblical verse, which says:

“My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions” (1 Kings 12”14).

The over 80 subscribing organisations to ASCAB had resolved to support the nationwide strike and mass protests called by organised labour and backed by their rank and file members.

Despite the calling off of the strike, ASCAB will still be supporting protests to achieve the aims of the strike of a reversal of the prices of fuel and electricity. We will continue to support the strike by ASUU for proper funding of the education sector. We will also support the unions in the health sector for proper funding for that sector. Finally, will continue to support protests and strikes for the implementation of agreements with the Government in the education and health sectors and for the full implementation of the minimum wage of N30,000 in all states.

We will also be campaigning for another increase in the minimum wage next year.

The argument that ‘fuel subsidy’ because it benefits only the rich and not the masses

Mr. President, your officials and representatives argue that your government has decided to remove ‘fuel subsidy’ because it benefits only the rich and not the masses.

We reject this argument, as you rejected it during your pre-2015 electoral campaigns, when you argued correctly then that any government that said there was fuel subsidy was a fraudulent government. We agree and adopt your argument then that what is being subsidised is corruption, inability to fight corruption, incompetence and inefficiency in the oil sector.

Mr. President, your electoral promises to the Nigerian people was that the Federal Government under your watch would subsidise production and not importation, that you would make the refineries work and in fact build more refineries so that apart from satisfying domestic demand, your government would also export petroleum products.

Unfortunately, your Government has failed to fulfil these electoral promises. Mr. President, your pre-election electoral promise remains the only solution. The ordinary people of Nigeria continue to reject any other measure as fraudulent, anti-poor people and pro-oil dealers.

The policy of fuel price increases hurts the masses. There is a relationship between the price of fuel and the prices of all other goods and services. The masses rely heavily on road transportation; once there is a rise in transportation costs, the prices of all ither goods and services are bound to rise simultaneously. Therefore, the policy of fuel price increase is a conscious policy to directly impoverish the poor.

Mr President, when the N30,000 National Minimum Wage was passed into law, that rate lagged behind the rate of inflation. With the increases in electricity tariffs since 2016 and the recent increase by about 100%, coupled with increases from about N120/litre of fuel in June 2020 to N162/litre in September, the rise in VAT from 5% to 7.5%, devaluation of the currency among other policies, only a conquered people with slavish mentality would not resist the punitive economic policies your government has imposed on them. Nigerians have been driven to the wall and now have no choice but to resort to section 40 of the Constitution to peacefully protest policies that seek to annihilate them.

Petrol prices have increased for three straight months, rising from N122 per litre in June to N142 in July, N150 in August and now N163! There is no good reason for this!!

In March and April of this year the Government reduced the price of fuel by about 15%, but it has now increased the price again so the new price is now about 12% higher than it was last year (N145). The new price of fuel does not make any sense in terms of the global price of crude oil and the exchange rate of the naira and the dollar.

Last year the price of crude was about $60 a barrel and the dollar was about N360. Now the cost of crude is about $45 and a dollar is worth about N390. So, last year the cost of barrel of crude oil was about N22,000 a barrel and now it is only N17,500 a reduction of about 20%.

Why is the Government forcing us to pay 12% more for fuel than last year when the cost of oil has significantly reduced?

Unconstitutionality and illegality of deregulation of fuel price

Mr. President, as far back as 19th of March 2013, Honourable Justice M. Bello of the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division gave Judgment in the case of Bamidele Aturu v Minister of Petroleum Resources & ors. The court declared that the policy of deregulation of petroleum products is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void. Specifically, the court granted reliefs to the effect that:

the policy decision of the Federal Government to deregulate the downstream sector of the petroleum industry by not fixing the prices at which petroleum products may be sold in Nigeria is unlawful, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever being in vicious violation of the mandatory provision of: section 6 of the Petroleum Act, Section 4 of the Price Control Act, and Section 16(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 which provides that the Government shall control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity.

The Court then gave the following orders:

An ORDER restraining the Federal Government and its agencies from deregulating the downstream sector of the petroleum industry or from failing to fix the prices of petroleum products as mandatorily required by the Petroleum Act and the Price Control Act, and AN ORDER directing the Defendants to fix and publish regularly prices of petroleum products.

We are not aware that the judgment of the Federal High Court has been appealed. Therefore, deregulation of petroleum products in Nigeria today is not only illegal but also unconstitutional.

ASCAB, along with organised labour and the masses of Nigeria are determined to defend this judicial victory. Ultimately, the price levels would be determined by the outcome of the struggles in the coming period between the masses and the state institutions. The big question is: on whose side would history record Your Presidency – on defence of the masses’ interest or against the interest of the masses and in defence of the interest of oil and electricity dealers? We, in ASCAB, are determined to stand with the masses of Nigeria.

On electricity tariff Electricity prices have always been on the rise even against court orders that directed reversal.

The prices shot up again from 1st September. This comes three months after the tariff hike

implementation slated for July 1 was called to be halted by a resolution of the National Assembly

on account of issues related to Covid-19.

When the Federal Government privatised PHCN they promised a steady supply of electricity

within six months. The private companies have taken over, but electricity generation has not

improved. Why should we have to pay even more to the private companies when they have

hardly been able to increase the amount of power they provide above the meagre levels provided

by PHCN?

It is not that Nigerians get cheap electricity. A study of prices in 2011 showed that in Nigeria

prices were more expensive than most other countries (and this was before the big increases in

2012). Nigerian electricity was fifty per cent more expensive than most of the BRICS countries

(Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and almost three times the cost in China.

The argument of drop in revenue/no money

ASCAB rejects the argument of no money to provide basic goods for the masses.

The wealth of Nigeria, as measured by the GDP, is now three times higher than it was in 1998, but the minimum wage is only worth half of its value then, and at least eight states have yet to fully pay the legislated N30,000 that was agreed to be paid from July 2019. As a result, the National Bureau of Statistics recently reported that 40% of Nigerian households have to survive on N11,500 a month or less, when the average per capita GDP is now around N75,000 a month.

The Federal Government claims it cannot afford the ‘fuel subsidy’, state governments claim they cannot afford the minimum wage. In contrast, ASCAB has shown that the Federal Government has money owed to it of nearly N95 trillion. Assuming the revised Federal budget for 2020 of N10. 8 trillion is constant, the N95trillion would fund the total Federal budget for over eight years. Annexure 1 to this open letter is the tabulated N95trn revenue leakages. We demand a Committee of representatives of Labour, civil society organisations and government to keep track of the revenue leakages.

Moreover, we argue that in the first quarter of this year, the government’s oil income was the highest since 2014. The second quarter figures were very slightly lower, but the August figures were 5% higher than the rate in the first quarter of the year. So, state governments have plenty of money to pay a decent minimum wage and fund proper budgets for public education and health.

ASCAB also insists that the COVID-19 Funds, being money mobilised in the name of COVID- 19 pandemic should be used for revamping public education and health.

The minimum demands

ASCAB supports organised labour’s resolve to resist punitive economic measures. Ordinary people look up to labour. We trust the NLC and TUC would continue to provide inspiring leadership to implement the following basic demands of ordinary people:

1. Implement N30,000 minimum wage in all states!

2. No job or wage cuts by governments or the private sector! Wages to rise as inflation rises! 3. Guarantee security of life!

4. Protect the livelihoods of the poor and informal sector!

5. No hike in electricity tariffs, VAT or fuel prices! Reverse all price increases!!

6. Provision of PPE & payment of hazard allowances for medical workers!

7. Safe and conducive environment in schools and universities!

8. Upgrade facilities in public hospitals and prohibit medical tourism by top public officials!

9. Frontal fight against corruption!

10. Implement all previous agreements with trade unions!

11. Federal and state security votes should be used to meet basic needs.

12. A Committee of representatives of Labour, civil society organisations and government to keep track of the revenue leakages.

Unless and Until the above demands are met, we will continue to support the strikes and protests by the downtrodden Nigerian people.

Respectfully yours,

Femi Falana, SAN

Interim National Chair

Annexure 1

Organisation

Explanation

Amount (Ntrillion)

Government Owned Enterprises

unremitted operating surpluses as at August 2018

10

Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON)

Debts owed to CBN at July 2019

5.5

International Oil Companies in Nigeria

unrecovered share of profits in October 2019

23.560

Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency

non-remittance of operating surpluses in December 2019

1.343

Department of Petroleum Resources

Unremitted revenue of N1. 9tn in 2019. Projected total revenue of N2.3tn in 2021

1.900

NLNG a subsidiary of NNPC

N6.840tn said to have been remitted, between 2004 and 2017

6.840

Illicit Financial Flows

Out of Nigeria 2015 till 2020

36

The Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts (Amendment) Act

Signed into law last year will fetch the country the sum of $1.5 billion per annum with effect from this year.

0.6

Ministry of Transportation

In 2016, the Cargo Tracking Note was terminated.

0.2

Nigeria Immigration Service

CERPAC immigration fees not remitted to the Federation Account

0.02

NNPC

Crude oil stolen from Nigeria by well-known oil and shipping companies between 2011 and 2014.

5

Central Bank of Nigeria

2006, withdrawal from foreign reserves lent to 14 commercial banks.

2.7

NNPC

2009, Exxon Mobil owes for licences of 3 oil blocks. of $1.9 billion.

0.73

TOTAL

94.393

In demonstration of good faith to its agreement with the Organised Labour on its suspended strike, the Federal Government has ordered the Electricity Distribution Companies in the country to suspend the recent hike in tariff.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)  handed down the order on Tuesday night.

The  suspension of the hike in tariff for 14 days in the first instance is to enable wider consultations between the Government  and  Labour with a view to reaching a compromise and resolution of the contending  issues involved.

According to the NERC, the tariff suspension will be from September 28, 2020 to October 2, 2020.

The Order, No. NERC/209/2020, with the title: “NERC Order on suspension of the Multi Year Tariff Order 2020 for the electricity distribution licensees,” was signed by the NERC Chairman, James Momoh; and the Commissioner, Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, and addressed to the country’s DisCos.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N13.09 trillion budget estimate for 2021 fiscal year.

The approval was given on Wednesday at a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

The budget proposal, as approved by FEC, is predicated on $379 exchange rate, oil benchmark of $40 barrel per day, oil production volume of 1.86 million per day, including 400,000 condensate, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of three percent and 11.95 percent inflation rate.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed said the budget estimate was made up of N2.083 trillion capital expenditure, representing 29 per cent of the total budget.

After more than three decades’ delay, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday inaugurated the 326km Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line for commercial operations as well as the ancillary facilities yard, at the recently named Goodluck Jonathan Railway Complex in Agbor (Owa-Oyibu), Delta State.

According to a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media on Publicity, Femi Adesina, President Buhari at the virtual opening of the rail line linking Itakpe to Warri, directed the Federal Ministry of Transportation to link all the nation’s ports of origin and destination – Apapa, Tin Can, Warri, Onne, Calabar Ports- to the rail network in order to significantly improve overall transportation and economic capacities.

Adesina said the President declared that his administration recognised the importance of the railway mode of transportation as a vital backbone to support industrialization and economic development.

“Accordingly, I have approved the prioritization of viable railway routes for either new rail lines or the reconstruction and rehabilitation of some, to achieve effective and efficient train services supporting the country’s trade and commerce.

”The Railway Infrastructure that I have the honour to commission today is the rail line from Itakpe via the steel town complex of Ajaokuta to Warri, and is an important link for the country’s economy as the central rail line.

”This Government has also approved to link this line further from Itakpe to Abuja, thereby, connecting the Northern Zone of the country and also extending southwards to link the Warri Ports,” he said.

He further stated that the President expressed confidence that the project, which serves as a vital link of South-South geopolitical zones of the country to the Northern zones, would be completed during the tenure of this administration.

”It will link people across the cultural divides and expand the frontier of trade and commerce, which will lead to better standards of living for our citizens,” he said.

President Buhari recalled that to further give recognition to Nigerian sons and daughters who have distinguished themselves at nation building and development , 11 railway stations and railway villages were named after some deserving citizens.

He listed them as follows: Adamu Attah Station, Itakpe; Abubakar Olusola Saraki Station, Ajaokuta; Augustus Aikhomu Station, Itogbo; George Innih Station, Agenebode; Anthony Enahoro Station, Uromi; Tom Ikimi Station, Ekehen and Samuel Ogbemudia Station, Igbanke.

Others are Goodluck Jonathan Railway Complex, Agbor, Owa-Oyibu; David Ejoor Station, Abraka; Michael Ibru Station, Opara; Alfred Rewane Station, Ujevwu; and Michael Akhigbe Railway Village, Agbor.

The President enjoined all Nigerians in the transportation industry, especially the railway sub-sector, to continue to support Government in its stride to achieve other railway infrastructure projects.

He also enlisted the support of all at realizing this milestone of a functional and full-fledged central railway, after more than 30 years during which the project has suffered several setbacks and false starts.

”I implore those who work on this line to uphold maintenance and safety culture necessary for long-lasting service in this difficult terrain.

”By the same token, I urge other sectors who will be primary beneficiaries of this transportation backbone, including, the iron and steel sector, stakeholders in agricultural and mining sectors on this corridor, as well as the host communities to protect and sustain this infrastructure and maximize the benefits that could be derived from it and which is readily available at their doorsteps.

”This project will increase the volume of their trade and kickstart and resuscitate the iron and steel complexes.

”All these, I hope will improve our industrial potentials and capacities as well as boost employment,’’ he said.

President Buhari said projections indicated that the commencement of operation of the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Rail line would account for close to one million passengers annually and also unleash approximately 3.5 million tonnes capacity of freight annually that will service all off-takers on the corridor and beyond.

Congratulating the Minister of Transportation Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and his team on successfully completing the project, the President recognized the host communities on this corridor for their patience during the long wait of over 30 years for the realization of the project.

He also commended the host communities for their cooperation during the completion works by the Federal Government.

He assured Nigerians that his administration would continue, within available resources, to judiciously connect commercial and industrial hubs to boost trade, generate wealth and create employment.

In his remarks, Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa commended President Buhari’s bi-partisan approach to governance, saying ‘‘it is a thing of pride and joy that this rail line was completed under your watch.’’

”Deltans are excited that this day has come,’’ he said, adding that the Ika nation is glad of the recognition accorded former President Goodluck Jonathan, in naming the railway complex in Agbor after him.
Okowa urged the private sector to take advantage of the historic corridor by establishing investments that will create jobs for locals, curb youth restiveness and stem the tide of criminality.

”It is imperative that the Federal Government in collaboration with the States provide adequate security cover for this rail line corridor,” he said.

In his remarks, Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki congratulated the President on the feat of completing the project, saying it is quite fortuitous that few days to the country’s 60th independence celebration, the President has achieved the completion of this critical infrastructure.

”For us in Edo State we are excited that we have a few stops that have been completed and we are going to be working with you to utilise this infrastructure,” he said.

The Edo Governor appealed to the minister of transportation to extend the rail line to the industrial park in Benin City to facilitate the movement of goods to the northern part of the country.

In his remarks, Minister Amaechi said the project was fully funded by the Nigerian government, adding that 8 of the 10 stations are in the Niger-Delta/ South South region of the country.

”There is no loan on this project, it was funded from the budget and I had the directive of the President to go and revive it and complete it as soon as possible,’’ he said.

According to the Transportation Minister, the project started under the military era in 1987 but ‘‘underwent protracted hiccups, prolonged abandonment and massive vandalisation,’’ before it was resuscitated by the Buhari administration.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, paid itself N1.53 trillion as subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, in three years and six months, from January 2017 to June 2020, according to series of documents obtained from the corporation.

According to the documents, in 2017, 2018 and 2019, the NNPC paid itself N144.53 billion, N730.86 billion and N551.22 billion respectively; while from January to June 2020, the NNPC deducted N106.992 billion from its total remittances as subsidy.

In 2016, no amount was spent on subsidy, while in 2015, the government had paid N306.917 billion to oil marketers and the NNPC as subsidy.

The NNPC called the payments under-recovery (another name for subsidy) and deducted it from the proceeds of its domestic crude oil sales, before making remittances to the Federation Account.

To ensure it does not go contrary to the law, the NNPC coined the term ‘under recovery’, because subsidy was not appropriated for in the budgets of the affected years.

In addition to the amount it said it incurred as under-recovery, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, in a statement by the corporation in Abuja, disclosed that government spent N2.13 trillion from 2016 to 2019, as subsidy on foreign exchange for marketers.

The NNPC became the sole importer of petrol in Nigeria in 2016 after the Federal Government introduced the price modulation mechanism, which saw the pump price of the commodity rise to between N143 to N145 per litre, from N97 per litre.

Irrespective of the hike in the pump price of the product then, few months after, marketers backed out of its importation, citing difficulties in accessing foreign exchange and government’s interference in fixing the price of the commodity below the actual price determined by the forces of demand and supply.

Few months after the hike in May 2016, the value of crude oil in the international market soared, while the value of Nigeria’s currency, the naira, slid to almost N500 to the dollar, from about N197 to the dollar.

This affected the landing cost of petrol, which skyrocketed, and in a short while, the country not wanting to hike the pump price of the commodity again, returned to subsidizing the product.

The NNPC, therefore, resorted to deducting the shortfall, that is, the difference between the actual cost of the product and the pump price of the product, from its earnings.

In the statement by the NNPC, Kyari disclosed that concrete steps had been taken to address the main concerns of marketers, especially the issue of availability of foreign exchange, stressing that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, had already taken the first step of merging all foreign exchange windows to have a unified exchange rate.

He said: “It is really not in our interest to be the sole importer of PMS in the country. We have taken definite steps to exit the situation.

“This is a definite step taken and the details would be communicated to stakeholders like Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN; Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), DAPMAN; Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, and others outside this forum.”

Kyari added that there were plans by the government to inject about N2.7 trillion into the Nigerian economy to stimulate production, stabilise the exchange rate and cushion the inflationary effect of the pump price increase.

He noted that the Federal Government was keen on driving the deregulation programme to create value for the country and ensure that Nigerians enjoy the benefits of the policy.

By Economicconfidential.com