EXCLUSIVE: ‘New PIB’ strips president of discretionary power to allocate oil blocks.

The new draft of the controversial petroleum industry bill (PIB) strips the president of the discretionary powers to allocate oil blocks, TheCable understands. 

The bill now confers the power to allocate petroleum exploration and production leases and licences to the Nigeria Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPRC) which shall be established under the act. 

The final draft of the new bill, “Petroleum industry governance and institutional framework bill 2015”, available to TheCable, which was concluded on December 2, 2015, limits the power of the president to appoint members of the board of the regulatory commission. 

The bill aims to promote transparency and accountability in the administration of the petroleum resources of Nigeria, while creating a conducive business environment for petroleum industry operations. 

The new draft, which mentions the senate only twice, says the upper chamber would be responsible for the ratification of governing board members appointed by the president. 

“The appointment  to  the  board  in  respect  of  persons  appointed  pursuant  to paragraphs (a) to (d) of this section shall be made by the President subject to confirmation of the senate,” the bill reads. 

“The chairman and non-executive commissioner shall be persons of high integrity and substantial professional experience; in appointing the chairman and the non-executive commissioner, the president shall have due regard to a fair representation of the technical, legal and commercial interest.”

 The initial PIB, which has been stuck in the national assembly for nearly a decade, conferred discretionary powers on the president to allocate oil blocks in addition to competitive open bidding. 

As recently as 2012, the PIB presented before the national assembly said “notwithstanding the provisions of the subsection (3) of section 190 or any other provision of this act, the President shall have the power to grant a license or lease under the act”. 

The presidential minister 

In the past dispensation, the minister of petroleum was distinctly different from the president, but with President Muhammadu Buhari as the substantive minister of petroleum he may perform the duties of the president and the minister. 

The bill grants the minister the power to control the oil blocks under the recommendation of the commission. 

“Upon  the  recommendation  of    the  commission,  grant,  amend,  renew,  extend  or revoke petroleum exploration and production  licenses and leases pursuant to the provisions of this act or any other enactment,” the bill posits. 

The minister also has the rights of pre-emption – that is, the right to purchase of goods by one person or party before the opportunity is offered to others – to all petroleum products in times of national emergency or war. 

“In the event of a state of national emergency or war, the Minister shall have the right of pre-emption of all petroleum and petroleum products obtained, marketed or otherwise dealt with under any license or lease granted under this act or any other enactment,” it says. 

The Commission 

The NPRC is saddled with the responsibility of conducting bid rounds for petroleum exploration licenses, but its recommendation can be subject to the minister, who has the power to grant licenses. 

The commission shall “conduct bid rounds or other processes for the award of petroleum exploration and production licences and leases, approve all field development programmes” and “allocate petroleum quotas”. 

One or more bills 

Industry sources confirmed to TheCable, that one or more bills may be proposed after the framework bill is passed. 

“This bill does not address refineries, gas flaring and some other matters, extensively. So we expect that another bill, perhaps two, may be proposed, as a break out of the original PIB,” a source said. 

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed and take it one step at a time.” 

Previous administrations in the country have been accused of allocating oil blocks to their cronies, without any operational capacity to handle such exploration. 

Ita Enang, who is now the senior special assistant to Buhari on national assembly matters, had said in 2013 that 83 percent of Nigeria’s oil blocks were controlled by northerners. 

He called on the senate at the time seize the PIB opportunity to revoke all licences and re-allocate all oil blocks.

Read more at: https://www.thecable.ng/exclusive-new-pib-strips-president-of-the-power-to-allocate-oil-blocks

Source: www.thecable.ng

Download a copy of the bill here (Courtesy of BudGit.com): http://bit.ly/1QfoPUC

PDP’s 16 years worst in Nigeria’s democracy – Chief Victor Umeh (Former APGA Chairman)

Former National Chair­man of the All Pro­gressives Grand Alli­ance, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, yesterday described the 16 years rule of the Peo­ples Democratic Party, PDP, as the worst in the history of Nigeria’s democracy.

Umeh, who addressed journalists in Enugu follow­ing his victory at the Court of Appeal in Enugu, said: “What PDP did to Nigeria in 16 years is the greatest dis­service to democracy.”

It would be recalled that the Appeal Court had on Monday nullified Senator Uche Ekwunife’s election on account of Umeh’s petition. The court ordered a re-run within 90 days.

The APGA chieftain claimed that though he won the election, PDP manipulat­ed the process with impuni­ty and used the Independent National Electoral Com­mission, INEC, to declare Ekwunife winner.

While mocking PDP over its complaints on the outcome of the Kogi gov­ernorship poll, Umeh said: “Though the All Progres­sives Congress has not been brutal as PDP was, PDP’s members are now weeping.

“The PDP promoted elec­toral banditry in this country; so, I am surprised that they are now crying wolf. They are made up of hypocrites; the PDP’s time has just ended; it is a political party that should be dismantled.

“I am happy at the present cleaning of the rot of corrup­tion; PDP promoted corrup­tion; why are they afraid? Look at the revelations com­ing up now; PDP should bury its head in shame. PDP should be banned from speaking be­cause Nigerians hold them in great contempt for the way they desecrated democracy.”

He expressed confidence that he would win the rerun, as according to him, “the number of people who had reached me ever since this judgement was delivered is overwhelming. I have used it to gauge the mood of the people; they are so excited.

“Besides, we are very hopeful; this time around, the votes of the people will count. There will be no god-mother, god-father and the use of presidential might to suppress the will of the people.”

Source: www.today.ng

1 week to travelling to the USA, man is murdered by conductor over N50!!

With just a week to travelling to the USA, a young Nigerian was stabbed to death by a conductor over N50.

The murdered Babatunde Omoyemi

 (Punch)

A young Nigerian who was supposed to travel to the United States of America to spend the yuletide holidays, has been murdered by a 'Danfo' bus conductor over a balance of N50, a week before his travel date.

According to the Punch, the deceased, Babatunde Omoyeni,38, a web designer, was  killed by the conductor, Samson Eletu, on December 5, while he was supposed to travel on the 10th, during an argument over transport fare.

The killer conductor, Samson Eletu (Punch)

Omoyemi had reportedly gone clubbing with his friends on successfully getting his travel document on Friday, December 4, and on his way back home the following day, he got involved in the argument with the conductor after he had given him the sum of N500 for the journey which N50 but the conductor told Omoyemi he did not have the balance of N450 to give him, thereby leading to a serious disagreement, that led to Eletu stabbing him to death.

It was gathered that angry residents of the Aguda area of Lagos State, where the incident happened almost lynched the conductor but was saved by a community leader who took him to the Aguda Police Division.

An eyewitness narrated how the incident happened:

“The victim was returning home after a party when he entered the bus. He gave the conductor N500, but the conductor told him he didn’t have N450 change, because the fare was N50. When they got to the bus stop, the man demanded his change and that started a fight.

An Alfa in the bus intervened and separated them. But the conductor, who was still aggrieved, trailed the victim to his house with a broken bottle and banged on the gate into the house.

As the deceased opened the gate, Eletu stabbed him. Babatunde took to his heels, but the conductor chased him. Unfortunately, he fell down and the conductor stabbed him repeatedly.”

After stabbing Omoyemi, Eletu attempted to escape the scene but was chased and nabbed by residents who descended on him.

On his part, the 32-year-old suspect said it was Omoyemi that attacked him first.

“I am also a driver and I had parked my bus at about 7pm when I saw a co-driver who offered to take me home.

It was along the way that he decided to pick passengers and there were eight of them in the bus.

I collected money from seven of them, but he refused to pay and said he knew me on the street. It was at the bus stop that he broke a bottle and stabbed me in the forehead and cheek. I also got the same bottle, but unfortunately I stabbed him in the neck and he died.”

Source: Pulse.ng

Hon. James Faleke The Kogi Deputy Gov-Elect, Resumes At The House of Rep. representing Ikeja (Lagos) Fed. Constituency

The legally-recognised deputy governor-elect of Kogi State, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, yesterday returned to the House of Representatives, where he took part in Tuesday’s plenary session amid cheers from his colleagues.

Faleke, who is currently in the news over his insistence that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declare him governor-elect of Kogi State after the death of his principal, Prince Abubakar Audu, in the November 21 governorship poll in the state, represents Ikeja Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the 8th House of Representatives, where he is also the chairman of the Committee on Customs and Excise.

He stormed the Green Chamber spotting a white flowing ‘Agbada’ and a hand-made red cap, amid cheers and ovation from his colleagues in the House as he approached the Speaker’s seat where he held a tete-a-tête with Speaker Yakubu Dogara for a few minutes before resuming at his official seat.

The presence of Faleke, who is a two-time member of the House having transferred his voter card from Lagos to Kogi to enable him exercise his franchise has also raised new legal questions as to whether or not he still has the legal rights to represent the people of Lagos.

Faleke who rejected his re-nomination as deputy governorship candidate to the eventual winner and governor-elect, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has since gone to court asking the judiciary to declare him governor-elect instead of Yahaya Bello whose name the All Progressives Congress (APC) forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the substitute to the late Prince Abubakar Audu.

Source – leadership

How Jonathan, Okonjo-Iweala illegally diverted N61.4 billion Abacha loot to NSA, Sambo Dasuki

The immediate past Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, illegally approved the transfer of at least N61.4 billion ($300 million and £5.5 million) from funds recovered from late dictator, Sani Abacha, to the Office of the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, few weeks to the 2015 presidential election, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report today.

The former Minister signed off on the transfer but then closed her eyes to how the funds were spent, requesting then President Goodluck Jonathan to directly demand accountability from Mr. Dasuki, according to documents seen by this newspaper.

The funds were never appropriated before they were transferred, a clear violation of Nigeria’s fiscal responsibility law.

Mr. Dasuki, alongside the former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa and founder of DAAR communications, owners of Africa Independent Television and Raypower radio network, Raymond Dokpesi, are being investigated for their roles in the disbursement of $2.1 billion and N643 billion meant for the procurement of arms to fight the raging insurgency in Nigeria’s north east region.

The recovered Abacha loot are funds returned to the Nigerian government from monies stolen from the country’s treasury by Mr. Abacha.

The late dictator stole an estimated $5 billion from Nigeria and the money is being returned in tranches after agreement with countries such as Switzerland and the United States. So far $700 million has been repatriated from Switzerland.

It is not clear whether these funds in question were part of the arms procurement funds for which Mr Dasuki is being investigated.

But a letter signed by Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, showed that 50 per cent of the recently recovered Abacha loot was allotted for “urgent security need” such as the procurement of arms and ammunition while the other half was set aside to be used for development purposes.

The letter, dated January 20, 2015, which was addressed to Mr Jonathan revealed that the money was transferred following a January 12, 2015 request by the office of the NSA under Mr Dasuki for funds for the procurement of arms and ammunition as well as intelligence equipment.

“Please find a request by the National Security Adviser (NSA) for the transfer of $300 million and £5.5 million of the recovered Abacha funds to an ONSA [Office of the National Security Adviser] operations account,” the letter read.

“The NSA has explained that this is to enable the purchase of ammunition, security, and other intelligence equipment for the security agencies in order to enable them fully confront the ongoing Boko Haram threat.

“His request is sequel to the meeting you chaired with the committee on the use of recovered funds where the decision was made that recovered Abacha funds would be split 50-50 between urgent security needs to confront Boko Haram and development need (including a portion for the Future Generations window of the Sovereign Wealth Fund),” Mrs Okojo-Iweala wrote.

She added that the letter was to seek Mr Jonathan’s approval for the funds to be disbursed to the ONSA. The former minister further explained that the money being transferred formed part of the Federal Government Independent Revenue.

However, instead of insisting on overseeing how the disbursed funds were spent, as the country’s chief financial officer, she abdicated her responsibility, expecting and asked Mr Dasuki to account directly to Mr Jonathan.

“This letter is to seek your approval to borrow these funds, for now, to disburse to the NSA. These funds form part of the projected Federal Government Independent Revenue, to be appropriated, in the light and for accountability, given the peculiar nature of security and intelligence transactions, we would expect the NSA to account to Your Excellency for the utilisation of the funds,” she concluded. In a January 30, 2015 letter, Mr. Jonathan approved the transfer.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole vindicated 

This latest disclosure appears to have vindicated Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who last week called for the prosecution of Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala for transferring funds that were not appropriated.

The governor stated that neither the president nor the minister has power to unilaterally transfer funds that were not appropriated by the National Assembly.

He therefore argued that Mr. Jonathan and Mrs Okonjo-Iweala should be charged alongside Messrs Dasuki, Dokpesi and Bafawara for allegedly misappropriating funds meant for arms procurement.

“The issue is whether the Nigerian President under the constitution has the power to approve funds belonging to local, state and federal government- funds that have not been appropriated by the National Assembly.
That is a criminal offense for which Okonjo-Iweala ought to face criminal prosecution. These things are just discussed and wished away. For me, I will stick for the truth and don’t care what people will say,” Mr. Oshiomhole said.

“Talking about revelation, look at the letter credited to Dasuki – the immediate past National Security Adviser. In his defence which I read in your paper, he seems to admit that money was spent but it was approved by the President. Does the Nigerian constitution empower the President to spend money which has not been appropriated by the National Assembly? And they took cash from the CBN. The Money Laundering Act says if you take cash in excess of N5 million transaction, it is money laundering and it is criminal.

“So, by Dasuki’s letter, he has also confirmed that Okonjo-Iweala is privy to spending money never appropriated and therefore criminal, and that cash were being moved contrary to the money laundering act. Just using Dasuki’s own defence, you can see a case of conspiracy has been established between Dasuki, Okonjo-Iweala and all those involved in that transaction,” Mr. Oshiomhole said.

But in a stern statement, where she described Mr Oshiomhole as reckless, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala asked the federal government to call the governor to order.

She stated that she had “absolutely nothing to do with” the $2.1 billion arms procurement money.

“It is unconscionable for the Governor to embark on a campaign of lies against her because she thwarted his dubious loan request,” she said.

Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/194870-how-jonathan-okonjo-iweala-illegally-diverted-n61-4-billion-abacha-loot-to-nsa-sambo-dasuki.html

British Canadian International Education is organising a free study Visa Seminar

British Canadian International Education is organising a free study Visa Seminar

Are you starting your studies in the UK, USA & Australia this January? Cliff Dedynski will be speaking to students about what it takes to study in these countries, visa requirements, and enjoy a one-one-one questions and answer session to all pending questions regarding your student visa.

Call to

LAGOS-   SHERATON HOTEL, IKEJA, 12^th DEC, 2015 (Call – 07060930343, 07084524926)

PORT HARCOURT -  BCIE PORT HARCOURT OFFICE,  12^th DEC, 2015 (Call – 08069278962)

IBADAN-   BCIE IBADAN OFFICE,   14^th DEC, 2015 (Call 0817684741)

ABUJA-    SHERATON HOTEL, ABUJA, 14^th DEC, 2015 ( Call 08066788636)

KANO -     BCIE KANO OFFICE,  14^th DEC, 2015  (Call 08135403294)

Source: http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2015/12/british-canadian-international.html

Lai Mohammed on fuel subsidy

Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Mohammed says Nigeria will soon be through with the perennial fuel shortages.
Speaking during a recent visit to Daily Trust head office in Abuja, the minister said the government was very sincere, committed and focused. 
He said: “Yes we are experiencing some temporary pains but honestly I can assure you that given the commitment of the administration and given the commitment of the cabinet and government all these temporary pains would be a thing of the past.
“I know that Nigerians today are groaning under the yoke of fuel scarcity and I am glad to say that both chambers of the National Assembly actually approved the supplementary budget and it is amazing that of the N574 billion or so that was approved as supplementary budget close to N421 billion of it is for fuel subsidy alone. 
“I know that when we went to the National Assembly asking them to pay arrears of 413 billion which was supposed to cover last year August till the end of September, by the time it was being considered the NNPC came and said look, why do you want to do this thing in bits; why don’t we resolve the matter once and for all. 
“That is why what was approved yesterday; the entire N574 billion, N22bn of it is for fuel subsidy while the balance is to continue the war effort in the North-eastern part of Nigeria.
 “Now people ask us why we waited for this to happen.  The truth of the matter is that the money approved in 2015 budget for fuel subsidy was exhausted and we had to go back to the National Assembly to seek approval. 
“We had the money; we could easily have paid the marketers but that would be unlawful spending without appropriation. But I can assure you that by the grace of God Nigerians will not experience this kind of scarcity again. 
“It is not just about being owed in arrears; it is also based on the fact that some very unpatriotic Nigerians are also taking advantage of the situation to make life much more uncomfortable for Nigerians. 
“But honestly we believe that in a few days’ time this money would have been paid and all these long queues will disappear. We are not going to make excuses but we do have challenges and some of these challenges are hampering our movement but we are committed and we are focused and we believe that in a few days to come; especially with the submission of the 2016 budget to the national assembly Nigerians should begin to heave a sigh of relief.”

Read more at http://dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/lai-mohammed-on-fuel-subsidy/123448.html#5VeCG3iW62PWokuH.99