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Breaking: Maire Tecnimont Rejects Falana’s Demand For Completion Date Of Port Harcourt Refinery Project
Breaking: Maire Tecnimont Rejects Falana’s Demand For Completion Date Of Port Harcourt Refinery Project. Falana had filed an official request under Nigeria’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, seeking clarity on the long-overdue refineries’ rehabilitation.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The Managing Director of Maire Tecnimont S.P.A, the company awarded a $1.5 billion contract by the Federal Government of Nigeria to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt Refineries has refused to provide a completion date for the project, despite a formal request from human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN.
Falana had filed an official request under Nigeria’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, seeking clarity on the long-overdue refineries’ rehabilitation.
In response, Maire Tecnimont’s legal representative, Muyiwa Ogungbenro, a partner at Olajide Oyewole LLP, sent a letter to Falana on Monday, declining to reveal the information.
Ogungbenro stated that the Managing Director of Maire Tecnimont S.P.A, as part of an independent private contractor, is not obligated to disclose such information under the FOI Act.
The statement reads, “We are counsel to Maire Tecnimont SpA, and we have our client instruction to respond to your letters dated 17 and 24 September 2024 requesting for information on the contract between our client and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.
“Our client is a private company. Being a private independent contractor, our client is not a company in which any government has a controlling interest, and does not provide public services, functions nor utilizing public funds for them to be bound by the obligations in the Freedom of Information Act.”
“On this ground, our client regrettably cannot provide the information you have requested,” Ogungbenro added.
In September, SaharaReporters reported that Falana officially requested information regarding the completion date for the long-overdue rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refineries.
In a letter addressed to the Managing Director of Maire Tecnimont S.P.A., the company handling the project, Falana referenced the $1.5 billion contract awarded by the Federal Government of Nigeria for the overhaul of the refineries.
The request, made under the Nigerian Freedom of Information Act, seeks clarity on the timeline for the long-awaited refinery overhaul.
Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), an influential NGO in Nigeria, expressed the urgency of obtaining transparency on the progress of the rehabilitation project.
In his letter, dated September 17, 2024, Falana stated, “I have confirmed that the Federal Government of Nigeria awarded the contracts for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refineries to your reputable company for the sum of US$1.5bn.”
Falana explained that in line with the terms of the contract which was awarded sometime in April 2021, the project is expected to be completed in three phases of 18, 24 and 44 months.
He said, “It has therefore become necessary to request the Management of your company to furnish me with information on the completion dates of the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refineries.
“As this request is made under the Freedom of Information Act applicable in Nigeria, you have seven days within which to respond to this letter.”
“In view of the foregoing, you are advised to accede to our request in order to assure the Nigerian people that the contract sum of $1.5 billion has been judiciously utilised for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refineries
“Therefore, if you fail to accede to my request, I will not hesitate to approach the Federal High Court for legal redress,” he had added.
The State Wing Executive Council of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has ordered all public primary and secondary school teachers in Abuja to commence an indefinite strike from Monday.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The union also directed parents and guardians to keep their children at home until further notice, citing unresolved welfare concerns and what it described as government inaction.
This followed a communiqué issued after an emergency SWEC meeting held in Gwagwalada, Abuja, over the weekend and signed by the state leadership of the union.
Teachers were instructed to fully comply with the strike directive and await further instructions from the union leadership, as the industrial action remains in force until their demands are addressed.
According to the communiqué, the strike became necessary after the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum earlier issued to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, which elapsed without a satisfactory response.
The union recalled that although previous interventions led to the suspension of an earlier strike, several key issues affecting teachers’ welfare were still unresolved.
It also expressed concern that a committee set up to address outstanding entitlements submitted its report in August 2025, but the findings have not been made public or implemented.
While acknowledging the payment of the new minimum wage and some salary arrears, the union insisted that major concerns remain unattended.
The NUT further demanded reforms in promotion processes and a review of the 2024 promotion exercise.
After what it described as unsuccessful engagements and expired deadlines, the union declared that all teachers in the FCT will remain on strike indefinitely until their demands are met.
Nigerian actor and filmmaker Emmanuel Ikubese has spoken about the breakdown of his marriage to celebrity makeup artist Anita Adetoye.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The couple tied the knot in March 2020 in a widely publicised wedding that attracted attention nationwide. However, by February 2021, speculation about a split began after Ikubese deleted their wedding photos from Instagram and both parties unfollowed each other on social media.
Speaking on the Archives of Becoming Podcast, Ikubese described the end of the marriage as a painful personal setback. He said it made him deeply question himself, especially as someone who had always hoped for a stable family life.
According to him, achieving marriage had felt like a major life goal, and its collapse left him feeling as though he had failed. He added that the public nature of their wedding made the experience even more difficult, leaving him exposed and emotionally shaken.
He explained that the experience pushed him into deep reflection about his identity and life direction, describing it as a turning point that forced him to re-evaluate himself. He also noted that he could only speak from his own experience and not on behalf of his ex-wife.
Ikubese further revealed that the breakup brought him significant emotional pain and altered how he viewed life, eventually drawing him closer to his faith as he searched for answers.
“It was an identity thing. If you don’t find your identity, you always find yourself in moments like this… God needed a reset, and that was the reset for me,” he said.
“I had always desired a family… The wedding I had was very high-profile… and I just felt like I’d failed.
“It changed my life… it felt like I had to go back to God and ask, ‘Where did I miss this?’
“I was always a lost Emmanuel… fame just felt good… I didn’t even understand why I was in the industry… 2020 was just a crash.”
Former Kogi West senator, Dino Melaye, has explained why he left the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying his experience in the party became unbearable and forced him to move on.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
He made this known during an interview on the Mic On Podcast hosted by Seun Akinbaloye, where he reflected on his time in the ruling party and his decision to exit.
Melaye said the political environment he found himself in at the time no longer aligned with his values, adding that he had to step away to reassess his direction in politics.
He compared the decision to a major personal turning point, stressing that it was not made hastily but after deep reflection on his future.
According to him, leaving the party was necessary for his personal and political survival as the situation had become difficult to manage.
He said the experience marked a significant change in his political journey, prompting him to seek a new path that better suited his beliefs and ambitions.
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