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Port Harcourt Refinery Set To Begin Operations In July
Port Harcourt Refinery Set To Begin Operations In July....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The long-awaited operations of the 210,000-barrel-per-day Port Harcourt refinery are finally set to commence by the end of July, following numerous postponements. This new date was disclosed on Monday by Chief Ukadike Chinedu, the National Public Relations Officer of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN)…….CONTINUE READING
Chinedu stated that the operational start of the refinery would stimulate economic activities, lower the price of petroleum products, and ensure an adequate supply.
In December of last year, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, announced the mechanical completion and flare start-off of the largest crude refinery in Port Harcourt. The refinery consists of two units: an old plant with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day and a new plant with a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day.
The refinery was initially shut down in March 2019 for the first phase of repair works after the government engaged Italy’s Maire Tecnimont as a technical adviser to review the refinery complex, with oil major Eni also serving as a technical adviser.
On March 15, 2024, Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, indicated that the refinery would commence operations in about two weeks. Kyari mentioned this during a press briefing after appearing before the Senate Ad hoc committee investigating various turnaround maintenance projects of the country’s refineries.
Kyari said, “We did a mechanical completion of the refinery as we stated in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are conducting regulatory compliance tests that must be completed in every refinery before starting, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in two weeks.”
Despite this assurance, the refinery had not started operations two months later. In an exclusive interview on Monday, IPMAN’s Chinedu confirmed that extensive work had been done, representing a complete turnaround rather than just rehabilitation. He emphasized that every effort would be made to meet the July deadline.
“Yes, when we visited the place, the MD told us that the refinery was almost ready and by the end of July, they would start producing. It has been turned into a new one. They changed all the armored cables to brand new ones, and everything there is almost like a brand-new refinery,” Chinedu said. He added that the turnaround maintenance was extensive and ongoing day and night to ensure the target was met.
When reminded of previous missed deadlines, Chinedu acknowledged the delays but assured that the refinery is now 99% ready, with no significant challenges remaining. He expressed optimism that the competition between the Port Harcourt refinery and the soon-to-commence Dangote Refinery would benefit the nation by reducing petrol prices.
The new timeline aligns with the Dangote Refinery’s proposal to begin petrol production by the end of June. Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, has assured that Nigeria would no longer need to import petrol starting next month, as the refinery can meet West Africa’s petrol and diesel needs, as well as the continent’s aviation fuel demand.
With Nigeria currently spending approximately N520 billion monthly on the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the operational start of these refineries could significantly reduce the country’s N6.2 trillion yearly import bill.
Femi Soneye, the NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, mentioned that regulatory approvals from international bodies are the only impediments to the refinery’s operational commencement. He confirmed that all mechanical work had been completed, with crude oil supplied by Shell and all pipes functioning correctly. However, approvals involving nuclear materials from bodies outside Nigeria are still pending. Once these approvals are obtained, the refinery will begin operations.
The 2026 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards will be held in Lagos on Wednesday, December 2, with top footballers, coaches, clubs and national teams from across the continent expected to attend the prestigious annual event.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The ceremony is scheduled to commence at 7 p.m. Nigerian time, 8 p.m. in Cairo and 6 p.m. GMT, at the Professor Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Arts, popularly known as the National Theatre.
The event will mark the return of the CAF Awards to Nigeria’s commercial capital for the first time in 12 years. Lagos last hosted the ceremony in 2014.
CAF disclosed that this year’s edition would blend football with Nigerian culture, with music and entertainment forming key parts of the celebrations.
A total of 18 award categories will be presented at the ceremony, with the CAF Men’s Player of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year awards expected to be among the major highlights.
Other categories will honour outstanding achievements by coaches, goalkeepers, young players, clubs and national teams.
Voting for the awards commenced on November 5 and is expected to close on November 20, covering both the men’s and women’s categories.
CAF Member Associations, clubs, eligible coaches and national team captains are taking part in the voting process to determine the eventual winners.
The continental football governing body said the voting arrangement was designed to ensure broad representation across African football while upholding fairness and transparency.
It added that independent monitoring would be carried out throughout the process to safeguard the credibility of the results.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed how he rejected an offer of political asylum from the United States despite warnings that he could be arrested if he returned to Nigeria.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The former leader also recounted how he left the Nigerian Army to pursue farming before his return to the country led to his arrest and imprisonment under the administration of late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
Obasanjo shared the experience while discussing his encounter with Abacha in an interview featured in a video published by BBC News Pidgin on Tuesday.
The 89-year-old explained that he ventured into agriculture after leaving office as Nigeria’s military Head of State in 1979.
According to him, his farming business was progressing successfully until Abacha allegedly made plans to eliminate him.
Obasanjo said he had not intended to retire from the Army at the age of 42, but had reached the highest position possible in the military, having become a four-star general and Head of State.
He said, “When I was leaving government as military head of state, there was, I was leaving too early. I didn’t join the army to retire at the age of 42.
“Now I had to retire at the age of 42. At the age of 42, I had become a four-star general. There’s nothing else I can do in the army. I’ve become the military head of state. That’s the highest political office I could rise.
“So what can I do? I decided I would go into farming. It really was going well, and it went well until I was arrested. Abacha had decided that I must be liquidated; otherwise he would not be able to have his way.”
The former President further disclosed that he was unaware of the alleged plan against him until the American ambassador to Nigeria contacted him while he was travelling.
According to Obasanjo, the ambassador informed him that the US government had offered him political asylum because it anticipated that he would be arrested if he returned to Nigeria.
However, he said he rejected the offer because he believed he had committed no offence that warranted an arrest.
He explained that upon arriving in Nigeria, his passport was seized, and he headed to his farm, only to discover that security operatives had surrounded the premises.
Obasanjo said a plain-clothes police officer later approached him, claiming that an Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) wanted him to assist with an issue.
He recalled rejecting the invitation, insisting that the AIG should personally come to his farm if he needed his assistance.
The former leader said he eventually drove himself to the police station, where the AIG informed him that he had been instructed to arrest him.
Obasanjo added that he was subsequently detained, and former US President Jimmy Carter later intervened on his behalf, leading to his placement under house arrest.
However, he said security operatives returned one night while he was playing squash at about 1 a.m. and took him away to prison.
He said, “I didn’t know that it was a decision of Abacha that some of us must not be kept free; otherwise, he would feel unsafe. I was put in a place. Then President Jimmy Carter came. He pleaded, and then they put me under house arrest.
“Then they came one day; I was playing squash at about 1 am. They came and said they were taking me away. And they took me away, and from there, I went to prison.”
Nigerian music producer Krizbeatz has recounted an experience from a visit to the residence of popular Afrobeats singer Tiwa Savage.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The producer shared the story while speaking about his Christian faith during an interview on the Zikoko podcast.
Krizbeatz described himself as someone who grew up in the church and has continued to maintain a connection with Christianity.
Recalling his encounter with Tiwa Savage during a music production session, he said he visited the singer’s home to work on her song titled Energy.
However, he was surprised by what he found the award-winning singer doing when he arrived at her residence.
According to him, Tiwa Savage was reading the Bible at the time.
He said, “I am the producer of Tiwa Savage’s song ‘Energy.’ The day I visited her house to produce the song, I saw her reading the Bible.”
Meanwhile, Tiwa Savage recently responded to a social media user who questioned her decision to describe herself as an African Baddie.
The controversy started after the man criticised the singer for using the description despite being in her 40s.
He wrote, “African baddie at 40… this one no serious.”
Reacting, the singer disclosed that she is 46 years old and expressed confidence in her appearance, financial status and music career.
She also dismissed the criticism while promoting her forthcoming song, African Baddie.
Tiwa wrote, “46, fine, paid, unbothered and dropping my super hottttt record ‘African Baddie’ on Friday. What exactly is the problem, boy?😂 #AfricanBaddie.”
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