NEWS

FG blames fuel scarcity on external demand

Published

6 years ago

December 7, 2017

The Federal Government has blamed the ongoing fuel scarcity on increased demand by nations in temperate regions.Addressing State House correspondents after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said: “This is winter period. There is always more demand for refined products from petroleum ‎during winter in the colder countries. This is what we are experiencing now.”

Notwithstanding, he said the Council directed the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachukwu and the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, to end the situation before the end of the week.Mohammed also insisted: “The government has no intention at all to increase the pump price of petrol.”

Marketers meanwhile are blaming the NNPC for alleged favouritism in distribution of petrol.The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) monitoring team visited five depots: Obat, Sahara, Nipco, Dee Jones and Aiteo yesterday and discovered an uneven allocation of products.

Consequently, the Assistant Director, Retail Outlets Monitoring, Downstream Division, DPR, Mrs. Ijeoma Otti-Onyeri, who led the team, compelled private depots with products to give priority to Lagos State in order to end scarcity.She ordered that 80 per cent of what was being loaded should be delivered to Lagos.

It was revealed during the visit, a total of 51,702,000 litres of petrol was in stock at Nipco, Sahara, Aiteo and Obat depots.
The DPR delegation urged Nigerians not to panic, saying there was enough stock for the next seven days. This was after disclosure that the PPMC was expecting two vessels in the next 48 hours.

Also, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said the inability of the NNPC to pump petrol to the Ejigbo satellite depot was aggravating the scarcity in Lagos.She said: “There is panic buying because there is speculation that there will be increase in the pump price of petrol. That is why we have to monitor depots, to find out if there is fuel.

“From what we have seen in Obat, Dee Jones, Sahara, Nipco and Aiteo, we have observed that all these depots have stock that can last for five to seven days.” She called on marketers who complained they were buying petrol at N141 per litre to show evidence, so that the DPR could act.

The chairman of IPMAN Lagos zone, Balogun Alanamu, said the NNPC management should be blamed for fuel queues across the country.
Alanamu, who is also the chairman of Ejigbo satellite branch of IPMAN, said the management of NNPC only allocated 20 trucks to marketers on daily basis out of 150 trucks that were being loaded.

He said: “We really do not know why they are deliberately giving us inadequate supplies and supplying the private depot owners. These people are selling to us above the recommended ex-depot price of N133.38 kobo per litre. NNPC officials are collaborating with the private depot owners to create artificial scarcity. They give the products to them. The private depot owners in turn sell to middlemen in bulk, who will later sell to independent marketers at N143 per litre.”

He added: “They are hiding behind these marketers to defraud us. They said they gave the product to private depot owners at N117 per litre ex-depot price. We expect they will sell to us at N133.38 per litre but they are not. And NNPC is not doing anything about it. We raised this issue at a recent seminar two weeks ago where Baru was represented. We implored him to investigate if we were lying. We also presented him with evidence, yet, nothing happened.”

In Abuja, motorists have turned to bribery and the black market to fuel their vehicles as most petrol stations are either under lock or are attended by long queues.Those who spoke with The Guardian yesterday expressed worry that the situation was getting out of hand.While most stations sold at official rate, the price hovered between N250 and N300 per litre at the black market in the Garki area.

A motorist, Kingsley Aruma, said he tipped petrol attendants before he was allowed into the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) retail station along Kubwa expressway.He said: “I went to three fuel stations before I decided to go to NNPC along Kubwa expressway. The queue was so long. This is not the first time we are seeing long queues in Nigeria and nothing is being done. People are already hawking and hoarding fuel.”

Another, Ngozi Amenike, said she had been on a queue for about 30 minutes, decrying loss of productive hours. “This is not the place where I buy fuel. But the queues in other places are longer. This has deprived me of my work for today. I have been out of the office to try my luck,” she said.

Mathew Musa, who was on queue in Garki, Area 11, said he spent about two hours trying to gain access into the station. He urged the government to address the situation, saying it was already getting out of hand.But Baru insisted the country had enough petroleum products to meet demands even beyond the festive period, urging people to avoid panic buying or storing products in their cars or homes.

He said the corporation had addressed the issue of marketers who were selling at higher prices. “We were able to go with regulators who clamped down on depot owners that are selling at a price above N133 per litre. There is sufficient product and there are trucks in most of the filling stations. It is just this panic.

“I have more than 30 days’ supply of fuel, even if I don’t import a drop. We have sufficient product to take us to January. Everybody should go and rest. As I am talking to you, I have six ships that are discharging over 200 million litres, in addition to the 30-days supply.

“Nigerians should feel comfortable and go about their businesses. Please, do not put fuel in jerry cans and keep them in cars as you drive. It is very dangerous. I am guaranteeing you that there is fuel in every station.”

Black marketers have resurfaced in Port Harcourt and Lagos, wishing the scarcity would linger. They expressed joy over the situation, saying it could not have come at a better time. They openly displayed their plastic containers near filling stations along Ada George road, Ikwere, Aba road axis in Port Harcourt, and along Airport Road, Lagos.

A litre of fuel was sold between N180 and N200, amid fear the price could rise to N250.One of the marketers, Mrs. Chizitere Amadi, said: “We are happy that fuel scarcity has hit the country again. We usually make good money from this. Christmas will be colourful this year, if the trend continues.”

Another marketer, Kingsley Friday, said: “As a graduate, I have applied for jobs without success. So, the fuel business makes me smile to the bank. I make good money. I pray it continues, since government has failed to provide us with jobs.”

The few independent marketers that sold fuel in Port Harcourt did so at N160. Major marketers still sold at N145 per litre but had very long queues.Yesterday, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) that is responsible for regulating petroleum products remained silent as policy somersaults by the Ministry of Petroleum threw the agency into confusion. The Department for Petroleum Resources (DPR) and PPPRA also failed to commence on-the-spot monitoring of petrol stations outside of Abuja to ensure compliance with regulated prices.

The ‘price template’ link of the PPPRA website was left empty with no figures indicating the various aspects of the pricing template. The present fuel scarcity, according to some analysts, is partly caused by the confusion created by the introduction of price modulation regime by Kachikwu in 2016.

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Abdulkadir Umar has remained silent while high-ranking officers of the agency did not pick up their phone calls to explain the possible reasons for fuel queues in some parts of the country.

Guardian

NEWS

Bobrisky Appeals Against Sentence; Wants Court To Replace Each Count With ₦50k

Published

13 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Reporter

Bobrisky Wants Court To Replace Each Count With ₦50k | Fab.ng

Idris Okuneye, better known as Bobrisky, took legal action on Monday by filing a notice of appeal challenging the six-month maximum sentence given to him by a Federal High Court in Lagos. The sentence was in response to charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the abuse of the naira. Before Justice A.O. Awogboro of the Federal High Court, Lagos, Bobrisky pleaded guilty to the charges.

On April 12, Justice Awogboro sentenced Okuneye to six months in prison without the option of a fine. He emphasised the need for the judgment to deter others from similar acts of naira abuse.

In response, Okuneye’s counsel, Bimbo Kusanu, submitted a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn the maximum sentence. Kusanu argues for the replacement of the sentence with a ₦50,000 fine per count. He highlighted Okuneye’s lack of prior criminal convictions and the possibility of a lesser sentence under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).

Kusanu contends that the trial court’s decision was punitive and did not consider Okuneye’s cooperation during the legal proceedings. This includes promptly pleading guilty and honouring invitations from the authorities.

Furthermore, Kusanu asserts that the trial court failed to exercise discretion appropriately, resulting in a miscarriage of justice against Okuneye. This appeal represents an effort to challenge the severity of the sentence imposed by the trial court and to seek a more lenient resolution for the appellant.

NEWS

Nigeria Ranks 5th In Global Cybercrime Index

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

Adaeze Okechi

Cybercrime Hotspots: Nigeria Ranks 5th | Fab.ng

Researchers from two universities—Oxford and UNSW Canberra—decided to find out where cybercrime hotspots are. To do this, they asked about 100 cybercrime experts around the world for their opinions.

The experts were asked to consider five main types of cybercrime:

Creating tools used for cybercrime, like malware.
Launching cyberattacks and demanding money to stop them.
Stealing data or identities through hacking or phishing scams.
Tricking people out of money online through scams like fake emails or online auctions.
Making money from stolen information, like laundering money or using stolen credit cards.

Based on the experts’ input, the researchers will create a list of countries considered to be the biggest sources of cybercrime.

Top 5 countries listed as global cybercrime hotspots

The study ranked countries based on how much cybercrime comes from them. This ranking is called the World Cybercrime Index, or WCI for short.

The study found that Russia is seen as the number one source of cybercrime in the world, followed by Ukraine, China, the United States, and Nigeria.

1. Russia

The study ranked Russia as the number one source of cybercrime in the world. Russia had the highest score (58.39) on the World Cybercrime Index (WCI), and researchers traced 81.34 cyberattacks back to Russia. The survey also showed that Russian cybercriminals are highly skilled (scoring 8.73 out of 10 on technical skills) and very professional, causing significant harm with their crimes.

2. Ukraine

Following Russia, the study ranked Ukraine as the second-largest source of cybercrime. Ukraine’s overall cybercrime score on the World Cybercrime Index (WCI) was 36.44. Researchers also linked 50.76 cyberattacks to Ukraine. Just like Russia, Ukrainian cybercriminals were rated as very skilled with a technical skill score of 8.24 on a scale of 1 to 10.

3. China

China was ranked third in the study as a source of cybercrime. Their overall score on the World Cybercrime Index (WCI) was 27.86. Researchers linked 24.24 cyberattacks to China. Chinese hackers were rated as skilled with a technical skill score of 7.81 on a scale of 1 to 10.

4. United States

The United States came in fourth place on the list of cybercrime hotspots. The World Cybercrime Index (WCI) score for the US was 25.01. Researchers connected 17.68 cyberattacks to the US. American hackers were rated as skilled with a technical skill score of 7.21 on a scale of 1 to 10.

5. Nigeria

While the study found Russia to be the overall leader in cybercrime, Nigeria was singled out for a different reason – scams. Here’s a breakdown:

Overall cybercrime: Nigeria ranked fifth on the World Cybercrime Index (WCI) with a score of 21.28. Researchers linked 8.41 cyberattacks to Nigeria, and Nigerian hackers were rated as somewhat skilled with a technical ability score of 5.80 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Scams: Interestingly, Nigeria topped the list for scam-related cybercrime. The country received a much higher WCI score of 52.17 for scams, with a whopping 70 nominations for this type of cybercrime. The closest competitor, the US, only had 27 nominations and a WCI score of 22.72 for scams. This shows that while Nigerian cybercriminals may be less technically skilled overall, they are much more active in scams compared to other countries on the list.

For more articles, check here.

ENTERTAINMENT

Guinness World Record: Tunde Onakoya Is Yet To Be Defeated After 44 Hours Of Chess Marathon

Published

4 days ago

April 19, 2024

Reporter

Tunde Onakoya To Break 58 Hours Of Chess Marathon | fab.ng

Nigerian chess champion Tunde Onakoya is trying to break the world record for the longest chess marathon! The record he is set to break is 58 hours.

Tunde Onakoya has already been playing in the chess marathon for approximately 44 hours straight. This is at the time of this writing. Starting on April 17th and going until April 19th, the event is happening in the famous Times Square in New York City.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tunde Onakoya (@tunde_onakoya)

So far, Onakoya has beaten everyone he’s played, including a really good chess player from New York named Shawn Martinez.

Tunde Onakoya beats a very worthy opponent and one of New York’s finest, National Chess Master Shawn Martinez!

6 hours down, 52 hours to go!#TundeChessMarathon pic.twitter.com/oXBjfakdBm

— Tunde Onakoya (@Tunde_OD) April 17, 2024

Onakoya’s manager, Taiwo, says the official rules allow for 5-minute breaks every hour. But Onakoya only took a total of 30 minutes of rest after playing 12 people in a row for 15 hours! That’s intense! He said he’s playing two sets of games at the same time, and he can’t lose any of them to win the record.

He wrote,

“The opponent on the first set is Shawn Martinez, a US National Chess Master, and he will play with Tunde throughout the attempt.

“Opponents in the second set are random players. He can’t lose any game on either set.

“Only Tunde’s match against Shawn Martinez is considered valid for the record. He is not competing in his simultaneous play against random opponents in the second set. NYC, come out and play regardless.”

For more news updates, check here.