Barely twenty-four after the Department of State Services, DSS, handed down a 48-hour ultimatum to marketers to end the ongoing petrol shortage across the country, queues at filling stations in Abuja were shorter yesterday. Checks around the City however showed that most stations were still shut down with black marketers selling the product at N300 per litre, down from the N350 per litre sold the previous days. At the city centre, queues were noticeably shorter than it used to be at the TotalEnergies station opposite the NNPC Towers while the Conoil station was shut. Checks also showed that most stations along the Kubwa expressway including Shema, Salbas, NIPCO, Eterna had shorter queues unlike days before the DSS handed a 48-hour ultimatum to the marketers to ensure adequate supply. Also Total filling Station located along Gado Nasco Road Kubwa, opened to motorists after weeks of shut down. Our reporter who visited the station noticed a long but orderly queue of motorists waiting for their turn to buy the product. The case was however different at Eterna Petroleum Station located along Kubwa Dei-Dei ExpressWay as the station remained shut to members of the public as fuel attendants were seen loitering around waiting for directives. One of the attendants who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity for fear of sanctions said, “We’ve exhausted our supply, we even sold yesterday until late last night.” In Utako District of the City, most petrol stations were also shut down. For instance, NNPC retail outlet which was formerly Oando located at airport junction, Jabi; Forte Oil, NIPCO oil, all along Jabi/Utako axis were not selling. But AA. Rano mega station at Utako junction was selling. Outside the city however, the few independent marketers which were opened sold above N250 per litre. In Kuje Area Council of the FCT, marketers openly flouted the directives as black marketers continue to have a field day. However, most of the major marketers sold between N179 and N185 per litre.

  The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has released popular musician, Daniel Oladapo, also known as D’Banj. D’banj’s lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, who announced the development on Friday, said the musician was released on self-recognition. The PUNCH reports that the lawyer had yesterday called for the release of the singer from ICPC custody. Olajengbesi in a statement on Thursday said D’Banj who was arrested by the anti-graft agency on Tuesday, was innocent of the allegations of fund diversion trailing him regarding the social empowerment programme ‘N-Power Scheme.’ This was also as he demanded that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs should make public the names of government officials allegedly involved with D’Banj in the alleged fraud. But sharing the news of the singer’s release on his Facebook page and a statement on Friday, Olajengbesi explained that nothing incriminating was found on D’banj. The statement read, “After 72 hours of unfair detention and false allegation against Mr. Daniel Oladapo (D’banj), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Friday afternoon released the popular singer. Ad “It is instructive to note that the ICPC released D’banj) on self-recognition after the agency could not find anything incriminating on him. “Nigerians must be told the truth that D’banj) is clean and have no criminal or fraud record. It, however, an embarrassment to the entire country that such a huge allegation of N900m fraud against a public figure without any evidence. “The ICPC Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN) and the entire officers of the ICPC must be deeply sad and embarrassed also that their decent organization was used for such a shameful publicity against an innocent man. Only few organizations and persons stood and waited to verify the claims. This form of media trial is evil. “The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, who claimed to have instructed the ICPC to detain D’banj must now be ready to explain to world the money traced to his account and the amount. “We still demand that the minister provide the details of the government authority D’banj allegedly collaborated with and provide the account and N-power funds allegedly traced to Dbanj’s account. “This is injustice and upon the instruction of our client, we may head to court to seek redress, a public apology and compensation from the ICPC. The detention of D’banj is an injustice having that the ICPC found nothing incriminating traced to his innocent personality. “This is to say a big thank you to Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and my Learned Senior Barr. Babs Akinwumi for the leadership.” The PUNCH reports that the ICPC on Tuesday detained the singer over an alleged fund diversion of millions of N-Power funds in collaboration with some government officials. He was detained for 73 hours at the ICPC Headquarters, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, before his eventual release on Friday.

  The National Working Committee of Labour Party on Friday terminated the appointment of its acting National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, and dissolved the Ogun chapter of the party over the role they played in the alleged expulsion of the Director General of Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Doyin Okupe. This is even as the NWC passed a vote of confidence in the leadership of its embattled National Chairman, Julius Abure, saying it has reviewed all the corruption allegations levelled against him and found him not capable. Okupe and 10 members of the party were removed by the leadership of the Ogun State chapter of LP over alleged “non-financial membership status, political rascality and misappropriation of funds.” The affected members were deputy State Chairman II East, Jagun Lookman; state Women Leader, Oluwabukola Soyoye, ex-state Treasurer, Gbadebo Fesomade; state Publicity Secretary, Jide Amusan; state Youth Leader, Abdulmalik Olaleye; Assistant State Youth Leader, Adeshina Shojobi; Senatorial Women Leader Ogun East, Deborah Adewale; Assistant State Secretary, Olatunde Abolade, Abel Olaleye and Abayomi Collins. Their dismissal was miffed with accusation and counter-accusation by the party’s hierarchy, which saw the National Chairman of the party labelled Obi’s DG sacking as “fake news.” Abure claimed that the state executives had no locus standi to remove him. But rising from an emergency meeting of the NWC in Abuja, the National Secretary of Labour Party, Umar Farouk, announced the sacking of the LP spokesperson, dissolution of its state chapter in Ogun and suspension of its chairman and other executives. Ad According to him, the party can no longer condone such anti-party activities among its rank and file. He said, “The acting National Publicity Secretary has been relieved of his appointment by the National Working Committee. A disciplinary committee has also been constituted to investigate his anti-party activities as a member of the Labour Party. “The Ogun State chapter of the party has also been dissolved and the chairman and its exco suspended. A caretaker will be appointed to take care for the party’s activities in the state. They will also be investigated by the disciplinary committee for anti-party activities. “The NWC has also unanimously passed a vote of confidence on the leadership of the National Chairman, Julius Abure. Consequently, we call on the party members to adhere strictly to the provision of the Constitution and Code of Conduct of the party. We also call on the general public to have more confidence in the party as the leadership of the party is working very hard to ensure that we are not distracted. The bad elements and the Judas among us will be fished out gradually and punished in accordance with the Constitution of the party. We also called on Nigerians to disregard any negative information spread by some miscreants as the party’s loyalists, whereas we have found out they are acting out the script of our opposition.”

  The Senate on Friday screened the two newly re-appointed deputy governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria and backed down on the planned grilling of the officials on the cash withdrawal limit policy unveiled by the apex bank on Tuesday. The Red chamber had on Wednesday at the plenary commissioned the committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to get clarifications from the apex bank chiefs when screening them for their re-appointment. Controversies have continued to trail the planned policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria to limit cash withdrawal for individuals to N100,000 and Corporate Bodies N500, 000 per week, the apex bank chiefs, however, told the Senate Committee that it was high time Nigeria embraced the policy. Our correspondent observed that the senators simply asked for an explanation from the deputy governors without further probing into the policy’s details. The Deputy Governor of CBN on Financial System Stability, Mrs Aishat Ahmad, explained that the policy was introduced in 2012 during former President Good luck Jonathan’s administration and extended to Abuja and six other states in 2013. She told the committee that the cashless policy being fully implemented by CBN now is not new, as required steps in that direction, were taken in 2012 with Lagos State as a pilot scheme and Abuja and Six other states in 2013. Ahmad added, “Though full implementation of the policy has not been carried out by CBN since then, its introduction has brought a lot of transformation in the banking and payment system. She added, “The required infrastructure for its implementation in terms of financial access point system, mobile money, E-naira, etc, are available across the 774 local government councils in the country. “All fears and worries being expressed by Nigerians about the planned limited cash withdrawal policy are seriously being taken care of as nobody or a section of Nigerians, will be left out. “In the past, banking transactions in Nigeria were limited to Bank Branches alone as the only means, which has now expanded into multiple electronic platforms as well as a geometrical increase in the number of agents from 88,000 to 1.4 million.” The CBN chief, however, said that the Apex bank is flexible and will be ready to accommodate opinions that won’t make the policy strenuous to any category of Nigerians during implementation. After her presentation, the Committee chaired by Senator Uba Sani ( APC Kaduna Central), asked that the CBN chiefs ‘take a bow and go’ as moved by the Whip of the Senate who doubles as the deputy chairman of the committee, Senator Orji Kalu (APC, Abia North) and seconded by Senator Danjuma Goje (APC,Gombe Central). Sani said, “With the presentation made by the Deputy Governor of CBN on Financial System Stability, Aisha Ahmad, on the planned limited cash withdrawal, required information on the merits of the policy has been given and will be communicated to the Senate in plenary through our report. “The two Deputy Governors, having earlier been screened before serving their first tenures, need not to again as unanimously agreed by members of the Committee. They should therefore take a bow and go.” Some of the senators present at the screening were Betty Apiafi,(PDP, Rivers West); Seriake Dickson(Bayelsa West), Uche Ekwenife,(PDP, Anambra West) Central); Yusuf Yusuf,( APC,Taraba Central); Ibrahim Danbaba(APC Sokoto South); Yakubu Oseni(Kogi Central); Istifanus Gyang, (Plataeu North); Bello Mandiya,(APC Katsina South); Sani Musa, (Niger East); Onyebuchi Ezenwa,(Imo East); Olubunmi Adetunmi, (Ekiti North) and Lawali Anka (Zamfara West)

  A group of human rights advocates under the aegis of Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre on Friday knocked the Federal Government for flouting the Court of Appeal ruling regarding the continuous detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. The Executive Director of Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, Clement Nwankwo, expressed his reservation at a press conference held in Abuja to commemorate the global Human Rights Day. A Federal Court of Appeal in Abuja had ruled that the FG breached all local and international laws in its forceful rendition of Kanu to Nigeria, an action that nullified the charges of terrorism charges against him. Despite the judgment given for Kanu’s release, the administration of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has refused his release. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had said that the IPOB leader was only acquitted and not released, insisting that the FG would pursue other charges against Kanu. Bemoaning what he termed an obvious abuse of human rights, Nwankwo, expressed concerns that Nigeria was gradually drifting away from its responsibilities as enshrined in the country’s constitution and various international human rights treaty obligations. According to him, not only has the country failed to protect its citizens from the erosion of their basic and fundamental rights, the government was often found complicit in actions that deny rather than enhance those rights. Ad He said, “For instance, an October 13 ruling by the Court of Appeal specifically reprimanded the government for its role in abducting a wanted citizen from a foreign country without due process in order to bring him for trial. “Such an illegal action by the government in the terrorism and treasonable felony trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, nullified the government’s case, making it ‘untriable’ in Nigeria, the court said in its landmark ruling. “But the government has persisted in its ways by disregarding the court ruling and seeking an appeal at the same time. Both the federal and state governments have also demonstrated a lack of tolerance for criticism. “They have often chosen to clamp down on critics by deploying regulatory powers, citing bogus laws and using security forces. Examples include the ban of Twitter and the numerous occasions where government officials, including the president’s wife, unlawfully arrest and detain critics and journalists.” The human rights advocate recommended a change in attitude where the government sees itself as the prime defender of human rights rather than their prime violator. A worried Nwankwo also stated that there was an urgent need to tackle the grazing conflict sweeping the country as it’s directly implicated in food shortages and their rising costs. “The government should redouble efforts to tackle pervasive insecurity in the country and reassert its control over the country’s territory, the report said. “PLAC called on the authorities to launch investigations into allegations that some members of the security forces are showing partisanship to some sides in the grazing conflict, to nip such practices in the bud, if true, and boost the citizens’ trust in the armed forces,” he said.

  Mbaitolu in Imo State and its environs on Friday afternoon came under heavy attack by gunmen enforcing the five-day sit-at-home order. The gunmen, who struck at different locations, killed a policeman and Prince Iheme, an elder brother to movie superstar, Osita Iheme aka Pawpaw. The gunmen also macheted Commissioner for Solid Minerals, Martin Eke. It was learnt the gunmen who rode in Trundra operational vehicles shot sporadically forcing people to scamper for safety. While businesses abruptly wounded up, the roads were deserted as motorists abandoned their vehicles and ran helter skelter. At Orji, near Owerri, the state capital, the gunmen wearing black clothes in three vehicles attacked residents and passersby, including policemen. Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that the gunmen met policemen at 7up junction at Orji and shot one cop dead. He said: ” They just killed a policemen now. They opened fire on them and were shouting there is sit at home. We have asked you to go home. Stay in doors.” Another eyewitness said: ” I just escaped death by a whiskers now. They stopped before us and shot in the eye and asked us to go home. They didn’t shot at us maybe because I was in the midst of some elderly women.” It was also gathered that the fleeing gunmen also shot repeatedly at Nkwo-Orji market before taking off towards the Okigwe Road. At Ubomri in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area, the gunmen attacked the convey of the All Progressives Congress candidate for Mbaitoli/ Ikeduru Federal Constituency, Akarachi Amadi. While Prince Iheme was killed on the spot, Eke was matcheted. The source stressed: “Prince Iheme was riding in the same vehicle with the commissioner for solid minerals, Martin Eke. Prince Iheme who is Pawpaw’s elder brother was killed on the spot. The commissioner who was sworn in two weeks ago was cut badly. He has just been rushed to a hospital. They were driving in a Ford vehicle. I pray he makes it. Reacting, IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful called on the people to lynch anybody enforcing sit- at-home in the Southeast. He said: “We told them to lynch anybody who is trying to enforce sit-at-home or they call the number given to them to call so ESN operatives can appear to that place.” Imo Police spokesman Michael Abattam, was yet to respond to an inquiry on the incidents. Credit: TheNation

  Festus Okoye, national commissioner for information at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says the bimodal voter automated system (BVAS) has been deployed to 30 states ahead of the upcoming elections. Okoye spoke on Thursday during a workshop on election reporting organised by the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNFJ). BVAS is a device introduced by INEC for the accreditation of voters through biometrics capturing, uploading of polling results and other functions. The device has been described by stakeholders as a game-changer in the country’s electoral process. However, some politicians and political parties have continuously criticised the effectiveness of the device. Speaking on the development at the workshop, Okoye said no amount of protest can stop the usage in the 2023 election. He added that the use of BVAS is stipulated in the Electoral Act 2022, adding that it will be deployed to all states of the federation before the end of December. “I have said it and I want to repeat it, even if you protest from now till tomorrow against the BVAS the commission must deploy it,” Okoye said. “I was in Lagos with the chairman last week and we went to the international wing of the airport, where the Nigerian Airforce were loading the BVAS meant for the states in the federation. “As of today, we have already delivered to location BVAS for the conduct of elections for 30 states. “Before the end of December, the BVAS for the conduct of elections for all the states of Nigeria will be where we want them to be.”

  Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has faulted the 48-hour ultimatum by the Department of State Services (DSS) to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and oil marketers to end the lingering fuel scarcity in the country over security threats. DSS Spokesman, Peter Afunanya, on Thursday, stated that failure to make Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) available to Nigerians would prompt the services to activate its operations across the country. However, Falana who made a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday described the ultimatum as an empty threat. He stressed that the NNPC had the responsibility of supplying petroleum products to all parts of Nigeria, adding that if the organisation failed to carry out its duty, the Federal Government was obliged to call the officials to order and possibly relieve them of their responsibilities. “(As) you know, every year, at the end of the year – once it is Christmas – there must be artificial supply of fuel,” he said. “The ultimatum will not work because there is no sanction for impunity in Nigeria. “The State Security Service (SSS) does not operate under the law in Nigeria. It does its own thing. There is nobody to call the agency to order. They will know that it’s just an empty threat because nobody is going to be arrested and prosecuted to teach a lesson. “The other day, toxic fuel was brought to Nigeria. The government promised, ‘We’re going to deal with them, it will never happen again.’ Was anybody arrested? Was anybody prosecuted? It’s the same thing because they know the people behind it. It’s like oil theft. They know them.” Falana acknowledged the security concerns of the secret service, attributing the threat to economic sabotage. According to him, the continued presence of long queues at filling stations could lead to “serious security problems.” Citing the constitution, the senior lawyer noted that the police was saddled with the responsibility of maintaining internal security in the country. In the event that the police cannot maintain adequate internal security, Falana said the president is empowered to call in the military. “So, this agency is a secret agency required to submit reports: ‘We fear that there will be a threat to the security in Nigeria.’ And the president will then take appropriate action. We must run this country in line with the provisions of the law. “That (enactment establishing the DSS) is a decree made by the military. But now, we have the constitution. Section 215 has imposed a duty on the police to maintain the internal security of the country. “But what the SSS – not DSS; it is not a department of state security. It is not a department of the Presidency. It’s the State Security Service for all of us. That body is required to submit reports to the government: ‘This problem may lead to insecurity. What can we do very quickly?’ The internal security of our country is the role of the police,” he said. Scarcity Amid Sufficiency Announcing the 48-hour ultimatum on Thursday, the DSS stated that the challenge of fuel scarcity had assumed a dimension that was detrimental to the security of the country. Afunanya, who spoke at the headquarters of the secret police in Abuja after over three hours closed-door meeting with stakeholders in the petroleum sector, confirmed the availability of PMS during and after the Yuletide season. For weeks, vehicle owners especially in Lagos and Abuja have had a tough time getting petrol from filling stations. Whilst many outlets are closed, the few ones that are open sell the indispensable commodity for as high as N250 per litre from the uniform price of N169/litre. The shortage of supply has led to long, grueling snake-like queues at the few open filling stations as motorists and business owners jostle to buy fuel while others resort to black market. The situation has also worsened traffic on major roads as vehicle owners block at least one lane to join queues to filling stations.

  The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, says the newly redesigned Naira notes are already in banks and ready for issuance. According to a statement in CBN’s official twitter handle, Emefiele said so in Daura while on a visit to brief President Muhanmadu Buhari on the Naira redesign and the recently reintroduced cashless policy. He said that the currency redesign and reintroduced cashless policies were not targeted at anybody but are for the good and development of the Nigerian economy. He urged Nigerians to embrace the various electronic channels available for banking and financial service transactions in Nigeria. “The newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes are now in banks and ready for issuance to members of the public. “The currency redesign and reintroduced cashless policies are not targeted at anybody but are for the good and development of the Nigerian economy. ” The CBN deferred the cashless policy severally to prepare and deepen Nigeria’s payments system infrastructure,” he said. Emefiele advised Nigerians to take their old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes to the banks before January 31, 2023, deadline. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the apex bank had announced plans to redesign certain denominations of the Naira during its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Oct. 26. It, thus, set Dec. 15 as the official start date for the circulation of the new naira notes, which President Muhammadu Buhari, unveiled on Nov. 23. The CBN also, recently, issued a revised cash withdrawal policy, stating that cash withdrawals above N100,000 and N500,000 for individuals and corporate organisations will henceforth attract five per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives at Thursday plenary asked the apex bank to suspend implementation of the cash withdrawal policy. The leguslators asked Emefiele to appear next Thursday, to explain to the House on the impact and significance of the new policy. The suspension is to last pending the outcome of the expected engagement with the House on the compliance with the relevant sections of the CBN act and the 1999 constitution on the monetary policies of the CBN. (NAN]