The Federal Executive Council has approved a $21 million project to install metres at all 187 crude oil flow stations in the Niger Delta. The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, announced this at a media briefing in Abuja on Friday, saying that the initiative aims to ensure accurate accounting of the country’s crude oil production using digital platforms. Lokpobiri also mentioned that part of this digital strategy includes implementing a system to track all crude oil vessels from their point of origin in the Niger Delta to their final destinations worldwide. “One of the key approvals of the Federal Executive Council that held on Wednesday has to do with awarding a contract of metering of about 187 flow stations across the Niger Delta region of Nigeria for the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). “NUPRC is the apex regulatory agency for the Nigerian oil and gas upstream sector. And as part of our steps to ensure that we have proper accountability, the Federal Executive Council approved the metering of all our production and we have a hundred and eighty seven flow stations in the country littered across the Niger Delta area. “There was a contract awarded for us to metre all flow stations that will give us a proper account of what we produce and what we export. It is a major development that has never happened in this country.”   The Minister stated that this project is meant to be completed in six months, within a hundred and eighty days. Lokpobiri also disclosed that another memo was approved by FEC for “advance cargo”, which tracks when cargo is loaded at terminals, all the way to the point of destination. “The second memo that was approved by council has to do with what we call advance cargo which means you award a contract to a company that will provide the technology within the same period (180 days) to enable us know from the point of loading of every cargo of crude oil that is loaded in Nigeria up to the point of destination,” he said. He added that this will ensure cargo loading is monitored through digital technology until it is delivered at the final destination.

  Many are feared trapped as a two-storey residential building located in Phase Two, Site Two in the Kubwa area of the Federal Capital Territory collapsed on Saturday.   The building, it was gathered collapsed around 7 am. Details about the incident are still sketchy as of the time of filing this report. The spokesperson for the FCT Emergency Management Agency, Nkechi Isa, said their search and rescue team are at the scene. Details later ….

  Analysis of data on the admissions conducted for the 2022/2023 admission session in Nigerian universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions of learning revealed that 88 institutions conducted admissions outside of the Central Admissions Processing System popularly referred to as CAPS. According to JAMB, admissions conducted outside CAPS are illegal, null and void. JAMB had in 2017 introduced the Central Admissions Processing System where all tertiary institutions upload the admission status of candidates offered admission in the institutions. CAPS has centralised and automated admission processes between candidates and their chosen tertiary institutions. In 2020, JAMB warned institutions to stop offering admissions to candidates through their own portals. The board described the practice as a flagrant abuse of the automated Central Admissions Processing System. In April 2024, the board noted that it would no longer condone illegal admissions conducted outside of the CAPS. The board in a bulletin warned candidates to desist from accepting admissions offered by the institutions without going through it. In the statement titled, ‘Cessation of illegal/irregular admission’, JAMB reiterated that all applications of admissions to first degree, national diploma, national innovation diploma and the Nigeria Certificate in Education into full-time, distance learning, part-time, outreach, sandwich, etc., must be processed only through JAMB. In a report tagged, ‘Compiled assessment of institutions on compliance with the 2022/2023 admission guidelines’, the board noted that it scored institutions who complied fully with admission guidelines 10 points; those with partial compliance, five points, while those institutions who failed to comply were awarded zero point. Under the section for the conduct of full admissions on CAPS, our correspondent observed that 88 institutions failed to comply. Some of the institutions are the University of Uyo, University of Abuja, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Yaba College of Technology, Plateau State University, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Coal City University, Crawford University, Crescent University, Ebonyi State University, Rhema University, Borno State University, Chrisland University, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Alvan Ikoku College of Education, and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu University.

  The Plateau State Government says 22 persons have died and one hundred and thirty-two persons injured after a school collapsed in the Busa Buji, Jos North Local Government Area of the state. The Plateau State Commissioner for Information and Communication Musa Ashoms said this in a Friday evening statement. “As of 6:00 pm, 154 people have been rescued from the debris. Sadly, 22 individuals have been confirmed deceased,” the statement read. “Injured students and staff are receiving medical treatment at various hospitals across Jos.” Ashoms had earlier visited the scene of the collapsed two-storey structure and said while the school had a population of 400 students, the section that was affected had about 200 persons. ADVERTISEMENT He said emergency workers took the survivors to hospital. “To ensure prompt medical attention, the government has directed all major hospitals in Jos to prioritize treatment of the victims, regardless of documentation or payment,” the commissioner said. “Governor Barrister Mutfwang has specifically instructed these hospitals to accommodate all those affected by the collapse.” ‘Not A Very Strong Structure’ Ashom lamented that the collapsed structure did not meet the standards for buildings and warned schools that have similar structures to shut down. “You can see that it is by the river bank and, from your eye evaluation, you know that it is not a very strong structure,” he said. “We are calling on other schools that didn’t follow plans that have similar issues to close down in the interest of our state in the interest of our people, because we have established a committee to go around,” the commissioner said. Frequent Collapses Building disasters are fairly common in Africa’s most populous nation because of lax enforcement of construction standards, negligence, and low-quality materials. At least 45 people were killed in 2021 when a high-rise building under construction collapsed in the upscale Ikoyi district in Nigeria’s economic capital Lagos. Ten people were killed when a three-storey building collapsed in the Ebute-Metta area of Lagos the year after. Since 2005, at least 152 buildings have collapsed in Lagos, according to a South African university researcher investigating construction disasters. Bad workmanship, low-grade materials, and corruption to bypass official oversight are often blamed.

  Meta said Friday it was lifting restrictions on US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, ending measures put in place after his supporters violently stormed the US Capitol in 2021. It said that “former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties.” Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended indefinitely a day after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and it was determined he had praised people engaged in violence on social media. His accounts were reinstated in February 2023 but with a threat of penalties for future breaches — an additional restriction that Meta lifted on Friday. “In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis,” Meta wrote in a blog post.   It added that US presidential candidates “remain subject to the same Community Standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including those policies designed to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence.” Trump, the first former president to be convicted of a crime, was also banned from Twitter and YouTube. While those restrictions were later lifted last year, Trump now mainly communicates on his own social media platform, Truth Social. His Facebook profile, which has 34 million users, includes messages originally published on Truth Social as well as invitations to rallies and videos from his campaign. AFP

  Saturday 13 July 2024 Monitor govs, track LG funds, ALGON, NULGE tell NFIU Biden refuses to quit campaign train as pressure mounts Danger within: How blood-thirsty house helps kill bosses in cold blood Soyinka, Nigeria shining light – Tinubu Meta lifts bans on Trump’s Facebook, Instagram accounts Supreme Court Verdict On LG Autonomy Relieves Burden On Us, Say Governors Forex: CBN Sells $122.67m To 46 Authorised Dealers Tinubu Renames National Theatre After Soyinka Alleged ₦33bn Money Laundering: Court Grants Former Minister Of Power ₦10bn Bail Tinubu Names New MD, Board Chairman For NPA Army Chief Pledges To Address Security Threats In South-East I Have Left PDP, Close To Joining APC — Bwala FG approves $21m contract for metering 187 flow stations to curb oil theft Return of suicide bombers: We’re back to our worst nightmare —Northern leaders lament Plateau school collapse deaths huge loss to Nigeria — Tinubu   Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  Governor of Kwara State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, has said that the forum welcomed the ruling of the Supreme Court granting autonomy to local government areas. AbdulRazaq said the verdict of the court is a relief from the burdens on the governors. AbdulRazak accompanied by the Chairman, All Progressives Congress Governors Forum, Hope Uzodimma, and Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum, Dr Bala Mohammed, made the remark while addressing State House correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday. He added that compliance to the verdict is guaranteed, saying “our Attorney General has applied for the enrollment order, which we’ll study carefully.” “But by and large, governors are happy with the devolution of power in respect of local government autonomy. It relieves the burden on governors. “Our people really don’t know how much states expend in bailing out local governments, and that’s the issue there,” he said. AbdulRazaq said his government in Kwara State had never tampered with local government funds. “What the local governments have to do is to manage themselves, especially with the incoming minimum wage, to manage their affairs and make sure salaries are paid, traditional rulers get their five per cent and those are the main issues,” he said.   AbdulRazaq said the forum would meet next Wednesday to look into issues of states where local government elections are yet to be conducted. Recall the Supreme Court declared on Thursday that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated for local government administrations. The seven-man panel, in the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, declared that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves. The apex court held that the power of the government is portioned into three arms of government, the federal, the state and the local government. The court further declared that a state government has no power to appoint a caretaker committee and a local government council is only recognisable with a democratically elected government. The court stated that it is the local government that should receive and manage funds meant for local government. The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Federal Government, seeking to grant full autonomy and direct funding to all 774 local government councils in the country.