PPMC urges MOMAN to regulate fuel supply to stations near borders
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by edith ike-eboh6 he encouraged nnpcppmc management to sustain the tempo of petroleum products supply to moman to ensure product availability at all times. nan1 ajiya in a statement issued by the nigerian national petroleum corporationsnnpc spokesman mr ndu ughamadu in abuja on wednesday said it would stem cross border leakages and forestall attendant product price hikes1 he said that price arbitrage and differential between regulated price in nigeria and the high product prices in neighbouring countries encouraged smuggling1 ajiya noted that moman and its members remained most reliable in the nigerian downstream petroleum sector distribution network1 he advised that members of the association should endeavour to increase the respective storage in their depots and stations to avoid stock-out as the yuletide approached1 he said that nnpcppmc had enough stock of premium motor spirit pms otherwise called petrol as well as other products adding that the companys petrol stock alone would last about 45days1 the managing director of the petroleum products marketing company ppmc mr umar ajiya has urged major marketers association of nigeria moman to regulate the volume of petroleum products dispatched to their member stations close to the borders1 we have 2.2 billion litres of petrol 1.1 on land and 1.1 on marine 800 million litres in ppmc depots in addition to 27-day sufficiency of ago 98-day sufficiency of atk and 48-day sufficiency of dpk ajiya said1 he implored moman to take advantage of the nnpcppmc stock sufficiency and request for products to always wet membersstations across the country1 he further disclosed that nnpcppmc had stocked-in products in the nine inland depots including enugu and aba and would commence selling by saturday1 this he said was with a view to forestalling frequent shortages being experienced during christmas and new year in the eastern part of the country1 on his part moman executive secretary mr clement isong said the association was committed to wetting stations in state capitals and other locations across the country1 we are ready to support nnpcppmc to flood the nation with products during the yuletide season and beyond as we go into general elections next year isong said1 according to him the target is to get the sufficiency level to 50 days1

NLC strike: No need for panic buying of PMS NNPC
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by edith ike-eboh6 the nigerian national petroleum corporation nnpc has assured motorists that it has adequate petroleum products that will serve the nation irrespective of the proposed strike by the nigerian labour congress1 the corporation gave the assurance in a statement by its spokesman mr ndu ughamadu in abuja on sunday1 the corporation had 39 days petroleum products sufficiency and about 25 days products availability on land1 motorists and other consumers of petroleum products are assured of adequate stock to meet their energy needs he said1 ughamadu further dispelled insinuations of any impending petroleum products scarcity in the country1 he said that providing information on the petroleum products stock level became imperative to dispel suggestions that the threat of strike by the nigeria labour congress nlc would result in a slip into a round of products shortages across the country1 ughamadu advised motorists not to engage in panic buying as the corporation would do all it could to ensure the strike did not impact negatively on fuel distribution nationwide1 he urged nigerians to remain vigilant and volunteer information to the department of petroleum resources dpr or any law enforcement agency around them on any station that attempts to take advantage of any prevailing situation in the country at the expense of the consumers.nan1

NEITI wants action on remediation issues from audit report
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by edith ike-eboh6 if we have been implementing recommendations of auditors some of the corruption issues in the sector could have been reduced he said. nan1 neiti executive secretary mr waziri adio made the call in abuja at a national conference on remedial issues with the theme resolving remedial issues in the neiti report1 he named some of the unresolved remediation issues are cash call expenditure domestic crude allocation and management unlimited crude oil lifting by npdc and incomplete reporting by cbn1 others he said include undisclosed education tax liability inadequate measurement infrastructure in oil and gas industry unreconciled subsidy payments among others1 he said that it was unfortunate that most of the issues raised through the various reports of neiti had never been addressed adding that the inter-ministerial task team imtt had not functioned effectively1 this is because most people sent to represent some of the agencies indicted by some of reports are jurnior workers that may not be able to say anything about their organisation1 unfortunately there is nothing in the neiti act that allows it to punish those who do not undertake the right things1 the nigeria extractive industry transparency initiative neiti on monday called for urgent action on some of the remediation issues identified in its audit reports on the industry to ensure value on investment1 he said that there was the need for high profile people to attend the imtt to enable it tackle some of the remediation issues1 adio suggested that political authorities should invest energy to strengthen the imtt because they were key for results to be achieved1 for instance if the office of the vice president calls for a meeting and all stakeholders involved in the issues are invited and are asked to give a feedback they will respond quickly1 remedial issues is too big to be left for neiti because it has no powers he said1 also mr kolawole banwo chairperson civil society steering committee on neiti board said that said that much time was vested in discussing remediation issues other than action taken1 he said that government must demonstrate commitment on how to deal with the issues to ensure value for money spent1 for instance neiti cannot punish nigerian national petroleum corporationnnpc department of petroleum resources or other organizations indicted by the report he said1

Kachikwu, Baru advocate gas economy for Nigeria
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by edith ike-eboh6 he said that a review of the 2008 gas policy was on going to tackle all issues concerning the gas sector1 they both made the assertion on monday at the nigerian gas association 11th international conference and exhibition holding in abuja1 presenting a keynote address baru said nigeria was more of a gas than an oil nation1 he spoke on the topic gas as catalyst for sustainable national growth1 with the huge deposit of gas in the country it is germane that we leverage on the potential to grow our economy1 gas has significant impact on the gross domestic product gdp as it impacts on agriculture power and other sectors which influences economic growth he said1 he noted that in the last eight years government had invested in about 500 km of gas pipeline infrastructure adding that there was the need for more to be done1 in the last eight years we have completed and commissioned over 500 km gas pipelines which are now delivering gas to our power plants and industries1 some of the completed pipelines include the oben-geregu 196km escarvos-warri-oben 110km emuren-itoki 50km itoki-olurunshogo 31km imo river -alaoji 24km and ukanafun-calabar pipelines 128km1 he said that the corporation under the current administration had invested in gas pipeline projects and also signed mous on gas development1 baru said the nnpc is completing the construction of the 48 inches by 130km obiafu-obrikom-oben 0b3 east-west interconnection pipelines which would deliver 2bscdf of gas1 dr maikanti baru group managing director nigerian national petroleum corporate nnpc and minister of state for petroleum resources dr ibe kachikwu said the huge gas deposit in the country was a veritable tool for economic diversification1 in addition we are completing the expansion of the existing escravos to lagos pipeline elps to double the installed capacity of elps from 1.1bscfd to 2.2bscfd1 this will be commissioned by the end of this year he added1 commenting on gas production he said that the current average gas production in the country was in the region of 8.5bscfd out of which about 43 per cent or 3.7bscfd was exported1 he added that 3.2 per cent or 2.7bscfd was utilised for gas re-injection or gas lift 18 per cent or 1.5 bscfdwas for domestic and industrial use1 according to him the balance of 7 per cent or 0.6bscfd is flared daily1 this he said was unfortunate adding that efforts were on to stop the gas flaring1 baru further noted that pipeline vandalism funding among others remained a major challenge in the effort to develop the sector1 in his remarks kachikwu reiterated the need to create enabling environment for gas to lead in the economic diversification in the country1 he said that nigeria had all it takes to broaden its economy through gas given its huge deposit of natural gas1 the minister commended entrepreneurs striving to develop the sector andassured of improved policy and legal framework for the growth of the sector1 we expect to complete and commission this pipeline early 20191

NTYR: Nigerias future is 2019 Onyeizu
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by edith ike-eboh6 one must persist in the present only then will what we seek to achieve tomorrow happen1 truly in most countries of the world the youths are gradually becoming presidents members of legislative houses and cabinet ministers among others1 however in nigeria prior to the signing into law of the not too young to run ntyr act the hope of any young man aspiring to the leadership position in the countrys polity was a herculean task1 of the few young persons who managed to grab political positions majority of them were either children of renowned politicians sponsored by a god-father who is an elder or very loyal to an older politician1 this however does not include the few that genuinely got the position because of their qualification professional expertise and character1 in nigeria presently the least average age of people in political positions is 50 years1 today not content anymore with the way things are going many young people appear to have become tired realizing that they have only been tools to attain power many young nigerians are readying to challenge the older politicians at the poll1 tired of waiting for a future that never comes they have decided to seek elective office in 20191 there are those whose only claim to seeking office is their age. entitled they feel since they are young and having been promised leadership positions for many years then they should be given the chance to run for office freely1 however oneman chinedu onyeizu does not feel he belong to the above category and is determied that even without the ntyr he can join the race1 i know it will not be easy he said. as a matter of fact i do not expect it to be easy but the time to act is now. the older politicians have failed us we cannot keep sitting on the sidelines and be tools for their continuous hold on power1 but then when you follow his lifes trajectory from such tough beginnings how he finished secondary school with distinctions and graduated from the federal university of technology in owerri where he studied petroleum engineering it becomes clearer the kind of person chinedu is the kind that can surmount such modest beginnings and turn it into one great success story1 when nigeria holds its next national election in 2019 chinedu onyeizu is hoping to represent the people of abia south at the senate1 since his nysc years in bayelsa state in 2003 where his empathy for the poor and less privileged led to a humanitarian work that helped restore the sight of over 67 cataract-blind bayelsans its been one success story to another1 his desire to help the over 67 blind bayelsans began with a relationship with a 75-year-old blind man. normally many nysc members before him would take the easier paths and do projects that didnt require much effort but not chinedu1 to restore the sight of the people of his host community meant he had to invite specialists from foreign countries1 luckily he found an organization that does it free in the uk. but he needed the state governments involvement to help out with their transportation within the state and to ensure their safety in a region where militants are known to kidnap foreign nationals for ransom1 from this point it became a slippery slope of challenges. government officials that normally should be excited became stumbling blocks with almost everyone wanting something in return before they could offer any assistance1 helping to restore the sight of those blind bayelsans taught me something very important. i learned doggedness and that when you want something if you persevere you will eventually get what you want chinedu said1 having been stonewalled by difficult government officials and feeling frustrated chinedu kept pushing. his persistence eventually paid off on the last day when the specialists arrived at the port harcourt international airport and were on their way to bayelsa1 someone linked him with former nigerias president goodluck jonathan who was at the time the deputy governor of bayelsa. jonathan granted his request for transportation and security. the rest is history1 for several years the world over youths have been consistently referred to as the leaders of tomorrow giving hope to young people that one day they would be at the helms of affairs of their various countries1 during this period he developed a method to convert flared natural gas to hydrate balls and also proposed an innovative means of transporting the gas balls to shore for re-gasification and electricity generation1 it is no surprise that in 2006 he went on to win the best young engineer in west africa award for developing a geospatial model for oil spill tracking in nigerias oil-rich niger-delta region1 the award was given by uk based pennwell petroleum group organizers of the offshore west africa conference1 in 2007 chinedu joined chevron nigeria as a petroleum engineer and during his time there he worked in eight upstream petroleum asset development units and led many multi-functional teams across the globe1 he was also assigned to manage several multi-million dollar projects for the organization and in 2012 he was selected to represent chevrons mid-africa business units in louisiana usa gulf of mexico to lead her upstream workflow transformation project1 nine years after joining chevron in 2016 and in an act of selfless service to nigeria chinedu left the high paying job to search for a permanent solution to nigerias frequent fuel scarcity and distribution problem1 this drive to help solve one of the countrys pertinent economic challenges led him to mit where he was selected as a sloan fellow and in his research again suggested actionable recommendations that could solve nigerias fuel distribution problems1 his recommendations was published on the july 2017 edition of mits expert blog and passed on to the government for consideration1 the next year in 2017 chinedu co-founded an africa focused think tank and strategy consulting group called afri-pera. the company works with national and regional governments in africa to solve their policy and development challenges1 these days he spends his time on the board of rhino group of companies and the chinedu onyeizu foundation cof while remaining an active member of the international society of petroleum engineers and represents chevron on the global production and operations award committee of the organization1 you will agree that all these are no easy feat for a small-town aba boy whose early education was under mango trees1 onyeizu is not only young more importantly he is vibrant and a good replacement to the current old recycled politician whose track record at the senate has been poor selfish representation1 from his humble beginnings in the village of abayi umuocham chinedu onyeizu has shown that with persistence and an understanding of urgency anyone can be anything they set their mind to1 he said there is no greater achievement to giving back to an aba that made me what i am today. i am proudly an aba boy. aba has given me so much and it is only proper that i give back1 also his campaign manager and long-time friend mr. ojo maduekwe maintained that listening to onyeizu one gets the feeling of a man whos had to surmount challenges in all that hes achieved in life beginning from his early school years in nigeria1 according to maduekwe this culminated in him going abroad to further his education in some of the best higher institutions in the world such as the harvard kennedy school heriot-watt university and the massachusetts institute of technology mit1 he said born and raised in aba abia state chinedu began his education in a village primary school at abayi umuocham. when he told me during our conversation that they were taught only mathematics and english and that classes were held under mango trees it sounded like something made out of folklore1 absolutely not this is not those tales by moonlight kind of stories this is real. i schooled in the village and we had our classes under mango trees. this is the kind of humble beginning that was my childhood he assured me chuckling1 as we rounded up the meeting chinedu seemed to remember something vital1 before i forget bayelsa also taught me something about urgency. the future might be tomorrow but the time to act is always now1 after nysc in 2004 chinedu joined the petroleum trust development fund ptdf gas research group as a research associate and for three years worked on innovative ways to harness nigerias deepwater stranded gas resources1

Ahiara Diocese: Pope calls for Ecclesiastical cleansing
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by edith ike-eboh6 his resignation was accepted and most rev lucius ugorji bishop of umuahia diocese was appointed as the new apostolic administrator of the diocese.nan1 popes directive was conveyed in a letter read at the 2018 chrism mass on wednesday in abuja1 chrism mass is an annual mass celebrated in every catholic diocese by the bishop at the mass the priests renew their vows and the three oils used in the church are also blessed by the bishop1 the chrism mass ushers in the easter tridum last supper good friday and holy saturday1 the letter which was read by rev fr rowland nwakpuda at our lady queen of nigeria pro-cathedral said that the pope called for spiritual rebirth of the ahiara diocese1 john cardinal oniayekan the catholic arch bishop of abuja said that he received the papal letter and was asked that it should be read to all the catholic faithful in nigeria1 he said that certain decisions had been taken by the pope concerning the diocese and the church of nigeria would continue to wait and would respect the orders of the pope1 oniayekan said that the holy father condemned the irresponsible and unfortunate act of the ahiara priests and noted that the whole church had been affected by it1 pope francis has called for ecclesiastical cleansing of the ahiara catholic diocese to intercede for gods love and mercies for all the faithful in the diocese1 he added that the pope called on all catholic bishops of nigeria to ensure spiritual rebirth of the church in ahiara1 oniayekan quoted the pope as saying that the priest of ahiara diocese should renew their priestly vows with commitment and show honest solidarity to the church1 the bishop said that that the holy father in the letter noted that he received 200 letters of apology from the ahiara priests and had responded to each person individually1 every priest should renew their vows publicly also the lay faithful pope said1 the pope also urged the laity to ensure that they helped their priests to do the right thing as he still had special interest in the diocese1 the clergy and the laity of the catholic diocese of ahiara-mbaise in imo state had refused to accept bishop okpalaekes appointment as their local ordinary on grounds that he is an mbaise indigene1 the stalemate lingered as the priests of ahiara insisted that one of the priests of the mbaise origin should be chosen as the bishop of ahiara1 okpalaekehad on february 14 2018 written to the vatican asking that he be relieved of the diocese headship and be posted to any other area of assignment where god and the holy father may deem fit to enable him continue in service1 onaiyekan said that pope commended the humility of bishop peter okparaeke who resigned his appointment as the bishop of the diocese1