NEWS
Reps Urge NNPC to Revisit Biomass Ethanol Project
The House of Representatives has urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to revisit the Biomass Ethanol Project abandoned in Benue State.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Sekav Iyortyom (APC-Benue) during plenary in Abuja on Thursday.
The motion is titled, “Revitalisation of the Biomass Ethanol Project Abandoned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Benue State.
”He said in 2017, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the NNPC Ltd.
and the Benue State Government on the Biomass Ethanol Project in Benue State.He said it was aimed at establishing a biogas cogeneration plant that would generate 64 megawatts of electricity, carbon dioxide recovery and bottling plant to produce 2000 tonnes annually and an animal feed plan.
He noted that the NNPCL was mandated by the Federal Government in 2005 to establish a domestic fuel ethanol industry, reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported gasoline, and environmental pollution, and create a sustainable commercial sector.
He said as part of the August 2005 Federal Government directive, the NNPCL was directed to establish a fuel ethanol industry in six geo-political zones of Nigeria to improve automotive fossil fuel quality.
The project included a sugar cane feedstock plantation, a sugar mill, and a fuel ethanol processing plant.
“The House is also cognizant that the Benue State Government and Nigerian NNPCL have provided 50,000 hectares of unencumbered land, completed a perimeter survey,
“Also, a topographical survey for engineering designs, educated and mobilised local communities for the project, while NNPCL has completed feasibility studies, an environmental impact assessment, and has unannounced core investors.
He said the NNPCL, the Benue State Government, and the Federal Government had spent millions of dollars on the Biofuel ethanol project.
He said the House was aware the project was aimed at reducing insecurity in North Central Nigeria, create over 10,000 jobs for farmers, and alleviate unemployment among the region’s youth and women,” the motion reads.
in its resolution, the House said the NNPCL should return the project to its original location as per the MoU between the NNPCL and the Benue State Government.
The House also mandated the Committee on Downstream Petroleum to invite the NNPCL to ascertain why the project was abandoned and the need for it to be revitalised.
The House also mandated the Committee on Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance.(NAN)
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit Zone C, says it intercepted contrabands with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N510.92 million between July 15th and September 15th, 2024.The zone covers the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone and the five states in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
This is contained in a statement signed by Jerry Attah, Public Relations Officer, NCS, Zone C, and made available to journalists on Wednesday. According to the statement, Comptroller Michael Ugbagu, NCS, Zone C, gave the statistics while showcasing the seized contraband to relevant regulatory agencies at the Government Warehouse in Edo.Ugbagu said that the zone also recovered the sum of N25.57 million from demand notices raised based on some infractions noticed, making a cumulative sum of N536.49 million recorded within the months under review.“The DPV was derived from our seized goods, which include 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without an NAFDAC number.“1,015 sacks of dry donkey meat and skin, 75 jumbo bales of second-hand clothing, 463 cartons of foreign spaghetti, 269 pieces of used pneumatic tires, and 56 cartons of smuggled foreign tomato paste.“More worrisome is the interception of 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without NAFDAC registration numbers.”He noted that the cough syrup with codeine and tramadol without NAFDAC registration numbers, if not intercepted, could have had adverse effects on youths.He added that the items were mostly intercepted along the Ewu-Okada/Benin expressways based on credible intelligence. (NAN)
The Forum of Stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has decried the deplorable condition of some federal roads in Nigeria. Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the North-Central Chairman of the forum, said this in an interaction with newsmen on Wednesday in Jos. Zazzaga described some of the federal roads as ”death traps”, particularly those within the north-central region.
He said that some of the deplorable roads in the region include Jos-Akwanga, Makurdi-Oturkpo-Otukpa, Makurdi-Ankpa, and Jos-Saminaka. Other roads that needed urgent attention, he said, included Suleja-Minna, Ejule-Otukpa, Ganawuri-Manchok, Lokoja-Abuja, Lapai-Agaie-Bida, Birnin-Gwari-Bokani-Mokwa, Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora. ”Currently, the north-central region has the most deplorable roads and highways in the country. ”These deplorable roads have brought severe hardship on the people and lost lives and property through preventable road traffic crashes. ”We call on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure the rehabilitation of these roads because good roads are vital enablers of development,” he said. The chairman also called on governors of states within the region to reconstruct the dilapidated roads and seek refunds from the federal government. ”Though these are largely federal roads, they are located within states, and the beneficiaries are the people of these states. ”So we call on state governments to reconstruct these roads and seek refunds from the federal government,” he added. (NAN
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 160 pips to 7.087 against the dollar on Wednesday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreigners exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)
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