NEWS
Atiku Tackles FG on AGIP/ENI Purchase, Subsidy, Detained Whistleblower
By David Torough, Abuja
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has asked the Federal Government to explain why Oando Plc owned by the President’s nephew, got an accelerated approval to buy the onshore assets of AGIP and ENI while other transactions such as the Shell/Renaissance deal and the Mobil/Seplat continue to suffer delays.
In a statement yesterday by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President also slammed the Bola Tinubu administration for implementing a sham subsidy regime as revealed in the financial statement recently released by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). “Tinubu visited the FMDQ in New York, visited Qatar, visited France where he told lies about removing petrol subsidies. Obviously, this is not a man who is serious about attracting FDI. More worrisome is that he is not even brave enough to admit that subsidy is being paid. The NNPCL admits that N7.8tn is owed to the national oil company by the Nigerian government.“IMF estimates that subsidy payments this year will constitute 3% of GDP, which is about $7.5bn. This will be about N11.8tn. Yet, the petrol scarcity continues to linger while the Tinubu administration continues to frustrate the Dangote Refinery and even its own NNPCL facilities. Obviously, the subsidy regime has become an even wider conduit pipe through which monies for funding the 2027 election will come from,” Atiku said.The former Vice President doubled down on his allegation that Oando was being given undue and preferential treatment in the oil and gas sector to the detriment of more competent investors.The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election also knocked the House of Representatives for failing to take proper action on the NNPCL which has now gone ahead to “mortgage the country’s national oil assets to vested interests”.Atiku said, “Within just eight months, the Nigerian Upstream Production Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) approved a deal which saw the divestment of ENI/AGIP onshore assets to Oando. Within that same period, Nigeria controversially withdrew all litigation against Shell/ENI in the OPL 245 scandal in what has been described as a quid pro quo.“However, the attempt by SEPLAT to buy Mobil’s onshore assets has continued to stall for the last three years even as the consent letter remains on Tinubu’s table. The deal between Renaissance and Shell continues to stall. In fact, the only deal that has fully scaled through so far is the one involving Oando. We now know why it got accelerated approval.“Ideally, democracy ought to be the government of the people, for the people, and by the people. But democracy in Nigeria has become the government of Tinubu, by Tinubu, and for Tinubu and his family members.”Atiku added, “In July 2023, the House of Representatives, following the adoption of a motion moved by Miriam Onuoha directed NNPC Ltd to suspend the acquisition of OVH assets pending an investigation by its committee.“The House ad-hoc committee requested the NNPC Ltd to furnish it with information about registration documents/history from CAC for OVH, Nueoil, and NNPC Retail Limited (NRL), Board Resolution of NNPCLtd on purchase of OVH, Audited Financial Statement and Management Accounts from 2015 to date of OVH, Nueoil, NRL and NNPC Ltd and the payroll from 2015 to date for NRL and OVH; Board Resolution of NRL/CHQ for movement of head office to Lagos and evidence of Tax Payments for NRL and OVH from 2015 to date.“The NNPC ignored all these and went ahead to transfer its ownership and properties in its retail arm to OVH, thereby mortgaging the future of Nigerians.“Despite the rot in the oil sector, the head of the NNPC, the head of the NUPRC, and the head of the NMDPRA continue to keep their jobs. This is clear evidence that they are fulfilling the mandate given to them by Tinubu.”Furthermore, Atiku pointed out that the NNPC lied in its vacuous response to their statement last week, as it is on record that the Kyari-led management appointed Huub Stoksman, a former Chief Executive Officer of OVH Energy, as Managing Director of NNPC Retail, and Mumuni Dangazau, the former Chief Operating Officer of OVH Energy, as his Special Adviser Downstream, long before the consummation of the incestuous marriage of the entities.In a related development, Atiku also lambasted the Tinubu administration for the rise in human rights abuses.Waziri Adamawa said Tinubu who rose to power over exaggerated claims of being a freedom fighter, had turned against the people by allowing the Department of State Services (DSS), police and even the military to abuse the rights of citizens without any consequences.He said that in some instances, citizens were arrested in a gestapo manner without the knowledge of their relatives who go about looking for them for several weeks.The former Vice President said the most affected since Tinubu took office have been journalists whose only crime is reporting the news and exposing government indiscretion.He argued that the Cyber Crime Prevention Act 2015 had become a tool with which officials in the Tinubu administration were abducting citizens while the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) had transmuted into the defunct SARS.Atiku added, “The dangerous trend of enforced disappearances has become a national embarrassment for a country which claims to be practising democracy. On May 1, 2024, Daniel Ojukwu of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism went missing and was presumed abducted by kidnappers until he was later discovered to be in police custody on the orders of IGP Kayode Egbetokun.“Ojukwu’s crime was that he exposed the corruption of a government official who currently serves in Tinubu’s administration. On July 23, the DSS arrested one Aliyu Sanusi in Sama Road of Sokoto, the state capital for printing and distributing materials ahead of the #EndBadGovernanceProtest Even the arrest and release of the former BBC Pidgin Editor and current West Africa Regional Editor of the Conversation, Adejuwon Soyinka, clearly shows a pattern, which objective is to intimidate journalists for speaking truth to this government.“Now, the police have arrested Bristol Tamunobiefiri, who owns the PIDOM Nigeria blog on X, formerly Twitter. After detaining him for over two weeks, he was granted an administrative bail, which will be impossible to meet. This is despite the fact that the Appeal Court, in the case of EFCC V. Emem Uboh (2022) LPEIR – 57968 (CA) held that administrative bail is illegal. Bristol should, therefore, be arraigned in court immediately or released.”Atiku advised Tinubu to take cases of human rights abuses seriously or Nigeria would remain at the risk of being slammed with sanctions which would prevent western powers from selling weapons, a development he argues could undermine Nigeria’s ability to tackle insecurity.“Amnesty International still has a pending petition before the Foreign Committee of the US Congress against the sale of weapons to Nigeria due to human rights concerns in line with the Leahy Law. Tinubu would do well to curb these cases of rights abuses by law enforcement authorities who all report to him as commander-in-chief,” the former Vice President said.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to fully transitioning to Computer-Based Test (CBT) examinations for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and other exam bodies by 2026.
Dr Alausa made this known while monitoring the conduct of WAEC’s CBT examinations in Abuja on Wednesday.
He expressed optimism about Nigeria’s capacity to modernise its examination system and reduce widespread malpractice through digital innovation.
Commending WAEC’s initiative, the minister described the shift from traditional pen-and-paper exams to CBT as a historic and crucial step toward fairness and educational integrity.
“We are working very hard to eliminate fraud in our exam system, and WAEC is taking the lead,” he said.
Highlighting the advantages of CBT, Alausa noted that the system simplified the exam process while significantly curbing cheating.
“We now have clear evidence that when exams are done using technology, the level of fraud is minimised to almost zero,” he stated.
He further lauded WAEC’s internal safeguards, explaining that the CBT system was operated via a secured Local Area Network (LAN), making it “literally impossible” to hack.
According to the minister, by Nov. 2025, all WAEC multiple-choice exams will be conducted using CBT.
He added that essay questions and NECO examinations would follow suit by 2026.
On infrastructure and logistics, particularly in remote areas, Alausa acknowledged the challenges but assured that scalable solutions are in progress.
“Are we going to be ready to provide every single needed infrastructure by November? Absolutely not.
“But as we move into the future, we will be ready. We have to challenge ourselves as government,” he said.
He also addressed concerns over the logistics of conducting multiple exams.
“In WAEC, the average student takes about eight to nine papers.
“They do it over several days. Those are the logistics we, as administrators, have to work through, and we already are,” he explained.
The ongoing WAEC exams, which began on April 24, are scheduled to conclude on June 20, 2025.
A total of 1,973,253 candidates from 23,554 schools are participating. Of this number, 979,228 candidates are male, accounting for 49.63 per cent, while 994,025 candidates are female, making up 50.37 per cent.(NAN)
A Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), JB Daudu (SAN),has advocated for a higher minimum entry requirement for the Nigerian Police Force, suggesting a university degree or its equivalent.Daudu, who is the Coordinator of the Rule of Law Development Foundation made the call at the 13th Webinar series organized by the foundation on Tuesday in Abuja.
Report says that the webinar had the theme `Overview and Mid-Term Report of The Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (May2023-May 2025)’. He suggests that a more educated workforce would be better equipped to handle the challenges of policing, potentially leading to improved performance and effectiveness“This will ensure that all entry level officers receive a mandatory course in the recognition and enforcement of fundamental human rights that have been enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution (as amended).“It will also ensure that they receive sufficient training in the handling of firearms to curb the wave of accidental discharge of firearms and all other cases of abuse of firearms that our citizens now suffer from’’.“As far as many Nigerians are concerned, the police force is not only moribund, but a large percentage of its personnel are branded as corrupt.“Most Nigerians don’t report crimes in which they are victims because of the fear that they may, in the course of pursuing their rights, be branded as the criminals, or be exploited for financial gain.“The federal government must commence the rebranding of the Nigerian Police Force’’.He equally called for improvement in their remuneration package, the provision of institutional support such as insurance cover, mandatory housing program, promotions as and when due, affordable health services, and educational support.The Learned Silk stressed the need to rewrite the disciplinary protocols of all security agencies and ensure that these rules are subjected to ordinary laws of the land through trials in our criminal courts.“Offences by errant policemen amounting not only to civil disciplinary issues but are also criminal in nature, must attract punishments that fit the offence.“Such offences as reckless misuse of firearms and police power leading to death or serious bodily harm of, and on, innocent victims must be appropriately punished rather than a mere slap on the wrist”.He added that serious and immediate thought must be given to the decentralisation of the Nigeria Police Force.“20 years ago, I championed the advocacy of an autonomous and independent state police completely severed from the umbilical cord of the federal police that is the Nigeria Police Force.“I cannot in good conscience state today that I can still support the creation of a blanket State Police left in the hands of the Governor of a State.“The reason for this shift in position is that the political maturity, and I say this with the utmost respect and humility, of our new set of leaders at the state level is not such as was in existence 25 years ago’’.He noted that creating state police at this point in time is to encourage flashpoints in different parts of the country some of which may escalate into ‘civil wars’.“I shudder to think of what would have happened if certain states which were recently plunged into political crisis had recourse to their police units during the political crisis that recently plagued their states.“For now and until the political actors improve in their political maturity, the alternative would be and should be ‘community police’.“I propose most respectfully a measure where every ward in a local government would have an office of the community police that will monitor and ensure the reportage of all crimes.“This should include the movement of all suspicious characters who may likely pose a threat to the peace and harmony of the community”.He added that where the threat is beyond the capability of the community, and escalates to the remaining wards and the Local government Headquarters, the State Police Command should step in.He said that all the funds being used to buy rice and other palliatives could be used to fund and equip security-watch offices in these locations as described above.“This means therefore that the local government council of every LGA must be made to be the centre point of the maintenance of law and order and the promotion of security in Nigeria.“Note that there is still the corruption factor and strict or severe punishment must be meted on local community police officers who corruptly abuse their power”. (NAN)
The Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has called for a thorough investigation into the killing of CSP Baba Ali, a Divisional Police Officer in Kano State. Report says that the Police Command in Kano confirmed the killing on Monday, along with the burning of the Rano police station.
The DPO was reportedly killed by angry youths in Rano town, Rano Local Government Area, sparking widespread condemnation and concern across the country. In a statement issued on Tuesday in Kaduna, NYCN National President, Isah Abubakar, expressed sorrow and described the incident as a grave national loss. “CSP Baba Ali served with dedication and integrity. His commitment to peace and security must be recognised and remembered,” Abubakar stated. Abubakar urged the Federal Government to launch an impartial investigation, calling for cooperation among relevant agencies to reveal the circumstances of the officer’s death. He emphasised that the investigation must be transparent, keeping the victim’s family and the public informed at every stage. The NYCN president also demanded justice not only for CSP Baba Ali but for all Nigerians striving for safety and security. He called on the government to adopt measures that strengthen security forces and ensure better protection for officers on duty. “The death of CSP Baba Ali underscores the urgent need for united efforts against violence. Government must act decisively to prevent similar tragedies,” he added. (NAN)
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