Today's Headlines: Reps Vow To Unveil Identities Of Oil Thieves; Court Restrains ‘Faceless Group’ From Parading As NNPP Leaders

Reps Vow To Unveil Identities Of Oil Thieves

House of Representatives ad hoc committee set up to investigate crude oil theft and loss of revenue from gas has vowed to unveil identities of those behind oil theft in the country.

Hon. Kabiru Rurum, chairman of the committee, said this during a chat with the Agency of Nigeria (NAN) ahead of its investigative hearing slated for today.

He said the oil sector remained the major source of revenue for the country, adding that it was determined that the investigation would not be like the previous ones.

According to him, oil and gas are the major areas where the country gets its resources but the problem of oil theft has continued to go from bad to worse on a daily basis.

The purpose of the committee is to reveal who and who are the architects of what is going on in the area of crude oil theft.”

He said apportioning blame to security agencies would not suffice, adding that stakeholders in the oil sectors should be held responsible including Chevron, Shell, communities among others.

We need to identify the culprits, this is the purpose of the investigation, everybody including critical stakeholders should come and tell us their side of the story.

He said the modalities and ways to stop or minimise theft in the oil sector should be suggested by all stakeholders which was the main purpose of the committee.

He said the committee had invited the Nigerian Navy as the custodian of the nation’s water, Airforce, Civil Defence, Police Intelligence Agency among others.

Court Restrains ‘Faceless Group’ From Parading As NNPP Leaders

A Kano State High Court has restrained a faction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) from acting and parading themselves as leaders of the party.

The faction, whose members included Boniface Aniegbulam and eight others expelled from the party by the National Executive Committee (NEC) were also barred from expelling the party‘s presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso from the party.

This is even as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the NNPP has vowed to use lawful means to retrieve party funds allegedly diverted for personal use by the expelled national publicity secretary of the party, Mr. Agbo Major.

One of the NEC members of the party, Chief Kola Tajudeen Bello, had accused Agbo Major of being the chief instigator of the crisis rocking the party in a statement.

But the trialg judge, Justice Usman Mallam Na‘aba, in the suit filed by a the party, held that the Aniegbulam and eight others should desist from carrying out any action pending the determination of the substantive suit.

A member of the party, Alhaji Hasimu Suleiman Dangurawa, through his lawyer had sued Aniegbulam and 17 others before the court on Tuesday.

Niger Seeks PSN Partnership Against Drug Abuse

Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has sought for the partnership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Niger State chapter to check the menace of drug abuse.

Bago made the request when the chairman of PSN, Yakubu Maji Isah, led a delegation on a visit to the governor at the Government House, Minna.

The governor expressed concern over the rising cases of drug abuse, saying that he would assign some of his advisers to join the PSN in finding lasting solutions to the menace.

He said the state government is considering a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement where private individuals or groups will run a pharmacy in a public hospital at a subsidized rate.

The governor said the waiver for the employment of 1,000 health workers, may be increased to fill up the necessary gaps.

He assured them of his administration’s support at all times and also appealed for meaningful contributions by the PSN for the success of his government.

Hunger Forcing Terrorists To Surrender, Says Theatre Commander

Theatre commander of the Joint Task Force “tion Hadin Kai”, Maj. Gen Gold Chibuisi, has revealed that frustration, hunger and onslaught by troops are the reasons behind the massive surrendering of suspected Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorists. Including, their family members within the theatre of operations in Borno State and other parts of North East zone including Lake Chad.

This is even as he acknowledged the crucial role played by the media not just in disseminating and informing the people but also in educating and shaping the ideology of the populace.

He made the commendation yesterday during a media parley organised by the command with defence correspondents and various media representatives in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital held at the Command and Control Centre of “tion Hadin Kai”.

Chibuisi welcomed all media representatives to the parley which he described as historic, looking at how significant and crucial the media is to the operational successes of Joint Task Force North East “tion Hadin Kai”. Adding that the desire by the command of operation Hadin Kai to play host to the media is geared towards building stronger synergy for peace to thrive in the region.

” We recognised the crucial role played by the media not just in disseminating and informing the people but also in educating and shaping the ideology of the populace and the society at large. Therefore, choosing to hold this parley at this crucial time is to showcase the jointness and collaboration among the military, other critical stakeholders and the press in regards to our operational activities.

Akabest (
)