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Industrial park: Interim Management Committee Inspects Multi Billion Naira Facility

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…Expresses Satisfaction With Quality of Work; Charges Contractors to Maintain Tempo

Members of the interim management committee of the Muhammadu Buhari Industrial park have visited the multi billion naira construction site to prop up contractors to execute the various projects according to specifications.

On arrival at the park, the committee members, led by the chairman, Mohammed Bashir Nuhu Aliko inspected the administrative block, the one stop shop and the water pump station among others.

The water pump station has a one million litre capacity over head tank and a five hundred litre capacity surface tank respectively.

The committee equally inspected the ongoing 19 kilometres road criss-crossing the phase one of the Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park.

Engineers handling various projects at the site told the committee that baring any circumstances, the phase one of the park is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Impressed by the level and quality of work at the park, the chairman of the committee Bashir Nuhu Aliko charged the contractors not to compromise standard in view of the fact that the administration of Governor Inuwa Yahaya is living up to its terms and responsibilities.

He said the Industrial Park will serve as a one stop shop for potential investors both within and outside the country and therefore commended the foresight of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya for establishing it.

“This park will not have come at a more appropriate time when governments across the country are seeking for ways to bolster their Internally Generated Revenue in view of the dwindling allocation from the centre; so this park is certainly going to be the geese that will lay the golden egg for the North East sub-region”.

He noted that so far construction work at the park has since created jobs for hundreds of men and women thereby improving their economic status.

Also speaking, the Secretary of the committee and Managing Director of the Gombe State Investment and Property Development Company, Muawiya Faruk Umar said as the interim management of the park, they are poised to developing a structure and framework so that the facility can achieve its desired objectives which is to create sustainable revenue, employment and attract industries within and outside the country.

He said the committee will work in synergy with the various contractors at the park to ensure that Government’s huge investment is justified for the benefit of the people of the State.

Recall that Governor Inuwa Yahaya had recently appointed a 5-man Interim Management Committee for the take-off of Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park, tasked with the responsibly for the development of necessary framework for the Management and take-off of the site by creating enabling competitive business environment in order to woo investors at both local and international levels.

The committee has Bashir Mohammed Aliko as Chairman with Mr. Adamu Wuri Lubo , Engr. Bala Adams and Aishatu Abdulkadir Rasheed while Mu’awiya Farouk, Managing Director of Gombe State Investment and Property Development Company (GSI&PDC) serves as Secretary.
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P’Harcout Refinery: CSO knocks NNPCL for berating host community leader

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***calls on Tinubu to sack Kyari immediately, as refinery stops production

For coming out to disparage a leader from the host community of the Port Harcourt refinery, a group, known as Network of Oil Producing Communities in Nigeria (NOPCN), has come hard on the foremost regulatory agency, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

This was, even as, the group has called on President Bola Tinubu to relieve the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari of his duties, for misleading the President and Nigerians about the operation of the Port Harcourt refinery.

In a statement on Sunday signed by the President, Engr. Igeniwari Edward, and Comrade Omototsho Ogbe, the group corroborated the comments of the Secretary of the Alesa Community Stakeholders, Timothy Mgbere, saying, the petroleum products loaded from the newly rehabilitated Port-Harcourt Refinery were not freshly refined but dead stocks left in the storage tank of the facility since 2016.

“Before shutting down in 2016, the Port Harcourt refinery had some large quantity of dead stock left in the tank, and were only evacuated from the storage to some trucks during the rehabilitation of Old Area 5.

“Some dead stocks like Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) DPK (kerosene), and Automated Gas Oil (diesel) were stored in the tanks in large quantity. What NNPC did was to evacuate them into waiting trucks, making the President and Nigerians to believe they were loading freshly refined products into those trucks.

“It is not only Chief Mgbere that knew about this fact, all of us from Alesa, infact, all the suburbs in Eleme can attest to this.

“It also doesn’t surprise us that the NNPCL shut down the refinery sooner than they claimed it was operating. That’s because they ran out of lies and couldn’t cajole the President any further.

“Kyari should be so sober right now and I believe he is already aware that the much celebrated 60,000 capacity segment of the refinery they claimed to have rehabilitated was shut down 2 days ago and no activity is happening there any longer.

“The President should not wait any further before he sacks Mele Kyari and all his accomplices in this national monumental trick they pulled on Nigerians on Tuesday. He should not only be sacked, Kyari should tell Nigerians what happened to over N17 trillion naira injected into the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries.

“Nigerians should also join our Network to say NO to conversion of any of the refineries to a blending plant. We all know the environmental degredations our people having been facing over oil exploration and bunkering activities. We don’t want any further hazard on our land. Kyari should just deliver exactly what the government paid for and stop fighting our leaders in the host communities”, the statement read.

Chief Mgbere, Secretary to Alesa Community Stakeholders Forum, had appeared on a national television show on Thursday, alleging that the Port Harcourt refinery only loaded six trucks on Tuesday, despite stating that 200 trucks would be picked up from the refinery daily, adding that the many trucks parked within the premises were tucked up with dead stock and off-spec of old products.

Alesa, one of the 10 major communities in Eleme, Rivers State, is the host community of the Port-Harcourt Refinery.

But in response to the allegations, the NNPCL denied claims by an Alesa community leader, in a statement signed Friday by its Spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, saying the agency did not lie when it said the Port Harcourt refinery was producing crude oil.

The NNPCL accused Mgbere of crass ignorance of how a refinery runs, saying he would not have dignified him with a response if not for a need to set the records straight.

“We call on the general public to disregard the claims of the self-acclaimed ‘community person’ which are obviously borne out of sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance,” NNPCL had said.

Meanwhile, exclusive report emerging from Sahara Reporters Saturday night corroborated the position of the Network of Oil Producing Communities in Nigeria, that the NNPCL has shut down operation “at the moment” with only its non-petroleum unit running which is the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU).

The CDU produces naphtha, kerosene and diesel but cannot produce the component which is needed for the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, top sources at the refinery disclosed to SaharaReporters on Saturday.

“The Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) is still running but the operation of the depot is shut down at the moment. The CDU produces naphtha, diesel and Kerosene but cannot produce theP’Harcout Refinery: CSO knocks NNPCL for berating host community leader

***calls on Tinubu to sack Kyari immediately, as refinery stops production

For coming out to disparage a leader from the host community of the Port Harcourt refinery, a group, known as Network of Oil Producing Communities in Nigeria (NOPCN), has come hard on the foremost regulatory agency, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

This was, even as, the group has called on President Bola Tinubu to relieve the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari of his duties, for misleading the President and Nigerians about the operation of the Port Harcourt refinery.

In a statement on Sunday signed by the President, Engr. Igeniwari Edward, and Comrade Omototsho Ogbe, the group corroborated the comments of the Secretary of the Alesa Community Stakeholders, Timothy Mgbere, saying, the petroleum products loaded from the newly rehabilitated Port-Harcourt Refinery were not freshly refined but dead stocks left in the storage tank of the facility since 2016.

“Before shutting down in 2016, the Port Harcourt refinery had some large quantity of dead stock left in the tank, and were only evacuated from the storage to some trucks during the rehabilitation of Old Area 5.

“Some dead stocks like Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) DPK (kerosene), and Automated Gas Oil (diesel) were stored in the tanks in large quantity. What NNPC did was to evacuate them into waiting trucks, making the President and Nigerians to believe they were loading freshly refined products into those trucks.

“It is not only Chief Mgbere that knew about this fact, all of us from Alesa, infact, all the suburbs in Eleme can attest to this.

“It also doesn’t surprise us that the NNPCL shut down the refinery sooner than they claimed it was operating. That’s because they ran out of lies and couldn’t cajole the President any further.

“Kyari should be so sober right now and I believe he is already aware that the much celebrated 60,000 capacity segment of the refinery they claimed to have rehabilitated was shut down 2 days ago and no activity is happening there any longer.

“The President should not wait any further before he sacks Mele Kyari and all his accomplices in this national monumental trick they pulled on Nigerians on Tuesday. He should not only be sacked, Kyari should tell Nigerians what happened to over N17 trillion naira injected into the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries.

“Nigerians should also join our Network to say NO to conversion of any of the refineries to a blending plant. We all know the environmental degredations our people having been facing over oil exploration and bunkering activities. We don’t want any further hazard on our land. Kyari should just deliver exactly what the government paid for and stop fighting our leaders in the host communities”, the statement read.

Chief Mgbere, Secretary to Alesa Community Stakeholders Forum, had appeared on a national television show on Thursday, alleging that the Port Harcourt refinery only loaded six trucks on Tuesday, despite stating that 200 trucks would be picked up from the refinery daily, adding that the many trucks parked within the premises were tucked up with dead stock and off-spec of old products.

Alesa, one of the 10 major communities in Eleme, Rivers State, is the host community of the Port-Harcourt Refinery.

But in response to the allegations, the NNPCL denied claims by an Alesa community leader, in a statement signed Friday by its Spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, saying the agency did not lie when it said the Port Harcourt refinery was producing crude oil.

The NNPCL accused Mgbere of crass ignorance of how a refinery runs, saying he would not have dignified him with a response if not for a need to set the records straight.

“We call on the general public to disregard the claims of the self-acclaimed ‘community person’ which are obviously borne out of sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance,” NNPCL had said.

Meanwhile, exclusive report emerging from Sahara Reporters Saturday night corroborated the position of the Network of Oil Producing Communities in Nigeria, that the NNPCL has shut down operation “at the moment” with only its non-petroleum unit running which is the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU).

The CDU produces naphtha, kerosene and diesel but cannot produce the component which is needed for the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, top sources at the refinery disclosed to SaharaReporters on Saturday.

“The Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) is still running but the operation of the depot is shut down at the moment. The CDU produces naphtha, diesel and Kerosene but cannot produce the component for the production of PMS.

“All these products cannot serve the masses as the production of these products are in small P’Harcout Refinery: CSO knocks NNPCL for berating host community leader

***calls on Tinubu to sack Kyari immediately, as refinery stops production

For coming out to disparage a leader from the host community of the Port Harcourt refinery, a group, known as Network of Oil Producing Communities in Nigeria (NOPCN), has come hard on the foremost regulatory agency, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

This was, even as, the group has called on President Bola Tinubu to relieve the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari of his duties, for misleading the President and Nigerians about the operation of the Port Harcourt refinery.

In a statement on Sunday signed by the President, Engr. Igeniwari Edward, and Comrade Omototsho Ogbe, the group corroborated the comments of the Secretary of the Alesa Community Stakeholders, Timothy Mgbere, saying, the petroleum products loaded from the newly rehabilitated Port-Harcourt Refinery were not freshly refined but dead stocks left in the storage tank of the facility since 2016.

“Before shutting down in 2016, the Port Harcourt refinery had some large quantity of dead stock left in the tank, and were only evacuated from the storage to some trucks during the rehabilitation of Old Area 5.

“Some dead stocks like Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) DPK (kerosene), and Automated Gas Oil (diesel) were stored in the tanks in large quantity. What NNPC did was to evacuate them into waiting trucks, making the President and Nigerians to believe they were loading freshly refined products into those trucks.

“It is not only Chief Mgbere that knew about this fact, all of us from Alesa, infact, all the suburbs in Eleme can attest to this.

“It also doesn’t surprise us that the NNPCL shut down the refinery sooner than they claimed it was operating. That’s because they ran out of lies and couldn’t cajole the President any further.

“Kyari should be so sober right now and I believe he is already aware that the much celebrated 60,000 capacity segment of the refinery they claimed to have rehabilitated was shut down 2 days ago and no activity is happening there any longer.

“The President should not wait any further before he sacks Mele Kyari and all his accomplices in this national monumental trick they pulled on Nigerians on Tuesday. He should not only be sacked, Kyari should tell Nigerians what happened to over N17 trillion naira injected into the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries.

“Nigerians should also join our Network to say NO to conversion of any of the refineries to a blending plant. We all know the environmental degredations our people having been facing over oil exploration and bunkering activities. We don’t want any further hazard on our land. Kyari should just deliver exactly what the government paid for and stop fighting our leaders in the host communities”, the statement read.

Chief Mgbere, Secretary to Alesa Community Stakeholders Forum, had appeared on a national television show on Thursday, alleging that the Port Harcourt refinery only loaded six trucks on Tuesday, despite stating that 200 trucks would be picked up from the refinery daily, adding that the many trucks parked within the premises were tucked up with dead stock and off-spec of old products.

Alesa, one of the 10 major communities in Eleme, Rivers State, is the host community of the Port-Harcourt Refinery.

But in response to the allegations, the NNPCL denied claims by an Alesa community leader, in a statement signed Friday by its Spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, saying the agency did not lie when it said the Port Harcourt refinery was producing crude oil.

The NNPCL accused Mgbere of crass ignorance of how a refinery runs, saying he would not have dignified him with a response if not for a need to set the records straight.

“We call on the general public to disregard the claims of the self-acclaimed ‘community person’ which are obviously borne out of sheer mischief and blatant display of ignorance,” NNPCL had said.

Meanwhile, exclusive report emerging from Sahara Reporters Saturday night corroborated the position of the Network of Oil Producing Communities in Nigeria, that the NNPCL has shut down operation “at the moment” with only its non-petroleum unit running which is the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU).

The CDU produces naphtha, kerosene and diesel but cannot produce the component which is needed for the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, top sources at the refinery disclosed to SaharaReporters on Saturday.

“The Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) is still running but the operation of the depot is shut down at the moment. The CDU produces naphtha, diesel and Kerosene but cannot produce the component for the production of PMS.

“All these products cannot serve the masses as the production of these products are in small quantities even if the plant runs at 100% throughput. The processing plant of 150,000bpd capacity will commence operations in 2026; that is if money is made readily available to meet the timelines because at the moment the project has exceeded $2billion”, a top official of the agency told Sahara Reporters even if the plant runs at 100% throughput. The processing plant of 150,000bpd capacity will commence operations in 2026; that is if money is made readily available to meet the timelines because at the moment the project has exceeded $2billion”, a top official of the agency told Sahara Reporters component for the production of PMS.

“All these products cannot serve the masses as the production of these products are in small quantities even if the plant runs at 100% throughput. The processing plant of 150,000bpd capacity will commence operations in 2026; that is if money is made readily available to meet the timelines because at the moment the project has exceeded $2billion”, a top official of the agency told Sahara Reporters

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What Tax Reform Bills Are All About- Senate

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………Set for Public hearing with stakeholders

 

The Senate Thursday led Nigerians into the general objectives of the Tax Reform Bills

The Bills are a set of four proposed piece of legislation aimed at increasing value-added tax (VAT) distributable to the subnational governments to 55% while reducing the federal government’s share to 10%.

The new legislative regimes also proposed zero VAT on exports and essential consumptions by the masses and grant of input VAT credit on assets and services in addition to goods consumed by businesses to lower the cost of production

The breakdown of the general objectives of the Bill were let out in the lead debate by Senate Leader , Opeyemi Bamidele

Recall that the Tinubu administration had proposed the Tax Reform Bills comprising the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024 and Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024.

The bills elicited mixed reactions from across board

Key stakeholders such ad the Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele and Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr. Zacch Adedeji were invited to give perspectives about the Bills.

Leading debate at the plenary, Bamidele reeled out far-reaching proposals contained in the Tax Reform Bills, which according to him, aims at simplifying the tax landscape, reducing the burden on small business and streamlining how taxes are collected.

In the area of tax exemptions, Bamidele pointed out that those, whose salaries are not more than the minimum wage from Pay As You Earn (PAYE) deductions, would be exempted from the tax regime.

He also said small businesses with annual turnover of N50 million or less “are equally exempted from payment of taxes,” a key pro-business initiative that encourages job creation; deepens ease of doing business and incentivises more investments.

Similarly, the senate leader explained that there was a proposed huge reduction in company income tax from the current 30% to 25% that would last for at least two years.

He said: “As part of deliberate attempt to curtail the incidence of double taxation and multiplicity of taxes and levies, multiple taxes hitherto paid by companies under various tax heads namely 2.5% education tax, 0.25% NASENI tax have been harmonized into a development level of 2% which by 2030 will be applied to fund the newly established student loan scheme which will benefit many Nigerian youths.

“Unlike what is obtainable under the existing tax regime whereby the Federal Government takes a lion share of VAT revenues, it is proposed that the sharing formula should allow the State Government share 55% of VAT revenue from the current 15% to 10% sharing formula.

“However, Local Governments share of VAT revenue remains unaffected. Relatedly, basic items consumed by Nigerian households such as food items, medical services and pharmaceuticals, educational fees, electricity etc. are exempted from VAT.

“Again, as part of efforts to ease the administration of income taxes and levies across the Federation, there is a reasonable effort made to consolidate core tax statutes and related tax legislations,” Bamidele explained.

Contrary to misrepresentations in the public domain regarding the intendment of the Bills under consideration, Bamidele explained that the bills contained innovative and people-oriented proposals as part of the government’s deliberate fiscal and tax reform measures to cushion the effect of ongoing broader economic policies such as the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, renewed efforts to implement cost -reflective electricity tariffs in the power sector etc on Nigerian citizens.

In his contribution, former Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) claimed that his problem was about timing and the issue of derivation.

He added that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) must be amended before the Tax Reform Bills should take effect, therefore calling for its immediate withdrawal.

Ndume observed: “I am not against the reform, my problem is timing and the issue of derivation make the reform contagious. The 1999 Constitution has to be amended before the bills can be effective.”

However, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Mohammed Munguno (Borno North) expressed strong objection to Ndume’s submissions, asking the Senate to disregard it and pass the bills for second reading.

Munguno urged the Senate to pass the bill into second reading, advocating that all areas of concern would be addressed at the public hearing stage.

After the debate that featured Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa and Chairman, Senate Committee on Ecology, Senator Seriake Dickson, the Senate unanimously passed the bills into second reading following Munguno’s final position.

In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Finance, advising the Committee to invite all the stakeholders to the public hearing to address all areas of concern.

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Port Harcourt Refinery, Another Grand Deception From NNPCL -Coalition

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***warns Kyari, others not to mislead Tinubu, Nigerians

As reactions continue to thrill the announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), that the Port Harcourt refinery has been activated for operation; a group of Civil Society Organisations has called for great caution.

The groups, under the aegis of Coalition for Accountability and Transparency in Energy Sector (CATES), said what the NNPCL was glorifying was not a full fledged refinery which Nigerians paid for.

In a statement on Wednesday by the Spokesperson of the Coalition, Dr. Linus Ikwur, the groups alluded that, despite the public outcry from stakeholders, organisations and individuals, warning against turning the Port Harcourt refinery to a blending plant, the NNPCL made good its intention and damned whatever would come out of it.

The coalition described the much celebrated Port Harcourt refinery as “what I ordered, vs what I got”, saying, the NNPCL did not mean well for the country and the citizenry, by converting the heritage refinery in Port Harcourt to a mere blending plant, despite receiving huge funds to operationalize it.

“The NNPCL was given money to turn Port Harcourt into a full fledged refinery. But now they want to turn the place into a blending plant, despite the public outcry on the dangers of having a blending plant in the region that is already suffering environmental degredation.

“Nigerians paid for a refinery and not a blending plant. This is a clear case of what I ordered vs what I got.

“There’s a need for great accountability, transparency and probity in ensuring that the refineries operate at 100% capacity and not as a blending plant”, the statement said.

Speaking further, the Coalition expressed great disappointment with the announcement of NNPCL, confirming that the refinery was to serve as a blending plant, which it described as a global practise; warning that the agency should cease the deception forthwith.

Dr. Ikwur said, “to us, it did not come as a surprise, because we saw it coming and we have raised enough alarms, so that it could be averted, but the authority kept calm, until the NNPCL perfected its plan to convert our heritage refinery into a blending plant. But we were highly disappointed, that the NNPCL misled Nigerians, including President Bola Tinubu into believing that the Port Harcourt refinery had come back to live.

“It took the great effort of the the media, Sahara Reporters in particular, to confirm our claims that Nigerians were indeed celebrating a blending plant, and not a refinery. Nigerians are too wise for that grand deception and Mr. President should not fall for that kind of cheap attempt to score political goals by the NNPCL.

“Mele Kyari and his cohorts should stop misleading the President. They should rather come out and explain how the over N17 trillion expended on our local refineries went and why is it that none of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries is working, after receiving such a humongous funding”.

It would be recalled that, the NNPC posted on its X handle on Tuesday, saying: “NNPC Ltd Delivers Port Harcourt Refinery as plant begins truckout of products today, Tuesday 26th November 2024 at 1.45 pm.

“Watch the commissioning and trucking out event LIVE.”

But Sahara Reporters, in an exclusive report Tuesday night, exposed that, the NNPCL “is not trucking out Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, from the Port Harcourt Refinery as it claimed on Tuesday”, claiming a top source within the system revealed it.

Instead, it said the NNPCL bought “Cracked C5 petroleum resins” and blended it with other products including Naphtha to sell to the Nigerian public as though the refinery processed it.

“The plant is running but it is the old one of 60,000bpd capacity but you can’t get PMS from it except diesel. The part that produces PMS is yet to start.

“If you hear they are trucking out PMS from the depot, know it is a lie. They bought Crack C5 from Indorama company in Port Harcourt and blended it with Naphtha to sell to the public”, the source told Sahara Reporters.

Unexpectedly, the Spokesperson for the NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye swiftly confirmed the claims in a statement Tuesday night, saying, “blending is a standard practice in refineries globally”.

Soneye said, “It is worth noting that the refinery incorporates crack C5, a blending component from our sister company, Indorama Petrochemicals (formerly Eleme Petrochemicals), to produce gasoline that meets required specifications.

“Blending is a standard practice in refineries globally, as no single unit can produce gasoline that fully complies with any country’s standards without such processes. Additionally, we have made substantial progress on the new Port Harcourt Refinery, which will begin operations soon without prior announcements”.

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