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Okowa advocates PIA enforcement to check oil theft

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Okowa advocates PIA enforcement to check oil theft

Okowa advocates PIA enforcement to check oil theft

Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor of Delta, Sen (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, has called for proper enforcement of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to effectively check oil theft in the country.

Okowa stated this on Sunday while featuring on Channels Television’s ‘People’s Townhall’, a special programme for presidential candidates in the 2023 general elections.

He said that Nigeria wasn’t getting the maximum benefit from its oil production because it was hamstrung by high-profile oil theft, including illegal oil bunkering, which had negatively affected the country’s oil production quota.

He stated that Nigeria was losing out on natural gas resources due to its inability to harness it like other nations, but assured that the Atiku Abubakar administration would continue with the country’s gas development plan as an alternative source of revenue.

“While other countries are getting a lot more resources from oil to develop other sectors of their economy, we don’t seem to benefit from that because we are producing less than what we ought to produce.

“There is the need to ramp up production by dealing with illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta through strong community engagement and by ensuring implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

“We can also achieve that by ensuring the communities have buy-in and also work with security agencies to deal with oil theft.

“The gas sector is one sector that we tend to ignore. When we come in next year we will ensure the continuation of the gas development plan, and that reforms are carried out critically to rake in more resources for the country,” Okowa said.

On subsidy removal, the vice-presidential candidate said the PDP administration would be headed by Atiku Abubakar would be committed to fueling subsidy removal because it was draining resources of the country.

According to him, Nigeria cannot continue to borrow to fund fuel subsidies while other critical sectors are facing inadequate funding.

“Subsidy removal is important because other critical sectors like Education and Health are suffering; so, removing subsidy would free more funds for the development of those sectors which provide critical services to those at the lower rung of the society.”

He said that Abubakar would provide the much-needed leadership to salvage the nation from its current travails.

Okowa advocates PIA enforcement to check oil theft

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VP Shettima commissions Borno’s 375 tractors refurbished by NASENI

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VP Shettima commissions Borno’s 375 tractors refurbished by NASENI

… 351 farm implements delivered by Zulum, commissioned

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima has commissioned the 375 tractors belonging to Borno State Government which have been fully refurbished by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) under the National Assets Recovery, Refurbishment and Redeployment Project (Asset Restore Project).

The event was held on Sunday at the Borno State Agricultural Mechanisation Authority (BOSAMA) headquarters in Maiduguri.

VP Shettima commended Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, stating, “My greatest commendation to the Governor of Borno State for his commitment to providing leadership in the state.”

Vice President Shettima also praised NASENI for its commitment to enhancing Nigeria’s agricultural productivity through innovative infrastructure support under its asset restoration programme.

“We have seen NASENI at work, playing critical roles in our interventions in compressed natural gas (CNG) retrofitting, renewable energy technologies, and agricultural mechanisation. We are reminded more than ever that we can’t create durable Nigerian solutions to Nigerian problems unless we localise global technologies and relevant agencies must be supported to point us towards a stable nation and a promising future,” the Vice President said.

Speaking earlier, Governor Zulum acknowledged the Vice President’s numerous interventions in the agricultural mechanisation of Borno during his tenure as Governor of Borno State from 2011 to 2019.

He said, “Let me bring to the kind notice of this gathering that these tractors were procured by my predecessor, Senator Kashim Shettima, when he was the Governor of Borno State. He procured 1000 tractors and their implements.”

The Governor added, “He did not stop at that, but he also procured 250 units each of groundnut diggers, fertiliser broadcasters, rotovators, bailers and 25 units of combined harvesters. At a time when it would have been politically safe to focus only on short-term interventions, he chose instead to make a long-term investment in the future of our people.”

Speaking separately, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari and the Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI, Khali Sulieman Halilu, commended Governor Babagana Umara Zulum for the leadership he has provided.

… 351 farm implements delivered by Zulum, commissioned

Meanwhile, Vice President Kashim Shettima also commissioned 351 units of implements procured by the administration of Professor Babagana Umara Zulum.

The implements according to Borno State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Engr Bawu Musami, comprise 121 units of disc ploughs, 180 units of disc harrows, grain threshers, rotary slashers and 6-cubic-meter diesel tankers.

VP Shettima commissions Borno’s 375 tractors refurbished by NASENI

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Three bandits killed, one arrested alive by security forces in Zamfara

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Three bandits killed, one arrested alive by security forces in Zamfara

By: Zagazola Makama

Atleast three suspected armed bandits were killed while one arrested and two motorcycles recovered during an ambush by local vigilante operatives attached to the troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA in Maru Local Government Area of the state.

Zagazola Makama gathered from reliable sources that the incident occurred on June 6 at about 3:00 p.m. when four suspected bandits riding on two motorcycles were intercepted by members of the local vigilante group, known as Yansakai, while moving between Yan Mangwarora, Mallamawa, and Kurar Mota villages, all in Dansadau District of Maru LGA.

The sources said that the vigilantes engaged the suspects in a confrontation, leading to the neutralisation of three of them, arrest of one, and recovery of two motorcycles used by the bandits.

The arrested bandits was handed over to the police while the corpses of the slain bandits were deposited at General
Hospital, Dansadau.

Three bandits killed, one arrested alive by security forces in Zamfara

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Zulum donates N100m to wounded soldiers; families of fallen heroes

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Zulum donates N100m to wounded soldiers; families of fallen heroes

By: Michael Mike

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum has donated N100 million to aid the families of slain soldiers and those wounded in the ongoing fight against insurgency in the northeast region.

The donation was made on Saturday at an Eid El-Kabir Sallah luncheon hosted jointly by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, held at Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri.

Zulum, while presenting a cheque of N100 million to the Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, Major General Abdussalam Abubakar, stated that each of the soldiers wounded in action would be given N500,000, while the remaining amount would be distributed among families left by the soldiers killed in action in the ongoing fight against insurgency.

The presentation of the cheque was witnessed by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar and the Force Commander, Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Major General Godwin Mutkut.

Other prominent personalities present include a member of the House of Representatives, Engr. Bukar Talba, Secretary to Borno State Government, Alhaji Bukar Tijani, Head of Service, Dr Muhammad Ghuluze, Ag Chief of Staff, Dr Babagana Mallumbe, Borno APC Chairman, Hon. Bello Ayuba, among many senior government officials.

Zulum commended the resilience and patriotism of the Nigerian Armed Forces, emphasising that their sacrifices should never be forgotten. He said: “Your commitment on the frontlines, often under extreme conditions and far from your families, is not lost on us. We remain eternally grateful for your service and will never take your sacrifices for granted.”

The Governor also assured the military leadership of his continued support, stating that: “Borno State will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Nigerian Army and all security agencies in the fight against insurgency and rebuilding our communities for a peaceful and prosperous future.”

Zulum donates N100m to wounded soldiers; families of fallen heroes

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