The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva has called for synergy between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other security agencies in the country to tackle the increasing smuggling of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) across the nation’s borders.
Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption, which stood at 102 million litres per day in the month of May has created a lot of concern for the Federal Government. The Minister expressed worry about
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting Organised by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), in Abuja, on how to stop smuggling in the country, Sylva said the only solution to halting the criminality surrounding the smuggling of PMS is for stakeholders to work together to ensure that the trend is halted.
Also, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, who convened the meeting said the current situation had kept the country in a state of bleeding, as it could not sustain the payment of subsidy that accompanies the volume put at 100 million litres.
According to Kyari, with the high volume of daily consumption, the country cannot sustain subsidy payment adding “as long as we don’t regulate volume until we are able to exit this current level, which I know so much work is going on, then we have to manage the volume that we are exposed to between this price of N162 and N256”.
“The difference comes back to as much as N140 billion to N150 billion cost to the country monthly. As long as the volume goes up, that money continues to increase and we have two sets of stress to face, the stress of supply and stress of foreign exchange for the NNPC. We may not see foreign exchange cheque taking place for importation,’’ he said.
Sylva said: “I would like to put it on record that whatever we are trying to do in the area of deregulation will not make sense without us exactly knowing the actual consumption of PMS.
Sylva added that illegal export of products through the borders whether the land or sea must be stopped, adding that Operation White that was commissioned in 2020 had not worked effectively until the EFCC came into the picture.
NNPC Boss said, that the introduction of Operation White and involvement of the EFCC had helped the situation adding that “from the truck out the report from the PPPRA database, we have seen the collapse of load out average move from 70 million litres to 60 million litres just in one month, that means we can do with less than 70 million, the balance, I don’t know where it goes to but we know for sure that it is not consumed in this country”.
“In very recent data, we see what we really want at the beginning of May and June, there was a day when we loaded out about 103 million litres of PMS within one day across the depots. We know it is not required, we know it is inappropriate and we also know that something wrong is happening that somebody is chasing something.
“But we in NNPC, we are not in control of that, we are not in every depot, we don’t keep products in all the depot but when the volume goes down, it comes down to us, when it is tight in supply, it comes back to the NNPC and we solve the problem,’’ he said.
The NNPC boss said that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed that smuggling must stop adding that it was the reason for inviting all stakeholders to chart the way forward.
He said that the corporation had incorporated the EFCC, the Department of Security Services (DSS), the Nigeria Customs Services (NCS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), on a platform to achieve this.
Commenting on the current PMS and subsidy payment, Kyari explained that with the current exchange rate, the pump price of petrol should be N256 per litre.
Nigeria’s Federal Government has called for the amendment of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) Act to address issues affecting seamless operations of Free Trade Zones (FTZs) across the country.
Chairman Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, Francis Fadahunsi, made the call during an oversight visit, alongside board members of NEPZA to the Snake Island Integrated Free Zone (SIIFZ) in Lagos.
He said the amendment of the NEPZA Act would close up on all issues for easy operations of FTZs.
While appreciating the various free zone enterprises and the huge revenue generated for the government through agencies stationed in the zone, he specifically commended SIIFZ’s contribution to the growth of the NEPZA in supporting one single free zone authority over the years.
Vice-Chairman of the committee, Ishaku Abbo, who also commended SIIFZ’s investment initiative, stated that the oversight visit was aimed at ensuring consistency in the payment of appropriate revenue into the federation account, through the regulatory body, while ensuring that the free zone operates optimally.
Speaking on behalf of the board and management of SIIFZ, the Chief Executive Officer, Maher Jarmakani, said SIIFZ has contributed immensely to the growth of the Nigerian economy by attracting major industrial investors and manufacturers.
He said the move had brought about mass employment, technology transfer and capacity development to the country.
Specifically, he mentioned that the free zone had contributed through employment generation, infrastructure and investments by registered enterprises in the areas of terminal operations, ship repair, heavy industries, pollution management, fabrication and training among others.
One of the directors, SIIFZ, Yusufu Abdullahi, as a matter of urgency, tasked the committee to put an end to the confusion on free zone regulatory issues.
This, he said, was to assure investors of the safety of their investment “by protecting the current Free Zone Scheme under NEPZA.
Nigeria’s economy could be leaning against the wind as the country’s external reserves fell to a 13-month low last week, tumbling quickly to $30 billion, the level it was between 2015 and 2017.
Last Thursday, the figure slid to $33.79 billion, as it dropped by $30 million. This represented a 0.09% decline compared to $33.824 billion recorded on Wednesday, June 16. A total of $1.58 billion has been lost in reserves year-to-date, while month-to-date loss stands at $405.33 million, hardly reflecting the marginal gains in rising oil prices in recent months.
The reserves fell by $222.3 million between May 31 and June 10 to $34.0 billion, according to figures published by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The last time it fell below that mark was between June and July of 2017.
The country’s forex reserves continues to trend downwards despite the positive rally recorded in the global crude oil market, with Brent crude currently trading at $73.5 per barrel. It has sustained a steady troubling decline in the past two months after a short-lived upswing that took it to $35 billion.
The foreign reserves lost $120.18 million last Tuesday, the highest single-day loss recorded since February 22, 2021.
This is largely attributed to the decline in crude oil sales, due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the buying capacity of India, which is one of the world’s largest importers of oil.
However, reports suggest that India’s oil imports are beginning to pick up after months of lessened activities due to the pandemic’s effect on its economy. This also comes as good news to Nigeria as India remains one of the highest importers of Nigeria’s crude.
The U.S. has banned imports of material for solar panels from Chinese firm Hoshine Silicon Industry Co, over allegations that it uses forced labor.
Washington has banned imports of a key solar panel material from Chinese firm Hoshine Silicon Industry over allegations of forced labor; according to Reuters sources.
The Commerce Department has also restricted exports to Hoshine, as well as three other companies and a paramilitary organisation.
At least some of the firms are major suppliers of silicon products used in solar panels.
The U.S. says they’ve all been involved in the use of forced labor by Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in China’s Xinjiang province.
Beijing is accused of holding more than 1 million people camps there – allegations that China strongly denies.
The region accounts for about 45% of all the polysilicon used in solar modules.
That means restrictions could pose problems for the renewable energy industry.
Though experts say polysilicon can still be sourced from other parts of China.
None of the firms involved would comment on the reports.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman strongly condemned the U.S. move, and said Beijing would take all necessary steps to safeguard its firms.
U.S. factory activity climbed to a record high in June, but manufacturers are still struggling to secure raw materials and qualified workers.
U.S. factories are humming. Manufacturing activity climbed to a record high in June even as companies struggle to secure raw materials and workers.
IHS Markit reported Wednesday its flash manufacturing PMI rose to 62.6 this month from 62.1 in May.
That bodes well for economists’ expectations calling for double-digit growth in the second quarter. Demand for goods remains robust even as the economy reopens.
But that strong demand is feeding into higher inflation as raw materials and finished products prices skyrocket and uncompleted work piles up.
Activity is moderating for businesses in the services sector, which also worries about rising inflation and the difficulty of securing qualified workers. The flash services sector PMI dropped in June. But it was still the second highest on record.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Zamfara Command, has raided an illegal mining centre at Sawa village,Talata Mafara Local Government Area, and confiscated 700kg of precious stones.
The command’s Public Relation Officer, Aminu Ismail, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen on Thursday in Gusau, Zamfara state Northern Nigeria.
Ismail said that the command received information from the Mining Officer of the Federal Ministry of Mining that some people in the local community had engaged in illegal mining in the area.
He said that the command immediately mobilised personnel to the area, adding that none of the suspects was arrested, but a total of 14 bags of 50kg were found fully loaded with precious stones.
France and Belgium have been impressive but Italy are unbeaten in 30 and with a comfortable-looking last-16 tie
1) Italy
The Roberto Mancini juggernaut rolls on. Three games, three wins, seven goals scored and none conceded in the group stage. Italy are unbeaten in 30 games, have not let in a goal for more than 1,000 minutes and beat Wales in their last group game having made eight changes. The introduction of Marco Verratti in that match added another layer to their game – he had been injured – and they are huge favourites against Austria
2) France
The main question before the tournament was whether the reintroduction of Karim Benzema would destabilise the squad, but they won the group of death and the Real Madrid striker scored twice the the 2-2 draw with Portugal. “I knew as soon as I would be in the national team, the critics would come out – but I never give up,” he said after the game. The style of play has not been swashbuckling but Paul Pogba has been in fine form and the head coach, Didier Deschamps, said: “Maybe other teams gave a better impression than the French team but now it is a new competition that starts.”
3) Belgium
“It’s now about getting every individual at their very best,” Roberto Martínez said, ominously, after Belgium’s third straight win, against Finland. It is promising for them in that regard: Kevin De Bruyne has gone from not playing at all, to coming on against Denmark and starting against Finland. Romelu Lukaku is looking in excellent form and Eden Hazard is picking up vital playing time after yet another injury-hit campaign. They face the champions, Portugal, on Sunday.
Belgium look ominous as Euro 2020 knockout stage begins. Photograph: Shutterstock
4) Netherlands
Frank de Boer’s side completed the group stage with a maximum nine points and there is a growing feeling in the Netherlands this side can go far in the tournament. True, they were expected to win all three games, being at home in arguably the weakest group, but you can only beat what is put in front of you. The 22-years-old PSV forward Donyell Malen has made a real impact and you sense this young side can still improve.
5) Portugal
It is unusual to see them as perplexed as they were in the second group game against Germany. They simply could not deal with Robin Gosens and Joshua Kimmich’s wing-play and deservedly lost 4-2. However, where there is Cristiano Ronaldo there is hope. He has scored five goals and, as always, looks as if he is on a mission. The defence is susceptible to pace, though, and Belgium will be a real test in the next round.
6) Denmark
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Denmark enter the knockout stage feeling proud and buoyant. It is unlikely a country has ever felt the swirl of contrasting emotions the Danes have experienced since Christian Eriksen’s horrifying collapse against Finland. With Eriksen now in reasonable health, the way they have channeled that experience for good has been awe-inspiring. Ferocious performances against Belgium and Russia were the product of that although it is also important to remember that, with or without Eriksen, they are a genuinely fine team.
Mikkel Damsgaard scores Denmark’s opener in the 4-1 victory over Russia. Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand/AP
7) Germany
The most uneven of group phases. They wereflat against France, scintillating against Portugal and increasingly desperate against Hungary. In the end they got through and, as Joachim Löw said, “it will be a completely different game against England”. The introduction of the 18-year-old Jamal Musiala made a difference against Hungary and the discussion of where Joshua Kimmich should play will resurface after he was moved into the middle towards the end of that game.https://interactive.guim.co.uk/2021/06/euros-players/embed/Germany/14/player.htmlJamal Musiala
8) England
Won their group, having collected seven out of nine points, but progress was, rightly, met with muted enthusiasm. The three clean sheets were a positive but England were static going forward, at least until the last group game against the Czech Republic whenBukayo Saka and Jack Grealish started and Harry Kane looked a bit more dynamic. Germany await. “We have known for 18 months that we could face a tough last-16 game but we are ready,” said Gareth Southgate.
9) Spain
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After the pain, the release. Two mediocre draws against Sweden and Poland and two penalty misses (Gerard Moreno and Álvaro Morata) were followed by a gift of the opening goal against Slovakia in the most comical of fashions, Martin Dubravka pushing the ball into his own net instead of over the bar. From that moment Spain were in complete control, winning 5-0 and qualifying as second in the group. Morata looks like he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, though, and the question is how long Luis Enrique can carry on starting him.
How long will Luis Enrique persevere with Álvaro Morata? Photograph: Aitor Alcalde/Uefa/Getty Images
10) Croatia
Turned on the style when they needed to, in the last group game against Scotland, outplaying the hosts and securing second place in Group D, having scored one more goal than the Czech Republic. Their reward is a last-16 game against an improving Spain. Luka Modric was key again against the Scots – “I don’t know how he keeps doing it,” Zlatko Dalic said – and Nikola Vlasic may well have earned himself a starting place.
11) Sweden
Produced a performance of extraordinary defensiveness against Spain but got the point they were after and have improved since then. The second half in the 1-0 win against Slovakiawas a step forward and three goals against Poland showed there is attacking quality in the squad. Alexander Isak has been the standout player while Emil Forsberg has three goals. The late winner against Poland means they won Group E and face Ukraine rather than Croatia in the last 16.https://interactive.guim.co.uk/2021/06/euros-players/embed/Sweden/11/player.htmlAlexander Isak
12) Wales
Few thought a repeat of the fairytale Euro 2016 , when they reached the semi-finals, would be possible, but they are two wins away from doing just that. Denmark and then the Netherlands or the Czech Republic stand in their way and after an encouraging group stage the players will feel that anything is possible. Many of them have not been regulars for their clubs but always seem to find an extra gear when playing for Wales.The win against Turkey was impressive but how much was down to the opponents being poor?
13) Austria
Were facing another group-stage exit before a much improved performance against Ukraine secured progress and second place in the group behind the Netherlands. “We wanted to write history, this was our objective – from the first day on we defined this target,” the coach, Franco Foda, said after the 1-0 win. They are through to the second round of a major tournament for the first time since 1982.
14) Switzerland
Vladimir Petkovic’s side has done what they normally do at major tournaments, qualify for the last 16, but the prospects of going further than in 2016 and 2018 look bleak as they now face France on Monday. After a draw against Whales and comprehensive defeat against Italy, Xherdan Shaqiri turned on the magic against Turkeyto ensure they finish as one of the best four third-placed teams. “Against Italy we played as individuals, against Turkey as a real team, that is the way forward,” said Haris Seferovic.
15) Czech Republic
Perhaps unfairly far down in the rankings but it is difficult to know how much a threat they are after one win against Scotland thanks to some Patrik Schick magic, one draw against Croatia and defeat against England when they knew they were already through. Jaroslav Silhavy has created an obdurate side but it would be a huge upset if they manage to win against the Netherlands in Budapest on Sunday.
16) Ukraine
It was difficult to comprehend how flat Ukraine were in their decider against Austria. They lost 1-0 and it should have been heavier. “I saw a team that lacked energy,” Andriy Shevchenko said. “We gave everything in the second half but sometimes you have these games where whatever you do, nothing goes well.” They rallied well against the Netherlands in the first game and there is quality in the squad, but a much better performance is needed against Sweden on Tuesday.
Oleksandr Zinchenko of Ukraine looks dejected after losing to Austria. Photograph: TF-Images/DeFodi Images/Getty Images
17) Hungary
The cruellest of eliminations. Hungary were six minutes (plus added time) from going through from the group of death but then Leon Goretzka struck in Munich and they finished where everyone expected them to: last. They held Portugal for 84 minutes before drawing with France and Germany. “I’m very proud of my team and very proud to coach this side,” Marco Rossi said. “We’re disappointed because we went very close.”
18) Finland
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The tournament debutants came within a whisker of qualifying for the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams but lost out on goal difference to Ukraine. The players – and the fans – behaved impeccably as Denmark tried to deal with seeing Christian Eriksen collapse in the opening game and came within 16 minutes of holding Belgium to a draw. “It felt great to be at the tournament and we want to play [at this stage] again,” the goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky said.
19) Scotland
It just wasn’t to be. Preparations for two of their games were disrupted when Kieran Tierney injured himself before the opener against the Czech Republic and then Billy Gilmour tested positive for Covid before the final game against Croatia. Both those games were lost although Scotland created enough against the Czechsto get a point and could have won against England after a spirited performance at Wembley.
20) Slovakia
Despite winning their opening game against Poland, they were eliminated at the group stage as one of the two worst third-placed teams. They would have expected to lose against Spain – although perhaps not so heavily – but will kick themselves they did not do more against Sweden. They are probably too reliant on an ageing Marek Hamsik to have made an impact, even if they had got a draw against Sweden.
21) Poland
It probably came down to Grzegorz Krychowiak’s unnecessary sending off in the opening game against Slovakia. Poland lostand despite a deserved draw against Spain they are out after the 3-2 defeat to Sweden. Robert Lewandowski did what he could, scoring three of the team’s four goals including a beauty against Sweden. He hit the bar twice in the same sequence of play in that game and if one of them had gone in maybe Poland would still be in the tournament.
22) North Macedonia
There have been far worse tournament debutants than North Macedonia, even if the final standings in Group C were not pretty. They were a fair advert for the Nations League path to Euro 2020, creating chances in all of their games and producing a lovely moment when Goran Pandev equalised against Austria. It was some way for Pandev to sign off 20 years after his debut. “It’s the right moment to step back,” he said, but his country hope it is only forwards from here.
Goran Pandev is embraced by teammates as he ends his 20-year international career. Photograph: Christopher Lee/Uefa/Getty Images
23) Russia
What a pity that a country with Russia’s vast size and resources fields such a listless football team. Alexei Miranchuk’s winner against Finland bears rewatching but Stanislav Cherchesov’s side were overwhelmed by Belgium and Denmark and Denmark, whose players were better and hungrier. “You need a strong personality to get your best performance in tournaments,” Chershesov said, but Russia never looked like recapturing the spirit of 2018.
24) Turkey
Came into the tournament as one of the dark horses but left after three straight defeats and minus seven in goal difference. Perhaps they were unlucky to come up against a brutally effective Italy in the opening game because they never seemed to recover. The defeat in the last group game against Switzerland was their best performance but they could have no complaints about finishing last in the group.
The away goals rule is to be dropped from European competition after 56 years, Uefa has announced.
From next season, it will no longer be possible for a two-legged tie to be decided by tallying the number of goals each side has scored at the stadium of the other. Instead, if the second leg finishes with an aggregate draw, 30 minutes’ extra time will be played, with penalties then following after that, should a winner not be found.
The change will apply across the men’s and women’s Champions League, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League.
A rule which was intended to encourage attacking play by visiting sides has created a number of memorable moments in European football. In recent years Roma came back from a 4-1 away defeat in a Champions League quarter-final to knock out Barcelona with a 3-0 home win in 2018. The following year Tottenham went one better, reaching the final after they followed a 1-0 home defeat against Ajax with a 3-2 victory in Amsterdam.
Uefa now argues that there is no longer a case for weighting away goals more heavily than those scored at home. In announcing the rule change the governing body said statistics show a steady decline in home advantage since the 1970s, with the ratio of goals scored at home and away changing from 2.02/0.95 to 1.58/1.15.
Among the factors Uefa suggests for a decline in home advantage include higher security within grounds, increasingly standardised pitches and more comfortable travelling conditions for the away team journeying across the continent. Such a shift has occurred only in the men’s game but the women’s game is to lose the away goals rule, too.
The Uefa president, Alexander Ceferin, said the change had been called for by clubs who felt the away goals rule now puts home sides at a competitive disadvantage. “The away goals rule has been an intrinsic part of Uefa competitions since it was introduced in 1965,” Ceferin said.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is due to travel to London “for a scheduled medical follow-up”, a statement from his office says.
This is the second time this year that he will have travelled to see doctors in the UK’s capital. He was in London for a fortnight in April.
The 78-year-old has made several trips to the UK for medical reasons throughout his presidency, which began in 2015, but the nature of his illness has never been disclosed.
“He is due back in the country during the second week of July,” the president’s office says.
Mr Buhari has been criticised in the past for travelling abroad for treatment, especially as the country’s public health service remains severely under funded.Article share tools
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved allocation of 3-bedroom houses to the Super Eagles Squad that won the African Cup of Nations in Tunis, Tunisia, in 1994, making real a promise by the Federal Government.
This was contained in a statement on Thursday by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity).
According to the statement, following a memo by Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, the President approved the allocations in their states of preference, noting that six players and three technical crews received their houses already.
The players are: Peter Rufai, Alloy Agu, Ike Shorounmu, Uche Okechukwu, Samson Siasia, Efan Ekoku, Sunday Oliseh, Benedict Iroha, Isaac Semitoje, Mutiu Adepoju, Emmanuel Amunike, Victor Ikpeba, Austin Eguavoen and Wilfred Agbonavbare (Deceased).
Others are: Uche Okafor (Deceased), Thompson Oliha (Deceased), Stephen Keshi (Deceased), Christian Chukwu, Dr Akin Amao, Stephen Edema, Col. A Asielue and B. Aromasodun.
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