The group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has said that the nation’s refineries were deliberately shut down because operations were no longer sustainable.
He disclosed this when he appeared before the house of representatives committee on petroleum resources (upstream) on Thursday in Abuja.
Kyari, who noted that the NNPC was unable to supply crude oil to the refineries, added that the Excravos pipeline is the only one the NNPC managed to sustain through contracting process.
“For instance, to run the Kaduna and Warri refineries, you need to deliver 170,000 barrels of oil per day so that both will operate at 70 percent capacity,” he said, adding that NNPC currently has only around 5,000 kilometres of pipelines with 13 fuel depots.
“And I can tell you today that except the Atlas cove to Ibadan line, and also the Port Harcourt to Aba line, none of these pipelines is serviced,” he said.
“We cannot flow product into these lines. The cheap one is to say they are aged, but the real reason is that the level of activities of vandals on these lines is gross, monumental and profound.
“At every point within a month, we fix 80 vandal points. The option is to shut them down and the result of having one depot is what we have seen in Lagos.”
According to NAN, the GMD lamented the activities of vandals, noting that from January to June, the corporation lost petroleum product worth about N43 billion.
Kyari said to protect the pipelines, the NNPC had to engage the services of security agencies.
He also urged the house of representatives to urgently pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), as that would encourage investors in the sector.
As the main goal of the Buhari administration is ending open defecation across the country, it is prioritizing its Clean Nigeria Campaign which in turn will enhance social inclusion; poverty reduction; business growth, and entrepreneurship; greater access to quality education and affordable healthcare, among others. The vice president Yemi Osibajo, made this known in a virtual anniversary celebration of the clean Nigeria Campaign. The vice president said, “we are aware that access to adequate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services is a critical factor in the socio-economic development of any nation and contributes to human capital outcomes such as early childhood survival, health and educational attainment. Access to WASH services is also one of the key preventive measures in the raging global COVID-19 pandemic.” Speaking on the importance of other sectors, Prof. Osibajo said that “the initiative of the Organized Private Sector in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (OPS-WASH) tagged ‘FLUSHIT’ which aims at promoting private sector-led innovative financial strategies in WASH, is a welcome development.”
He also emphasized that “the role of the private sector is critical in building a virile sanitation economy which will drive the sustenance of the results being achieved under the Clean Nigeria Campaign.”
Scotland has become the first country in the world to make period sanitary products available free of charge.
The Scottish Parliament voted unanimously in favor of the Period Products bill on Tuesday, months after lawmakers had initially signaled their support.
This is a landmark victory in the fight against period poverty worldwide as Scotland’s ability to make this a reality has proven that it is possible in other countries as well.
The argument for free sanitary products has been around for years, on the backbone of the availability of free condoms and other sexual health products even though sex is a choice and periods are not.
With 20% of Scottish women living in poverty, the new law would provide free safe and secure sanitary products for those who couldn’t afford it and improve women’s health in general.
The sanitary products would be available in schools, hospitals, libraries.
Heartbroken fans of Diego Maradona gathered on the streets of Buenos Aires to mourn the Argentine soccer legend’s death on Wednesday, praying, laying flowers and singing patriotic and sport chants.
President Alberto Fernandez declared three days of national mourning after Maradona, 60, died at home following a heart attack, after battling a series of health problems.
At Maradona’s childhood home in Villa Fiorito, a largely impoverished city in the suburbs of the capital, people gathered to pray in front of an Argentine flag adorned with a black ribbon.
Others gathered in the San Andres neighborhood where he lived and in the nearby city of La Plata where he had lately been technical director for local team Gimnasia y Esgrima. Crowds of people also sang Argentina’s national anthem outside the hospital where officials are expected to perform Maradona’s autopsy.
People gather to mourn the death of soccer legend Diego Maradona, outside the Diego Amrando Maradona stadium, in Buenos Aires
Next to Maradona’s former club, Boca Juniors, in the gritty Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boca, they laid bouquets of flowers.
“I came because I felt him. He’s from here, from us,” said Juan Jose Quinteros, 50, a Boca supporter who came to mourn Maradona outside the club.
“With that hand of God he gave the soul back to the people,” Quinteros said, a reference to a goal Maradona scored with his hand against England in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico..
Digital signs used for public transportation updates were illuminated around the city with the message “Thank you, Diego.”
As Wednesday evening came, some fans stood outside the Casa Rosada presidential palace, ahead of Maradona’s wake due to begin on Thursday. Near the Obelisco downtown, a traditional focus of sporting celebrations, fans gathered in Argentina soccer jerseys to sing songs in his honor.
“Diego is the greatest there is, the best. I met my wife in 1986 when Diego scored the goal with his hand,” said 53-year-old Buenos Aires resident Jose Luis Shokiva.
“The truth for me is that Diego is everything. As a Boca fan, as an Argentine, he is the greatest. What has happened is an immense sadness,” said Shokiva, wearing a t-shirt with Maradona’s image.
Maradona was globally famed as one of the greatest soccer players of all time, but at home was idolized as a god. Fans have long referred to him as ‘El Dios’ – which means ‘The God’, but is also a play on words on his number 10 shirt, ‘El Diez.’
“I am very sad, he was someone who was part of our childhood and adolescence,” said Mariela Barg, a lawyer in Buenos Aires. Thinking of him brought back memories of celebrating the World Cup win in 1986, she said.
“He was intertwined with something so Argentine as soccer, and now he is gone.”
A legend of the game, Maradona’s passing has been met with huge sadness across the world but many have also been remembering all of the incredible moments one of the greatest players in history delivered.
Diego Armando Maradona reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest in his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday, as three days of national mourning have been declared in his homeland. His body has been placed in the presidential palace in Buenos Aires and over one million are expected to pay tributes to Argentina’s favorite son as lines to get into the building snaked across the center of the Argentine capital.
Boca Juniors, Maradona’s boyhood club who he played for across two spells, turned all of the lights off in their La Bombonera stadium except for one light which shined brightly from Maradona’s box on the halfway line.
The loss of Maradona has swept sadness across the soccer world, and below is a look at the scenes and tributes from around the world.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed Friday for ruling on the bail application filed by Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, who has been detained in prison since Monday over his suretyship for Abdulrasheed Maina believed to have jumped bail.
Justice Okon Abang adjourned for ruling after Ndume’s lawyer, Marcel Oru, argued the bail application, which was opposed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar.
Maina, a former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reformed Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, is being prosecuted by the EFCC on charges of money laundering involving N2bn.
On November 18, 2020, Justice Abang revoked the bail granted him, ordered his arrest, and directed that his trial would proceed in absentia.
The judge also on Monday remanded Ndume in prison until he produced Maina or paid the sum of N500m bail bond to the Federation Account.
Ndume, through his lawyer, Marcel Oru, had on Tuesday filed an appeal against the remand order at the Court of Appeal, along with an application for the bail of the defendant filed before Justice Abang.
At least 40 informal miners in Zimbabwe have been trapped underground after a shaft in a disused gold mine collapsed, the country’s miners’ federation said Thursday.
The incident occurred late Wednesday in the town of Bindura, around 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of the capital Harare, said Wellington Takavarasha, head of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation.
Takavarasha told AFP the miners were working inside the disused Ran Gold Mine when a shaft caved in.
Six miners have since been pulled from the rubble and taken to hospital.
“Those who were rescued said there were about 40 people in the mine shaft at the time of the incident,” said Takavarasha, adding that rescue efforts were ongoing.
Mining is a major source of foreign currency for Zimbabwe, where gold alone accounts for 60 per cent of exports.
The landlocked southern African country is home to vast gold and mineral reserves, including diamonds and platinum.
READ ALSO: Buhari will set Nigeria on fire if he doesn’t implement people’s demands —Wike
The gold sector provides jobs to nearly 10 per cent of the country’s population, according to the International Crisis Group.
Small-scale miners often operate illegally to avoid selling their bullion to the state-owned buyer, Fidelity Printers and Refiners, as they are paid only 55 per cent in foreign currency.
The remaining 45 per cent is paid in Zimbabwean dollars, which is notorious for its weakness.
Accidents are relatively common in decommissioned mines, particularly when the ground is loosened by rain.
American country singer and legend, Dolly Parton says her upcoming holiday musical, “Christmas on the Square,” teaches that forgiveness, and asking for forgiveness, are essential to blossoming both emotionally and spiritually.
Hitting Netflix on Nov. 22, “Christmas on the Square” follows Regina Fuller (Christine Baranski), a curmudgeonly and wealthy woman who returns to her small hometown after her father’s death.
It’s not long before her intentions are clear: She plans to evict everyone from the town and sell the land to a mall developer.
“The deadline to be out of your homes is now Christmas Eve,” Regina tells heartbroken townsfolk as they huddle in the local church.
But after listening to stories of the local townsfolk — including a young pastor and his wife — reconnecting with an old love, and accepting the guidance of an angel, Regina’s heart begins to soften.
In an interview, Parton, who plays an angel in “Christmas on the Square,” said the film’s message of restoration and forgiveness, although relevant at all times, is “certainly” needed in today’s divided society.
“There’s a lot to be said about forgiveness; it cleans you for other good stuff to come in,” Parton said. “If you go around with a bunch of hate and anger and bottled up stuff in you, you can’t blossom, as a person, you’re not doing yourself any favors or anyone else. It’s just so much better to forgive.”
“And of course, we can’t forget; we still remember things. But I think when they say ‘forgive and forget,’ that just means to forget about that now and move on,” she added. “I really think that that’s so important to cleanse your own heart and your own soul, to be able to forgive and to ask forgiveness. You never should be too proud to ask for forgiveness.”
“Christmas on the Square” features 14 original songs, all penned by Parton, a nine-time Grammy Award-winner. The songs touch on topics of love, the power of prayer, and caring for others.
The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has backed the position of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) over the growing security challenges in northern Nigeria, saying President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to address his most primary responsibility of providing security.
The spokesman for the coalition, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, while reacting on Tuesday, said communities in northern Nigeria must mobilise to protect themselves.
The ACF had on Monday expressed the anger and frustration of northerners to President Buhari on the growing security challenges in the region.
The ACF National Publicity Secretary, Emmanuel Yawe, said northerners had expected much more from the present administration.
The presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, did not react to message sent to him by our correspondent.
Similarly, the Northern Elders Forum has said there is no doubt that the administration of President Buhari does not care about the people of the north, their economy and security.
Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60 after suffering a cardiac arrest, according to multiple reports.
The football legend had a heart attack at his home just two weeks after leaving hospital where he underwent surgery on a blot clot in his brain.
Maradona, regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, helped Argentina win the World Cup in 1986, the pinnacle of an illustrious career.
He played club football for Boca Juniors, Napoli and Barcelona among others and was adored by millions for his brilliant skills.
Maradona was responsible for the infamous ‘Hand of God’ that eliminated England from the 1986 tournament. +2
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60, according to reports+2
Maradona’s Hand of God was responsible for England’s elimination from the 1986 World Cup
The Argentine news outlet Clarin broke the news on Wednesday afternoon UK time, describing the news of Maradona’s passing as having a ‘worldwide impact’.
Soon, tributes were pouring in from all over the world of football.
Maradona left hospital on November 11 just eight days after being admitted for emergency brain surgery.
The iconic former Argentinian footballer was driven away from the private Olivos Clinic just before 6pm on Wednesday as hundreds of fans of photographers tried to get a glimpse of him.
Maradona was hospitalised the previous week and had to have an emergency operation to remove a blood clot from his brain.
Argentinian TV reporters travelling on motorbikes filmed the ambulance carrying him leaving before following the vehicle to transmit every inch of his journey.
His lawyer, Matias Morlahas said that the 60-year-old would continue to receive treatment for alcohol dependency.
Maradona was expected to stay in a house near his older daughters.
Maradona, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986 and was the coach of Gimnasia y Esgrima in his home country, had been admitted to hospital on several occasions since his retirement. He almost died of cocaine-induced heart failure in 2000 and underwent years of rehabilitation.
Maradona, who was well known for having a wild lifestyle during and after his playing days, had a gastric bypass operation to lose weight in 2005 and was once more hospitalised two years later for alcohol-induced hepatitis.
He also fell ill at the last World Cup in Russia, where he was filmed passing out in an executive box when Argentina took on and beat Nigeria in Group D.
More to follow
MARADONA’S LONG HISTORY OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE
Maradona began taking cocaine in the mid-1980s – during the height of his playing days, going on to develop an addiction to drugs and alcohol over the next two decades.
His drug use began in 1982 and reportedly grew worse in 1984 when he moved to Napoli and had connections with the Comorra.
In 2014, Maradona said of his drug use: ‘I gave my opponents a big advantage. Do you know the player I could have been if I hadn’t taken drugs?’
His first real punishment came in 1991 when he was banned for 15 months by Napoli after testing positive for cocaine. Later in the same year he was arrested in Buenos Aires for possessing half a kilo of cocaine, and was given a 14-month suspended sentence.
In 1994, Maradona was back in the fold with the Argentina national team, making headlines around the world for a now-famous screaming celebration into the camera lens after a goal against Greece. His tournament was to come to an early end, though, after he was expelled days later for testing positive for five variants of ephedrine, a banned substance. He was banned for 15 months, ending his international career.
In 1995, he moved to Boca Juniors but two years later he failed a drugs test for the third time in six years, putting an end to his playing career. Officially, a ‘prohibited substance’ is all that has been revealed about that test, but Boca president Mauricio Macri has said in interviews that cocaine was found in a urine sample.
In 1996, Maradona said publicly: ‘I was, am and always will be a drug addict.’
In 2000, the footballing legend suffered an overdose, and in 2004 he had a heart attack. A year later, he was forced to have gastric bypass surgery, and in 2007 he was back in hospital again, this time suffering hepatitis.
It is then understood he stopped taking drugs, telling a journalist in 2017 that he hadn’t taken drugs for 13 years and was feeling ‘great’.
He has been drinking alcohol since 2004, though, hitting the headlines at the 2018 World Cup for his bizarre antics at a number of Argentina games. A video emerged of him drinking tequila on a plane, and he claimed he ‘drank all the wine’ ahead of their win over Nigeria.
The Parliament of the United Kingdom on Monday held a debate following e-petitions received accusing the Nigerian government and security officials of human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings.
The debate opened by Theresa Villers, stemmed from a petition started by Silas Ojo. The petition garnered more than 220,000 signatories, crossing the 100,000 mark needed for a petition to be debated by the lawmakers.
Villers said the petition was prompted by disturbing violence in Nigeria over recent weeks and the petitioners have a credible case.
While condemning the suppression of peaceful protesters through travel ban and asset freezing, Villers said the plight of the Nigerian youths must never be forgotten.
Following the debate, the lawmakers demanded the UK government to consider imposing sanctions on officials who are found culpable of human rights abuses of Nigerian citizens.
The lawmakers said any individuals found responsible for these atrocities following investigations by the Nigerian government must face sanctions.
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