Thursday, 21 December 2017

*NNPC can’t sustain 100% fuel importation, says LCCI*


As the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) continues to rock many parts of the, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation cannot continue to be the sole importer of the product into the country.

Private oil marketers had since last year stopped fuel importation due to shortage of foreign exchange and increase in crude prices, which they said had made it unprofitable to import petrol and sell at N145 per litre.

The LCCI advised the Federal Government to stop treating petrol as a social product by encouraging private sector operators to play a bigger role in the nation’s downstream petroleum sector.

The Director-General, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Wednesday, said, “It’s unfortunate that we are having fuel queues back. But there is a very fundamental problem with our petroleum downstream sector, and the problem is that it is over-regulated. You cannot have a sector as big as that serving our size of population and we expect only the government provider to be supplying fuel. It is not a sustainable model."

Monkeypox: Nigeria Records One Death, Confirms 61 Cases*

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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has announced 61 confirmed cases of monkeypox and reported the first death from the disease.

A situation report for monkeypox outbreak released by the agency for the epidemiological week 49, on Wednesday, said the dead patient was a confirmed case with background immune-compromised condition.

It, however, added that there has been a decline in the number of new suspected cases reported over the last five weeks. In the report, the agency also stated that it has deactivated the monkeypox Emergency Operations Centre, EOC, this week.

It said response to the disease will henceforth be coordinated by "a technical working group" comprising of all existing response partners.

Senate Blasts EFCC For Arresting Innoson Boss, Orders Probe*

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The Senate on Wednesday criticised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for arresting the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Innoson Motors, Innocent Chukwuma.

The lawmakers accused the EFCC of using military approach and therefore mandated the Senate Committee on Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption to investigate their actions.

During the plenary on Wednesday, the lawmakers took turn to criticise EFCC's actions as Senator Monsurat Sunmonu in an additional prayer which was seconded by Senator Oluremi Tinubu said that the Committee on Women Affairs should investigate the alleged assault on Chwukuma's wife by EFCC operatives.

Senator Emmanuel Bwacha in his comments said if, truly, Chukwuma's wife was slapped by an operative of the EFCC as Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe claimed to have been told, "someone must be held to account; he must lose his job and he must be prosecuted."

Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu also at the plenary raised a point of order to criticise EFCC for the arrest.

*BREAKING: Again, PDP loses Rep to APC*


Another member of the Peoples Democratic Party has just defected to the All Progressives Congress in the House of Representatives.

He is Mr. Johnson Agbonayinma from Edo State.

Agbonayinma, was a member of the Ali Modu Sheriff faction before the Supreme Court recognised the then Senator Ahmed Makarfi faction as the authentic leadership of the party.

Only on Tuesday, a member of the PDP from Imo State, Mr. Raphael Igbokwe, had defected to the APC.

Agbonayinma claimed, “The PDP has shut the door against me.”

Edo State Deputy Governor, Mr. Phillip Shuaibu, witnessed the defection.

Wednesday, 20 December 2017

*EU says Brexit transition 👍 to end by 31 December 2020*

A "transition period" after the UK leaves the EU should not continue beyond 31 December 2020, Brussels says.

Giving evidence to a committee of MPs, Prime Minister Theresa May said a 31 December 2020 cut-off offered a "neatness" for the EU, but suggested the length of the transition phase would be a matter for the negotiations.

Long-term, the UK has already said it plans to leave the customs union and single market and end the supremacy of EU court rulings as part of Brexit.

Some Brexit-supporting Tory MPs have warned the UK could become a "colony" of the EU during the transition period if it continues to closely follow the same rules.

Asked whether he expected Spain to agree to the transitional arrangement covering Gibraltar, Mr Barnier said decisions on the issue would be "made for the 27, unanimously, by consensus".

*Innocent Chukwuma, Innoson Motors boss, arrested*


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Law enforcement officers said to be from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested Innocent Chukwuma, the founder and chairman of Innoson Motors.

Reports say a spokesperson for the company, Cornel Osigwe, that Mr. Chukwuma was arrested at his residence in Enugu around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

“His arrest is in connection to the ongoing case he has with GTBank,” Mr. Osigwe said by telephone.

Mr. Osigwe said his principal was accused of jumping bail, wondering how someone who was never invited by the EFCC much less being arrested would be accused of fleeing from the law.

“He was never invited by the EFCC, we challenge them to come forward with any evidence showing that he jumped bail,” Mr. Osigwe said. “This is GTBank using federal authorities to persecute an illustrious citizen who has done a lot to improve the economic development of this country.”

The EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said he had not been briefed about the arrest.