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T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2016
BUSINESSWORLD
ENERGY
Lagos Communities Disown Petition against Integrated Oil’s Proposed Refinery Stories by Ejiofor Alike Sixteen communities, as well as the Osinowo royal family of Taqwa-Bey, Abagbo, Itamaro village and its environs in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State have dissociated themselves from a petition purportedly written on their behalf by one Onoriobe Raymond Gold, against the proposed Integrated Oil and Gas Refinery that will be sited on Tomaro Island of Apapa riverine area of the state. In a letter addressed to the Chairman of Integrated Oil and Gas Limited, and signed by the 16 Baales of the various communities on the Osinowo island and the Osinowo family, the communities dissociated themselves from what they described as false representation of events on the island. The communities also apologised to the company for the embarrassment caused by the petition. The community leaders said they were aware of the plans of Integrated Oil for the island and had held several engagements with the company over the last two years. They also revealed that they held a meeting with the company last month, which the representatives of the Federal Ministry of Environment also attended as part of the initial preparation
for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). “Integrated Oil and Gas has always engaged with our communities through us, the Baales and we have always passed down the information to members of our communities on their plans for the island. We know that these projects will bring developments like roads, borehole water and electricity to the island and provide jobs to our youth. It is clear that some people do not want progress to come to this island but instead would wish to blackmail Integrated Oil and Gas in the hope to make money for themselves, hence the wicked letter and publication by these fellows. We want the world to know that the person or persons do not represent the communities on Osinowo Island and should therefore be disregarded,” the communities explained. The letter, which was obtained by THISDAY, was signed by Baale of Agala 1, Chief Isa Okeshina; Baale of Agala 2, Chief Akesode; Baale of Ikate, Chief Ikate; Baale of Ifako, Chief James Ebenezer; Baale of Kwakoji, Chief Benerd Wetto; Baale of Tomaro, Chief Sulaimon; Baale of Akopanawa, Chief Usanowhe; Baale of Sabokoji, Chief Anthony and Baale of Shiku, Chief Shewanu Isiku.
Other signatories include Baale of Irede, Chief Femi Alade; Baale of Ganve, Chief Samuel Ganveh; Baale of Araromi, Chief Adepetu; Baale of Agbogbedo, Chief Wesu Oseni; Baale of Ituagan, Chief Ikuesan; Baale of Igase, Chief Samuel and Baale of Igbo Alejo, Chief Adeiyi Aderibole. THISDAY also gathered that on receipt of the petition, the Federal Ministry of Environment convened an open forum
in Lagos where the petition was read with representatives of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Lagos State Ministry of Waterfront, Lagos State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and all community development associations (CDAs) present. At the forum, the petition
was read and the communities refuted all the points raised by the petitioner, insisting that they were untrue. Based on the position of the communities, the stakeholders passed a resolution that: “that the community supports the Tomaro Island Refinery Project; that the communities dissociate themselves from the petition written by Raymond Gold and articulated by Augustina Armstrong Ogbonna; that the EIA process had started as
far back as December 2015 and currently ongoing; that physical development of the project is yet to commence; that the communities insist that Raymond Gold apologises to all relevant regulatory bodies and also Integrated Oil and Gas Limited for the embarrassment that he has caused all concerned.” The communities also held a press conference where they refuted the allegations contained in the petition.
Niger Delta Group Urges Buhari TOUR OF BATN FACTORY L-R: Area Operations Director, British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN), Charles Kyalo; Comptroller General Nigeria Customs Service to Disregard Planned Protest (NCS), Col. Hammed Ibrahim Ali (rtd); Managing Director, BATN, Chris McAllister; Deputy Comptroller General in charge of excise (NCS), Mrs Grace Adeyemo; Area Finance Director, BATN, Anthony Copty; and Area Head, Legal and External Affairs, West and Central Africa, against Kachikwu BATN, Freddy Messanvi; during the Comptroller General of Customs’ visit to the BATN Factory in Ibadan ...recently An oil monitoring group, the Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to disregard the planned protest against the current fuel scarcity by Occupy Nigeria, saying it was a veiled protest by the group to force the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu out of office. A group, Occupy Nigeria, had said it would mobilise Nigerians for a peaceful protest in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday, April 14, 2016 over the failure of the federal government to address the perennial fuel scarcity in the country. The co-facilitator of the group, Mr. Livingstone Wechie, reportedly added that another protest would be organised against the current supply of poor electricity amid increased tariff and incessant/ fraudulent bank charges on poor Nigerians. But in a swift reaction, NDIMRC in a statement signed by its President, Nelly Emma, Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer (PRO), Stanley Mukoro, said the protest against fuel scarcity was targeted at the minister to force him out of office over problems he did not create. “Dr Kachikwu is busy right now trying to ensure that we overcome the lingering fuel crisis in the country and yet somebody is calling for protest to instigate the President to
sack him because of problems he did not cause. We should allow the Minister to remain focused on his national assignment. These unnecessary distractions from some disgruntled politicians and stakeholders in the oil and gas industry are not healthy in our present situation in the country,” the group said. The group said the recent call for protest was uncalled for and unacceptable, adding that all hands must be on deck to end this fuel crisis. “Our President is too familiar with the tricks and selfish motivated interests of disgruntled politicians and sponsors of such protests and therefore the call for protest must be ignored,” the group added. NDIMRC described as tissue of lies, all the allegations against the minister on the fuel crisis and insisted that none of the factors that escalated the crisis was under the control of the minister. “We are amazed that the minister is even being accused of using a private jet at the expense of the state and using consultants to run the NNPC and had embarked on changes in NNPC without carrying the staff along. It should be noted that the Minister was the Vice Chairman of ExxonMobil before his appointment and now he is the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and same time the Group Managing Director of the NNPC.”
BG Technical Inaugurates First Pipeline Pigging Products Factory in W’Africa BG Technical Limited, 100 per cent indigenous firm has completed and inaugurated first pipeline, pigs and accessories factory in Nigeria and West Africa. The inauguration of the factory located in Owerri, Imo State, was performed at the weekend by the Acting Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Patrick Daziba and the Group General Manager of the National Petroleum and Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), represented by Mr. James Jock. The factory is expected to generate foreign exchange for Nigeria and help to provide quality products for the maintenance of pipeline so as to prolong life span and reduce cases of pipeline rupture as well as leakages. The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, represented by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation Mr. Tunde Adelana disclosed that the multibillion Naira factory was another evidence and validation that the efforts of the board was paying off in real terms in the oil and gas industry. This, he said is another attestation to the fact that
Nigerians can develop the required industry capability once the enabling environment is in place. “The opening of the factory is indeed worthy of celebration. Looking back at the years of pre-NOGICD Act, investors like B.G Technical would probably not be able to compete in the area of pigging services due to the preponderance of foreign goods and services,” he noted. “ I would like to encourage other companies across sector to always strive to develop their capacities and capabilities-human and structural-as the focus of local content development is not to compromise quality but to ensure that work done by local companies can compete with that of their counterparts in any part of the world,” he added.In his speech, Jock, said NNPC had the mandate to utilise local resources in the execution of projects in the upstream sector in line with the NOGIC Act. “ My commitment from NAPIMS is that we are going to support B.G Technical so that the investment made to domesticate technology and create jobs in-country would not go down the drain,” he said.
Ikeja Electric Warns against Cash Payment to Staff The Ikeja Electric has cautioned customers against making cash payments to its staff and unveiled new multiple payment channels to enable customers make convenient and seamless payments and purchase of tokens. The company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Felix Ofulue, said in a statement that the company’s linesmen, engineers and technicians were not commissioned to receive cash payments of any kind. “Basically, our Linesmen should not collect reconnection fees, neither are our Energy Sales Representatives (ESR’s) permitted to receive bill payments on behalf of customers. We have therefore embarked on an aggressive “Name & Shame” campaign where parties who engage in this fraudulent act will face prosecution as dictated by the laws of the land,” he said. Ofulue, who labelled staff and ex-staff who engaged in this illegal act as saboteurs, further urged all customers to resist efforts by any staff to extract monies from them illegally and also report them to the management. He explained that the new payment options were designed to offer all customers security, greater convenience and choice, and also intended to make the payment process more efficient.
“We are committed to providing our customers with the greatest level of customer service and introducing these multiple secure and convenient payment channels is yet another aspect of our service offering,” he said. Ofulue explained that with the expansion of the payment channels, the company is addressing the challenges of all category of customers as post-paid customer accounts are credited promptly, avoiding unplanned service interruptions while prepaid customer are provided with more convenient vending channels. He, however, reminded customers to ensure they collect their receipts as it is the only proof of payment. He warned that customers who continued to make illegal payments to staff were not only doing so at their own risk, but were also sabotaging the efforts of Ikeja Electric to improve service delivery across her network. While reacting to the issue of unauthorised technicians and electricians posing as the company’s linesmen, the company spokesman advised customers to ascertain the true identity of staff who call on them on behalf of Ikeja Electric by requesting to see their identity cards.