FG to Establish Specialised Petroleum Force to Tackle Militancy Chineme Okafor in Abuja As part of its 2017 target to ensure zero militancy and drastic reduction of violence in the Niger Delta, which affect Nigeria’s oil production, the federal government has indicated that it would set up a specialised petroleum force, comprising
coastal patrol teams, Niger Delta subsidiary police, and other paramilitary set-ups. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, disclosed this shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari launched his government’s policy document for the country’s oil and gas sector – the seven big wins in Abuja.
Kachikwu, who spoke during the post-event press briefing noted that the specialised force would complement whatever efforts and mechanisms oil companies would put in place to secure their production assets and activities. Besides, he gave reasons why the planned co-location of new refineries alongside
existing ones in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri was taking long to be concluded as well as the delay in having a Final Investment Decision (FID) on Train-7 expansion project of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG). The minister had initially stated that under a new security arrangement, the govern-
ment planned to pull out the country’s military from the Niger Delta region and allow oil companies set up their own security processes to safeguard their production. He also stated that the specialised force would be amphibious in character and equipped to support the security efforts of the oil compa-
nies. According to him, some participants in the current Amnesty Programme for former Niger Delta militants would be incorporated into the force as the government looks to close down the programme in 2017. “All over the world, oil comContinued on page 8
After a Lull, Suicide Bombing Returns to Maiduguri ...Page 10
Sunday 30 October, 2016 Vol 21. No 7864
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Battle for Ondo PDP Guber Ticket Moves to Appeal Court Court to hear matter expeditiously Nov. 1-3
Tobi Soniyi and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, and James Sowole in Akure In an effort to resolve the
Peoples Democratic Party governorship tangle in Ondo State as expeditiously as possible, the Court of Appeal has fixed November 1 to 3 for the hearing of the various
Protest continues over substitution of Ibrahim for Jegede
appeals and supporting motions on the matter. A three-man panel of the appellate court led by Justice Jumai Sankey fixed the dates yesterday in Abuja when the
matter came up. That was after parties to the appeals harmonised all pending preliminary applications bordering on the substantive issues on appeal.
This was as protests continued at the weekend in Akure, the state capital, and other towns in the state over Thursday’s substitution of Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN,
with Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as candidate of PDP in the final list of candidates for the November 26 governorship Continued on page 8
Obasanjo: As President, I Created Twenty-five Nigerian Billionaires Wants govt to provide conducive environment for business
Obinna Chima In what appeared to be a challenge to the federal government to encourage wealth creation as well as entrepreneurial initiatives, former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said his government was able to produce 25 billionaires. The former president said this at a ceremony for the second edition of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Forum in Lagos. He however did not name the 25 billionaires. "My delight is to be able to create Nigerian billionaires. I always say it proudly that my aim when I was in government was to create 50 billionaires from Nigeria. Unfortunately I failed, because I created only 25," he explained. Responding to an earlier remark by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who was also at the event, that the federal government had taken steps to improve the business environment, Obasanjo said Nigerians and investors "want to see the results." Continued on page 8
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ADENUGA GETS GHANA'S HIGHEST HONOUR
President John Mahama (right) shakes hands with the Chairman of Globacom, Dr Mike Adenuga, after decorating him with the Companion of The Star of Ghana (CSG), Ghana’s highest national civilian honour, in Accra. ...yesterday
WEEKLY PULL-OUT
30.10.2016
MEMORABLE NIGHT AT THE
KAZBAH