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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2017Ëž T H I S D AY
NEWSXTRA
APC Not Opposed to SGF’s Corruption Probe, Says Shehu Sani Party chieftain asks Buhari to sack Babachir, Magu now Onyebuchi Ezigbo Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Chairman of the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Northeast Humanitarian Crisis investigating the alleged massive misappropriation of the federal government’s funds meant for the up-keep  of internally displaced persons (IDPs), Senator Shehu Sani, has said the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not against the probe of the exercise. Sani’s position came just as a chieftain of the APC in Kaduna State, Yusuf Ali (Rabagardama), has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to relieve the embattled Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF) Babachir David Lawal and the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC), Ibrahim Magu, of their jobs to save the image of the party. The party’s chieftain said the embattled SGF has failed the integrity test, adding that the two men have become ‘liabilities to the administration.’ Ali who is a prominent figure in the Kaduna State APC loyal to Governor Nasir el-Rufai, said there are other competent and credible people even from the North-east who can competently replace him while he serves out his time in any of the prisons assigned to him.â€? Speaking on the outcome of
the meeting with the party, the Senator representing Kaduna Central District, Sani said the leadership was not opposed to what the Senate has done but is merely concerned about his tone of criticisms against President Buhari on the floor of the senate. Sani who arrived at the national secretariat of the APC by 1.35p.m. yesterday, met with the APC’s national leadership, led by the National Chairman, Chief John OdigieOyegun, and the Deputy National Chairman (North) Senator Shuaibu Lawal, for an hour. An unruffled Sani who spoke to journalists on the outcome of the meeting, insisted that the corruption probe is in public interest and must be carried out to a logical conclusion. He said party was worried about caustic use of words in criticising the president and his policies each time he speaks on the floor of the National Assembly. The activist-cum politician had in his response to a clearance letter supposedly sent by President Buhari on the allegations against SGF, likened the federal government’s seemingly biased anti-corruption posture to that of one using deodorant on allies while on other hand spraying perceived opponents with insecticides. On whether the meeting
Publisher Still in Detention after Court Orders His Release Michael Olugbode Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“ The Publisher of National Trail, Inuwa Bwala, has not been released from police custody more than 24 hours after a court in Maiduguri ordered his release. Bwala was arrested along with his driver by the police in Abuja on January 17, 2017, and has been in detention in Maiduguri since then without being charged to court. A High Court in Maiduguri gave a ruling last Monday, calling on the police to release Bwala and his driver, Mohammed Audu, pending the determination of the suit against them. The judge of the High Court of Justice in Maiduguri, Justice Hadiza Jos, giving the ruling, had said: “It is hereby ordered that the applicants be released from custody pending the hearing of the originating summons.â€? But in a statement signed by the editor of National Trail, Mr. Aaron Ossai, and made available to THISDAY,
Bwala and his driver were said to have been kept in police custody. Ossai, in the statement said: “The refusal to release him after the court order confirms to us that Bwala’s arrest was politically motivated. We are also sad that his driver was also arrested and has been detained as well. This is quite unfortunate.� Ossai alleged that the continued detention of Bwala who is a former Commissioner for Information in Borno State and the spokesman of the factional leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, was as a result of a top official in the state thwarting his release. Bwala was arrested over investigations into alleged attempt on the life of incumbent Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Usman Durkwa. He was accused to have sponsored some thugs a day before the 2015 presidential election to beat up Durkwa, then a commissioner, in his home town, Marama.
with the party would in any way affect the probe, Sani said nothing would stop the Senate from holding its ground on the SGF corruption saga. “We are investigation the massive misappropriation of funds for IDPs in the Northeast. Nobody can stop that. We are determined to do our work and have done an interim report and we are going to come out with the full detail after this break and nobody in the party has said he is opposed to it. But I think that their major concern was my ‘grammar’. “Sacking the SGF is not about Sani, but about the resolution of the Senate and
what they said is binding on me. If the Senate says he should go, I share in that position and if they say he should remain, I share in that position too. I didn’t ask to be named chairman of the ad hoc committee and did not even know I was going to be in the committee. I was appointed and I have to do my job as it is and once I am done, I am out of it. “Let me make this clarification, the party did not in any way send a letter to me contrary to reports, I only came to discuss with the leadership on moves to ensure greater solidarity among APC Senate caucus and to brief them on
the probe of allegation against the SGF. Among the members of the National Working Committee who received the Senator (NWC) were National Organising, Secretary, Osita Izunaso, National Treasurer, Alhaji Dogwa Gwagwarwa and the party’s National Youth Leader, Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo. THISDAY last week reported that the APC had summoned Sani to come and explain his utterances regarding the anti-corruption crusade of President Buhari. Meanwhile, a chieftain of the APC from Kaduna State, Ali has asked President Buhari to spare himself of
all the hue and cry that he is covering up some people in his administration who are alleged to be corrupt. Ali said if the embattled SGF fails the integrity test, there are competent and credible people who can competently replace him. Speaking on the controversy over the clearance of the acting EFCC Chairman by the Senate, Ali said: “The DSS which indicted Magu as lacking in credibility is equally part of the Buhari government, and it will be safer for the president to align with the DSS instead of disregarding its security report.
LUCKY WINNER
L - R: Deputy Managing Director, Diamond Bank Plc, Caroline Anyanwu; Winner, Diamond Y’ello Promo, Okoro Walter; Segment Analyst MFS, MTN, Nigeria, Chigozie Amakeme; and Managing Director/CEO, Diamond Bank Plc, Uzoma Dozie, at the cheque presentation ceremony to the winners of the Diamond Y’ello Refer and Win Promo in Lagos ....recently.
Orient Petroleum Partners Àrgentil, Dharmattan on Gas Development in Anambra Basin Ejiofor Alike Orient Petroleum Resources Plc (OPR) and First Modular Gas Systems Limited (FMGSL), a natural gas processing and marketing company, have signed a gas processing, Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA), establishing the contractual and commercial terms for the development of the first phase of a gas processing plant at Orient Petroleum’s Anambra River oil and gas field, located in the Anambra Basin. FMGSL is a midstream gas portfolio company jointly owned by Àrgentil Capital Management Limited (ACML) and Dharmattan Gas Facilities Limited (Dharmattan) to develop gas processing clusters to deliver gas to the domestic market. The Anambra Basin is estimated to have significant gas deposits and contains the Oriental Petroleum- operated Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPLs) 915 and 916.
Speaking on the partnership, the Chairman of Oriental Petroleum, Chief Emeka Anyaoku said the agreement was an important step to monetise the hydrocarbon resources in Anambra Basin.  “I am delighted with this agreement, which represents an important step to monetise the Anambra River field hydrocarbon resources. This agreement was made possible by the close cooperation and deep commitment of OPR and FMGSL,� Anyaoku said. Also speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Orient Petroleum, Mr. Sunny Okoye, added that the partnership would result in a cost-effective development that would ensure zero gas-flaring and also promote a cleaner, safer and healthier environment. Under the agreement, the first phase, expected within six months, involves the initial production and processing of five million standard cubic
feet per day (mmscfd) of gas into Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), with incremental volumes coming on stream as more wells are drilled in the acreages held by Orient Petroleum. Both parties are keen to ensure a doubling of capacity by the end of the second year. The gas produced will add to Nigeria’s domestic gas supply. The Managing Director of ACML, Mr. Gbenga Hassan, said the partnership was as an immediate value-creating response to the need for monetisation of currently stranded or flared gas. On his part, the Managing Director of Dharmattan Mr. Bashir Koledoye, stated that his company assists indigenous oil and gas producers recover value from their gas and at the same time support the drive by the federal government to increase the consumption of LPG for
household cooking to replace kerosene and firewood. FMGSL plans to develop similar processing facilities across Nigeria to make available cheaper and cleaner sources of fuel for domestic power generation and household cooking. ACML and Dharmattan created FMGSL to leverage off their respective project financing and execution capabilities in the gas sector. Dharmattan currently operates as a marketer of LPG with 31 distribution channels across Nigeria and is part of the Dharmattan Group which also provides geological and geo-physical consulting and technical services to many upstream companies. Â By the terms of the agreement, Dharmattan would provide the technical project development, O&M and LPG marketing, while ACML would provide the required financing and strategic positioning for the company.