Petrol Price: NNPC Douses Tension, Says No Increase Now Declares it has no intention of pre-empting ongoing engagement with labour Peter Uzoho The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it would maintain its current ex-depot price of petrol until the
conclusion of an ongoing engagement with the organised labour and other stakeholders. Speaking to reporters yesterday in Abuja, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of
NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, said the corporation, at the moment, was bearing the burden of importing refined petroleum products, as the supplier of last resort, to guarantee energy security
for the nation. This development comes after NNPC’s Group Managing Director (GMD), Mele Kyari said the corporation could no longer bear subsidy in its books.
Shedding more light on the remarks by Kyari at the State House, Obateru stated that the NNPC had no intention to pre-empt ongoing engagement with labour by unilaterally increasing the ex-depot price
of petrol. He said as a proactive organisation, NNPC had made arrangements for robust stock of petroleum products in all Continued on page 5
Jigawa Gov: Story of Buhari, Tinubu Rift Sponsored to Heat up Polity… Page 5 Saturday 27 March, 2021 Vol 26. No 9484
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Germany’s Move to Return Stolen Benin Bronzes Piles Pressure on Britain Festus Akanbi There are strong indications that the German authorities may hand over some Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in September, a development which observers said would
put pressure on British museum to return its own share of the looted artefacts to the Nigerian government. Sources said the German example may be a game changer which may compel the rank of British officials
currently developing cold feet as far as the return of the bronzes stolen from Benin to Nigeria is concerned. Hundreds of bronzes from the ancient Kingdom of Benin, located in modernday Nigeria – a former
British colony – are held at the Ethnological Museum in the German capital. They were due to be unveiled at the Humboldt Forum, a new museum of non-European art in the city centre. A German Foreign Ministry
official quotes the Humboldt’s director, Hartmut Dorgerloh, as confirming that the bronzes could instead be returned to Nigeria by the autumn (September). The source also disclosed that the head of the Foreign
Ministry’s culture department, Andreas Görgen, visited Benin City last week for discussions with Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and other Nigerian officials, although Continued on page 5
Tijjaniyya Islamic Movement’s Leadership Tussle Boils over Buhari snubs Muhammad Sanusi II, few weeks after appointment as sect’s leader, receives factional world and Nigeria leaders Charles Ajunwa and Ahamefula Ogbu The tussle over the leadership of the Tijjaniyya Islamic Religious Movement is far from over, with a faction getting tacit recognition from President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, following a well-publicised courtesy call on the Nigerian leader. The team that visited Buhari identified Sheikh Muhammadul Mahy Niass, a Senegalese as the world leader of the Tijjaniyya sect and Sheikh Dahiru Usman as the leader of the Tijjaniyya in Nigeria, But two weeks ago, two factions of the sect appointed the former emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, as
the leader of the Tijaniyya Islamic sect in Nigeria. He was appointed the caliph at its annual gathering in Sokoto. The appointment, which was made during the annual festival of the sect, is seen as both a spiritual and temporal elevation of the deposed emir. Shortly after the announcement, Sanusi II and many of his adherents converged on the Gawon Nama private residence of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, where they worshipped for about two hours. Muhammadu Sanusi I, the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor’s father, was the first leader of the sect in Continued on page 5
Amaechi: Concerns about ABDULSALAMI AT THE VILLA... head of state, retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar (left) with President Muhammadu Buhari, during Nigeria’s Future Legitimate... Page 5 Former Abdulsalami’s courtesy visit to the President in Abuja ....yesterday godwin omoigui