News

Students Protest Hardship by Dangote/PENGASSAN Faceoff

By Web News 482

By Temidayo Adu

Students of tertiary institutions in the southwest states took to the streets of Ibadan to protest the hardship caused by the face-off between Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, in Ibadan.
The students under the umbrella body of Coalition of Yoruba Students and Youth Movement, grounded vehicular movement at Iwo Road axis as they chanted solidarity songs with placards bearing different inscriptions from Iwo Road to the governor’s office, where they submitted a position paper on their agitation.

The inscriptions included, Stop Sabotaging Fuel Supply in Nigeria, Let the Masses Breathe, Stop Holding Nigeria Hostage – Free Dangote, and Don’t Kill Dangote Refinery.

The convener, Coalition of Yoruba Students and Youth Movement, Adekunle Adeniyi, lamented the sudden hike in the prices of fuel and gas due to victimisation of Dangote Refinery.

He urged all leaders in the southwest to rise against any act of sabotage in the system.

The National President, National Association of Oodua Students, NAOS, Mr. Benedict Olalere, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to protect the refinery which according to him is the pride of Africa and a symbol of industrial revolution.

Receiving the position paper from the students at the entrance of the Oyo State Secretariat, Executive Assistant to the Governor on Security, Mr Sunday Odukoya, commended the peaceful conduct of the protesting students and promised to deliver their message to the governor.

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Energy

Oyo Govt, Shell Sign Agreement on Gas Supply Infrastructure

By Web News 419

By Iyabo Adebisi

Oyo State Government and Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) have signed an agreement to develop a gas supply and distribution infrastructure that will deliver gas to industrial and commercial users in the state. 

SNG will build and operate the gas distribution network, which will serve customers across Oyo State, for 20 years. 

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, described the project as “a catalyst for development in the state.” 

He said: “This project fits into our plan to drive innovation and industrialisation in Oyo State and we’re ready to partner with more companies and other organisations to enhance the delivery of relevant projects.”

Managing Director SNG, Ralph Gbobo, said the agreement was “a significant milestone for SNG and Oyo State to boost economic activities in Nigeria by supplying industries and manufacturers with natural gas, a more reliable, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly source of energy.” 

He explained: “The gas distribution project will be a game-changer in the industrialization drive of the Oyo State Government and help boost internally generated revenue and result in more job opportunities. 

“For SNG the project is a milestone in our effort to continue growing the energy supply to businesses in Nigeria in line with Nigeria’s ambition to drive progress on the back of natural gas availability across Nigeria under the Decade of Gas initiative.”

The project will start with the construction of gas distribution infrastructure along 15km of pipeline route and will grow to deliver up to 60 million standard cubic feet of gas per day across the state. The first gas is expected Q4, 2025.

Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd and Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor said: “This event points to the value of partnership as Shell continues to power progress in Nigeria through more and cleaner energy solutions for commercial and industrial customers. Building on our presence in the country since the 1960s and the wide marketing and trading reach of Shell Energy, we are excited about developing gas distribution solutions and delivering competitive and reliable energy for power generation and industrial use across Nigeria.”

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Energy

Gas Explosion Razes Vehicles,Claims Live in Abeokuta.

By Web News 598

By Francisca Irekpita

Five vehicles, including a truck were razed, while a man was reportedly killed in the fire outbreak from a gas tanker explosion in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Witnesses claimed that the inferno which also destroyed some shops and houses around the busy Ita Osin area of the city had killed 4 persons, but the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC has affirmed the motor boy, trapped in  the burnt truck as the only casualty of the explosion.

The Public Education Officer, FRSC, Ogun State Sector Command, Mrs Florence Okpe, who attributed the crash to brake failure, explained that the vehicle crashed on the road barricade and went into flames, burning vehicles and shops around the vicinity.

She noted that the fire service personnel were promptly contacted while the scene was cordoned off to prevent secondary crash and the corpse of the victim was deposited at the State General Hospital morgue Abeokuta,  while the injured persons were evacuated by their families.

Apart from the fire fighters, operatives of the FRSC, the State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, TRACE, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, as well as the Police were found at the scene of the incident, engaged in rescue operations, working to contain the inferno, clearing obstruction on the road and directing traffic.

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Energy

FG Halts Cooking Gas Export to Crash Price

By Web News 387

The Federal Government has banned the exportation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, in a bid to increase its volume domestically to warrant a crash in price.

It stated on Thursday that LPG producers in Nigeria and key stakeholders in the industry had been told to stop exporting the commodity out of Nigeria, following the recent jump in the cost of cooking gas.

Findings showed that the cost of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and some other states had climbed to about N18,000. It was specifically N17,500 in Abuja on Thursday, a product that sold for less than N9,000 in November last year.

LPG dealers under the aegis of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers had predicted mid-last year that a 12.5kg cylinder would cost N18,000 going by the incessant hikes in its cost.

To tackle this, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, constituted a committee in November 2023, headed by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed.

But up till today (Thursday), the cost of the commodity has maintained a northward movement, as many LPG users are gradually shifting to the use of charcoal.

But while speaking on the sidelines of the internal stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja on Thursday, Ekpo stated that the Federal Government had asked LPG producers to stop exporting the commodity.

In November 2023, a kilogramme of cooking gas was about N700, but the product is now sold at about N1,400/kg. Some operators stated that the cost would increase further if the government failed to intervene.

Ekpo said, “With the issue of gas, you have seen the demonstration of the Federal Government by withdrawing all taxes and levies from the importation of gas-related equipment. It is a big incentive.

“On the issue of LPG (cooking gas), we are interacting with the critical sectors to ensure that there is no exportation of LPG. All LPG produced within the country will have to be domesticated. And when this is done, the volume will increase and, of course, the price will automatically crash.

“I’m in contact with the regulator, NMDPRA, we have meetings almost daily with the producers of the gas like Mobil, Chevron and Shell. So there is that hope that things will turn around.

“And that is also why we are having this engagement to know exactly what the problems are so that we can address them once and for all.”

Punch/Simeon Ugbodovon

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Transportation

FG Targets Modernisation of Transportation

By Web News 374

By Oluwatoyin Adegoke

The Federal Government says it will modernise the country’s transportation system with emphasis on natural gas as a transition fuel among other renewable energy sources.

The Minister of Transportation, Alhaji Saidu Alkali made this known at the 18th National Council on Transportation held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, with the theme” Embracing innovations and technologies for sustainable transportation, tackling the energy challenges”

The Minister, who maintained that the transport sector remained a major factor in the challenge of environmental pollution, stressed the need to adopt a multifaceted approach towards accelerating the adoption of a sustainable environmentally friendly transportation model.

Alhaji Alkali advocated greater partnerships between academia, industry operators and regulators to ensure that alternative energy transportation technologies were properly harnessed while commending the efforts of the Ogun State Government in promoting Multimodal transport through the e-mobility and Gas-mobility projects. 

Declaring the event open, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun represented by his Deputy, Mrs Noimot Salako- Oyedele said the choice of Ogun State as the host of the meeting was a unique opportunity to foster collaborations on innovative ideas, towards driving the required changes in the transportation sector.

Governor Abiodun also solicited the support of the National Council on transportation towards actualising the vision for seamless multimodal transportation in the State.

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Environment

Always Ensure Installation of Fire Fighting Equipment- Ogun Govt.

By Web News 572

Operators of cooking gas in Ogun state have been reminded of the need to abide by the laid down rules and regulations guiding their business in a bid to protect lives and property.

The Director of Urban Planning in the Ogun State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Rufus Talabi, gave the advice at an Interactive Session with the cooking Gas Proprietors Association of Nigeria Ogun state chapter in Abeokuta.

Mr Talabi said the gas operators should endeavour to access the state’s physical Planning law which contained six basic Regulations guiding the conduct of cooking gas operators in the state for safety measures.

In a presentation, the representative of the Nigerian Mainstream Department Of Petroleum Resources Agency, Mr Oluwafemi Adebowale who maintained that government would not permit a gas business facility that failed to meet up required standards said it was the desire of the agency to see the gas cooking business growing in the state In a conducive environment.

Also, a Deputy Director, of Ogun State Fire Service, Mr Gbenga Adebambo, advised the gas business operators to always ensure they have fire extinguishers around them and contact the fire service station immediately in case the fire incident went out of control for the safety of lives and property.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Cooking Gas Skid Proprietors Association Of Nigeria in the state, Alhaji AbdRauf Adekunle, maintained that the association had in no small measure contributed positively to the life of the people in the state particularly in the area of economic growth, job opportunities, safety measures and high-class operation.

Olusegun Folarin

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