Tag: Oil

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‎The Federal Government (FG) yesterday suspended petrol imports into the country due to noticeable boost in local production.

‎‎Meanwhile an Islamic human rights ‎organisation, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has commended FG for the suspension. The group also advocated for adequate supply of crude oil to local refineries in order to encourage self-sustainability in energy for Nigeria.

‎‎This was contained in a statement circulated to newsmen on Thursday, 12th March, 2026 by the Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

‎‎Full details of the press release:

‎‎The Federal Government (FG) yesterday suspended petrol imports into the country after noticeable boost in local production (https://www.channelstv.com/2026/03/11/fg-suspends-petrol-imports-over-boost-in-local-production/).

‎‎”This is a commendable step. Local production has received additional oxygen with this new policy. It is forthright and nationalistic. But as we hail FG for widening the market for local refineries and blocking the likelihood of saturation through excessive and unnecessary inflow of petroleum products, we must at the same time remind government to enable full and effective operation in the local refineries by supplying them with 100% crude oil.

‎‎”It stands logic on its head if in spite of decades of suffering from fuel scarcity, a refinery like Dangote emerges but still it cannot get 100% crude oil supply.

‎‎”Reports of the supply of only 28% to 32% of the crude oil required by Dangote Refinery is not only disturbing but nauseating. This is where nationalistic proclivities should come in.

‎‎”We therefore urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to issue an executive order for the supply of 100% crude oil required by local refineries.‎

‎”Another commendable step taken by FG is the release of 100,000 CNG buses to alleviate the transportation challenges faced by Nigerians. However, this policy needs to be complemented by an executive order that 100% crude be supplied to local refineries especially at this critical time.

‎‎”We cannot expect a humongous refinery like Dangote which has to go to traders and middle men to buy more than 72% of the crude oil required by it to avoid factoring this unnecessary overhead into its price policy. FG has the capacity to make life easier for Nigerians by making 100% crude oil supply its cardinal policy. Nigerians will hail Mr. President if he could issue an executive order today to kick-start this policy.”

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….Cautions against re-awarding pipeline surveillance contracts to current beneficiaries

A sociocultural group, the Southern Ijaw Unity Forum, says Nigeria is losing the war against oil theft.

The group told President Bola Tinubu; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other stakeholders in the oil sector in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja.

The Chairman, Southern Ijaw Unity Forum, Comrade Timothy Amadiowei, in the statement, called on the Federal Government not to re-award the pipeline surveillance contracts to the current beneficiaries whose contracts have expired.

Amadiowei said rather, the contracts be decentralised across board for all major stakeholders in the Niger Delta struggle.

According to him, this is because Nigeria is not making any progress at all in the fight against oil theft, pipeline vandalisation and illegal refining of petroleum products.

He hinged the failure on the Federal Government’s refusal to heed wise counsel from the outset.

Amadiowei said that the development had resulted in oil theft under the cover of surveillance activities, brewing crisis in the Niger Delta and loss of innocent lives in illegal detention centres, which he said, are capable of smearing the image of the Nigerian government at the international level.

He said “the Muhammadu Buhari-led government and the NNPCL were made to believe the illusion that one man is king of the Niger Delta and that awarding the pipeline surveillance contract to him would automatically end the war against oil theft.”

He said this fairytale is what made the Federal Government to neglect the expertise of other renowned freedom fighters in the Niger Delta, and awarded the contract to one man alone to secure pipelines in the territories of other ex-agitators who have paid their dues and worked so hard to ensure peace and political stability in the region but were later pushed aside.

Amadiowei reminded the nation that it is not only the current beneficiaries that worked for the APC government.

According to him, it is very unfair that after major stakeholders like Alhaji Asari Dokubo and Endurance Amagbein, among others, have worked so hard for the APC government, they are neglected and what should have been shared evenly amongst the ex-militants for equity and fairness was given to one man who has refused to carry people along.

He said the Federal Government is winning the fight against oil theft only on the news, but in reality, the illegal business is thriving daily – with most filling stations selling only adulterated fuel.

He urged President Tinubu, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, and the NSA, Ribadu, to take the bold step in correcting the errors made by the past administration, and yield to the demand of the Niger Delta people that the pipeline surveillance contracts be decentralised and shared to all deserving stakeholders.

Amadiowei urged the Federal Government not to engage in shadowboxing when help is available.

He said, “The only solution to oil theft and illegal refining of petroleum products is decentralisation, because nobody is happy with the anomalies on ground.

“Every stakeholder is angry with the current arrangement, how can one man from Delta State whose kingdom comprises only eight communities be awarded a surveillance contract to secure pipelines in the territories of other stakeholders as in the case with Bayelsa State?

“Carry everybody along, and you’ll see the difference, and I can tell you boldly that there are renowned ex-agitators who have the answers the government is seeking, but they are just watching the Federal Government struggle because the government has failed to approach them for help.

“If you think you’ve seen pipeline security, then wait until the likes of Alhaji Asari Dokubo, King Ateke Tom and Endurance Amagbein, who understand the Niger Delta terrain more than anybody else, come into the picture with what they have to offer.

“And so we are joining the host of other Niger Delta stakeholders who have seen that the only way to win this fight is decentralisation and bringing everyone onboard.

“Let everybody secure their own domains, because if anybody is doing illegal bunkering in my community, I know them and I know how to deal with them, but a stranger does not know them and so it’s difficult to stop them.

“If you are from Delta State, stay in Delta and secure the pipelines in your area, if you are from Rivers State, stay in Rivers and secure pipelines there, if you are from Bayelsa, stay there and secure pipelines there, likewise the other states producing crude oil and gas.

“This is not the time to re-award all the pipeline surveillance jobs in the entire Niger Delta to one man, this is the time to share it among the major stakeholders so that they can cover the whole area to put an end to oil theft.”

….Cautions against re-awarding pipeline surveillance contracts to current beneficiaries

A sociocultural group, the Southern Ijaw Unity Forum, says Nigeria is losing the war against oil theft.

The group told President Bola Tinubu; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other stakeholders in the oil sector in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja.

The Chairman, Southern Ijaw Unity Forum, Comrade Timothy Amadiowei, in the statement, called on the Federal Government not to re-award the pipeline surveillance contracts to the current beneficiaries whose contracts have expired.

Amadiowei said rather, the contracts be decentralised across board for all major stakeholders in the Niger Delta struggle.

According to him, this is because Nigeria is not making any progress at all in the fight against oil theft, pipeline vandalisation and illegal refining of petroleum products.

He hinged the failure on the Federal Government’s refusal to heed wise counsel from the outset.

Amadiowei said that the development had resulted in oil theft under the cover of surveillance activities, brewing crisis in the Niger Delta and loss of innocent lives in illegal detention centres, which he said, are capable of smearing the image of the Nigerian government at the international level.

He said “the Muhammadu Buhari-led government and the NNPCL were made to believe the illusion that one man is king of the Niger Delta and that awarding the pipeline surveillance contract to him would automatically end the war against oil theft.”

He said this fairytale is what made the Federal Government to neglect the expertise of other renowned freedom fighters in the Niger Delta, and awarded the contract to one man alone to secure pipelines in the territories of other ex-agitators who have paid their dues and worked so hard to ensure peace and political stability in the region but were later pushed aside.

Amadiowei reminded the nation that it is not only the current beneficiaries that worked for the APC government.

According to him, it is very unfair that after major stakeholders like Alhaji Asari Dokubo and Endurance Amagbein, among others, have worked so hard for the APC government, they are neglected and what should have been shared evenly amongst the ex-militants for equity and fairness was given to one man who has refused to carry people along.

He said the Federal Government is winning the fight against oil theft only on the news, but in reality, the illegal business is thriving daily – with most filling stations selling only adulterated fuel.

He urged President Tinubu, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, and the NSA, Ribadu, to take the bold step in correcting the errors made by the past administration, and yield to the demand of the Niger Delta people that the pipeline surveillance contracts be decentralised and shared to all deserving stakeholders.

Amadiowei urged the Federal Government not to engage in shadowboxing when help is available.

He said, “The only solution to oil theft and illegal refining of petroleum products is decentralisation, because nobody is happy with the anomalies on ground.

“Every stakeholder is angry with the current arrangement, how can one man from Delta State whose kingdom comprises only eight communities be awarded a surveillance contract to secure pipelines in the territories of other stakeholders as in the case with Bayelsa State?

“Carry everybody along, and you’ll see the difference, and I can tell you boldly that there are renowned ex-agitators who have the answers the government is seeking, but they are just watching the Federal Government struggle because the government has failed to approach them for help.

“If you think you’ve seen pipeline security, then wait until the likes of Alhaji Asari Dokubo, King Ateke Tom and Endurance Amagbein, who understand the Niger Delta terrain more than anybody else, come into the picture with what they have to offer.

“And so we are joining the host of other Niger Delta stakeholders who have seen that the only way to win this fight is decentralisation and bringing everyone onboard.

“Let everybody secure their own domains, because if anybody is doing illegal bunkering in my community, I know them and I know how to deal with them, but a stranger does not know them and so it’s difficult to stop them.

“If you are from Delta State, stay in Delta and secure the pipelines in your area, if you are from Rivers State, stay in Rivers and secure pipelines there, if you are from Bayelsa, stay there and secure pipelines there, likewise the other states producing crude oil and gas.

“This is not the time to re-award all the pipeline surveillance jobs in the entire Niger Delta to one man, this is the time to share it among the major stakeholders so that they can cover the whole area to put an end to oil theft.”

By Danladi Ahmed
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‎The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has welcomed the recent revelation that the crude oil theft from pipelines leading to external terminals has been halted, describing it as a good development for the oil industry.
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The group also sees it as a major boost to efforts by the President Bola Tinubu administration to ramp up daily oil production and exports.
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‎In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG said that the new development will put Nigeria on the path to achieving its ambitious 2026 target of 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) crude production.
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‎The statement read in part, “We see the recent revelation by the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL),  Mr. Bayo Ojulari, as one of the best and most inspiring developments in the nation’s critical oil sector in recent years.
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‎”This is because oil theft has been a major concern in a sector that is known to deliver the lion’s share of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.
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‎”Things were so bad at a point, as enumerated by the NNPCL’s helmsman, that Nigeria was barely able to move 30 per cent of its daily crude production through the pipelines to the export terminals. This is aside from the incessant sabotage of oil infrastructure in oil-producing areas.
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‎”But today, things appear different based on the revelation that coordinated efforts by defence agencies and private security contractors have nearly eliminated threats to oil exports to the extent that the terminals are receiving close to 100% supplies.
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‎”For us, it’s a validation of ongoing efforts by the President Bola Tinubu administration to make the oil and gas sector not only secure and conducive to operations, but also attractive to investors.
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‎”What this means is that it will now be easier for the country to meet its daily production target of 2.5 million bpd, having consistently hit its OPEC quota of 1.7 million bpd this year.
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‎”We also see it as a boost to recent reforms introduced by the President to unlock more investments in the oil and gas sector that recorded massive foreign investment commitments of about $16 billion in 2024 alone.”
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‎The group added that it is also a good development that the general security situation in the Niger Delta region has improved considerably in the last few years showing clear indications of more positive prospects for the national economy in the years ahead.
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Niger Delta ex-agitator and the self-styled General Endurance Amagbein, has called for urgent reforms in the nation’s oil and gas sector in order to engender massive development in the oil-rich region.

Amagbein, in a statement issued to newsmen on Thursday by his media assistant, Alhaji Tobiah Never-Die, said the Niger Delta’s situation has reached the level where it can only be addressed through legal and strategic reforms.

He said he is very appreciative of the existing legal and strategic frameworks consciously developed by the efforts of successive governments since the era of late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua who established the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) which the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sustained.

Amagbein said he is also aware of the inroads ushered in the Niger Delta by the NDDC in the areas of youth empowerment through scholarships and other vocational trainings, provision of solar streetlights and so forth – not forgetting the Petroleum Industry Act which stipulates 3% production development plan for host and impacted communities.

However, Amagbein popularly known as Adaka Boro the second, said he is very worried about the continuous worsening conditions of living in the Niger Delta and other pitiable situations the people are faced with.

According to him, these situations are brought on by the inherent inadequacies in the existing legal and institutional framework; saying that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act, no significant change has been witnessed in the Niger Delta in terms of development.

He said this is happening because the existing legal framework does not set standard of operations, maintenance and remediation and sanction plans for oil producing companies operating in the Niger Delta, as the 3% development plan is grossly inadequate.

He lamented that the law seems to be silent on the plight of the communities suffering from gas flaring and oil pollution brought about by pipeline sabotage and maintenance standards.

Aside this, he stressed that another worrisome situation is the fact that industry regulators appear not to have taken into account indigenous and local content regime when awarding surveillance contracts – thereby creating imbalance in the system.

Amagbein said awarding surveillance contracts to individuals in one LGA/State over oil facilities in another LGA/State offends the indigenous and local content regime; stressing that the idea of having strangers to man oil facilities in another man’s LGA/State is counterproductive.

While stressing the need for equity and fairness to all stakeholders, Amagbein stressed the need for legal and institutional reforms with particular focus on the Niger Delta – so that everyone can benefit from the system and not have their fates decided by one man.

Amagbein reiterated his support for President Bola Tinubu; saying that the people of the Niger Delta are solidly behind him for sustaining peace in the region.