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How Yinka Odumakin, 56, Died of COVID |The Source

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Ayodele Oni
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Yinka Odumakin
Yinka Odumakin

By Ayodele Oni

Yinka Odumakin, for about a month, battled ill-health. A known diabetic patient, he had been in and out of crisis associated with diabetes.

The most serious was when, on a visit to the Governor of Osun State Gboyega Oyetola, he suddenly fell ill.

The Governor had to quickly rally to his rescue.

A man of courage, he had been at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, for about three weeks battling COVID-19 and its related complications. The deadly Virus is a deadly enemy to diabetics. Odumakin was not an exception.

Not a few people wondered why he had been quiet over serious National issues. Indeed, his wife, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, too.

Sources say he had, allegedly, told Journalists, whose great friend he was that he would not be able to pick his phone for about two weeks, and directed them to a stand-in  Yet, his silence was still felt. His fans  especially, missed his weekly column in the Vanguard Newspaper.

Now, they know why he and his wife had been missing in action. He was at LASUTH battling COVID-19, while his loving wife  stood by him,  worried and keeping watch.

A week ago, he had made sufficient improvement to give his wife hope, and cause for cheer. But the Virus added one of it’s most deadly complications – respiratory difficulties.

According to his wife, he battled it like a lion at the Intensive Care Unit of LASUTH. But, Saturday morning, the courageous Odumakin, the very effective Spokesman of Afenifere gave up, another high profile victim of COVID-19.

His dead is a tragedy for the pan Yoruba socio cultural organization. And to many who knew him.

He was many things rolled in one – Politician. Activist. Columnist. Administrator.

According to report, the activist had been on ventilator at LASUTH for some days.

“He had lung surgery before he was put on a ventilator. His case took a turn for the worse last week, with doctors concluding he had few days left,” the source added.

He died at the age of 56.

Missing Jet: NAF Debunks Boko Haram’s Claim Of Downing Jet; Dismisses Video As False |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Boko Haram video of Crashed NAF Jet

By Akinwale Kasali

Contrary to claims by Terrorist Group, Boko Haram, that it gunned down the Nigeria Airforce’s NAF’s Alpha Jet, which disappeared from radar on Wednesday, March 31 in a viral video, the NAF says the claim is false.

NAF’s  Director of  Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said the viral video could be clips from a previous incident, but certainly not for the missing Alpha Jet as claimed by the insurgent Group.

Gabkwet insisted that the video was fraught with inconsistencies that established it was fake, adding that the lush vegetation in one of the videos suggest it was not in the Northeast.

“We have seen some videos, but there is nothing that has proven that the aircraft in those clips belongs to us, or have you seen a Nigerian Air Force aircraft number or the body of Air Force pilot, or have you seen any Air Force uniform? Until we get all these details strengthened out, we are not going to go into speculation.

“That video could have been shot somewhere. I have seen four videos so far, one of them has lush vegetation in the background, and I wonder where they have such vegetation in the Northeast. Unless they did something and they are releasing the clips bit by bit, we are waiting.

“Except we have evidence, because like I said, these persons have families and you cannot go their wives, parents or wards, you must bring concrete evidence. There must be something to show”.

The Jet disappeared while on a mission to the North East. The names of the crew members were given as Flight Lt. John Abolarinwa and Flight Lt. Ebiakpo Chapele, Pilot and Co-Pilot respectively.

NAF confirms the jet has crashed, and its wreckage found at ABBA-Jille in Konduga LGA. But there is no word yet on the whereabouts of the two pilots – whether they were able to parachute to safety, captured by insurgents, or perished in the presumed crash.No bodies have been found.

This will be the second NAF aircraft lost within weeks. The first crashed close to the tarmac at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,  Abuja, on its way to Minna to locate bandits who had abducted students in Niger State. The crew members, seven in all, perished in the crash.

Doctor’s Strike: FG Set To Wield Big Stick; Says No Work, No Pay |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Chris Ngige

By Akinwale Kasali

The Federal Government has sternly warned the striking National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, to resume work, or face the wrath of the law.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who issued the warning on behalf of the Federal Government on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said that the FG will have no choice than to implement the ‘No Work, No Pay’ strategy.

Ngige: “By Tuesday, I will invite them back. If they become recalcitrant, there are other things I can do. There are weapons in the Labour Laws, I will invoke them. There is no work, no pay.

“Their employers have a role also to keep their business afloat, to keep patients alive. They can employ local doctors. We won’t get there but if we are going to get there, we will use that stick.”

Ngige stressed that the current hazard allowance of ₦5,000 for doctors was fixed in 1992, noting that it was fair and just.

He also noted that when the former President of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Dr Francis Adedayo Faduyile, drew the attention of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, he described the figure as criminal, but promised that the Federal Government would review the amount in five weeks’ time, although he didn’t disclose the proposed figure.

“It is the last NMA President Faduyile that called my attention that the hazard (allowance) was ₦5,000. I raised it with the Finance Minister and the Vice President in the Economic Sustainability Meeting. In fact, to use the words of the Vice President, he said it is criminal, that it shouldn’t happen.

“The new hazard allowance will be done in the next five weeks. It is in the Memorandum of Action that we signed. Immediately after the Easter break, I will convene a meeting to look at it holistically,” he added.

It will be recalled that the resident doctors had on Thursday, April 1, 2021, embarked on an indefinite strike to protest alleged failure by the Federal Government to fulfil its obligations to them.

They  met with the Federal Government’s team on Wednesday over their grievances, but rejected the proposals put forward by the Government on how to make up for the shortcomings in the implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between both parties, which has been the bone of contention.

Imo Demolishes Top Govt. Official’s Property; People Applaud |The Source

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The Source
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Owerri Capital Development Authority

*Amadi Confirms Fraudulent Acquisition During Okorocha’s Era

*More High Profile Demolitions    On The Way

By Charles Igbo

The Imo State Government has demolished the property  of one of its top and influential officers. The property was located in Owerri, Owerri, the Imo State  capital.

The Government, this magazine was told, did this to put aright the Owerri masterplan which has been badly distorted and abused.

The ante of the distortion and abuse was raised during the administration of former Governor Rochas Okorocha.

The demolition of the, almost, completed property was carried out by the Owerri Capital Development Authority, OCDA. The sprawling premises belonged to the Special Adviser to Governor Hope Uzodinma on Special Duties, Nze Chinasa Nwaneri.

OCDA said the property was in breach of the Owerri Master Plan.

Recall that Nwaneri was the one who bravely confronted Okorocha when, ill-advisedly,  the former Governor went to unseal the multi-billion Naira Royal Palm Hotels and Apartments, a property acquired by Nkechi, wife of the former, while her husband was in office, which was sealed and seized by the Government.

“Who are you?”, Nwaneri, famously, asked Okorocha who had earlier asked him same question, while on his much condemned mission to unseal a property sealed by the Government.

The demolition of Nwaneri’s property has been applauded by most people who saw it as a sign of a Government which wants to serve by example. “If the Government can demolish the property of one of its own, it is a signal that nobody’s property will be spared. What the Governor Hope Uzodinma has done, in this instance is to show that nobody is above the law, and that it is a serious Government”, said an elderly man who stood-by, watching the exercise.

The elderly man is correct.

This demolition was carried out on the heels of the setting up of a Committee by the Government to implement, to the letter, the Whitepaper on the recommendations of the Judicial Panel On Lands and Other Related Matters.

The Panel, set up by former Governor Emeka Ihedioha was, to the excitement of most Imo citizens, sustained  by Governor Uzodinma when he assumed office. The Governor  had resisted all pressure and blackmail to disband the Judicial Panels and Commissions set up by the Ihedioha administration. Uzodinma’s standard response  was: “I am an Imo son. I am interested in knowing what happened to our collective patrimony”

One of the recommendations of the Panel is for the Government to, quickly, restore the Owerri masterplan badly upturned by successive administrations, especially, Okorocha’s.

Uzodinma had assured Imo people that he would implement the Whitepaper, no matter whose ox is gored and, by so doing, restore the status and pride of the distorted masterplan.

The demolition of Nwaneri’s property is a good start, if only to confirm that the Governor meant to keep his promise to Imolites.

A reliable source told this magazine that this is “a kick-off as many high profile properties which ran foul of the law will follow.”

Speculations are that a number of properties belonging to Okorocha, his family, and cronies will be next on the line.

Barrister Willie Amadi, an Owerri indigene, and Federal  Commissioner representing Imo State on the Public Complaints Commission, in a post on his Facebook page  gave a background to the demolition of Nze Nwaneri’s property and the frauds associated with the distortion of the Owerri masterplan during the Okorocha administration. He confirmed that most parcels of land were greedily and fraudulently acquired, even though they knew it was against the law.

Barrister Amadi wrote, in the post he aptly titled: Test Of Loyalty And Sacrifice

“I sincerely condole with Nze Chinasa Nwaneri, Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties over the demolition of his premises by the Owerri Capital Development Authority [OCDA] for the breach of the Owerri Master Plan.

“I recall in 2015 when my law firm, TIME NOMINEES CHAMBERS, was involved in the partial negotiation of compensation between some of my brothers from Umuonyeche Village. Some of them like incumbent House of Assembly member Hon. Lugard Osuji and his predecessor Hon. Mere, Chief Ben Mere and Barr. Tony Tom-James and Barr. George Adiele whom I visited last Christmas in his pocket layout residence with Eddie Njemanze and Gerald Emenyonu, are all living there.

Nze Chinasa had started construction of his building in late  2016 while we were all in Abuja.

“I want to, authoritatively, confirm  that the entire stretch of land which is a green verge, under the Owerri Master Plan, were greedily and fraudulently converted by that heinous administration just to grab 80% of the land from the purported “public interest” conversation.

“I gave up more tgan 40 plots of ancestral land in that stretch which I bought from ODOR and OGAZI families of Owerri in 2005 when I realized it was a green verge.  I had proposed to the government to use the 40 plots for the establishment of a luxury water from park inconjuction with Landmark. I lost the entire land when Rochas and Uche(Nwosu)as Commissioner for Lands, eventually converted the entire stretch from Holy Ghost Bridge end to Nekede road Bridge end.

“I was not given even one plot of land despite my loss and complaints to the government before the fraudulent conversion and because of that, I brought an action against the State government for restitution and no defence have been filled till date.

“It is interesting that the current administration is using one of their own to show an example of how serious the recovery mantra is being enforced.

“I will urge anyone who will be affected like me by this exercise to bear the loss, as Chinasa too, for the overall benefit of the silent majority.

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO CORRECT A MISTAKE”

For Imolites, interesting days are ahead.

Ekiti To Get Military Communication Sattelite Says Defence Chief |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

A Defence Space Communication Satellite centre is due to be established in Ekiti state, going by the assurance of the Chief of Defence Space Administration, Rear Admiral Williams Kayode.

According to the defence Chief, it is part of the drive to ensure adequate security and protection of Nigerians.

He disclosed this during a courtesy call on the Ekiti state governor, Dr Fayemi in Ado Ekiti on Thursday.

Rear Admiral Kayode pointed out that his Command was mandated to drive the military aspect of the State requirements to provide space products in support of Armed Forces of Nigeria operations and other security agencies as well as protect the Nigeria cyber space through the Cyber security Centre.

Rear Admiral Kayode commended Dr Fayemi for his various efforts aimed at tackling incessant security challenges facing the nation saying the peculiarity of Ekiti topography helped in the choice of the state for the project.

The benefits accruable to the state from the project, he said, included employment of over 300 civilians from Ekiti state as well as opportunity for the state to host the dedicated satellite military base which will control all armed forces satellite or orbital presence thereby allowing for more military presence in the state.

Whole responding, the Governor disclosed that his administration had been working on the establishment of the Knowledge Zone where about 1500 Hectares of land was already procured, adding that the proximity of the satellite centre to the knowledge zone is an added advantage.

He, also, revealed that his administration was almost finalizing arrangement with the office of the National Security Adviser and the Office of the Chief of Air Staff to secure end-users certificate for Orbital Drones that was procured to strengthen security architecture of the state.

“What I can assure you is that for us, we are absolutely committed to ensuring that this works. Anyone who has seen the benefit to which institutions like NASA had been put to beyond military utilization will understand the reason why the State must embrace the initiative.

“The military had always been a pioneer in scientific development. The internet came from the military and other big time initiatives have always come from the military, so if we have an institution that is dedicated to utilizing information from space in order to aid our security and also research and development, there is no better place to have it than Ekiti.

“At the moment, we are almost finalizing, even for our own security here in Ekiti, we’ve recognized the use of technology and one of the things that we’ve been doing lately with the office of the National Security Adviser and the Office of the Chief of Air Staff is to get their support for end-users certificate for Orbital Drones we just procured which fits into your initiative and hopefully, our vision is that these drones would be produced locally on the basis of the work that you have already embarked on.”

Vice President Osinbajo To Flag Off National Sports Festival Tuesday |The Source

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Ayodele Oni
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VP Yemi Osinbajo

By Ayodele Oni

The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo is expected to officially declare the 20th edition of the national sports festival open in Benin City, Edo state  on Tuesday.

A few days ago, there were publications to the effect that the  venue of the much awaited 20th Edition of the National Sports Festival had been relocated to Abuja. But before such satanic news could cause any bad blood, Minister for Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare, debunked it. And, finally, it kicked off in the Edo State capital on Saturday.

Already, Benin city is agog as not less than 8,000 athletes are trooping into the state to vie for honours in 40 events.

The festival was initially scheduled for March 20 to April 6, 2020, but was put off as a result of the outbreak of the Corona Virus pandemic.

It again suffered three more postponements in December 2020 as well as in January and February this year, due to paucity of funds, with the Edo State Government saying it lacked the financial strength to host the national event.

The main arena for the festival, the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, has been refurbished to world-class standard, with other centres expected to host various events, also in good shape.

The Deputy Governor of the state and Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the Games, Philip Shaibu, told journalists in Benin City that everything was in place as the state was fully prepared to host a befitting event.

While shedding light on the programme of event, Shaibu explained that the Unity Torch for the Games would arrive Edo on Saturday and would tour the 18 local government areas of the state, before finally arriving at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium main bowl on April 6, where Governor Godwin Obaseki would light it up.

“The Games village opens on Saturday, with athletes and officials expected to present certificates and documentation of COVID-19 tests and vaccination before they are admitted into the facility.

“The visa to be admitted into the Games Village is the evidence that you have taken the COVID-19 vaccine. Athletes at the Games Village will also take the PCR test 72 hours before the commencement of the Games.

“We are not going to compromise on that as we have agreed with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

“As a state, we have been able to flatten the curve of the second wave of the pandemic and will not want to use the hosting of the Games to spark off another wave.

“From about 14,000 athletes that were to compete, we have been able to reduce it to about 8,000 athletes.

“We have a facility prepared for about 18,000 persons, which has now provided opportunity and space for social distancing even in the area of accommodation. We will have a festival that is COVID-19 free.”

The deputy governor also rated some of the equipment at the games centre saying “the idea is not to bring world-class equipment for the National Sports Festival, the idea is to expose our young ones in Edo.

“By the time they get used to this kind of facilities, if any of them is invited for any national or international event or other opportunities to participate in any other event, they won’t be looking too naive because these are facilities they are already used to and we want to give them the best.”

Proposed Ranching Divides Ekiti Traditional Rulers |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Traditional rulers in Ekiti state are presently entangled over the issue of proposed ranching by the federal government in states.

Early in the week, a group of traditional rulers acting under Majority Obas in Ekiti, said they were opposed to any form of ranching in Ekiti state and warned Governor Kayode Fayemi not to cede any part of the state for the project.

However, another group of monarchs, recognized by the state government, Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers issued another statement on Thursday to counter the earlier one.

Majority Obas in Ekiti state is led by the Olomuo oke, Oba Vincent Otitoju and Onikun of Ikun Amure, Oba Olatunde Olusola as secretary.

The majority Obas claimed that Governor Kayode Fayemi has concluded arrangement to cede land to some people for cattle ranching or grazing.

Chairman of Ekiti state council of Obas, Oba Ajibade Alabi, in his reaction pointed out that “the allegation was not true as the Governor has no plans to cede an inch of our land to any group of people for ranching.”

Oba Ajibade, the Alawe of Ilawe Ekiti, who is the Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, made the clarification while reacting to a statement issued by the Olomuo Oke of Omuo Oke , HRM Oba Vincent Otitoju and Secretary, Onikun of Ikun Amure Ekiti Oba Olatunde Olusola and some Obas.

A statement by his media adviser, Chief Ajibade Olubunmi, stated that available information from Government revealed that the news making the round on plans to cede land was “meant to cause disaffection among our people.

“The Chairman of the Traditional Council therefore appealed to monarchs to show some circumspection in reacting to news culled from Social media in this era of misinformation,  disinformation and fake news.”

According to the Alawe, the State Council of Traditional Rulers at its next statutory meeting in April 2021 will be properly briefed by top Government officials on Government policy on Animal Husbandry.

“The Chairman of the State Traditional Council therefore, appealed to all traditional rulers and the various communities in Ekiti State to remain calm adding that there was no need for alarm or tension on ranching as the Governor has made it abundantly clear that no part of our land would be ceded.”

Massacre In Ebonyi: The Igbo Will Never Fold Their Hands |The Source

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The Source
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Emmanuel Iwuayanwu

By Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu

On Monday 29th March, a very sad and chilling news was released in both print and electronic Media of how IGBO land was invaded by strange terrorists from outside Igbo Land. This incident is very painful. During this invasion by so called Herdsmen, lives and property were destroyed. Uptill now the exact number of lives lost is not known but eye-witness report said that over 20 lives were lost. Hundreds of people in Ebonyi State, a Sovereign part of Igbo Land are now homeless.

In Igbo culture of “Onye-aghala-nwanne-ya”, I want to make it clear to all and sundry that any attack on any Igbo soil is an attack on the entire Igbo Land. Igbos will never fold their hands and watch people invade them. I am constrained to sound this warning as the Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Council of Elders that we will no longer accept a situation where our people are invaded by terrorists. We will take every step to defend the lives and property of our people. We had earlier expressed our sympathy to our compatriots in other States in Nigeria such as Borno, Kaduna, Yobe, Sokoto, Taraba, Benue and Plateau where people have suffered similar invasion in the past.

We have passed through this journey and violence of war and we know it is a very painful and lonely journey. That is the reason all Elders of Igbo Land are passionate about peace and unity in one Nigeria restructured under a new constitution that can protect every part of the country and create incentive for every part to develop their God’s given potentials to the benefits of their people and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Elders of Igbo Land directed that the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Prof. George Obiozor and the Chairman of South East Governors’ Forum His Excellency Engr. Dave Umahi should call an immediate meeting of Stakeholders including the National Assembly. This meeting will deliberate on ways and means to protect Igbo people wherever they live. The meeting will also establish an emergency relief fund from where help can be given to people exposed to attack of terrorism anywhere in Igbo Land. We wish to say with pride that all through the history of Nigeria, Igbos are known to live in many places outside Igbo Land and they have never launched any attack against the lives and property of the people of that area.

We will therefore not accept a situation where people will come and invade and kill our people. We expect the Federal Government to take steps to stop these terrorists from attacking our land otherwise Igbos will have no option but to device means of self defense.

Chief Iwuanyanwu, CFR, is Chairman, Council of Elder, Ohanaeze Ndigbo

PDP Says Extension Of APC Membership Registration Indicates Disunity In The Party |The Source

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Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has mocked the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the continued extension of its membership registration exercise.

The opposition PDP said the APC should stop pushing fake membership registration exercise in the public space as Nigerians can no longer be swayed by such derisory venture.

The APC had announced for the second time the extension of the nationwide registration of members, an exercise which has been criticized by some of its members.

The PDP, in a statement by its spokesman, Mr Kola Okogbodiyan on Thursday in Abuja asserted that “the moves by the APC to declare another extension of the phony membership registration, confirms that the entire exercise is a mere sitting room manipulation designed to produce a bogus membership figure.

“Our party has nothing but pity for the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led APC Caretaker Committee, which has become overweighed by the burden of producing an inflated membership register, following the rejection of the APC by Nigerians.

“This is especially as the public is already aware of the disagreements among APC leaders over allocation of figures, which led to the bloody clashes that trailed the failed exercise in many states of the federation

“APC ought to know that the game is over, after Nigerians rejected their monetary inducement of N10,000 per registration, even after they offered night registration in some state.

“The PDP counsels the APC leadership to note that further extension of the botched exercise cannot attract the sympathy of Nigerians or give any credence to any fake figure they intend to come out with.

“The outburst by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and other APC leaders, who were ostensibly edged out in the membership allocation racket, had already exposed the plots by the APC to launch a fabricated register.

“Our party urges the APC leadership to listen to voice of reasons coming from elders of their party like former Governor Bisi Akande, and end this dance of shame.

“In any case, our party will, at the appropriate time, expose all the shenanigans of the APC, including the roles played by desperate individual APC leaders in this attempt to beguile Nigerians with a fictitious membership register.”

Flying On The Wings of Gas |The Source

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The Source
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By Femi Adesina

By the time we remove hatred, malice, indecent politics, and all the ills that plague our country and its leaderships across different governments, President Muhammadu Buhari would go down in history as the one that pioneered different kinds of revolution in our national life: agriculture, infrastructure (roads, rail, bridges, airports etc), and the latest; gas. In fact, Nigeria is set to fly on the wings of gas, courtesy President Buhari.

But let me give due credit for the headline of this piece, which is the brainchild of Mr Tony Attah, Managing Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG). At the conference on the Decade of Gas, flagged off by the President on Monday, Attah declared:

“Gas is now everything for Nigeria. We must use what we have to get what we want. Saudi Arabia and Dubai used oil to move their economies to becoming one of the best in the world. Qatar has used gas to transform from a fishing economy to global gas giant. Nigeria has both oil and gas.

“However, Nigeria has thus far ridden on the back of oil for over 50 years, but the time has come for Nigeria to FLY on the wings of gas.”

Time to fly on the wings of gas. So creatively put.

President Buhari, Minister of State, Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kolo Kyari, and Attah of NLNG spoke at the opening ceremony of the conference. An aggregate of the points they collectively made gave a panoramic view of the prospects gas holds for Nigeria.

The submissions are in bullet points below, for easy comprehension and appreciation:

*Nigeria is a gas nation, with little oil, in comparison. But the country has focused on oil over the years.

*To stimulate economic growth, further improve the energy mix, drive investments, and provide much-needed jobs for our citizens, gas development and utilization must be a national priority.

*The major objective of the Buhari administration is to transform Nigeria into an industrialized nation, with gas playing a major role.

*The administration has kickstarted projects like the National Gas Expansion Program, Auto Gas policy, and the construction of the 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline.

*There’s a rising global demand for cleaner energy, as opposed fo fossil fuels, and Nigeria has a potential of 600 trillion cubic feet of gas, the most extensive in Africa, and in the top 10 globally.

*NLNG contributes about 1% to GDP, and recorded $114 billion in revenues over the years, $9billion in taxes, $18 billion in dividends to the Federal Government, $15 billion in Feed Gas Purchase, all achieved with 100% Nigerian Management and 95% Nigerian workforce.

*Gas will become the dominant fuel for generating power in Africa, and the world at large. It presents a great opportunity for Nigeria.

*In the area of domestic utilization of gas to power the economy, there’s a chronic shortage, a narrative that must be changed over the next decade.

*We must deal with the energy poverty in the country. We must find a way to unlock the natural gas potential of Nigeria, and drag over 120 million of our people out of energy poverty.

*The world will add 2 billion more people by 2040 to become about 9 billion people on earth. Energy demand is expected to grow by 30%

*Gas is set to be the fastest growing transition fuel of the future. Global Natural Gas consumption is projected to increase by more than 40% by 2050.

*The next decade should be time of elimination of gas flaring, a decade of more domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), and a decade of fully gas-powered economy.

*Gas is power and energy. It is transport, as in Auto Gas. It is petrochemicals-feed stock. Gas is manufacturing and industries, it is also food, from fertilizers.

The Decade of Gas Conference is a prelude to the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS), billed to hold in June.

The truth remains the truth, that President Buhari is steadily and progressively touching different phases of our national life, and causing transformation to occur, despite stiff challenges in the area of security .In the words of Winston Churchill,

“Truth is incontrovertible. Ignorance can deride it, panic may resent it, malice may destroy it, but there it is,”

Adesina is Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity.

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