Due to the ongoing maintenance work in the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries have ramp up fuel importation ffom Europe and other sources, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.
Details provided by S&P indicate that petrol imports to Nigeria and Togo surged from around 200,000 barrels per day in January to over 300,000 barrels per day in March, and roughly 250,000 b/d in April, close to Nigeria’s total of around 300,000 barrel per day national demand.
The PUNCH recalls that the Dangote refinery had earlier denied shutting down its petrol-processing unit for maintenance.
S&P Global reports on Wednesday that the Dangote refinery is restarting its main gasoline unit, the residue fluid catalytic cracker, and is evaluating the need for a second turnaround, a company executive said.
A Dangote executive who reportedly spoke to Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, on May 13, was quoted as saying that the company is in the process of returning refining units from a four-week turnaround to address ‘design issues’.
It was stated that the refinery is ramping up its RFCC, alkylation, and polypropylene units, but the company is yet to determine whether a second maintenance will be necessary later this year.
“The real picture can be seen only when we open the equipment,” the source has noted.
It was said that output from the Lagos refinery has become a key barometer for global gasoline cracks since production began last year, and unplanned April maintenance supported a Eurobob price rally when roughly 100,000 b/d of supply was suddenly taken offline.
According to the refinery executive, the plant’s crude distillation unit was last running at 550,000 b/d, roughly 85 per cent of its nameplate capacity.
After starting test runs in Q3 2024, roughly nine months after the refinery was inaugurated, the RFCC had reached 70 per cent of its capacity before the outage, the executive was reported.
The company now plans to ramp up the unit to its full capacity, allowing the site to finally scale crude throughput at the refinery to the site’s full 650,000 barrels per day potential, the source said.
Following its commission, two years ago, by former President Muhammadu Buhari not a few Nigerians predicted that the 650,000 barrel per day Refinery will produce enough for local consumption, with the potential of exporting to other parts of the Continent and Europe.
The $20 billion petrol-chemical Refinery has also assured that it can produce what Nigerians required, insisting that there’s no need to continue to import fuel into the country.
Controversy over the recent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, conducted by the JAMB has not abated as the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide says it’s not in support of the plan by the exam body to conduct a fresh examinations for candidates.
After admitting errors in the conduct of the examination,the Prof. Ishaq Oloyede-led JAMB has informed the country that over 370, 000 candidates that took part in it will re-write the exam.
The magazine reported that JAMB has received serious backlash from not a few Nigerians, after many candidates who took part in the exam failed to score 200 of the 400 total marks.
JAMB has admitted the errors, and it’s set to re-conduct the exam for thousands of candidates, but Ohanaeze has rejected the plan, saying this will result in ‘mental torture’ for the candidates.
Instructively, Ndigbo, in a statement on Thursday said students particularly from the south east should not be punished for the errors committed by JAMB, the Igbo body said candidates who wrote the exam from the region should be awarded 300 marks.
According to the statement signed by its National President Mazi Okwu Nnabuike JAMB has done a serious disservice to the country and the affected candidates.
It stated that candidates from the five south east state and Lagos should not go through “mental torture” and risk by re-writing the exam.
Apart from the security risks, Ohanaeze said many candidates are not in a good frame of mind to re-sit for the exam, having dissipated their energy on the one they recently wrote but have not been canceled due to the error of the part of JAMB.
“We want to state unequivocally that our people will not accept any fresh examination, having already been subjected to mental torture by JAMB,” Nnabuike said.
Adding that, “The candidates are not in the right frame of mind to undergo another examination, having been faced mental torture ever since the fake results were announced.
“Besides, who is going to bear the cost? The same parents who are facing severe financial challenges?
“What of the risk of moving to the examination locations, in a country ravaged by insecurity?
“Having said this, we demand that JAMB should allocate 300 score to all the South-East candidates affected by its own error, not that of the candidates. Igbos are very brilliant people and could have made 300 and above,” he said.
Prof. Oloyede had admitted the error, on Wednesday, while speaking to journalists in Abuja, the nation’s capital, saying the error has cost many candidates their ‘joy’.
“No Governor in the North, not to dare say Adamawa, would disparage Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Ditto for the South-west. No Governor would publicly speak ill of Tinubu”
Nigerian professors are giving a bad name to the academia. We grew up to revere people who wear the tag ‘professor’ as very special kinds.
And as we went through the university, the power and aura of professors on our campuses didn’t wane. Indeed, we cherished being under their tutelage.
I encountered a few in my journey through those rarefied corridors of learning. Who would forget in a hurry, Professors Alfred Opubor, Ebun Clark, Alaba Ogunsanwo, Onuora Nwuneli, among others, in the University of Lagos of the 1980s and early 90s.
But today in Nigeria, everything seems upside down; including the university system and the professors therein.
If a professor is not being gaoled for sexually harassing his students – in a most idiotic tango – he’s being jailed for helping a rogue politician rig election.
One cannot understand how our university system crashed so low to the point that professors, even vice chancellors, are co-opted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), into a tacky and highly malleable electoral system.
If Nigerians pretended they didn’t know about INEC’s make-believe heist called elections, the situation in Abia State in the 2023 election must disabuse the minds of all.
Prof. Nnenna Oti, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, was assigned to announce the Abia guber election in 2023. As we were to find out, she saved the day in Abia by refusing to call the election in favour of the losing APC candidate. Coercion , percuniary blandishments and threats to her life didn’t deter her. She stood her ground.
Thanks to her, the true choice of the people is reflected in Abia State today.
But we all know that for every Prof. Oti, there are dozens of wretched VCs who get crushed in the INEC muck.
And we ask: when did professors become cheap accessories to electoral crimes. A professor of the calibre of a vice chancellor at that!
Professor Charles Soludo.
It defies commonsense in the first place that in Nigeria, persons possessed of such high intellectual state of mind can be recruited to legitimise fraudulent elections and lend credence to barefaced roguery. Imagine a professor announcing the 2023 Rivers State polls results, for instance, which we all know that a certain Nyesom Wike personally hand-wrote! Yet a so-called professor stood on the rostrum and shamelessly read such results.
Why the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Conference of Vice Chancellors (CVC) would condone such infamy is a riddle. But now that Nigerian prisons have begun to open up gradually to our ‘bolekaja’ professors, and they are increasingly faced with disgrace, we trust there’s a cure for the malady already.
Of course this talk about professors without commonsense has been triggered by Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo in Government House, Anambra State.
Recall that this column only a few days ago, called out Prof. Soludo, noting that he acts like he is trapped under the shadows of his kinsman, Mr. Peter Obi.
That article had been prompted by mischief-makers on social media who presented him as teaming up with Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwoolu to attack Obi.
The truth however, was that they dredged up a 2022 attack by Soludo and placed it side-by-side Sanwoolu’s current comment. So it appeared that both governors were doubling down on Obi.
But if you thought that the recent tanning of Soludo would make him back off Obi, then you never knew an unwise professor.
Last week, Soludo once again showcased his innate unwisdom when he took yet another ifpublic swipe at Peter Obi. It was at the occasion of the reception of President Bola Tinubu in Anambra.
In his welcome remarks, Governor Soludo had boasted that the last time a president visited the State was in 2012 during the era of President Goodluck Jonathan; and at that, it was an occasion to commission a brewery.
Of course that’s a backhanded swipe at Peter Obi who was governor of Anambra at the time and whose government catalysed the berthing in Onitsha of SabMiller, probably the world’s largest brewery today.
Obi was Labour Party Presidential candidate in the 2023 elections. He was President Tinubu’s major rival and justly so, remains his number one critic today. It’s tacky enough that Soludo brought Tinubu to Anambra, what point is to be scored running down Obi before Tinubu in Anambra?
No governor in the north, not to dare say Adamawa, would disparage Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Ditto for the southwest. No governor would publicly speak ill of Tinubu.
Yet, discerning Nigerians know that both Soludo and Tinubu cannot hold a candle to Peter Obi in terms of governance acumen.
Indeed, Soludo continues to display an astounding lack of commonsense not only in his unprovoked attacks on Obi but in his politics and leadership. He has suggested a stark lack of both social and political intelligence. Soludo now sounds like a certain Reno Omokri who abuses Obi for a living. We excuse Reno because like a mangy dog, he’s forever foraging every waste bin in sight, never satiated. But how do we explain Soludo picking on Obi without let?
Soludo, like Tinubu, has performed below par so far. For instance, if free and fair elections are held today, both of them would fail woefully. That’s how badly they have fared.
In fact, it must be revealed that this very Presidential visit is in aid of political Jerry-mandering towards the 2027 polls. This explains why for the second time, Soludo had sacrificed his own party (APGA) flagbearer, to declare support for APC’s.
In two years, Tinubu hasn’t lifted a stick by way of federal projects in Anambra State nor are there any reasonable appointments of Anambra indigenes in the federal cabinet. Yet Soludo covered Tinubu with heaps of flowery but, empty words. He suborned his traditional rulers to confer Nwanne si Mba title on Tinubu.
On Soludo’s part, he suddenly stirred from slumber in the last six months to realise that four years is not 40 years.
For about 3 years, Nigerians watched him doodle. Having become blinded and tipsy by the frills and dazzle of high office, he didn’t know which foot to put forward. He was like fish out of water.This explains why all he has to present in three years is an amusement park and his luxurious government lodge.
The difference between Obi and Soludo are actually like hundreds of miles apart.
For instance, Soludo started borrowing from the first year and heaven knows how much he has accumulated so far in heaps of debt. Obi never borrowed a dime in eight years. Instead he cleared all previous debts yet saved over N75 billion. A feat no other governor in Nigeria has achieved so far.
Obi had eyes on HDIs, applying an integrated approach anchored on the UN MDGs. He vastly improved the education and health systems. It’s actually a disservice to design to compare Obi with Soludo. They are classes apart.
This may explain why Obi has become Soludo’s target of hate and disparagement.
Soludo’s last outing with his tainted hero, Tinubu reminds one of grandma’s folklore about Onuku who was convinced to put down his rich kin if he wanted to be made rich and belong to the caucus in his brother’s stead.
Onuku didn’t afford himself nary one night of reflection before he consummated the deed.
By dawn, when he knocked on the gate of the conclave they told him a choking ooze of gore seems to announce him. He needs to go wash properly at the stream, he was told … Onuku can still be seen around the village stream today trying to wash clean.
In those days of innocence, we would always watch out for proverbial Onuku each time we passed by the village stream.
There’s so, so much to be said about the needless rivalry soludo has ignited with his brother.
However, Obi in his character has maintained his usual dignified silence, refraining from responding or fighting back, hoping that commonsense would eventually prevail. But not with Soludo…
But it was Chinua Achebe who long admonished that we must beware of the one who kept silent in the face of provocations.
Soludo is known as Mr. Know it all among his people. In fact, he has alienated all the voices of reason in his domain. People like Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, preeminent clergymen and key Anambra elders. In Igboland, it’s said that it never augurs well for an ‘eze onye agwala m.’ He will come to ruins in no time.
Bottom line: It’s however, the prayer of this column that Soludo doesn’t end up like Onuku of our village lores…
Osuji was editor at The Guardian and Thisday among other national newspapers
Rights activist, Omoyele Sowore has called on the federal government to scrap the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, because it’s no longer relevant to the current realities in the country.
Apart from JAMB, the popular journalist said examination bodies such as the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFUND, and Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, should be equally outlawed, describing the federal government agencies as useless institutions.
Sowore made this known in a post on his X account following amidst recent backlash against JAMB for conducting a very controversial examination, in which so many candidate failed.
Of the over 1.9 million candidates who sat the UTME, over 1.5 million reportedly scored below 200 out of the maximum 400 marks, while the records from JAMB also indicate that a total of 1,955,069 results were processed, out of which only 4,756 candidates (0.24 per cent) scored 320 and above.
The Board had already admitted the error and has rescheduled the examination for 379,997 candidates. JAMB’s Registrar and chief executive office, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede made this known on Wednesday, at a press briefing in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
In spite of admitting failure on its part, JAMB has not escaped criticism from not a few Nigerians, particularly, from parents and candidates who wrote the examinations.
Reacting to the controversy, Sowore said JAMB and other examination bodies in the country have outlived their relevance, and should be scrapped immediately.
“Time to scrap these extracurricular bureaucratic busybodies …JAMB, NYSC, TETFUND, NELFUND, they are all useless!” Sowore wrote on his X page.
While admitting the error on Wednesday, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, said the exam body regretted that the last exam has brought confusion in the country, saying the error on the part of JAMB has turned the joy of many candidate otherwise.
“What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors,” Prof. Oloyede said.
The UTME is a prerequisite for gaining admission to Nigerian universities, Polytechnics and other tertiary institutions in the country.
Meanwhile, not a few has also insisted that the Prof. Oloyede -led JAMB management has performed well in some areas, including the introduction of technology into the conduct of the exam and so, should be allowed to correct its mistake. Scrapping the Board, they argue, would be tantamount to throwing away the baby and the bath water.
The Njiko Igbo Forum, NIF, has insisted that no number of endorsements by sundry groups and political actors will sway the votes of Ndi Igbo in favour of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
This is just as the body, which is an affiliate of the apex Igbo socio-political group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, declared the recent endorsement of the second term ambition of the President by Governor Charles Soludo, as a none issue.
The Source reports that some political players and interest groups have, of recent, been expressing their readiness to back the President’s quest for a second tenure, even when he has not officially indicated interest.
Penultimate week ,during the President’s one day official visit to Anambra State, Governor Soludo enthusiastically announced that his party ,the All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA, has adopted him as its candidate for the 2027 polls.
But in a statement on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, by its National President, Rev Dr Okechukwu Christopher Obioha, the Njiko Igbo Forum,noted that the President will not get more than five percent of the total votes cast in Igbo land .
According to the Forum, the abysmal performance of the President ,and his seemingly unparalleled nepotistic disposition have combined to alienate him from the people of the region.
Besides ,the body fears that the President will be worse in his observed shortcomings ,should he be allowed a second tenure .
“There is no amount of promises made by President Tinubu to any Governor ,or good people of the South East on Infrastructure development,that will sway the Igbo votes in his favour.
“We were promised some of these strategic infrastructural facilities like railways and train services by the Buhari/Tinubu Campaigns in 2022 ,but till date, railway lines are not functioning, but are even more dilapidated and moribund than ever.
“Unfortunately, train services are perfectly working in other parts of the country, except the South East (Igbo) geo-political zone.
“The nepotistic attitude and character of President Tinubu in appointing only a section of the country (Yoruba) to very important and strategic positions ,and undermining the Federal Character principles, speaks volume about what will happen if he returns for the second tenure .
” We urge every Igbo all over the country not to listen to the political rhetorics ,and false representations in the name of campaigns to return Tinubu in 2027″, Rev Obioha stated
The Forum also called for urgent electoral reforms before the next general elections. It expressed strong reservations over the possibilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC conducting free and fair polls under the present arrangements in place.
Specifically, it emphasized the need to make mandatory the electronic transmission of election results particularly the presidential polls.
The Forum noted that the electoral laws and other guidelines presently in place will not allow popular will to prevail during any elections in the country.
The body further called for the zoning of the 2027 Presidential slot to the South East ,in line with the principles of equity and justice .
This is even as it affirmed its confidence in the abilities of Peter Obi, the Presidential flag bearer of the Labour Party LP ,to bail the country out of its present quagmire .
“In 2023, for equity, justice and fairness ,was for the South East ,but the inordinate,and over ambitious grabbed it, and unfortunately has been struggling to run with the grabbed mandate without success .
” Njiko Igbo Forum NIF ,strongly advocates that since 2027 is the last four years of the eight years for the South ,it should be for the South East ,not for any other zone ,and Tinubu in particular”, the Forum noted .
Opposition Party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is going through crisis as stalwarts of the Party are leaving in droves, putting the future of the Party in jeopardy.
Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu has announced that he may soon follow the footsteps of other Governors and big wigs in the PDP who have left the Party.
Mbah alongside other leaders in the South-East threatened to defect en mass over unfair treatment by the Party hierarchy.
This was made known by the South East Caucus on Wednesday in Enugu during the Party’s Zonal Executive Committee, ZEC, meeting.
The South East leaders demand that Ude-Okoye be recognized as the National Secretary of the PDP with immediate effect.
All the speakers at the meeting, including Ali Odefa, among others in attendance, re-echoed the stand to dump the Party, if the needful is not done in earnest.
The party said, “However, in the event that our position is not promptly implemented by the Party, the South East PDP, as a family, will be compelled to reconsider our relationship with the PDP going forward”, Governor Mbah alongside the leaders of the South East insist.
After Six years of waiting, Nigeria Super Eagles prolific striker, Victor Osimhen, has helped his Turkish Club Side, Galatasaray, lift the Coveted Turkish Cup with a brace in their 3-0 triumph over Trabzonspor at the Gazientep Stadium, Turkey.
Osimhen also broke the Turkish football’s single-season record for most goals by a foreign player set by Mario Jardel’s long-standing record of 34 goals in a single season by a foreign player, set in the 2000/01 campaign.
The Nigerian lethal striker with his brace have broken the 24 year old record by scoring 35 goals in 39 matches in a competition for Galatasaray.
The loanee from Napoli equalled and then surpassed the record with strikes in the 46th and 63rd minutes, bringing his tally to 35 goals in 39 appearances during a landmark debut season in Turkey.
Galatasaray took an early lead through Barış Alper Yılmaz, who finished off a fine team move in the fifth minute following an incisive pass from Yunus Akgün.
The goal set the tone for a dominant performance from Okan Buruk’s side, who never looked in danger despite a few speculative efforts from Trabzonspor’s Nigerian export, Anthony Nwakaeme and Ozan Tufan in the first half.
After a series of missed chances, Osimhen doubled Galatasaray’s lead just a minute into the second half. The striker timed his run perfectly to latch onto a through ball from Yılmaz, shielding the ball from his marker before firing a low shot past Trabzonspor goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır.
His second came just over 15 minutes later. Following a recycled corner, Yunus Akgün found space on the right to deliver a precise pass into the box, where Osimhen expertly controlled and curled the ball into the top corner, sparking wild celebrations among Galatasaray fans.
With the brace, Osimhen not only helped Galatasaray lift their sixth Turkish Cup since 2000 but also climbed up the club’s list of all-time foreign goalscorers.
With the triumph, Galatasaray is set to complete a domestic double when they host Kayserispor on Sunday, having lead the summit with an eight point lead over Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
A win would confirm their 25th league title and their first double since the 1998/99 season.
The Nigeria Movie Industry, popular as Nollywood has been thrown Into mourning following the demise of one of its finest actress, Monalisa Ayobami Stephens.
The demise of the plus size Social Media Influencer cum actress came as a shock to many of her colleagues and fans, who are yet to come to terms with her passing.
Breaking the news of her death was Seun Oloketuyi, Chief Executive Officer of Best of Nollywood, BON, via his Instagram on Wednesday afternoon.
Oloketuyi disclosed that the actress passed yesterday, May 13th, after battling “Low Blood Sugar and Internal Bleeding”.
He added that the deceased actress’ sister confirmed her passing.
He shared the photo, and wrote: “Brand influencer cum actress, Monalisa Ayobami Stephen is dead.
“She died yesterday in Lagos after losing the fight against Low sugar and internal bleeding.
“Her immediate younger sister confirmed the death of this hardworking and beautiful soul.”
Tributes have been pouring in on the demise of the actress, as her colleagues and fans are praying for the repose of her soul.
Residents of Zamfara State have observed that the frequency and brutality of the attacks by bandits suggest a collapse of governance in many parts of the State.
The observation is coming just as bandits terrorising North West residents reportedly fed newborn twins to dogs.
According to the lawmaker representing Kaura Namoda and Birnin Magaji federal constituency of Zamfara State, Aminu Jaji, the victim was abducted from a community in Zamfara while pregnant.
He explained that while she was delivered of twin babies, the bandits threw the newborns to dogs which ate them.
“That is where we are now. That is the level of inhumanity we are facing.”
He also shared the heartbreaking story of an epileptic boy who was killed because he fell during a seizure.
“The bandit demanded the boy be brought to him to be executed. The father, out of desperation, begged his son to surrender to save the rest of the family. The boy agreed and was shot dead.”
The lawmaker called on the federal government to do more in tackling the situation.
He recalled that during the 2023 general elections, he was part of the Northwest campaign team for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and had given assurances to the people that security would be top priority.
“Now, we are failing those who believed in us. Our people can’t access their farms. Their economy has collapsed. We have many internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are not even recognised by the federal or state governments.”
He said he has tried to engage security stakeholders, including the Minister of Defence, but so far, little has come out of these efforts.
“Zamfara, my state, used to be the most peaceful in Nigeria. Today, we are among the most ravaged. The constitution guarantees the protection of life and property, but that promise is not being kept.”
Responding to a question about arming the residents for self-defence, he said the law must guide actions.
“We are legislators, not vigilantes. We cannot encourage people to take up arms illegally. But the truth is, the people feel abandoned.”
The Athena Centre has been inundated with messages and calls urging us to speak on the 2025 JAMB results. While we deeply appreciate the growing public confidence in our work, we believe that commentary—especially on such a sensitive national issue—must be based on evidence, not emotion or speculation.
To this end, we refrained from making public statements until we had verified information.
Today, 13 May 2025 at the invitation of the JAMB Registrar, Prof Oloyede, I had the privilege of joining other selected stakeholders, Commissioners for Education, Vice Chancellors, the Parents Teachers Association, the Computer Professionals Association of Nigeria, and Chief External Examiners, at the JAMB headquarters for a comprehensive review of the 2025 examination process.
What I witnessed left me encouraged.
JAMB has embraced transparency, rigour, and accountability in the face of serious public concern. I am proud of the open and honest process they instituted to address the technical issues that affected results in Lagos and the South East. This is the hallmark of institutional integrity and responsibility.
We observed the physical re-marking of randomly selected scripts—a painstaking but necessary process. It showed a commitment to truth over convenience.
We have filed a Freedom of Information request at the Athena Centre through the Arthur Nwankwo Institute. We are reviewing 10 years of past results for comparative analysis with the 2025 results.
So far, I am impressed with the review process and call on all affected candidates to remain calm and await formal communication from JAMB in the coming days.
Our country will grow when public institutions are accountable, citizens are active, and organisations remain vigilant.
I also want to thank Alex Onyia, CEO of Educare, for his consistent advocacy in the education sector and for standing firmly on the side of students and fairness.
Let us build a nation where truth, not speculation, shapes our response to failure and where integrity is the foundation of reform.
Chidoka, former Corps Marshal was Minister for Aviation during the President Goodluck Jonathan Government
