TRENDING NOW
An early morning fire has razed the only market in Trademore Estate, Lugbe Abuja.
The fire is said to have started at about 3.30 am when Abuja Electric Distribution Company (AEDC) restored electricity.
However, the exact cause is yet to be ascertained.
Abujapress could not also report what was destroyed in the fire as at time of filing this report.
Two hours after the fire started, men of the Federal Fire Service from EFCC and Sauka Station were finally able to extinguish it.
Syria’s rebels seized most of Aleppo on Saturday as their sweeping advance ousted Russian forces from at least three military bases around the city.
Opposition fighters raced through Aleppo, Hama and Idlib provinces in a lightning advance that has stunned Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
By Saturday night, the rebels had entered the city of Hama in one of the most significant crises for the Syrian government in the country’s 13 years of civil war.
Fighters broke through government lines in the west and pushed deep into Syria’s second-largest city of Aleppo on Friday night, appearing in photographs outside the city centre’s medieval citadel.
“I am a son of Aleppo and was displaced from it eight years ago, in 2016. Thank God we just returned. It is an indescribable feeling,” said Ali Jumaa, a rebel fighter, in television footage filmed inside the city.
The Syrian army on Saturday admitted that rebels had captured large parts of the city, and said regime forces had staged a temporary withdrawal to prepare a counter-offensive.
Dozens of towns and villages changed hands in the advance, and several Syrian military bases fell or were abandoned, including sites which had been used by Russian forces fighting to keep Assad’s regime in power since 2015.
As the rebel offensive accelerated, Russian forces were reported to have withdrawn from their base in the Al-Suqaylabiyah area in the northern Hama countryside, and also to have left Hama air base
Rebels also took Kuweires airbase east of Aleppo, which houses a military flying institute and is reported to have housed Russian troops and electronic warfare units.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, on Saturday held urgent talks by phone with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, discussing the situation in Syria.
“Both sides expressed serious concerns at the dangerous development of the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic in connection with the military escalation in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces,” the ministry said.
Analysts predicted Assad’s forces could be forced from the entirety of Aleppo and Hama provinces by the end of the weekend.
Charles Lister, of the Middle East Institute think tank, said the rapid developments were “quite literally an earthquake within the 14 years of Syria’s crisis”.
“Assad is looking more vulnerable than ever. An absolute collapse,” he added.
Russian planes were also accused of killing at least 20 people in Aleppo in an air strike on a roundabout where rebels had toppled a statue of Assad’s late brother, Bassel al-Assad.
The offensive led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group and its allies has reignited front lines which had been largely static for more than four years.
As the group swept into Aleppo from the west, the rival Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), moved into the city from the east and took control of Aleppo’s international airport, after Syrian regime forces left.
However, by Saturday afternoon, the SDF, which has received significant US backing to fight Islamic State militants, was said to have handed the airport over to the other rebels.
One fighter posted a video of himself on a “tour” of the facility, offering the “good news” to our “brothers in the liberated areas”.
On Saturday, rebels also released a video saying they had captured the Abu al-Duhur air base, about 28 miles south of Aleppo. The air base changed hands and was destroyed earlier in the civil war. It has been held by the Syrian government since 2018.
The offensive has gathered momentum after apparently facing little organised resistance from the Syrian government forces, who had melted away, according to monitors.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has lent heavy support to Assad since 2015 and Russian air power was pivotal to the Syrian government’s success in regaining control of its major cities during the civil war.
Russia’s port on the Syrian coast, at Tartus, is critical to its operations in the Mediterranean and in Libya, where Moscow is backing the military strongman Gen Khalifa Haftar.
Jalel Harchaoui, of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said: “While I’m not predicting Russia will abandon Tartus or Latakia, the proximity of Suqaylabiyah, less than 100km from Tartus, must be noted here.
“Any potential loss by Moscow of these ports would reshape the fate of the Haftar family.
“Russia’s extremely pleasant and comfortable circumstances in Libya have been logistically anchored in its secure bases in Syria.
“If this Syrian foundation were to falter, Moscow would become compelled to view its Libyan engagement as less natural and more costly.”
Rebel groups were ousted from Aleppo in 2016 with the help of Russian air power and Iranian forces, after a brutal four-year siege.
Inside Aleppo, schools and government offices were closed as most people stayed indoors, according to Sham FM radio, a pro-government station. Bakeries were open.
Social media posts purported to show the rebels outside the city’s citadel, and cellphone videos showed them talking with residents they visited at home, seeking to reassure them they will cause no harm.
The Syrian military said its withdrawal from Aleppo “is a temporary measure and (the military central command and armed forces) will work to guarantee the security and peace of all our people in Aleppo”.
Abdulkafi Alhamdo, a teacher who fled Aleppo in 2016 and returned on Friday night after hearing the insurgents were inside, told Associated Press he had “mixed feelings of pain, sadness and old memories”.
He said: “As I entered Aleppo, I kept telling myself this is impossible! How did this happen?”
He said he strolled through the city at night, visiting the citadel, where the insurgents raised their flags, a major square and the university of Aleppo, as well as the last spot he was in before he was forced to leave for the countryside.
A rebel fighter said he had returned to the city for the first time in 13 years, when his older brother was killed at the start of the war.
Mohammad Al Abdo said: “God willing, the rest of Aleppo province will be liberated” from government forces.”
VIA TELEGRAPH
Port-Harcourt Refinery Shuts Down Momentarily, Only 'Crude Distillation Unit' Running And Cannot Produce PMS
The Port-Harcourt refinery of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has shut down operation "at the moment" with only its non-petroleum unit running which is the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), SaharaReporters can report.
The CDU produces naphtha, kerosene and diesel but cannot produce the component which is needed for the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, top sources at the refinery disclosed to SaharaReporters on Saturday.
SaharaReporters has been monitoring developments at the refinery since Tuesday when the NNPCL initially claimed the refinery was up and trucking out PMS to the Nigerian public.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that only the old section of the Port-Harcourt refinery was working and it was blending "Crack C5 with the Naphtha" and trucking it out as Premium Motor Spirit, which some staff warned would have an "effect" on vehicles.
The top sources had clarified to SaharaReporters on Wednesday that the NNPCL came up with the idea of blending Crack C5 with the Naphtha from the primary units because the secondary units are not ready yet.
The sources had said that though blending is a standard practice and that PMS is a blend of products, “but the blended products are reformate. Gasoline is produced from the secondary units of the process plant. These secondary units are yet to be commissioned."
Giving an update to SaharaReporters on Saturday, a top official said only the CDU was running at the moment and could turn out only naphtha, kerosene and diesel.
"The Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) is still running but the operation of the depot is shut down at the moment. The CDU produces naphtha, diesel and Kerosene but cannot produce the component for the production of PMS," the source revealed.
"All these products cannot serve the masses as the production of these products are in small quantities even if the plant runs at 100% throughput. The processing plant of 150,000bpd capacity will commence operations in 2026; that is if money is made readily available to meet the timelines because at the moment the project has exceeded $2billion."
SaharaReporters on Tuesday reported that NNPCL confirmed its exclusive reports that only the old Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State is working and that the refinery is not trucking out PMS but blended gasoline.
The NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, in a statement had said that the old Port Harcourt Refinery is currently operating at 70% of its installed capacity, and that it produces Straight-Run Gasoline (Naphtha), blended into 1.4 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol daily.
Confirming SaharaReporters’ stories, Soneye in a statement on Tuesday evening, said, “The Board and Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) express heartfelt appreciation to Nigerians for their support and excitement over the safe and successful restart of the 60,000 barrels-per-day Old Port Harcourt Refinery.
“This achievement marks a significant step forward after years of operational challenges and underperformance.
“We are, however, aware of unfounded claims by certain individuals suggesting that the refinery is not producing products.
“For clarity, the Old Port Harcourt Refinery is currently operating at 70% of its installed capacity, with plans to ramp up to 90%. The refinery is producing the following daily outputs:
“Straight-Run Gasoline (Naphtha): Blended into 1.4 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS or petrol); Kerosene: 900,000 liters; Automotive Gas Oil (AGO or Diesel): 1.5 million liters; Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO): 2.1 million liters; Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): Additional volumes.”
Soneye had added, “It is worth noting that the refinery incorporates crack C5, a blending component from our sister company, Indorama Petrochemicals (formerly Eleme Petrochemicals), to produce gasoline that meets required specifications.
“Blending is a standard practice in refineries globally, as no single unit can produce gasoline that fully complies with any country’s standards without such processes.
“Additionally, we have made substantial progress on the new Port Harcourt Refinery, which will begin operations soon without prior announcements."
P’Harcourt refinery halts operations, loading bay empty
The fanfare that greeted the resumption of activities at the Port Harcourt Refining Company on Tuesday may have melted away leaving the hope and expectations of many Nigerians hanging.
A visit by Saturday PUNCH to the refinery on Friday revealed that there was no activity on site, as some workers met by our correspondent claimed that the refinery was undergoing calibration which might last till next week.
The Port Harcourt Refinery has faced numerous delays and missed deadlines to resume operations.
Upon visiting the Port Harcourt Refinery Area 5, our correspondent observed no signs of activity.
An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that the loaded trucks contained “dead stock”.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has instructed workers in 14 states to embark on an indefinite strike starting Monday in response to the failure to implement the new minimum wage and continued payment of outdated salaries.
President Bola Tinubu signed the new Minimum Wage Act into law in July, raising the national monthly minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000. This came after extensive negotiations among the government, organized labor, and private sector representatives, during which labor’s initial demand for N250,000 was reduced to N70,000.
Despite the law’s enactment nearly six months ago, only 23 states have implemented the new wage structure, leaving out several others, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement issued Friday, the NLC noted:
“Recall that the NEC of 8th November 2024 in Port Harcourt directed that industrial action to compel implementation of the new national minimum wage should commence in any state that has not complied by the end of November 2024. This position was reinforced by the CWC in Kano on the 27th of November 2024.
“Flowing from the above it is our information that some states have not commenced the said implementation as workers are still being paid on the old structure and there is no subsisting agreement to show a date of commencement of implementations.
“They are as follows: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory, Imo, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Oyo, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara states.
“We therefore request that you direct your state councils in the following states to proceed on the said needed actions to compel the implementation as resolved by the NEC & CWC.
“Please do oblige us with copies of your letters to your state councils in this regard for effective mobilisation.”
The NLC emphasized that the strike aims to push for full compliance with the minimum wage law and address workers’ grievances over delayed salary adjustments.
Simon Ekpa, a pro-Biafran activist arrested in Finland for alleged terrorism-related activities, will remain in detention throughout the Christmas holiday season, as Finland’s legal system does not allow for bail.
This was confirmed via email by Mikko Laaksonen, a Senior Detective Superintendent at Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation.
Meanwhile, Ekpa’s supporters have declared the “United States of Biafra” at a conference held in Lahti, Finland, on Friday.
The event came amidst ongoing legal challenges for Ekpa, who was arrested alongside four others last week on charges related to incitement of violence and terrorism financing.
Finnish authorities allege that Ekpa, who identifies as the Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government-in-Exile, used social media to incite violence in Nigeria’s South-East region.
According to local reports, the Päijät-Häme District Court ordered Ekpa to remain in custody on charges of public incitement to commit crimes with terrorist intent. Finnish police have also detained other suspects linked to the financing of terrorism. Ekpa is scheduled to face trial in May 2025.
Laaksonen clarified that Finland’s criminal procedures do not include a bail system but rely on remand or travel bans to restrict the freedom of movement for suspects.
Pro-Biafra Supporters Convene in Finland
Ekpa’s followers gathered in Lahti to declare the “United States of Biafra.” Videos on social media showed a significant number of Nigerians arriving in Finland for the event titled Biafra Mass Exodus 2024.
Dr. Ngozi Orabueze, who identified herself as the Chief of Staff for the United States of Biafra, presided over the convention. Orabueze, a nurse practitioner based in Atlanta, was appointed in March 2023 as Minister of Health, Oil, and Gas for the Biafra Republic Government-in-Exile.
On her verified social media account, Orabueze posted updates about the declaration, which included plans to adopt a new currency and time zone. “Biafra has been re-declared today, 29th of November 2024,” she announced, adding, “Power belongs to the people.”
The event included chants of “USB” (United States of Biafra) and a list of proposed states within the re-declared entity. The crowd sang Igbo songs and expressed solidarity with the movement.
Divergent Reactions
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), through spokesperson Emma Powerful, distanced the group from the event, describing Ekpa’s faction as “criminals” and denying any involvement. Similarly, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) expressed cautious support but emphasized that Nigeria remains in control of the region.
Extradition Challenges
The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that there is no extradition treaty between Nigeria and Finland. However, legal experts suggest that international conventions could provide grounds for Ekpa’s extradition if Nigeria meets specific conditions.
Calls for Ekpa’s extradition have grown louder in Nigeria, with citizens and officials urging the Finnish government to cooperate. Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, Director of Defence Information, has also called for Ekpa’s return to face charges in Nigeria.
Chukwuma Ezeala, a legal expert, noted during an interview that international crimes could warrant cooperation between Finland and Nigeria, even in the absence of a formal treaty. “The question will now be whether Nigeria can meet the requirements for extradition under international conventions,” he said.
Ekpa’s case and the declaration of the “United States of Biafra” have sparked widespread debate both locally and internationally.
(PUNCH)
This week, as I refueled my car, I couldn’t help but be struck by the sharp contrast between petrol prices here in Metro Atlanta and in Nigeria.
In Metro Atlanta, fuel prices hover at $2.70 per gallon, which is equivalent to around 67 cents per liter. (Four liters make up a gallon.) Translating this into naira reveals a stark discrepancy.
At the current exchange rate of 1,647 naira to the dollar, a gallon of petrol in Atlanta equates to approximately 5,200 naira or 1,102 naira per liter. That’s astonishingly cheaper than Nigeria’s prevailing rate of around 1,300 naira per liter.
This disparity grows even more troubling in light of the wildly differential minimum wage standards between Nigeria and the United States. In the United States, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, which amounts to roughly $1,200 a month. Converted into naira, this comes to nearly 1,974,000 (one million, nine hundred and seventy four thousand) naira.
Note that almost no one earns the minimum wage. Even the lowest remunerated workers here earn above the minimum wage. For example, my 16-year-old daughter who works at an entertainment restaurant chain on weekends earns $13 an hour.
Meanwhile, the federal minimum wage in Nigeria is a piddling 70,000 naira, or around $42.55. In other words, Nigerians with a minimum wage of 70,000 per month pay a higher rate at the pump than Atlantans with a minimum wage of 1.9 million naira per month.
When one presents these figures, defenders of past and present Nigerian regimes— and clueless, stonyhearted neoliberal evangelists— often argue that it’s fruitless to compare Nigeria with the United States, the world’s largest economy.
Yet, it’s worth noting that the U.S. does not indulge in the luxuries afforded to Nigeria’s ruling political elites. For instance, while American presidents pay for their own meals, including the meals of their guests, Nigeria allocates billions for the upkeep of its first families.
Such contrasts illustrate not merely economic differences but also the broader question of public accountability and fiscal priorities.
In much of the developed world, government subsidies for fuel are deemed vital, particularly where public transport systems are not robust. In the U.S., for example, state governments sometimes provide targeted subsidies to cushion residents from high fuel prices.
The lower fuel prices in America are facilitated by state subsidies aimed at counterbalancing a lack of comprehensive public transit options, as is the case in Western Europe.
For instance, the governor of Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp, recently decided to suspend fuel taxes in Georgia following Hurricane Helene, which temporarily reduced petrol prices to around $2.50 per gallon. This is typical all over the United States.
The Center for Investigative Reporting found that the true cost of petrol in the United States is $15 per gallon, that is, $3.75 per liter. Converted into naira, that would amount to 24,648.90 naira per gallon or 6,162.23 naira per liter. But the average pump price of petrol in the United States is $3.16 per gallon.
(Gas prices can vary greatly within each state, with Texas having the lowest price of $2.669 per gallon and California the highest price at $4.68 per gallon. Note that California’s minimum wage is more than twice the federal minimum wage at $16.00 an hour.)
Americans don’t pay the actual cost of petrol because their state governments spend billions to subsidize their petrol consumption. According to the IMF, which has demonized fuel subsidies in the developing world, compelled governments to remove subsidies, and recruited scorn-worthy traitors to brainwash poor people into accepting that subsidies are bad for them, the United States spent $757 billion in fossil fuel subsidies in 2022 alone.
Globally, the IMF said, “subsidies surged to a record $7 trillion [in 2022] as governments supported consumers and businesses during the global spike in energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the economic recovery from the pandemic.” That represents 7 percent of global GDP.
U.S. state governments spent a significant sum on fuel subsidies, largely as part of measures to alleviate the impact of elevated energy costs. These measures included gas tax holidays, direct consumer grants, and discounts, aiming to shield residents from the global surge in fuel prices following supply disruptions caused by international events like the Ukraine crisis.
These interventions illustrate the fiscal lengths governments are willing to go to stabilize fuel costs for their citizens amid economic challenges.
Countries as diverse as Egypt and Indonesia have similarly leveraged fuel subsidies to maintain price stability, alleviate poverty, and stimulate their economies. These examples illuminate a fundamental principle that subsidies, when properly managed, can serve as powerful tools to bridge income disparities and invigorate economic growth.
But not in Nigeria. Nigerians face relentless economic strain despite residing in an oil-producing nation. It’s a country where, somehow, people have been persuaded by a sophisticated mob of well-compensated spin doctors that exorbitant fuel prices are an unavoidable reality to which they must resign themselves.
For a resource-rich nation, which is also among the poorest globally, this is a bitter, disconcerting irony.
Those who denounce subsidies as inefficacious or detrimental often betray a limited understanding of their societal role, or worse, they may advocate for policies that consolidate wealth at the top.
In societies grappling with inequality, subsidies can mean the difference between bare survival and a modest but dignified life for millions.
To disparage such measures, particularly in a nation with profound economic inequalities, is to endorse a vision of society that is untenably divided—and to invite criticism that should rightly be directed not only toward them but, if you’ll pardon the expression, toward the legacy of those who espouse such values.
It is a grave irony, and a deeply unjust one, that the people of Nigeria — a nation abundantly blessed with oil wealth — must endure petrol prices that surpass those of Atlanta, a city in one of the world’s richest nations. This, while the average Nigerian subsists on a minimum wage of approximately $43 a month, a pittance that could scarcely fill a tank, let alone sustain a family.
The removal of petrol subsidies is not merely an economic policy; it is a sentence handed down to the already struggling, forcing countless Nigerians to choose between transportation, sustenance, and survival. The ripple effects are evident in unchecked inflation spirals, faltering businesses, and tragic loss of lives in the wake of avoidable hardship.
To govern is to protect, to prioritize the well-being of the many over the convenience of the few. To abandon subsidies under the guise of fiscal responsibility while the vulnerable teeter on the edge of despair is neither responsible nor just. It is, instead, an abdication of moral duty.
President Tinubu should restore the subsidies minus the corruption, not as a concession, but as an obligation to the people he is obligated to serve. To do so is not to admit defeat but to affirm humanity, to wield governance as a tool of compassion rather than austerity.
After all, what use is a nation’s wealth if it is not deployed in the service of its citizens? Let Nigeria’s oil be a blessing once more, not a bitter reminder of inequalities entrenched and lives disregarded.
Farooq Kperogi is a renowned columnist and United States-based Professor of Journalism.