23.11.2022 Views

23112022

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

C<br />

M<br />

Y<br />

K<br />

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2022 — 9<br />

:Vanguard News<br />

:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058<br />

FLAG-OFF—From left: GMD, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc., Ravindra Singhvi; Chief of Staff<br />

to Adamawa State governor, Prof. Maxwell Gidado; Minister of Industry, Trade and<br />

Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo; Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Crowder Seth, and<br />

President/CE, Dangote Industries Ltd., Aliko Dangote, during the flag-off ceremony of<br />

2022/2023 Crushing Season and Outgrower Scheme Awards, at the refinery, in Numan,<br />

Adamawa State, yesterday.<br />

NNPCL, partners begin devt of 1bn barrels<br />

Kolmani oil field<br />

By Obas Esiedesa<br />

B Muhammadu<br />

AUCHI—PRESIDENT<br />

Buhari<br />

yesterday flagged off the Kolmani<br />

Integrated Development Project<br />

in Bauchi State, marking the<br />

commencement of effort to<br />

commercially exploit oil in<br />

Northern part of Nigeria.<br />

The Kolmani oil field, estimated<br />

to have a reserve of about one<br />

billion barrels of crude oil, OPL<br />

809 and 810, lies in the Gongola<br />

Basin of the Upper Benue Trough,<br />

straddling Bauchi and Gombe<br />

states.<br />

The oil blocks are owned by the<br />

Nigerian National Petroleum<br />

Company Limited, NNPCL, as<br />

concessionaire with New Nigeria<br />

Development Company Ltd,<br />

Africa Oilfield movers Ltd, and<br />

SEEPCO as partners.<br />

The well is expected to produce<br />

50,000 barrels of oil per day during<br />

the first phase.<br />

Speaking shortly before the<br />

official groundbreaking, President<br />

Buhari said the successful<br />

discovery of the Kolmani Oil and<br />

Gas field by NNPC and its<br />

partners had finally broken the<br />

jinx record by confirmation of<br />

huge commercial deposits of<br />

hydrocarbons in Kolmani River<br />

field.<br />

The President said:<br />

"Considering the land locked<br />

location and the huge capital<br />

requirement, the economics of<br />

the project is a challenging<br />

proposition. Consequently, from<br />

the onset, I instructed NNPC<br />

Limited to utilize and leverage<br />

their vast asset portfolio across<br />

all corridors of its operations to<br />

de-risk the project to attract the<br />

much-needed investment. I have<br />

directed NNPC to continue along<br />

these lines.<br />

"It is therefore to the credit of<br />

this administration that at a time<br />

when there is near zero appetite<br />

for investment in fossil energy,<br />

coupled with the location<br />

challenges, we are able to attract<br />

investment of over USD 3 billion<br />

to this project."<br />

On his part, the Minister of<br />

State for Petroleum Resources,<br />

Timipre Sylva, said Buhari’s<br />

government was determined to<br />

end energy poverty in the<br />

country, while creating shared<br />

prosperity for all Nigerians.<br />

In their separate remarks, the<br />

governors of Bauchi and Gombe<br />

states, Sen. Bala Mohammed and<br />

Muhammad Yahaya respectively,<br />

assured investors of security of<br />

the project.<br />

The governors also assured<br />

that the mistakes made in the<br />

exploration and exploitation of<br />

oil and gas in the Niger Delta<br />

would be avoided.<br />

To this end, the governors held<br />

that they would continue to<br />

collaborate to ensure<br />

harmonious relationship among<br />

the host communities.<br />

On his part, the Group CEO,<br />

NNPCL, Mele Kyari, disclosed<br />

that being an integrated project,<br />

the first phase would entail an<br />

in-stu oil refinery of up to 120,000<br />

barrels per day capacity, a gas<br />

processing plant of up to 500<br />

•Buhari flags off project, attracts $3bn<br />

investment •North joins oil production, targets<br />

50,000bpd •Plan 0.12mb/d refining facility<br />

million standard cubic feet per<br />

day, a power plant of up to 500<br />

Megawatts capacity, and a<br />

fertilizer plant of 2,500 tons per<br />

day.<br />

He also disclosed that in<br />

another phase of the project,<br />

"there will be a downstream oil<br />

terminal/depot for offtake and<br />

distribution of the white products<br />

coming out of the refinery and<br />

further development of the<br />

integrated project."<br />

Kyari added the financing for<br />

the project had been secured,<br />

stating that when completed, the<br />

project would ensure energy<br />

security for the country.<br />

The event, attended by the<br />

Senate President, Ahmad<br />

Lawan, and APC presidential<br />

candidate in the 2023 general<br />

elections, Bola Tinubu, was also<br />

graced by governors of several<br />

northern states.<br />

Digital vote buying: CUPP's allegation senseless,<br />

sign of fatigue —APC PCC<br />

•Pack up your campaigns if... —Keyamo<br />

•Opposition parties have weaponised fake<br />

news because they can’t match APC<br />

—Lai Mohammed<br />

By Omeiza Ajayi<br />

ABUJA—THE Presidential<br />

Campaign Council, PCC, of<br />

the ruling All Progressives<br />

Congress, APC, yesterday<br />

described allegations of digital<br />

vote buying levelled against it by<br />

the Coalition of United Political<br />

Parties CUPP as senseless and a<br />

sign of fatigue.<br />

The PCC was reacting to<br />

allegations by the Coalition of<br />

United Political Parties CUPP that<br />

APC and Tinubu had concluded<br />

plans to transfer cash to voters<br />

via harvested bank accounts, a<br />

digital vote buying method,<br />

following their inability to<br />

continue the usual cash-for-vote<br />

as a result of the new Naira design<br />

policy.<br />

It had earlier accused the<br />

opposition Peoples Democratic<br />

Party, PDP, of spreading wicked<br />

rumours to portray the APC<br />

standard bearer, Bola Tinubu, in<br />

bad light.<br />

The PCC's reaction came on a<br />

day Minister of Information and<br />

Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,<br />

said some opposition political<br />

parties had weaponised fake news<br />

because they could not match the<br />

APC in a free and fair election.<br />

Describing CUPP as a<br />

subsidiary of the opposition PDP,<br />

trhe Minister of State for Labour<br />

and Employment, Festus<br />

Keyamo, who doubles as chief<br />

spokesperson of the APC-PCC,<br />

advised the opposition to pack up<br />

their campaigns if they had<br />

nothing more to tell Nigerians.<br />

"That is the subsidiary of PDP.<br />

These wild allegations are already<br />

a sign of fatigue. They should<br />

pack up their campaigns if they<br />

have nothing more to tell<br />

Nigerians", Keyamo said.<br />

On his part, National Publicity<br />

Secretary of the APC, Felix<br />

Morka, said the allegation was<br />

another evidence of illpreparedness<br />

of the PDP.<br />

He said: "The allegation is yet<br />

another evidence of the<br />

opposition’s zero confidence in<br />

their competitive capacity, and ill<br />

preparedness for next year’s<br />

general election. We are a serious<br />

Party and will not be distracted by<br />

vain, senseless and baseless<br />

gibberish by the the opposition".<br />

Earlier on Monday, Bayo<br />

Onanuga, Director, Media and<br />

Publicity at the APC -PCC, had<br />

accused the PDP of using CUPP<br />

as its surrogate to attack Tinubu.<br />

"If you believe this, you will<br />

believe anything. This is a mere<br />

rumour concocted by the PDP<br />

and surrogate CUPP to malign<br />

our candidate. We are working<br />

hard to win this election by<br />

landslide," Onanuga had said.<br />

CUPP had alleged that over 20<br />

APC states have harvested 10m<br />

bank accounts to transfer money<br />

on election day to voters.<br />

Addressing journalists in Abuja<br />

on Monday, CUPP's<br />

spokesperson, Ikenga Imo<br />

Ugochinyere, had said the new<br />

plot of digital vote buying, termed<br />

operation Wire-Wire, would see to<br />

the APC harvesting names,<br />

account numbers, and Voters<br />

Identification Numbers, Bank<br />

Verification Numbers of citizens,<br />

arranged in tables for each polling<br />

unit on the understanding that<br />

money would be sent to each<br />

person by electronic means to<br />

purchase their votes.<br />

Opposition parties have<br />

weaponised fake news because<br />

they can’t match APC – Lai<br />

Mohammed<br />

Meanwhile, the Minister of<br />

Information and Culture, Alhaji<br />

Lai Mohammed, said yesterday<br />

that some opposition political<br />

parties had weaponised fake news<br />

since they coudn't match the All<br />

Progressives Congress, APC, in a<br />

free and fair election.<br />

Speaking at the fourth edition<br />

of the federal government’s<br />

scorecard in Abuja, Mohammed<br />

said the trend was dangerous and<br />

must be stopped.<br />

He said: “In recent times, we<br />

have all witnessed how a letter<br />

purportedly from INEC was used<br />

to cast aspersions on the<br />

candidate of the ruling“APC.<br />

“Shortly after that, the death of<br />

an innocent man was turned into<br />

a political tool to further attack<br />

the same APC candidate.<br />

“Of course, there have been<br />

other cases similar to the two I<br />

have just enumerated. This is a<br />

dangerous development which<br />

must be nipped in the bud.<br />

“If the opposition has suddenly<br />

realised that they cannot match<br />

the ruling party in a free and fair<br />

election, and have thus decided<br />

to weaponise fake news and<br />

disinformation, the media should<br />

not allow itself to be used for that<br />

nefarious purpose.”<br />

The minister lamented that<br />

there were those bent on using<br />

fake news as a strategy to win<br />

elections.<br />

“We have all seen the damage<br />

done to elections in other climes<br />

by fake news and disinformation,”<br />

he said.<br />

“No government will sit by and<br />

allow anyone or any organization<br />

to use fake news and<br />

disinformation to sow the seeds<br />

of discord.<br />

“We are therefore compelled to<br />

warn the purveyors of fake news<br />

and disinformation, especially in<br />

the run-up to next year’s<br />

elections, to stop forthwith.<br />

Enough is enough,'' he added.<br />

NSMP: Dangote Sugar upscales<br />

its $700m Investment<br />

•Increases sugar plantation by 179% to<br />

24,200 hectares has spent billions of naira in<br />

PRESIDENT of the Dangote<br />

Group, Aliko Dangote has<br />

announced that the Dangote<br />

Sugar Refinery, DSR, Plc is<br />

significantly scaling up its<br />

investment in the sugar sub-sector<br />

in line with the requirement of the<br />

Nigeria Sugar Master Plan, NSMP.<br />

Speaking at the Flag off<br />

ceremony of the 2022/2023<br />

Crushing Season and Outgrower<br />

Scheme Awards in Numan,<br />

Adamawa State, Dangote said the<br />

company is making massive<br />

investments in Adamawa State<br />

through the expansion of DSR<br />

Numan sugar refining capacity<br />

from 3,000 tonnes of cane per day<br />

(tcd) to 6,000 tcd, 9,800 tcd and to<br />

15,000 tcd.<br />

Noting that increasing the sugar<br />

refining capacity will require a<br />

corresponding increase in<br />

sugarcane production capacity, he<br />

revealed that the company has<br />

concluded plans to increase its<br />

sugar plantation from the current<br />

land area under cane production<br />

of about 8,700 hectares in 2022 to<br />

about 24,200 hectares within the<br />

next 7 years. He also assured that<br />

the company will double its<br />

scholarship and empowerment<br />

schemes in its host communities.<br />

“We will continue to introduce<br />

more initiatives to support our host<br />

communities. Through these<br />

initiatives and our numerous<br />

Corporate Social Responsibility<br />

activities, DSR Numan will be able<br />

to touch the lives of the people,<br />

bringing social, economic, and<br />

infrastructural development to our<br />

host communities.”<br />

He said: “We are thus<br />

committing over $700 million to our<br />

investment in the Backward<br />

Integration Programme (BIP) to<br />

enable us put in place needed<br />

infrastructure for the eventual<br />

commencement of full-scale<br />

production."<br />

Dangote further assured that<br />

Dangote Sugar will change the<br />

trajectory by making Nigeria selfsufficient<br />

in the sector.<br />

Already, the company, he noted,<br />

developing infrastructural facilities<br />

for host communities.<br />

Speaking also at the event, the<br />

Minister of Industry, Trade, and<br />

Investment, Otunba Adeniyi<br />

Adebayo described the Dangote<br />

Sugar Refinery as the biggest<br />

contributor to the sugar<br />

development stride of the Federal<br />

Government.<br />

The Minister also commended<br />

Aliko Dangote and the<br />

Management staff of Dangote<br />

Sugar for their massive support<br />

through the company’s corporate<br />

social responsibility scheme, which<br />

he said should be highly<br />

commended.<br />

He said agencies under his<br />

ministry will partner the company<br />

to provide the technical know-how<br />

that will support the Dangote<br />

empowerment schemes in the host<br />

communities.<br />

In the same vein, Governor of<br />

Adamawa State, Umaru Fintiri<br />

who was represented by his<br />

Deputy Crowther Seth said he was<br />

amazed by the social-economic<br />

transformation carried out by the<br />

Dangote Group, adding that it is<br />

monumental. He assured the<br />

company of the support of the state<br />

government and enjoined other<br />

corporate bodies to imbibe<br />

Dangote’s spirit of job creation<br />

across the country.<br />

Speaking on behalf of the<br />

traditional rulers, Hama Bachama,<br />

Dr. Daniel Shaga Ismail described<br />

Dangote as God-sent and pledged<br />

that his people would continue to<br />

support the company.<br />

Aliko Dangote further<br />

announced a Free Education<br />

boon for all the students of<br />

Dangote Sugar Refinery High<br />

School, among other scholarship<br />

winners announced.<br />

The overall best Outgrower<br />

farmer, Christiana Rufus thanked<br />

the company and promised not to<br />

relent in her effort.<br />

Six farmers, mostly women<br />

emerged as overall best farmers in<br />

the contest, and were given<br />

various attractive prizes.<br />

Atiku’s ally, Chidoka replies<br />

Kwankwaso, says no party has<br />

won Lagos, Kano, Rivers at once<br />

By Juliet Umeh<br />

FORMER MINISTER of<br />

Aviation, Osita Chidoka,<br />

yesterday replied presidential<br />

candidate of New Nigeria Peoples<br />

Party, NNPP, Rabiu Musa<br />

Kwankwaso, over commends that<br />

the Presidential candidate of<br />

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,<br />

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had lost<br />

out of the race, since he had no<br />

control of votes in Lagos, Kano<br />

and Rivers states.<br />

Recall that Kwankwaso had at<br />

the commissioning of a project<br />

executed by Rivers State governor,<br />

Nyesom Wike, in Port Harcourt<br />

on Monday, made such inference.<br />

But speaking in an interview on<br />

Channels Television's breakfast<br />

programme, Sunrise Daily,<br />

yesterday, Chidoka, who is also an<br />

ally of Atiku and a PDP chieftain,<br />

described Kwankwaso’s analysis<br />

as “not mathematically correct”.<br />

While acknowledging that the<br />

three states deliver millions of<br />

votes during elections, Chidoka<br />

said no party had won the three<br />

states in the history of Nigeria’s<br />

Fourth Republic.<br />

He said: “It is the party that<br />

wins across all segments that wins<br />

the election and no party has won<br />

the three states at the same time<br />

– most times, two out of three. In<br />

2019, APC won Kano and Lagos<br />

was marginal – it was 45 per cent<br />

to 55 per cent split between PDP<br />

and APC. PDP won Rivers.''<br />

Chidoka, who noted that his<br />

party, PDP, had won at least three<br />

presidential elections since 1999,<br />

despite losing Kano, said: “As there<br />

is Kano, there is Katsina. As there<br />

is Lagos, there is Delta, there is<br />

Akwa Ibom, there is Jigawa, a state<br />

that doesn’t have high numbers<br />

but high voter turnout if you look<br />

at historical data.'<br />

''Kano had over 1.8 million<br />

cumulative votes, the highest by<br />

any state in the 2019 presidential<br />

election, while Lagos had over one<br />

million total votes and Rivers about<br />

600,000 total votes. Kano and<br />

Lagos are currently controlled by<br />

the APC whilst PDP is the party in<br />

power in Rivers.''<br />

However, there are fears that<br />

the intra-party squabbles between<br />

Governor Nyesom Wike and Atiku<br />

over the chairmanship of Iyorchia<br />

Ayu would affect the chances of<br />

the PDP presidential candidate at<br />

the polls next February.<br />

Chidoka explained that PDP<br />

wouldn't remain a viable party<br />

without winning the bulk of votes<br />

in northern Nigeria as it did to<br />

govern Nigeria from 1999 to 2015<br />

before it lost to Muhammadu<br />

Buhari of the All Progressives<br />

Congress, APC.<br />

“What we have in the PDP now<br />

is what I call a ‘Northern Strategy’;<br />

restoring PDP as a national<br />

platform that cuts across its base<br />

in the South-East, South-South<br />

and take it to the north again.“

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!