Nigeria Voice

OVL likely to forgo oil blocks in Nigeria

ONGC Videsh (OVL) may forgo two highly prospective deep-sea oil blocks in Nigeria as it is unlikely to get government approval for payment of $485 million signing amount before the March 6 deadline.
Nigeria had last month decided to revert the blocks 321 and 323 to OVL if the Indian firm was to make cash payment of $485 million signature bonus in 60-days.
"The model code of conduct (for April/May Elections) would be in place soon and we have been sounded by the Petroleum Ministry that necessary approvals for the payment of signature bonus may not be possible," a source in OVL said.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) would have to be convinced about the investment particularly as the blocks were snatched from a Korean group and may potentially involve litigation.
OVL would need the CCEA approval before making about Rs 2,360 crore payment. "We have not yet formally communicated our decision to Nigerian authorities but in all likelihood the decision would be to decline the offer," he said.
The company had in August 2005 won blocks 321 and 323, which hold inplace reserves of two billion barrels each, committing $485 million in signing amount. But Nigeria awarded these blocks to Korean National Oil Corp-led group claiming that the Korean firm had a first right of refusal.

OVL likely to forgo oil blocks in Nigeria

Shell May Miss Nigeria Bonny Oil Sales Through March

Shell May Miss Nigeria Bonny Oil Sales Through March (Update1)
By Alexander Kwiatkowski and Eduard Gismatullin
Feb. 12 -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, said it may miss deliveries of Bonny Light crude oil from Nigeria through March because of security concerns.
Shell issued a force majeure declaration, allowing it to suspend contractual sales obligations for reasons beyond its control, from Feb. 10 onwards, The Hague-based Shell spokesman Rainer Winzenried said in a phone interview today. He declined to comment if the Bonny force majeure would extend through to April.
“We have some logistical challenges related to the security situation,” Winzenried said. He declined to give any further comments.
Militant attacks on oil pipelines and production facilities have disrupted Nigeria’s crude production since 2006. Groups including the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, have targeted facilities operated by Shell, the biggest foreign producer in the country.
Shell had planned to load three Bonny Light cargoes this month totaling 2.85 million barrels, or 102,000 barrels a day, according to the shipment programs obtained by Bloomberg last month. Approximately the same number of barrels was originally expected to be shipped during March.
Bonny exports had resumed on Jan. 7 after being subject to force majeure since July, when rebel attacks on pipelines and production facilities cut supplies.
Shell said Jan. 29 that its share of overall Nigerian oil and gas production averaged the equivalent of 360,000 barrels a day in 2008. Extraction equivalent to 213,000 barrels a day remained shut in at the end of 2008.
Nigerian crude is typically the light, low-sulfur variety of oil favored by U.S. refiners for the quantity of gasoline it produces.
Earlier this week, Nigeria’s two main oil unions were considering a strike to protest rising insecurity in the Niger Delta.

Shell May Miss Nigeria Bonny Oil Sales Through March

What senators, other lawmakers earn

The Revenue Mobilistion Allocation and Fiscal Commission had late in 2008, increased the monthly salaries and allowances of all public officers in line with the powers conferred on it by the Constitution.
The increase generated national debate while the development encouraged organised labour to agitate for increase in the salaries of civil servants amid the current global economic downturn.
The hike was over 100 per cent just as judicial officers also benefited from the increase
The RMAFC upward review came after the 2,000 exercise
Under the last increase, the monthly basic salary of a senator was hiked from N993,697 to N2.48m per month just as that of a member of the House of Representatives moved from monthly N794,084 to N1.98m per month
A state Assembly lawmaker's salary was increased from monthly N794,084 to N1.98m per month.
Other perks that were affected by the RMAFC upward review not to be slashed include sundry allowances such as vehicle maintenance from 30 per cent to 75 per cent, entertainment from 10 per cent to 30 per cent.
Also, utility allowance went up from 20 per cent to 30 per cent.
For legislators, wardrobe allowance 25 per cent, personal assistant allowance is 25 per cent; domestic staff allowance is 75 per cent, recess allowance 10 per cent while newspapers allowance is 15 per cent

What senators, other lawmakers earn

Nigerian Oil Workers Protest Kidnappings

By Gilbert da Costa Abuja 10 February 2009
Oil workers in the southern Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt staged a protest over growing insecurity in the oil-producing Niger Delta. But a white-collar workers' strike was suspended to allow for more talks with the government.
About 500 workers of the French oil company Total picketed the company office in Port Harcourt, calling for an end to abductions and violence in the oil-rich southern region.
The country's white-collar oil workers union, Petroleum and Gas Senior Staff Association, last week threatened to pull its members out of the southern Rivers state, following an upsurge in kidnappings of its members. But its strike was suspended to allow for further negotiations.Union secretary general Bayo Olowoshile says the protesting oil workers were ignorant of the union's decision to suspend the strike.
"What is happening in Port Harcourt is that some of our members, particularly in Total, were not fully abreast of the directive of the national secretariat because of the weekend," said Olowoshile . "And the branch is working on that now. They are going to demobilize and comply with the directive of the national secretariat. This is what is happening."Olowoshile says PENGASSEN is consulting with its blue-collar counterpart, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers of Nigeria, NUPENG, and that a strike remains an option for the unions."We are going to go to meeting and align our position with NUPENG and then come up with a position that will look at all the options," said Olowoshile. "And in fact, strike is also an option."
There has been an increase in violent attacks and kidnappings targeting oil companies the past three years in the Niger Delta region.Militants claiming to be fighting for a greater share of the region's oil wealth have been blamed for some of the attacks and kidnappings. Criminal gangs are also exploiting the chaos to kidnap local and foreign workers and relatives of prominent politicians for ransom.Nigeria's oil production has suffered as a result of the incessant attacks.

Nigerian Oil Workers Protest Kidnappings

NNPC sign $2.5 billion gas deal with Gazprom

Elisha Bala-Gbogbo
February 9, 2009 07:23PMT
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC] and Gazprom, Russian gas giant, Friday reach agreement on a $2.5 billion investment to develop and produce Nigeria's natural gas.

Livi Ajounuma, General Manager Public, confirm to NEXT that "we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MOU]". He commented further on the deal saying, "It's a good thing. It means that a giant company [like Gazprom] can come to Nigeria."

Although much of the details are sketchy at the moment, the MOU signed entails a joint venture partnership on projects in Africa's largest oil and gas producer.

According to an official of Gazprom in Nigeria, "90 percent of it [the agreement] is for developing the domestic gas production, processing, and transportation."

"Well, it's part of it", concurred Mr. Ajuonuma.

The process began last September in Moscow. An agreement was reached in principle between Abubakar Yar'Adua, the former Group Managing Director of NNPC, and Alexei Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Gazprom.

Industry experts see the deal as a positive move by the federal government to utilize the huge gas resources of the country that have hitherto been wasted.

Nigeria has a proven natural reserve of about 184 trillion standard cubic feet [tscf]. Currently, about 24 billion standard cubic feet of gas is flared annually of the global total of 150 billion: the worst gas flare record in the world behind Russia.

This development has drawn the censure of the World Bank and major environmental bodies. The gas flared in Nigeria is enough to power the entire Sub-Saharan Africa.

NNPC sign $2.5 billion gas deal with Gazprom

Yar’Adua’s Men Block VP

February 9, 2009
THE Nigerian presidency, ever known to bubble, almost all day round, with engaging activities is increasingly becoming a shadow of itself as emerging realities continue to point towards the helplessness of key government officials on the running of government policies and programmes. Although, President Umaru Musa YarÁdua is currently on a two-week break, investigations have revealed that even when he was fully in charge, government officials mostly ministers, were always at a loss on who to turn to for direction on crucial governmental matters, since most of them more often than not, would not get the president’s immediate attention.
At the moment, however, an uneasy calm envelops the Nigerian seat of government as officials who do not belong to the inner caucus of the president are left to cope with the turn of events with a philosophical calmness, while hoping for activities to pick up again in the Presidential Villa.
According to investigations, the situation is so bad in the Villa that the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has been schemed out of the main events in the government and his responsibilities virtually entrusted to some of his sub- ordinates.
The Vice President whom investigations revealed had by his role been having only a little direct personal contact with his boss is now completely alienated and his aides often have to scamper for every fresh memo from the office of the President just to see if there is anything for their boss.
From indication, President Yar’Ádua has redesigned the structure of his government which now allows the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, to supervise the activities of the Ministers and Heads of government agencies, just as he has reportedly conceded the political activities around his office to some governors, led by the governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki, supported by the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori , and Alhaji Rilwan Lukman now completely in charge of the oil industry.
Indication that Jonathan is now estranged became glaring more than a week ago with the resolve by President YarÁdua to proceed on a two-week leave without conceding any major governmental duty to him, contrary to an earlier impression given to Nigerians by the SGF through a statement that he was to take charge of matters that required the President’s attention.
The statement by Yayale had hardly hit the airwaves when the President’s spokesman, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, gave a different view of the workings in the Villa with the exit of his boss, stating that the Vice President was not to be in charge of any government affair.
Adeniyi told State House correspondents “It is not handover per se. I mean the SGF was just stating the obvious: when the President is away, whatever issues arises, the VP will deal with it. I think the background to it was what happened in council on Wednesday (penultimate week). There was a debate at the Federal Executive Council about some of the principal ministers who when they travelled out nothing happened in their ministry because the minister of state cannot act. And the President said as far as he was concerned, if there were issues he should deal with and if he was not available, the rule there is that the Vice President will deal with such situations.
“So, if the President is on vacation, it goes without saying that the Vice President will take charge of issues to attend to. That is just a normal thing. It is not handover per se, the President is still the president and is still in charge, there is no big deal about it.”
As a strong proof that he has not been in charge, the Vice President last week, went to Addis-Ababa as the head of Nigeria’s delegation to the 12th summit of Africa’s heads of state and government to represent the president, not as Nigeria’s acting president.
Another proof was that while still on leave, the president has been issuing statements directing the affairs of the country, passing such through his spokesman and not his deputy. The idea is that Jonathan should have been mandated to issue such statements at least on behalf of the president since he was supposed to be acting.
Investigations have revealed that the Vice President does not just begin to suffer alienation within the government now. The process, according to findings, began a long time ago when the president’s strategist started giving him a close watch to see if he was nursing an ambition.
A survey conducted by Saturday Tribune in the presidential villa revealed that Jonathan would not encourage any of his political associates or friends to visit him in the office from any part of the federation for fear of being suspected as being politically ambitious.
In spite of the visible desertion of the vice president’s office, the present political reality in the Villa as observed has discouraged Jonathan from making input in the running of government as he has been divested of the privilege to nominate candidates into the cabinet, an opportunity his predecessor, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar enjoyed quite well while in power.
Reports also has it that the Vice President has limited access to funds to run his office, having been told in clear terms that the constitution of Nigeria does not specify specific financial allocation for the office of the Vice President.
Some aides to the vice president told Saturday Tribune in confidence of how they had always wondered why their boss was being subjected to such alienations in spite of the political power that his office should naturally enjoy. They lamented that their boss would have been better off as a political kingpin back in Bayelsa.
They spoke of a particular case when the Vice President was prevented from travelling to Katsina to celebrate the sallah with the President on excuse that the presidency should not be left bare after the exit of the President.
Those who prevented him from leaving Abuja for such a social activity were said to have noted a controversy between Jonathan and some traditional rulers generated within the Presidential Villa. A local newspaper was said to have been the cause of the controversy with reports that the vice president was building for himself a political base by networking with political interests across the country.
Essentially, the Vice President may have been a victim of the string of his amazing lucks which are said to have been a source of worry to the YarÁdua strategists. Twice had Jonathan come from behind to cling to power by sheer luck, the first being when his former governor, Dieprieye Alamieyeseigha was impeached and he was sworn in as the governor just as he was surprisingly nominated as vice presidential candidate in 2007, leading to his emergence in the substantive position.
Notwithstanding, those who are familiar with the Vice President are of the view that he has been highly understanding, instantly friendly, obedient, cautious and eager to avoid drawing any form of suspicion to himself and has proved a good team player.
However, the relationship betweenPresident YarÁdua and Jonathan has been a far departure from that between ex-President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and his Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, where Atiku enjoyed almost a limitless latitude to operate, at one time being in charge of political and economic matters unti an irreconcilable difference broke out between them.

Yar’Adua’s Men Block VP

Military repels attack on gas producing plant in southern Nigeria

Feb 7, LAGOS, Nigeria _ The Nigerian military says it has repelled a rebel attack on a natural gas production plant in the country´s southern petroleum-producing region.The region´s main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, claimed responsibility for the attack.It was launched a week after the group called off a self-declared months-long ceasefire.A Nigerian military spokesman says the attackers were prevented from entering the facility in Delta state.He say three attackers were killed and one soldier was wounded.The rebels denied suffering any casualties.Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC confirmed an incident at the facility run by its local unit at Utorogu. The company said one employee and two contractors were wounded in the attack, but all three had been treated and were in stable condition.Shell did not say if the attack halted production.Saturday´s gun battle was the latest in nearly three years of violence in the southern Niger Delta, strife that has slashed output from Africa´s biggest oil producer. Oil-industry workers are regularly kidnapped for ransom and energy facilities and transport ships are often attacked.Amid the tensions, Nigeria´s oil output has sunk to about 1.8 million barrels a day, or about 25 per cent less than its capacity of 2.5 million barrels.The militants say they are battling to force the federal government to send more oil-industry funds to the southern region, which remains deeply poor despite its great natural bounty.The government says the militants are organized criminals engaging in the lucrative overseas trade in crude oil by illegally tapping Nigeria´s vast pipeline network.

Military repels attack on gas producing plant in southern Nigeria

Gunmen kidnap Daukoru's wife, Rivers commissioner

Feb 7

HOPES of peace and stability in the Niger Delta further faded with the kidnapping of two indigenes of the region on separate occasions by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday.
The first incident occurred at 8 p.m. at Degot Restaurant at Railway Close, D-Line, Rivers State, where Mrs. Gladys Iniette-Daukoru, wife of the former Minister of State for Energy and the Mingi Nembe Kingdom, Edmund Daukoru, was abducted.
One hour later, the bandits invaded Mbougba axis of Port Harcourt and seized Dr. Elkaya Igom, Commissioner for Works and Estate with the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
There were however conflicting accounts of how Daukoru's wife was kidnapped. One of the reports had it that the victim, an indigene of Okoroma community of Nembe Local Council of Bayelsa State, was kidnapped at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday in the restaurant, which she allegedly operates.
The bandits upon arrival in the pub allegedly enquired about her whereabouts and when one of her employees was trying to respond to the strange guests' enquiries, Mrs. Iniette-Daukoru was said to have walked in. The gunmen immediately whisked her away to an unknown destination.
According to the source, her abductors later initiated contacts with the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, Chief James Jephthah, demanding the pull-out of Joint Military Task Force (JTF) from Nembe before Mrs. Iniette-Dakouru would be freed.
Another account claimed that armed men invaded a popular pub, the Degot, which she owns, on Tuesday night brandishing their guns and directed everyone inside to remain silent while some of them went inside the building to search for Mrs. Daukoru.
It was learnt that the gunmen ransacked all the rooms until they found their victim, whom they reportedly dragged into a waiting vehicle and sped off.
Their mission accomplished, the bandits started shooting sporadically into the air to scare people from the area, a source said.
When The Guardian visited residence of the Daukorus along Bishop Dimerai Street in New Government Reserved Area (GRA), security personnel barred journalists from entering the premises which was besieged by scores of sympathisers. The Guardian also called the former minister on phone. It rang several times but was not picked.
The state police command spokesperson, Rita Inoma-Abbey, confirmed the kidnap and said no group had claimed responsibility for the act.
On the abduction of Igoni, RSIEC spokesperson, Mr. Sam Woka, told The Guardian that the commissioner was returning home from a church programme when he was stopped and driven away in his own vehicle. No group, according to him, had made a claim for ransom or taken responsibility for the abduction.
Woka said: "We are making a passionate appeal to the abductors to kindly free this gentleman unhurt. He has not offended anyone to deserve this. We call for his immediate release to his anxious family."
Meanwhile, the gunmen who abducted a senior official of Agip Oil Company, Mr. Charles W. James, have demanded N15 million ransom. The victim's wife, Inara, said that her husband was abducted on his way to church.
She said: "I am begging his abductors to please release him. We don't have the N15 million they are demanding."
The Action Congress (AC) in Bayelsa State and Jephthan, have condemned the kidnap of Mrs. Iniette-Daukoru and demanded her immediate and unconditional release.
Jephthah said the militia group responsible for the act had been engaged in talks on the immediate release of the victim.
"We have contacted them and they demanded the immediate withdrawal of the soldiers in Nembe. I told them that the issue of the withdrawal of soldiers is beyond the committee and the state government but that their message will be forwarded to the Federal Government."
In a statement yesterday, AC Secretary, Miriki Ebikibina, said the abduction was "evil and that though the demand for the withdrawal of the military may be timely, the means adopted by the armed militia may further give the Federal Government the excuse to keep the troops in the region."
The Secretary-General of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Mr. Udengs Eradir, condemned the incident, noting that the perpetrators were common criminals.
Meanwhile, France has declared its readiness to work with the Federal Government to check the insecurity in the Niger Delta.
French Ambassador to Nigeria Jean-Michel Dumond said his country was set to activate the military assistance provision in the Memorandum of Understanding reached recently between the two countries.
His country's Special Forces, Dumond said "have the necessary experience of manoeuvering in mangrove areas such as those of the Niger Delta."
Last year, Nigeria and France entered into a strategic partnership as part of efforts to strengthen ties between the two nations, whose trade volume has hit 3.2 billion Euro.
Fielding questions from The Guardian in Abuja on the strategic partnership signed when President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua visited Paris last year and projections for the Franco-Nigeria relations in 2009, Dumond said his country's expected assistance in the Niger Delta would not be interventionist but cooperative with Nigeria defining the areas of needs.
He said: "On the military side of the strategic partnership, we are looking at training forces in relation to the situation in the Niger Delta. We received some understanding and then agreement from the Nigerian government to continue the discussions in order to agree on a MoU between our two countries in this field... Now, it is a framework agreement and of course, the Nigerian government will define its requirements and with agreement, we will be able to answer to the request of your government. So, first of all, it is up to the Nigeria authorities to define their own needs ..."
He continued: "There is absolutely no question of French forces intervening in the region. It's only a question of exchanging of experiences between the two forces and nothing more..."
Also, Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State has alerted the Federal Government to the proliferation of arms between Ikang in Cross River State and Bakassi in Cameroun.
The Guardian learnt that since Nigeria handed over Bakassi to Cameroun last year, militants have taken over the coastal waters between Ikang and Bakassi and occasionally engage in shootouts.
Last Sunday, sources in Ikang said "the militants in their luxury base at Akpa Ikang engaged the Camerounian gendarmes in sporadic shooting before retiring to Ikang in four speed boats with their weapons."
The militants, who entered Ikang in the afternoon of the said day, "had a free reign getting their drinks and later left for their base in the creeks without molesting or harming anybody. We believe their targets are the gendarmes and anyone who disturbs their operations," a resident said.
Apparently confirming this development, Imoke on Tuesday told the visiting Inter-Agency Maritime Security Task Force on Acts of Illegalities in Nigerian Waters (IAMSTF) that "the incidence of piracy came to fore with the handover of Bakassi to the Republic of Cameroun which has enhanced the proliferation of arms between Ikang and Bakassi waters."
Chairman of the Task Force, Rear Admiral Joseph Ezeoba explained that the body was formed following reports of piracy within Nigerian territorial waters, adding that it was mandated to check all illegal activities and security breaches in the coastal areas.

Gunmen kidnap Daukoru's wife, Rivers commissioner

Feb 7

Goodbye to IBB

Goodbye to IBB
By Reuben Abati
GENERAL Ibrahim Babangida was the other day, a guest on Mosunmola Abudu's Moments with Mo, a successful lifestyle magazine programme on television, and according to reports, by newspapers which monitored the interview, IBB, as he is known, used the opportunity to make a number of useful declarations. Some of these are so weighty and instructive, the General who once ruled Nigeria, should not be allowed to get away without the benefit of a response.
First, General Babangida tells us that he has no plans whatsoever to run for the position of president in 2011. Can someone please shout Alle-lu-ia? Since 1993 when General Babangida purportedly stepped aside from office, so much brain matter has been expended on speculations that the man "stepped aside" (not retire, not resign), so he could return to power some other day in the future. As every election approached, the spectre of IBB's ambition hung ominously in the horizon, as commentators and political pundits saw his shadow in Nigeria's political firmament and configurations. Much of this, as I had argued before now, was the product of invented and contrived mythology.
But in the run up to the 2007 presidential elections, that shadow was almost assuming a human and physical form. There were reports of meetings and actual manouevres by IBB acolytes, with the real intention of bringing their man back to presidential office. There were IBB for president billboards in parts of the country, especially in Lagos. The scare-mongering was so much, the only missing link was IBB himself showing up on the podium. It would have been tragic if he did. It would have been disastrous, and most unfair to Nigerians, if he had been allowed to return.
IBB in his Moment with Mo, had noted that by 2011, age would no longer be on his side, and so, on the grounds of age, he would not want to seek presidential office. Born on August 17, 1941, IBB will be 70 in 2011. By saying 70 is too old an age for anyone to seek the office of president, IBB was probably speaking tongue-in-cheek. Isn't it often the case in Nigeria that the older a man is, the more of a hustler he becomes? We have seen in the past 10 years, old men who falsify their birth records or who tout old age, and experience as evidence of their ability to perform, and deliver and make a difference. IBB has a much bigger baggage, and it is his record of performance as Nigeria's Head of State and later President.
IBB's supporters through publications, seminars and other activities that have been organised to launder his image insist that chroniclers of contemporary history have been most unfair to him. Their position is that with IBB as president, there was greater purposefulness to the governance process, not the kind of cowboy assertions of the Obasanjo era, or the soporific attitude of the Yar'Adua era. IBB, they say, recruited the best and the brightest and put them to work in the nation's interest. Opinion is divided on this. They grant him further credit for astute political engineering. And they point out insouciantly, that under IBB the Naira was relatively stable and that the stock market did not crash. With the passage of time everything in the long spectrum of history tends to appear acceptable, and so it is with revisionism in Nigeria. What IBB's friends fail to point out however is that he prepared the foundation for Nigeria's woes. His government elevated debauchery to the level of high art. Deception too. And favouritism and cronyism. And First Ladyism. His wife was the most glamorous as well as the most expensive First Lady in Nigerian history. And it was IBB who demonstrated that it was possible to hand over the national economy to a few persons, and make it look like a legitimate right to do so. Obasanjo years after IBB tried to copy this, and ended up turning Nigerians into slaves in their own country - slaves of oligarchs in banking, importation, and oil and gas.
Ever so quick footed, (they didn't call him Maradona for nothing, or Evil Genius as he referred to himself), IBB also pointed out that by not seeking presidential office in 2011, he'd be doing Nigerians a favour. In a sense, yes. My words, not his. But his justification is instructive. He says: "You know, I give it a lot of thought, there are things I would do to correct certain things which a lot of you would not like". IBB had the chance to change and correct certain things between 1985 and 1993 when he was President and the Commander-in-Chief. But did he? Every Nigerian leader gives the impression that he is a Messiah of sorts. The truth is that in 2011, Nigeria would not need a retired military leader pretending to save the country. Nigeria will need someone with the heart, the will power and the physical strength to transform our lives. What many Nigerians would not like to see is IBB mounting the rostrum in 2011, and claiming to have a 10-point agenda that will save Nigeria. By ruling himself out of contention, we thank him for accepting at last, that the road to Nigeria's future is in the future, not the past.
IBB's declaration should make many of his associates unhappy. The step-aside, step-back politics that developed around this particular General soon became an industry for many self-confessed admirers who turned General IBB's politics in the context of Nigeria into a primary business. They organised seminars and symposia. They turned IBB into a subject of intellectual enquiry. They sought to convert him into an icon. Now they have heard from IBB himself: by 2011, he intends to retire effectively from the politics of ambition. IBB's consultants would have to find other clients. He is one former leader whose home fortune-seekers continued to visit, in the firm belief that his return to the politics of office would serve their own purpose. Added to this is the general belief that he is a most generous man. And so like beggars by the roadside, everyone expected a share of the IBB cake. Hopefully, his declaration that his "stepping aside" is now final, would drive the bees away from his home.
But the politics of 2011 notwithstanding, IBB since 1993 had always been confronted with the annulment of the presidential election of June 12, 1993 - the election that was "widely believed" to have been won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. Whatever the 6th President of Nigeria elects to do now, or in the future, he will forever be haunted by the ghost of June 12. Naturally, the issue came up in his interview with Mo. And unlike in previous interviews, he offered a mere explicit explanation of the reasons for the annulment.
According to him, "June 12 was accepted by Nigerians as the best of elections in Nigeria. It was free and fair. But unfortunately we cancelled that election. I used the word unfortunately for the first time. We were in government at the time and we knew the possible consequences of handing over to a democratic government. We did well that we wanted ours to be the last military coup d' etat. To be honest with you, the situation was not ripe to hand over at the time. Forget about the wrong things that happened in politics. The issue of security of the nation was a threat and we could have considered ourselves to have failed, if six months after hand over, there was another coup. I went through coup d' etat and I survived it. We knew that there would be another coup d' etat. But not many people believed what we the military said. They would have allowed me to go away and then they (coup plotters) would regroup and stage another coup. This is how coups are staged - one man will always come to complain. And he will try to convince you about his complaints".
The foregoing argument is specious. As President and Commander-in-Chief, IBB was in a position to arrest the coup-plotters, since he had intelligence reports that they were planning to scuttle the democratic process. He was also in a position to set up structures to protect the democratic order. Rather than vote for and defend democracy, he chose to know-tow to coup-plotters. What kind of morality is he espousing? He had to annul a free and fair election in order to prevent a coup d'etat. He should have handed over power to the legitimate winner of that election. The same IBB who was afraid of a coup still handed over power to a civilian, in a manner that even encouraged a coup taking place. Chief Ernest Shonekan was made Head of an Interim National Government. But he was not the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The Service Chiefs did not take him seriously. And of course, in due course, General Sani Abacha drove Shonekan out of office, without having to fire a shot. Was this a coup or not? So, what coup was IBB trying to prevent? And has he forgotten that he only recently endorsed the coup in Guinea? The biggest coup against the people of Nigeria was the annulment of the June 12 presidential election. Collectively, we have had to pay a heavy price for it.
Babangida's place in Nigerian history will be defined by that singular act of annulment of a democratic process. In 2006, he had actually collected a nomination form for the 2007 presidential race. But he allegedly withdrew from the PDP nomination process because he didn't want to compete with Mallam Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who he considers "his brother". His planned return to power was originally designed as an opportunity for him to rehabilitate himself in the public sphere. Power politics doesn't work that way.
Former President Obasanjo had a divine second chance, and later, a third chance. But he blew it all. As IBB prepares for life as an old man ("...I am not getting younger. I am an old man", he says) he should search his conscience more carefully. On the question of June 12, he owes Nigerians an apology, not excuses.

Goodbye to IBB

The real reason I annulled June 12 -IBB

Thursday, February 5, 2009

For the first time since the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late business mogul, Bashorun MKO Abiola, former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, has given a reason for the annulment. He said he was compelled to nullify the election because of security threats to the enthronement of a democratic government at the time.

Babangida made this disclosure yesterday on a TV programme, Moments with Mo, anchored by Mo Abudu and broadcast on MNet channel of DSTV.

Babangida, who described the annulment as unfortunate and revealed that he would launch a book on the saga next year, said having been on the steering wheel of government at the time, he and the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) knew that the new democratic government to be installed would sooner than later be toppled through another military coup deta�t, which he said his government wanted to avoid.

According to him, his regime had decided that it would be the last administration that would ascend the seat of power through coup, adding that it would make no sense to install a democratic government that would be truncated within another six months.

He, however, admitted that the June 12 presidential election was free and fair and also the best of all elections ever conducted in Nigeria�s history.

�June 12 was accepted by Nigerians as the best of elections in Nigeria. It was free and fair. But unfortunately, we cancelled that election. I used the word unfortunately, for the first time. We were in government at the time and we knew the possible consequences of handing over to a democratic government. We did well that we wanted ours to be the last military coup deta�t. To be honest with you, the situation was not ripe to hand over at the time.

�Forget about the wrong things that happened in politics. The issue of security of the nation was a threat and we would have considered ourselves to have failed, if six months after handover, there was another coup. I went through coup deta�t and I survived it. We knew that there would be another coup deta�t. But not many people believed what we said. They could have allowed me to go away and then they (coup plotters) would regroup and stage another coup. This is how coups are staged - one man will always come to complain. And he will try to convince you about his complaints,� Babangida said.

He said security threats to the advent of democracy at the time culminated in fresh plans to conduct another election within another six months after June 12 annulment, with better strategy, but which he said he could not achieve as a result of the hostility which accompanied the cancellation. According to him, another election was conceived to come up in November 1993.

He revealed further that he was determined to conduct another election which culminated in the constitution of an Interim National Government (ING), which he noted was eventually toppled by a military coup staged by General Sani Abacha.

Babangida implied that what happened to the ING was eventually the fate that would have befallen the civil rule which his regime would have handed over to.

The former military president said the whole concept of his regime�s plan to hand over to a civil government was aimed at effecting a lasting change which could put paid to rigging. This notion, he said resulted in the decision to register only two political parties, the Social Demoratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC). When there are two things, you have an option � this or that or nothing. We tried to regulate the number of political parties. We knew what to do,� he said.

Babangida, who expressed fears that his revelation might put him in trouble, was not categorical about his presidential ambition come 2011. Instead, he played around it, saying he was not getting younger, adding that he would rather make himself available to make certain corrections whenever he deems fit.

The real reason I annulled June 12 -IBB

Nigeria Steps Up Reforms in Oil Sector

Feb 5. Abuja

With two former OPEC heads on board, the Nigerian administration seems decided to clean up the national oil company despite falling crude prices and stagnant production, industry insiders say.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, or NNPC, for decades served as a gravy train for successive corrupt regimes that helped themselves from its coffers.

The new oil minister Rilwanu Lukman and Mohammed Barkindo, the newly appointed head of the NNPC, appear to have received orders from President Umaru Yar'Adua to step up reforms of the national oil company.

"They are really determined to take action, but they'll definitely meet resistance," the head of one oil major in Nigeria said.

The big cleanup started Jan. 13, when Yar'Adua fired the then-NNPC boss, Abubakar Yar'Adua, and replaced him with Barkindo, without any explanation.

Then it was the turn of the Department of Petroleum Resources, or DPR, the body that regulates Nigeria's oil concessions.

Days after appointing Barkindo, Yar'Adua put Billy Agha, a geologist and former NNPC executive, at the head of DPR, replacing Tony Chukwueke - who was suspended last year over alleged irregularities in the sale of oil concessions.

A parliamentary inquiry is looking into the sale of concessions in 2005, 2006 and 2007, as some concessions were sold off to front companies.

Shortly after taking office at the end of May 2007, Yar'Adua announced his intention to split NNPC, set up in 1977, into five separate entities.

This transformation should be completed by the end of 2009, he said last year.

"Massive purges coming up" was a recent headline in a local newspaper, National Daily. The various investigations launched last year, and the firing of some top officials, lend credence to the idea.

"The new minister wants to surround himself with people who are loyal and competent, not leftovers from the Obasanjo (president and oil minister from 1999 to 2007) administration," one oil industry source said.

He nevertheless noted that lower down the ladder at NNPC "everyone is still there."

If NNPC is to become a commercially-orientated and quasi-autonomous company, parliament will have to provide it with a new legal status.

Up until now, NNPC has depended on the state budget to finance its joint venture operations with the oil majors such as Shell, Exxon, Total and Chevron.

Input of state funds into the joint ventures via NNPC is always too little and often too late as any delay in the adoption of the budget affects the release of such funds, critics say.

In 2008, NNPC needed $8.3 billion for its joint ventures, but only $4.9 billion was budgeted for.

There is the same scenario in the 2009 budget in which $5 billion have been penciled in, while the amount needed is $11 billion.

Since NNPC is constantly strapped for cash, the multinationals complain that they have to contribute more than their fair share.

The latest idea is to transform the existing joint ventures into "integrated joint ventures," which will, according to Barkindo, be financially autonomous entities able to raise money on financial markets.

For the moment he hasn't said which party will have the majority stake in the new integrated joint ventures, nor who will have technical control.

The oil majors, who continue to inject huge sums into costly offshore projects despite the global economic slowdown, say they are waiting to know more.

Yar'Adua's oil advisor Emmanuel Egbogahn says everything will be done through negotiation.

"Whatever happens we are not in a position to continue to accept NNPC not paying its share," said the head of one multinational.

A deteriorating global economy has dented demand and sent prices plunging since crude struck record peaks above $147 in July.

In Nigeria, unrest in the oil-producing Niger Delta region continues to curb production, which hovered at just over 2 million barrels a day at the start of the year, down from 2.6 million barrels a day three years earlier.

Nigeria Steps Up Reforms in Oil Sector

Niger Delta - Minister Demands New Strategy to Achieve Sustainable Development

Abuja, Feb 3, 2009.

Minister of the newly created Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Obong Ufot Ekaette, has charged oil and gas companies operating in the Niger Delta to review their strategies and work towards achieving sustainable development in the region.
The Minister who was speaking during an interactive forum with Executives of oil companies in Nigeria at the weekend in Lagos noted that only sincere development and genuine cooperation by all stakeholders could provide the way out of the crises in the region.
Ekaette, was in the meeting with his minister of state, Godsday Orubebe, promised the ministry's intervention to "end the crises in the region," which he said, "has cost Nigeria and its people a lot in terms of human and capital resources."
"There is a growing discontent in the region arising from the gap between what the oil companies are giving to the oil communities in the Niger Delta and what they really expect. What the host communities are getting from you falls far below their expectations, given the magnitude of the problems generated by oil production in their respective communities," the Minister told the meeting.
He identified the complaints of the oil bearing communities against the oil companies to include their alienation from the business oil industry operations; lack of deliberate policy to develop the communities and improve the living conditions of the people; discrimination in provision of social facilities in the communities; farming out to non-indigenes of jobs that could effectively be handled by the people, thereby contributing to unemployment and suffering in the region; embarking on minor projects rather than capital projects like roads, bridges and training to enable them fit into the oil business and guarantee long term benefits.
Besides, he pointed out that while some oil companies have signed Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) with some oil communities, they have not been faithful in implementing such agreements, adding that many of such MoUs are signed by oil companies as a means of pacifying the communities and not necessarily to bring about the needed succour to the people.
"Despite the growing level of unemployment in the Niger Delta, oil firms have not done much to provide direct employment or auxiliary jobs for the youths as a means of arresting restiveness in the oil region. Oil companies have remained indifferent to the environmental degradation of the people's farmlands, sources of drinking water and means of livelihood, thereby making them victims rather than beneficiaries of oil production," he said.
Urging them to reflect on these issues and think of new ways of delivering service to the people of the oil communities, Ekaette said oil companies should now begin to provide basic infrastructure that can guarantee long term benefits for the majority of the people of the region.
"Since inaccessibility to the oil bearing communities of the Niger Delta appears as a recurring decimal, we wish to advise that you consider the construction of roads to link up the oil communities as part of your community relations practice and Sustainable Development programme. It is also our firm belief that if oil firms employ people from their host communities to do most of the jobs, which are sometimes given out to non-indigenes, the level of restiveness in those areas would be drastically reduced.
"Oil firms should begin to embark on special training programmes to enable indigenes of their host communities to fit into some aspects of oil production in order to give them a sense of belonging. Continued marginalisation of the people of oil communities can only heighten tension and give room for criminals to make the Niger Delta unstable for oil production."

Niger Delta - Minister Demands New Strategy to Achieve Sustainable Development

Abuja, Feb 3, 2009.

Challenges, opportunities in Nigeria’s deepwater

Few days ago in Abuja, the group managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, disclosed that the corporation may soon become a deepwater player.Indeed, Africa is expected, according to analysts, to be the leading deepwater development area between 2008 and 2012, and to also account for 40 percent of global expenditure in the oil zone within the period. Already, in Nigeria, about 6 billion barrels of oil and over 10 trillion cubic feet of gas have been discovered from the province in water depths, ranging from 500 metres to 2000 metres. Thus, not a few analysts say it is good for the NNPC to position itself to benefit from these opportunities. But then, with the resolve of the corporation, comes tough challenges of exploring for oil and producing in the deepwater province, which currently accounts for 40 percent of Nigeria’s crude oil production with the commencement of production from Bonga, Erha, Nda, Abho, Agbara, and Agbami fields.Some of these challenges, Barkindo had also identified while dropping the hint. One of the key challenges, he identified, is security. According to him, security of operations is an issue of importance in Nigeria. “Insecurity in the Niger Delta threatens the confidence of investors and impacts heavily on the competitiveness of the development projects from Nigeria. Significant progress has been made by the Federal Government in engaging the issue of the Niger Delta.”The group managing director also identified exploration success rate as another basic challenge, explaining that after a sustained period of exploration success, the deepwater region experienced a drop in average reserves per well from a peak of about 65 million barrels per well to a low of about 20 million barrels per well in 2006.“Whilst this trend is showing signs of reversal, the prospectivety appears to have dropped from the peak in the late 90s. This has an impact on project as unit technical costs for such small discoveries tend to be much higher than would otherwise be for bigger discoveries. “A better understanding of the deepwater is required to ensure the enhanced success of exploration, thereby reversing the trend,” he declared.Another major challenge he identified was fiscal term, saying the long-run sustainability of the sector is anchored on a robust fiscal scheme that encourages investments. As the demographics of the Niger Delta crude oil supply capacity shifts with an increasing proportion of deepwater production, a robust fiscal policy needs to be entrenched, such that major dips are not experienced in government revenues given that deepwater developments are based on Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangement, he said. “Beyond ensuring stability and robustness in the fiscal terms, there is also an urgent need to develop terms for deepwater gas, which currently do not exist and as such delaying the active exploitation of over 10 trillion cubic feet of gas.”Another challenge, according to Barkindo, is cost of operations, referring to it as the most critical challenge. He explained that deepwater development, particularly in the ultra-deep offshore, required a sustainable crude price in excess of $40 a barrel to support continued production, exploration and developments. “Given the uncertainty in long-run crude prices, the industry is challenged by rising cost of operations and consequently needs to examine ways of achieving a step reduction in costs. Key areas of challenge include availability and affordability of drilling rigs, support vessels, operations support infrastructure such as field logistics bases, sub-sea technologies, three-phase flow metering and offshore hub development concepts.” The NNPC chief also saw challenges in accessing small discoveries as a problem, noting that there existed small discoveries, which are not easily developed in view of cost based on the development philosophies currently adopted for the major fields.Another challenge, he identified, is technology to access new potential, stressing that despite the high prospectivity experienced in the relatively shallow deepwater plays in Nigeria, the potential in the corresponding series of rocks (Oligocene) needs to be rapidly evaluated. He however explained that the pace of progress was challenged by the availability of seismic technologies to better define these plays as well as drilling and completion technologies, which could cope with anticipated high pressures and high temperatures that will characterise the plays.Another issue highlighted by Barkindo is the challenge of human capacity.“This is a generic problem across the industry. However, with deepwater, there is the urgent need to develop critical skills and capacities in the areas of sub-sea engineering, drilling, and reservoir/geological modelling.”The lack of availability of adequate in-country facilities engineering, fabrication, and manufacturing is threatening opportunities provided by the deepwater for the local economy, he added.For Barkindo, there are big opportunities in the deepwater, saying that not less than 4 billion barrels reserves could be unlocked through smaller discoveries.The scale of investments anticipated in the deepwater and the potential for future oil-find indicate that there is a huge opportunity to further enhance the local content part of deepwater operations, according to him.For managing director, Shell Exploration and Production Company of Nigeria Limited, Chike Onyejekwe, successful cooperation between international oil companies, government, local companies, and communities, is the key to further unlocking Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources and achieving energy security.