Prices For Petrol And Kerosene Retained: PPPRA

 On the news making the rounds that the agency
would increase the pump-price, Iyoyo urged members of the
public to ignore such rumour, as prevailing market
indicators do not support such. Her words: “PPPRA is
resolutely committed to the sustenance of its reform
initiatives, in order to further guarantee adequate supply of
products nationwide. We therefore assure Nigerians of our
total commitment to service delivery, in the quest to deliver
on our mandate to the people of Nigeria.” She also called on
motorists to desist from panic buying as PPPRA is working
hard with other sister-organizations to ensure that the
current supply and distribution challenges are resolved
within the coming days
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency
(PPPRA) has reiterated that the benchmark retail price of
premium motor spirit (PMS) will remain at N86.00 for the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and
N86.50 for the other marketing companies. The agency also
announced that the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources,
Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has approved the release of
the second quarter allocations for the supply of premium
motor spirit, commonly known as petrol. In a statement
signed by the Manager Corporate Services, Lanre Oladele,
the agency said NNPC, has 41.73 per cent of the total
allocation, while the rest of the oil marketing companies got
a total allocation of 58.27 per cent. “The agency is retaining
the retail prices of N86.00 for the NNPC, and N86.50 for the
other marketing companies. “The pump price of household
kerosene (HHK) also remains unchanged from what it was
in the last quarter. Therefore, marketers are advised to
ensure that there is no price distortion in their respective
retail outlets,” Oladele said. He said PPPRA would,
however, continue to monitor the global oil market
performance, and come up, at the appropriate time, with
reasonable changes consistent with the newly adopted
price modulation principles. The PPPRA Acting Executive
Secretary, Sotonye Iyoyo, therefore, appealed to all depot
owners to strictly adhere to the prevailing truck-out policy
put in place by the agency, to ensure that petroleum
products get to their designated retail outlets across the
country.

She also warned that adequate sanctions would be
meted out to any depot-owner found to be hoarding
products.

Agriculture: Buhari Invites Denmark To Invest In Solid Minerals And Agriculture

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Denmark to invest
in Nigeria’s agriculture and solid minerals sector. Buhari
made the appeal in Washington at a bilateral meeting
between him and Danish prime Minister, Mr Lars
Rasmussen, during which he also promised to shrink
Nigeria’s food import bill. He said that the Federal
Government is  determined to significantly reduce the very
high bill for importation of food products to Nigeria and
committed  to the rapid diversification of  Nigeria’s
economy. President Buhari assured the Danish Prime
Minister that the Federal Government will continue to work
in partnership with other countries to further improve
maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea. The President said
that his administration was determined to stop the huge
loss of revenue from crude oil theft and has received
assurances of international support to curb illegal
shipments of Nigeria’s crude oil. Remarking that his country
is a major shipping nation, Mr. Rasmussen thanked
President Buhari for Nigeria’s current efforts to enhance
security in the Gulf of Guinea. He assured the President that
Danes will be very interested in investing in the
development of Nigeria’s agricultural sector if the right
policies and conditions are put in place. “We are quite
experienced in agriculture. It is an area in which we can
cooperate. If you pave the way and remove the obstacles,
we will like to come in,” the Prime Minister told President
Buhari.

FG: The urgent Implementation Of The 2016 Budget

The Federal Government

has been urged to initiate
measures for urgent implementation of the twenty sixteen
budget.
The lawmaker representing Ankpa Olamaboro and Omale
Federal Constituency of Kogi State, Mr. Hassan Omate,
stated this during an interaction with newsmen in Abuja.
He explained that urgent implementation of the budget
would cushion the effect of hardship in the country.
Alhaji Omale assured Nigerians that President Muhammadu
Buhari would not reneged on his promises.
The lawmaker appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the
present administration for a greater tomorrow.

Over 40 Children Benefit From The Airforce Youth Empowerment Programme

From the just concluded Chief of Air Staff Youth
Empowerment Programme, about 40 children of Nigerian
Airforce personnel serving at the Logistics Command, Lagos
benefited from the programme.
The beneficiaries underwent an intensive three-month
vocational skills training in Lagos, as part of the Chief of Air
Staff,

 Air Marshall Sadiq Abubakar’s efforts to reduce the
rate of unemployment and lessen criminal acts among the
youths in the country. About 86 of the Nigerian airforce
personnel children benefited from the programme
nationwide.
The 86 youths, including the 41 from Lagos, were trained in
skills like Information Technology, Catering and Hotel
Management, Fashion Design, Computer Repair and Internet
Solution, DSTV Installation and Computer Studies at the
Federal Technical and Vocational Centre, Yaba.
The Chief of Air Staff who was represented by Air Vice-
Marshal James Gbum, Chief of Policy and Plans, Nigerian
Air Force headquarters, at the training said it was organized
in pursuance of the federal government’s pledge of curbing
youth unemployment and in line with the first key driver of
his vision for the Nigerian Air Force.
He noted that empowerment centres were designated for the
programme: one in Kaduna to cater for the candidates from
Tactical Air Command and Training Command while the
second centre was sited in Lagos for the candidates under
Mobility Command and Logistics Command.

Wife Of The President Aisha Buhari Visits IDPs in Benue State

31-03-2016
The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, on Wednesday
donated assorted relief materials to Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs) in Benue.
Newsmen report that Mrs Buhari, who was in Benue to
empathise with the state government on the recent farmers/
herdsmen crisis, was represented by the wife of the Vice
President, Mrs Oludolapo Osinbajo.
Donating the materials at Nogowa Secondary School,
Wadata Camp, Makurdi, Mrs Buhari commiserated with the
bereaved families, saying that the government was
committed to their plight.
She said that the Federal Government understood what the
victims were passing through and assured them that
government would not abandon them at this point of their
sufferings.
Earlier in his remarks, Gov. Samuel Ortom appealed to the
Federal Government to tighten security at boarders to end
the continued influx of foreign herdsmen into the state.
Ortom explained that foreign herdsmen were behind the
incessant attacks on his people since 2011.
The Governor said that there was no land for grazing in the
state, explaining that all lands belong to farmers in the
state.

He said that 85 per cent of the state population were
farmers and occupied the little available land, adding that it
would be difficult to create a grazing reserve in the state.
He suggested that the herdsmen should rather embrace
ranches as it was being practiced in developed countries.
Newsmen report that Mrs Buhari donated rice, multivitamins
supplements, cooking oil, garri and tomatoes to the Benue
IDPs.