0902 Spring 2005.pdf - Friends of Nigeria

Nigeria news ...
(ContinJledfi-mn p.1ge5)
crude oil in the Niger delta for sale to
tankers waiting offshore. Oil company
officialsestimate that the practice,
conducted by heavily armed gangs, steals
up to 10percent of Nigeria's oil
production of nearly 2.5 million barrels
per day.
The court martial ruled that Rear
Admirals Francis Agbiti and Samuel
Kolawole should be demoted to the rank
of commodore and dismissed from the
mvy for their negligence in allowing the
arrested tanker African Pride to escape from
navy custody in Lagos harbor last August.
Two junior navy officers told the court
martial that they \\-erepaid 250,000 naira
each (51,850)by a Lieutenant Commander
on October 31,2003, to escort the MT
African Pride from Lagos Harbor to the
high seas where the cargo was transferred
to a waiting ship and replaced by seawater.
Such cargo is e,-entually sold on the world
market, and the funds from the illegal trade
have helped keep the Niger delta flooded
with weapons in the hands of militia
groups and gangs which frequently disrupt
oil production and kidnap oil workers to
demand jobs and other local benefits.
The tribunal noted that Rear Admiral
Kolawole conspired with some officials
from the Russian Embassy who visited
MT African Pride without the permission
of the chief of Naval Staff (CNS) and that
five days after the visit, the ship, valued at
$2.2 million, disappeared.
The Federal Government has now
procured 15new patrol boats from the U.S.
to attempt to reduce the theft of crude oil
from its coastal oilfields in the Niger delta.
The boats, which have a top speed of 50
knots, will be used in the creeks and in the
high seasto stop the illegal activity. (Source:
DIi1y Tmst[Abuja], 1/6/2005; IRIN, 1/7/
2005; Vanglh1rd [Lagos], 1/4/2005, 1/6/
2005).
Nigeria Reduces Petrol Price
Increases
Last October, a strike against an increase
in the price of petroleum was called off on
the condition that the government would
reverse the price increase within two weeks.
6 FON NEWSLETIER
At the last moment, the government
reduced the petrol price increase. Although
this is a relief to Nigerians in the short nm,
it does not help the long-term goal of
breaking the cycle that makes Nigeria reliant
on imported petrol, which leads to
unpopular fuel shortages.
Nigeria exports ,1bout2.5 million
barrels of crude oil a day, but it then must
buy back petroL diesel, and other refined
fuels from non-oil producing countries,
such as Spain, at a much higher price.
Nigeria has failed to reinvest enough of its
oil export profits in its own oil industry to
maintain efficient refineries and a supply
network that can distribute the fuel to
sef\·ice stations. The restoration of
Nigeria's refineries, owned by Nigeria's
state-owned oil company, has long been a
priority. However, mismanagement,
corruption, and political appointees have
left the refineries in a sad state. In addition,
as oil prices have been rising on the
international market, the gap between the
world market price and the Nigerian
domestic price has become ever wider, and
has created a disincentive for international
im-estment. Moreover, the amount of
money spent on subsidizing fuel is a large
drain on the budget. (Source: BBC News,
11/15/2004,11/16/2004).
European Airlines Upgrade
Services to Nigeria
German carrier Lufthansa Airlines will
begin operations to Port Harcourt on April
7. The airline will fly its latest Airbus A330­
300directly to Port Harcourt every Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday, on a schedule to
meet the requirements of the local oil
industry. The airline will upgrade its
sef\'ices to and from Accra, Ghana, as well,
as it increases its services from four times
weekly to a daily flight, operating via Lagos.
The airline also has regular flights to Abuja
and daily flights to Lagos.
Air France has improved its service on
the Lagos-Paris route with the introduction
of a B777-200ER (e>..1:endedrange) fully
equipped for comfort. The 270 seat widebody
aircraft has replaced the 211 passenger
A330-200 which had previously served the
route. The new aircraft features flat beds in
First Class and offers passengers in
Business Class and Economy Class
personal videos and telecommunications
facilities.Nigerian cultural interests will also
be cared for with the introduction of
Nigerian movies on bO.:tedition of the festival will be held on
July 9, 2005. (Source: 17JisDay[Lagos], 1/
6/2005).
(ContinJled on page 7.)
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