16022021 - Nigeria’s security architecture being re-jigged — SERVICE CHIEFS

4 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2021
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Nigeria’s security architecture
being re-organised, say service
chiefs
•We'll change the tide, CDS assures
VISIT: From left: Director-General, National BiotechnologyDevelopment Agency (NABDA), Prof. Abdullahi
Mustapha; Perm Sec, Federal Min. of Science and Technology, Mr Edet Akpan; Minister of State for Science and
Technology, Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi; Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu; Ambassador
of the Republic of Cuba, Amb. Clara Pulido-Escandell; Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of
Cuba, Pavel Bauza Fuste, during the visit of the Ambassador to the Minister’s Office in Abuja yesterday.
How Nigeria'll completely eliminate gas
flaring by 2025 — MINISTERS, NNPC BOSS
•Govt losing $750m •9th House ready to change narratives about gas flaring
— Gbajabiamila •As host communities insist on 10 per cent equity
By Levinus
Nwabughiogu
A BUJA—NIGERIA
has elected to join the
global community in achieving
complete elimination of gas
flaring in 2025.
The Minister of State for
Petroleum Resources, Chief
Timipre Silva gave the
commitment at a public hearing
on “Need to End Gas Flaring in
Nigeria and Harness Associated
Gas” in Nigeria, organized by the
House of Representatives Joint
Committee on Gas Resources,
Environment and Climate
Change in Abuja yesterday.
Gas flaring is the combustion
of associated gas generated
during various processes,
including oil and gas recovery.
Speaking at the hearing, Sylva
noted that gas flaring had been
reduced to eight per cent. In the
country at present, adding that
by 2025, it would be completely
eliminated.
He said: “The issue of gas
flaring is something that the
Ministry takes very seriously.
There is a global consensus on
the elimination of gas flaring by
2025. Today, we have reduced
the issue of gas flaring to a
minimum eight per cent.
“We believe, with all the
programmes lined up, we are on
course to achieve complete
elimination of gas flaring by 2025.
We take the issue of gas flaring in
the ministry very seriously.”
In his remarks, the Group
Managing Director, GMD, of the
Nigerian National Cooperation,
NNPC, Mele Kyari, said the
corporation was building major
trunk lines infrastructure that will
receive flared gas.
According to him, no amount
of penalty imposed on the oil
companies for flaring gas will stop
the unhealthy practice.
He said: “Two things must
happen - one is to put the
enabling infrastructure which we
are doing immensely. We are
building major trunklines that will
receive the flared gas that you
are seeing today.
‘’We are connecting most parts
of this country to the gas network
so that people can convert this
gas to power Industries and they
are all within sight.
“Just to put it in perspective,
by the end of March, we have
what we will call the quarry cluster
for flared gas. It makes about 200
million cups of gas. By the end of
March, this will vanish because
once we end connecting all the
lines, automatically, it goes away.
A number of projects are being
executed to make sure that we
take the flare completely out.
“No matter how much penalty
you put, if the cost of penalty is
cheaper, people will continue to
flare and pay the penalty. You can
raise the penalty to any number
and what it does is that it will
completely make the people not
to invest in anything.
‘’Therefore, increasing the
flaring penalty is not the solution.
It is to create the commercial
tanks that will enable companies
invest in this flare so that we can
convert them into money. The
effort is to commercialize this gas
to bring on board the
infrastructure we need to have
in place.
In his intervention, Minister of
Environment, Mohammed
Abubakar, who was represented
by a Director in the Ministry, Mr.
Abbas Suleiman, regretted the
environmental challenges of gas
flaring, pledging to help the
petroleum ministry end it.
He said: “Gas flaring is an
environmental challenge. So
much has been said about the
challenges that accompany this
issue. Gas flaring leads to global
warming and the fear that the earth
may snowball into green house
effect.
“The Ministry of Environment
has been giving support in this
regard. We promise that we will
continue to give all the necessary
supports by enforcing all the
environmental laws to this effect.”
Earlier in his welcome address,
the Chairman joint committee of
the House on Gas Resources,
Environment and Climate
Change Committees, Mutu
Nicholas, disclosed that Nigeria
was losing over $750 million
annually from flared gas.
He said: ‘Gas flare is a malady
that we must work together to
eliminate at the shortest time
possible; because of its all round
adverse effects on the
environment and socio-economic
well-being of the people of Niger
Delta.
‘’ At current estimates by Price
waterhouse Coopers, PwC,
Nigeria loses over $750 million in
annual revenue from flared gas.
‘’Zero-Flare Gas deadlines
have routinely shifted to future
dates. We thus commend
government for the 2018 gas flare
regulation which imposes the
penalty of $2.00 per million
standard cubic feet of gas flared.''
Court nullifies impeachment of ex-Imo deputy gov, 8 years after
OWERRI—AN
Imo
State High Court sitting
in Owerri has voided the
impeachment of Jude Agbaso as
deputy governor of Imo State.
Agbaso, who was deputy to
Rochas Okorocha, former Imo
State governor, was
US senators kick against inhuman treatment in
Turkey
THE U.S. Senate has
accused Turkish President,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan of abuse
of human rights of its citizens by
detaining people and civil
servants, shutting down of media
outlets and jailing of lawmakers
in the country.
They also urged the
president of the United States,
Joe Biden to emphasize to
Erdogan and his
impeached by the state
House of Assembly on March
28, 2013, over allegations
that he collected N458 milion
and Red Label scotch whiskey
as bribes from J-Pro, a
construction firm.
Aggrieved, the ex-deputy
administration to end every
form of inhuman treatment
metted to Turkey citizens.
Fifty-four senators of the US
signed the letter, accusing
Erdogan of marginalizing,
domestic opposition, silencing
critical media, jailing journalists
and purging independent
judges.
“We urge you to emphasize to
President Erdogan and his
administration that they should
immediately end their crackdown
governor had contested his
impeachment in court.
Ruling on the matter, yesterday,
Justice I.S Opara, gave the
consent judgment after parties in
the suit opted to settle out of court.
Chijioke Emeka, counsel to
Agbaso, had informed the court
on dissent at home and abroad,
release political prisoners and
prisoners of conscience, and
reverse their authoritarian
course,” the letter read.
Since a failed coup in 2016,
Erdogan’s administration has
detained nearly 300,000 people
and has suspended or dismissed
more than 150,000 civil servants.
Hundreds of media outlets have
been shut and dozens of
opposition lawmakers have been
imprisoned as such.
that parties in the suit including
his client, the state governor, the
state House of Assembly and the
Chief Judge of the state had on
February 1, 2021, drafted terms
of settlements which were filed
before the court on February 2,
2021.
In his judgment, Justice Opara
said the terms of settlements had
become a consent judgment of
the court.
Reacting to the judgment,
Agbaso said he felt delighted to
be “vindicated” of fraud
allegations after eight years.
He accused Okorocha of
intentionally framing him up “just
to get me out of the way.
“It has been a torturous eight
years but I thank the good people
of Imo State. I thank the
government of Senator Hope
Uzodinma for its bold stand,
which hastened the
resolution,” he said.
By Ibrahim Hassan
K newly ADUNA—THE
appointed service
chiefs said yesterday that the
nation’s security architecture was
currently being re-organised.
The Chief of Defence Staff,
Major General Lucky Irabor, who
disclosed this at the townhall
meeting held with stakeholders,
on behalf of the service chiefs in
Kaduna yesterday, assured that
the security chiefs were
determined to reverse the
insecurity probem in the country.
The meeting organised by
Office of the National Security
Adviser, ONSA, had in
attendance governors of states
in the North West, traditional
rulers, religious leaders and other
influencers in the region.
Irabor said the new security
architecture would assist the
security chiefs to effectively deal
with banditry and other forms of
criminality in the country.
According to him ,the meeting
was to let Nigerians, especially
governors and people of the
Northwest, know that the
situation in the region was of
great concern to the President.
“Your concerns have remained
deep in our hearts. We assure
you that we’ve not rested on our
oars,” he said.
He explained that the Kaduna
meeting was to feel the people’s
pulse, stressing that the National
Security Adviser, NSA, service
chiefs, the Inspector General of
Police, IGP, and other security
organizations were now working
together.
According to him, data are
being collated to enable the
security heads change the tide.
The CDS, however, said that
coming together as a group with
the governors and other
stakeholders would enable them
make progress in the fight against
insecurity in the region.
Nigeria on alert as Ebola breaks
out in Guinea — NCDC
By Sola Ogundipe &
Chioma Obinna
BARELY 24 hours
after Guinea declared
Ebola outbreak in the country as
an epidemic, Port Health Services
of the Federal Ministry of Health
in Nigeria has been directed to
scale up screening at the port of
entry.
Guinea had on Sunday
declared a new outbreak of Ebola
six years after the last Ebola
episode in the country.
Confirming this development in
a chat with Vanguard, the
Director-General of the Nigerian
Centre for Disease Control,
NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu,
said the centre was aware of the
outbreak and was currently
monitoring the situation closely.
According to him, the cases
have been detected in a region
that is in close proximity to Liberia
and Cote D’Ivoire, which may be
associated with the measures
taken by the Liberian
government.
He said: “We are to scale up
screening at points of entry. We
are also carrying out a risk
assessment and will use findings
from these to introduce additional
preparedness activities. We will
issue a public health advisory to
In his remarks, the National
Security Adviser, Major General
Babagana Monguno, retd,
explained that President Buhari
was deeply concerned about the
security situation in the region,
saying the essence of the meeting
which would be replicated in the
other zones, was to address very
important security concerns.
He said although it was true
that security was the primary
concern of government, nobody
was running away from that but
stressed it was important to now
have a multifaceted approach in
dealing with insecurity.
“Government is only one leg
in the tripod... that is why
government is engaging the
public. With the new service
chiefs, there is a new direction.
All we require is your patience, “
he said.
Chairman of Northern
Governors’ Forum and governor
of Plateau State, Simon Bako
Lalong, emphasized the need for
unity among Nigerians, and
prayed that the new service chiefs
would soon see the end of
insecurity in Nigeria.
In his remarks, Governor
Aminu Masari of Katsina State
recalled that the situation in his
state was not as bad as it was 10
years ago, but lamented that
banditry, cattle rustling, killings
and rape are now bedevilling his
state.
Similarly, Governor Nasir
Ahmad El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State
expressed confidence in the
ability of the new service chiefs,
based on their past records,
saying the presence of such high
level delegation underscored the
importance Buhari’s
administration attached to
security in the region.
The governor hoped that the
service chiefs would map out a
new security architecture that
will end banditry and other forms
of crime in the North West.
Nigerians and State Ministries of
Health.”
Explaining further, Ihekweazu
noted that the one major
difference between the 2014
Ebola outbreak and now was the
fact that there is a licensed Ebola
vaccine.
“A vaccine stockpile has been
established by groups
coordinated by WHO, so that the
vaccine can be accessed by
countries experiencing
outbreaks.
“The vaccine played a critical
role during the DRC outbreak last
year, and is an important
mechanism for outbreak control
now available to countries,” he
added.
The NCDC boss said the
centre was also in touch with the
World Health Organisation,
WHO, Africa Centre for Disease
Control, CDC, and West African
Health Organisation, WAHO,
that are supporting the country
and coordinating response
activities across the region.
Also, Sierra Leone has
launched an emergency
response against the Ebola virus,
following reports about the
outbreak in neighbouring
Guinea.
There are currently no reported
Ebola cases in Sierra Leone.