21042021

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021 — 9
:Vanguard News
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
PRESENTATION: From left:
Mrs. Ify Akerele, representing
Chamber of Shipping, Dr.
MkGeorge Onyung, President,
Shipowners Association of
Nigeria, Dr. Bashir Jamoh,
Director-General of NIMASA,
Honourable Chudi Offordile,
ED, Finance & Admin, Mr.
Ahmed Shehu, Executive
Director, Operations and
Honourable Victor Ochei,
Executive Director, Cabotage
Services of NIMASA during
the presentation of the One-
Year in Office scorecard of the
Jamoh-led Executive
Management of NIMASA.
No timeline for full deregulation yet — NNPC
chief, Kyari •Says petrol queues ‘ll disappear soon •As queues return
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru & Obas
Esiedesa
A BUJA—THE
Group Managing
Director of the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,
Mallam Mele Kyari, said
yesterday that there was no
timeline for full deregulation of
the oil sector in the country at
present.
Kyari, who stated this in an
interview with State House
correspondents after meeting
with President Muhammadu
Buhari at the Presidential Villa,
Abuja, also assured Nigerians
that the queues at petrol stations
in some parts of the country
would soon fizzle out.
His reaction came against the
backdrop of fresh petrol scacity in
the Federal Capital Territory, FCT,
Niger and Nasarawa states
which led to the product selling
for as much as N500 per litre in
the black market.
to FCT; petrol sells for N500/litre
Kyari said: “I have no update
in hand now, this (deregulation)
is beyond me, but we are
engaging to make sure we have
the right timeline.”
Responding to a question on
his position on subsidy, having
said few weeks ago that subsidy
would set in no matter the
situation and his recent
statement that there would be
no increase in petrol price in the
month of May, he said that
subsidy was a government policy
matter.
“Subsidy is a policy matter, I
am sure you are aware of this,
there are engagements going on
within government to get the best
framework for having a fully
deregulated PMS market.
“As this is going on, we are
engaging all parties and all
stakeholders as government and
to make sure that at the end of
the day, there is an exit that is
beneficial to the ordinary man.
“That is why we know we will
not be able to complete that in
the month of May and and,
therefore, we declared that there
will be no increase in fuel price.”
Fielding question on the
increasing market price of crude
oil to about $67 per barrel and
how it had impacted on NNPC
finances, being the major
importer of the product, he said
there was no cause for alarm.
“ You know it works both ways.
Once prices increase, your
revenue also increases. So I don’t
have any numbers around it, but
I also know that your obligation
to price of petroleum increases
and your net revenue also
increases. There is a balancing
factor, I don’t think there is
anything much to worry about,’’
he said.
On the fuel queues that
surfaced in Abuja and adjoining
states yesterday, the GMD
explained that the queues were
a result of the industrial action
embarked upon by petroleum
tanker drivers against their
employers, the National
Association of Road Transport
Owners, NARTO, on
JUSUN, PASAN stage walk-out at parley with Ngige,
others •Why we postponed meeting — Minister
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
A BUJA—THE
striking members of
Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria,
JUSUN, and Parliamentary Staff
Association of Nigeria, PASAN,
yesterday staged a walk-out at
the meeting convened by the
Minister of Labour and
Employment, Senator Chris
Ngige over the ongoing industrial
action by the unions.
The meeting was scheduled for
3pm at the Conference Hall of
the Minister’s office, Abuja, but
the two unions after waiting for
about two hours without being
attended to stormed out of the
venue.
But the Minister has explained
that the meeting with JUSUN
and PASAN was postponed to
enable the Federal Government
negotiating team harmonize all
issues from the Memorandum of
Understanding reached at
separate meetings with tiers and
arms of government.
Ngige in a statement issued by
the Deputy Director, Press and
Public Relations in the ministry,
Charles Akpan said the
postponement was necessary to
ensure that the meeting with the
unions come with a
Memorandum of Action which is
implementable with time lines.
The statement said: “There is
no point rushing to do a meeting
that will be fruitless. The
Judiciary, the Governors Forum
and even the Presidency are
involved in this negotiation
because the meeting held
yesterday was at the Office of the
Chief of Staff to the President .
“The arising documents are not
yet properly harmonized. It will
therefore not be fruitful to hold a
negotiation where people speak
from irreconcilable positions. It
won’t help us and it won’t help
the unions either.
“The reason is to ensure that
the agreement reached at the
end of our meeting here is put
into action , with timelines for
implementation. So if we don’t
have a paper that is ready to go,
then there will be no point for
the talk shop.”
The Minister explained that
the members of the unions were
in a hurry even as they were
properly informed of the little time
needed for him to round off a
meeting with the government
team, comprising the Solicitor
General of the Federation, Mr.
Dayo Apata, the Director General
of the Governors Forum,
Asishana Bayo Okauru and the
Senior Special Assistant to the
President, Senator Ita Enang.
He said the meeting will
continue at a date to be
announced soon, adding, “It is
better done properly so that the
governors can implement
whatever agreement we enter
into.
However, speaking with
newsmen, JUSUN national
Public Relations Officer, Koin
Selepreye said it was wrong for
the minister to keep the workers
for that long, when the invitation
sent to them clearly started that
the meeting was for 3:pm.
She said the union would
always aveil herself for meetings,
but won’t take it when the time
for the meeting is not respected.
Also speaking, the National
President of PASAN,
Mohammed Usman barrated
the minister for what he
described as unfair treatment
meted out to the workers.
compensation package which
made them to suspend loading
of petroleum products at the
depots.
Kyari said the disagreement
had been sorted out, following the
intervention of NNPC, adding
that normal loading operations
had commenced from the depots.
He also said government had
embarked on engagements with
relevant stakeholders to get the
best framework to have a fully
deregulated Premium Motor
Spirit, PMS, which he described
as a government policy.
He said: “These queues will go
away. It is because there was an
industrial action by petroleum
tanker drivers against their
employers, the National
Association of Road Transport
Owners around their
compensation package.
“Those issues were not
resolved up till yesterday
(Monday), until we intervened
to ensure that there is an
amicable settlement between the
parties so that they will have
peace and then normal loading
operations will commence from
the depots.
“As I speak to you at this
moment, loading has
commenced in all depots in the
country, dispatches of trucks are
ongoing in all the depots in the
country and they have called off
the strike for a period of one week
to enable us intervene and find a
solution. So there is really
nothing fundamental that is
happening now.’’
Meanwhile, motorists besieged
petrol stations around the
Federal Capital Territory, FCT,
yesterday, despite assurances by
the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, that there
would be no hike in the ex-depot
price of petrol.
Checks around the nation’s
capital, Abuja and surrounding
towns and states, showed that
most independent petrol stations
were shut, with only few major
marketers opened to motorists.
Expectedly, motorists flocked
around the few stations with the
product, with queues stretching
for long distances. The scene at
the two petrol stations, Total and
Conoil opposite the NNPC
Towers at the city centre, was
chaotic as motorists struggled to
gain entrance into the stations.
Youths took the advantage of
the situation to make brisk
business as they hawked petrol
in 10 litre kegs for N5,000,
amounting to N500 per litre.
Senate probes CCT chairman
over assault allegation
By Henry Umoru
A BUJA—THE
Senate yesterday
waded into the assault allegations
leveled against the chairman of
the Code of Conduct Tribunal,
Danladi Umar, in a petition
received to that effect.
Recall that the CCT boss
allegedly assaulted a security
guard, identified as Clement
Kargwak, who hails from Plateau
State, in Abuja a few weeks ago.
The petition was brought to the
floor by Senator Istifanus Gyang
(PDP, Plateau North).
Consequently, the Senate
President, Ahmad Lawan referred
the petition to the Senate
Committee on Ethics, Privileges
and Public Petitions for immediate
investigation.
Gyang, while giving a summary
of the petition said: “Justice Umar
Danladi assaulted him
(petitioner), brutalized him and
slapped him on the face, and asked
him to kneel down and, thereby,
used his leg to hit him on the chest
and inflicted bodily harm on him.’’
According to the lawmaker, the
petitioner “is asking this Senate
to investigate this matter to
ascertain the role of the
Honourable Justice Danladi in
this allegedly unwholesome
happening to ensure justice to Mr.
Clement Kargwak.”
The security guard, Mr.
Clement Kargwak, in the petition
to the Senate signed by his
lawyer, Timzing Venyir Ramnap,
urged the upper chamber to
investigate the matter in keeping
with its duty of oversight on the
executive and judicial arms of
government.
He also requested the Senate
to prevail on President
Muhammadu Buhari to take
disciplinary action against the
CCT chairman or call on the
Inspector General of Police, Alkali
Usman Baba, and the Attorney
General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, Abubakar
Malami, to investigate, arrest and
FG launches SOPs for civil service
By Dirisu Yakubu
ABUJA—AS part of its
commitment to enhance
professionalism and quicken
service delivery in the conduct of
government business, the federal
government yesterday launched
the Standard Operating
Procedures, SOPs, for the civil
service.
The procedures, an initiative
of Africa Initiative for
Governance, AIG, in
collaboration with the Office of
the Head of the Civil Service of
the Federation, OHCSF, are
aimed at assisting officers to
understand and document
records digitally.
Addressing newsmen at the
event, Head of the Civil Service
of the Federation, Dr. Folasade
Yemi-Esan, commended the
expertise brought to bear in the
design of the procedures by AIG,
noting that with the SOPs now
in place, the service would come
up “with an effective system that
complied with industry-specific
regulations and standards to
significantly reduce or avoid
operational errors as well as
unwanted work variations.”
She said: “SOPs also ensure
the repeatability and consistency
of the performance of any type of
prosecute Umar for his actions.
Narrating his experience,
Kargwak in his petition to the
Senate said: “This whole thing
started on March 29, 2021, at
Banex Plaza when Justice
Danladi Umar drove into the
plaza to do some business
transactions.
‘’Mr. Clement Kargwak
informed us that on that fateful
date, he was at his duty post at
the Banex plaza when a Toyota
SUV Jeep with plate number
ABC-989-LZ drove into the plaza,
when he was busy in the
business of directing every
vehicle that drove into the plaza
to so properly park as directed by
the management of the plaza.
“That on sighting Justice Umar
Danladi’s car trying to park
wrongly, he instructed him to
properly park in a space provided
by the management of Banex
plaza, only for Justice Umar
Danladi to come down from the
SUV keep with his security men
and started assaulting and
brutalizing him by slapping him
on his face, asking him to kneel
down and thereby used his leg to
hit him on his chest, and thereby
inflicting bodily harm on him.
“That the management of the
plaza rushed him to the hospital
for medical attention where he
has been receiving medication.
“That Justice Umar Danladi
personally did 99 percent of the
assault and brutality on him as
can be seen in a viral video which
circulated on social media and is
hereby enclosed for your
consideration.
“That after the incident, Justice
Umar Danladi rushed to Maitama
Police Station and reported,
which prompted my invitation
(petitioner) to the Police station
by the Maitama Police Station
for investigation which he
honoured and went with a legal
representative of the Banex Plaza
who went with a copy of the viral
video showing how Justice Umar
Danladi perpetrated all the
assaults and brutality on him.''
process. It helps employees to perform
complicated tasks, one in
which remembering every detail
of a procedure can be difficult or
in which a precise sequence of
steps is essential.
“It is instructive to note that in
view of the importance of the SOP
manuals to the seamless
implementation of the Enterprise
Content Management Solution,
ECMS, and in line with
international best practices, the
office decided to take the lead and
has gone further to approve the
immediate service-wide
development of SOPs.
‘’This starts with four selected
Ministries Departments and
Agencies, MDAs, made up of the
Federal Civil Service
Commission, Federal Ministry of
Finance, Budget and National
Planning, State House and the
Federal Ministry of
Transportation.’’
Dr. Yemi-Esan noted that her
office had in partnership with AIG,
initiated plans to obtain relevant
International Organization for
Standardization, ISO, an
independent, nongovernmental,
international
organization “that develops
standards to ensure the quality,
safety, and efficiency of products,
services, and systems.”