ASUU meet to review six-month-old strike
In a bid to find a solution to end the six-month-old strike in the nation’s Federal and State tertiary institutions, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) held a crucial meeting on Sunday to review the strike.
The meeting, which started on Sunday evening and whose outcome is yet to be made public, is expected to put an end to the strike.
The union has had more than three crucial meetings with the Federal Government to press home their demands and end the strike. Crucial among their demands is a call for improved wages, UTAS implementation, better funding for universities, and university autonomy.
The last meeting ASUU had with the FG delegation ended in a deadlock as the union insisted on not backing down on their demands.
Fortunately, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (NASU) called off their strike last week.
Obasanjo insists on national agenda, hasn’t endorsed any candidate yet
As the general election come 2023 draws nearer, getting the endorsement from political figures with huge appeal seems to be the in thing now.
The latest in this fashionable political trend is that of former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who said that he has not endorsed any candidate for the upcoming 2023 presidential election but that his only focus is the national agenda for the country.
He stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to General Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Head of State, at his Uphill country home in Minna, Niger State on Sunday.
“I don’t have a special candidate,” he said. “I have a national agenda”.
Obasanjo’s meeting with Abubakar lasted only 30 minutes, and according to him, he came to check on the health of his dear friend.
Oil Theft: figures brandied are unrealistic, says Chief of Naval Staff
The figures being bandied about as losses to the revenue situation due to crude oil theft are unrealistic.
This was the position of Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, the Chief of the Naval Staff, on Sunday when he spoke on Channels TV to Ladi Akeredolu-Ale. He claimed that most of the losses in the oil sector are summed up and blamed on security agencies’ lack of effectiveness in policing the creeks.
He differentiated between oil theft and oil losses. “While oil theft is syphoning crude oil from vandalised pipes into barges, oil losses occur when there is known production, especially during shut-ins and force majeures, as the Federal Government does not earn the desired revenue it should,” he said.
He also attributed the losses to metering errors on the operating platforms. “But the volume of crude oil shot-ins from non-production is often added to figures for oil theft instead of declaring them as oil losses. This should not be,” he added.
Admiral Gambo dismissed claims that between 20,000 and 200,000 barrels of crude oil are stolen daily in Nigeria. He said that around 15.8 million litres, which is the equivalent of around 100,000 barrels of crude oil, requires a five-ton barge to make 3,160 trips to convey to a mother vessel within a day.
He believes the claim is “unrealistic and definitely outrageous,” especially given the high presence of security agencies in the creeks and on the high seas.
Tripoli calms down, after worse fighting in years
The fighting in Tripoli, Libya’s capital city, on Saturday was reminiscent of wartime Libya in 2014, following the ouster of former autocratic leader Muammar Gaddafi.
This follows the charred cars and buildings pockmarked by bullets scarred on Sunday, the day after intense fighting killed 32 people yet appeared to leave the Tripoli government more firmly entrenched.
The battle for the control of Tripoli and the oil wells of the country continues as the parliament-backed administration of Fathi Bashagha failed to take control of the capital and oust the Tripoli-based government of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah.
According to Reuters, there were workers clearing broken glasses and debris from streets littered with spent ammunition casings, as fighters aligned with Dbeibah stood in front of bases seized by forces affiliated with Bashagha.
Traffic had returned to many roads as residents inspected damage to their property.
Crude oil production has been severely affected by these clashes as both men fight to gain control of oil installations and the seat of power in the once peaceful nation.
Qatar records largest trade surplus in over 8 years
Buoyed by rising crude oil prices, Qatar recorded its largest trade surplus in over 8 years. The trade surplus increased by 78.5 percent from QR 19.5 billion in July 2021 to QR 34.8 billion in July 2022, according to Trading Economics.
The 78.5 percent increase was the highest since March 2014. The jump was due primarily to a rise in global demand for crude oil and commodity prices. Exports increased by 61.9 percent year on year to QAR 44.4 billion, owing to increased sales of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons, crude petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, and non-crude petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals.
