THE National Alliance Against Drug Abuse, NAADA, has urged the Federal Government to declare drug abuse a national emergency.

STAKEHOLDERS have blamed the Federal Government’s policies for dwindling importation of petroleum products as well as low operations in the downstream sector of Nigeria’s petroleum industry. The Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association (PTDA) of Nigeria, Apapa Branch, which made the disclosure, stated that the downstream operations have dropped, especially as many private investors have not been able to participate.

GHANAIAN government has urged its Nigerian counterpart to consider establishing a national mining company to compete actively with those in the private sector for rapid development of the sector. This was the assertion of the Minister of Lands & Natural Resources, Ghana, John-Peter Amewu, during a stakeholders conference in Abuja. Amewu said Nigeria should begin to look inwards on establishing various linkages that would fast track development of the solid minerals sector in no distant.

THE Federal Government mistakenly based its metering calculations on six million households prior to the privatisation of Nigeria’s power sector. The Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed in a statement that, the federal government underestimated the number of Nigerian households scheduled for metering before privatisation. He stated that one of the omissions of the privatisation carried out by the last administration, according to him, was lack of compulsory metering prior to the privatisation of the sector.

Owerri—Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, yesterday, said his presidential ambition was “lingering” because President Muhammadu Buhari is still in power.

ABUJA—The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, fixed Anambra State governorship primary election for Saturday, August 19, 2017.

THE number of upstream projects reaching final investment decision (FID) in 2017 could double to 25 compared to only 12 last year, according to a recent Wood Mackenzie report, “A big year for FIDs: 2017 marks a turning point.” This is coming at a time the international oil companies, IOCs, in Nigeria are in favour of disposing more assets after the passage of petroleum industry bill, PIB, and expiration of their licences.

THE 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery has been projected to hit 50 per cent capacity utilisation by 2020.

INDIGENOUS company, Neconde Energy Limited, which is the exploration and production arm of Obijackson Group, said it plans to achieve 60,000 barrels per day, bpd, crude evacuation, through barges from oil mining lease, OML 42, by the end of 2017.

Security operatives, Sunday night, foiled an attempted jailbreak at the Nigerian Prison yard in the Okaka suburb of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, which was thrown into confusion following an explosion suspected to be Improvised Explosive Device, IED, attack on the facility by some prisoners.