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Port-Harcourt Refinery To Produce 60,000 Barrels/Day Early 2023 – FG

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The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, on Tuesday, said the April 2023 completion date for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery was feasible and that the plant would refine 60,000 barrels of crude by early next year.

Speaking on the state of repairs of the facility, which was projected to gulp $1.5bn, the minister expressed satisfaction at the level of work.

Sylva stated this while answering questions from newsmen shortly after a tour of the Port Harcourt Refining Company’ in Eleme, Rivers State on Tuesday.

He said, “This project kicked off second quarter last year and where they are now is quite impressive. It is on schedule.

“The commitment is to deliver 60, 000 barrels per day from this refinery by the first quarter of next year, and, of course, we are quite happy.

The minister also vowed that the Federal Government would put an end to all forms of illegal oil bunkering going on in the Niger Delta, saying such criminal activities must not be legalized.

Sylva said the modular refinery program of the Federal Government was on course and urged people to take advantage of the program.

He, however, said modular refinery should be separated from the illegal oil refining going on in the Niger Delta resulting in the soot pandemic in Port Harcourt and its environs.

He said the President, Muhammadu Buhari, had inaugurated a modular refinery in Imo State last year, adding that similar projects were currently ongoing in other parts of the country, including Rivers State.

Sylva said, “When people begin to equate modular refinery with the criminality that is going, I think they don’t go together.

“The criminality should be taken on. What is going on in Port Harcourt and some of these areas causing problem is a criminal activity and we cannot legalize that criminal activity.

“We must stop that activity by law enforcement and that has started. The program of starting a modular refinery had always been on.

“Any law-abiding Nigerian who wants to invest in this area can access funding and the licenses from the Federal Government.”

BIG STORY

Usyk Defeats Fury, Becomes Undisputed Heavyweight Champion

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Oleksandr Usyk emerged as the world’s undisputed heavyweight boxing champion adter defeating Tyson Fury.

On Saturday night, Fury and Usyk engaged in combat at the Kingdom Arena located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Usyk defeated the British fighter 115-112, 113-114, and 114-113 on the scorecards to win the fight by split decision.

In the first several rounds of the battle, Fury came out swinging, but Usyk was able to withstand the British fighter’s assault.

As the battle went on, the Ukrainian gained momentum because of his excellent movement and technical proficiency, which allowed him to block Fury’s strong attacks and land accurate shots of his own.

The highly anticipated battle took a turn for the better when the Ukrainian stopped Fury in the ninth round.

Despite Fury’s valiant effort to recover in the final rounds, Usyk’s dominance had already sealed the victory.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian is the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago. He has now unified the WBA, WBO, IBF, and WBC titles.

For Fury, it is the first loss in his 16-year professional career, but he will have a chance at a rematch before the end of the year.

In his post-fight interview, the British boxer accused the judges of giving the victory to Usyk because of the war in Ukraine.

“His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war,” he said.

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Nigeria’s Boniface Scores As Leverkusen Make History With Unbeaten Bundesliga Season

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In the final game of the 2023–24 German Bundesliga season, Bayer Leverkusen defeated Augsburg 2-1 in the BayArena on Saturday thanks to an early goal by Victor Boniface.

In lieu of this victory, Leverkusen, who had already won the Bundesliga, would end the season unbeaten in the league.

In the 34-match league, the unbeaten streak that led to the league title consists of 28 wins and 6 draws.

It made history and cemented the names of Boniface and his colleagues in the Bundesliga as the first team to finish the season undefeated.

Boniface, who won the Bundesliga Rookie of the Year award earlier in the week, started the party atmosphere when he slotted home an Amaine Chadli pass inside the area in the 12th minute before Robert Andrich doubled the lead before the half-hour mark.

Mert Komur’s goal on 62 minutes proved only a consolation for Augsburg as Leverkusen sealed victory in front of their passionate fans.

The Levekusen side is led by Xabi Alonso, who is only into his second year but first full season as coach of a senior team.

The team remains unbeaten in all competitions, with the win over Augsburg extending the run to 51 matches.

They have the chance to finish the season unbeaten in all competitions with victories over Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday and Kaiserslautern three days later.

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FBI Lauds EFCC, Promises Support As Agency Hands Over Recovered $22k From Convicted Fraudster

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has handed over $22,000 recovered from Hakeem Olanrewaju, a convicted internet scammer, to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

The EFCC, in a statement on Saturday,said the money was handed over to the FBI in Lagos, as the victim, who was defrauded, lives in the US.

Nicholas Oweibo, the judge of the federal high court in Ikoyi, sentenced Olanrewaju to two years imprisonment for identity theft and impersonation in August 2023.

The judge also ordered that the money recovered from him be restituted to his victim.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Lagos on Friday, Michael Wetkas, acting director of the Lagos zonal command of the EFCC, said the commission remains dedicated to combating crimes and restoring sanity to the nation.

“We are delighted to be handing over this proceeds of crime today,” Wetkas said, adding that “the EFCC is willing and always ready to do more”.

Charles Smith, FBI legal attaché in Nigeria, thanked the EFCC for facilitating the recovery of the money.

“This type of crime cripples businesses in the US, and for them to recover the money within one to two years gives hope to the affected companies and brings some level of justice, even if not all subjects have been identified,” Smith said.

“We hope our relationship continues and fosters a more cohesive partnership between the two agencies.”

Smith added that the FBI is willing to support the investigation in any way possible.

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