The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked INTERPOL in three North African countries of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria to place former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has watch-list.

It was gathered that the decision by the EFCC was based on credible intelligence. Other countries where the former governor is on watch-list are Egypt, Libya and Sudan.

According to The Nation, sources in the anti-graft agency said many option are on the table in dealing with the Bello situation, which include but not limited to storming the Kogi State Government House in Lokoja, where the ex-governor is believed to be hiding.

The watch-list was activated ahead of the July 17th expected appearance of the former governor before a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Bello is facing a 19-count charge for alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds  of about N80.2billion.

Although the ex-governor has denied the allegation, he has consistently failed to appear before the trial Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite on June 13th and June 27th.

At the last hearing, he filed an application for the transfer of his trial to the Federal High Court, Lokoja.

Speaking in the situation, the EFCC source said: “Ahead of the next hearing of the case, EFCC has activated many options, including taking a concrete action to watch-list Bello in North Africa.

“We are aware of a botched  exit to Morocco via Cameroon. We are determined to stop him from going on exile.

“From Singapore, the EFCC Executive Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede was in Tunisia where he delivered a paper at a session on illicit financial flows. Thereafter, he had a meeting with all the Heads of INTERPOL in North Africa on the intelligence on the ex-governor.

“He formally asked INTERPOL to place  Bello on Red Alert in all North African countries and it was accepted.

“The watch-list has taken immediate effect. He will be arrested in any part of North Africa.

“We took this step because we are suspecting that he had been bidding time not to be available for arraignment.

“We expect Bello to be in court to prove his innocence. EFCC has to do its work to avoid bad precedent.”

At the last hearing, Bello’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), applied to withdraw his appearance for his client.

But Adedipe drew the court’s attention to an application before the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for the transfer of charge no: FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024 to the Federal High Court, Lokoja.

He said the application was pursuant to Section 45 of the Federal High Court Establishment Act.

Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), has confirmed that the Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals company will begin producing petrol this month, as previously pledged.

During a site visit by S&P Global, Edwin reiterated that the refinery, located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, will start production in July, leveraging Africa’s rich crude oil resources to produce refined products locally.

This initiative aims to stimulate industrial growth, create jobs, and foster economic prosperity, marking a significant milestone in the company’s mission to drive economic development.

Edwin also noted that products from the $20 billion facility are of high quality and meet international standards, saying that it can meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s demand for petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation Jet, with surpluses available for export.

On its part, International financial analytics corporation, S&P Global, described the 650,000 barrels per day refinery as capable of resolving Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) issue, and its huge pressure on the local Naira currency, while also catalysing the country’s economic development.

The team from the international rating agency were accompanied by officials from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

S&P noted that the largest single-train refinery complex in the world, would bolster Nigeria’s oil sector and, more importantly, also have a positive impact on its growing economy.

Director and Lead Analyst, Sovereign and International Public Finance Ratings, S&P Global Ratings, Ravi Bhatia, who led the delegation to Lagos, said Dangote refinery would transform Nigeria into a net exporter of petroleum products.

He added that this transformation is expected to boost revenue generation and alleviate the current pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

“It is a very impressive facility, able to process 650,000 barrels a day, when in full capacity. It is the largest single-train refinery complex in the world. It came out quite quickly. Nigeria is a big exporter of crude but has issues with importing refined fuels. So, there is a gap in the market where crude can be refined in Nigeria, save money that way, and potentially save some foreign exchange. This will be positive for the economy in the medium term. It looks positive from our assessment,” Bhatia said after an over four-hour tour of the facility.

The S&P team commended the President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, for integrating advanced technologies and quality control measures, including a state-of-the-art Central Control Unit ensuring smooth automation of operations.

Other members of the team of the international rating agency include the Associate Director, Sovereign Ratings, Maxmillian McGraw; Director, Corporate Ratings, Omegu Collocott; Senior Analyst, Bank Ratings, Charlotte Masvongo, and Director, Financial Services, Samira Mensah.

Currently operating at 350,000 barrels per day capacity, Edwin said the refinery is slated to scale up to at least 500,000 barrels per day capacity by July/August, commencing the refining of petrol and ultra-low sulphur diesel.

He noted that the refinery, designed to process a wide range of crudes including various African and Middle Eastern crudes, as well as US Light Oil, conforms to Euro V specifications. In addition, it is designed to comply with US EPA, European Union (EU) emission norms, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent norms, and the African Refiners and Distribution Association (ARDA) standards.

While noting that most refineries were built by foreign companies, he said it is a thing of pride that a Nigerian company designed and built the world’s largest single-train refinery complex, while acting directly as its own Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor. The refinery also incorporates a self-sufficient marine facility capable of handling the world’s largest vessels.

“The refinery can produce the best quality products in the world, Euro V grade. It is one of the energy-efficient refineries and it is highly environmentally friendly. It is sophisticated with a high level of automation. The largest single train refinery in the world is 100 per cent designed, engineered, and constructed by a Nigerian company as EPC contractor,” he said.

Nigeria, one of the world’s leading oil-producing countries, exports all its crude oil for refining and subsequently imports refined products due to a lack of operational refineries. It is estimated that Nigeria imports at least 50 million litres of petrol per day to meet domestic demand.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Foreign Trade Statistics for the Fourth Quarter of 2023, Nigeria spent approximately ₦12tn on the importation of petroleum products in 2023, including petrol. This figure marks an 18.68 per cent increase compared to the ₦10tn spent on fuel imports in 2022.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has scheduled a meeting with the Federal Government on July 25, 2024, to address its outstanding demands.

Meanwhile, non-academic staff in universities have announced a one-day protest on Tuesday to demand their four-month withheld salaries, ahead of a nationwide protest planned for July 18.

According to ASUU’s National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the July 25 meeting is a follow-up to the timeline agreed upon with the government.

ASUU chapters have been protesting across campuses, joined by students, and have threatened another industrial action if their demands are not met.

The union has also written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, urging the full implementation of the 2009 Memorandum of Understanding.

Osodeke noted that the protests have yielded positive results, leading to the government calling a meeting and setting a timeline to fulfill some of the promises.

He said, “We have met with the Minister of Education and reached a timeline. They made promises to us and we want to watch if it would be done. We are meeting two weeks from today, July 25th, to see if they have done what they promised.

“The protest made them to call us for a meeting, they should fulfill their promise.”

The letter published in a newspaper, dated June 20, 2024, said the Nigerian academics were compelled to embark on nationwide strike action on February 14, 2022, when all entreaties to the government to resolve the issues in contention fell on deaf ears.

Osodeke said the 10 issues and other emerging ones were the conclusion of the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU Agreement based on the Nimi Briggs Committee’s draft Agreement of 2021.

He said the agreement was on the release of withheld three and a half months’ salaries on account of the 2022 strike action; release of unpaid salaries of staff on sabbatical leave, part-time, and adjunct appointments owing to the application of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System; release of outstanding third-party deductions, such as check-off dues and cooperative contributions; funding for revitalisation of public universities (partly captured in 2023 Federal Government’s Budget).

Other issues in contention include the Earned Academic Allowances (partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government’s Budget); proliferation of universities by the federal and state governments; implementation of the reports of visitation panels to universities; Illegal dissolution of Governing Councils; and the University Transparency and Accountability Solutions (in place of IPPIS).

Osodeke said, “Your Excellency is requested to set necessary machinery in motion for bringing ASUU and major stakeholders (Ministries, Departments, and Agencies) together to address the outstanding issues in FGN/ASUU engagements since 2009. This will save our university system the agonies of another round of industrial action and its disruptive potential. The President’s promise of smooth academic calendars in universities at the inception of this administration, we believe, is achievable if the government sincerely sits down to address the issues as listed here.”

SSANU, NASU to protest Tuesday

Meanwhile, unions of non-academic staff members of the university declared on Sunday that they will be embarking on a nationwide protest starting from Thursday, July 18, 2024, over their withheld four-month salaries.

But before that, all branches of the non-academic unions under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee would protest at each of their branches on Tuesday.

The workers, under the aegis of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, said their meeting with the government officials had collapsed.

The two unions operating under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee disclosed this in a circular jointly signed by the General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, and President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, which was obtained by The PUNCH on Sunday.

The circular directed all branches of the two unions to hold a mandatory general meeting today (July 8, 2024) to sensitise members to the insensitivity of the government to their plights.

According to unions, the actions were necessitated by the failure of the Federal Government to pay their members’ withheld four-month salaries despite several meetings scheduled with the Minister of Education and its Labour counterpart.

“The national body of the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU met on Thursday, 4th July 2024 to appraise and take position on the current situation in respect of the withheld four months’ salaries and other grievances of our members in the University and Inter-University Centres.

“Similarly, the National JAC, on invitation, met with the Honourable Minister of Education; Honourable Minister of State for Education; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education; other top officials of the Ministry and National Universities Commission.

“Unfortunately, after the engagement,  the Minister of Education has not shown any convincing commitment to the payment of our withheld salaries and resolutions of other pending grievances of JAC of the two unions.

“It is also disheartening that the JAC was also at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, and as usual, the Minister of State was not on seat to receive us, as we were informed that she had an urgent call from the Villa.

“The Permanent Secretary, who stood in for her, could not make any commitment on the issues raised. In view of this disappointment and failure of the government to address the grievances of NASU and SSANU, JAC has decided on a series of industrial actions which, include the following:

“All branches of NASU and SSANU should mandatorily hold a general meeting on Monday, 8th Jul, 2024 to sensitise members to the insensitivity of the government to our plights.

“A one-day protest should hold on Tuesday, 9th July 2024 at each branch simultaneously. Every branch should ensure that all members fully participate in the protest and the press or media is adequately mobilised.

“A national protest, which will hold in Abuja on Thursday, 18th July, 2024 after which JAC will meet to announce a date when the strike action will commence. Further information will be communicated appropriately,” the circular read.

The Nigerian government had withheld the salaries of both academic and non-academic staff in Nigerian universities for taking part in an industrial action that grounded the universities for eight months in 2022.

In October, President Bola Tinubu ordered the payment of four of the eight months withheld salaries for the academic staff, leaving out the non-teaching staff.

This development resulted in a renewed rift between the non-academic staff union and the government.

Since the announcement, both SSANU and NASU have kicked against the ‘selective payments’ and asked to be included.

However, only the academic staff received the four months’ salaries paid in February.