Nigeria’s senate has established a special committee to investigate allegations made by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) against Oyelola Yisa Ashiru, the deputy majority leader.

This decision comes after Ashiru filed a motion on an order of privilege, following the NDLEA’s claim that they discovered illicit substances at his residence and arrested two of his aides in 2023, an allegation Ashiru vehemently denies.

NDLEA’s allegation came after the senator representing Kwara south said the agency is “the most corrupt and compromised government agency” in the country.

The senator said this while contributing to a debate on a bill seeking to establish an institute for drug awareness and rehabilitation last week.

While speaking on the floor of the senate, Ashiru said the NDLEA is attempting to undermine his privileges as a senator to speak on issues by making “unfounded allegations”.

“I want to assert that I don’t know what cannabis is, I don’t take alcohol,” he said.

“For my protection and that of other senators, we must do something about this.”

Responding, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said there is a need for an ad hoc committee to look into the matter “holistically”.

“Dear colleagues, we must take this issue seriously. Injury to one is injury to all. We should set up an ad hoc committee to look at the issue holistically,” Akpabio said.

Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator representing Abia south, was appointed chair of the ad hoc committee.

The committee is expected to submit its report within a week.

The federal government has taken a significant step to address Nigeria’s recurring power grid collapses by setting up a forensic investigative committee.

This decision was made after Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu held an emergency meeting with the leadership of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Tuesday.

In a statement by Bolaji Tunji, the minister’s media aide, Adelabu, during the meeting, expressed displeasure over the incident, saying it was “capable of rubbishing the giant strides made in the last one year which has led to an increased generation and distribution of 5,527 megawatts, a record generation in three years”.

He said the forensic investigation committee are mandated to advise the government on necessary solutions to make the national grid robust and reliable.

“The Committee is to also establish the root cause of both incidents especially a review of potential sabotage on the system,” Tunji said.

“The Committee will holistically review the national grid stability and identify investments and technical capacities required to make the grid smart and resilient.”

The minister also constituted a six-member technical committee to access the critical nodes on the national grid to identify potential vulnerabilities.

According to Tunji, the committee are to proffer recommendations to address the vulnerabilities to prevent future disruptions to the grid.

The six-member committee is headed by Nafisat Ali, executive director of the Independent System Operator (ISO).

Others are “Chidi Ike, commissioner, NERC, Engr. Ishola (GM. National Control Centre (NCC) , Engr. Emmanuel Nosike, Director, Transmission, Federal Ministry of Power (FMoP), Engr. Ali Sharifai (GM, Transmission Service Provider (TSP) and Mr. Adedayo Olowoniyi, Chief Technical Adviser to the Minister of Power”.

“The team is expected to present a report to the Honourable Minister by November 1, 2024,” Tunji added.

The national grid has collapsed eight times in 2024, with the first recorded on February 4.

TCN also reported the national grid collapsed on March 28, April 15, July 6, and August 5.

Also, Nigerians experienced another blackout on October 14, October 15 and October 19, respectively.

Earlier today, TCN reported power outage in the northeast, northwest and parts of north-central after 330-kilovolt (kV) Ugwaji–Apir double circuit transmission lines 1 and 2 tripped.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has refuted allegations of initiating a new lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

Reports had suggested the refinery sought to nullify import licenses granted to NNPC and other oil marketers for refined petroleum products already produced domestically.

However, according to Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, the lawsuit in question has been ongoing since June and is slated for withdrawal by January 2025.

“This is an old issue that started in June and culminated in a matter being filed on September 6, 2024,” the company said.

“Currently, the parties are in discussion since the President Bola Tinubu’s directive on Crude Oil and Refined products sales in Naira Initiative, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).”

Dangote refinery said it has made tremendous progress in that regard and events have overtaken the development.

“No party has been served with court processes and there is no intention of doing so. We have agreed to put a halt to the proceedings,” the company said.

“It is important to stress that no orders have been made and there are no adverse effects on any party. We understand that once the matter comes up January 2025, we would be in a position to formally withdraw the matter in court.”

On October 5, the federal government said Nigeria officially commenced the sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in naira.