President Bola Tinubu has assured journalists that they have nothing to fear from his administration for criticising or attacking him, reaffirming his commitment to press freedom.

Tinubu gave the assurance on Thursday in Abuja during the centenary celebration of the Daily Times and the unveiling of the Nigerian Grand Book and Times Heroes Awards.

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The President, who was represented at the event by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, said the media remained essential to Nigeria’s development, accountability and preservation of the country’s history.

He said his administration was committed to the constitutional freedom of the press, stressing that journalists should be able to scrutinise government without fear of retaliation.

The President stated that under his administration, Nigerians could criticise or attack him without expecting government officials to retaliate against them.

Tinubu also used the occasion to emphasise the importance of preserving Nigeria’s history.

He said the Nigerian Grand Book would enable Nigerians to document the country’s story from their own perspective and preserve important institutional memories for future generations.

According to him, understanding the nation’s past would help Nigerians learn from previous successes and failures while building a stronger future.

Adesina Urges Nigerians to Build on Existing Foundations

Delivering the keynote address, former President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said nation-building was a continuous process that required contributions from successive generations.

Adesina noted that no country could be built by one individual or a single administration, stressing the importance of leadership that leaves stronger foundations for those who come after.

He also called for unity of purpose among Nigerians, saying the country’s diversity should be harnessed toward building a prosperous future.

Daily Times Honours Nigerians

The centenary celebration also featured the Times Heroes Awards, with prominent Nigerians receiving recognition for their contributions to society.

The Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, received the Community Impact Award, while Adesina received the Global Impact Award.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ThisDay, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, was honoured with the Media Icon of the Decade Award.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, received the Minister of the Decade Award, while APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, was named Politician of the Year.

Several state governors and lawmakers were also recognised at the event.

The celebration marked 100 years of the Daily Times and highlighted the newspaper’s longstanding role in Nigeria’s media history and national development.

The Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline is ready for first gas, while the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline has reached 95 percent completion.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) disclosed this in its July 2026 monthly report, adding that pre-commissioning activities at the OB3 River Niger Crossing had been completed in August in preparation for first gas.

In the NNPC Ltd report, OB3 was put at 100 percent, and AKK at 95 percent complete. “OB3 River Niger Crossing: Pipeline pre-commissioning activities completed in readiness for First Gas in August 2026,” the report stated.

On the AKK project, the national oil company said construction and installation works had reached an advanced stage, with the pipeline expected to deliver early gas to Abuja in 2026.

“AKK (Early Gas): Construction and installation works are at an advanced stage to deliver early gas to Abuja in 2026,” NNPC Ltd stated.

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The two projects form part of NNPC Ltd’s gas infrastructure development programme aimed at expanding gas transportation infrastructure.

The OB3 pipeline is designed to connect gas supplies across the eastern and western parts of the country, while the AKK pipeline is being developed to transport gas to Abuja and onwards to northern parts of Nigeria.

However, the July report did not provide further details on the expected capacity or commissioning date of the AKK pipeline beyond stating that early gas would be delivered to Abuja in 2026.

Earlier in April, the NNPC Ltd announced that it had completed the long-anticipated River Niger crossing of the OB3 gas pipeline, unlocking a critical segment of the country’s gas transmission network and paving the way for increased supply to power plants and industries.

The feat, delivered by the NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company, a subsidiary of NNPC Ltd, involved drilling approximately two kilometres beneath the River Niger using advanced horizontal directional drilling technology, a method deployed in complex engineering terrains.

Announcing the development in a statement by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC, Andy Odeh, the company said the milestone effectively activates the full capacity of the 130-kilometre OB3 pipeline, designed to transport up to 2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.

The pipeline is to significantly strengthen energy availability, enhance supply reliability, and accelerate national economic development.

The company noted that the completion would, in the near term, unlock over 500 million standard cubic feet per day of additional gas supply for the domestic market, with positive implications for electricity generation, manufacturing, and exports.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, noted that the OB3 pipeline remains central to Nigeria’s ambition of building an integrated and resilient gas network.

“I commend everyone involved for their doggedness and for staying the course to deliver this strategic national asset,” he said.

Ojulari also linked the project to the Federal Government’s broader energy targets, including plans to increase crude oil production to 3 million barrels per day and gas output to 12 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030.

Started in 2016, the $700m OB3 pipeline has missed several completion deadlines before this latest announcement.

The Federal Government has come under scrutiny for not doing enough to ensure that prices in the oil industry are kept within the reach of ordinary people, by ensuring that local refineries get adequate crude supplies from the domestic oil industry.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) lamented that Nigeria’s leading domestic refiner, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) gets inadequate supplies of crude from the local oil industry, while the government watches helplessly.

The acting General Secretary of the NLC, Benson Upah, was cited by The Punch as taking the stance in an interview on Tuesday, while reacting to the latest increase in petrol prices.

Upah was reacting to the latest increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, and was emphatic that the upward review of price was both “avoidable and unacceptable” because the development would further compound the economic difficulties confronting ordinary Nigerians, particularly workers and low-income households already struggling with high transportation, food and other living costs.

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He said, “This adds to the increasing difficulties of the average Nigerian for whom life has been Hobbesian.”

The labour leader argued that the latest increase was difficult to justify, particularly against the backdrop of developments in the international oil market and Nigeria’s growing domestic refining capacity.

According to him, “The latest increase is avoidable and unacceptable in light of falling prices in the international market and our local capacity to sell more crude oil to Dangote. Why are we not doing so?”

The NLC’s reaction came against the backdrop of another increase in the price of petrol by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which has triggered fresh concerns among motorists, transport operators and businesses already grappling with high operating costs.

The refinery raised its petrol gantry price by N65 per litre on Saturday, moving it from N1,200 to N1,265 per litre. The latest adjustment came only three days after the company increased the price from N1,185 to N1,200 per litre.

It was the third price adjustment by the refinery in eight days. On August 21, the company had raised its gantry price from N1,165 to N1,185 per litre. In all, the three adjustments have added N100 to the price of petrol at the refinery’s gantry, representing an 8.6 per cent increase within just eight days.

The latest increase has since begun to reverberate across the downstream market, with petrol prices varying from one location to another as marketers factor in transportation, logistics and other distribution costs.

In some parts of Lagos and Ogun, petrol has been reported at about N1,310 per litre, while prices in some northern states and areas farther from the refinery have climbed to N1,350 and above. In some locations, the product is approaching N1,400 per litre.

The renewed price increase is coming at a particularly sensitive time for Nigerians, many of whom are still struggling with the impact of the removal of the petrol subsidy in 2023.

The subsidy removal fundamentally altered the petroleum pricing regime, exposing consumers to movements in crude oil prices, foreign exchange rates and other market costs. Petrol prices, which were previously heavily regulated by the government, have since undergone several increases, with each adjustment feeding into the cost of transportation and other essential goods and services.

The latest development has also revived an old but unresolved question in Nigeria’s petroleum sector: why does a crude-producing country with a major new refinery still face persistent pressure on petrol prices?

The question has become more prominent with the emergence of the DPRP, which has a capacity to process in excess of 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily and was expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products.

But while the refinery has ramped up production, securing adequate quantities of Nigerian crude has remained a contentious issue.