The umbrella body representing the host community of the Kolmani oil field in Bauchi State, the Pali Development Association (PDA), has expressed disappointment with the Nigerian government’s political statements on the proposed exploration activities at the site.

The PDA cautioned the government at the centre against using the Kolmani oil exploration project as a political campaign tool ahead of the 2027 general elections, instead they want firm steps for immediate remobilisation for the project.

The chairman of the association, Hashim Pali, made the call on Tuesday while reacting to the verification visit to the oil field by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

Pali said the people of Bauchi State and the North-East would welcome any genuine commitment towards the resumption and completion of exploration activities at Kolmani, but stressed that the government must demonstrate its commitment through action.

He said, “As a member of the host community, it is indeed a welcome development because we welcome any genuine commitment towards the resumption and completion of the oil exploration activities at Kolmani.

“We consider it necessary to state clearly that the people of Bauchi State and the North-East will welcome any genuine commitment.

“But we cannot continue to be treated as an electoral audience because we understand that it is an election period.

“We look at it as a promise presently made because the election is approaching. We have had promises before.”

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According to him, President Bola Tinubu made commitments concerning the continuation of the Kolmani oil exploration project during his 2023 presidential campaign in Gombe State.

Pali said the host community had expected the Tinubu administration to sustain the momentum of the project after assuming office, but lamented that exploration activities were eventually halted and equipment evacuated from the site.

He said, “Our expectation and the expectation of the people of Bauchi State and the entire North-East was that upon the assumption of President Bola Tinubu into office, his administration would sustain the momentum and ensure that the project proceeded towards actual exploration and production.

“But unfortunately, after the administration assumed office, rather than witnessing the expected continuation and acceleration of the development of the project, the Kolmani site stopped.

“They evacuated all the equipment there. All the machines and equipment brought there for the work have been taken away. For more than three years in office, the people have watched and waited to see what will happen at the site.

“Now, as the country approaches another election cycle, we are once again being told that the Federal Government is interested in remobilising the project. What happened to the last three years?

“It is only now that the government is interested? No. We have to ask so many questions and continue to demand answers.”

Pali questioned why the project was allowed to lose momentum after the President assumed office and why renewed assurances were being made as another electoral season approached.

He said, “Why was the project allowed to lose momentum after the President’s administration came to office? We are very sure that all the votes he gathered from Bauchi and the North-East were as a result of these promises.

“Why should the people of Bauchi and the North-East have to wait until another electoral season before hearing fresh assurances about a project that was already presented to them as a priority in 2023?

“Now you want to still bring it as a priority in 2027. What did you take us for? We therefore wish to state unequivocally that this time the people must demand action rather than promises.”

The association chairman said Kolmani should not be treated as an electoral slogan, describing it as a strategic economic project capable of generating employment, infrastructure, energy, revenue and broader economic development.

Pali added, “Kolmani is not a campaign property. It is not an electoral slogan that will be repeated anytime when the election comes.

“It is not a project to be remembered only when politicians require our votes. It is a strategic economic project with potential to contribute significantly to employing thousands or even millions of people, bringing about infrastructure, energy, security, governance, revenue and the economic development of not only Bauchi or Gombe State, but the entire country.

“We therefore call on President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government to move beyond statements and verification visits and demonstrate concrete commitment through immediate remobilisation, sustained funding and transparent timelines.”

The Chairman of RMAFC, Muhammad Bello, led a delegation on Monday on a verification visit to the Kolmani oil field in Bauchi State, where he pledged to facilitate the remobilisation of exploration activities at the site.

Bello said the commission visited the site to assess the current state of the project and advocate for its continuation, describing it as important to Bauchi State, the North-East and the country.

He said, “We want the momentum of the project that was started in 2023 to return. We want to come and verify for ourselves what is going on so that we can advocate for this project, this important project, to continue, so that the people of the North-East of Nigeria can further benefit.

“We know for a fact that Mr President is very much concerned as far as this project is concerned. We know that he has assured the two governors that there will be mobilisation for the project to continue.”

The RMAFC chairman said the commission would assess the project and report to relevant authorities to support efforts to revive exploration activities.

He added, “We will go back after assessing what type of project this is and what is going on. We will continue to follow it because we operate by committees, and we will be looking at oil and gas.”

In his remarks during the visit, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Natural Resources, Maiwada Bello, said exploration activities at the site stopped around July 2025.

He described the project as important not only to the host community but to Nigeria as a whole.

Maiwada said, “I can recall in the year 2024 we were here with your team to assess the progress, to assess how this project was ongoing then. And I can recall when we came here; actually, there were no activities.

“I think you came around December 2024. Shortly after you left, between January 2025 and somewhere around June 2025, work resumed.

“But around July 2025, we received news from the host community hosting this location that they called for new operations and that the company was demobilising.”

The commissioner explained that he collaborated with the Commissioner of Energy and Mineral Resources in Gombe State to form a joint team that visited the site.

According to him, the team met with the technical personnel of the company handling the project and engaged them on the development.

He said they were informed that the demobilisation was based on a directive from a higher authority.

Maiwada added that the development was reported to the governors of Bauchi and Gombe states, who subsequently engaged the President on the matter.

He said, “I can recall His Excellency, our governor, collaborated with the North-East governors and met with His Excellency, the President of the country, and complained to him about this project.

“I can also recall that Mr President promised that work would resume as fast as he could. But as I am talking to you, even though we are here today, since then we have never visited and never got any updates about the progress of this project again.”

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) has been identified as the key driver behind a seven-fold increase in Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product exports since 2023, according to the latest report by the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The U.S. agency disclosed that Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product shipments averaged 561,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter of 2026, a significant increase from the annual average of 79,000 bpd recorded in 2023.

According to the EIA, the growth in exports has strengthened Nigeria’s position in the international petroleum products market at a time when supplies from several other regions have faced constraints.

The agency noted that the increase was largely underpinned by the commencement of operations at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in January 2024. Data from energy intelligence firm Vortexa showed that of the 561,000 bpd shipped during the second quarter of 2026, about 350,000 bpd were exported, compared to an annual average of 46,000 bpd in 2023.

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The EIA stated that increased production from the refinery has transformed Nigeria’s petroleum products market by reducing dependence on imports and boosting domestic supply.

“With increased supply of petroleum products from the country’s largest refinery, imports fell, exports increased, and Nigeria became more self-sufficient in refined petroleum products,” the agency said.

Before the start-up of the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria’s state-owned refineries collectively shipped less than 100,000 bpd of petroleum products, both domestically and internationally. The EIA observed that shipments rose significantly following the refinery’s commencement of operations and received a further boost after maintenance and expansion activities were completed in February 2026.

The agency explained that the refinery’s crude distillation capacity increased from 650,000 bpd to 700,000 bpd following the completion of the expansion programme, enabling higher output and greater product availability.
According to the report, total petroleum product shipments increased further as supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz created additional demand for alternative sources of refined products.

The EIA reported that intra-Nigerian shipments reached 211,000 bpd in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 81,000 bpd in 2025 and 33,000 bpd in 2023, reflecting the refinery’s growing role in supplying fuel across the country.

By providing refined petroleum products to different regions of Nigeria, the Dangote Refinery has significantly reduced the nation’s reliance on imported fuels. Nigeria, which imported nearly 400,000 bpd of petroleum products in 2023, saw seaborne imports decline to less than 130,000 bpd by the second quarter of 2026, according to the report.

The EIA also highlighted growing demand for Nigerian petroleum products in international markets. Vortexa data cited in the report showed that exports to Europe averaged 130,000 bpd in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 40,000 bpd in 2025 and 15,000 bpd in 2023.

The report underscores the increasing importance of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in enhancing Nigeria’s energy security, supporting regional fuel supply, and positioning the country as a major exporter of refined petroleum products to global markets.

Recall that Dangote Refinery has announced plans to bring an additional 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of fully complex refining capacity on stream by the end of 2028. This would be added to its current capacity of about 700,000 bpd, potentially taking total capacity to around 1.4 million bpd. The refinery’s CEO, David Bird, said long-lead equipment has already been procured and construction contracts are being awarded

The management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State, has suspended a professor in the Department of Chinese Studies, Prof. Ifeanyi Odinye, for three months over an alleged sexual assault involving a female student.

The suspension, approved by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ugochukwu Anyaehie, followed the preliminary report of a six-member special investigative panel set up to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

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The university said Odinye would serve the suspension with half salary in the first instance.

The development follows an August 15 incident in which the professor was allegedly assaulted and stripped by some students after he was accused of attempting to sexually molest a female student in his office.

A video of the incident subsequently went viral on social media. In the footage, the female student was seen leaving the lecturer’s office with his clothes while alleging that he had attempted to sexually assault her.

The lecturer was later seen being pursued and assaulted by individuals believed to be students before leaving the university premises in a tricycle.

According to the university’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Aloysius Attah, the investigative panel chaired by Prof. Emmanuel Obidimma, Provost of the College of Postgraduate Studies, has so far addressed two of its five terms of reference.

Attah said the panel’s preliminary report indicted Odinye for allegedly violating Section 5.8.3 of the university’s General and Academic Regulations.

He explained that the professor allegedly failed to properly record and submit an examination misconduct case involving the student, Chikamso Favour Okechukwu, using the prescribed examination misconduct report form.

The lecturer was also accused of returning an offending phone recovered during the examination to the student on the same day, allegedly in violation of Section 5.8.1(iv) of the university’s regulations.

Meanwhile, the student involved in the matter has been referred to the university’s Student Examination Misconduct Committee.

The Vice-Chancellor has extended the investigative panel’s assignment by another two weeks to enable it to complete its remaining terms of reference.

According to Attah, the outstanding issues include determining whether sexual harassment occurred, identifying those involved in the assault on Odinye and establishing whether there was any incident of kidnapping.

“The committee members are expected to conclude their findings with recommendations to the Vice Chancellor before a final verdict is initiated, including possible criminal prosecution,” the university spokesman said.

Attah added that the Vice-Chancellor had reiterated his administration’s commitment to the welfare of staff and students, while maintaining a zero-tolerance policy towards unethical practices.

The university also stressed that transparency and fair hearing would be upheld throughout the investigation as the panel works towards its final recommendations.