NEWS
Host Community Angry at FG’s Political Undertones on Kolmani Oilfield
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.”
African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has accused government authorities of repeatedly targeting him, declaring that he has been a threat to the government since he was 20 years old.
Sowore made the declaration during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, following an alleged attack on him and members of his team in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
The activist expressed frustration over questions about why he believed the authorities considered him a threat, insisting that attention should instead be focused on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
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During the interview, Sowore alleged that the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Falade Adegoroye Michael, knew the individuals responsible for the attack, claiming that the commissioner visited them while they were receiving medical treatment.
“So he knew the people who attacked us,” Sowore said.
He further alleged that shortly after the commissioner left, the police issued a statement describing the incident as an altercation.
Questioning the circumstances surrounding the incident, Sowore also raised concerns about the alleged removal of CCTV cameras at the location.
“And why are they trying to remove the camera?” he asked.
Sowore also recalled previous encounters with security agencies, alleging that a tracking device had once been placed under his vehicle and traced to the Department of State Services (DSS).
“They placed a tracker under my car. It was traced to the DSS,” he said.
The AAC candidate further referenced an incident during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, alleging that he was abducted from a hotel in Lagos.
He also claimed that DSS operatives attempted to take him away from a court premises less than two months ago, but were resisted.
Responding to questions about why he believed the authorities were after him, Sowore described the line of questioning as condescending.
He subsequently declared: “I’ve been a threat to the government since I was 20 years old, and they have not given up on me.”
He added: “They want to kill me, and you know it.”
Sowore maintained that the central issue was the alleged attack in Ekiti rather than questions about his perception of the government’s attitude towards him.
“The issue is that we were attacked, unprovoked, in Ekiti State, and we have given you what happened,” he said.
He also challenged journalists not to pretend they were unaware of what he described as continued attempts to target him.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know,” he added.
How the Ekiti Incident Happened
The controversy followed an incident at a restaurant in the Dalimore area of Ado-Ekiti on Friday, where Sowore and members of his team sustained injuries during a confrontation with some individuals.
Sowore had earlier raised an alarm on social media, alleging that armed men attacked his team and that their whereabouts were initially unknown.
In a post on his X account, he accused the attackers of being government-sponsored and alleged that the DSS provided them with his team’s location.
“We have been brutally attacked and injured by well armed government-sponsored thugs in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State,” he wrote.
He subsequently accused the security agency of providing the attackers with their exact location to facilitate the assault.
However, the Ekiti State Police Command disputed reports that Sowore had been kidnapped, explaining that officers responded to a distress call concerning an altercation involving the AAC candidate and some individuals at a restaurant.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, said operatives were immediately deployed to the scene and rescued Sowore before taking him to the Police Hospital in Ado-Ekiti for medical attention.
According to the police, Sowore sustained a minor injury during the incident.
The command also disclosed that the Commissioner of Police had ordered a discreet investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, identify those involved and ensure that anyone found culpable was brought to justice.
Sowore subsequently rejected the police description of the incident as an altercation, insisting that he and his associates were attacked.
“There was no altercation! We were attacked!” he declared.
He also accused the police command of downplaying the severity of the incident despite what he said the commissioner witnessed during his visit.
The conflicting accounts have left questions surrounding the circumstances of the incident, with the police investigation expected to establish what transpired and identify those responsible.
The DSS had yet to publicly respond to Sowore’s allegations at the time of this report.
President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the names of six nominees for executive director positions at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to the Senate for confirmation, retaining three existing directors while introducing three new nominees.
The nominations were conveyed to the Senate in a letter from the President, according to a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The six nominees comprise three executive directors seeking reappointment and three new candidates proposed for different leadership positions within the petroleum regulatory agency.
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The officials nominated for reappointment are Abiodun Adeniji, Executive Director of Finance and Accounts; Ogbugo Kalu Ukoha, Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure; and Dr Mustapha Lamorde, Executive Director of Health, Safety, Environment and Community.
The three new nominees are Mobolaji Tajudeen Musa, proposed as Executive Director of Hydrocarbon Processing Plants, Installations and Transportation Infrastructure; Ogechukwu Modie, nominated as Executive Director of Economic Regulations and Strategic Planning; and Said Abutalib, nominated as Executive Director of Corporate Services and Administration.
If confirmed by the Senate, all six nominees will serve five-year terms.
President Tinubu urged the lawmakers to consider the nominations expeditiously, stating that the appointments would ensure institutional continuity and strengthen the Authority’s oversight capacity.
In a related development, the President has approved the appointment of Jumoke Gafar as Secretary to the Board/Authority and Legal Adviser of the NMDPRA.
Her appointment is subject to the completion of the statutory processes stipulated under Section 46 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The latest nominations follow Tinubu’s appointment of Engr. Rabiu Abdullahi Umar as Chief Executive of the NMDPRA in April.
The Senate’s consideration and confirmation of the six nominees will determine their formal appointment to the respective executive director positions.
In the bid to improve environmental sanitation, the Osun State Government plans to engage with immediate effect, able-bodied men and women as ad hoc road sweepers.
Biztellers reports that the exercise would cover designated areas of the state.
The recruitment exercise, announced by the Osun State Taskforce on Environmental Sanitation (OSTES) is open to medically fit able bodied men and women who are residents of the areas where they intend to work.
According to the public service announcement, applicants must be at least 30 years of age, medically fit and resident in their preferred areas of assignment.
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The designated areas mentioned by the Taskforce include Akoda- Abere, Ataoja -Ogo-Oluwa, Olaiya -Old Garage, Igbonna -Ayetoro, Power Line – Ota-Efun and Kobongbogboe.
Other areas covered by the exercise are Ataoja- Dele Yes Sir, Stadium- Testing Ground and Ilesa- Garage, as well as Oke-Fia -Dada Estate, Dele Yes Sir- Lameco and Oroki Housing Estate.
Interested applicants are required to submit application letters to the General Manager, Osun Waste Management Agency, at its office located at the former Boreepo House, West Bye-Pass, Ring Road, Osogbo.
The announcement further stated that the deadline for submission of applications is Thursday, November 12th, 2026.
The recruitment is expected to support routine road sweeping and complement the state’s efforts to promote a cleaner, healthier and safer environment.
Applicants have been advised to ensure that they meet the stated requirements and reside within the areas where they seek to be deployed.
It would be recalled that the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, had earlier declared every Thursday of the week as Environmental Sanitation Day throughout the state during which offices, markets, shopping malls and homes among other public places are to be swept clean between 8am and 10am.
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