Breaking News
Peoples Gazette Stands By Leaked Audio Amid Obi’s Legal Threats
The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has threatened legal action against The People’s Gazette after the online media outlet leaked a phone conversation between him and Living Faith Church founder Bishop David Oyedepo on April 1.
Mr Obi tweeted on Wednesday evening in response to The Gazette’s story. “Our legal team have been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against Peoples Gazette and others.”
“Let me reiterate that the audio call being circulated is fake,” he added in the thread of tweets. “At no time throughout the campaign and now did I ever say, think, or even imply that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war.” he added.
According to the people’s gazette Obi’s spokesperson Valentine Obienyem confirmed the authenticity of the audio on his Facebook page, while Kenneth Okonkwo, a spokesperson for Obi’s campaign, also corroborated the audio’s authenticity.
The Gazette however issued a statement on Wednesday night in response to Mr Obi’s attempt to intimidate its newsroom.
The statement affirmed that The Gazette was standing by its story and strongly criticized Mr Obi for his actions.
Deputy Managing Editor Boladale Adekoya said, “Peoples Gazette stands unflinchingly by the audio recording of Peter Obi and David Oyedepo as published on April 1, 2023,” According to Mr Adekoya, the audio clip was sourced and thoroughly authenticated prior to its publication.
According to Mr Adekoya, the audio clip was sourced and thoroughly authenticated prior to its publication.
“The audio and the context surrounding it were properly sourced and authenticated in line with journalism best practices,” the editor said.
Mr Adekoya emphasized that The Gazette was fully committed to protecting the source of the audio clip and was prepared to take any necessary steps to do so.
He suggested that Mr Obi filed the lawsuit with the intention of forcing The Gazette to reveal the source of the leaked telephone conversation during the trial.
“Finally, we maintain in no uncertain terms that we will uphold the principle of source protection to any length,” Mr Adekoya added.
Breaking News
BREAKING: CBN Revokes Heritage Bank’s License
In a significant move to ensure the stability of Nigeria’s financial system, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the immediate revocation of Heritage Bank Plc’s banking license.
The decision came after the bank breached Section 12 (1) of the Banks and Other Financial Act (BOFIA) 2020, with the bank’s Board and Management unable to improve its financial performance despite various supervisory measures prescribed by the CBN.
Biztellers reports that the CBN found that the bank’s declining financial situation posed a threat to the overall stability of Nigeria’s financial system.
Consequently, the CBN took decisive action to revoke the bank’s license and appointed the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) as the Liquidator.
This step is intended to strengthen public confidence in the banking system and ensure its continued soundness.
In a press release, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the Central Bank, assured the public that Nigeria’s financial system remains robust and stable.
The CBN’s decision to revoke Heritage Bank’s license underscores its unwavering commitment to taking all necessary measures to safeguard the financial system and protect depositors’ interests.
As the situation unfolds, the banking community and the general public are closely monitoring the ongoing developments related to Heritage Bank and the broader implications for Nigeria’s financial sector.
Breaking News
NNPC JV Unveils New Crude Oil Grade ‘Nembe’, Commences Exports With 1,900 Barrels
Precious ADELOLA
The NNPC/Aiteo Joint venture has announced the introduction of Nembe Crude Oil Grade, a new crude oil grade into the international crude oil market.
The announcement of the Nembe Crude Oil Blend, produced by Aiteo, the Operator of the NNPC/Aiteo Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 Joint Venture (JV), was made at the ongoing Argus European Crude Conference in London, on Tuesday.
OML 29, an asset located onshore Nigeria, is operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration & Production Ltd, Africa’s leading indigenous hydrocarbon producer, following a historic acquisition from Shell in 2014.
The Nembe Crude was previously blended with the popular Bonny Light grade and exported via the Bonny Oil & Gas Terminal.
The unique selling point of the Nembe Crude Oil grade with an API gravity was highlighted by both the Aiteo E & P and NNPC Limited Leadership at the Argus Conference in London.
The Nembe Crude Oil grade also has a low sulphur content and low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required spec of major buyers in Europe.
Two cargoes of 950,000 barrels each of the Nembe Crude Oil grade have since been exported to France and the Netherlands. With its attractive Assay of API 29 and low sulphur content, the Nembe Crude Oil grade commands a premium to the global Brent benchmark.
With the NNPC-Aiteo OML 29 JV back on-stream, Nigeria now boasts of an additional crude oil export of 2 Cargoes at 950,000 barrels each per month and 1.2 Bcf of export gas monthly.
This remarkable achievement signals the commencement of activities at Nigeria’s newest crude oil terminal, the Nembe Crude Oil Export Terminal (NCOET), which was licensed in line with the extant laws and Crude Oil Terminal establishment regulations.
The terminal was conceived as a Floating Storage and Offloading Vessel (FSO) with a storage capacity of two (2) Million Barrels and the ability to offload crude oil to any export tanker from AFRAMAX to Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC).
It has a loading capacity of 25,000 barrels per hour and will be exporting over 3.6 million barrels of Crude oil monthly at full scale of operation.
Currently, hydrocarbon production from OML 29, which was hitherto constrained due to evacuation challenges owing to the security issues around the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) corridor, has now been resolved through a collaborative and creative approach that led to the innovation of the Alternative Crude Oil Evacuation Solution.
The Argus European Crude Conference 2023 in London is a gathering of energy majors, refiners, NOCs, traders, financial institutions, and other representatives from across the global oil markets. The event also provides a critical opportunity for business leaders to connect, discuss, share and learn from one another.