Publication Archives: Newsletter

By R. F. Diete-Spiff, Esq.

In a letter dated August 24, 2021 with reference number RMC/O&G/48/VOL/I/55 being signed by M. B. Shehu, Secretary to the Commission at the 139^th plenary session held on 27^th July, 2021, a total of 11 Oil wells have been allocated to Anambra State by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC). Invariably, this will make Anambra to be counted amongst the list of Oil producing states in the country, thereby entitled to the 13% derivation.

By: Nneka Oduada Eze Esq.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) recently adopted the minimum cut-off marks for 2021 admissions sent by tertiary institutions. The Registrar of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede displayed the minimum cut off marks adopted by tertiary institutions at the 2021 policy meeting held in Abuja. At the said policy meeting, it was agreed that the total fee payable for Post – Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME) should not be more than N2, 000 (Two Thousand Naira).

By: Emmanuel Adefeso Esq.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has introduced a compulsory programme referred to as the Minimum Industry Safety Training for Downstream operations (MISTDO). It said the programme was initiated to safeguard operations in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Mr Paul Osu, Head, Public Affairs, DPR, made this known in a statement issued, on Sunday, amidst protest by marketers.

By: Emmanuel Adefeso Esq.

The Federal Government has approved a Federal Roads and Bridges Tolling Policy and Regulations, presidential aide, Tolu Ogunlesi has said.

According to Ogunlesi, who is a Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, the government made the decision on Wednesday at a Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja. In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, he quoted the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, to have said that the regulations were developed after extensive consultations with various stakeholders within and outside the government, including transport unions like National Union of Road Transport Workers, Road Transport Employers’ Association Of Nigeria, amongst others. He listed the recommended tolling fees in the approved policy and regulations to include “Cars: N200; SUVs: N300; Private Buses: N300; Commercial Buses: N150; Luxury Buses and Trucks: N500”.

By: Emmanuel Adefeso Esq.

The people of Ogoni in Rivers State got justice as the multinational oil company, Shell Petroleum Company, agreed to pay N45.9 billion for the losses suffered as a result of oil spills that ravaged their communities.

The matter began in 2001 when ten representatives of the Ogoni people instituted the suit against the oil company for the losses allegedly caused by the oil spills. Hon. Justice Ibrahim Buba, then of Port Harcourt division of the Federal High Court, in June 2010 gave judgment in favour of the Ogoni people awarding N17 billion as compensation. The court equally granted the Ogoni chiefs a 25-percent interest charge on the principal sum of about N17 billion. SPDC appealed against the judgment up to the Supreme Court but it lost. In 2020, the company had also approached the apex court seeking a review of the judgment debt. But while delivering a ruling in November 2020, the five-member panel, led by Olabode Rhodes- Vivour, a former justice of the Supreme Court, unanimously dismissed Shell’s application, saying it lacked merit. Lucius Nwosu, lead counsel to the Ogoni communities had noted that the judgment sum, with the accrued interests, stood at about N182 billion.