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Gov. Diri Seek Bayelsa State Stake In The $3.5b Brass Fertiliser, Petrochemical Project
Diri Assures Of Support, Commends Tinubu
By Favour Bibaikefie
The Gov. Douye Diri government of Bayelsa State has requested for state-owned equity in the Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Company project whose construction is about to commence on the Brass Island in the state.
Governor Douye Diri made this known on Tuesday during courtesy visit by a management team of the company in Government House, Yenagoa.
The Bayelsa governor said the state’s position became necessary due to the negative fallouts in excluding oil producing states and local governments from the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Senator Diri in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, contended that implementation of the PIA had been hampered in host communities due to the anomaly in the legislation.
He noted that the disregard in the PIA of the Nigerian Constitution, which vests control of land in the state government, was a flaw that has necessitated calls for its review.
His words: “Let us ensure that the state is not totally excluded from being partners in progress in this whole process. The PIA is one good example.
“When it was in its formative stages as a bill, we made a presentation through the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. We did that after consulting with our people, communities and chiefs. But at the end of the day, our inputs were ignored and thrown overboard as the PIA excluded the oil producing states and their local governments.
“The federal government now interacts directly with the communities and that is an affront on the Nigerian Constitution. The Constitution says the land belongs to the state government and not the federal government.
“The Constitution recognises communities as under the local government and the state government. These anomalies in the PIA have made the law a time bomb.
“Today, because of the PIA, there are intra and inter-communal conflicts and litigations. So even funds that have been realised for their development cannot be disbursed to the communities. If anybody thinks the state is not much important, we will then wash off our hands.”
The governor expressed the hope that the petrochemical company would be different and urged the management to partner the state government to correct the imbalance and avert conflicts in its host communities.
Diri, who commended the President Bola Tinubu administration for resuscitating the project, said it was long overdue.
He said that the Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Company was conceptualised in 2009 but gained some traction during the administration of his predecessor before it fizzled out again.
He equally appreciated the president for his positive response to the state’s requests for federal government presence as exemplified in revival of the fertiliser and petrochemical project.
Speaking earlier, Managing Director of the Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Company, Chief Ben Okoye, said the visit was to formally inform the state government that work on the $3.5 billion project would start in October this year.
Chief Okoye explained that the 10,000 metric tonnes of methanol per day project was delayed as there was no agreement reached on the gas component but that President Tinubu last October directed the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas) to get it started and that the agreement was signed in January this year.
He assured the state government that the necessary steps have been taken to implement the project in full and thanked the governor for constructing the Nembe-Brass road, which he noted would save the company up to $100,000 in logistics costs in moving equipment and materials on the river to the project site.
The Project Coordinator, Mr. Cyril Akika, in a presentation, listed the benefits of the project to include economic transformation as more than 15,000 jobs would be created during construction and over 5,000 permanent jobs.
He also stated that the project would increase tax revenues, royalties, internally generated revenue, boost Bayelsa SMEs through project supply chains and equity dividends for the state.
Other benefits include infrastructure and community impact, positioning of the Brass Free Zone as global petrochemical hub as well as development of port, jetty, logistics base and a 300MW gas-fired power plant to ensure energy security among others.
Breaking
STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE: NATIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES APPOINTMENT OF PROFESSOR AMUPITAN AS INEC CHAIRMAN
The National Council of State has approved the nomination of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) from the North-Central as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented Amupitan as the nominee to fill the vacant position, following Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s exit. Yakubu served from 2015 till October 2025.
President Tinubu told the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi, North-Central state, nominated to occupy the position and is apolitical.
Council members unanimously supported the nomination, with Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo describing Amupitan as a man of integrity.
In compliance with the constitution, President Tinubu will now send Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening.
Amupitan, 58, from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu LGA in Kogi State, is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos, Plateau. He is also an alumnus of the university.
He specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance and Privatisation Law. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in September 2014.
Amupitan was born on April 25, 1967.
After completing primary and secondary education, he attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, from 1982 to 1984, and the University of Jos from 1984 to 1987. He was called to the bar in 1988.
He earned an LLM at UNIJOS in 1993 and a PhD in 2007, amid an academic career that began in 1989, following his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation in Bauchi from 1988 to 1989.
Currently, he serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, a position he holds in conjunction with being the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.
Among the academic positions he has held at UNIJOS are: Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012-2014); Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008-2014); and Head of Public Law (2006-2008).
Outside of academics, Amupitan serves as a board member of Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council, and a member of the Council of Legal Education (2008-2014), among other roles. He was a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja(1996-2004).
Amupitan is the author of many books on law, such as Corporate Governance: Models and Principles(2008); Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008); Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria(2013), Principles of Company Law(2013) and an Introduction to the Law of Trust in Nigeria (2014).
He is married and has four children.
Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information and Strategy)
October 9, 2025
By: Divine Perezide
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed media reports suggesting that it has suspended the Delineation of Electoral Wards in Warri Federal Constituency, covering Warri South, Warri South-West, and Warri North Local Government Areas.
The rebuttal followed a report by the Punch Newspaper claiming that an INEC official had hinted at a suspension in connection with the Supreme Court judgement of December 2, 2022. INEC clarified such reports were misleading.
In a statement issued on Sunday, INEC emphasized “the commission has not taken any decision regarding the delineation exercise in the Warri Federal Constituency. Reports alleging suspension are inaccurate and do not reflect the position of INEC.
The Commission noted that it remains committed to upholding the Supreme Court judgment but insisted that due process and broad consultation must guide every step of the delineation process.
A senior Electoral Officer, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, stressed that INEC’s mandate cannot be subjected to misrepresentation. “We must be clear: no suspension has been declared. What we have is an ongoing consultation process to ensure compliance with legal and constitutional provisions,” he stated.
The Supreme Court ruling of December 2022 had directed INEC to ensure fair representation of all ethnic nationalities within the Warri Federal Constituency by reviewing and delineation wards accordingly.
INEC assured stakeholders, particularly in Delta State, that it would communicate its position at the appropriate time, adding that it remains committed to transparent and credible Electoral Reforms.
(c) IduwiniVoice
By: Favour Bibaikefie
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has announced the withdrawal of services at Dangote Refinery and all Oil Installations following what it described as the unlawful dismissal of more than 80 of its members.
In a statement released by the union, the PENGASSAN condemned whT it termed “Dangote Refinery unilateral action to sack ova 800 members of our association for joining our union,” BBC Pidgin reported.
The association further described the move as “an affront to all workers for Nigeria and deliberate violation of Nigeria labour laws, di Constitution, and ILO convention.”
The mass sack has drawn significant concerns across labour circles, with PENGASSAN warning that such practices could set a dangerous precedent for the treatment of workers in the country’s oil and gas sector.
Reacting to the development, Dangote Refinery said it had taken necessary steps within the boundaries of law and industrial practice. While the company the company did not provide a detailed explanation for the dismissal, it insisted its actions were guided by operational realities.
Labour watchers say the dispute could escalate into a major confrontation unless urgent mediation is initiated by the federal government via the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
The refinery, commissioned to be a game-changer in Nigeria’s energy sector, now faces its first major labour crisis since operations began.