News
Artisanal refinery operators write Buhari, flays NNPC Ltd over allege neglect
Leadership of Artisanal Refineries operators in the six states of the Niger Delta region has sent a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, over the allege neglect of its members by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC L I’llimited in the fight against crude oil pipeline vandalisation and theft. The group noted with concern that despite the show of support by the Association of Artisan Refineries to the ongoing fight against crude oil theft and the commendable award of surveillance contracts, the NNPC Ltd has shunned dialogue and refuse to provide alternative means of employment and livelihood to the teeming youths rendered jobless. The Association of Artisan Refineries Operators, in the letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, numbered C/2023/ESCR/168/HQ and dated 23th January, 2023, called on the President and the Management board of the NNPC Ltd to review the stand on inviting them to a round table for discussion and provide alternative means of employment.
The letter, which was also copied to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), also noted that “though the approval of the N4 billion monthly surveillance contract awarded to our brothers in the region is commendable, the inclusion of the Artisan Refineries operators will ensure sustainable end to crude oil theft and pipeline vandalisation in the region.” In a separate statement issued at the end of an enlarged meeting of the Artisan Refineries Operators in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and signed by the National Coordinator, Engr. Don Jacob Ebikeseiye, and Secretary General, Humphrey Dagogo, argued that the desired peace and security of the nation’s oil wealth will only be more assured if the main actors and the people in the community whose reasons the contract came to be are still restless. The group also said that NNPC Ltd has left unattended the areas of dialoguing with the artisanal refineries operators, to non-demobilisation of the stakeholders, and also provision of alternative sources of drinking water for the communities whose supply of drinking water are daily contaminated by the waste particles of crude oil exploration, insisting that the neglect of such key areas has further compounded and worsen the socio-economic challenges in their communities.
“They failed to know that we need to sensitise our people in the various communities whose lives depended on the local refining of crude production, we need to sit on a round table and interface with the people. The damages on ground what are the considerations towards addressing them? The people’s welfare should be paramount. We requested to have an audience, but till now no response from NNPC Ltd. There is the need for enlightenment tour across the Niger Delta states to educate the people on the need to adapt to the new life, and avoid the dangers caused by the activities in our domain, because most of them don’t even that government is doing everything to stop the activities.There are stages we ought to follow in order not to cause panic in our communities. It is not enough to set up surveillance team for only pipelines when the people that were operating the artisanal refineries and the host communities are not protected. We were taking good care of our people when we were operational. Where are the employment alternative for our people, we are not happy and it may lead to major crisis”
“Why is the NNPC Ltd trying to set our brothers against their communities, look at the adverse impacts of oil pollution on our people, and they think surveillance contract is just enough. What of the well being of the local indigenous community dwellers? Where are our daily livelihood, how do we survive?” The artisanal refineries operators, however, restated their commitment to support the genuine process of surveillance to succeed, noting that it can only happen when the right things are done by involving them in the scheme of things, and also called for a round table discussion on the development with the NNPC ltd.
A new technology transfer agreement between the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership (NCSP) and the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT) is expected to open more job opportunities, improve local skills, and expand access to advanced technology for ordinary Nigerians.
In a press statement reaching Vanguard on Friday, the MoU aims to strengthen industrial development, support local content, and create clearer pathways for Nigerians to benefit from China’s growing investments in the country.
PICTT Chairman, Dr Dahiru Mohammed, said the partnership will immediately begin coordinated programmes that support local participation in infrastructure and industrial projects.
Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr John Uwajumogu, said the deal will help attract high value investments that can stimulate job creation and strengthen Nigeria’s economy.
NCSP Head of International Relations, Ms Judy Melifonwu, highlighted that Nigerians stand to gain from expanded STEM scholarships, technical training, access to modern technology, and collaboration across key sectors including steel, agriculture, automobile parks, and cultural industries.
The NCSP Director-General reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to measurable results, noting that the partnership with PICTT will prioritise initiatives that deliver direct national impact.
The MoU signals a new phase of Nigeria–China cooperation focused on practical delivery, local content, and opportunities that improve everyday livelihoods.
EU regulators launched an antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms on Thursday over its rollout of artificial intelligence features in its WhatsApp messenger that would block rivals, hardening Europe’s already tough stance on Big Tech. The move, reported earlier by Reuters and the Financial Times, is the latest action by European Union regulators against large technology firms such as Amazon and Alphabet’s Google as the bloc seeks to balance support for the sector with efforts to curb its expanding influence.
Europe’s tough stance – a marked contrast to more lenient U.S. regulation – has sparked an industry pushback, particularly by U.S. tech titans, and led to criticism from the administration of U. S. President Donald Trump. The European Commission said that the investigation will look into Meta’s new policy that would limit other AI providers’ access to WhatsApp, a potential boost for its own Meta AI system integrated into the platform earlier this year.
EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the move was to prevent dominant firms from “abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors”. She added interim measures could be imposed to block Meta’s new WhatsApp AI policy rollout. “AI markets are booming in Europe and beyond,” she said. This is why we are investigating if Meta’s new policy might be illegal under competition rules, and whether we should act quickly to prevent any possible irreparable harm to competition in the AI space.”
A WhatsApp spokesperson called the claims “baseless”, adding that the emergence of chatbots on its platforms had put a “strain on our systems that they were not designed to support”, a reference to AI systems from other providers. “Still, the AI space is highly competitive and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems.” The EU was the first in the world to establish a comprehensive legal framework for AI, setting out guardrails for AI systems and rules for certain high-risk applications in the AI Act.
Meta AI, a chatbot and virtual assistant, has been built into WhatsApp’s interface across European markets since March. The Commission said a new policy fully applicable from January 15, 2026, may block competing AI providers from reaching customers via the platform. Ribera said the probe came on the back of complaints from small AI developers about the WhatsApp policy. The Interaction Company of California, which has developed AI assistant Poke.com, has taken its grievance to the EU competition enforcer. Spanish AI startup Luzia has also talked to the Commission, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Marvin von Hagen, co-founder and CEO of The Interaction Company of California, said if Meta was allowed to roll out its new policy, “millions of European consumers will be deprived of the possibility of enjoying new and innovative AI assistants”. Meta also risks a fine of as much as 10% of its global annual turnover if found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules.
Italy’s antitrust watchdog opened a parallel investigation in July into allegations that Meta leveraged its market power by integrating an AI tool into WhatsApp, expanding the probe in November to examine whether Meta further abused its dominance by blocking rival AI chatbots from the messaging platform. The antitrust probe is a more traditional means of investigation than the EU’s Digital Markets Act, the bloc’s landmark legislation currently used to scrutinize Amazon’s and Microsoft’s cloud services for potential curbs. Reuters
The spouses and children of billionaires inherited more wealth in 2025 than in any previous year since reporting began in 2015, according to UBS’s Billionaire Ambitions Report published on Thursday. In the 12 months to April, 91 people became billionaires through inheritance, collectively receiving $298 billion, up more than a third from 2024, the Swiss bank said. “These heirs are proof of a multi-year wealth transfer that’s intensifying,” UBS executive Benjamin Cavalli said.
The report is based on a survey of some of UBS’s super-rich clients and a database that tracks the wealth of billionaires across 47 markets in all world regions. At least $5.9 trillion will be inherited by billionaire children over the next 15 years, the bank calculates.
Most of this inheritance growth is set to take place in the United States, with India, France, Germany and Switzerland next on the list, UBS estimated. However, billionaires are highly mobile, especially younger ones, which could change that picture, it added. The search for a better quality of life, geopolitical concerns and tax considerations are driving decisions to relocate, according to the report.
In Switzerland, where $206 billion will be inherited over the next 15 years according to the bank, voters on Sunday overwhelmingly rejected 50 per cent tax on inherited fortunes of $62 million or more, after critics said it could trigger an exodus of wealthy people.
Switzerland, the UAE, the U.S. and Singapore are among billionaires’ preferred destinations, UBS’s Cavalli said. “In Switzerland, Sunday’s vote may have helped to increase the country’s appeal again,” he said. Reuters
-
News3 days agoNigeria to officially tag Kidnapping as Act of Terrorism as bill passes 2nd reading in Senate
-
News3 days agoNigeria champions African-Arab trade to boost agribusiness, industrial growth
-
News3 days agoFG’s plan to tax digital currencies may push traders to into underground financing—stakeholders
-
Finance1 week agoAfreximbank successfully closed its second Samurai Bond transactions, raising JPY 81.8bn or $527m
-
Economy3 days agoMAN cries out some operators at FTZs abusing system to detriment of local manufacturers
-
News1 week agoFG launches fresh offensive against Trans-border crimes, irregular migration, ECOWAS biometric identity Card
-
News3 days agoEU to support Nigeria’s war against insecurity
-
Uncategorized3 days agoDeveloping Countries’ Debt Outflows Hit 50-Year High During 2022-2024—WBG