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Southern, Middle Belt leaders endorse Peter Obi for 2023 presidency
By Christiana Ekpa
Elder statesmen and prominent leaders from four of the country’s six geopolitical zones have endorsed the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, as their candidate in the presidential election which will be held on February 25.
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The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum, (SMBLF) is made up of leaders from the Middle- Belt, Ndi- Igbo (Ohanaeze) Afenifere, Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and headed by Ijaw leader and elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark.
The decision was said to have been taken at the end of the extraordinary meeting of the forum on Wednesday in Abuja.
The Communique was read by the immediate past President General of the umbrella body of Ndigbo Worldwide, the
Ohanaeze, Chief John Nnia Nwodo.
Recall that Obi had received the endorsement of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, founder of Afe Babalola University, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and a host of other significant but quiet endorsements.
NNPC signs maintenance services agreement with Daewoo to repair
Kaduna refinery
From Abubakar Yunusa Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has signed a maintenance services contract with Daewoo Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited for a “quick-fix repair” of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) Limited
Daewoo Nigeria is a subsidiary of Daewoo E and C Co. Ltd of South Korea, having a share equity of 90 percent in South Korea and 10 percent in Nigeria.
The national oil company made this known in a tweet on Thursday.
The NNPC had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Daewoo Group, a South Korean conglomerate, for the rehabilitation of the Kaduna refinery.
In August 2021, the federal executive council (FEC) approved $1.48 billion for the rehabilitation of both Warri and Kaduna refineries.
Desmond Inyamah, acting managing director, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), had said the refinery will commence full operations in December 2023.
These efforts are geared towards sustaining the progress made raising oil output.
Last month, Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, expressed hope that Nigeria may stop the importation of petroleum products by the first quarter of 2024.
Sylva said the Port Harcourt refinery, which has a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd), will be partially restored and ready for operation by the first quarter of 2023.
The minister said in addition to several modular refinery projects in the country, the 650,000 (bpd) Dangote refinery is also expected to be operational by the end of 2023.
According to Sylva, with the combined production capacities of the Port Harcourt refinery, Dangote refinery, and the modular refineries, Nigeria would end the importation of petroleum products soon.
