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JUST IN: CBN hits Niger Republic junta with sanctions
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement a set of new financial sanctions against the Niger Republic’s junta as well as their associates.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, said this during a briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He said: “Following the expiration of the deadline of the ultimatum and standing on the pre-existing consensus position of financial sanctions meted out on the military junta in Niger Republic by the bloc of ECOWAS Heads of State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered an additional slew of financial sanctions, through the CBN, on entities and individuals related to or involved with the military junta in Niger Republic.”
The President’s spokesman maintained that they are being instituted under the authority of the ECOWAS.
Nigeria has already cut off electricity transmission to its northern neighbours to pressurise the military to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
Ngelale added: “Concerning the ultimatum given to the military Junta in the Niger Republic, it is not a Nigerian mandate.
“The Office of President Tinubu, who is the chairman of ECOWAS, seeks to emphasise this point due to certain domestic and international media coverage tending toward personalisation of the ECOWAS sub-regional position to his person and to our nation individually.
“It is because of this that Mr. President has deemed it necessary to state unequivocally that the mandate and ultimatum were issued by ECOWAS.
“President Tinubu wishes to emphasise that the response of ECOWAS to the military coup in Niger has been and will remain devoid of ethnic and religious sentiments and considerations.
“The regional bloc is made up of all sub-regional ethnic groups, religious groups, and all other forms of human diversity.
“The response of ECOWAS, therefore, represents all of these groups, and not any of these groups individually.”
Ngelale stressed that tomorrow’s extraordinary summit of ECOWAS will come up with far-reaching decisions on the developments in the Niger Republic.
Junta rejects visit by ECOWAS, UN, AU, U.S. delegations
The Niger coup leaders vowed to resist external pressure to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum after ECOWAS imposed sanctions and Western allies suspended aid.
The junta informed ECOWAS that it cannot host a delegation from the West African regional bloc.
“The current context of anger and revolt among the population following the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS makes it impossible to welcome this delegation in the required serenity and security,” Niger’s Foreign Affairs Ministry wrote in a letter addressed to the ECOWAS representation in Niamey.
On Monday, acting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met with the coup leaders and said they refused to allow her to meet with ousted President Bazoum, whom she described as under “virtual house arrest.”
She described the mutinous officers as unreceptive to her appeals to start negotiations and restore constitutional rule.
Police at alert to avert internal security crisis, says IGP
The Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Olukayode Egbetokun yesterday directed Assistants Inspector General (AIGs) of Police and Commissioners of Police (CPs) in charge of the border to be alert to avert internal security crisis following the Niger coup saga.
Egbetokun disclosed this during a meeting with top police officers in Abuja.
He said the deployment of police officers would be done if need be alongside other security operatives.
The police boss said: “I have directed that CP of commands and AIGs, who are in charge of those border states with neighbouring countries, are to work in collaboration with our sister agencies, especially Customs to ensure that there are no internal security issues with respect to what is happening with our neighbours.”
ACF asks FG to lift economic sanctions against Niger
The mouthpiece of Northern Nigeria, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), called on President Tinubu and ECOWAS to lift sanctions against the Niger Republic and adopt more dialogue with the military junta to prevent a further breakdown of talks.
ACF, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, said though the group condemns the coup and demands that the personal safety of President Bazoum and members of his government be guaranteed by the coup leaders, it feels dialogue, not military action is the way out.
This, he said, is to avoid a catastrophic occurrence of events between the two nations and the West African sub-region.
Coup plotters name economist as new prime minister
Nearly two weeks after the military took over power in the country, the coup plotters have named former economy minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine as the country’s new prime minister.
A spokesman for the military junta made the announcement on television late on Monday night.
Lamine Zeine was formerly the minister of economy and finance for several years in the cabinet of then-president Mamadou Tandja, who was ousted in 2010, and most recently worked as an economist for the African Development Bank in Chad, according to a Nigerien media report.
… As PTD Passes Vote of No Confidence on NUPENG Leaders
The Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP) has levelled serious allegations against the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), accusing it of extortion and excessive levy collections within the downstream petroleum sector.
In a statement released on Monday in Abuja, ADITOP’s National President, Alhaji Lawal Dan-zaki, strongly dissociated the association from the purported strike action by NUPENG, declaring that ADITOP was originally established to counter what he described as the “excesses” of NUPENG, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), and other groups allegedly collecting illegal levies under NUPENG’s cover.
Dan-zaki alleged that for the past five years, ADITOP had submitted several petitions to top government agencies—including the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation—accusing NUPENG of extortion and illegal financial practices.
According to him, NUPENG and its affiliates impose unauthorized levies on petroleum product distributors, including a charge of ₦1 per litre on every product loaded at depots, and an additional ₦1 per litre by marketers, alongside loading fees ranging between ₦80,000 and ₦100,000 per truck.
“This is outright extortion and economic sabotage by NUPENG, PTD, and their affiliated unions and associations,” Dan-zaki stated.
The allegations surfaced just days after the Lagos Zone of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of NUPENG passed a vote of no confidence on the union’s national leadership. The vote targeted NUPENG National President, Comrade (Prince) Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Comrade Afolabi Olawale, accusing them of “greed, impunity, manipulation, and gross incompetence.”
The internal dissent follows rising tensions over reported resistance by Dangote Refinery and MRS Holdings Limited to unionize their drivers and the rollout of 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered trucks for nationwide fuel distribution.
Dan-zaki concluded that while NUPENG continues to feed off these alleged illegal levies, it remits no tax revenue to the federal government, further exacerbating challenges in the downstream sector.
The leadership of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) failed to attend a crucial Federal Government meeting aimed at resolving its dispute with the Dangote Group, as tensions escalate over a planned nationwide strike by oil workers.
The meeting, called by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, was set for 10:00 a.m. on Monday at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja. However, by 2:30 p.m., the meeting had yet to start due to the absence of NUPENG representatives.
On Sunday, the Federal Government appealed to NUPENG to postpone the industrial action, assuring that it had intervened in the dispute. It also urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to withdraw its “red alert” issued to affiliate unions preparing for a solidarity strike.
An insider noted that even if NUPENG plans to attend the meeting, it won’t be immediate. “They can’t be expected to fly into Abuja and rush into talks the same day. Consultations with NLC leadership and others need to happen first,” the source explained.
The core of the conflict centers on the Dangote Group’s alleged anti-union policy, which NUPENG claims violates workers’ rights. The union insists that no oil worker will be allowed to work at Dangote without union membership, accusing the company of an “anti-worker and anti-union” stance aimed at exploiting refinery employees.
NUPENG officials were still in Lagos on Monday afternoon, coordinating the strike effort. “You don’t wait until a strike is declared before calling for talks,” one union source said, criticizing the government’s delayed response. “The union gave sufficient notice, but the ministry only acted after tensions rose.”
Meanwhile, while journalists awaited the start of the NUPENG meeting, Minister Dingyadi held a separate closed-door session with representatives of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
The government has yet to announce a new meeting date or confirm if NUPENG will participate at a later time.
Business
UPDATE: NUPENG Accuses Dangote Refinery of Fuel Sector Monopoly, Warns of Massive Job Losses
The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), representing Petroleum and Tanker Drivers (PTD), has condemned Dangote Refinery’s decision to deploy 10,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) tankers for petroleum product distribution, calling it a monopoly that threatens the livelihood of thousands of workers in the sector.
NUPENG described the move as anti-labour and harmful to PTD members, highlighting that drivers recruited by Dangote for these operations are reportedly barred from joining any trade union. The union warned this action violates both the 1999 Nigerian Constitution and international labour laws.
Speaking anonymously, some tanker drivers expressed concerns to journalists that unless the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority intervenes swiftly, the situation could escalate and seriously damage the Nigerian economy, affecting millions of livelihoods.
The tanker drivers outlined several looming risks including:
- Loss of income for tanker owners and their families
- Unemployment for drivers, motor boys, and support staff
- Job losses for truck mechanics, painters, welders, and fabricators
- Decline in business for spare parts dealers, tyre and battery sellers
- Negative impact on depot representatives, artisans, and food vendors
- Financial ruin for transporters who have invested heavily in the sector
They warned that the move could result in millions of job losses, sparking social insecurity, increased poverty, and a surge in unemployment nationwide.
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