After multiple delays, the Port Harcourt Refinery is finally set to start production.

Checks revealed that the Port Harcourt Refinery has missed seven deadlines for commencing production as of October 2024.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had set multiple dates for the refinery’s operational start, including promises made in March, August, and September 2024, all of which passed without fulfillment.

However, in a message from an impeccable source, seen by newsmen the NNPC said: “Today (Tuesday) marks a monumental achievement for Nigeria as the Port Harcourt Refinery officially commences crude oil processing. This groundbreaking milestone signifies a new era of energy independence and economic growth for our nation.

Leadership

Bayero University Kano (BUK) is set to establish a Centre for Archiving and Preserving Films, with a particular focus on Kannywood productions. The announcement was made during the Kano Indigenous Languages of Africa Film Market and Festival (KILAF24) conference, themed “Forging Cultural Identities in a Multicultural Africa: The Role of Indigenous Language Films.”

The conference is holding at the Department of theatre arts faculty of communications Bayero University Kano.

Professor Sageer Adamu Abbas, the Vice Chancellor of BUK, represented by Professor Dambatta, made the announcement during the conference. He highlighted the significance of the KILAF24 conference as a platform to discuss critical issues. “This provides us with another opportunity to discuss critical issues. As usual, KILAF24 is in African languages,” said Abbas.

The partnership between BUK and the film industry began in 2021, aimed at fostering social relevance between academics and practitioners. “It supports a conducive environment for intellectual discussions. Moving Image, on its part, has gone the extra mile to ensure that the conference holds annually,” Abbas added. He also noted that his administration had directed the Faculty of Communications to establish a research centre for archiving and preserving Kannywood films.

The Dean of the Faculty of Communications, Prof. Umar Faruk Jibril, welcomed attendees and emphasized the importance of the blossoming film industry in Africa and the world. “BUK and Moving Image have consolidated a partnership for over four years, despite the tough economic challenges Nigeria is facing. The partnership has continued from strength to strength, with Moving Image providing financial support and BUK providing the conducive atmosphere,” Jibril stated.

Abdulkareem Ibrahim, Head of KILAF and CEO of Moving Image, stressed the importance of maintaining cultural identity through indigenous languages. “KILAF is the answer not to lose our own identity because language is the vehicle of culture and through languages we maintain our own identity,” Ibrahim said. He emphasized the importance of encouraging the youth to produce films in their native languages to preserve cultural heritage.

The two-day conference attracted participants from various parts of Nigeria and other African nations, further underscoring the importance of indigenous language films in forging cultural identities in a multilingual Africa.

The Northern Youth Assembly (Majalisar Matasan Arewa) has expressed deep disappointment with the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) for suspending the forum’s Executive Chairman, Mr. Mamman Mike Osuman, SAN. The suspension was reportedly due to Osuman’s criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and its policies, which the assembly claims have led to widespread hardship in the country.

In a press release, the Northern Youth Assembly stated that Osuman was suspended for speaking out against the anti-citizen policies of the Tinubu administration, particularly those affecting the people of the North. “It is really true that the Tinubu-led administration’s anti-people policies have led to widespread and untold hardship in the country,” the assembly noted.

The assembly, representing youth from the nineteen Northern states, criticized the ACF BOT for failing to amplify the voices of the masses and instead acting as agents protecting the Tinubu government. “It is rather shameful that the ACF, which is presumably expected to be on the side of the masses, would resort to such incivility and undemocratic action against one of its respected leaders,” the statement read.

The Northern Youth Assembly condemned the ACF BOT’s decision, describing it as a clear indication that the forum is not for the Arewa masses who bear the brunt of these anti-human policies. “The shameful action of the Arewa Consultative Forum, through the BOT, is a clear indication that ACF is not for the Arewa masses,” the assembly asserted.

The press release highlighted the shock and disappointment felt by the assembly upon receiving the statement signed by Alhaji Bashir Muhammad Dalhatu (Wazirin Dutse) and Alhaji Murtala Aliyu (Matawallen Gombe), ACF BOT Chairman and Secretary General, respectively. “The statement was indeed the highest order of disregard to the plight of the masses,” the assembly stated.

The assembly accused the ACF BOT of acting to please President Tinubu for self-serving interests and political ambition, despite the growing tendency of the president to persecute the people of Northern Nigeria. “The action against the personality of the chairman was impliedly aimed at pleasing President Ahmed Bola Tinubu,” the assembly alleged.

The Northern Youth Assembly called for the immediate lifting of Osuman’s suspension and the restoration of his powers and honor within the next seven days. “We shall be left with no other option but to mobilize the youths from the nineteen Northern states to take over the ACF secretariat in Kaduna,” the assembly warned.

The assembly concluded by expressing its strong opinion that Nigerians deserve better than what they are getting under the current administration and hinted at the possibility of supporting a new capable leader from the Northern region in the 2027 elections. “Unless necessary measures are taken to address these concerns, it won’t be out of place if a Northern Nigerian regional campaign is launched to call and support the emergence of a new capable person from the Northern Nigerian region come 2027,” the assembly stated.

The press release was signed by various representatives from the nineteen Northern states, including Usman Alhaji Musa (Yobe State), Sulaiman Idris Yusuf (Kano State), and Aminu Shehu (Jigawa State), among others.