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Vice-President Shettima Inaugurates 375 Refurbished Tractors In Borno

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Vice-President Shettima Inaugurates 375 Refurbished Tractors In Borno

Vice-President Shettima inaugurates 375 refurbished tractors in Borno. He noted that the asset restoration programme fits squarely within the broader vision of Mr Tinubu’s administration.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has inaugurated 375 tractors refurbished by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), under the national asset restoration programme.

The programme, launched in Maiduguri, Borno on Sunday,  is an initiative of NASENI aimed at boosting mechanised agriculture and enhancing food security in fulfillment of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda of reviving broken-down or non-functional tractors.

Each tractor has been comprehensively rehabilitated, including mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and structural upgrades, making them ready for immediate deployment across farming communities.

While inaugurating the programme at the Borno State Agricultural Mechanisation (BOSAMAN) Farm Centre, Mr Shettima said, for so long, Nigeria had been profiled as a nation with poor maintenance culture.

“This dysfunction cuts across both the private and public sectors, and we owe it to ourselves to say enough is enough.

”Enough of investing our scarce resources in ideas and projects that get abandoned halfway through.

”Enough of allowing our critical assets to lie in waste while we budget, year after year, for the problems they were procured to solve.
”This is why I am excited about the purpose of this gathering,” the vice-president said.

He said that the initiative was a response to the nation’s cross-generational dilemma about what to do with abandoned and poorly maintained assets of the country.

According to him, it’s a powerful shift in how we think about value, sustainability, and innovation, adding, “I believe that’s what we’ve promised the nation.”

Mr Shettima revealed that available data shows that Nigeria currently holds over 26,000 units of broken-down but serviceable heavy-duty equipment and nearly 500,000 component scraps that can be restored or repurposed.

” This contrasts with the stark reality that we have only 7,000 to 12,000 functional tractors in a country that needs 2.4 million tractor units to meet our food production goals over the next decade.

“These figures are a reminder of what must be done, a reason to have a national inventory of value waiting to be unlocked.

”So, we must commend NASENI, through this Asset Restoration Programme, for stepping forward with this brilliant idea to mitigate a national tragedy,” he said.

He added that beyond the promise to refurbish hardware, NASENI had shown a great capacity to serve as a national nerve centre for technology transfer, homegrown engineering, and adaptive innovation.

”This is why we must support them. We have seen NASENI at work, playing critical roles in our interventions in compressed natural gas (CNG) retrofitting, renewable energy technologies, and agricultural mechanisation.

” We are reminded more than ever that we can’t create durable Nigerian solutions to Nigerian problems unless we localise global technologies, and relevant agencies must be supported to point us towards a stabler nation and promising future.”

Mr Shettima noted that the asset restoration programme fits squarely within the broader vision of Mr Tinubu’s administration: to build a productive, self-reliant, and diversified economy.

Earlier, Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno noted that Nigeria required a minimum of 750,000 functional tractors to meet its agricultural needs. The governor , however, said less than 10 per cent of that number are currently operational across the country.

” The Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) recommends tractor density of 1.5 horsepower per hectare.

“Here in Borno, our mechanisation drive has faced serious setbacks, especially following the devastating floods of September 2024, which damaged a significant number of our agricultural machines.

“That is why today’s intervention could not have come at a better time. The decision by NASENI to select Borno as the pilot state for the National Asset Restoration Programme is both strategic and timely.

“‘It offers us a lifeline to revive damaged assets and restore the capacity of our farmers to cultivate efficiently.

”Through the tireless efforts of NASENI and its technical partner, MECA, these machines are being brought back to life, and we appreciate their commitment to making this vision a reality,” he said.

Mr Zulum assured that the Borno government is fully committed to ensuring that the restored assets are properly maintained and put to optimal use.

On his part, the executive vice chairman of NASENI, Khali Halilu, said the agency’s national survey revealed that Nigeria holds over 47,000 of broken down serviceable agricultural and law enforcement assets.

He added that the cost to replace them will exceed N14 trillion, adding,  “but at NASENI, we asked a simple question. Why replace when we can restore them?
“With the right engineering, the right people and the right partnership, we can recover the assets for just 15 to 25 per cent of their replacement value and still achieve full functionality.

Vice-President Shettima Inaugurates Power Project

Vice-President Shettima

“That is over N10 trillion in national savings, while receiving productivity, job and security on the ground. That is the power of engineering and that is the promise of NASENI,” he said.

The minister of agriculture and food security, Abubakar Kyari, said the launching of the programme marked a defining moment in government’s efforts to bring productivity back to the core of public service delivery across sectors.

“It is about reviving hopes, reducing waste, unlocking dormant capacity and ensuring that public investment truly serves the needs of our citizens.

”This strategic focus on restoration rather than replacement is fully aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency President Bola Tinubu, who also serves as the chairman of the Governing Board of NASANI,” Mr Kyari said.

Crime

Navy Dismantles Illegal Refining Capacity, Destroys Site With 3 Storage Tanks in Rivers

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Troops Destroy 56 Illegal Refining Sites

Navy Dismantles Illegal Refining Capacity, Destroys Site With 3 Storage Tanks in Rivers

The Nigerian Navy, through FOB BONNY, has dismantled an illegal refining site discovered in Promise Land Community along Nanabie Creek, Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, further denying criminal operators the infrastructure required to process stolen crude oil.
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The site was discovered on 30 September 2026 following credible intelligence and comprised one large cooking pot and 3 large storage tanks intended for illegal refining activities. On 2 October 2026, the Commanding Officer, FOB BONNY, Captain SMC Umeh, led a team to the location, where the illegal refining site and associated equipment were destroyed in accordance with established regulations.

The intervention represents a further disruption of illegal refining capacity within the Bonny area, particularly by removing infrastructure that could be used to process and store stolen crude oil. It also follows recent operations by FOB BONNY under Operation DELTA SENTINEL that uncovered substantial volumes of suspected stolen crude oil and associated illegal refining infrastructure within its Area of Operations

Troops Destroy 56 Illegal Refining Sites

Oil

The Nigerian Navy has continued to strengthen surveillance and monitoring across the area to prevent the establishment or reactivation of illegal refining sites and deny criminal operators the infrastructure required to sustain crude oil theft and related activities.

ABIODUN FOLORUNSHO

Navy Captain

Director Naval Information

Nigerian Navy
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Economy

NNPC Ltd Offers N66 Fuel Discount Throughout the Nation

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NNPC Ltd Offers N66 Fuel Discount Throughout the Nation

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has unveiled a nationwide ₦66 fuel discount promotion for customers using the NNPC Fuel App.
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In a post obtained from its X handle on Friday, the promotion, which runs from October 1 to 7, is being held across NNPC stations nationwide as part of activities marking the period.

“The ₦66 Discount Promo is ongoing & the excitement is already happening across our stations nationwide!

“All over Nigeria, our customers are getting in on the action & there’s still time for you to benefit!

The promo runs from 1–7 October on the NNPC Fuel App,” the post read.

NNPC said customers across the country have already begun participating in the promotion, with highlights from the first day showing activities at several stations.

“Keep fueling, keep transacting and keep your eyes on our pages,” the post read.

NNPC

NNPC

NNPC also shared moments from the first day of the promotion and said more pictures and activities from stations across the country would be released.

The company urged customers not to miss the opportunity to participate before the promotion ends on October 7.

The ₦66 discount offer is available through the NNPC Fuel App during the stated promotional period.
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Economy

President Tinubu Tells EFCC: You Have Justified my Confidence in You

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EFCC Arraigns Gidado Ibrahim

President Tinubu Tells EFCC: You Have Justified my Confidence in You

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has applauded the efforts and performance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in tackling economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption in the country, stressing that it has justified the confidence reposed on it.
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He gave this commendation on Friday, October 2, 2026 in Awka, Anambra State at the commissioning of a new Zonal Directorate of the EFCC. The President pointed out that there are evidential proofs of the success of the Commission in convictions, recoveries and other landmark achievements

Represented by Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker, House of Representatives, Tinubu noted that “supporting the EFCC is not particularly difficult. The agency has consistently demonstrated that the confidence reposed on it is well founded. Without mincing words, the evidential proof of the EFCC’s success speaks loudly in convictions secured, assets and properties recovered”

He affirmed that the strides of the Commission are in tandem with the Renewed Hope Agenda of his administration.

“When we came in three years ago, I highlighted nine major focal areas of my administration. Two of which are reforming the economy for sustained and inclusive growth and promotion of good governance. The anti-graft agency compliments this agenda as they are focused on accountability and transparency and appropriate deployment of resources”, he said.

At the commissioning, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede restated the commitment of the Commission to preventive frameworks in tackling economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption in the country.

According to him, the Commission will continue its focus on making corrupt practices difficult by blocking avenues through which they may happen.

“This new Directorate will not only enforce the law professionally and courageously, it will be high on corruption prevention. It will engage government institutions, businesses, financial institutions, professional bodies, schools, markets, civil society organisations, traditional institutions, religious bodies and communities. It will educate stakeholders, build relationships and mobilise the people to own the fight against all forms of corrupt practices in the zone”, he said

He assured Nigerians that the EFCC would not relent in the pursuit of its mandate, recalling the achievements of the Commission in the last 34 months and describing them as impressive progress.

“The pursuit of our mandate has been our dominant engagement and in the past few years, we have made impressive progress. Between October 2023 and July 2026, the Commission received 49, 673 petitions, investigated 39, 615 cases, filed 14, 476 cases in court and secured 10, 872 convictions. This gives a conviction-to-filing ratio of 75.1 percent. In the first half of 2026 alone, we recorded 1, 370 convictions from 1, 889 filings. The Commission also recorded recoveries of N1, 233, 612, 040, 411. 11, $684, 478, 457. 32, £373, 905. 78, €9, 343, 803. 66 inn addition to recoveries in other currencies”, he said.

He noted that at the institutional level, the Commission has made radical reforms that have been yielding optimal results as there are consequential improvements in the agency’s processes and procedures, which partly explains the impacts the EFCC has made and will continue to make in all the matrices of law enforcement.

“Reforms that have strengthened the Commission during the period include new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations, the establishment of the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, the Security Department, the Immigration and Visa Section and the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre”, he said.

While charging Ndi Anambra on whistleblowing, the anti-graft czar said that the Commission has established channels through which members of the public can submit petitions and provide information. He noted that the Commission’s Eagle Eye App allows citizens to provide details of suspected wrongdoing and makes the provision of an informant’s personal details optional. “However, whistleblowing must be responsible and based on facts. It must not become an instrument for settling scores”, he said.

EFCC Arraigns Gidado Ibrahim

EFCC

He thereafter said that Anambra and Imo States deserve effective and responsive institutional presence as they are renowned for enterprise, innovation, commerce and an extraordinary culture of industry, adding that these legitimate activities must be protected from fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, investment fraud, diversion of public resources and other forms of economic and financial crimes. “Therefore, our coming to Awka is beyond geographical expansion. It is about taking the mandate of the EFCC closer to the people and closer to the economic activities we are meant to protect”, he said.

In their remarks, His Excellencies, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of Anambra State and Senator Hope Uzodinma, Governor of Imo State said that they were pleased with the activities and management of the EFCC under the leadership of Olukoyede. They pledged their support to the Commission as it opened a new Zonal Directorate in their domain.

The commissioning of the new Directorate witnessed massive turn out of distinguished Nigerians, including members of the National Assembly, civil society organisations, community leaders, students, media among others.
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