This was contained in a statement issued by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, on Thursday.

The refinery, Africa’s first privately-owned oil refining facility, had previously cut the price to N970 per litre on November 24.

The latest reduction aims to ease transportation costs during the festive period, a time when Nigerians often face increased travel expenses.

Announcing the special purchase offer, Chiejina said consumers can now buy an additional litre of fuel on credit for every litre purchased in cash, provided they secure a bank guarantee from Access Bank, First Bank, or Zenith Bank.

To alleviate transport costs during this holiday season, Dangote Refinery is offering a holiday discount on PMS. From today, our petrol will be available at N899.50 per litre at our truck loading gantry or SPM.

“Furthermore, for every litre purchased on a cash basis, consumers will have the opportunity to buy another litre on credit, backed by a bank guarantee from Access Bank, First Bank, or Zenith Bank,” Chiejina said.

The refinery thanked Nigerians for their continued patronage and reiterated its commitment to supplying high-quality, environmentally friendly petroleum products at competitive prices.

Chiejina emphasised that the Dangote Refinery is ending Nigeria’s dependence on substandard and blended imported petroleum products, which have historically harmed human health, machinery, and the environment.

multiple eyewitness accounts said that the stampede occurred when participants rushed to gain access to the venue of the event reportedly organised by the ex-queen of the Ooni of Ife, Prophetess Naomi Shikemi, and an Ibadan-based broadcaster, Oriyomi Hamzat.

the victims were stampeded to death while trying to break through the main gate of the school.

It was further gathered that provision was made for 5,000 children but the number that turned up for the event was reportedly over 7, 500.

Narrating the scenario in a video, an eyewitness at the scene of the incident, who did not mention her name, noted that the organisers had invited 5,000 participants for the funfair but the situation got out of control when the scene became rowdy leading to a stampede that led to several casualties.

She said, “Oriyomi Hamzat said he wanted 5,000 participants but because we were not organised, that was why the situation got to this. We were not even up to 5,000 participants.”

Another participant claimed he lost a child during the incident.

Rather than attend to us very well, they wanted to fight us. We just lost one child who has been taken to the University College Hospital,” he said.

The video showed rowdy scenes as some children were rushed out of the venue while a woman wailed about the loss of her child following the stampede.

Reacting to the incident, the management of Agidigbo FM, owned by Oriyomi Hamzat, sympathised with the victims in a statement signed by its Director of Programmes, Olayinka Abdulwahab.

Abdulwahab, however, stressed that the radio station was a media partner to the event and not the organiser of the funfair.

He stressed that the management made frantic moves to sensitise the participants when it realised that the venue was crowded.

Abdulwahab stated, “This is to inform the general public that the management of Agidigbo FM, Ibadan received the news of the tragedy that heralded the children’s funfair at Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan, organised by the WINGS Foundation, with great shock and wholeheartedly commiserate with the families involved.

“Amidst the tragedy, the news making the rounds is that Agidigbo FM is the organiser of the children’s funfair. However, the management wishes to state that Agidigbo FM is not the organiser of the event but one of the media outfits used to promote the event.

“Upon receiving the notice that a mammoth crowd had assembled before 5am at the venue, Agidigbo FM, the people’s voice, used all media strategies to sensitise the populace with jingles and public service announcements from that time, that people should stop going to the venue of the funfair.

“This is not the time to spread misinformation. The management of Agidigbo FM implores the general public to continue to pray for the speedy recovery of those in various hospitals and sympathises with the family of those who lost their lives.”

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Oyo State Police Command, Adewale Osifeso, confirmed the incident, noting that an investigation had commenced.

“Investigation is in progress. Updates will be provided accordingly, please,” Osifeso said.

Multiple sources said that some of the children, including their parents, were said to have kept vigil at the venue of the event.

An uncontrollable crowd caused gridlock on the Basorun-Idi Ape Road.

An Administrative Officer of Patnas Hospital, Basorun, where some of the victims were admitted, Olufeyemi Tolulope, said, “The affected children were brought in some minutes past 8am. Six children were brought into the hospital out of which five died while the other one is recuperating.

We were told that the deceased fainted at the venue of the event. We were able to rescue one while the remaining five died. The surviving child has been discharged and released to her parents.

“One of the parents of the deceased, who was sighted at the hospital premises wailing, said, “I did not bargain for what happened to me. We slept together at home yesterday (Tuesday) not knowing that it would be the last time. My daughter is not dead. Please doctor wake her up.”

Other parents, who did not want their names in print, called on the government to prevail on the management of the various hospitals for the release of the corpses of their children.

The victims, according to a statement by the state’s Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, were admitted at the following hospitals: Patnas Hospital, Basorun; Western Hospital, Basorun; Ring Road State Hospital; Molly Specialist Hospital and University College Hospital.

However, some of the parents were sighted at UCH lamenting the death of their children.

While at the UCH, the hospital’s Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmi Adetuyibi, said that five of the victims of the incident, were brought in dead.

She, however, did not confirm the sex or age bracket of the victims, adding that none of the victims of the incident was on admission at the facility as of the time of filing this report.

Also at Molly Hospital, an eyewitness, who did not want his name mentioned, told our correspondent that some unspecified victims brought to the hospital by rescue workers were brought in dead.

A staff member of the hospital, who spoke with PUNCH Metro on condition of anonymity, said none of the victims of the tragedy was on admission as of the time one of our correspondents  visited the facility at past 7pm on Wednesday.

Unconfirmed reports said 32 children died in the incident which occurred at the main gate of Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan.

The event, organised by the foundation of an ex-wife of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, Queen Naomi Silekunola, could not hold as the venue, planned for 5,000 children, was overfilled, resulting in the stampede.

Some of the children and their parents were said to have kept vigil at the venue; while a crowd caused traffic gridlock along Basorun-Idi Ape Road.

Olufemi Akinyele, the administrative officer at Patnas Specialist Hospital, one of the five hospitals where victims were taken to, said of the six children received, one of them was rescued while others had passed on before reaching the health facility.

She added that the four bodies at Patnas Hospital were yet to be picked up by parents.

Parents grieve

A distraught parent of one of the deceased, called Iya Ayo, expressed regret for releasing her ward for the event.

Another parent of one of the deceased was sighted wailing at the hospital’s premises.

She said: “I did not bargain for what happened to me. We slept together at home yesterday not knowing that it would be the last time. My daughter is not dead. Please, doctor, wake her up.”

One of the survivors was said to have been discharged and released to her parents; while another one was sighted recuperating in one of the wards.

The mother simply said: ‘’He is stable. I just fed him. He will soon be discharged.”

Other parents, who preferred anonymity, called on the government to prevail on the management of the various hospitals to release the corpses of their children.

The victims were reportedly admitted at Patnas Hospital, Western Hospital both at Bashorun Road; Ringroad State Hospital, Ringroad; Molly Specialist Hospital, Idi Ape; and University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

Security men at Molly Hospital and Western Hospital denied journalists access, insisting that no victim was on admission as of the time of our visit.

Daily Trust sighted some of the parents at the UCH lamenting over the incident.

During a visit to the victims at one of the hospitals, the state government, through the Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal, condoled the victims’ families and assured them of government’s support.

Organisers arrested

Commiserating with the victims of the incident, Governor Seyi Makinde, in a statement said: “Earlier today, an incident occurred in Islamic High School, Bashorun, the venue of an event organised for families.

“Sadly, a stampede at the venue has led to multiple loss of lives and injuries.

“This is a very sad day for us here in Oyo State. We sympathise with the parents whose joy has suddenly been turned to mourning due to these deaths.

“We have taken steps to ensure no further deaths are recorded at this venue by deploying security agents to restore order at the venue. We also deployed medical personnel and ambulances to the venue.

“The event has been stopped, and attendees have been escorted out of the venue. We are taking all realistic measures to ensure that the venue is secured.

“While investigations are ongoing, the primary organisers of the event that led to this stampede have been taken into custody.

“I want to reassure our people that anyone directly or remotely involved in this disaster will be held accountable. Please remain calm as the security agencies investigate this unfortunate incident.

“Our hearts remain with the families and loved ones impacted by this tragedy. May the souls of the departed rest in peace. Amen”, the governor concluded

In a statement on Wednesday, the company’s Chief Branding and Communications officer, Anthony Chiejina, said the NNPCL’s stance was a distortion of the facts.

“We would like to clarify that this is a misrepresentation of the situation as $1bn is just about 5% of the investment that went into building the Dangote Refinery,” Chiejina said.

Chiejina stated that the refinery’s decision to enter into a partnership with the NNPCL was based on the recognition of “their strategic position in the industry as the largest offtaker of Nigerian crude” and at the time, the sole supplier of petrol into Nigeria.

“We agreed on the sale of a 20% stake at a value of $2.76 billion. Of this, we agreed that they will only pay $1 billion while the balance will be recovered over a period of 5 years through deductions on crude oil that they supply to us and from dividends due to them,” Chiejina said.

“If we were struggling with liquidity challenges we wouldn’t have given them such generous payment terms. As at 2021 when the agreement was signed, the refinery was at the pre-commission stage.”

According to the statement, the agreement would have been cash-based rather than credit-driven if the refinery struggled with liquidity issues.

The refinery’s spokesman said the NNPCL was subsequently unable to supply the agreed 300,000 barrels a day of crude (bpd).

He stated that the shortfall was because the NNPPC “had committed a greater part of their crude cargoes to financiers with the expectation of higher production which they were unable to achieve”.

“We subsequently gave them a 12-month period for them to pay cash for the balance of their equity given their inability to supply the agreed crude oil volume,” he said.

“NNPCL failed to meet this deadline which expired on June 30th 2024. As a result, their equity share was revised down to 7.24%. These events have been widely reported by both parties,” he said.

In his presentation to a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, President Tinubu said the budget aims to bring down inflation from its current 34.6 per cent to 15 per cent next year.

But speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today hours after Tinubu’s budget presentation, Abia said it is impossible to reduce inflation to 15 per cent next year when crude oil production is below two million barrels per day.

“The projections are not realistic and the most important thing I think Nigerians should understand is what are the assumptions driving those projections. Now, if you say you want to do 15 per cent headline inflation rate on aggregate for 2025, the core drivers, you have to be able to show us that you are going to realistically drop down those drivers, reduce their efficacy, and their frequency.

“Unfortunately, you cannot do 15 per cent headline inflation rate when you are producing less than less than two million barrels per day. Now, I know they are projecting two million barrels per day, but it is impossible to do when you are currently producing 1.5 million barrels per day,” Abia said.

‘Dampening hope of exchange rate reduction’

The President also said that the exchange rate will improve from approximately N1,700 per dollar to N1,500.

However, the Director General of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chijioke Ekechukwu, who also appeared on the programme, berated the President for giving the impression that he could not bring the exchange rate lower than N1,500.

“If you look at the projections made, first of all, I started getting worried when I saw that the exchange rate was projected at N1,500. That exchange rate is to tell Nigerians that there is nothing we plan to do that will bring the exchange rate lower because Nigerians are still thinking that probably that rate can still come lower than N1,500, maybe N1,000.

“There is a problem with that projection because you are dampening our hope of a reduction in the exchange rate. All you are telling us is, ‘Yes, the exchange rate is meant to remain here,” Ekechukwu said.

Tinubu listed highlights of the N49.7 trillion budget to include defence and security – N4.91tn, infrastructure – N4.06tn, health – N2.4tn, and education – N3.5tn, among others.

This is contained in a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga. The executives are 72 in number.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the reconstitution of the Executive Management of 12 River Basin Development Authorities under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources,” his Wednesday statement read.

He gave a breakdown of the appointments as follows: 

OGUN-OSUN RIVER BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, ABEOKUTA (Lagos, Oyo, Ogun and Osun)

1. Hon. Odebunmi Olusegun – Chairman (Oyo)
2. Engr. Dr. Adedeji Ashiru – Managing Director (Osun)
3. Ayo Oyalowo – Executive Director, Finance (Oyo)
4. Dokunmu Olufemi Oyekunle – Executive Director, Planning and Design (Ogun)
5. Suleiman Oris – Executive Director, Agric Services (Lagos)
6 . Engr. Julius Oloro – Executive Director, Engineering (Lagos)

UPPER BENUE RIVER BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, YOLA. Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe and Bauchi)

1. Alh. Sanusi Mohammed Babantanko – Chairman (Bauchi)
2. Samuel Mahmud Mohammed – Managing Director (Taraba)
3. Hon. Usman Babandubu Bakare – Executive Director, Engineering (Taraba)
4. Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo – Executive Director Finance (Gombe)
5. Hon. Isa Matori – Executive Director, Planning and Design Part of Bauchi
6. Hamman Dikko – Executive Director, Agric Services (Adamawa)

CHAD BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, MAIDUGURI (Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa)

1. Prof. Abdu Dauda – Chairman (Borno)
2. Tijjani Musa Tumsa – Managing Director (Yobe)
3. Barr. Bashir Baale – Executive Director, Finance (Yobe)
4. lliyasu Muazu – Executive Director, Agric Services (Adamawa)
5. Engr. Mohammed Shetima – Executive Director, Engineering (Borno)
6. Vrati Nzonzo – Executive Director, Planning and Design (Borno)

BENIN-OWENA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (Edo, Delta North, Ondo and Ekiti)

1. Hon. Mike Ohio Ezomo – Chairman (Edo)
2. Femi Adekanbi – Managing Director (Ondo)
3. Dr. Austin Nonyelim Izagbo – Executive Director Planning and Design (Delta)
4. Hon. Johnson Oghuma – Executive Director, Agric Services (Edo)
5. Adegboyega Bamisile – Executive Director Finance (Ekiti)
6 . Bayode Akinduro – Executive Director Engineering (Ondo)

NIGER DELTA BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (Rivers, Bayelsa and parts of Delta)

1. Chief (Barr.) Ebikemi Boi Bosin – Chairman (Delta)
2. Hon. Amgbare Ebitimi – Managing Director (Bayelsa)
3. Chief (Mrs.) Mary Alagoa – Executive Director Finance (Rivers)
4. Dr. Austin N. Izagbo – Executive Director, Engineering (Delta)
5. Mr. Felix Kurogha – Executive Director Agric Services (Bayelsa)
6. Barr. (Dr.) Nnamdi Akani – Executive Director, Planning and Design (Rivers)

UPPER NIGER RIVER BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, MINNA (Niger, Kaduna and FCT)

1. Haruna Y. Usman – Chairman (Niger)
2. Dangajere Shuaibu Bawa Jaja – Managing Director (Kaduna)
3. M o h a m m e d Usma – Executive Director, Finance (Niger)
4. Dr. Abdullahi A. Kutso – Executive Director, Planning and Design (Niger)
5. Ayuba Waziri Tedde – Executive Director, Agric services (FCT)
6. John Hassan – Executive Director, Engineering (Kaduna)

LOWER NIGER RIVER BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, ILORIN (Kwara and Kogi)

1. Alh. Abdullateef Alakawa – Chairman (Kwara)
2 . Engr. George Olumoroti – Managing Director (Kogi)
3. Engr. Babajamu Adeniran – Executive Director, Engineering (Kwara)
4. Hon. Abdullahi Sadiq – Executive Director, Agric Services (Kogi)
5. Engr. Alanamu Ayinla Abolere – Executive Director, Planning and Design (Kwara)
6. Hon. Abidemi Adeyemi- Executive Director Finance (Kogi)

Job Role

• Promote and sell pharmaceutical products to healthcare professionals.
• Build strong relationships with doctors, pharmacists, and hospitals.

Qualifications

• Candidates should possess a BSc in Pharmacy, Biological sciences, or related science field
• Experience: 0-3 years
• Age: Max 27 years.

How to Apply

We are hiring Pharmacy Healthcare Assistants, (also known as pharmacy assistants) to work under the supervision of our pharmacists, providing support for the daily operations of the pharmacy.

Their duties can include

• Effective Customer service: answering questions, and providing basic information about medications
• Assisting with dispensing medications, measuring, counting, and packaging them
• Prepare labels for medication containers.
• Maintain inventory of medications and supplies.
• Monitor stock levels and place orders for restocking
• Check the expiration dates of medications and remove expired products
• Provide excellent customer service, answering inquiries and assisting customers.
• Maintain patient records and update relevant information.
• Adhere to pharmacy regulations, ethical standards, and patient confidentiality

Qualification

• BA/BSC/HND Pharmacology, Health Information Science, Public Health, Health-Care Related Courses
• Similar experience in a Pharmacy
• Attentive to details and a continuous improvement mindset
• Continous improvement mindset

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement sales strategies to drive revenue growth.
• Build and manage relationships with healthcare client .
• Identify new business opportunities in the medical equipment market .
• Prepare and deliver persuasive sales presentations and proposals.

Requirements:

• A degree in Business, Marketing, or related fields.

About Job

• We seek a highly motivated Biomedical Engineer with 2-4 years’ experience.
• In this role, you will be responsible for: Working to ensure the proper functioning and safe use of medical equipment through various units/wards.
• Installation and maintenance of clinical equipment
• Providing equipment usage training to facility staff
• Ensuring safety and regulatory compliance
• Making recommendations for improving the hospital’s equipment inventory.
• Equipment inspection, calibration, repair and preventative maintenance through planned maintenance programs.
• Providing technical expertise and management support to keep advanced medical technology operational and optimize patient care.

Requirements

• The ideal candidate must possess a First Degree in Biomedical Engineering from a reputable tertiary institution, strong interpersonal qualities with a proven track record in Biomedical engineering.