About 37 persons have reportedly died after inhaling fumes from a petroleum product at a jetty in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The incident occurred on Thursday at the Okari Jetty in the Okrika Mainland area, where youths from Okrika and neighbouring communities had reportedly gathered to load a petroleum product from an illegal tapping point.

Many others were said to be missing following the incident, which occurred in the mainly coastal community.

A source in the community told our reporter that more than 100 persons had stormed the jetty with locally made boats while a vessel was anchored at the riverside to load petroleum products.

The source said trouble started while the youths were loading the product, as a strong smell suddenly saturated the air, causing several of them to collapse.

“Many of them collapsed into the river, while others who managed to escape the scene had serious respiratory disorders and were being treated at the hospital.

“As I speak to you, over 37 bodies were identified as Okrika people, while six others were yet to be identified and many are still missing,” the source, who pleaded anonymity, said.

The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre also confirmed the incident, saying its network of youth volunteers and human rights defenders in the Niger Delta had reported that no fewer than 37 persons suspected of involvement in illegal oil activities died after inhaling what was locally referred to as “Indorama fuel.”

The Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene, said in a statement that the incident occurred at about midnight on Thursday at the Okari Jetty.

“According to the report, no fewer than 37 persons suspected to be oil thieves died after inhaling what is locally called ‘Indorama Fuel.’

“Many others are still missing. The incident occurred during the illegal loading of the product into a ship at a tapping point,” he said.

Dumnamene said the victims had connected a pipe to a tapping point on a pipeline that transported petroleum products from the Indorama Eleme Petrochemical through the Port Harcourt Refinery to vessels that reportedly came every two weeks to load products for export.

He added that the youths inhaled the product while a vessel was loading and they were simultaneously loading it into their waiting boats from the illegal tapping point.

“This led to the death of not fewer than 37 persons. Many are still missing, and some corpses have been seen floating on the river but have not yet been recovered,” he stated.

Dumnamene called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency to immediately conduct a joint investigation visit to the site of the incident.

He also urged the company that owned the vandalised facilities to provide adequate security for its pipelines to prevent a recurrence.

The YEAC-Nigeria boss condemned the alleged sabotage, warning youths to stay away from oil and gas infrastructure because of the dangers associated with high-pressure pipelines.

He also called for alternative livelihood opportunities for youths in the Niger Delta, including the establishment of modular refineries and the legalisation of artisanal refining.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Blessing Agabe, confirmed the incident and said the victims were reportedly attempting to steal crude oil.

Agabe, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said no official complaint had been lodged with the command but added that an investigation had commenced.

“The suspects reportedly died in the process of attempting to steal crude oil. However, no official complaint has been received in connection with the incident at this time.

“Investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and ascertain the facts,” the police spokesperson stated.

However, the Commander of the Civilian JTF in Okrika LGA, Igwe Godswill, gave a different account of the incident, saying the victims had gone to scoop petroleum products that had spilled into the river when they were allegedly overwhelmed by fumes from a vessel loading products at the jetty.

Godswill described the incident as tragic, saying most of the victims were youths searching for means of livelihood amid a lack of employment opportunities.

“It is so pathetic that this incident is happening in our community. These are young guys who have gone to search for their daily bread, only for the fumes from the fuel that was pumped to kill so many of our youths under the bridge.

“Many of them were choked to death. These are not criminals or anything, but they went out in search of their daily meal. I am advising the community, the leaders and every other person that we need legitimate jobs in the community.

“These things are risky, but when you cannot feed your children, most times, those risky jobs become the only option,” Godswill stated.

He explained that the victims had gone to scoop petroleum products floating on the water when they were overcome by fumes from a vessel loading petroleum products at the jetty.

Godswill, however, said about 10 bodies had been recovered, adding that only some of the victims could be identified because of the condition of their remains.

He said, “We saw about 10 of them. Four were still unrecognisable, while four persons were identified. The rest could not be identified because their bodies were badly damaged and their faces were severely affected.”

The Civilian JTF commander called on the Rivers State Government, community leaders and other relevant authorities to create employment opportunities for youths in the area to discourage them from engaging in dangerous activities.

“I am calling on the relevant authorities, community leaders, the chairman and every other person to look into this. It is not enough to stop them because, yes, it is a risky job, but they should create jobs for the youths so that everybody will have something to eat.

“Something that can put food on the tables of these young men, the youths and every other person. I can tell you for free that it will not just stop because when that source is the only livelihood, people will still go there.

“Even as of yesterday, people still went there, despite the fact that we had confirmed that people had died from the same activity. So, we are calling on the leaders to look into it and see how they can create job opportunities, especially for the youths,” Godswill added.

Source: punchng.com

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Amid lamentations over rising energy costs, Nigerians spent about N11.3 trillion on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) between January and July 2026 to power their vehicles and electricity generators, according to data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

The NMDPRA July 2026 midstream and downstream statistics showed that approximately 10.37 billion litres of petrol were trucked into the domestic market during the seven months.

An analysis of the monthly volumes against average prevailing petrol prices showed that Nigerians spent N11.3tn on the commodity between January and July this year.

Once subsidised, petrol is the most-used fuel in Nigeria for cars, buses, bikes, tricycles and power generators. Diesel is mainly used by trucks and industries. The removal of petrol subsidies by President Bola Tinubu in 2023 triggered a sharp rise in petrol prices from N175 to the current N1,310 per litre.

According to the NMDPRA report, spending remained above N1tn in each of the seven months, with the monthly bill rising sharply as petrol prices increased from March.

Petrol sold for an average of N830/litre in January and February, before the price rose to N1,100/litre in March, N1,250/litre in April and N1,300/litre in May. The price subsequently moderated to N1,200/litre in June and July.

The price increases, which occurred amid heightened geopolitical tensions involving the United States and Iran, meant that Nigerians continued to spend heavily on petrol even as demand weakened.

In January, about 1.87 billion litres of petrol were consumed, resulting in expenditure of approximately N1.55tn. Consumption fell to 1.59 billion litres in February, with Nigerians spending N1.32tn on the product. However, despite lower volumes, monthly spending increased significantly from March as petrol prices climbed.

About 1.47 billion litres were consumed in March, costing consumers about N1.61tn. The April bill climbed to N1.92tn, despite consumption of about 1.53 billion litres, while May expenditure stood at N1.87tn on 1.44 billion litres.

In June, Nigerians spent N1.71tn on about 1.42 billion litres, while July recorded the lowest monthly volume of the seven-month period at approximately 1.11 billion litres, with expenditure still reaching N1.33tn.

The figures highlight the impact of higher petrol prices on household and business expenditure, with the country’s total fuel bill remaining above N11tn despite consumption falling considerably from the levels recorded at the beginning of the year.

The decline in demand became particularly pronounced in July, when average daily petrol consumption fell to 35.7 million litres. This was 24.7 per cent lower than the 47.4 million litres consumed daily in June and 24.4 per cent below the 47.2 million litres recorded in July 2025.

July’s consumption was also 44 per cent below the 63.7 million litres per day recorded at the peak in December 2025. The 35.7 million litres per day recorded in July was 28.6 per cent below the 50 million litres per day benchmark for petrol demand in Nigeria.

It was also about 29.4 per cent below the 50.6 million litres per day average recorded over the 13-month period covered by the July statistics. The report shows that the sharp contraction in petrol consumption contrasted with the performance of some other petroleum products.

Diesel consumption stood at 14.7 million litres per day in July, slightly above the 14 million litres per day benchmark. This represented a five per cent increase over the stated daily demand benchmark.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly known as cooking gas, also recorded consumption above its benchmark, reaching 4.4 kilotonnes per day, compared with a benchmark of 3.9 kilotonnes per day, representing a 12.8 per cent increase.

Aviation fuel, however, recorded a substantial shortfall, with consumption standing at 1.7 million litres per day, 43.3 per cent below its three million-litre daily benchmark.

The figures point to a divergence in the downstream market, with petrol and aviation fuel consumption significantly below their stated benchmarks, while diesel and LPG remained above theirs.

For petrol, the July decline also represented the lowest daily consumption recorded on the July 2025-July 2026 chart. The development came as consumers faced substantially higher petrol prices than at the beginning of the year, increasing the amount paid for every litre even as the quantity purchased declined.

Overall, the January-July figures show that the country’s petrol expenditure remained exceptionally high, with Nigerians spending N11.3tn on 10.37 billion litres in seven months, while daily consumption had fallen well below both the 50-million-litre benchmark and the average recorded over the preceding 13 months.

Recently, energy experts and economists backed the proposal by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for a review of the Federal Government’s petrol subsidy policy, urging President Bola Tinubu to introduce targeted measures to cushion the hardship caused by the removal of the subsidy.

The experts, who spoke separately on the development, however, warned against a blanket return to the old subsidy regime, stressing the need for transparency, accountability and proper implementation of any intervention.

They argued that while the removal of the subsidy was necessary, the Federal Government had not adequately managed its consequences, particularly the rising cost of petrol, transportation, food and other essential goods.

The Chief Executive Officer of Petroleumprice.ng Olatide Jeremiah argued that the current petrol price was too high for a country where a large proportion of the population is struggling with extreme poverty and hunger.

“It is quite unfortunate that in a country like Nigeria where 80 per cent of its citizens are poor, you allow the masses to pay N1,300 for petrol at the pump. So, you need to understand that without any government intervention, the citizens will not be able to survive N1300 at the pump.

The Petroleumprice.ng boss said the government could consider directing part of the revenue from crude oil sales towards intervention in the prices of petroleum products.

“All over the world, during this crisis between Iran and the US, most countries of the world intervened in the prices of petroleum products. Some have adopted Atiku’s model, and that helps the countries to cap and control prices, pending when it will be resolved,” he added.

Meanwhile, an energy economist, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, said production subsidy was preferable in principle to consumption subsidy but warned that Nigeria’s history of special interests could undermine such a system.

Adenikinju also advocated improved mass transportation, saying the government should do more to reduce the burden of transportation on households.

“Another thing that I thought would be very important is the issue of mass transit. And one of the major ways through which, first of all, we provide paths for the economy is through transportation.”

He criticised the government’s CNG intervention as insufficient, particularly because of the limited availability of CNG facilities. “The CNG the government is promoting. In a lot of places, we don’t even see those CNG buses. They aren’t there; they are very insufficient to be able to cushion the effects on the poor people,” he stated.

The renewed debate over subsidy comes as the Federal Government faces increasing pressure to demonstrate how savings from the policy have benefited ordinary Nigerians.

Source: punchng.com

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The outgoing Executive Chairman of the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service, Jerry Adams, has attributed the sustained growth in the state’s Internally Generated Revenue to the political will and non-interference of Governor Uba Sani in the operations of the agency.

Adams, who spoke at the ongoing 160th meeting of the Joint Revenue Board in Kaduna on Thursday, said the state’s IGR had grown from N58bn before 2023 to N85bn in 2025.

He said the revenue had continued to rise, adding that the state was now trending towards an annual collection of N120bn, with an average monthly revenue of N10bn.

Adams said, “The IGR of Kaduna State stood at N58bn before 2023. By 2023, it had risen to N62bn and, in 2024, it reached N71bn.

“In 2025, we recorded an annual revenue of N85bn, with an average monthly collection of N7bn. Today, we are trending towards N120bn, at a monthly average of N10bn.”

According to him, the growth was not a temporary spike but a steady and sustainable trend that would be strengthened through deeper collaboration with aMinistries, Departments and Agencies, stakeholders and the state government.

The KADIRS boss recalled that between 2019 and 2023, the highest annual revenue collection recorded by the service was N59bn in 2022, representing an average monthly collection of about N4.8bn.

Adams, however, explained that a closer examination of the figures showed that a significant portion of the revenue came from back-duty recoveries, sale of government properties and other one-off recoveries rather than organic growth in the state’s tax base.

He said, “On paper, that looked like progress. But if you looked closer, as we eventually did, you’d find out that a significant portion of that revenue didn’t come from organic tax growth.

“It came from back-duty recoveries, sale of government properties and some other one-off recoveries, not a growing, breathing tax base.”

He said the model eventually stalled by early 2023, forcing the agency to rethink its revenue strategy.

Adams said KADIRS subsequently shifted its focus from merely increasing collections from existing taxpayers to expanding the tax net and bringing more businesses and individuals into the tax system.

“We could no longer keep squeezing the same familiar taxpayers a little harder each year and call it strategy.

“We needed to grow horizontally, not just vertically; to expand the tax net itself, rather than simply tighten it around those already caught in it, and to stop relying on windfalls to flatter our numbers,” he stated.

The outgoing chairman said the agency also embarked on full digitisation of its processes to block revenue leakages through the introduction of the PAYKADUNA portal and Project C.R.A.F.T., an initiative aimed at improving revenue administration and fiscal transparency.

“This gave us, for the first time, a centralised payment system for all state revenue, closing gaps that informal, cash-based collection had long allowed to thrive,” he said.

Adams said KADIRS also recruited additional personnel to expand its tax coverage, provided working tools for staff and facilitated the promotion of workers whose advancement had been delayed.

He added that the agency provided capacity-building opportunities for its personnel and established three additional area offices to complement the existing 34 offices across the state.

The former KADIRS boss said the service also strengthened collaboration with institutions including the Joint Revenue Board, the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, particularly in the area of data sharing.

According to him, the partnerships had helped the state identify taxable activities that previously went undetected.

Adams, who is the All Progressives Congress governorship running mate for the 2027 election, also attributed the improvement in tax compliance to increased trust between taxpayers and government.

He disclosed that tax compliance in the state had risen from about 30 per cent to approximately 65 per cent.

“Tax compliance is a function of trust. When we began, compliance across the state stood at a modest 30 per cent. Today, I am pleased to report that the compliance level has risen to approximately 65 per cent,” he said.

Adams stressed that the improved revenue performance should not be seen as the achievement of KADIRS alone, but as a broader governance success involving the state government, taxpayers, MDAs and other stakeholders.

Source: punchng.com

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