The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has appealed to the federal government for a N100 billion bailout to alleviate the devastating impact of fuel subsidy removal on its members.

PETROAN explained that the sudden increase in petroleum prices, following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy, threatens one million jobs and 10,000 retail outlets face closure in the next 45 days.

National Public Relations Officer of PETROAN, Dr Joseph Obele, warned that closure of 10,000 retail outlets will lead to 1 million job losses, noting that with Nigeria’s unemployment rate already at 5.3 percent, representing over four million unemployed individuals, additional job losses would worsen economic conditions.

Obele affirms PETROAN’s commitment to supporting economic reforms while urging prompt government action to mitigate the looming economic disaster.

“Before the removal of fuel subsidy, it costs petroleum products retail outlets owners about N7million to buy a truck of PMS with a capacity of 45,000 litres. As of today, the same truck is selling for N47million. The sudden upward review of 500% has rendered about 10,000 retail outlet owners financially handicapped and incapacitated.

“The inconsistency, instability and financial turbulence of the sector have compounded the challenges, thus making it difficult for petroleum products retail outlet owners to secure funds from financial institutions.

“Consistent lamentation of our members has necessitated the collation of data at the national headquarters of PETROAN which results showed that 10,000 operators of retail outlets would be shutting down or quieting business the next 45 days if nothing is done urgently in form of interventions.

“Furthermore, the same data analysis revealed that the total workforce of these 10,000 owners of petroleum products retail outlets is over one million direct and indirect staff.

Obele also said the bailout request has been submitted to President Bola Tinubu, even as he called on the Senate President, the House of Representatives’ Speaker and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy to intervene for the quick release of the grant to salvage the economy.

According to him, the grant when approved by President Tinubu will help 10,000 retail outlet operators to remain in business and it will secure jobs for one million Nigerians.

“The grant will bring stability and business boom in the sector which will eventually trigger price reduction and employment of new persons.

“The grant request is for the benefit of Nigeria’s economy which is not far from the federal government financing of the health sector during the COVID‐19 pandemic, intervention granted to aviation operators, federal government intervention fund for the power sector and also the federal government launch of N200 billion presidential intervention fund for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, MSMEs and manufacturers in Nigeria.”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced on Thursday that a helicopter en route to the NNPC FPSO, NUIMS Antan, had disappeared.

According to the NNPC, the helicopter with registration number 5NBQG took off from the NAF base in Port Harcourt at around 11:22 am before losing contact after departure.

The helicopter operated by East Winds Aviation was carrying eight people, six passengers and two crew members.

On Thursday, the NNPC confirmed the loss of communication with the aircraft, adding that the Ministry of Aviation had been informed immediately and a search and rescue team dispatched to the area.

Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer for NNPC explained that the organization is committed to the ongoing rescue efforts and extended heartfelt prayers to the families of the victims.

In the press statement posted on its official X @nnpclimited, NNPC said three bodies have been recovered while the search continues to know the fate of the remaining five individuals on board.

As families await further news, the nation remains hopeful that more survivors can be found. The NNPC has assured the public that it will provide regular updates as the search progresses.

The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Meta, has allegedly relieved about 24 staff members at its Los Angeles office of their jobs.

The affected staff were accused of using their $25 (£19) meal credits to buy items such as toothpaste, laundry detergent, acne pad and wine glasses.

It was gathered that the dismissals followed an investigation that revealed the employees had been exploiting the system, including sending food home when they were not physically present at the office.

One of the terminated employees was an unnamed worker earning a $400,000 salary.

Another sacked employee anonymously shared on the messaging platform Blind, explaining how she and her colleagues maximized their dinner credits to buy other necessities when they could get food elsewhere.

The breach was discovered as part of the human resources procedure even though one of the workers admitted to it.

According to reports, employees who occasionally bent the rules received warnings but retained their positions.

Free meals have long been a benefit for employees of major tech firms like Meta, founded by Mark Zuckerberg.

Typically, staff at larger offices, including Meta’s Silicon Valley headquarters, enjoy complimentary meals from on-site canteens.

Employees at smaller locations receive daily food credits, redeemable through delivery services like UberEats and Grubhub, with allowances of $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch and $25 for dinner.