Naira
House displeased with EFCC over delay in disposal of recovered N46 billion from ex-oil minister
The House of Representatives has expressed displeasure with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the delay in disposing of the N46 billion assets seized from the former Petroleum Minister, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke. The Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loots Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for Effective Efficient Management and Utilisation, Hon. Adejoro Adeogun, expressed his displeasure on Friday when the Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, appeared before the committee. The chairman of the committee opined that it was not ideal to continue keeping such recoveries as they were losing value over time. He said: “Given the financial situation of Nigeria, sho...
NNPC selects 26 firms to lift Nigeria’s crude oil
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has picked 26 foreign and local companies as well as 12 countries to lift the country’s crude oil for the next two years. The crude term contracts, expected to run from 2021 through 2023, would see the firms and the selected nations, which would operate on a Government-to-Government (G2G) basis to purchase the commodity from the national oil company. The deal is coming less than a week after the corporation chose 16 oil and gas consortia for its new crude-for-fuel swap contracts for one year starting in August. The contracts, known as Direct Sale, Direct Purchase (DSDP) are high-stakes agreements used to supply nearly all of Nigeria’s petrol needs as well as cover some of its diesel and jet fuel consumption. However, in the fresh crude oil...
Niger Delta: President Buhari has surpassed all past presidents – NYCN
National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) on Sunday said that President Muhammadu Buhari has surpassed all past Presidents of the country in the development of the Niger Delta region. The Council said the array of projects that now littered the coastal area was however made possible by the current Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio. The youths, therefore, warned the region’s politicians against blackmailing Buhari and Akpabio. The youths also threw their weight behind the interim sole administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Effiong Akwa for his prudent, transparent, and frugal management of resources which they said witnessed the execution of the projects within a short period of time. In a communiqué issued after a 3-week tour and assessment o...
Nigerian government welcomes ECOWAS court judgment dismissing SERAP’s case
Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, on Tuesday welcomed an ECOWAS Court judgment dismissing a case filed by the trustees of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the Federal Government. Malami, in a statement by Dr Umar Gwandu, his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, said the judgment has saved Nigeria from payment of billons of naira for bogus claims. He described the judgment as a clear vindication of the government’s efforts towards respecting human rights and international conventions. Malami, therefore renewed the commitment of his office to protecting the rights of citizens in all ramifications as well as protecting the public interest in the discharge of all constitutionally recognised mandate. Newsmen report that the judgment which...
Whistleblower petitions EFCC, justice minister over corruption in maritime academy
Pool Photo A whistleblower in the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron in Akwa Ibom State, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate and prosecute the management of the institution over multiple fraud, as well as systemic and perennial corruption. In a two-page petition to EFCC by Mr. Adamu Jibrin, a staffer of the Academy dated 6th April 2021 through his Attorney, Michael Edet and Associates, and made available to newsmen in Uyo titled, “Petition of Fraud, Embezzlement, Misappropriation and Criminal Conversion of Public Funds to Personal Use by the Rector of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron,” the petitioner alleged that millions of naira have been siphoned from the treasury of the academy. Copies of the petition to the EFCC Chairman, the Attorne...
Rainstorm destroys houses, properties in Plateau communities
More than 50 houses and other properties worth millions of naira have been destroyed by rainstorm in communities in Qua’an pan Local Government Area of Plateau State. Residents said the rainstorm, which started Sunday night and lasted till the early hours of Monday, was accompanied by a heavy windstorm that blew off roofs of several houses and rendered many families homeless. The Chairman of the council, Hon. Abdulmalik Yusuf Haruna, in a statement signed by his Senior Assistant on Media, Mr. Mathias Yengoet Dajan, said that the management and residents of Quaan-Pan Local Government Area are devastated by the level of destruction. The statement added that the chairman has personally gone round some of the affected structures to ascertain the level of damage and has sympathised with the vic...
EFCC arrests bank staff for ‘N34 million fraud’
The Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested one Elizabeth Modupe Osunjuyigbe, an employee of Access Bank Plc, for an alleged fraudulent diversion of funds to the tune of over N34m (Thirty-four Million Naira). The suspect, who was arrested on Friday April 30, 2021, allegedly sent a fraudulent request sometime in January to the Branch Service Manager of Access Bank, Adeola Odeku, Lagos State, to issue a draft of the sum of N31, 330, 165. 00 (Thirty One Million, Three Hundred and Thirty Thousand, One Hundred and Sixty-five Naira) in favour of one Best Timland Nigeria Limited. Investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly forged a solicitor’s letter dated January 19, 2021 directing the bank to issue the draft in favour of Best Timland, claimi...
Kebbi: NSCDC sets up committee to investigate ‘extortion’
File Photo The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) says it has set up a five-man committee to investigate alleged N1 million extortion by its staff in Kebbi State. The State Commandant of the corps, Alhaji Suleman Ibrahim, made this known at a news conference in Birnin Kebbi on Monday. Ibrahim said, “I have read a report online that my officers have been alleged to have extorted money from a client. ”This has never been the tradition of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps in the state as one of our core values is serving with integrity, honesty and diligence. “I am not a party to such an incident and I am not aware of it, and I doubt if any of my officers will do such an illegal and unlawful act. ”But still, we will take any allegation serious to its logical conclusi...
Delta governor: We inherited N100 billion unpaid pension under compulsory pension scheme
Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Sunday said his administration inherited about N100 billion unpaid pensions under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Okowa disclosed this at the third session of the 8th Synod of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Ughelli Diocese. The session was held at Bishop Agori-Iwe Memorial Church, Ughelli. Okowa said that the financial burden forced 18 state governments out of 26 that enlisted on the scheme to withdraw, leaving only eight state governments, including Delta, in the Programme. The governor explained that the major challenge which forced the states to withdraw and others not to enrol in the scheme, was the huge backlog running into billions of naira. He said that his administration was up-to-date with payment of pensioners in the old scheme. ...
Naira stable at parallel, official market
Nigeria’s naira remained stable against the U.S. dollar at the unofficial market on Friday, data posted on abokiFX .com, a website that collates parallel market rates in Lagos showed. The data posted showed that the naira closed at N485.00 at the black market, the same rate it exchanged hands with the greenback in the previous session on Thursday. Similarly, the local unit remained stable at the official market. Data posted on the FMDQ Security Exchange window where forex is officially traded showed that the domestic unit again closed at N410.00 at the trading session of the NAFEX window on Friday. Friday’s performance came to be as forex supply slumped significantly. The naira experienced an intraday high of N394.00 and a low of N436.40 before closing at N410.00 on Friday, the same rate i...
Senate president urges Nigerians to pray for leaders to overcome nation’s challenges
Senate President Ahmad Lawan has called for prayers for the leaders in government as they tackle the various challenges facing the nation. According to his Special Adviser on Media, Ola Awoniyi, Lawan made the appeal on Saturday at the launching of Pataskum Emirate Central Mosque Appeal Fund at Potiskum, Yobe State. The Senate President who announced a donation of N20 million to support the project said “every time leaders need prayers, particularly from the followership. “Our leaders, particularly our President, Muhammadu Buhari, may God grant him good health, God has given him the leadership of this country through you. “He is trying his possible best for you and we too that are part of his leadership, we are trying our best to ensure that things are okay for Nigeria. “I will therefore t...
N60 billion mint: PDP demands sack of finance minister
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called for the sack of Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, over what it described as an attempt to mislead Nigerians. The call follows her denial of the revelations by the Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, that N60 billion was printed in March to support federal allocation to states.” Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki had earlier in the week, lamented the sorry state of the nation’s economy, stressing that the federal government had to order the printing of currency to the tune of N60 billion to share among the tiers of government, a claim dismissed by the Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister, Zainab Ahmed. In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary of the party, the PDP maintained that “the admission by Central B...
