News
Abbas recommends privatisation of Nigeria’s refineries
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, has recommended the privatisation of oil refineries in the country to enable them function optimally.
Abbas gave the recommendation on Thursday, while receiving the management of NNPCL led by the Group Managing Director, (GMD) Mr Mele Kyari in Abuja.
He described the state of refineries over the years as shameful ,adding so much money was being spent on workers as salaries and allowances for doing very little.
“There is need to make these refineries have multi -dimensional uses, if there is no crude oil, are there other activities that can make the workers to be active so that why they earn is deserved? I need you and your management to look at how we can turn around these decades of losses.
“One way to do so is to find a way to privatise these refineries; we have spent so much money and time deceiving ourselves that some businesses can be run by government.
“In the case of the refineries, we have now realised that some sectors of NNPC business can only be handled by the private sector and our refineries are one of those.
“The inadequacies will become manifest as soon as Dangote refinery comes on board because the competition will be there and inefficiencies of the refineries will be become more naked.
“I want you to put it as part of your cardinal objectives; let us find ways to privatise our refineries so that they can be active ,so that in the near future, they will be able to compete with new refineries that will come up,” he said.
Abbas said that the NNPCL is central to the economic development of Nigeria, pledging the commitment of the House of Representatives to supporting the company to succeed.
According to him ,the House is concerned about the high rate of oil theft as it is draining revenue, affecting forex availability and causing inflation in the country.
The speaker said that the House had inaugurated a special committee on oil theft,to interface with stakeholders with a view to addressing oil theft in the country.
Earlier, Kyari said that all refineries would become fully operational and Nigeria would become a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of 2024.
He noted that subsidy was responsible for poor activities at government-owned refineries over the years ,saying that the removal of subsidy was already attracting a lot of private sector investments.
“I can confirm to you that by the end of December latest, we will start the Port Harcourt Refinery; early in the first quarter of 2024, we will start the Warri Refinery and by the end of 2024, Kaduna Refinery will come into operation.
“This is the commitment we are giving today and you can hold us accountable on this.
“In 2024, many initiatives, including the rehabilitation of our refineries, and also the efforts of small- scale refiners, and the coming of the Dangote Refinery, will make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products.
“We will no longer be talking about fuel importation by the end 2024, I am very optimistic that this will crystalise,” he said.
Kyari said that it was not the practice of the company to publish its financial statements some years back , but that the practice had changed, and all the company’s accounts from 2018 till date were now in the public space.
Kyari put the expected government revenue from the company by the end of 2023 at N4.5 trillion, saying that NNPCL was returning value to shareholders in line with the objectives of the Petroleum Industry Act.
Kyari said that the company had a robust supply plan assuring that there would be no shortage of fuel over the Christmas season and beyond ,and that no one could hold the country to ransom.
News
Nigeria’s money supply dropped to N92.3trn in March – CBN
Nigeria’s money supply dropped marginally to N92.3 trillion in March 2024 from N93.9 trillion in February.
This is according to recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Experts have linked the development to CBN’s hike in interest rates.
Demand deposits increased from N26.8 trillion to N28.8 trillion, suggesting a preference among depositors for more liquid forms of money.
Similarly, currency outside banks surged from N3.4 trillion to N3.6 trillion as more Nigerians moved towards cash following the end of the apex bank’s controversial new naira note policy.
The naira has continued to depreciate against the dollar despite the CBN’s policy intervention. On Thursday, it further dipped to N1533.99 per dollar.
News
Naira appreciates against dollar, ends week on good note
The Naira appreciated against the dollar at the foreign exchange market barely 24 hours after depreciation.
FMDQ data showed that the N1497.33 appreciated against the dollar on Friday
This represents an N33.66 gain against the dollar compared to N1497.33 traded on Thursday.
Similarly, at the parallel market, the Naira appreciated to N1475 per dollar on Friday from N1555 on Thursday.
This showed that the Naira ended the week well after days of depreciation.
The country’s currency continued to experience instability since mid-April when it recorded months of appreciation.
Meanwhile, the Bureau De Change Operators had blamed forex scarcity for the continued depreciation of Naira.
News
Police dismiss inspector for N29.8m theft, kidnapping
The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed one of its officers identified as Adabo Mohammed for criminal conspiracy and armed robbery, among others.
Mohammed, who was an Inspector, alongside five others was said to be a member of an armed robbery gang allegedly responsible for the stealing of N29.8 million from a victim in Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory.
This was disclosed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement issued at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Friday.
The statement, titled, ‘Police speak tough on indiscipline, misconduct,’ noted that in a move to uphold professional standards within the Force, the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, stressed the Force’s intolerance to any form of indiscipline.
The statement read partly, “In a decisive move to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity within the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has emphasised his administration’s zero-tolerance policy towards any form of indiscipline. He stressed that the mandate of the police is to serve and protect with honour and integrity, and as such all breaches of the core values of the NPF will be met with decisive action to maintain public trust and ensure justice.
“In line with this policy, all cases reported against personnel have been creditably attended to, and justice has been done appropriately. Many of the erring officers have been sanctioned, while some cases are still at the orderly room trial level, and will soon be concluded.
“For instance, a police inspector has been dismissed from service while three others were demoted to their previous ranks following thorough investigations which confirmed their involvement in various acts of indiscipline/crime.”
Adejobi added, “One Inspector Adabo Mohammed was dismissed for the offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery/kidnapping, and corrupt practice. The dismissed officer, along with five others were members of an armed robbery gang responsible for the robbery of the sum of N29.8 million from a victim in Gwagwalada, FCT as well as the kidnap of one Ikechukwu Emmanuel Okafor in Tunga Manje, and the collection of ransom sum of N4.4m. The ex-officer has been charged to court accordingly.
“Similarly, the trio of Inspectors Osagie Efford, Semiu Agbekin, and Francis Ahuen, attached to the Special Tactical Squad (STS), have been demoted to their previous rank of Sergeant for the extortion of some motorists in Abuja. The trio intercepted an unregistered Mercedes Benz at Gwarinpa, Abuja, and forced the occupants to part with the total sum of N29.4m.
“The matter when reported by one Harrison Gwamnishu (#HarrisonBBi18) via the social media platform ‘X’, was taken up and properly investigated. While the monies have been returned to the complainants, the officers were subjected to orderly room trial in line with extant laws, and have been demoted.”
The FPRO noted that some senior officers have “been subjected to the Force Disciplinary Committee hearings” to “scrutinise and address allegations of misconduct against higher-ranking officers of the Force.”
He assured the public that “these measures are taken with the utmost seriousness and are integral to restoring and maintaining their trust. He re-emphasised that the NPF is dedicated to fostering a culture of accountability and respect within all ranks to ensure that police officers serve with integrity.”
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