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Economy

NNPC expends N4 trillion on fuel subsidy between 2010-2015, N966 billion on pipelines repairs

Eyewitness reporter
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has claimed that it funded the Federal Government oil subsidy programme with the whooping sum of N4trillion naira between 2010 to 2015.
Similarly, the corporation said it spent the sum N966 billions on the repairs of vandalised pipelines within the same period while OMS under recovery stood at N28.6billions in 2016.
The agency made this clarification in its response to the query issued by the Auditor-General of the Federation over its refusal to remit the sum of N4.07trillion into the Federation accounts within the period under review.
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts of the National Assembly had on the account of this query summoned the NNPC to come and explain the short fall in its remittances.
However, the Corporation has said that the query by the Auditor-General and the summon by the National Assembly were issued in ignorance of the processes and procedures of the financial obligations of the agency.
The NNPC, in a written response to the committee, said the unremitted N4 trillion was arrived at without taking cognisance of the subsidy and pipeline repairs and management associated with domestic crude oil transaction.
“Subsidy approved and certified by PPRA from 2010-2015 stood at N4 trillion. Also in 2016 OMS under recovery stood at the N28.6 billion, which brings the total unrecognised subsidy/PMS under recovery to N4 trillion.
“Aside the above, pipeline repairs and products losses so incurred stood at N966 billion for the same period,” NNPC said.
Despite its written response, the National Assembly committee has insisted that the management team of the agency should appear to come and answer the emerging questions from the query.
The committee similarly summoned and upbraided the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) over illegal deduction of N1.5 trillion from the federation account.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory (PPPRA) was not spared from the anger of the lawmakers who asked its management to also appear before the committee.
The committee noted that the query showed that only the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) remitted the fund generated to the Federation Account before deduction.
The lawmakers, however, demanded that NNPC should provide the committee with the required details within a week, upon which the query will be vacated or sustained.
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Economy

CBN sells $15.830m at N1.021 per dollar to 1,583 BDCs

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso
The Eyewitness Reporter 
In its ongoing effort to ensure liquidity in the foreign exchange market which is expected to ease the pressure on the naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday disbursed the sum of $15,830,000m to 1,583 licensed Bureau De Change Operators at $10, 000 each.
In a letter dated April 22nd, 2024 and addressed to the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria and signed by Dr Hassan Mahmud, the Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, the beneficiaries are mandated to sell allocated forex to eligible end users ” at a spread of not more than 1.5 percent above the purchase price.
The CBN said the sale of forex to the BDCs will meet market demand (retail-end) for invisible transactions.
The apex bank however advised all the BDCs to continue to abide by the rules and conditions as stipulated in the operational guidelines.
The beneficiary BDCs have trading locations at Lagos, Abuja, Akwa and Kano.
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Economy

News Alert! CBN revokes operational licenses of 4,173 Bureau De Change operators for breach of regulatory guidelines

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso

The Eyewitness Reporter

In its continuous efforts to sanitize the foreign exchange market and halt the frightening slide of the naira in exchange for the dollars, the Central Bank of Nigeria has revoked the operational licenses of 1,173 Bureau De Change operators.

In a press release issued Friday, March 1st, 2024 and signed by Mrs. Sidi Ali Hakama, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications, the apex bank said the axed BDCs failed to observe at least one of the following regulatory provisions which include payment of all necessary fees, including license renewal within the stipulated period in line with the Guidelines, rendition of returns in line with the Guidelines, compliance with guideline, directives and circulars of the CBN, particularly Anti-Money Laundering(AML), countering the Financing of Terrorism(CFT)and Counter-Proliferation Financing(CPF) regulations.

The apex bank said it relied on the powers conferred on it under the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act(BOFIA)2020, Act n0.5 and Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change 2015(the Guidelines).

“The CBN is revising the regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau de Change operations in Nigeria. Compliance with the new requirements will be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector when the revised guidelines become effective.

‘Members of the Public are hereby advised to take note and be guided accordingly”, the statement concluded.

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Economy

Anxiety in public service over massive job loss as Tinubu set to implement Steve Oronsaye panel on civil service reform

The Eyewitness reporter
There is palpable tension among the public service workers as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the full implementation of Steve Oronsaye’s public service reform.
Their anxiety stems from massive job loss that will result from the implementation of the recommendations of the report which seeks the scrapping, subsuming and merging of some Ministries, Departments, and the Agencies of government whose functions are overlapping.
The report also seeks to enhance efficiency in the Federal civil service and reduce the cost of governance.
The Oronsaye report was submitted in 2012 to the Jonathan administration.

In 2014, the Jonathan government released a white paper on the report. The Buhari administration after re-examining the white paper also released a second white paper in August 2022, but did not implement the report.

According to Bayo Onanuga,Special Adviser Information and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the  Tinubu administration has decided to confront the monster of high governance cost by implementing elements of the report.

According to him, an eight-man committee has a 12-week deadline to ensure that the necessary legislative amendments and administrative restructuring needed to implement the reforms are effected efficiently.The committee comprises the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service, Attorney General and Justice Minister, Budget and Planning Minister, DG Bureau of Public Service Reform, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Special assistant to the president on National Assembly. The Cabinet Affairs Office will serve as the secretariat.

Some of the key recommendations of the report for implementation include the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission to be subsumed under the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission.

The National Assembly will need to amend the constitution as RMAFC was established by the constitution.
Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission to be merged with Bureau of Public Enterprise and be rechristened as `Public Enterprises and Infrastructural Concession CommissionNational Human Rights Commission to swallow Public Complaints Commission

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate(PTAD) is to be scrapped and functions to be taken over by the Federal Ministry of Finance

NEMA and National Commission for Refugees to be fused to become the National Emergency and Refugee Management Commission

Border Communities Development Agency to become a department under National Boundary Commission

NACA and NCDC to be merged

SERVICOM to become a department under the Bureau for Public Service Reform(BPSR)

NALDA to return to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

Federal Ministry of Science to supervise a new agency that combines NCAM, NASENI and PRODA

National Commission for Museums and Monuments and National Gallery of Arts to become one entity that will be known as the National Commission for Museums, Monuments and Gallery of Arts.

National Theatre to be merged with National Troupe.

Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa and Directorate of Technical Aid Corp to be merged under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 Nigerians in Diaspora Commission to become an agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Federal Radio Corporation and Voice of Nigeria to be one entity to be known as Federal Broadcasting Corporation of Nigeria

National Biotechnology Development Agency(NABDA) and National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology to be emerged into an agency to be known as National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency(NBRDA).

National Institute for Leather Science Technology and National Institute for Chemical Technology to become one agency.

 Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development to become one agency.

The National Metallurgical Development Centre and National Metallurgical Training Institute will be merged.

National Institute for Trypanosomiasis to be subsumed under the Institute of Veterinary Research in Vom, Jos.

The list is inexhaustive.
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