Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has appointed Shamseldeen Ogunjimi as the acting “accountant general of the federation” (AGF).

In a statement on Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, Ogunjimi’s appointment takes effect immediately following the pre-retirement leave of the incumbent AGF, Oluwatoyin Madein.

“In announcing Madein’s successor, President Tinubu ensures a seamless transition in the administration of Nigeria’s treasury and consolidates the implementation of the present administration’s treasury policy reforms,” Onanuga said.

“As a career civil servant and the most senior director in the “Office of the Accountant General of the Federation” (OAGF), Mr. Ogunjimi brings over 30 years of extensive experience in financial management across the public and private sectors.

“He has held significant positions, including Director of Funds at the OAGF and Director of Finance and Accounts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Onanuga said Ogunjimi is a chartered accountant, certified fraud examiner, chartered stockbroker, and chartered security and investment specialist.

His academic qualifications, according to the special adviser, include a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in accountancy and a master’s in finance and accounting.

Tinubu expressed his confidence in Ogunjimi, saying the office of the AGF is pivotal to Nigeria’s treasury management operations.

“Mr. Ogunjimi’s wealth of experience and notable competence will ensure the continued effectiveness of this vital institution as we advance our economic reform agenda,” the president said.

Tinubu also commended Madein for her dedication and selfless service to the nation.

Onanuga said that after reaching the civil service’s statutory retirement age, Madein will retire effectively on March 7, 2025.

Embattled human rights lawyer, Mr. Dele Farotimi, has been sent back to jail.

This development follows the adjournment of the ruling on Farotimi’s bail application, which was postponed until December 20, 2024.

Omoyele Sowore, former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), confirmed this in a post on his X handle on Tuesday.

“The ruling on @delefarotimi’s bail application was today adjourned till December 20.”

“Dele Farotimi has been sent back to prison for the next 10 days. See what begging has done? #FreeDeleFarotimiNow.”

The lawyer and human rights activist had appeared before the Chief Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Tuesday for a bail hearing.

Farotimi, who arrived at the court in a police security van around 10:00 am, was accompanied by officials from the correctional centre.

Recall that Farotimi was arrested in Lagos State by officers of the Ekiti State Police Command, following a defamation lawsuit filed by Chief Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has announced that the new “Port Harcourt refinery” is over 90 percent complete.

The “Port Harcourt Refining Company” (PHRC) operates two refineries: the old plant, which has a capacity of 60,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd), and a new facility with a capacity of 150,000 bpsd, bringing the combined crude processing capacity of the refinery to 210,000 bpsd.

Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer of NNPC, made the statement on Monday during a visit to the facility by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) labour leaders in Rivers State.

Represented by Isiyaku Abudulai, NNPC’s executive vice president of downstream, Kyari mentioned that the new “Port Harcourt refinery” is undergoing rehabilitation and will be updated soon.

“When the rehabilitation is completed, it will be up and running and state-of-the-art, comparable to any refinery around the world. So, there will be compliance to “health and safety compliance” (HSC),” he said.

“All the assurances of compliance will be made. That is why a total rehabilitation is being carried out. According to the contractor, Tecnimont SPA, and the reports they send us, they are over 90 percent completed, and we will address that as soon as possible.”

“We are also following up to ensure we get value, and with the combined 60,000 bpsd and 150,000 bpsd, totaling 210,000 bpsd, it will support our refining processes, our products, and the multiple benefits we aim to achieve with our refined products in the country.”

• ‘NEW PORT HARCOURT REFINERY WILL PROPEL EXPORTS’

Kyari stated that once the rehabilitation is complete, the refinery will boost sufficiency, exports, imports, and local consumption of petroleum products, especially petrol.

He further explained that the NNPC has ensured the establishment of a professional and technical operations and maintenance (O&M) team that will continue to operate and maintain the facilities.

Kyari noted that globally, if proper rehabilitation, including turnaround maintenance, is not conducted, issues are bound to arise.

“And that also involves looking at the processes and assets, replacing aging items that need to be changed, and ensuring the refinery is operational,” he said.

“That’s fundamental, and as I said, we are engaging the best O&M teams worldwide to support this process.”

The GCEO added that the company would intensify monitoring to ensure that “we comply with the best practices around the refinery across the world.”

On November 26, the old “Port Harcourt refinery” resumed crude oil processing after several years of inactivity.

The state-owned plant also began loading petroleum products for trucks.