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Reps Summon NNPC Boss, CBN Governor, Allege N3.2tn, Others Unremitted

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The House of Representatives has summoned the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, over non-remittance of $19.25bn (approximately N3.24tn) revenue that accrued from sales of crude oil in 2014.

Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Wole Oke, issued the summons based on audit queries issued by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation for the period.

The committee had penultimate week accused the NNPC GMD of refusing to respond to an audit query issued against the corporation over alleged illegal withdrawals from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited’s Dividends Account, totaling of $20.3bn.

Kyari, who has yet to appear before the lawmakers on the NLNG matter, had denied the allegation elsewhere.

The OAuGF, in its report for 2014, said from the examination of NNPC mandates to the CBN on Domestic Crude Oil Sales and Reconciliation in the Statement of Technical Committee of Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting held in January 2014, it showed that ‘a total sum of N3,234,577,666,791.35 was not remitted to the Federation Account by NNPC within the period under review.”

The query further read, “Cost estimated for crude and product losses was N55,964,682,158.99, which is about 50 percent of pipeline management cost of N110,402,541,010.88. Names of contractors, location, and the amount paid to each for the pipeline maintenance were not sighted for audit verification.

“Over 31 percent – N826,506,271,231.26 – divided by N2,636,390,514,777.18 multiply by 100 percent – of the realized crude sales for the year were earmarked as other expenses, apart from the direct cost of production stated in NNPC reports for the year 2014. The breakdown of other expenses was not provided for audit.

“From the above analysis, it means that the Federation Account is losing 31 percent (N826,506,271,231.26) being an additional estimated cost from the total amount that should have to accrue to Federation Account.”

The auditor-general added, “From the total revenue of N3,234,577,666,791.35 as at 14th January 2015, payable to the Federation Account by NNPC during the year, the corporation deducted the sum of N826,506,271,231.26, i.e. N660,139,048,061.39, N55,964,682,158.99, and N110,402,541,010.88, for subsidy estimate, crude and product losses and pipeline management cost, respectively, at source thereby resulting to the net amount withheld figure of N2,408,041,395,560.33 shown in the above table to the Federation Account.

“All these deductions at source by NNPC were not approved by FAAC.”

The OAuGF, therefore, requested the Accountant General of the Federation to inform the NNPC’s GMD to explain the flagrant withholding of domestic crude oil sales revenue by the corporation.

According to the auditor, there has been no positive response on similar issues raised in 2012.

The accountant-general consequently asked the GMD of NNPC to ‘provide names of the contractors, location, the amount paid, to each for the pipeline maintenance for verification and the process being used by PPPRA for the repayment of subsidy to the oil marketers should be used for NNPC instead of the latter deducting the subsidy at the source.”

The office also declared that deduction at source by NNPC must stop ‘henceforth as this is a contravention of Section 162(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that ‘all revenue proceeds should be paid to the Federation Account’.

While the committee reviewed the response of the accountant-general, Oke and members of the panel insisted that the NNPC and CBN bosses should cause appearance in persons, as the accountant-general could not provide sufficient evidence on the audit query of such magnitude.

In a related development, Kyari is also expected to respond to other audit queries, including subsidy payments totaling N248.27bn which were not budgeted for in the 2014 Appropriation Act.

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JUST IN: Reps Reject Bill Seeking Single Six-Year Term, Zonal Rotation For President, Governors

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The House of Representatives on Thursday, November 21, rejected a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at instituting a single six-year term for the president, governors, and local government chairmen across the federation.

The bill, sponsored by Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo) and 33 co-sponsors, also sought to divide the country into six geopolitical zones and establish a rotational system for the presidency and governorship within these zones.

Additionally, the bill proposed that all elections be conducted on a single day.

It aimed to amend Section 132 of the Constitution by inserting a new subsection (2), deleting the extant subsection (4), and renumbering the entire section accordingly. The proposed amendment would have stipulated that elections to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria be rotated between the North and South regions every six years.

The bill also sought to amend Section 180 of the Constitution, replacing “four years” with “six years.”

Furthermore, it proposed altering Section 76 by inserting a new subsection (3), which would read: “(3) For the purpose of Section (1) of this section, all elections into the offices of President, Governors, National Assembly, and State Houses of Assembly shall hold simultaneously on the same date to be determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission in consultation with the National Assembly and in accordance with the Electoral Act.”

When the bill, which was scheduled for a second reading, was put to a vote, the majority of lawmakers voted against it. This is not the first time the House has rejected a bill seeking a six-year single term for the president and governors.

In 2019, a similar bill, sponsored by John Dyegh from Benue State, also failed to progress to the second reading.

Dyegh’s bill had also proposed a six-year term for Members of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. He argued that a six-year term would allow members of the National Assembly to gain more experience, as opposed to the current four-year term.

According to Dyegh, re-election for the president and governors costs three times more than the first election and is often marked by violence. He believes a single term of five years would help curb the irregularities associated with re-election.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had also proposed a further amendment to the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022, advocating for a six-year single term for the president for each of the six geopolitical zones.

He added that the law must mandate electronic voting and the collation of results, and require the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to verify the credentials of candidates, among other reforms.

The governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, also backed calls in June this year for a single term for elected politicians.

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BIG STORY

I Appointed Aides On Garden Egg, Yam, Pepper To Boost Food Production — Enugu LG Chairman

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Eric Odo, chairman of Igbo Etiti LGA in Enugu state, has defended the appointment of aides for yam, pepper, and garden egg.

On Tuesday, Odo announced the appointments of Ezeugwu Ogbonna as senior special assistant on agriculture (yam and pepper) and Nwodo Ugonna as special adviser on garden egg and pepper.

The appointments attracted criticism from many Nigerians, who viewed the positions as an anomaly.

In his defense on Wednesday, Odo explained that the appointments were designed to increase the production of these crops in large quantities, aiming to meet local demands and support export.

The chairman emphasized that the Igbo-Etiti area is particularly well-suited to cultivating these crops and holds a significant comparative advantage.

“Their appointments are to ensure that local farmers receive adequate attention, needed resources, support, and expertise to enhance production, improve market access, and increase income for farmers,” NAN quoted Odo as saying.

“In essence, the appointment, which is wrongly misunderstood by disgruntled individuals, bad losers, and opposition, reinforces my determination to create a thriving local economy based on the strengths and potentials of Igbo-Etiti’s agricultural landscape.”

Odo explained that the decision was part of a carefully considered plan aimed at boosting productivity, creating jobs, and improving the livelihoods of farmers within the LGA’s communities.

He called on the public to disregard any online or offline comments intended to discredit the appointments, asserting that the council is committed to massive food production and sustainable development.

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BIG STORY

JUST IN: Simon Ekpa, Four Others Arrested In Finland Over Terror-Related Activities

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Finnish-Nigerian separatist agitator, Simon Ekpa, and four other individuals have been arrested in Finland over terror-related activities.

A local report in Finland stated that Ekpa, the self-declared “Prime Minister of Biafra Republic Government In-Exile,” was remanded in custody by the district court of Päijät-Häme on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.

In a Thursday statement published on its website, the Central Criminal Police in Finland said it had arrested five people on suspicion of terrorist crimes.

The police said the main suspect was arrested “on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent,” while four others were arrested “for financing a terrorist crime.”

The police added: “Claims will be heard in Päijät-Häme district court today, November 21.”

The statement reads: “The detention demands are related to the preliminary investigation, in which a Finnish citizen of Nigerian background, born in the 1980s, is suspected of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.”

“The police suspect that the man has promoted his efforts from Finland by means that have led to violence against civilians and authorities as well as other crimes in the region of South-Eastern Nigeria.”

The statement quoted the head of the investigation, Crime Commissioner Otto Hiltunen from the Central Crime Police, as saying that “the man has carried out this activity, among other things, on his social media channels.

“Four other persons are suspected of financing the aforementioned activity. All five suspects of the crime have been arrested during the beginning of the week.”

“International cooperation has been carried out during the preliminary investigation,” the statement added.

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