NAIJAFEED

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Nigeria recovers $24m in poverty minister Betta Edu investigation

Nigeria has recovered 30bn naira ($24m; £19m) as part of an ongoing corruption probe into a suspended minister, the financial watchdog says.

The funds were traced to more than 50 bank accounts, it said.

Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Minister Betta Edu was initially suspended in January over the alleged diversion of $640,000 of public money into a personal bank account.

President Bola Tinubu then ordered an investigation into her ministry.

At the time Dr Edu, 37, denied any wrongdoing. Her office said she had approved the transfer into a personal account, which was not in her name, but said it was for the "implementation of grants to vulnerable groups".

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said during its nearly six weeks of investigating so far, it had found "many angles" to examine.

"As it is now, we are investigating over 50 bank accounts that we have traced money into. That is no child's play. That's a big deal," its chairman Ola Olukoyede said in the latest edition of the agency's monthly e-magazine, EFCC Alert.

He urged Nigerians seeking redress to give the agency time to finish its probe thoroughly.

"We are exploring so many discoveries that we have stumbled upon in our investigation. If it is about seeing people in jail, well let them wait, everything has a process to follow," he said.

The EFCC chairman gave an assurance that the recovered funds were "already in the coffers of the federal government".

The suspension of a minister is a rare occurrence in Nigeria.

By Gloria Aradi, BBC

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Video - Stock Exchange of Nigeria acquires stake in Ethiopia Securities Exchange

NGX, based in Lagos, and other institutional investors poured large sums of cash into the Ethiopian exchange during its recent capital-raising endeavor. This strategic move aligns with NGX's objectives to expand capital market activities in East Africa and foster cross-border investment flows across the continent.

CGTN

Video - Growing calls for Nigeria government to enforce capital punishment on kidnappers

First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu is one of the voices demanding the government aggressively address kidnappings in Nigeria. The country has been plagued by a surge in kidnappings, leaving communities in fear and authorities struggling to contain the crisis.

CGTN

Video - Nigeria ramps up security following spate of kidnappings

Nigerian Troops Rescue 16 Abductees in Kaduna

Video - Families and victims in Nigeria reeling from impact of kidnappings

Video - Kaduna state abductions raise Nigeria's insecurity crisis

President Tinubu rules out ransoms for abducted students as observers urge dialogue

kidnappers say they will kill all 287 school if $622,000 ransom not paid

61 people kidnapped in Kaduna, Nigeria

Video - At least 15 students kidnapped in Nigeria - Third mass kidnapping since last week

Gunmen abduct 287 students in northwestern Nigeria in latest school attack

Suspected insurgents kidnap 50 people in northeast Nigeria

Nigerian govt unveils mobile app to track MDAs’ performance

The Federal Government of Nigeria has launched a mobile application that allows citizens to track the activities and performance of ministries and government agencies using their deliverables and key performance indicators.

The mobile application, which is tagged: “Citizens’ Delivery Tracker,” was unveiled by the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Coordination Delivery Unit (CDCU), Hadiza Usman, at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Monday, 8 April.

Ms Usman said the new application is an upgraded version of the previous Delivery Tracker, which would provide a strong feedback loop between the government and the people.

Ms Usman speaks

According to her, the CDCU aims to build public trust in the government and promote transparency and accountability at all levels with the delivery tracker.

“In arriving at the deliverables and key performance indicators, the CDCU, supported by development partners and consultants, held numerous bilateral meetings with all the Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, and their respective technical teams over six weeks.

“The bilateral sessions looked at the mandate of the respective ministries in line with the Presidential Priority Areas and arrived at the final deliverable and KPIs,” she said.

Ms Usman listed some of the areas of priority including reforming the economy to deliver sustained inclusive growth; strengthening national security for peace and prosperity; boosting agriculture to achieve food security, and unlocking energy and natural resources for sustainable development.

Others are to enhance infrastructure and transportation as growth enablers; focus on education, health, and social investment as essential pillars of development; accelerate diversification through industrialisation, digitisation, creative arts, manufacturing, and innovation, and improve governance for effective service delivery.

The presidential aide also noted that the CDCU would ensure that data and information released on the app to the public are accurate and credible.

She added: “We are working to ensure that people cannot decline, dodge, or dispute our data. So, we are looking to have data from the NBS and work in collaboration with MDAs to ensure accuracy.

“Part of citizen engagement is for citizens to point out our errors, allowing us to query our own data whether credible or not.

“We are trying to strengthen the NBS’ capacity to ensure credibility. So, that means anything outside of the approved government data will not be recognised. The government needs to invest in data, recognise the need for data integrity, and hold on to that”.

She said the platform is currently available as a web link on the CDCU website and will soon be available as an app for download.

By Beloved John, Premium Times

NNPC faces $3 billion backlog on petrol payments

Nigeria's state-oil company NNPC owes around $3 billion to fuel traders for imported petrol, three sources told Reuters, as the tumbling naira currency and rising global fuel prices have increased the effective subsidy it is paying.

The payment backlog is a blow to the government's efforts in Africa's largest economy to shore up its strained finances by curbing costly energy subsidies.

"They are paying, but it's slow," one of the sources with knowledge of the matter said. Five sources said that NNPC - the country's main importer of petrol - was taking more than 130 days to make the payments instead of within 90 days.

An NNPC spokesperson said the company was "not aware of any such debt nor any financial issues of such magnitude".

"Our focus remains on sustaining sufficiency in the supply of petroleum products in Nigeria," the spokesperson said.

NNPC's suppliers, including international traders like Vitol, Mercuria and Gunvor as well as Nigeria-based trading houses, are still supplying fuel, the sources said. They declined to be named because they are not authorised to speak to the media. The trading firms declined to comment.

But the payment delays underscore the creeping return of fuel subsidies - scrapped in May 2023 - that sap NNPC's cash for imports and what it can send to President Bola Tinubu's government.

Nigeria had subsidised fuel for years to keep pump prices affordable, but Tinubu removed them as part of wider reforms, allowing prices to triple. Petrol consumption fell by around 30% as higher prices curbed smuggling to neighbouring countries.

In June, the government capped pump prices at a nationwide average of 617 naira per litre as Nigerians grappled with punishing inflation.

"It's hard to overstate the significance of fuel subsidies for the administration," said Clementine Wallop, director for sub-Saharan Africa at political risk consultancy Horizon Engage.

"It was subsidy removal and exchange rate reform that had investors and lenders initially positive about his administration, and it was their removal Tinubu hoped would give his team the ability to spend in the many other areas that need funding."

Nigeria is almost wholly reliant on fuel imports due to years of mismanagement and under-investment at state-owned oil refineries.

QUEUES AND BACKLOG OF BILLS

Last week, motorists queued for petrol across Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, due to a shortage of fuel from depots. Clement Isong, head of the Major Oil Marketers Association (MOMAN), said logistical issues over Easter caused the constraints, which would soon abate.

Oil industry sources said rising global gasoline prices and a weaker naira had also impacted NNPC's ability to import.

At their peak in February, market prices for petrol in West Africa were 1,229 naira per litre, 150% above the level the government capped prices in June, according to pricing data from Argus Media converted with tracking site Aboxifx naira rates. They have since fallen to around 912 naira per litre, still 295 naira above the capped price.

That left NNPC as the sole importer of the roughly 40 million litres per day the country consumes, as private importers cannot recoup their costs.

Since the naira has slid against the dollar and oil prices have risen, NNPC is losing money on every litre sold, traders said.

The International Monetary Fund recently warned that capping pump prices and electricity tariffs below cost recovery could shave up to 3% off GDP in 2024.

"The government still needs to begin formulating a plan to remove the fuel subsidy when conditions allow," Tellimer's Patrick Curran said in a note.

By Libby George and Julia Payne, Reuters