News
Obi links govt officials to oil theft, seeks total overhaul of security architecture
Presidential Candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, has called for a total overhaul of the nation’s security architecture to achieve sustainable economic growth.
He also linked some top government officials to the huge oil theft in Nigeria, lamenting that the inability of the Muhammadu Buhari administration to curtail the high network crime which he claimed cost the country N2.7 trillion in two months (July and August).
Obi, who stated this at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCCI) Private Sector Economic Forum on the 2023 Presidential election in Lagos on Monday, described Nigeria as a failed state that is begging to be rescued.
He said, “On the issue of insecurity, let me tell you, whoever comes into government in 2023, one thing we must decisively and aggressively deal with is the issue of security.
“Insecurity is the number one thing that is impacting Nigeria’z economic growth today and we need to deal with it as quickly as possible and am assuring you, when am saying I am going to be in charge during my administration, we will deal with it decisively and head on.
“Insecurity, people will say how are you going to deal with it? Yes, you need to overhaul the entire security architecture in the country.
“Ensure that it is put in place aggressively, including having multiple-level policing; federal, states and community.
“Equip the public and provide them with modern gadgets. You cannot tell me today that anybody can say that somebody is kidnapped, kept somewhere and they are using phones to exchange calls with his family members in this time and age.
“If he is sick, they even invite doctor to go and treat him, and police will say they didn’t know where they are? I am not going to take that for one day in my government. “Go and check with what I did with the security in Anambra state. Go and ask people.
“We provided every community with vehicles; new vehicles and gadgets for security purposes. No state in Nigeria has done that. I can assure you, we will do exactly that come 2023 with our government in place because at the heart of what we are going through today is security and it must be decisively death with holistically.”
He also said the oil theft in the country was politically motivated and a failure of political will by the current government to stop it because some insiders in the government are benefiting, including security agencies. Obi said, “When it comes to the issue of oil theft, I have said it before; there is no way under my watch we will not find solution to oil theft in this country.
“It is possible. Look at the oil theft at a time we critically need every single resources. In July, we were the only country in the world that did not meet up with our OPEC production except Venezuela, because of hardships.
“At the beginning of July, our oil production was 1.83mmbpd. Whereas, same July, we had 700,000mbpd shortage. Then when you multiply it by 31 days, it is 22.2mmbpd that we lost to oil theft and the average trading of oil in July was $110.
“So, we lost $2.45 billion in revenue in one month. If you multiply $2.45 billion by N550 official exchange rate, it will give you N1.34 trillion and we are still owing ASUU N1.3 trillion of ther severance packages. “One month of stealing. In the month of August, it became even worse. Our oil supply in the month of August went down to 975,000bpd.”
News
Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers
Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers
A former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Tuesday visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to honour another invitation extended to him over alleged misappropriation of funds.
Bello went to the anti-graft office with his lawyers in the morning.
The ex-Kogi governor reportedly drove himself to the EFCC’s office in a black Toyota Hilux van with some lawyers.
He was said to have been taken by some operatives of the agency and are currently being grilled.
This is coming after the Supreme Court judgment which dismissed a suit brought by some state governments challenging the constitutionality of the agency.
The EFCC at the last hearing on November 14, sought the adjournment till November 27 in the fresh case it instituted against Bello.
It stated that the 30-day window was still running for the summons earlier issued.
News
Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct
Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct
Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has announced the immediate suspension of two commissioners with a permanent secretary among others for gross misconduct.
Those suspended are the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Francis Ori, and the Commissioner for Health, Moses Ekuma, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
The suspension followed an incident on Saturday night, when the governor reportedly visited the Ministry of Health’s premises and was said to have found six officials diverting government materials.
Others suspended for three months are the Executive Secretaries of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency
The suspension order was announced by the state Commissioner for Information, Jude Okpor, who cited alleged misconduct and dereliction of duties as the reasons for the disciplinary actions.
Okpor made the disclosure on Tuesday during a press briefing on the outcomes of the State Executive Council meeting held on Monday at the New Government House in Abakaliki, the state capital.
“Following cases of gross misconduct and dereliction of duties by some government officials and matters related thereto, the Chairman of Council directed the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health, respectively
“In view of the development, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Primary Health was directed to take charge of the ministry in the absence of the suspended commissioner.
Governor Nwifuru directed the suspended government officials to hand over all government properties in their possession including vehicles to the Secretary to the State Government.
News
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
The Federal Government has defended its decision to borrow to address budget deficits, despite surpassing revenue targets in 2024.
Finance Minister Wale Edun and Budget Minister Atiku Bagudu clarified this position during a session with the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Finance, Budget, and National Planning. The meeting focused on the 2025–2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
Last week, the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s $2.2 billion loan request to fund the N9.7 trillion deficit in the 2024 budget partially.
During the session, key agency heads, including Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) CEO Mele Kyari, Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman Zacch Adedeji, presented their revenue reports.
The agencies reported exceeding their 2024 targets.
- Customs Service: Generated ₦5.352 trillion by September 30, surpassing its ₦5.09 trillion target for the year. For 2025, the agency projects ₦6.3 trillion, with a 10% increase planned for 2026.
- NNPCL: Achieved ₦13.1 trillion in revenue, exceeding the ₦12.3 trillion projection for 2024. Kyari announced a ₦23.7 trillion revenue target for 2025.
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- FIRS: Surpassed multiple tax collection goals, including ₦5.7 trillion from company income tax against a ₦4 trillion target. Education tax collections also exceeded expectations, reaching ₦1.5 trillion compared to a ₦70 billion target.
Overall, ₦18.5 trillion of the ₦19.4 trillion 2024 revenue target had been achieved by September, indicating the goal will be exceeded by year-end.
Despite these surpluses, the government insists borrowing remains essential to cover budget gaps and support vulnerable populations.
Bagudu explained, “Even with agencies exceeding revenue targets, borrowing is necessary to address deficits and boost productivity, particularly for the poorest. This aligns with Agenda 2050, which aims for a GDP per capita of $33,000.”
Edun also reiterated that loans were critical for adequately funding the budget.
The committee, led by Senator Sani Musa, questioned the rationale behind the borrowing and demanded further transparency. The Immigration Service was specifically asked to provide documents regarding an “unacceptable PPP arrangement” before the end of the week.
The session underscored the government’s balancing act between increased revenues and fiscal challenges requiring external borrowing.
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
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