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Tag: Federal Government of Nigeria

Nigerian Opposition Figure Sells $100m Intels Shares, Blames Buhari-led Govt for Woes

Former Vice President and co-founder of Integrated Logistics Services Nigeria Limited (Intels), Atiku Abubakar, has finally sold his shares in the company through a series of transactions executed by Guernsey Trust in an open-secret deals that began in December 2018 but reached its climax last year.

With the transaction over, Atiku accused the President Muhammadu Buhari administration of displaying rare greater urgency in the last five years in destroying legitimate businesses that are employing thousands of Nigerians because of politics.

It was gathered that the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sold his shares in Intels to Orleal Investment Group, the parent company of Intels, for various amounts totaling over $100 million.

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The money was paid to Atiku in three instalments – $60 million, $29 million and $24.1 million.

With this transaction, the former vice president has divested from Intels, Nigeria’s undisputed largest logistics company which provides comprehensive integrated services for the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Confirming the development, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, said it’s true that his boss “has been selling his shares in Intels over the years.”

According to him, “It assumed greater urgency in the last five years, because this government (President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration) has been preoccupied with destroying a legitimate business that was employing thousands of Nigerians because of politics.

“There should be a marked difference between politics and business.

“Yes, he (Atiku) has sold his shares in Intels and redirected his investment to other sectors of the economy for returns and creation of jobs.”

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Intels spokesman, Tommaso Ruffinoni, also corroborated Ibe’s statement, saying Atiku gave the company a goodbye kiss in December 2019.

The spokesperson added that with Atiku’s exit, two of his children working in Intels, Adamu Atiku Abubakar and Aminu Atiku Abubakar, have left Intels.

The former vice president in 2015 described Intels as his most successful business, but the story changed in the last five years as the Buhari administration allegedly moved to stifle Atiku as the symbol of opposition in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) purportedly cancelled its 17-year-old contract for pilotage monitoring with Intels without any cogent reasons.

The Buhari administration had in October 2017 directed NPA to terminate the boats pilotage monitoring and supervision agreement that the agency has with Intels, arguing that the contract was void ab initio.

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Riding on the present administration’s disdain for Atiku, NPA accused Intels of refusing to remit to the Federal Government service boat pilotage revenue in the firm’s custody, which amounted to $207.646 million (N78.905 billion) as at September 30, 2019.

NPA explained that the money was aside from service boat pilotage revenue for January 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020, amounting to $97.029 million, which added up to $307.675 million (N115.775 billion) in the custody of Intels.

But, the then Atiku’s Intels denied all the allegations, saying NPA was owing it to the tune of $895.8 million cumulatively.

Idowu Sowunmi

January 5, 2021
Why Nigerian Government May Impose Fresh Travel Ban

The Federal Government of Nigeria is worried over the rising cases of mutated strain of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom and may impose a travel ban to and from countries that are still badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Fresh concerns about the coronavirus among Nigerian officials was expressed on Monday in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who disclosed at a Special Forum of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that government may consider travel ban to stem a possible spread of mutated virus in Nigeria.

Mohammed, a member of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, said while the government appreciates the negative economic impact of another lockdown, it would not rule out restriction on movement to and from certain parts of the world.

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“We are more concerned about the new strain of COVID-19 which is manifesting itself in the UK; that is the mutated strain.

“It is difficult to detect, it spreads faster and people have been known to die of it within a very short period of its detection.

“This is a major concern to us as a country.

“While I do not want to pre-empt the PTF because we are meeting this afternoon, it is going to be top on the agenda of our discussions.

“I will not be surprised if that will be the recommendation of the committee which is meeting later today,’’ he said.

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The minister added: “This season, many students are coming from the UK in particular, to come and join their families in Nigeria.

“Besides, many of our people, because of the traditional link we have with UK, may want to go there for business or family re-union.

“It is a very testy time and it might be another dangerous period to transmit this new variant of COVID-19.”

The minister noted that many European countries had banned flights to and from the UK.

According to Mohammed, the Federal Government will not hesitate in giving the directive if it is the only way Nigerians can be protected from the agony of the new variant of COVID-19.

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Besides measures to prevent the importation of the new strain of COVID-19, the minister said government was worried about the spike in infections in the last couple of days.

He enjoined Nigerians to comply with the advisory being regularly issued by the PTF, including the use of face mask, compliance with social distancing protocols and regular washing of hands with soap and water.

The minister also urged Nigerians to refrain from local or international travels except if absolutely necessary.

December 21, 2020
Labour Union in Nigeria Rejects Another Hike in Petrol, Knocks Government on Failed Responsibilities

The immediate reversal of the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol has been demanded by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Monday.

The demand was made known In a statement by the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, who condemned the increase in the price of the product by the Federal Government.

It stated that the recent hike in petrol pump price has worsened the level of pain and anguish in the country.

According to the NLC, it is worrisome to make Nigerians continue to suffer for the failures of successive governments to properly manage the nation’s refineries.

It added that the development has questioned the explanations made by the government on the payment of subsidy.

The union insisted that the nation would not have been in its present position if the government had been alive to its responsibilities.

It warned that Nigerians have a limit to tolerate the continued increase in the price of refined petroleum products and other essential goods and services.

On the way forward, the NLC asked the government to fix the nation’s refineries, stressing that several options were available to tackle the trend of high prices of refined petroleum products.

Among other recommendations, it asked the government to declare a state of emergency in the downstream petroleum sector and seal refining deals with refineries closer to Nigeria.

A file photo of an attendant filling the fuel tank of a car.

The union was, however, silent on what action it would take if the increased price was not reversed.

The Federal Government had announced a new pump price band for petroleum products, raising the ex-depot price of petrol to N155.17, making marketers sell between N165 and N173 per litre to consumers.

Read the full statement by the NLC below:

THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS CONDEMNS AND REJECTS THE RECENT INCREASE IN THE PRICE OF PETROL (PREMIUM MOTOR SPIRIT)

There is no doubt that there is great disquiet in the land over the extraordinary level of inflation in the country. The recent increase in the pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has only exacerbated the current level of pain and anguish in the country.

The recent increase in the pump price of PMS is clearly against the spirit and content of what Organized Labour agreed with government at the last negotiations over the last fuel price increase.

It has also cast in very bad light our utmost good faith with regards to government explanations that it lacks funds to continue bankrolling the so-called subsidy payments as such would sooner than later cripple the entire economy, throw the country into severe economic crisis and cause loss of jobs in millions.

While we await the full recovery of our refineries as contained in our agreement with government, Nigerians cannot be made to bleed endlessly for the failures of successive government to properly manage our refineries, ensure value for money for the numerous Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) which were poorly and barely executed and the horrifying lack of interest in prosecuting public officials and private business people who have profited from the rot in our petroleum sector and the collective misery they have imposed on the general population.

The truth is that we would not have been in this precarious situation if government had been alive to its responsibilities. There is a limit to what the citizens can tolerate if this abysmal increases in the price of refined petroleum products and other essential goods and services continue.

While we fix our refineries, there are a number of options open to government to stem the tide of high prices of refined petroleum products. One is for government to declare a state of emergency in our downstream petroleum sector. As a follow up to this, government should enter into contract refining with refineries closer home to Nigeria.

This will ensure that the cost of supplying of crude oil is negotiated away from prevailing international market rate so that the landing cost of refined petroleum products is significantly reduced.

Government should also demonstrate the will to stamp out the smuggling of petroleum products out of Nigeria. We need to see big-time petroleum smugglers arraigned in the court of law and made to pay for their crimes against the Nigerian people. Government has the resources available to it to ensure this economic justice to Nigerians.

The question in the minds of many Nigerians is if government is willing to go headlong against major financiers of the major political parties known to the public as the architects of the current national woe.

We also demand that Nigerians should be carried along on the distribution of refined petroleum products. Information of the distribution of petroleum products to petrol stations should be advertised and made public knowledge.

It should not be difficult to establish the average time it takes a petrol station to exhaust its supplies. There is already an established market trend which will help government fix the rot in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.

Second, we call on government to review the entire process of licensing for modular and bigger refineries. It is queer to depend on the enterprise of one man to fix Nigeria’s downstream petroleum subsector. The more public and private refineries in play, the higher the competition.

This would serve end consumers who would benefit from lower prices. Organized Labour will not accept a fait accompli of the monopoly of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector or the emergence of a cartel of Oligarchs whose end game is mass pauperisation.

Third, in line with our recent agreement with government, we will be receiving updates in the next few days from our unions in the petroleum sector which have been given the mandate to keep surveillance on government promise to overhaul our public refineries.

We will also receive updates from our representatives in the electricity review committee. The updates we receive will determine whether the government has kept to its side of the bargain which is to take serious steps to recover and reposition our public refineries.

The outcome of this engagement will determine our response in the coming days. But while we are at that, we condemn the recent price increase, and we call for its reversal with immediate effect.

Comrade Ayuba Wabba, mni

President

16th November 2020

November 16, 2020
All Civil Servants to Resume Oct 19 – FG

The Federal Government has directed civil servants who have not been going to work since March when the lockdown declared to curtail the spread of COVID-19 started to return to work from Monday 19th, 2020.

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The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha; and the National Coordinator, Sanni Aliyu, disclosed this at the press briefing of the task force on Thursday.

Only civil servants of Salary Grade Level 12 and above as well as those on essential duties have been going to work.

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But the PTF has directed that civil servants below SGL 12 can now resume work.
It however directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure that they alternate the days the civil servants will be at work in order to ensure social distancing.

October 15, 2020
Labour: FG Makes Last Ditch Effort to Avert Costly Strike 7pm

Labour: FG Makes Last Ditch Effort to Avert Costly Strike 7pm

In what appears to be a last ditch effort to avert the impending nationwide strike action by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Federal Government has scheduled a meeting with the leadership of Organised Labour for 7pm on Sunday.

Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Charles Akpan, confirmed the meeting in a statement.

Earlier adjourned to Monday at 3pm on after the Federal Government failed to reach an agreement with Labour on fuel and electricity tariff hikes, the meeting will hold at the Old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja by 7pm.

“The Honorable Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige will be meeting with the Organized Labour.

“The meeting earlier scheduled for Monday 28th September 2020 is now scheduled as follows:

“Date: Today, Sunday, 27th September 2020; Venue Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa: Time: 7pm”, Akpan Stated.

Tobiloba Kolawole

September 27, 2020
FG Plans Autogas As Alternative To Petrol – VP Osinbajo

Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, says the Federal Government would focus on autogas as an alternative to the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Laolu Akande, issued on Saturday, Osinbajo disclosed the plan during a virtual interactive session hosted by the Africa Report magazine on Thursday.

Read the full statement below

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

We Will Focus On Auto Gas As Alternative To Petrol –Osinbajo

*Use of Compressed Natural Gas part of ESP

*VP says no plan to increase taxes

In a determined effort to offer Nigerians an effective option to petrol, the Federal Government will focus on developing Compressed Natural Gas otherwise known as autogas, which is priced significantly lower than PMS.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, stated this during a virtual interactive session hosted by the Africa Report magazine on Thursday.

Answering a participant’s questions regarding the removal of petrol subsidy, the Vice President said: “we have experienced a severe downturn in our finances over the years, so at 60 per cent less revenue, we are in a position where sustaining fuel subsidies is practically impossible simply because we do not have the resources.”

According to him, “what we have decided to do is to focus on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which is about half the price of petrol today. So, if we use CNG for our cars and for our buses, it will cost between N78 and N80 or so per liter.”

Under the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP), the Federal Government’s objective is to promote domestic use of CNG and support the creation of 1 million jobs by maximizing the domestic use of CNG while reducing reliance on refined petroleum products like kerosene and Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

Responding to a question regarding increase in taxes, the Vice President noted that the administration has no plans of increasing taxes, stating that “our position really is that, this is hardly the time to raise taxes”.

According to him, “It is even more difficult for people to pay taxes now than ever before, I mean, given the state of affairs, but this is why we’re doing everything now.

“We are trying to ensure that businesses survive this period by providing as much support as we can, and by relieving them of as much burden as possible and ensuring that they are able to get some moratorium so that they can at least continue to run their businesses and by all the other interventions and support that we are giving, we hope that those interventions will help businesses.

“Our approach is first to ensure that we save jobs. If we save jobs and save businesses, and then do the best we can in agriculture, the housing scheme and all of that, we will actually be able to improve spending and if we are able to improve spending, taxes will definitely improve, and if businesses survive, taxes will improve. So, those are the sort of projections that we are looking at.”

It would be recalled that the 2020 Finance Act exempts businesses generating less than N25 million in annual turnover from Companies Income Tax. Also, businesses with a turnover of between N25m and N100m will only pay 20% Companies Income Tax instead of the 30% which was the former applicable rate.

The Vice President had recently said it is the plan of the Buhari administration to put money in the hands of Nigerians.

Addressing concerns raised about electricity tariffs, the Vice President said the era of subsidizing petrol and electricity was over, noting that government has adopted measures of addressing the situation.

His words: “What we are trying to do is to ensure that we are able to reform the electricity industry. The industry is privatized except for the transmission sector. But what we have seen is that the distribution companies (DisCos) are just not able to meet their targets or to even provide electricity on any kind of stable basis now.

“The DisCos have been hankering all these years for a cost-reflective tariff and government has been paying the subsidy. In fact, in the past few years, we have spent about N1.3 trillion on subsidies for electricity. Again, here is a situation where that is completely unaffordable.

“We want to ensure that new companies come into the market. So, that will be decentralized completely. This way, in several parts of our country, we can have micro-grids, small grids, and all of that. We are doing 5 million solar connections as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan. We think that, with all these, we can electrify our country within a short period of time.”

The Vice President added that the overall target of government in the Economic Sustainability Plan is to save existing jobs and revamp businesses by improving the spending capability of Nigerians through the various initiatives in industry, agriculture, mass housing, and the solar connectivity projects.

Over 1, 200 persons on different platforms across the world, participated in the virtual event tagged by Africa Report, the organisers as Digital Dialogues.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Office of the Vice President
26th September 2020

September 26, 2020
PDP Replies Presidency, Advises Buhari to Heed Wise Counsel

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has, again, cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari to come down from his high horse and listen to advice from eminent Nigerians, who have been advising him against allowing the country to tumble from the cliff under his watch.

PDP said the Buhari Presidency “is worsening the sorry state in which it has plunged the nation by choosing to haul insults on Nigerians including former president like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and other well-meaning leaders, who are patriotically calling on his administration to end its divisive, suppressive and insensitive style of leadership that has ruined our nation.”

The opposition party implored Buhari to pause, think of Nigeria and her people and heed wise counsel to save our nation from an imminent collapse, which his alleged idling administration has foisted on the people.

“From its reactions to patriotic counsel, it is clear that the Buhari Presidency has become bereft of the fundamentals of governance as well as overwhelmed by its own failures and burden of guilt for the disunity, bloodletting and anguish that have enveloped our nation in the last five years.

“It is incontrovertible that the Buhari administration is leading Nigeria into a failed state, where citizens are not guaranteed of their safety; cannot afford the basic necessities of life and where governance has been crippled by incompetence, unbridled nepotism, promotion of injustice, executive high handedness, abuse of human right, disobedience to court orders, brazen violation of constitutional provisions, acute corruption and violent muscling of elections.

“Under Buhari, all sectors of our national life are in shambles; the productive sectors have been crippled; the nation has been pushed into the reverse gear; bandits, insurgents and marauders are freely ravaging communities and our citizens live in constant fear and extreme poverty.

“Indeed, never in the history of our nation has the situation been this pathetic.

“While President Buhari recedes in the comfort and safety of the Presidential villa and reneged in his promise to lead from the front, Nigeria is being pushed to the fringes by marauders who are pillaging our citizens in various parts of our country, including Mr. President’s home state of Katsina.

“Furthermore, it smacks of shamelessness for the Buhari administration to be talking about corruption in PDP’s subsidy regime, when it has been caught neck-deep in unprecedented oil corruption that had ruined our economy, turned our nation into the poverty capital of the world and put our citizens in a dire strait.

“Nigerians know it as a fact that before he was elected President, General Buhari, as he was then known; a former minister of Petroleum Resources, had publicly told Nigerians that subsidy was a fraud and that it never existed. Five years down the line, trillions of naira have been discovered to have been stolen under the subsidy regime of an administration over which he presides.

“Today, life has become traumatising for Nigerians as resources from the sale of crude oil have either been wasted or stolen by officials of the Buhari administration.

“Furthermore, it is undebatable that the biggest achievement of constitutional amendment in modern administration of our country is the entrenchment of a credible electoral process, which enabled President Buhari to win election in 2015 from an opposition standpoint. Unfortunately, this noble achievement is being washed away in five years under the watch of President Buhari.

“It therefore amounts to pretending to sanctimony for President Buhari to be preaching on term limit, whereas, his administration has done everything possible, broken all known democratic norms and rules to debase credibility in our elections,” PDP said, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan.

Idowu Sowunmi

September 13, 2020
Buhari-led Federal Govt announces multi-billion Naira ‘survival fund’ for MSMes

The Federal Government has announced that it is rolling out a “survival fund” that will make payroll support available in order to save jobs and sustain local production.

The support initiative, which was announced on Monday is a part of the National Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) that was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo-led committee in June.

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The NESP, a policy response of the Buhari-led Federal Government to saving the country from a COVID-19 induced recession, include support schemes for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) nationwide, a Guaranteed Offtake Scheme (guaranteeing off-take of priority products) among others.

According to the Federal Government’s announcement, details on how to access these MSME Support initiatives will be unveiled soon, by the Implementation Committee.

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The leadership of the implementation committee comprises, Chairman, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Amb Mariam Katagum; and Vice Chairman, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Founder, Chair Centre LTD., also Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria.

Below: Federal Government’s document containing intervention plan for MSMEs.

August 10, 2020