Business

Court dismisses NNPCL’s objection to Dangote Refinery’s suit on import licence

Published

1 year ago

March 19, 2025

674 Views

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the objection raised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) against the competence of a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE (Dangote Refinery).

Dangote is seeking to void the licences issued by the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to some oil marketing companies to import refined petroleum products.

In its objection, the NNPCL challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the suit and urged the court to strike out its name from the suit on the grounds that it was not properly identified by the plaintiff.

It argued that the name, “Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited,” being its registered name with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), is not the one and the same entity the second defendant sued but the “Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation”.

Ruling yesterday, Justice Inyang Ekwo held that NNPCL’s objection was incompetent as it was filed in violation of Order 29 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules (FHCCPR), 2019.

Justice Ekwo also held that the NNPCL ought to have filed a defence in the form of a counter-affidavit to the plaintiff’s suit before raising an objection.

The judge averred that under the procedure in lieu of demurrer, any party is entitled to raise, by his pleading, any point of law, and that any point so raised may be disposed of by the trial court at trial or after the trial.

He explained that where a defendant seeks to challenge the jurisdiction of the court, it is the provision of Order 29 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules (FHCCPR), 2019, that would be applicable.Justice Ekwo added that the NNPCL failed to comply with the provision.

The judge held that the NNPCL, having not complied with the provisions of the FHCCPR 2019 could not be said to have filed a competent preliminary objection.

Related Topics:Court Dangote Featured NNPCL

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Business

TCN improves Power Supply to Apapa corridors by additional 208MW

The upgrade replaces an outdoor transformer that had served as a stopgap after the original facility, commissioned in 1985, was decommissioned.

Published

22 hours ago

August 18, 2026

OCHEFA

28 Views

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz , says from now Apapa Causeway, Ijora, Amukoko, Ajegunle, Apapa Wharf, Tin Can Island and other major commercial areas, will be having improved power supply.

Abdulaziz made the declaration on Monday during the commission of Ijora and Apapa Road transmission substations in Lagos by additional 208MW .

The project is aimed at improving the volume and reliability of electricity available to distribution companies for onward supply to homes, businesses and industries.

Abdulaziz said that the projects, sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the World Bank respectively, in partnership with TCN, underscored the Federal Government’s commitment to modernising the transmission network and improving grid stability.

He commended the Ministry of Power, JICA, the Government of Japan, Lagos State Government and other stakeholders for supporting the projects, while appealing for additional grant assistance to upgrade other critical sections of the transmission network.

Speaking at the commissioning, Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, said that the projects were part of the Federal Government’s efforts to address longstanding transmission constraints and infrastructure decay that have limited the country’s ability to fully utilise available generation.

The upgrades increased the Ijora substation’s capacity by 112MW, from 90MVA to 230MVA, following the installation of two new 100MVA transformers.

At Apapa Road, a new Gas Insulated Substation (GIS) added another 96MW, raising the facility’s capacity from 60MVA to 180MVA.

The upgrade replaces an outdoor transformer that had served as a stopgap after the original facility, commissioned in 1985, was decommissioned.

Business

CBN’s Sidi-Ali wins 2026 overall Spokesperson of the Year Award, courtesy of NSA

Published

24 hours ago

August 18, 2026

OCHEFA

31 Views

•Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali.

The Ag. Director of Corporate Communications of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs. Hakama Sidi-Ali, has won the 2026 edition of the National Spokespersons Award (NSA).

The recognition was announced during the 6th National Spokespersons Awards and the 4th Economic Confidential Annual Lecture, organised by Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria, Economic Confidential and Spokespersons Digest, held in Abuja, recently.

The organisers stated: “With the latest honour, Sidi-Ali completed an unprecedented hat-trick at the National Spokespersons Awards, becoming the first communications professional to progress from winning a sector-specific award twice consecutively to claiming the overall Spokesperson of the Year title.