Connect with us

Business

Senate shifts public hearing for NNPC, Dangote

Published

on

33 Views

The Senate has postponed the public hearing for the alleged sabotage in the petroleum industry.

The Senate explained that the hearing was postponed for wider consultations with stakeholders whose input and participation would add value to the conclusion of the investigative hearing.

Some key stakeholders summoned to appear before the committee at a public hearing scheduled for September 10 to 12, 2024, include the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Ports Authority.

Other entities summoned are the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Navy, International Oil Companies, Dangote Group, Capital Oil, and modular refineries.

The upper chamber also cited legislative exigencies aimed at further deepening due diligence in conducting the investigative hearing as another reason for postponing it.

The Leader of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee to Investigate Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), gave these reasons in a statement on Sunday.

The Senate had set up the ad hoc committee to investigate billions spent on maintaining the nation’s refineries, shine a spotlighton regulatory agencies’ overpayment to transporters, and unravel the alleged importation of hazardous petroleum products and dumping of substandard diesel into the country.

The ad-hoc committee had concluded its pre-investigation undertakings and held an interactive session with the heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as some private interests in the downstream and midstream petroleum sector.

After the exhaustive engagement with select MDAs and private oil firms, the ad-hoc committee subsequently scheduled its investigative hearing for Tuesday, 10th to Thursday, 12th September 2024.

However, in his statement on Sunday, Bamidele explained the decision of the ad-hoc committee to postpone the investigative hearing after due consultation with all its members and key actors in the petroleum industry.

He, further, noted that the ad-hoc committee would communicate a new date for the conduct of the investigative hearing to all the stakeholders in due course.

Explaining the compelling reasons for the deferment, Bamidele noted that the decision for the postponement was taken in the best interest of the federation and its teeming population.

He further explained that the postponement became imperative considering the compelling need “to consult more widely with expanded stakeholders within and without the petroleum industry and legislative exigencies to further deepen due diligence in the conduct of the investigative hearing.

Business

Dangote refinery gets new CEO

David Bird is the former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery

Published

on

By

29 Views

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has appointed David Bird, the former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

A report by S&P global on Friday said, Bird heads the refinery’s petroleum and petrochemicals division in a strategic move to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.

Effective from July 2025, the former Shell head of operations at its Balau Pokom refinery stepped in as CEO of the Dangote Group’s fuels and petrochemicals business, which commissioned the world’s largest single-train refinery last year.

The CEO participated at the just concluded Dangote Leadership Development Program Graduation Ceremony.

Continue Reading

Business

Trump Imposes 15% tariff on Nigerian Imports

Under the revised tariff schedule:15% tariffs now apply to Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Israel, Norway, and several others.10% tariffs target countries such as the Falkland Islands, the United Kingdom, and others not explicitly listed.

Published

on

By

42 Views

US President Donald Trump has approved a 15 percent import tariff on Nigeria and dozens of other countries.

The White House announced the implementation of the new reciprocal tariff rates on Thursday.

In April, Trump imposed a 14% tariff on Nigerian imports, citing the need for fairer trade terms.

That move was followed by a 90 – day grace period to allow time for bilateral trade negotiations, pushing the final decision deadline to August 1.

However, the majority of talks failed to result in new trade agreements.

As a result, the new tariff rates are now being implemented, with Nigeria among dozens of countries facing increased duties under the revised plan.

African countries, including Nigeria, were unable to secure individual trade deals with the United States despite urgent efforts from both sides.

During the negotiation window, Trump also reintroduced travel restrictions targeting several African nations. Though Nigeria was initially exempt, it was later added to the list as the policy evolved.

Under the revised tariff schedule:15% tariffs now apply to Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Israel, Norway, and several others.10% tariffs target countries such as the Falkland Islands, the United Kingdom, and others not explicitly listed.

Tariffs climb to 18% for Nicaragua, 19% for countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, and 20% for countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, and 20% for Bangladesh, Vietnam, and others.

10% tariffs target countries such as the Falkland Islands, the United Kingdom, and others not explicitly listed.Tariffs climb to 18% for Nicaragua, 19% for countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, and 20% for Bangladesh, Vietnam, and others.

More severe penalties include 25–41% tariffs for countries like India, South Africa, Iraq, and Syria.

Switzerland faces a steep 39% duty, while Laos and Myanmar are hit with 40%.Syria tops the list at 41%.

Meanwhile, negotiations are still ongoing with China, Washington’s main trade rival.

Canada is facing a 35% tariff, while Mexico was hit with a trio of levies, including a 50% duty on metals. Brazil, previously under a 10% tariff, was slapped with an additional 40% charge on Thursday, bringing its total to 50%.

Continue Reading

Business

EU accuses online giant Temu of selling ‘illegal’ products

EU regulators believe Temu is not doing enough to protect European consumers from dangerous products and that it may not be acting sufficiently to mitigate risks to users.

Published

on

By

79 Views

The European Union accused Chinese-founded online shopping giant Temu on Monday of breaking the bloc’s digital rules by not “properly” assessing the risks of illegal products.

AFP reports that TEMU, wildly popular in the European Union despite only having entered the continent’s market in 2023, Temu has 93.7 million average monthly active users in the 27- country bloc.

EU regulators believe Temu is not doing enough to protect European consumers from dangerous products and that it may not be acting sufficiently to mitigate risks to users.

Evidence showed that there is a high risk for consumers in the EU to encounter illegal products on the platform,” the European Commission said in its preliminary finding.

It pointed to a mystery shopping exercise that found consumers were “very likely to find non-compliant products among the offer, such as baby toys and small electronics.”

Continue Reading

Trending