Business
Senate shifts public hearing for NNPC, Dangote
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
Reps pass bill to give foreign investors Nigerian citizenship
The proposed legislation titled , “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to include Citizenship by Investment as one of the classes of Citizenship in Nigeria, provide for the Acquisition of Nigerian Citizenship by Qualified Foreign Investors who meet Specified Investment Thresholds and for Related Matters (HB. 2059)” was sponsored by the, Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker and some other lawmakers.
The House of Representatives has passed a bill to give foreign investors Nigerian Citizenship for second reading.
The proposed legislation titled , “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to include Citizenship by Investment as one of the classes of Citizenship in Nigeria, provide for the Acquisition of Nigerian Citizenship by Qualified Foreign Investors who meet Specified Investment Thresholds and for Related Matters (HB. 2059)” was sponsored by the, Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker and some other lawmakers.
Business Day reports that the bill Is among the constitutional amendment bills which the Green Chamber is considering.
In the explanatory memorandum of the Citizenship by Investment Bill, it seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Cap C23 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 to introduce a new class of citizenship known as Citizenship by Investment.
The proposed alteration aims to attract foreign direct investment by granting Nigerian citizenship to individuals who invest in the Nigerian economy above a specified financial threshold or in strategic sectors critical to national development.
Business
FG Directs MAN, NECA, FRCN to Review 10% Financial Reporting Levy
Oduwole said the timeline for the suspension would not exceed 60 days, adding that the government is committed to addressing the concerns raised by the private sector.
The Federal Government has temporarily suspended the implementation of 10 percent financial reporting levy imposed on public interest enterprises by the Financial Reporting Council, for the next two months.
This was in response to the requests by the private sector’s operators – the like of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (NECA) calling for the suspension of the FRCN Act, which imposes on non-listed entities. a 10 percent penalty on unpaid dues for every month of default, accumulating until full payment.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, announced the government’s decision at a Ministerial Consultative Meeting on the Financial Reporting Council Annual Dues for Public Interest Enterprises, yesterday in Abuja.
Oduwole emphasized that the government directed the Financial Reporting Council to pause in the implementation of the new annual dues.
She explained: ” A suspension request by the organised private sector would be in contravention of legislation duly passed by the National Assembly.
A pause is an administrative process simply to review, in line with what we discussed .
”Oduwole said the timeline for the suspension would not exceed 60 days, adding that the government is committed to addressing the concerns raised by the private secto
“We are a listening administration. The private sector has requested a range from three months to an indefinite suspension. We are not going to do that. So, at the most, 60 days is in my estimate.
“We are going to set up a technical working group comprising the FRC and the organised private sector who have formally written in, and this will be reviewed,’ she added.
Business
Police Investigates over N270m Thefts in UBA
CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s public relations officer, disclosed that the suspects conspired to illegally divert funds from domiciliary accounts into personal accounts before redistributing them to multiple destinations.
The Lagos State Police Command is questioning four officials of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) for alleged thefts of £138,924 (over N270 million) from international airlines’ accounts.
CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s public relations officer, disclosed that the suspects conspired to illegally divert funds from domiciliary accounts into personal accounts before redistributing them to multiple destinations.
The fraud was uncovered when the bank detected unauthorized transactions and alerted the police.
The arrested officials include Shuaib Oluwatobiloba Olaleye, 27, who was arrested on March 12, 2025, in Ogun State, with a Toyota Camry 2012/2013 recovered from him. Oladunjoye Adegoke, 33, was arrested on March 13, 2025, in Victoria Island, Lagos, with a Toyota Camry (Pencil Light) recovered.
Austin Alfred, 38, Supervisor of the bank’s Trade Services Department, and Jude Uzobuaku, 36, a processor in the same department, were also arrested for facilitating the illegal transfer of funds to foreign accounts.
Police investigations revealed that the stolen funds were initially funneled into an account belonging to one of the suspects before being distributed to multiple other accounts to evade detection. Authorities are now working to identify additional accomplices and recover the remaining funds.
The suspects are in custody and will face prosecution as the investigation continues.
The police have urged the public to report suspicious financial transactions, reiterating their commitment to tackling economic crimes.
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