Connect with us

VenturesNow

Nigeria: Fresh fraud charges filed against suspended central bank governor, Emefiele 

Published

on

The suspended governor of Nigeria’s central bank, Godwin Emefiele, and some of his associates will be arraigned on Thursday over N6.9 billion in procurement fraud at a court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

Emefiele and two others were accused of purchasing a fleet of over 98 exotic cars and armoured buses valued at approximately N6.9 billion, according to the charges signed by the Federal Ministry of Justice’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Mohammed Abubakar, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs N. Jones-Nebo, and eight other ministry officials.

Ten days after President Tinubu took office, the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation announced the suspension of Mr. Emefiele who oversaw years of controversial monetary policies and was at some point believed to be interested in contesting to become Nigeria’s President.

Emefiele had earlier been slammed with a two-count charge of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and re-arrested by Nigeria’s secret police at the court premises despite a ruling granting him bail.

The new charges might be connected to “a thorough forensic examination” happening at the Central Bank of Nigeria which President Tinubu confirmed at a meeting two weeks ago to World Bank chief, Ajay Banga.

He will now be charged with 20 counts of procurement fraud, conspiracy, and providing corrupt benefits to his accomplices, together with a female CBN employee named Sa’adatu Yaro and her business, April 1616 Investment Limited

The offences are said to have violated the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, Section 19 that states that “any public officer who uses his office or position to gratify or confer any corrupt or unfair advantage upon himself or any relation or associate of the public officer or any other public officer shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for five years without an option of fine.’’

The CBN Director of Procurement, Stanley Alvan, the CBN Head of Procurement, Mike Agboro, Tahir Jafar, David Usman, and “any other witnesses to be supplied later in the supplementary proof of evidence” were named as witnesses against the defendants.

VenturesNow

Nigeria: Marketers predict further price cut as another refinery begins operations

Published

on

Oil marketers and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority expect refined petroleum product prices to reduce as another public refinery in Warri begins operations.

The marketers made the prediction when the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited launched the 125,000-barrel-per-day Delta State WRPC. NNPCL also wants to export locally refined goods for foreign cash. Last month, the 60,000-barrel-per-day Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State began operations.

During an inspection tour of the facility on Monday, the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, explained that the inspection aimed to show Nigerians the level of work completed so far.

During a tour with NMDPRA CEO Farouk Ahmed and NNPC Board Chairman Pius Akinyelure, Kyari said that while facility repairs were not yet 100% complete, refining operations had begun and would produce straight-run kerosene, diesel and naphtha.

In a statement commemorating the milestone, President Bola Tinubu stated the plant is functioning at 60% or 75,000 barrels per day.

Kyari said, “We are taking you through our plant. This plant is running. Although it is not 100 per cent complete, we are still in the process. Many people think these things are not real. They think real things are not possible in this country. We want you to see that this is real.”

Since some of these goods would be shipped to foreign markets, he said, the reopening of the Warri refinery will help the country become a net exporter of petroleum products.

“Secondly, this plant had three stages; we have started plant one, which we call Area One. It can produce AGO (diesel), kerosene, naphtha, and a blend of crude oil. These are high-grade quality products required in the country, and we may need to export them. So this will give us cash, this company will make money and the promise of Mr President that this country must be a net exporter of petroleum products is already happening. Some of these products will go into the international market.

“Most importantly, I must put on record that Mr President believes that we can get this to work and get them to start and gave us the charge that we must start all three refineries. It’s already happening; we have started the 60,000 barrels per day refinery, and Area One of the Warri refinery is already working. Other plants that would produce PMS are being streamed and they would also come alive.

Mustapha Zarma, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria’s National Operations Controller, stated that the rivalry in the downstream oil industry will become more fierce.

There will undoubtedly be a further decrease in pricing if the plant begins producing goods in bulk, he stated. This is because the market will ultimately be influenced by market forces and there will be fierce rivalry.

Until recently, none of Nigeria’s publicly owned refineries has worked to capacity for years, despite several investments to revive them. The failure of the government to revive them contributed to the high level of national anticipation surrounding the Dangote refinery whose operations appear to have revolutionalised the industry.

The refinery will concentrate on manufacturing and storing essential goods, such as heavy and light naphtha, automotive petrol oil and straight-run kerosene.

The country’s first fully owned refinery, the WRPC, was put into service in 1978 and is situated in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. It was first built to process 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day, but in 1987 it was updated to process 125,000 barrels.

Continue Reading

VenturesNow

Kenya: Consumer inflation rises to 3.0% from 2.8%

Published

on

Kenya’s statistics agency said on Tuesday that Kenya’s consumer price inflation increased slightly to 3.0% year-over-year in December from 2.8% the previous month.

According to a release from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, monthly inflation was 0.6%, down from 0.3% in November. Kenya aims to have a medium-term inflation rate of 2.5% to 7.5%.

With inflation under control, Kenya’s central bank said there was an opportunity for looser policy to assist economic development, lowering its benchmark lending rate by a larger-than-expected 75 basis points to 11.25% on December 5.

 

Kenya’s GDP expanded by 5.2% in 2023, up from 4.8% in 2022, thanks to a recovery in agriculture and a modest increase in services. Household consumption accounted for 70% of the growth on the demand side, while services and agriculture accounted for 69% and 23% of the growth, respectively, on the supply side.

Continue Reading

EDITOR’S PICK

VenturesNow3 days ago

Nigeria: Marketers predict further price cut as another refinery begins operations

Oil marketers and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority expect refined petroleum product prices to reduce as another...

VenturesNow3 days ago

Kenya: Consumer inflation rises to 3.0% from 2.8%

Kenya’s statistics agency said on Tuesday that Kenya’s consumer price inflation increased slightly to 3.0% year-over-year in December from 2.8%...

VenturesNow3 days ago

South Africa’s Transnet’s half-year deficit hits $117m

Transnet, a state-owned logistics company in South Africa, announced on Tuesday that it had lost 2.2 billion rand ($117.48 million)...

Musings From Abroad3 days ago

Nigeria, China extend $2bn currency swap deal

A 15 billion yuan ($2 billion) currency-swap arrangement between China and Nigeria has been extended to boost investment and commerce...

VenturesNow3 days ago

Egypt’s central bank maintains overnight rates

As anticipated, Egypt’s central bank has maintained its overnight interest rates, stating that although inflation was predicted to drop significantly...

VenturesNow3 days ago

Illicit flows cost Nigeria, others $1.6bn daily— AfDB

According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), illicit money flows and profit shifting by multinational corporations doing business in Africa...

Metro5 days ago

‘Don’t start what you can’t finish’, ex-Nigerian official replies President Tchiani

Former Nigerian Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has told President Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger Republic to refrain from making infantile and...

Tech6 days ago

Again, Starlink raises prices of its services in Nigeria

Elon Musk’s satellite internet service provider, Starlink, has again jacked up the prices of its services in Nigeria after an...

Sports6 days ago

Former President of Moroccan club Raja sentenced to 3 years in prison

The former President of Moroccan top club, Raja Casablanca, Mohamed Aouzal, has been sentenced to three and a half years...

Metro6 days ago

Zambia announces second case of Mpox as country battles cholera outbreak

The Zambian Ministry of Health has reported a second case of Monkeypox, popularly known as Mpox, in Kitwe region of...

Trending