₦airaland Forum

Oluwatosin Omojuyigbe

The police on Monday arraigned a security guard, Michael Nwaogwu, before the Lagos State Magistrates’ Court sitting in Yaba for allegedly stealing from the offering box of a church.

It was gathered that on July 17, 2019, Nwaogwu allegedly stole N2,385 from the offering box of the St. Dennis Catholic Church in the Akoka, Bariga area of the state.



According to the prosecutor, Godwin Oriabure, another guard, Musa Ayay, who discovered that the offering box had been tampered with, confronted Nwaogwu, who confessed to the crime and upon a search, the money was allegedly found in his underwear.

Nwaogwu was arraigned on one count of theft.

According to Oriabure, the offence contravenes Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (revised).

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The presiding magistrate, Oluwatoyin Ojuromi, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N30,000 with two sureties in like sum.

Ojuromi ordered that one of the sureties must be a blood relation of the defendant.

She adjourned the case till August 19 for mention.

Source: https://punchng.com/security-guard-arraigned-for-stealing-n2385-church-offering/

Nigeria’s four refineries under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation have not made any profit since May 2018.

Instead, the refineries posted losses consecutively between May last year and May this year.



The country’s refineries comprise Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, two plants at Port Harcourt Refining Company and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company.

Latest data obtained from the NNPC on Monday showed that the WRPC, the KRPC and the PHRC ran deficits for 13 straight months, as they recorded no operating surplus.

A further analysis of the performance of the refineries showed that they recorded the highest consolidated loss of N20.1bn in the month of May 2018, as this dropped to N13.63bn in May this year.

It was also observed that the losses of the WRPC and the PHRC dropped from N7.16bn and N8.69bn in May 2018 to N4.6bn and N4.7bn in May 2019, respectively.

The losses incurred by the KRPC, on the other hand, moved up marginally during the period under review, as it climbed from N4.22bn in May 2018 to close at N4.31bn in May 2019, according to the latest figures from the NNPC.

The NNPC further stated that in May 2019, the three refineries processed 32,967 metric tonnes of crude to produce 21,347MT for the month as against zero quantity processed in April 2019.

It noted that only the WRPC produced the finished petroleum products of 21,347MT in May 2019.

The combined yield efficiency for the month under review was 91.29 per cent compared to zero per cent recorded in April 2019, owing largely to rehabilitation work needed to be carried out in the refineries.



“The KRPC has not processed any crude over the past couple of months,” the NNPC said.

For the month of May 2019, the WRPC and the KRPC produced 4,771MT and 3,977 of intermediate products, respectively, while the three refineries produced 8,748MT of intermediate at 1.75 per cent combined capacity utilisation.

“The lower operational performance recorded is attributable to the ongoing revamping of the refineries which is expected to further enhance capacity utilisation once completed,” the NNPC stated.

It further stated that the corporation had been adopting a merchant plant refineries business model since January 2017.

It explained that the model took cognizance of the products worth and crude costs, adding that the combined value of output by the three refineries at import parity price for the month of May 2019 amounted to N5.24bn.

The corporation added that the associated crude plus freight costs and operational expenses were N5.3bn and N13.57bn, respectively, adding that this resulted in an operating deficit of N13.63bn by the refineries.

Source: https://punchng.com/refineries-post-losses-in-13-months/

Students of Osun State University, Osogbo main campus are protesting the arrest of several students from their various hostels on Thursday morning.

The students blocked the Osogbo/Ibokun road to protest the arrest by the security operatives.

A student of the institution, Tayo Mosadope, told our correspondent that armed security operatives stormed some hostels in Oke Baale area of Osogbo around 7:00 a.m. and arrested about 20 students and some non-students living in the area.

Mosadope said, “The security men that came did not say anything to indicate where they came from. But we know they are operatives of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

“About 20 students were arrested. Some non-students, who are living around were also picked up. A staff of the university that was caught recording activities of the security was also arrested.”

Acting Dean of Students Affairs, Mr. Dare Adeyemi, confirmed the arrest of about 15 students of the school by security operatives, adding that the management was making efforts to stop the current protest.

Source: https://punchng.com/breaking-protest-in-uniosun-as-security-operatives-invade-hostels-arrest-students/

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The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday said it would begin a monthly review of Deposit Money Banks’ loan-to-deposit ratios from September 30 as part of efforts to increase lending and stimulate economic growth.

The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this in Abuja at a press briefing on the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting.



The two-day MPC meeting, held at the headquarters of the apex bank, was attended by all the eleven members of the committee.

The loan-deposit ratio is a ratio between the banks total loans and total deposits and it is used to calculate a lending institution’s ability to cover withdrawals made by its customers.

The CBN governor said the committee was of the view that there was a need to boost output growth through sustained increase in consumer credit, mortgage loans and granting loans to the Small and Medium Enterprises.

He said the committee also observed that while the management of the CBN had started the prescription of using benchmark loan-to-deposit ratios to redirect the banks’ focus to lending, there was a need to mitigate credit risk.

To achieve this, Emefiele explained that the committee enjoined the management of the CBN to de-risk the financial markets, through the development of a reliable credit scoring system, similar to the arrangement in the advanced countries as this would encourage the DMBs to safely grow their credit portfolios.

He put the loan-to-deposit ratio of Nigeria’s banking industry at 57 per cent, adding that this was low when compared to countries such as Brazil (70 per cent), the United States (75 per cent), China (71.2 per cent), India (75 per cent), South Africa (91 per cent) Kenya (76 per cent), and Japan (70 per cent).

He said if there was no improvement in the loan-to-deposit ratio of banks, the CBN would from September 30 begin a monthly review of banking sector’s loan-to-deposit ratios.

He said, “We need everybody’s support to achieve growth in Nigeria. When the monetary policy raised the concern, we had a flat loan-deposit ratio.



“We would apply certain sanctions that involve asking the 50 per cent of the ‘un-lent’ portions of their loans into the CRR.

“The deadline is 30th of September. After September 30, we are going to begin a month-by-month monitoring and then prescription of deposit loan ratio for the banks.”

He said the MPC also called on the fiscal authorities to expedite action in expanding the tax base of the economy to improve government’s revenue and stem the growth in public borrowing.

Emefiele said the committee further urged the fiscal authorities to build fiscal buffers to avert macroeconomic downturn in the event of a decline in oil prices.

The committee urged the apex bank to intensify efforts in encouraging Nigerians living abroad to use official sources for home remittances.

He noted that this effort would complement other measures geared towards improving Nigeria’s current account balance.

On the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, the committee advised the Federal Government to put in place measures to aid the economy in realising the benefits of the agreement.

In particular, it noted the need to resuscitate moribund industries in Nigeria and improve key infrastructure in order to strengthen the productive base of the economy, create job opportunities as well as boost exports.

Speaking on the plan to restrict foreign exchange for milk importation, Emefiele said this was born out of the need to encourage local production of the product as well as support the dairy value chain.

According to him, if the plan to restrict foreign exchange for milk production is eventually implemented, it would bring the total number of products on the not-eligible-for foreign exchange list to 43 items.

The CBN governor said, “We believe milk is one of the products that can be produced in Nigeria today. You all must have heard me at different forums say that we had seen the importation of milk into Nigeria before many of us were born, precisely over 60 years.

“Today, the import of milk annually stands at between $1.2bn and $1.5bn. That is a very high import product into the country, given that it’s a product that we are convinced that can be produced in the country.

“Let ask ourselves the question. What really does it take to produce milk? Get the cow and give the cow plenty of water to drink and let the cow eat a lot of grass and the cow positioned in a place without roaming about; that cow gets fat and you can take milk out of it.”

He called on the management of milk companies in Nigeria to support the policy, adding that the local production of milk would reduce the persistent clashes between farmers and herders.

“Perhaps, if you had started this journey three years ago with us, the herders-farmers’ conflict that we see today would not have been as intense as it is.

“We would need your help at this time because we can no longer wait for you to continue to be importing this product into Nigeria because we are convinced it can be produced in Nigeria.”

He added, “We are determined to make milk production in Nigeria a viable economic proposition. By the time we restrict you, if you need a loan to acquire land we will give you. If you need a loan to grow your grass, we will give you.

“I think we are getting to the end of road. I will repeat; we are really getting to the end of the road. The era of restriction of forex for importation is coming sooner than expected.”

On the Monetary Policy Rate, the CBN governor said the MPC left the rate unchanged at 13.5 per cent.

He explained that all the 11 members that attended the meeting agreed to retain the current monetary policy stance.

He said apart from the MPR that was retained at 13.5 per cent, the committee decided to hold the Cash Reserves Ratio at 22.5 per cent.

Also retained are the Liquidity Ratio, which was left at 30 per cent; and the Asymmetric Window, which was left at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR.

This is the third time the MPC would be retaining all the key benchmark monetary policy parameters. It had held the rates constant at its meetings in March and May this year.

Explaining the rationale for the decision, the governor said that given the happenings in the external sector and the fact that inflation was moderating, tightening the monetary policy should not be an option.

Emefiele said this was based on the conviction that restriction of the capacity of banks to create money could curtail their credit creation capabilities.

On the contrary, he said the MPC was of the view that while loosening could increase money supply, stimulate aggregate demand and strengthen domestic production, the economy could be filled with liquidity, especially if loosening could drive growth in consumer credit without commensurate adjustment in aggregate output.

“It also observed that since interest rates were currently trending downwards, it is safer to await the full impact of these policy actions on the economy before a review of the position of monetary policy,” he added.

Source: https://punchng.com/cbn-to-begin-monthly-review-of-banks-loan-to-deposit-ratios-retains-interest-rate-at-13-5/

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National power grid.


’Femi Asu

The Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has said an increase in electricity tariff can only be justified by widespread provision of meters and improved service delivery to customers.

The ministry said this in a new document called ‘Power Sector Policy Directives and Timelines,’ which was obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday.



It directed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to clearly convey the need for tariff review consistent with provisions of Section 76 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005, and abide by the requirement for periodic major and minor reviews and processing of valid claims for deficits in tariff as provided for in the rules for tariff regulation.

The document, which was dated June 2019, said, “Government policy recognises that the current consumer tariff must rise to cover all costs of gas, transmission and distribution. This is necessary for distribution companies to raise capital, and for the industry to be self-sustaining without government financial support.

“But this can only be justified after meters are more widely installed and services improve so that consumers pay for what they consume and not for the inefficiencies of operators. In the meantime, NERC (Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission) should enforce regulatory processes already in place for operators to make claims for verified deficits in their tariff.”

According to the ministry, there is substantial circumstantial evidence that higher electricity tariffs may result in reduced collection by distribution companies because of low meter penetration and poor service.

It, therefore, directed NERC to set and enforce targets for Discos and meter asset providers to roll out meters.

Another immediate task for the commission is to encourage and facilitate willing-buyer willing-seller transactions with Competition Transition Charge compensation, where applicable, to the distribution company for a defined period.

The commission was asked to withdraw existing orders against willing-buyer willing-seller transactions like the recent Cummins and Viathan (PIPP LVI Disco) orders but compel compliance with a clearly defined and easy-to-apply CTC Regulation.

The ministry directed NERC to issue an order, within four weeks, to explicitly permit all customers supplied at 132kV and 330kV to contract as an ‘eligible customer’ for their power, directly with a generation company, and for their transmission requirements directly with the Transmission Company of Nigeria.



It said the commission should “license mini-grid applicants expeditiously, according to the timelines stated in the regulation, especially where consumers and developers have agreed terms; and license eligible customer applicants expeditiously, starting within two weeks, with the four that applied in July 2018 and were still operating without permits.

NERC was asked to set and enforce targets for Discos to apply the Franchising Regulation to contract capable investors, agents and partners of the Discos to expand and operate, as franchisees, 33kV and 11kV feeders and areas “that consumer petitions confirm are underserved or for which collection losses do not meet set licence targets.”

source: https://punchng.com/power-ministry-gives-conditions-for-electricity-tariff-hike/

Justice K. I. Okpe of the Enugu State High Court has sentenced one Akpudili Anayo to six years in prison for the diversion of N13m meant for the payment of pension and salaries in the state.

It was gathered that the state government had on May 3, 2017 directed that the May, June and July 2017 pension/salaries of the state pensioners and three other agencies be paid through cheques after physical verification.



At the end of the exercise, it was revealed that the convict, who was an ad hoc staff for the verification in charge of computing the names of the verified civil servants, conspired and used the bank accounts of three fake pensioners, Ngene Somtochukwu, Ani Ifeyinwa and Patience Chimezie, domiciled in Fidelity Bank, Stanbic IBTC and First Bank, respectively, to divert funds meant for the pension and salaries of the civil servants in 17 local government areas of the state.

Following the revelation, the state government petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alleging fraudulent transactions traced to the convict.

Subsequently, the Enugu zonal office of the EFCC on April 8, 2019, arraigned the convict before Justice Okpe on six counts bordering on forgery, impersonation, conspiracy and stealing.

Anayo was said to have pleaded guilty to the six counts preferred against him during his arraignment, while the court convicted him but suspended his sentence till Tuesday.

The charges read in part, “That you, Akpudili Christian Anayo, sometime in June 2017, at Enugu State within the jurisdiction of the High Court of Enugu State, stole the sum of N5,034,435 only through Christian Chimezie Patience’s Fidelity Bank account, property of the Enugu State Government Pension Board, thereby committing an offence of stealing contrary to Section 342 of the Criminal Code Law of the Enugu State, Cap. 30, Revised Laws of Enugu State, 2004, and punishable under Section 353 of the same law.”

Source: https://punchng.com/man-jailed-for-diverting-enugus-n13m-pension-fund/

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Some armed soldiers


Samuel Nkemakolem and Patrick Odey

Troops of the 16 Brigade of the Nigerian Army on Tuesday allegedly invaded the Azagbene community in the Ekermor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and burnt down houses after chasing away residents.

The rampaging soldiers were said to be in search of suspected militants who allegedly killed two of their colleagues guarding a crude oil facility in the area.



According to a community source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the armed suspected militants had come in a speedboat on Monday night and open fire on the unsuspecting soldiers.

While two of the soldiers died in the surprise attack, one of their colleagues was missing while their rifles were carted away.

He said the attack on the soldiers might have provoked their colleagues as stern looking troops on Tuesday morning invaded the community, burnt houses while the villagers scampered into the bush for safety.

“When the soldiers entered our community, they directed us to leave because they were going to burn everything to the ground and that anybody that failed to comply with the directive would be killed.

“Before some of us left the community, I saw the building of our paramount ruler on fire. Even my family house had been burnt to the ground. As I speak with you, we are suffering for a crime we didn’t commit.”

When contacted, the spokesman for the 16 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Maj. Danjuma Jonah, confirmed the death of two of its personnel but denied burning down houses in the community.

He said, “Our men did not burn down houses in Azagbene community. We are only combing the community and neighbouring towns in search of one soldier that is missing as a result of the attack that led to the death of two other soldiers. We are carrying out the search for the missing soldier in conjunction with the leaders of the community.

“So, that is what is going on now. I cannot give you the details of the operation until it’s over.”



In a related development, residents of Inen community in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have fled their homes over alleged planned reprisal by soldiers.

The soldiers, it was learnt, were planning to attack the community over the killing of two of their colleagues and the abduction of an expatriate worker which occurred last week at a construction site in the LGA by unknown gunmen.

But the leaders of the community have denied allegations that their people were behind the killing of the two soldiers and the abduction of the expatriate worker.

The Head in Council of Inen Clan, Johnson Obosi, who spoke at a media conference held at the Oruk Anam Local Government Council, said those behind the act would not go unpunished.

Obosi added that as a border community linking it with other local government areas and Rivers State, the perpetrators were able to enter the community to commit the crimes.

He appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the State Commissioner of Police, Zaki Ahmed, to reactivate the abandoned police post in the community by providing it with the necessary manpower and logistics to provide protective cover for the area and its environs.

Obosi said, “This sad news shocked our community and clan in general because, for a long time, we have not had sporadic gun shots of such magnitude.

“This episode which occurred in a commando style was not only mindboggling but devastating, causing panic and tension in our community.

“As we speak, some villagers have fled their places of abode to neighbouring communities for fear of the unknown.

“The Clan-in-Council, leaders of thought and the entire Inen community, condemn and disassociate ourselves from this unfortunate incident and we will be willing to lend support to the authority to ensure freedom for the expatriate.”

The youth President, Mr John Adaedem, who also condemned the attack, exonerated the youths of the area of the crimes and assured the military that they would cooperate with the relevant security agencies to track down the kidnappers.

Source: https://punchng.com/soldiers-murder-troops-invade-bayelsa-community-raze-houses/

The Ghanian Noise Maker

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Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

An oil giant, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (ExxonMobil), has denied an allegation of owing the Federal Government to the tune of $1.8bn for the renewal of three oil blocks’ licences.

It said on Monday that it made a total payment of $665m for the renewal of the Oil Mining Leases 67, 68 and 70.



In a July 15, 2019 letter, which was obtained by The PUNCH on Monday, the company told its accuser, the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, that it made full payment for oil blocks’ renewal in 2009.

The alleged indebtedness translates to about N648bn at $1 to N360 exchange rate, while the $665m the company claimed to have paid for the leases translates to N239.4bn.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported that the SPIPRPP led by Mr Okoi Obono-Obla was investigating a petition by human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), who accused the oil company of only paying about $600m out of the payable renewal fees of $2.5bn (about N900bn) for the three oil blocks.

The PUNCH had obtained the panel’s June 13, 2018 letter addressed to Mobil’s managing director at Mobil House, Lagos, giving the company three weeks to pay the alleged outstanding balance of about $1.9bn to the Federation Account.

ExxonMobil had denied the indebtedness in series of correspondences addressed to the panel including its reply dated July 5, 2018.

Officials of Mobil had also appeared before the panel which insisted that the explanations offered by the company were unsatisfactory.

The SPIRRPP had also called for documents covering the transaction.

Mobil in a July 15, 2019 letter which was signed by the company’s Vice Chairman, Udom Inoyo, forwarded the Department of Petroleum Resources’ and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s documents in respect of the transactions to the SPIRRPP.



Further denying the alleged indebtedness, the company stated that the $665m it paid for the Oil Mining Leases 67, 68 and 70 was the full payment in line with the agreement reached with the DPR and the NNPC.

The letter titled, ‘Re: OML 67, 68 and 70 — Renewal Fee and Payment’, read in part, “We have again searched our records on this matter and wish to provide some additional information that supports our position that the renewal fees required of the MPN related to the renewal of OMLs 67, 68 and 70 have been paid in full.”

Source: https://punchng.com/we-paid-665m-to-renew-three-oil-blocks-mobil/