Oil prices dropped yesterday as governments’ escalated lockdowns to curb the spread of the global Coronavirus outbreak that has slashed the demand outlook for oil and threatened a global economic contraction.

Brent crude futures fell $1.09, or 4 percent, to $25.89 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate, WTI, crude futures were down 15 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $22.48 a barrel.

Oil prices have fallen for four straight weeks and have given up about 60 percent since the start of the year. Prices of everything from coal to copper have also been hit by the crisis, while markets in bonds and stocks enter rarely charted territory.

The coronavirus, which has infected more than 325,000 and killed over 14,000 worldwide, has disrupted business, travel and daily life. Many oil companies have rushed to cut spending and some producers have already begun putting employees on furlough.

The market has had to contend with the twin shocks of the demand destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the unexpected oil price war that erupted between producers Russia and Saudi Arabia earlier this month.

“We believe oil prices will continue to fall into the teens in the short term amid disaster demand destruction, building global stocks and no production limits after April 1,” said Joseph McMonigle, senior energy policy analyst at Hedgeye Potomac Research, in a note.

Almost a third of Americans are now under orders to stay at home as states took extra measures to stem the rising numbers of cases in the world’s biggest economy, while in New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Adern said all non-essential services and businesses are to be shut down.

FAAC shares ₦581.566bn in February
by Alao Abiodun 1 hour ago

By Nduka Chiejina (Assistant Editor)
The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total of N581.566 billion February 2020 Federation Account Revenue to the Federal, States and Local Governments.

The money was shared after a rescheduled meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in Abuja.


The meeting lasted just two hours.

The ₦581.566 billion comprised Statutory Revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT), Exchange Gain, and revenue from Forex Equalization Account.

It was announced that the balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) now stands at $72.221 million.

The gross statutory revenue for the month of February 2020 was ₦466.058 billion.

This was lower than the ₦525.253 billion received in January 2020 by ₦59.195 billion.

Read Also: FAAC shared N8.15tr to Fed Govt, states, LGA in 2019
For the month of February 2020, the gross revenue available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) was ₦99.552 billion as against ₦104.758 billion in the previous month, resulting in a decrease of ₦5.206 billion.

Exchange Gain yielded a total revenue of ₦0.757 billion, and revenue from Forex Equalization Account was ₦15.199 billion.

A communique by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) indicated that from the total revenue of ₦581.566 billion, the Federal Government received ₦236.118 billion, the State Governments received ₦159.010 billion, and the Local Government Councils received ₦119.305 billion.

The Oil Producing States received ₦45.310 billion as 13% derivation revenue and the Revenue Generating Agencies received ₦21.822 billion as cost of revenue collection.

A breakdown of the distribution showed that from the gross statutory revenue of ₦466.058 billion, the Federal Government received ₦214.915 billion, the State Governments received ₦109.008 billion and the Local Government Councils received ₦84.040 billion. The Oil Producing States received ₦43.242 billion as 13% derivation revenue and the Revenue Generating Agencies received ₦14.853 billion as cost of collection.

From the Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of ₦99.552 billion, the Federal Government received ₦13.888 billion, the State Governments received ₦46.292 billion, the Local Government Councils received ₦32.404 billion and the Revenue Generating Agencies received ₦6.969 billion as cost of revenue collection.

The Exchange Gain revenue was ₦0.757 billion and the Federal Government received ₦0.350 billion, the State Governments received ₦0.178 billion, the Local Government Councils received ₦0.137 billion and the Oil Producing States received ₦0.092 billion.

The Forex Equalization Account revenue was ₦15.199 billion. The Federal Government received ₦6.966 billion, the State Governments received ₦3.533 billion, the Local Government Councils received ₦2.724 billion and the Oil Producing States received ₦1.976 billion

The communique confirmed that in the month of February 2020, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT), Import and Excise Duties, Oil and Gas Royalties and Value Added Tax (VAT) all recorded substantial decreases.

Workers’ salaries in jeopardy as oil price tumbles again

•FAAC meeting deadlocked as states reject amount presented for sharing

AS another economic recession looms in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic, there are very present fears among workers of the 36 state governments over the ability of their governments to continue to pay their salaries.

On Friday, Brent crude futures fell $1.49 or 5.2%, to settle at $26.98 a barrel. United States crude futures for April fell $2.69, or 10.7%, to settle at $22.53 a barrel, whereas Nigeria’s 2019 budget benchmark for crude oil was $57 per barrel.

Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), on Wednesday charged Nigerians to prepare for more economic trouble in view of the current multi-year low level of crude price in the international market.

Already, tension has started brewing within the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) whose members could not agree on Wednesday over the amount presented for sharing.

An official in the ministry hinted that members of the committee could not agree on the amount presented for sharing by the revenue generating agencies.

The amount presented for sharing was far below what the members of the committee were expecting to be shared by the three tiers of government.

And since the committee could not agree on the amount to be shared, the issue would have to be taken to the National Economic Council meeting scheduled to hold on Thursday.

With the oil price now more than 50 per cent lower than Nigeria’s budget benchmark, the country’s oil-dependent economy has come under more pressure.

The fresh crisis is coming even while workers in the states are beginning to heave a sigh of relief after the economic recession of 2016 which threw workers of most states into economic misery.

At a point, 27 states were owing workers and pensioners salaries and entitlements ranging from one to 36 months.

A 2017 survey showed that many states defaulted in the payments of pensions and gratuities, with Imo, Taraba and Niger states owing pensioners two to three years in entitlements.

Kogi, Abia, Benue, Oyo, Ekiti and Ondo states had not paid their workers’ salaries in 2017, owing at least four months’ salary. Lagos and Rivers, however, did not owe any salary arrears.

It is likely that the current crisis will hit states and their workers harder than it happened in 2016 because the lowest price then was $29 per barrel and it quickly moved up to $35 per barrel and continued climbing.

But now, however, experts are predicting that oil price could fall to as low as $10 per barrel with the rampaging c oronavirus and oil war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Now again, minimum wage in the country has been raised from the then N18, 000 to N30, 000.

Aside funds from federation accounts, the only other source of income for the states is their internally generated revenue (IGR), which was still paltry for most states and is unable to meet their recurrent needs.

In the nine months to September 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported the 36 states and FCT to have generated N986.29bn as their IGR.

Seven states recorded growth in IGR while 30 states and the FCT recorded decline in IGR at the end of Q3 2019. Lagos state has the highest Internally Generated Revenue with N297.09bn recorded, closely followed by Rivers with N107.03bn while Yobe State recorded the least Internally Generated revenue.

Aside their paltry IGR, states were still groaning under the yoke of the repayments of massive bailout given them by the Federal Government during the 2016 recession.

A total of N614 billion was issued out to 35 states except Lagos during the recession under the National Budget Support Loan Facility.

Federal Government in 2019, demanded the repayment of the sum.

The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, tumbled on Wednesday to the lowest level in 16 years as global markets continued to respond to the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brent, against which Nigeria’s crude is priced, fell by $2.23 to $26.11 per barrel as of 4:42 pm Nigerian time on Wednesday, its lowest level since late 2003.

With the oil price now more than 50 per cent lower than Nigeria’s budget benchmark, the country’s oil-dependent economy has come under more pressure, The PUNCH reports.

The 2020 budget, which was signed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in December, was based on oil production of 2.18 million barrels per day with an oil price benchmark of $57 per barrel.

The Federal Government was looking to generate N2.64tn oil revenue, representing 32.34 per cent of expected total revenue for this year, with non-oil revenue projection being N1.80tn.

24 Hours To NEC Meeting, Court blocks APC From Appointing Ajimobi, Others

A Sokoto High Court has stopped the All Progressives Congress (APC), from appointing any member of the party into its top positions in its upcoming National Executive Council Meeting.

The meeting is supposed to hold in Abuja on Tuesday. However, following the approach of the National Vice Chairman (North West) Inuwa Abdulkadir application in court challenging the appointment of the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mr Issa-Onilu, a court order was given to stop any appointment in the party.

This order also affects the appointments of former Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, and three others as national officers of the party.

The order said APC should not appoint any officer except through a National Convention.

Uzodinma recalls 3,500 civil servants sacked by IhediohaPublished 44 mins ago on March 13, 2020 By Adindu Obialor

No fewer than 3,500 civil servants in Imo state recently sacked by the immediate past Government of Emeka Ihedioha have been reinstated.

DAILY POST reports that the new state Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma Friday, approved the release of their appointment letters and instructed that they are remunerated as at when due.

According to our correspondent in the state, the Governor has charged the Head of Service, Camillus Chibuzor Nwagwu to integrate the reinstated civil servants in the scheme of things, insisting that the government is poised to creating more job opportunities rather than disengaging the people.


In his reaction, the former Transition Committee chairman of Nkwerre local government area of Imo state, Pascal Onwukaike, he applauded the Governor for adopting all the previous projects and policies started by his predecessors.

Onwukaike maintained that the Governor’s style of governance shows that he is poised to recovering the state from its present state, calling on Imo people to support the new government to record success.

It would be recalled that Chief Emeka Ihedioha, upon assumption of office as the Governor, relieved some civil servants earlier employed by his predecessor from 2015 to 2018, of their duties.


In like manner, he dissolved the local government council chairmen and ward councillors elected during Rochas Okorocha’s administration.

Meanwhile, the Governor has sworn in the newly appointed Acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ijeoma Agugua and charged her on prompt delivery.

The Headquarters of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, on Tuesday said the Annual Performance Evaluation Report in civil service was biased and had been abused.

She added that to increase productivity and quality of service delivery in the country, a new Performance Management System would be put in place to replace the old system.

A statement by the Director of Information at the office of the HCSF, Mrs Olawunmi Ogunmosunle, said the HCSF made this known in her address during her maiden meeting with the permanent secretaries, Accountant General of the Federation, Auditor-General for the Federation and Surveyor-General of the Federation.

The statement said, “The HCSF has reiterated her commitment to give focal and priority attention to capacity building. This she said will be done both at the level of respective ministries and at service-wide level, especially on core values and code of ethics of the civil service.

“Yemi-Esan also said a new Performance Management System to be put in place to replace the biased and often abused Annual Performance Evaluation Report will increase productivity and quality of service delivery.”

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ado-Ekiti Chapter, has described as a grave error the imposition of fines on Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and Wole Olanipekun (SAN), for seeking the review of the Bayelsa judgment sacking the All Progressives Congress (APC) governor-elect, David Lyon and his Deputy, Degi Biobarakuma-Eremionye.

Babalola and Olanipekun, who stood for the disqualified Lyon and Degi, were slammed with N60 million fine for seeking a review of a matter that had become functus officio and finality, having been adjudicated upon by the highest court.

In a statement in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, NBA’s branch Chairman, Olakanmi Falade, said the two eminent legal icons did not do any wrong or commit professional misconduct to warrant such a punitive action from the apex court.

Falade said that the affected lawyers had contributed more than anyone to the growth of the legal profession and should not have been treated with scorn and disdain by the Supreme Court’s justices.

In another development, the Ekiti State Government has dismissed a teacher for allegedly impregnating a 17-year-old SS3 girl preparing for the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination.

The teacher, Mr. Owoosi Gbenga, who was said to be on Grade Level 10 until his dismissal, taught Economics at Alarelu
Comprehensive High School, Igbara-Odo-Ekiti in Ekiti South Local Council of the state.

Chairman, Ekiti State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Mr. Babatunde Abegunde, who disclosed this to journalists in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, said that the behaviour of the teacher-led the disciplinary committee of TESCOM to embark on his probe.

He said that the commission carried out a thorough investigation on the matter and followed the due process before arriving at the decision to dismiss the teacher to serve as a deterrent to others who might want to indulge in such depraved and unethical acts.

The TESCOM chairman, who commended the state government for swinging into action by arresting the culprit, assured the public that Ekiti values would definitely be restored by the Kayode Fayemi-led administration.

Abegunde said that findings by the disciplinary committee revealed that the accused had previous bad records as it was discovered that he had previously collaborated with some students to steal laptop computers belonging to the school.

According to NBA Chairman, if the judiciary will deliver justice as expected internationally, then the National Judicial Council (NJC) should, as a matter of urgency, advocate for the independence of the Judiciary.

•ICPC, OAGF to probe Customs, FIRS
2019 budget defence: Reps drill SON DG, AuGF
James Ojo and Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The House of Representatives has said it would probe the $30 billion annual revenue leakages linked to tax evasion, malpractices in foreign exchange allocation to companies from the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) for the importation of goods, payment of services, foreign loans and others.

The House, yesterday, mandated its committees on Finance and Banking Currency to investigate the various originating documents maintained by the CBN, local banks, foreign exchange dealers, Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS),importers and other beneficiary companies involved in forex allocation from the apex bank.

This followed the adoption of a motion by the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Abiodun Faleke, at yesterday’s plenary.

The committees are expected to identify perpetrators based on verifiable documents from valuable records and determine the amount of revenue involved in the alleged malpractices by each organisation based on every revenue line item collectible by the agencies of government.

They are to report back to the House in 12 weeks with recommendations on how to put a stop to the alleged malpractice in future.

Faleke, in his lead debate, informed the House that in recent years, the country had not been able to fund the capital component of the Appropriation Act due to paucity of funds occasioned by low remittances by revenue generating agencies, low payment of taxes by private companies and alleged diversion of expected revenue by corporate organisations.

“There is the urgent need to rescue the country from over $30 billion annual revenue leakages arising from tax evasion, malpractices, mis-use and diversion of foreign exchange allocations by companies and other entities. The crude oil price bench mark in 2020 appropriation act was put at $57 per barrel but the price of crude oil in the international market has dropped to $47 per barrel, this clearly indicates that the major source of revenue towards funding the 2020 appropriation act is already in the negative,” Faleke said.

Meanwhile, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Office of Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) are set to audit the books of the Nigeria Customs Service and the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

According to Chairman of ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the two agencies, the scrutiny will be extended to other revenue generating agencies.

Prof. Owasanoye said a radical problem requires a radical solution.

“What we are doing today is to formalize the relationship that has been incubating for some months in order to deal with corruption which has set Nigeria back.”

Prof. Owasanoye also reiterated the three-pronged mandate of the Commission as being investigation/prosecution; carrying out preventive measures through systems review of government agencies and public education.

The number of Justices of the Supreme Court drops from 14 to 13 as Justice Amiru Sanusi retires from the apex court’s bench today (Monday).

This development comes on the heels of repeated complaints by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, that he and his colleagues on the apex court’s bench are overworked.

The PUNCH reports that the constitution provides for 21 Justices as a full complement of the apex court’s bench, a status the highest court of the land has never attained.

The number of Justices of the Supreme Court reached 17 on January 18, 2019 when the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen (retd), swore in Justice Uwani Abba-Aji to the apex court’s bench.

But starting with the controversial exit of Justice Onnoghen from the bench in April 2019 and the retirement of Justices Kumai Akaahs and Sidi Bage last year, the number of the Supreme Court Justices dropped to 14.

In June 2019, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), wrote a letter requesting the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammadu, to “initiate in earnest the process of appointing additional five Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to make the full complement of 21 Justices” as provided by the Constitution.

But the President has yet to act on the list of four Justices of the Court of Appeal recommended by the National Judicial Council and sent to him for appointment to the apex court’s bench since October 2019.

A statement by the NJC’s Director, Information, Mr Soji Oye, had stated that the council, at its meeting held on October 22 and 23, 2019, recommended Justices Adamu Jauro, Emmanuel Agim, C. Oseji, and Helen Ogunwumiju.

While the President was being awaited to forward the names of the nominees to the Senate for confirmation, Justice Akaahs retired from the Supreme Court’s bench on December 12, 2019.

The Supreme Court’s Director of Information, Dr Festus Akande, in a statement on Friday, announced that Justice Amiru Sanusi, who was appointed to the apex court’s bench in May 2015, would retire on attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70 today.

With his retirement, the number of Supreme Court Justices, which is currently 14, will drop to 13, leaving a gap of eight Justices to make the full complement of 21.

When contacted, the apex court’s Director of Information, Akande, said he had no information on the delay in the appointment process of the recommended Justices for the apex court.

But reacting on behalf of the Nigerian Bar Association, the association’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kunle Edun, said the delay in the process of appointing four judges recommended by the NJC for the apex court’s bench, had “created unhealthy burden on the Supreme Court Justices who are now forced to overwork themselves.”

Edun added that it was worrying that the Supreme Court had been unable to get its full complement of 21 Justices.

He stated, “It is worrying that the Supreme Court has yet to have its full complement of Justices on the Supreme Court bench. The recent recommendation of the National Judicial Council on the elevation of some Justices of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court has yet to be acted upon by the Presidency and the Senate.

“The President is to approve the nominations and present the same to the Senate for confirmation.

“This delay has created an unhealthy burden on the Supreme Court Justices who are now forced to overwork themselves. In many cases, appeals stay in the Supreme Court for 10 years before one can get a hearing date.

“This should not be the case. When justice is delayed it could propel litigants to resort to other options to settle scores, which would not help the society.

Tension as soldiers invade IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu’s community

Residents of Afaraukwu Ibeku community, in Umuahia North Council of Abia State, the home town of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, scampered to safety as over 100 fierce-looking soldiers invaded the community.

The IPOB leader’s parents, Eze Okwu and Ugoeze Kanu, will be laid to rest on February 14, 2020, at Afaraukwa.

Vanguard gathered that the situation caused tension as the residents shut their shops while others fled their homes as the soldiers patrolled the area in their armoured personnel carrier.

A resident said: "The soldiers numbering over 100 in nine military veterans and 2 Armored personnel carriers have been patrolling Bank road to Flo FM.

“The Soldiers have blocked the entrance street to Eze Kanu’s Palace, Afaraukwa, Umuahia with their van, walking round the community on foot. Everyone was scared, we ran away."

Another resident who simply gave his name as Abarikwu said he was on his way back from church when he got a call that soldiers had invaded the community.