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$1.05bn is Not Missing From NLNG –Senate

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Lukman Amusa

The Senate Committee on Gas Resources and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation on Thursday says $1.05bn is not missing from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas dividend account.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Bassey Akpan, and the Chief Financial Officer of NNPC, Mr. Isiaka Abdulrazaq, stated this at a meeting between members of the committee and NNPC officials in Abuja.

Akpan and Abdulrazaq noted that contrary to media reports, the issue at stake is on the legality of the utilisation of the 1.05 billion dollars by the NNPC for importation of fuel, and not on whether or not the money is missing.

The meeting was in continuation of investigation by the committee into the utilisation of the 1.05 billion dollars by the NNPC from the NLNG dividend fund to “augment under-recoveries” in fuel importation.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Maikanti Baru, confirmed the spending at a Senate hearing recently.

Baru had said the NNPC took the action following the removal of fuel subsidy in 2016, and the resultant withdrawal of independent oil companies from importation of the product.

He had said the withdrawal was in line with the NNPC Act which empowers the company to fund its operations from its revenue.

But the lawmakers believe the NLNG dividend fund is revenue meant for the three tiers of government and thus the NNPC lacks powers to unilaterally draw from it.

At Thursday’s meeting, Akpan said documents made available to the committee by the NNPC showed that another 1.05 billion dollars was transferred from the NLNG account.
He asked why the NNPC vide a letter dated November 30, 2016, authorised the CBN to transfer the money and for what purpose.

Responding, Abdulrazaq said the transaction was an internal entry of the CBN regarding the movement of the fund from one NLNG dividend account to another, and not payment to a third party.

Giving more explanation on the transaction, the Group Managing Director, Treasury, of the corporation, Mr. Dapo Segun, said there are two NLNG dividend accounts.

Segun identified the accounts as the NLNG Bank of International Settlement Account and the NLNG Standard Chartered Bank Account.

He said that following the adoption of the Treasury Single Account policy of the Federation Government, deposit money banks holding the NLNG dividend funds were directed to transfer them to the CBN.

The CBN, according to him, told the NNPC that it had deposited the funds in the NLNG BIS Account, which he said was not operational.

Segun said the November 30, 2016 memo cited by the Akpan simply asked the CBN to transfer the money from the BIS Account to the NLNG Standard Chartered Bank that was operational.

“So, CBN did move the money pursuant to our instruction, and then subsequently, CBN reversed that transaction which was still between NLNG accounts.

“So, the money never left the NLNG dividend account; it moved from one NLNG dividend account to another NLNG dividend account,” he said.

After Segun’s clarification, Abdulrazaq told the senators that the CBN was in the right position to explain why it reversed the transfer from NLNG Standard Chartered Account to the BIS Account.

He noted that the issues being discussed at the hearing bordered on the legality of the utilisation of the $1.05bn on fuel importation, and not on whether or not the money was missing.

The NNPC CFO said the clarification became necessary following misleading reports in the media that the money was missing.

Abdulrazaq said the reports were sending wrong signals about the government to its foreign partners and potential investors.

At this point, the committee chairman pleaded with newsmen around to refrain from misrepresentation of facts and report the proceeding verbatim.

Akpan said, “Please pressmen, nobody is saying that money is missing, I plead with you to report the outcome of this meeting verbatim.

“We are only engaging the NNPC to understand the rudiments and dynamics of the NLNG dividend account,” he said.

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Access Bank Appoints Uche Orji as Independent Non-Executive Director

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Access Bank Appoints Uche Orji as Independent Non-Executive Director

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Access Holdings Plc (‘the Company’) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Uche Orji as an Independent Non-Executive Director of its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank Plc (‘the Bank’), effective from January 7, 2025, following the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (‘CBN’).

This appointment reflects our commitment to enhancing our governance practices and ensuring a diverse and experienced board.

Mr. Orji is a renowned investment banking professional, information technology entrepreneur, and finance expert with three (3) decades of professional and board experience. He is the Co-founder and Partner of Titangate Capital Management, an equity firm that invests in deep-tech, enterprise software, semi-conductors, hardware, and artificial intelligence companies.

He is the Founder and Director of Vitesse Africa Limited, an investment advisory firm focused on African energy, technology and infrastructure sectors. He serves as an Executive Board member and investor in Ultrasafe AI, an artificial intelligence/IT development firm that maintains strategic collaborations with leading technology companies. He also sits on the Board of Private Infrastructure Development Group, London, and chairs the Risk Committee.

Previously, Mr. Orji served as the founding Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority. He held positions as Managing Director and Senior Analyst at UBS Securities Limited New York and Managing Director and Head of European Technology/Semiconductor Equity Research at JP Morgan Securities, London. He also served as Executive Director/Portfolio Manager at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, London. Earlier in his career, he was Acting Financial Controller at Diamond Bank Limited and an Audit Trainee at Arthur Andersen & Co.

He holds a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Port-Harcourt and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, the Chairman of the Bank said:

“Mr. Orji has been appointed based on his exceptionally rich professional, academic, and corporate board experience which will be invaluable to the Bank as we continue to pursue our strategic objectives.

We are confident that his addition to the Board would further enrich the quality of our decision-making process, enabling us to deliver even greater value to our customers and stakeholders.

His appointment has been made in accordance with the Bank’s internal policies and has been notified to all relevant regulatory authorities underscoring our commitment to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance.

On behalf of the Board, Management and staff, I warmly welcome Mr. Orji to the Board and look forward to his contributions towards our goal of becoming one of the top 5 African Banks in the shortest possible time.”

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Go and List Your Challenges, Lagos Speaker tells NANS Member During Courtesy Visit

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Go and List Your Challenges, Lagos Speaker tells NANS Member During Courtesy Visit

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Lagos State University (LASU) branch, on Friday paid a courtesy visit on the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Princess Mojisola Lasbat Meranda.

The student representatives said the visit was to congratulate Meranda over her emergence as Speaker of the State Assembly.

Meranda, an alumnus of LASU, was elected Speaker on January 13 after the removal of Mudashiru Obasa by the lawmakers over issues relating to alleged high-handedness and financial impropriety.

Describing her as a thoroughbred Lagosian, the chairman of NANS, Abdulraheem Azeez, used the opportunity to list some of the challenges faced by students in the university.

According to him, students have had to read in darkness as the Ikeja campus gets less than two hours of power supply daily.

Azeez also raised the need for the State to make available loans for indigent students as well as for the Assembly to provide opportunities for students to witness the plenary of the House.

Meranda, while thanking the students for the visit, urged them to always attend town-hall meetings in their constituencies where they can contribute and make their opinions known.

She further encouraged them to apply for the loans initiated by the government as done by students in other countries.

The Speaker requested the students to formally send their complaints in written forms to the House for action.

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EFCC Tasks Corps Members on Corruption

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AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

EFCC Tasks Corps Members on Corruption

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede charge members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, to be change agents and strong resisting force against corruption.

He also enjoined them to be active foot soldiers and whistle-blowers or intelligence-gatherers against corruption.

Speaking on Thursday, January 30, 2025 at the NYSC Orientation Camp, Yikpata, Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, Olukoyede said It is important for youths to realise that, these roles, if performed creditably, will bring up appreciable growth in the economy of our nation. He said that, “creative energies of youths will be maximised when corruption is brought to its knees.”

The EFCC boss whose address was delivered by the Head, Public Affairs Department, Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, Ayodele Babatunde said that most of the problem confronting the country such as kidnapping, banditry, poor infrastructure, among others were connected to corruption. He added that all hands must be on the deck to tame the cankerworm.

Olukoyede encouraged the youths to embrace the virtues of hard work and shun fraudulent practices such as cybercrime noting that, “it’s profitable to earn dignity and fame through hard work and legit business.”

While calling on the youths to channel their potentials productively and shun crime, the EFCC Chair said that, “Yahoo-Yahoo is not a sustainable way of life.”

“There is no shortcut to wealth and fame. The fact that the rate of unemployment is high should not be an excuse to resort to crime. Act of criminality might deliver wealth in the short term but there will be misery and gnashing of teeth”, he said.

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