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Olu Verheijen is the special adviser on Energy to the President. In this interview, she speaks on a number of presidential initiatives (orders) by President Bola Tinubu aimed at restoring improved deliverables to the oil and gas sector of the Nigerian economy. Excerpts:

What inspired your push for the presidential directive?  And how did you get the buy-in of the president?

Even before President Bola Tinubu assumed office, we needed to understand the root cause analysis of why we were where we were in the energy space beyond crude theft.  Crude theft was mostly discussed at the time because at the time we started looking at this, we were then at the lowest point around 900,000 bpd from over 2 million bpd. The main impact of crude theft was the fact that we had to shut in production every time vandalism occurs on a major trunk line, so we had a lot of shut-ins because the integrity of the transportation or evacuation infrastructure needs to be making sure that we are producing a safe and reliable infrastructure.  We said let’s take a major trunk line in the Delta, which was the TNP, for example, and we noticed that a lot of the work that NNPC had done had yielded significant outcomes there. The uptime of the infrastructure is quite high, and most barrels that are injected into those pipelines make it into the terminals. When you looked at the East, you found out that that wasn’t always the case, and that was more urgent because a lot of the associated gas goes into NLNG from the East. We needed to focus on major trunk lines that take gas and oil and see if we can quickly put a crack team together and focus on the issues there and start making improvements and start getting immediate traction. When we looked at it, we realised that there were few interventions with the NSA, the president himself and when the two Ministers of Defence came on board with NNPC, they started taking a few of the lessons of what has worked in the West and tried to replicate it or transfer some of those learnings to the East and Central zones. We have seen improvements there in terms of the availability of crude in that pipeline, and it has gone up.

What of the gas space? How are you dealing with issues there?

We are able to do the same. One of the outcomes is that we are able to see that NLNG’s output or availability went from an average of 53 per cent in 2022 to close to 70 per cent in the first quarter of this year, so that means more income back to the federal government for further investment. Instead of an activity based approach, spending a lot of money not really understanding what your outcomes are, we are able to see direct correlations between the activities that we are undertaking as a government that’s yielding the desired outcomes. More barrels into the terminals that we can export and more gas into the domestic market for power and industrialisation and more LNG cargoes making it into the market so that we can earn the dividends that are required for foreign exchange to just stabilise the macro-economic environment. The work isn’t done there, but there have been significant improvements. That is on the security side.

What other constraints, apart from security, have you identified as slowing down growth?

When we look into the rest of the issue, there were other issues that are driving the reduced production numbers. Again, we noticed that despite holding significant volumes of Africa reserves, over the last 10 years, we have only been able to attract four per cent of the capital that has been spent on the continent on oil and gas. So we started looking at that because it has many implications.  What it means is that even if we do not have crude theft, and we are able to solve the crude oil problem and make progress in that regard, if we don’t attract capital, oil and gas may not really buoy our economy because they will not last forever.  So you need to continuously invest to even maintain your profile, to stem the climb, and grow production. The second leg of the issue was why we are not able to attract investments and why we are not competitive given the size of our resources.

What did you discover?

We looked at investments over the last 10 years, and all we have been able to attract is $300 million.  When you look at places like Ghana where you see over $12 billion (because of the operating environment).  That seemed off to us, because, ideally, the biggest resource holder should be attracting more and we tried to understand why that wasn’t happening and we found a few issues which are really around investment climate and that’s why we decided to zero-in on those additional interventions and said what are the main issues harming investment in the country, how do we make sure that this is a conducive and competitive investment climate for capital, so that when investors are looking for opportunities and financiers are looking for opportunities across the globe, they will say Nigeria is one of the most attractive options and then they are able to allocate more capital to Nigerian projects.

We found two things that we thought would significantly address this investment climate challenge. The first one was around cost. We found that the cost of doing business in Nigeria is quite high, and in the oil and gas space, the benchmark as to other climates is high.  If you look at Saudi Arabia, they produce oil at less than $5 a barrel. On average, some of our producers here go over $ 40. It doesn’t make us attractive.

Why is that the case?

It is the subject of the presidential directive. We found a lot of issues. One of the things that we found was that our contracting timelines take too long. To put a contract in place whether you want to drill a rig or drill a well or do anything in the oil and gas sector, we found that sometimes it can be as high as 38 months to actually pull that contract. That contracting cycle, for many reasons, we thought this is one of the quick wins because once the amount of time is extended, you’ll need to do anything when the costs go up because its base are expiring and you have to come back, you are missing cycles and low cycles, opportunities, to lock-in prices and move. Many will go to where contracting timelines are less.

Did you say 38 months?

Yes!  That definitely adds to the cost and, more importantly, it just makes you unattractive when people can move to other climates within three to six months. Some places do it in less than two months. If it takes up to 38 months, that is one of the reasons for investors to go elsewhere. But we are already working on that, and the contracting time, based on what we have put in place, would never take that long, not even half the time. I know you have heard many times that people say Nigeria is more of a gas country than an oil country, but you wonder why despite us being the sixth largest energy exporter, but when you look at the amount of gas that we consume domestically or how much of that gas that we export, you will find that we are a very distant sixth. So we started to ask ourselves how we can become the dominant gas players that we should be. But we said let’s start with stimulating the upstream gas supply.  If you are able to demonstrate that our gas is just as attractive as gas in the US or Europe, then we should be able to attract the necessary capital to unlock that gas supply. But why focus on gas supply? Because it is for export. If you want to build an energy train, the first thing your financier would ask is, “Do you have your supply secured?” And you won’t have your supply secured if the upstream person doesn’t think it’s attractive if there are other opportunities.  So PIA has done quite a bit in making sure that associated gas and most gas fuels that have some liquid within it are competitive for investment. When it comes to non-associated gas, which is now 50 per cent of our remaining reserves, we need to do more. You need to start building a robust, non-associated gas portfolio so that you are a lot more reliable as a supply source in the market. So we started looking at what was required to improve non-associated gas fuels so that we could attract capital to those projects as well. There are a few principles that we thought were really important.

All these efforts may never be appreciated if people do not see things on the ground?

We assume that this year, you will see a number of big projects announced because of these directives and many other actions that are being taken on the NNPC side around security. There are quite a lot of things that are happening, but because of these directives, we think that if you have addressed efficiency, this is now the fourth directive that the president assigned. By using directives, it is also signalling a sense of urgency because we could have waited to put all of these things into law, but we know how long the PIA took. Our president, Bola Tinubu, is signalling to investors that Nigeria is open for business and he is willing to take any action that is required under law to make sure that sense of urgency and our openness for business is well-understood and documented that was one of the reasons we went to the presidential directives mode so that it is something that people can use to make immediate investment decisions before the laws are passed.

Nigeria has always had great ideas, but implementation remains a challenge. How is this being addressed?

On the presidential directive, Nigerians are wary of big announcements that do not yield anything. We don’t have a shortage of good ideas. Execution is where we tend to struggle. With the presidential initiative, one of the things that was really important that we demonstrated was not just the ability to come up with novel and interesting ideas that we think can unlock investments, but to actually go after implementation and execution of those presidential directives to yield the intended outcomes.

So, his role as the finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, he needed to play a part?

Yes. Because those ones were fiscal incentives and he is in charge of fiscal policy. So, he helped integrate the directives that had been done by the different agencies involved in that space so he could issue a fiscal guideline. That was done on Tuesday. We have commenced the next phase and made a presentation around how to resolve some of the issues in the deep water as well as to make sure that we continue to be an attractive destination.  In addition to that, there are a number of projects that we are using as a template to push through this directive and implement this directive so that the intended outcome of making sure that we reverse this 10 year decline around investments is ongoing.

A lot of explaining still needs to be done because once Nigerians hear that the government has put some policies in place and the results would be wonderful, they immediately want results

Investments don’t necessarily yield production growth, so I know most Nigerians look at the dollar to Naira exchange rate. Will this investment immediately impact that? No, but in some ways, they actually help us start the economy.  There haven’t been a lot of projects. The last big deep water project was in 2013, and there has been no major investment since then.  There are a lot of contractors, people who supply water, people who train staff, a lot of businesses that have been idle and shut down and we are able to restart economic activities, and that helps generate income for Nigerians in the meantime.

So, getting it right is very key?

You’re right. Nigerians need to understand what President Bolan Tinubu is trying to achieve here. In a year or two, most of what we are doing now would yield massive results. If we are able to ensure that the domestic power plant is able to be paid by a domestic distribution company. The distribution company in the power value chain needs to be able to collect cost reflective tariff, pay everybody along the chain including the transmission company and generation companies and then allow the gas supplier to be paid, the effect on the economy would be so massive that most of what we are complaining about today would be forgotten.

In the area of power, the issue of grid collapse has become a major problem…

(cuts in) Even before we get to the grid, you will see why we focus on the distribution end of things. Installed capacity in the country is about 15 gigawatts, and we can continue to add. NNPC has a few initiatives where they will continue to add more supply to the grid. On the transmission end, we have a capacity of eight gigawatts, but we really haven’t been able to hit those numbers for a number of reasons. Even if we fixed that, the distribution end has not been able to distribute more than four gigawatts over the last 10 years. If by some magic wand you make sure that your grid is stable and you are able to evacuate the eight gigawatts that are in store or start to grow it, the distribution end cannot take it because the investment required to distribute to more end users has not occurred. That is why we focused on that distribution and ended with a number of initiatives to make sure that we improve the capacity for them to distribute more energy. On the transmission grid size, it’s another grid size. It is another focus. There is another presidential power initiative that the minister is driving that focuses on how to make this grid stable and smarter. He is spending quite a bit of time with his team focused on that section of the value chain.

Nigeria has always had great ideas, but implementation remains a challenge. How is this being addressed?

On the presidential directive, Nigerians are wary of big announcements that do not yield anything. We don’t have a shortage of good ideas. Execution is where we tend to struggle. With the presidential initiative, one of the things that was really important that we demonstrated was not just the ability to come up with novel and interesting ideas that we think can unlock investments, but to actually go after implementation and execution of those presidential directives to yield the intended outcomes.

So, his role as the finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, he needed to play a part?

Yes. Because those ones were fiscal incentives and he is in charge of fiscal policy. So, he helped integrate the directives that had been done by the different agencies involved in that space so he could issue a fiscal guideline. That was done on Tuesday. We have commenced the next phase and made a presentation around how to resolve some of the issues in the deep water as well as to make sure that we continue to be an attractive destination.  In addition to that, there are a number of projects that we are using as a template to push through this directive and implement this directive so that the intended outcome of making sure that we reverse this 10 year decline around investments is ongoing.

A lot of explaining still needs to be done because once Nigerians hear that the government has put some policies in place and the results would be wonderful, they immediately want results

Investments don’t necessarily yield production growth, so I know most Nigerians look at the dollar to Naira exchange rate. Will this investment immediately impact that? No, but in some ways, they actually help us start the economy.  There haven’t been a lot of projects. The last big deep water project was in 2013, and there has been no major investment since then.  There are a lot of contractors, people who supply water, people who train staff, a lot of businesses that have been idle and shut down and we are able to restart economic activities, and that helps generate income for Nigerians in the meantime.

So, getting it right is very key?

You’re right. Nigerians need to understand what President Bolan Tinubu is trying to achieve here. In a year or two, most of what we are doing now would yield massive results. If we are able to ensure that the domestic power plant is able to be paid by a domestic distribution company. The distribution company in the power value chain needs to be able to collect cost reflective tariff, pay everybody along the chain including the transmission company and generation companies and then allow the gas supplier to be paid, the effect on the economy would be so massive that most of what we are complaining about today would be forgotten.

In the area of power, the issue of grid collapse has become a major problem…

(cuts in) Even before we get to the grid, you will see why we focus on the distribution end of things. Installed capacity in the country is about 15 gigawatts, and we can continue to add. NNPC has a few initiatives where they will continue to add more supply to the grid. On the transmission end, we have a capacity of eight gigawatts, but we really haven’t been able to hit those numbers for a number of reasons. Even if we fixed that, the distribution end has not been able to distribute more than four gigawatts over the last 10 years. If by some magic wand you make sure that your grid is stable and you are able to evacuate the eight gigawatts that are in store or start to grow it, the distribution end cannot take it because the investment required to distribute to more end users has not occurred. That is why we focused on that distribution and ended with a number of initiatives to make sure that we improve the capacity for them to distribute more energy. On the transmission grid size, it’s another grid size. It is another focus. There is another presidential power initiative that the minister is driving that focuses on how to make this grid stable and smarter. He is spending quite a bit of time with his team focused on that section of the value chain.

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The Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN) has welcomed a new leadership team following its recent elections, marking the beginning of a promising era focused on advancing affordable housing initiatives nationwide.

In a statement issued by the executive secretary of AHCN, Toye Eniola, announced the appointment of the new officers, emphasising their dedication to driving progress and innovation in the housing sector.

The association said that managing director of Cross River State Property and Investment Company Limited, Eno Obongha, assumes the role of president, leading alongside Ayodeji Adebayo Joseph, managing director of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation, as the first vice president, and Abdullahi Rabiu, managing director of Kano State Housing Corporation, as the second vice president.

“Mr. Daniel Makava, a director with the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, takes on the position of Association Secretary, while Barrister Michael Amure, general manager of the Ondo State Development and Property Corporation, serves as treasurer. Barrister Patrick Udomfang, managing director of Akwa Ibom Property and Investment Company, is appointed as auditor, and Albert Afolabi of Centrebase Consult assumes the role of Financial Secretary. Humphrey Ukeh, general manager of the Federal Housing Authority, will chair the Technical Committee.

“Ugwuozor Gabriel Onyemaechi of the Abuja Property Development Company Limited is appointed as Public Affairs Officer, with Babatunde Adeleke of LSDPC serving as Secretary of the Technical Committee.

“Additionally, Dr. Victor Onukwugha, the former president of the Association, and Olusesan Obe, managing director of Centre Base Consult Limited Lagos, have been elected as ex-officio members, bringing valuable experience to the association’s leadership.

“The newly appointed officers are committed to steering AHCN with diligence, aiming to drive progress in Nigeria’s housing sector and address its diverse challenges,” the statement said.

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The president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mr. Samuel Agbeluyi, has advised against granting tax holidays to people based on political patronage, as it would not be advantageous to the country’s economy.

Agbeluyi made this statement during a press conference ahead of the institute’s 26th annual tax conference, which will take place at Abuja Chambers of Commerce and Industry between May 13 and 17, theme: ‘Sustainable Tax Culture And Economic Roadmap For Nation Building.’

According to the CITN president, tax revenue is the most sustainable method for financing government activities and successful economies worldwide rely on taxes rather than natural resources, as it provides a stable source of income.

He emphasised that collection of tax revenue from taxpayers without using it wisely weakens the system. To enhance the system, every penny collected must be utilised for citizens’ benefit to improve their trust in paying taxes voluntarily.

Speaking on tax holidays as a means of encouraging business in the country, Agbeluyi explained that tax incentives serve as a reminder that taxation is not just about payment; rather, it is a tool used for wealth distribution or economic control in specific ways.

To him, “Another aspect of taxation involves providing tax holiday windows to strategically important companies that contribute to the developmental programme in the country.

“However, abuse of such incentives should be avoided at all costs since giving out tax incentives based on political patronage can have adverse effects on the economy. Instead, authorities must look into areas where development is needed and determine if they have resources available or needed.”

Investors, he said, are willing to come in and show interest in improving these areas through business ventures with high capital expenditure requirements, then offering them relief via tax holidays may be beneficial overall, adding that, ‘after all, once their period ends they will return stronger than before and pay taxes while simultaneously boosting economic growth during their time off from paying taxes.’

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Noting that president Bola Tinubu has made taxation a priority by taking steps to prevent excessive multiplication of taxes, Agbeluyi said, CITN believes that the president “will revolutionise the country’s tax system once political leaders in the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches support it.

Speaking at the 2024 CITN conference, Agbeluyi said it will bring together relevant stakeholders who can discuss challenges that remain unresolved but could potentially resolve issues at higher levels leading towards win-win situations for Nigeria’s taxation system overall.

Expected attendees include former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosu along with Jigawa State governor, Malam Umar Namadi, and Plateau State governor, Caleb Mutfwang, former executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler, expected to attend alongside various industry experts, policymakers involved in Nigerian public finance management.

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President Bola Tinubu has said bilateral partnerships must be mutually beneficial, transformative, and must translate into real gains for ordinary citizens.

Speaking at the Nigeria-Netherlands Business and Investment Forum in The Hague, on Thursday, President Tinubu in a statement by presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale emphasised the pivotality of stronger ties between Nigeria and the Netherlands.

Tinubu said both countries must explore more creative channels of collaboration through partnerships, joint ventures, or strategic alliances in order to build bridges that connect markets and facilitate the flow of goods, services, ideas and peoples.

He said his administration is enhancing the business environment in Nigeria to make it very friendly through various reforms.

He noted these measures to include cleaning up of foreign exchange market to make it more transparent for seamless business transactions, removal of the fuel subsidy, and the readiness of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide necessary window to allow foreign companies repatriate their profits, among others.

President Tinubu said the improved business milieu in Nigeria is making the country an investor’s paradise, urging businessmen and women to take advantage of these opportunities for mutually rewarding economic partnerships between Nigeria and the Netherlands.

“I am delighted and honoured to be at this occasion of the Nigeria-Netherlands Business Forum. This is a platform that symbolises the potential for collaboration and partnership between our two nations.

“It is worthy to note that while this forum seeks to highlight and advance the potential of mutually beneficial partnerships, I wish to state here that we must also ensure that the partnerships are creative and transformative in such a manner that the ordinary citizens of our countries can reap verifiable gains.

“It is on record that Nigeria and the Netherlands have established business ties for decades. There is every need to re-invigorate this relationship. This is a call for creativity on the part of all of us,” the President said.

Noting the long history of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and the Netherlands, President Tinubu called for the forging of even stronger bonds, not just in diplomacy but in commerce, innovation, and enterprise.

“Our countries possess unique strengths and resources. It is through collaboration that we can harness these strengths, unlock new opportunities, and drive economic development.

“Together, we have the potential to create synergies that will benefit our present and future generations. We must endeavour to replicate the success stories of various Dutch companies and enterprises by learning and sharing their experiences and approaches for the benefit of all.

“As the world braces up for today’s economic challenges, which in many ways affect our two countries, a creative approach to the search for investment-minded solutions will prove to be the most viable path to the level of sustainable development that we all desire.

“In line with the above vision, I believe that we must endeavour to push this narrative into our daily business activities and to move toward industrial value addition, agribusiness, innovative technology, green energy, marine economic expansion, as well as solid mineral exploitation and processing,” the President said.

Rounding off his remarks, President Tinubu emphasised that relations between Nigeria and the Netherlands will henceforth set a new tone and foundation for stronger economic ties between both countries.

“As we engage in discussions and negotiations today, let us do so with a spirit of openness, trust, and mutual respect. Let us listen to one another, learn from each other, and find common ground that will allow us to move forward together in pursuit of our shared prosperity,” the President concluded.

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The federal government has said it is working on building a single revenue generation platform for national implementation of tax administration. The plan is to shift away from the current multiple taxation system that has been described as counterproductive.

The government said it intends to develop a template of code for fiscal laws for sub-national governments to adopt so that they can have a single piece of information that covers everything at the state level and at the local level which people can reference.

“We are building a bigger platform for revenue administration in Nigeria generally. And again, this has to be, you know, has to be  Championed by the joint tax board. We have a new policy coordination, exchange and  information and capacity development,” chairman, presidential fiscal policy and tax reforms committee Taiwo Oyedele stated at a retreat for staff of Joint Tax Board (JTB) in Abuja.

“So because we have  had this high turnover, especially for the share pricing of the internal revenue services. It will be good for the joint tax  Board’s  to sign in that job of ensuring   That you have an induction program for head of internal revenue services. That is to say, head of the cost of service and all the members of the joint tax board,” Mr Oyedele said. “So it is not just internal revenue services. One that is a new person is offered to do the induction process. Even if it is just one person. That you go through a number of items, of techniques.”

Also speaking at the event, Secretary of the JTB Mr Olusegun Adesokan, emphasised the significance of getting staff members ready for the current and evolving tax environment. He said the organisation is set to summit some of its reports to the presidency soon and that one of its major advocacies is for a total digitalisation of tax administration for effectiveness.

He added that another  goal of the retreat was for  the JTB Secretariat staff to fully imbibe the culture of collaboration and innovation, to enable full understanding of their role under the emerging dispensation.

He said “One of the things we have realised is that we need to retrain and re-culture our staff to prepare for the new and emerging tax landscape. Because this committee, and the Tax Presidential Committee will be submitting some of its report very soon, and this committee is advocating for a total digitalisation of tax administration in Nigeria.”

He said the government has realised the need to retrain and re-culture the staff of the board to make them more effective and conscious of their mandate. He stressed on the need for the staffers to prepare for the new and emerging tax landscape. “Because this committee, and the Tax Presidential Committee will be submitting some of its report very soon, and this committee is advocating for a total digitalisation of tax administration in Nigeria,” Adesokan said.

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Says funds released to all MDAs for capital in 2023

Four months into the 2024 fiscal year, the federal government is yet to begin implementation of the capital component of the 2024 national budget which has many implications on the nation’s economy.

This was as the government said that it has released funds for all requisitions from Ministries, Departments and Agencies for the implementation of 2023 capital projects.

The budget titled “Budget of Renewed Hope” has a proposed expenditure of N27.5 trillion, an estimated revenue of N18.32 trillion and N8.7 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year.

Accountant General of the Federation Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein said the government was still implementing capital allocations of the 2023 budget that the National Assembly extended at the end of 2023 year-end. She said the decision to continue with the implementation of the 2023 budget was taken after consultation with the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, and minister of budget and economic planning when the lawmakers who ought to give a directive failed to come up with any.

The AGF said “We even called for cash plans to be uploaded by 15th and 21st March. We did that on 15th March while we are still on the one for 21st March,” she stated yesterday at a 1-day stakeholders interactive/sensitization session on the revised policy on cash management and bottom-up cash planning.

The situation may impair the government’s January-December budget cycle, vis-à-vis its national development plan 2021-2025. Apart from the contractors and other direct beneficiaries, most sub-nationals have their budgets tied to the federal budget.

However, she said her office has compiled all the cash plans that were submitted for 2023 “so that we can close 2023 now and commence 2024. As soon as we are through with this programme, we will advise for submission of 2024 from the month of May… We’ve called for the initial cash plans – monthly cash plans, annual cash plans – which we are already reviewing.”

Dr Madein said one of the reasons the 2024 cash plan has not started rolling out was based on a decision to ensure that the revised policy on cash management and bottom-up cash planning commence with the implementation of the 2024 capital budget.

She urged the accounting officers at the programme to get their cash plan documents ready so that by 15th May, you will have been able to upload into the cash plan system.

Meanwhile, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Mr Wale Edun has said again that the federal government is committed to maximum overhaul of the nation’s economy to improve the lives of Nigerians. Speaking at the Abuja event, the minister said Nigeria is now on the road to reform and transparency, adding, “We must be determined that even though we could not do it yesterday, we will definitely do it tomorrow. He therefore urged the accounting officers at the workshop to embrace the financial reforms of the government for national good.

This is as the government has concluded in the revised policy on cash management that any amounts held in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system not immediately needed will be invested in interest-yielding deposits. To do that, the AGF will direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to invest idle cash balances in short-term instruments at the ruling or competitive rate.

The revised cash management policy among other things stipulate that all MDAs will now have to submit their monthly expenditure needs for consolidation by the funds department (cash management unit) at the OAGF headquarters; monthly cash payment needs will now be based on capital commitments to be settled in the month as well as recurrent needs for the specific month.

It also provides that capital and overhead cash needs will henceforth be based on legal and financial commitments that is in line with the approved cash plan entered in GIFMIS. Where actual commitments do not support expenditure needs, the MDA cash plan (outflows) would be reduced without recourse to the MDA in question accordingly.

The new policy provides strategies for cash flow planning and management such that inflows are realisable, outflows controlled and there is value for money in public expenditure, avoiding discretionary spending, minimising deficits, and borrowing within limits as well as investment of excess and/or idle cash.

It focuses attention on a strategy that ensures government commitment to budget implementation, effective public expenditure funding and management and strategies for the investment of idle cash and financing of gaps when they occur.

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the exchange rate for paying Customs duties at the nation’s seaports by 11.1 percent in response to the crash in the value of naira against the dollar in the foreign exchange market.

Apex bank raised the Customs FX duty rate from N1,150.16/$ to N1,277.526/$ on Thursday, April 25, according to information obtained from the official trade portal of the Nigeria Customs Service.

This represents an 11.1 percent rise in rate when compared to the old rate of N1,150.16/$ previously used for opening Form M, and an increase of N127.366 on a dollar needed to clear goods at the port.

This is as the naira continued its depreciation at the official end of the market, closing on Thursday at N1,309.88 to the dollar, a 12 per cent week to date decline on the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

As against N1,169.99 which it closed last week on the market, the value of the naira had lost N139.89 or 12 per cent of its value within the past four days. On Monday, the value of the naira had closed weaker at N1,234.49.

This was despite a rise in turnover which rose from $89 million to $110 million. By Tuesday, the value of the naira depreciated further to N1,300.15 to the dollar with intra day trading seeing deals consummated between N1,317 and N1000.

At the end of trading on Tuesday, a turnover of $133,65 million had been recorded. By Wednesday, the value depreciation continued as the naira closed at N1,308.52 to the dollar with trades consummated between N1,367 and N1,098 to the dollar. Turnover at the market continued to rise, standing at $197.54 million.

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By Thursday, the value of the naira depreciated slightly to N1,309.88 to the dollar, with intraday deals consummated between N1,439 and N1,000 whilst turnover rose significantly to $318.08 million.

Traders note that the deprecation in the value of the dollar was due to market forces as demand continues to outstrip supply. The Central Bank of Nigeria had on Monday sold dollars to bureau de change operators.

By implication, importers opening Form M today will require more money to pay import duties compared to the importers who opened Form M earlier in the week.

African economies lose $13.7 billion to adverse climate events

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The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has reiterated its commitment to a culture of zero tolerance for corruption, which is further strengthened by its core values of teamwork, respect, fairness, integrity, professionalism, and passion.

NDIC Managing Director, Bello Hassan disclosed this during the inauguration of the Corporation’s Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) by officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) at the NDIC headquarters in Abuja.

Hassan was represented at the event by NDIC Executive Director, Operations Mr. Mustapha M. Ibrahim.

He said, the NDIC ACTU has strengthened the corporation’s operational system through the implementation of various compliance measures to ensure ethics, integrity, transparency and accountability in the workplace.

He explained that the specific measures include robust Internal Controls, regular Risk Assessments, strict adherence to regulatory guidelines, and comprehensive training programs for employees.

Hassan described the inauguration as a significant step in the Corporation’s ongoing commitment in the fight against corruption and enhance transparency.  He emphasised that NDIC Management remains committed to supporting ACTU activities, recognizing the unit’s critical role in ensuring the Corporation’s operations are conducted with integrity, free from corruption, and fostering public trust.

The ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu who was represented by ICPC Acting Director System Study and Review, Mr. Olusegun Adigun, praised NDIC Management for their dedication and active support in establishing and advancing the activities of the ACTU to address corruption issues and foster ethical practices.

He applauded the efficiency and diligence of the NDIC ACTU in fulfilling its mandate, resulting in the Corporation retaining the first position for two consecutive years on the annual ICPC Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard.

He urged the new ACTU members to see their nomination as an opportunity to build on the good legacies of the previous members and to complement Management’s efforts in promoting the core values of the Corporation through their assigned duties. He stressed the need for the NDIC Management to sustain its commitment and support to ACTU so that the Unit can perform optimally and remain a veritable tool in embedding laid down ethical standards amongst staff and sustaining a positive image for the Corporation.

Ten (10) members of staff were sworn in as members of the NDIC ACTU during the inauguration. Their key functions include annual sensitization of staff against corruption; Conduct of System Study & Review and Corruption Risk Assessment to strengthen internal systems; monitoring budget implementation of the Corporation, coordinating whistleblowing platforms, identifying and rewarding outstanding members of staff amongst other responsibilities.

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The minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has insisted that over $500 million of the industry’s funds in equity investments in private establishments and in loans by the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board, NCDMB, are not performing.

The minister made the comment at The Petroleum Club’s quarterly event in Lagos
Lokpobiri , while reacting to recent media statements by SIMBI Wabote, former executive secretary of the Board, dismissed as blatant lies claims that his office requested for an increase on NCDMB budget by N30 billion for the office of the Minister.

In a statement signed by special adviser, Media and Communication, minister Of State For Petroleum Resources(Oil), Nneamaka Okafor, the minister noted that ‘’Our position is that he who alleges must prove the same. So, if Mr. Wabote has proof of such a conversation, he is challenged to provide the same.

‘’Secondly the minister has no aide called Blackson. All his aides were duly selected in line with extant laws and have documents to that effect.

According to the statement ‘’The Minister in his capacity as chairman of the Governing Council stands by his statement at The Petroleum Club’s quarterly event in Lagos, and as journalists I welcome you to visit the places mentioned to verify the allegations for yourself.

‘’Thirdly, the said Atlantic Refinery was supposed to be built in Mr White’s hometown, he should show Nigerians where that refinery is.

‘’Fourthly, the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical company was also paid for, you are welcomed to also visit the site to verify the facts for yourself.

The statement noted that Investigations are ongoing and the truth will surely come to light and monies belonging to the generality of Nigerians will be recovered for Nigerians.

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The capital market operators in Nigeria have commended President Bola Tinubu for the appointment of Dr Emomotimi Agama as the director-general designate for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

They gave the commendation in separate interviews, while reacting to the new SEC board composition by the President.

The president Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, Prof. Uche Uwaleke described Agama’s appointment as ‘a round peg in a round hole’.

Uwaleke said that Agama had been in the commission for over 20 years urged him to continue from where the present SEC DG stopped, saying that implementation of the Nigerian capital market Masterplan must be paramount in his agenda.

Also speaking, the managing director of Arthur Steven Asset Management Limited, Olatunde Amolegbe hailed the appointment of Agama along with the other board members of SEC.

Amolegbe said the appointment was well thought through and appropriate for the enhanced growth and development of the capital market, saying “most of them are well grounded capital market professionals with decades of experience under their belt both locally and internationally.

“Agama has been a regular in the Nigerian capital market for an upward of 25 years or maybe more as far as I know.”

On agenda for the new team, he enjoined the new team to continue with the implementation of the capital market masterplan. He also urged them to develop the nation’s commodities exchanges to fill the gap of trading in locally sourced soft commodities such as oil and gas and agricultural products.

Amolegbe added that the new team should ensure that the regulatory-induced banking recapitalisation is conducted in an efficient and orderly manner, saying “the medium-term goal will be to position the capital market to facilitate the one trillion-dollar economy goal of the federal government will be key.

“I would like to see us achieve a market capitalization to Gross Domestic Product levels of at least over 50 per cent by the end of their first tenure. These are lofty but achievable goals, while congratulating the outgoing team for the excellent work they have done.”

Recall that President Bola Tinubu approved the appointment of a new director-general for SEC. This was contained in a statement issued by the spokesperson to the President, Ajuri Ngelale.

The President also appointed the following professionals to the board of the Commission: Mairiga Aliyu Katuka as chairman, Frana Chukwuogor, executive commissioner (Legal and Enforcement) and Bola Ajomale as executive commissioner (Operations)

Others are Samiya Usman, executive commissioner (Corporate Services), Lekan Belo, non-executive commissioner and Kasimu Garba Kurfi, non-executive commissioner.

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