News
Uzodinma Taps Mrs. Njoku, Harvard-bred Oil & Gas Expert as SSAA, Petroleum
Governor Hope Uzodinma has appointed an oil industry expert, Mrs Chioma Nonyerem Njoku as Senior Special Assistant Adviser on Petroleum, as part of his efforts to strengthen Imo State’s maximization of petroleum resources management as a contributor to the state’s economic development
She is also to serve as the Secretary of the Bureau of Oil and Gas Matters.
Before her appointment, Mrs Njoku had held several positions at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) including as Acting Director of Petroleum Resources. She brings to bear several years of experience of working in the oil sector
Her appointment is one that has been hailed by industry and subject matter experts as a step in the right direction by the Imo State government
Mrs. Njoku boasts a solid educational background that spans Corona School, British–American International School and Mary Wood Grammar School Lagos, Nigeria.
Thereafter, she went on to garner academic and professional qualifications in Accountancy at the Institute of Management and Technology Enugu and certification by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and member of various professional associations.
Furthermore, she has attended various Executive Management Courses including the prestigious Harvard Business School program for Leadership and General Management.
Equipped with a high level of integrity, Mrs. Njoku has over 35 years of Oil and Gas industry experience, spanning various technical and corporate sections in the NNPC and DPR, Nigeria’s regulatory agency for the Oil and Gas Industry.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State
She previously served as Head, Finance and Accounts at the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) where her responsibilities included revenue accounting during the Oil bloc bid rounds.
At various times during her career, she had superintending responsibilities in the three largest Upstream/Downstream Oil and Gas Operations Zones (Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt).
She retired as a Deputy Director/Zonal Operations Controller, South-South Zone of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), with the responsibility of coordinating regulatory compliance activities.
She represented the DPR in various inter-agency consultative organizations (The Presidency, National Assembly, Fed. Min of Finance, Fed Ministrye of Petroleum Resources, Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Petroleum Equalisation Fund, Nigeria Content Development Management Board, NDDC, PPPRA) as well as the Oil Producers Trade Association (OPTA) comprising Chief Executives, and in the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), an association of Nigerian Indigenous Technical Oil Field Service Companies.
In the public sector, Mrs. Njoku served as Senior Technical Assistant to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Nigeria’s OPEC Governor, as well as the Oil and Gas Industry Desk Representative at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) One Stop Investment Centre (OSIC), with the responsibility of Oil and Gas Investment and Trade Facilitation.
She represented the Department in review committees on Voluntary Principles proposals by the European Union and the United States of America.
The new appointee, who is married with children, spends her time mentoring the youth and women through participation in community-based activities and advocacy.
DataPro Rating Agency has upgraded the long-term credit rating of Dangote Cement Plc to AA+ from AA, citing the company’s strong financial performance, market leadership and ability to meet its financial obligations despite Nigeria’s challenging economic environment.
In its latest rating report, the technology-driven credit rating agency also affirmed Dangote Cement’s short-term rating at A1, with a Stable Outlook. The ratings are valid until June 16, 2027.
DataPro said the upgrade reflects the cement maker’s sustained financial strength, resilient operating performance and dominant position in Nigeria and across Africa.
According to the agency, the assessment followed a comprehensive review of the company’s capital base, earnings, liquidity, corporate governance, regulatory compliance and the sustainability of its financial performance over the medium to long term.
It noted that Dangote Cement’s strong brand, leading market share, solid earnings, robust asset base and experienced management continue to strengthen its ability to meet financial commitments on time.
The agency also highlighted the company’s outstanding financial performance in 2025.
According to the report, Dangote Cement posted N4.31 trillion in revenue during the year, representing a 20 per cent increase from the previous year. Profit before tax more than doubled, rising 109 per cent to N1.53 trillion, driven by higher sales, improved operating efficiency, lower finance costs and a stronger capital structure.
DataPro said the AA+ long-term rating indicates low credit risk and reflects excellent financial strength, business profile and operating performance relative to its rating benchmarks.
It added that the A1 short-term rating signifies good credit quality and shows that the company has a strong capacity to meet its short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
The rating agency, however, noted that the credit rating has a maximum shelf life of 12 calendar months in line with international best practice and should be used only as a reference, not as an offer to trade in securities or as a substitute for investors’ independent judgement.
Xora Finance has announced it will no longer consider job applicants from Nigeria.
Xora Finance is a digital bank founded by Joren Lundgren, in February 2026 and allows users to deposit and earn interest on their XRP cryptocurrency.
Lundgren, founder, in an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), cited an ongoing pattern of misconduct, such as dishonesty and theft, from previous Nigerian hires as the reason for the decision.
This sudden blanket ban came just days after the company’s official career page was aggressively recruiting remote workers for marketing and content roles.
The announcement generated heavy backlash online, with many people upset that a blanket rule punishes honest job seekers.
Some lawyers have said that victims of Ponzi schemes have legal remedies, although recovering lost funds and prosecuting perpetrators remain major challenges.
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new participants rather than from actual profits.
Operators lure victims by promising high returns with little to no risk.
The scheme inevitably collapses when the flow of new investors slows down.
Some lawyers who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) separate interviews with on Sunday, said that victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money.
Mr Chibuikem Opara, a lawyer at Justification Chambers, Ikeja,said many Nigerians continued to fall victim to Ponzi schemes in spite of repeated warnings.
Opara said it was wrong to attribute participation in Ponzi schemes to a lack of investment opportunities, noting that promoters often exploit investors’ greed through promises of unrealistic returns.
“What you cannot take away is the fact that many Nigerians have fallen and continue to fall victim to these schemes every time,” he said.
According to him, victims may individually or collectively institute civil actions against the beneficiary company for breach of contract or refund arising from failure of consideration.
Opara said victims could also unite to seek an order from the Federal High Court to wind up the beneficiary company.
He, however, noted that such efforts might yield little benefit if perpetrators had already siphoned the funds and left behind an empty shell.
The lawyer said available remedies largely depended on the actions of relevant authorities, adding that recipient accounts could be frozen to facilitate fund recovery and support winding-up proceedings.
Opara said regulators and law enforcement agencies often became aware of Ponzi schemes only after substantial losses had occurred.
According to him, victims frequently failed to report suspicious schemes early enough to enable timely intervention.
He added that funds are sometimes moved outside the country before authorities become aware of the fraud.
Opara also cited inadequate information and the deceptive nature of the schemes as major obstacles to investigation and prosecution.
“Most times, everything about the schemes is made to appear elusive, just like the profits promised to victims,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Vincent Aminu of A.F. Aminu and Co. advised that victims of investment scams should report such cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies on time.
Aminu said victims could petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or file reports with the police.
He said that after investigation, prosecutors could bring charges against suspects under relevant fraud-related laws, including provisions of the Criminal Code and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
Beyond criminal prosecution, Aminu said .victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money
According to him, such actions may be based on breach of contract, unjust enrichment, or fraudulent misrepresentation, depending on the circumstances.
He added that victims could petition the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could investigate illegal operators, shut down unauthorised platforms, and freeze assets.
He identified the anonymity of online fraudsters as one of the biggest challenges confronting investigators.
According to him, many operators concealed their identities through fake digital profiles and technologies that made tracking them difficult.
Aminu also noted that victims who delayed taking legal action risked losing opportunities for redress.
He added that prolonged court proceedings often delayed justice for victims.
“Many fraud-related cases take years before the court reaches a verdict, thereby delaying justice for victims,” he said.
Also, Mr Chris Ayiyi of Ayiyi Chambers, Apapa, described Ponzi schemes as a gamble that benefited early participants at the expense of later investors.
Ayiyi said some early entrants received returns on their investments, thereby encouraging others to join the schemes.
He said the schemes eventually collapsed, leaving late investors to bear the losses
The lawyer called for a complete ban on Ponzi schemes or sustained public enlightenment campaigns against them.
He urged the National Assembly to enact laws that would strengthen regulation and provide greater protection for investors.
According to him, stronger legal safeguards are necessary in a country operating a capital-based economy.
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