General News
GEJ Tells GMB to Extend Probe to Obasanjo, Others
President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday advised the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, not to single out his administration in any probe he may want to carry out after his inauguration on Friday.
The outgoing President who spoke at the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, advised Buhari to extend his probe beyond his regime or else, the probe will be seen as a witch-hunt.
The other administrations include those of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (1998-1999), former President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007) and the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (2007-2010).
Jonathan said such probe should cover how oil wells and fields were allocated in the past.
Jonathan said “Some people are even calling for the probe of this government. I agree in Nigeria there are a number of things that we will probe, very many things. Even debts owed by states and this nation from 1960 up to this time, they say it is Jonathan’s administration that is owing all the debt.
“I believe that anybody calling for probe must ensure that these probes are extended beyond the Jonathan administration; otherwise, to me, it will be witch hunting. If you are very sincere, then it’s not just the Jonathan’s administration that should be probed.
“A number of things have gone wrong and we have done our best to fix them. The Attorney General is aware of massive judgment debts. If we aggregate all of them, it’s almost going to $1 billion. How did we come to this kind of huge judgment debts?
“These issues should be probed. How do you allocate our oil wells, oil fields, marginal wells and all that; do we follow our laws? All these should be probed. And I believe all these and many more areas should be looked at.”
According to him, the fuel scarcity and workers’ strikes are acts of sabotage by those bent on bringing down his administration, despite having few days to go.
Jonathan said: “Even this last fuel scarcity, to me, one can clearly say it was an act of sabotage. This government has few days to go. That is definitely not the time you expect massive strikes, using marketers and unions; unions asking for increase in salaries at a time oil price has dropped and volumes have dropped.
“None of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) is increasing salaries but our unions wanted 11 per cent increase in allowances and so on and so forth and went on strike.
“There was 21 days reserve in this country. It is not as if we had no products but they just refused to lift. Diesel was deregulated long ago, so the issue was not the product but people who felt they must bring this government to its knees even when they know that we had few days to leave. But we thank God we are getting over it and God will see us through.”
The President also stressed that his administration had done its best for Nigeria.
His words: “One thing that is clear, I enjoyed working with all of you. I’m very pleased with all of you. I want to thank all of you for your various contributions to the development of our country. I want to thank those that have been with us, the Advisers, Special Senior Assistants, the secretariat, other senior government functionaries, including the media that covered proceedings every Wednesday.”
“As a cabinet, we have tried our best. I believe we have done well under a very difficult situation. There are a lot of criticisms; people say different things at different times. Some of those who make some statements know they are purely political.
“I have always throw, the challenge that those who criticise us should compare what we have done in the various sectors to what others have done. I may not need to enumerate but if you look at the rail system and what we have done within this period, the oil sector where there has been so much attack, one good thing we did was the Nigerian content law that revolutionised the oil industry.”
He went on: “There were a lot of fabrication going on in Lagos and other places but it was never like this before. Nigerians are playing key roles in the oil sector. People sometimes forget this. Even with that, maybe we have offended some people but the Nigerian local content has really helped so many Nigerians to play big in the oil sector.”
“The agriculture, power sectors and maybe in foreign relations, like the Minister of Foreign Affairs mentioned, from 1960 to date, we have been members of the Security Council as non-permanent members five times; out of these five times, two times was with the five years of our administration.”
“We have been an independent nation for years and we have been in the United Nations Security Council as non-permanent members five times, two within this administration. That shows clearly that the rest of the world appreciates our little contributions to global issue.”
President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday advised the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, not to single out his administration in any probe he may want to carry out after his inauguration on Friday.
The outgoing President who spoke at the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, advised Buhari to extend his probe beyond his regime or else, the probe will be seen as a witch-hunt.
The other administrations include those of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (1998-1999), former President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007) and the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (2007-2010).
Jonathan said such probe should cover how oil wells and fields were allocated in the past.
Jonathan said “Some people are even calling for the probe of this government. I agree in Nigeria there are a number of things that we will probe, very many things. Even debts owed by states and this nation from 1960 up to this time, they say it is Jonathan’s administration that is owing all the debt.
“I believe that anybody calling for probe must ensure that these probes are extended beyond the Jonathan administration; otherwise, to me, it will be witch hunting. If you are very sincere, then it’s not just the Jonathan’s administration that should be probed.
“A number of things have gone wrong and we have done our best to fix them. The Attorney General is aware of massive judgment debts. If we aggregate all of them, it’s almost going to $1 billion. How did we come to this kind of huge judgment debts?
“These issues should be probed. How do you allocate our oil wells, oil fields, marginal wells and all that; do we follow our laws? All these should be probed. And I believe all these and many more areas should be looked at.”
According to him, the fuel scarcity and workers’ strikes are acts of sabotage by those bent on bringing down his administration, despite having few days to go.
Jonathan said: “Even this last fuel scarcity, to me, one can clearly say it was an act of sabotage. This government has few days to go. That is definitely not the time you expect massive strikes, using marketers and unions; unions asking for increase in salaries at a time oil price has dropped and volumes have dropped.
“None of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) is increasing salaries but our unions wanted 11 per cent increase in allowances and so on and so forth and went on strike.
“There was 21 days reserve in this country. It is not as if we had no products but they just refused to lift. Diesel was deregulated long ago, so the issue was not the product but people who felt they must bring this government to its knees even when they know that we had few days to leave. But we thank God we are getting over it and God will see us through.”
The President also stressed that his administration had done its best for Nigeria.
His words: “One thing that is clear, I enjoyed working with all of you. I’m very pleased with all of you. I want to thank all of you for your various contributions to the development of our country. I want to thank those that have been with us, the Advisers, Special Senior Assistants, the secretariat, other senior government functionaries, including the media that covered proceedings every Wednesday.”
“As a cabinet, we have tried our best. I believe we have done well under a very difficult situation. There are a lot of criticisms; people say different things at different times. Some of those who make some statements know they are purely political.
“I have always throw, the challenge that those who criticise us should compare what we have done in the various sectors to what others have done. I may not need to enumerate but if you look at the rail system and what we have done within this period, the oil sector where there has been so much attack, one good thing we did was the Nigerian content law that revolutionised the oil industry.”
He went on: “There were a lot of fabrication going on in Lagos and other places but it was never like this before. Nigerians are playing key roles in the oil sector. People sometimes forget this. Even with that, maybe we have offended some people but the Nigerian local content has really helped so many Nigerians to play big in the oil sector.”
“The agriculture, power sectors and maybe in foreign relations, like the Minister of Foreign Affairs mentioned, from 1960 to date, we have been members of the Security Council as non-permanent members five times; out of these five times, two times was with the five years of our administration.”
“We have been an independent nation for years and we have been in the United Nations Security Council as non-permanent members five times, two within this administration. That shows clearly that the rest of the world appreciates our little contributions to global issue.”
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has yet to publish its annual financial statements beyond the 2022 financial year, despite legal provisions requiring the apex bank to release its audited accounts annually.
An annual report is a comprehensive report on a company’s activities throughout the preceding year.
Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested people information about the company’s activities and financial performance.
The most recent annual report and financial statements of the CBN available to the public remain those for the 2022 financial year.
Under Section 50 of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, the bank is required to prepare, submit and publish its audited annual financial statements.
Section 50(1) stipulates that the CBN must transmit its annual accounts, certified by an external auditor, to the President and the National Assembly within two months after the end of each financial year.
Section 50(2) further provides that the annual report submitted to the President and the National Assembly should be published in a manner determined by the CBN Governor, while Section 50(3) mandates the CBN Board to ensure the accounts are published in the Federal Government Gazette as soon as possible.
Despite these statutory requirements, the apex bank has not made public any annual financial statements after the 2022 reporting year.
The development comes after the CBN, on August 11, 2023, released its consolidated financial statements covering seven years the first such publication since 2015.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Olayemi Cardoso as Governor of the CBN on September 15, 2023, following the removal of former Governor Godwin Emefiele in June of the same year.
Emefiele is currently facing trial over alleged corruption-related offences.
Last week, the Supreme Court ordered the final forfeiture of several of Emefiele’s properties, along with $2.045 million in cash.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has successfully completed a landmark US$2.5 billion private equity placement, in what is believed to be Africa’s largest publicly disclosed primary equity private placement by value.
This marks a major milestone in the company’s long-term expansion strategy.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the company said the offering was 3.7 times oversubscribed relative to its initial offer size, reflecting strong investor confidence in the refinery’s growth prospects and resulting in the issuance and allotment of approximately US$2.5 billion in new equity.
The fundraising follows the recent equity capital raise in which existing investors expanded their holdings alongside new institutional investors, strengthening the refinery’s capital base to support its next phase of growth.
According to the company, proceeds from the private placement will finance the continued expansion of its refining and petrochemical operations, reinforce its capital structure and enhance financial flexibility for future investments.
The transaction attracted broad participation from international and African institutional investors, sovereign-related investment vehicles, development finance institutions and long-term strategic partners.
Among the key investors were the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and India Infra Buildco, an investment vehicle facilitated by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). The offering also drew participation from a diverse mix of institutional and individual investors, underscoring strong market confidence in the refinery’s long-term strategy.
Chairman of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, Aliko Dangote, described the successful capital raise as a strategic move to deepen and institutionalise the company’s shareholder base while complementing internal cash flows and external financing.
“This further demonstrates our profound commitment to developing domestic refining and petrochemical capacity, reducing Africa’s reliance on imported refined products and strengthening the continent’s energy security,” Dangote said.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the refinery, David Bird, attributed the strong investor response to the company’s operational performance and leadership.
“The exceptional demand we saw is a testament to our operational excellence, execution capacity, and investor confidence in DPRP’s leadership,” he said.
Following the completion of the transaction, the company said it is well positioned to continue executing its long-term growth strategy by expanding world-class refining and petrochemical capacity while strengthening Africa’s energy security.
Once again, The Gathering on 100 Pitchathon has rewarded some of Nigeria’s most promising young entrepreneurs, with three startups sharing ₦5 million in funding.
Pitchathon
The pitchathon took place at the Abuja edition of the Gathering on 100 held between July 18 and 19, at This Day Dome, Central Business District, Abuja.
The competition brought together founders from different sectors to pitch their businesses before a panel of judges.
The Pitchathon remains one of the most sought after experiences at The Gathering on 100, an MTN Nigeria initiative that connects young Nigerians with opportunities for entrepreneurship, innovation and personal development.
Omolola Rebecca, founder of Agrovest, emerged overall winner, receiving ₦2.5 million for her agritech solution, which provides funding for farmers to improve access to capital and boost agricultural productivity.
Reacting to her victory, Rebecca said the recognition would give her business greater visibility and open doors to more investors. “Winning this competition means more people will notice what we’re building.
“It puts Agrovest in front of potential investors and partners, and gives us the opportunity to grow our impact by supporting even more farmers,” she said.
The second prize of ₦1.5 million went to Agbo Obinnaya, founder of Case Radar, a legal technology platform that uses generative artificial intelligence to simplify access to legal services in Nigeria.
The platform enables users to obtain legal guidance, understand legal documents and connect with legal professionals through a single digital platform.
Abdulmuiz Adam secured third place and ₦1 million with WaveBudget, a fintech platform that combines savings and responsible financing.
The platform allows users to save towards financial goals, access buy now, pay later services through partner merchants with a 50 per cent down payment, and manage their savings in one place.
Presenting the prizes to the winners, Lanre Coker, Manager, Customer Acquisition and Compliance, North-West, MTN Nigeria, said the initiative reflects MTN’s commitment to supporting young Nigerians with the resources they need to grow their ideas into sustainable businesses.
“The Gathering on 100 is about helping young Nigerians achieve the height of their endeavours, whatever they may be.
“We know there are brilliant ideas across the country, and through initiatives like the Gathering on 100, we are creating opportunities for innovators to access funding and the confidence to keep building,” he said.
The Abuja edition builds on the success of previous Pitchathons held during The Gathering on 100 across the country.
In Lagos, eight startups received a combined ₦45 million in funding, while three startups shared ₦5 million at the Aba, Enugu, and Kano editions. With the Abuja winners now joining the growing list of recipients, the Pitchathon continues to position itself as a platform for discovering and supporting the next generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs.
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