Economy
Tinubu Suspends Audit of NUPRC Accounts
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to suspend its activities on the constitution of a committee to audit the accounts of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
This was contained in a letter tagged SH/COS/24/A/28 and dated August 1, addressed to the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and signed by Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila.
“Your Constitution of a committee to audit the accounts of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has been referred to the Attorney General of the Federation (HAGF) for review and determination of the constitutional, statutory and administrative implications.
“Therefore, the committee is hereby directed to suspend its activities pending the conclusion of the review by the HAGF,” the letter read in part.
The new directive comes against the background of the lingering crisis between the management of the NUPRC and its workers.
Business Post reported earlier that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) had protested the alleged poor welfare and working conditions affecting staff in the commission and called for the removal of the commission’s chief executive, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, over alleged financial mismanagement.
PENGASSAN had, in a letter dated July 30, accused the commission of various infractions, including non-remittance of pension, non-conducive work environment, insufficient working tools, staff medicals, outstanding payment of 2023 upfront allowances, unpaid staff claims, unpaid staff on call allowance and non-payment of outsourced personnel.
In a response, the commission refuted the allegations and said they were made to disparage the integrity of the commission.
It said according to the Petroleum Industry Act (2021), the powers of appointment, promotion and remuneration are vested in the board of the commission, while statutorily, the Federal Character Commission (FCC) regulates compliance with statutory procedure concerning recruitment into public establishments.
It explained that the recruitment generating controversies was done in compliance with all procedures and compliance certificates issued by the relevant organ. The NUPRC also claimed that allegations the management misappropriated N10 billion virement and donated billions to political parties were libellous and entirely unsubstantiated.
It added that allegations of misappropriation of N10 billion virement, donation of N4 billion to political parties, inflation of contracts to siphon funds amounting to N1 billion, N900 million spent on sensitisation workshops, N500 million for office renovations, N1.5 billion for luxury transportation, including private jets are “false and misleading”.
It thereafter challenged the unions to publish details of the account of the commission from where the donations originated and the accounts of the political parties involved where the four billion naira and ten billion naira were deposited.
“Equally, the financial source documents (invoices) utilised to make the donations ought to be published. There is no way fourteen (14) billion naira can leave the coffers of the Commission without a trace, especially given how funds are allocated to the Commission,” it said.
It explained that there was no truth in the accusation of inflation of contracts at the NUPRC, adding that the commission approved a sustainable template for the engagement and payment of external solicitors engaged by the commission.
“The sensitisation workshops were approved by the appropriate authority in line with due process and duly executed by the Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) department in line with the scope of duties and responsibilities.
It is important to note that thirteen (13) slots of sensitisation campaigns were earmarked in 13 strategic locations within the oil-producing zones, and the campaigns are still ongoing.”
The NUPRC said all documentary evidence, including publications and video footage of the campaigns, can be sought and obtained from the Executive Commissioner HSEC.
“The Commission inherited offices used by the defunct DPR, which was only a subsidiary of the defunct NNPC. The appointment of executive commissioners and recruitment of 140 extra staff, given the new and added responsibilities of the NUPRC, necessitated reorganisation and renovation of the Commission’s offices across the country to accommodate its operations.
“Therefore, some of the offices, including those in the zones and fields, had to be restructured, refurbished and furnished to accommodate additional personnel and replace old and damaged furniture and equipment inherited at inception.
“The allegation is equally baseless and lacks any iota of truth. In fact, there was no time that the Commission chartered a private jet for the Commission Chief Executive (CCE). The purveyors are challenged to publish the account details and invoices supporting the transactions in their nefarious claims,” it said.
“We challenge the purveyors of the claims to provide evidence. He who alleges has the burden of proof,” the commission said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude production under the collective Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) fell in May to its lowest level in at least 37 years as the blockade of Iran by the United States and disruptions in the Persian Gulf, continued to limit output.
According to a Bloomberg survey released on Friday, output from the organisation’s 11 current members, including Nigeria, dropped by 1.22 million barrels per day to 16.33 million barrels per day last month.
Iran accounted for more than half of the decline. The data excludes the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which departed the cartel last month after six decades of membership.
War between a US-Israeli alliance and Iran has reduced oil supplies from the Middle East, largely closing the Strait of Hormuz waterway. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait have been forced to cut crude production. Iranian shipments face additional pressure following a US blockade of its ports imposed in mid-April.
Iranian output fell by 710,000 barrels per day to a five-year low of 2.34 million barrels per day in May, the survey showed. Central Command reported that US forces have redirected 127 commercial vessels to enforce the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.
Kuwait recorded the second-largest decline last month, with production falling by 310,000 barrels per day to 490,000 barrels per day, less than one-fifth of pre-war levels. Saudi Arabia, the group’s leader, saw output decrease by 240,000 barrels per day to 6.57 million barrels per day.
The production reductions have not prevented OPEC and its allies from raising quotas over recent months, continuing a year-long process of restoring output halted several years ago.
This comes ahead of a meeting scheduled to be held on Sunday, June 7, where a sub-group of seven members is expected to increase targets by 188,000 barrels again in July. The session is one of four online meetings OPEC and its partners plan to hold that day.
Delegates indicated the alliance has plans for two additional monthly quota increases in August and September. UAE output rose by 300,000 barrels per day to 2.44 million barrels per day in May, according to the survey.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 2025 third quarter Budget Implementation Report from the Budget Office of the Federation has shown that the federal government exceeded the funds allocation for repayment of debts for the first nine months of the fiscal year by about 18 per cent.
In a report by Punch, the sum of N10.74 trillion was budgeted for debt servicing between January and September 2025, but the government used N12.63 trillion for the purpose, N1.90 trillion or 17.65 per cent more than the allocation for the year.
The funds were spent on domestic debts, foreign debts and sinking fund by the central government in nine months.
Business Post reports that for the whole year, the amount approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu for debt repayments was N14.31 trillion.
Looking at the nine-month figures, domestic debt service gulped N6.23 trillion, exceeding its N5.39 trillion provision, while foreign debt service was N6.30 trillion versus the budget provision of N5.06 trillion.
According to the report, the figures indicated that 67.2 per cent of the federal government’s retained revenue of N18.63 trillion was spent on debt service in the first nine months of 2025. When the sinking fund is included, debt-related payments consumed about 67.8 per cent of revenue.
It was also observed that aggregate federal government revenue underperformed the budget by N12.03 trillion or 39.24 per cent, as actual revenue of N18.63 trillion fell short of the N30.67 trillion projected for the first three quarters.
In the third quarter alone, the government generated N7.70 trillion versus the quarterly target of N10.22 trillion as a result of persistent oil revenue shortfalls, despite stronger non-oil collections.
The debt burden also crowded out capital spending, as total capital expenditure was N3.10 trillion in the first nine months compared with the N17.58 trillion budgeted for the period, indicating that actual debt-related payments were more than four times capital expenditure.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a loss of 1.13 per cent on Thursday, June 4, shrinking the market capitalisation by N30.03 billion to N2.630 trillion from N2.660 trillion on Wednesday.
Similarly, this brought down the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 50.19 points to 4,396.08 points from the 4,446.27 points recorded a day earlier.
The loss was influenced by the overpowering of the bulls by the bears, after the bourse closed with two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slumped by N20.03 to sell at N190.38 per unit compared with midweek’s N210.41 per unit. Food Concepts Plc declined by 25 Kobo to trade at N2.50 per share versus the previous day’s N3.00 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc crumbled by 2 Kobo to end at N1.32 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.34 per unit.
For the gainers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N2.93 to close at N78.34 per share compared with the previous price of N75.41 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 80 Kobo to settle at N16.80 per unit versus N16.00 per unit.
There was a slip in the volume of transactions yesterday by 46.8 per cent to 280,714 units from 527,221 units, as the value of trades dropped 66.5 per cent to N21.8 million from the preceding session’s N64.2 million, and the number of deals fell by 8.7 per cent to 42 deals from 46 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
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