Economy
Navy Uncovers 16 Illegal Refineries, Seizes 210MT of Crude Oil in Rivers
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Pathfinder, has uncovered and dismantled 16 illegal refineries with the capacity to refine 9.6 million litres of crude oil around Elem-krakama community in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The Navy also arrested 14 suspects, including a woman at the illegal refining site, who allegedly attached a 14-inch pipe to siphoned over 210 metric tonnes of crude oil from wellhead 15 within OML 18 operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Speaking, NNS Pathfinder Commander, Commodore Desmond Igbo, said the suspects were arrested in the act of crude oil theft and illegal oil refining activities
Commodore Igbo said the recovered crude will be handed over to the appropriate authority, while the suspects were immediately handed over to officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for investigation and prosecution.
“This is Elem-krakama in Degema LGA of Rivers State. Behind me is oil wellhead15 which is one of the NNPCL OML18 operated wellheads. You can see a very big 14-inch hose connected illegally to this wellhead15. They are transferring crude oil to this big wooden boat also known as Cotonou boat.
“Each of these boats contains 700 metric tonnes of crude oil, the pipes are connected to the reservoirs through the 4-inch hose and from there, they will start cooking it. The cooking pots also contain about 1.5 million litres of AGO. This is not good for our country and for the economy. They have polluted the environment, they will tap from this oil wellhead and the excess will spill over and pollute the water body.
“We have about 16 cooking pots within this illegal refining site and each of them contains about 600 thousand litres, which is quite huge. As you can see where they are tapping it from right from the oil wellhead belonging to NNPC Limited.
“It is economic sabotage. We are crushing the cooking pots. We have already told the operators of OML18 to clamp down the wellhead permanently so that they can not come back and engage in it. We are hoping that they will do that and we will give them the necessary security and safety they would need to do that.
“The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, has mandated us and we are not deterred, we will continue and we will ensure that oil theft in Niger Delta becomes history. We will continue both day and night. We will not rest on our oars we must stamp it.”
The NNS Pathfinder boss further urged youths involved in oil theft and illegal refining activities to look for another means of livelihood, warning that the Navy will not rest on its oars in stamping out all forms of oil theft from the Niger Delta.
“I have talked with their leaders, paramount chiefs and community leaders, but it seems they are not relenting and we will not relent. We will hand them over to the appropriate prosecuting agencies, we will ensure that justice prevails. They will not get away with it, we will monitor the court trials and processes in this case.
“The message is still the same, they should talk to their children to desist from these illegal activities. This is economic sabotage. It is not good for them, their community and the country’s economy. They must desist from it,” he added
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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