Economy

NNPC Lauds FG’s Moves on Illegal Refineries

Published

9 years ago

30/03/2017

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has described the interplay between members of the executive and the legislative arms of government as an indispensible element of the democratic process with potential positive spin-off effect on the oil and gas industry in the country.

Delivering a keynote speech at the Executive Intelligence Management Course, EIMC 10 of the Institute for Security Studies, Bwari, Abuja on Tuesday, entitled: “Executive-Legislative Relations: Gaps, Challenges and Prospects”, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, said the occasional struggles between the executive and legislature when handled with the interest of the Nigerian people at heart can be a healthy rivalry capable of unlocking the potentials of the nation for prosperity, good governance and democratic excellence.

“It is believed that a government business enterprise such as the NNPC, and by wider application, the oil and gas industry as a whole, will benefit from a constructive legislative-executive interplay that stimulates government agencies and parastatals to thrive and support our national aspirations,” he said.

On the relations between the national oil company and the legislature, the GMD said the contributions of the National Assembly to the effective operation of the NNPC were immeasurable over the years.

“While the critical role of the legislature may be blurred to the laity, we in the oil and gas industry, the NNPC, appreciate this arm of government’s immeasurable significance in our day-to-day operations. In appreciation of the importance of the National Assembly to our operations, a full department headed by a General Manager, is dedicated to managing the relationship between NNPC and the legislature,” he said.

The GMD said about 21 committees of the National Assembly made up of eight core standing committees, 11 non-core standing Committees and two ad-hoc committees perform oversight functions on the operations of the NNPC.

Dr Baru said the NNPC was currently collaborating with the legislature and other industry stakeholders to ensure the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, PIGB, hitherto referred to as the Petroleum Industry Bill.

He re-iterated that the Industry, under the leadership of the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu and with the support of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, has adopted the approach of splitting the PIB into four segments, namely: the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, (PIGB), the Fiscal Regime Bill, the Upstream and Midstream Administration Bill and the Petroleum Revenue Bill in order to expedite its passage.

The NNPC GMD said that despite the cordial relations between the Corporation and the Legislature, there existed grey areas which occasionally reared their ugly heads in the relationship which has spanned closed to two decades.

Dr Baru stressed his inability to be physically present at all National Assembly engagements, pleading that the legislature should show understanding as the commitment of the office of the GMD of NNPC was highly demanding which he noted must be appropriately shared between doing the operational/administrative functions and responses to the National Assembly and other arms of government’s invitations.

On the reported move by the Federal government to legalize and regularize the operations of illegal refineries in the Niger Delta, the GMD said the initiative would help instill sanity and provide the much needed technical support and framework for the operation of the would-be modular refineries.

Dr Baru identified enacting laws to criminalize pipeline vandalism or sabotage as an area in which he sought closer relations with the legislature, explaining that the activities of the vandals posed a lot of challenges to the industry and that existing legislation on the subject appeared too weak to serve as deterrence.

In his remark, Mr Mathew Seiyefa, Director of the Institute of Security Studies, commended Dr Baru for making time out from his busy schedule to share his perspectives on the subject with the course 10 participants.

He said as the cash cow of the entire country, the strategic role of the NNPC could not be over stated, noting that apart from serving as the main foreign exchange earner for the nation; the Corporation was critical to Nigeria’s national energy security.

Economy

NBA Demands Suspension of Controversial Tax Laws

Published

21 hours ago

24/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

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.

Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

Published

23 hours ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

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.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

Published

23 hours ago

24/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

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.