Economy
Senate Orders NNPC to Refund Unaccounted N210trn to Federation Account
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has told the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to return N210 trillion in outstanding payments to the Federation Account, as it rejected the explanations provided by the state oil firm.
The conclusion was reached on Wednesday as a committee investigating the issue noted that the money, which had not been accounted for, must be refunded to the Federation Account by the company.
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Mr Aliyu Wadada, which has been on the probe for months, took the decision on Tuesday after the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPC, Mr Bashir Bayo Ojulari, failed to turn up at its resumed sitting at the National Assembly.
The session was called to give the NNPC Limited the opportunity to make clarifications on the answers the company provided to the 19 questions the panel asked the firm about the N210 trillion.
Following a review of the operations of the state owned oil firm from 2017-2023, the committee sighted the unexplained transaction, totaling N103 trillion (accrued expenses) and N107 trillion (receivables) in the audited financial statements of the firm, totalling N210 trillion thereby prompting it to raise the queries.
After weeks of back-and-forth between the committee and the NNPC, the NNPC eventually responded to the 19 questions.
However, at a resumed session, Mr Wadada frowned at the absence of Mr Ojulari, whom the committee said gave no reasons for staying away, consequently rejected the explanations.
The Chairman of the committee while speaking on the panel’s findings, said the responses were not only unsatisfactory, but were also contradictory.
“NNPC claimed N103 trillion as accrued expenses and N107 trillion as receivables -amounting to N210 trillion. On question eight, NNPC’s explanation on the N107 trillion receivables -equivalent to about $117 billion -contradicts available facts and evidence provided by NNPC itself. The committee is duty-bound to reject this,” he stated.
Mr Wadada further questioned how the firm could pay N103 trillion in Cash Calls to Joint Venture (JV) partners in 2023 alone, despite generating only N24 trillion in crude revenue between 2017 and 2022.
“Cash Call arrangements were abolished in 2016 under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. How can NNPC claim to have paid N103 trillion in one year, when it only generated N24 trillion in revenue over five years? Where did NNPC get that money?
“As far as this committee is concerned, that figure is unjustifiable and unacceptable. The N103 trillion must be returned to the Treasury. This will be concluded when the NNPC appears before us,” he stated.
The committee said it would have been better for the current management of the NNPC to admit that it encountered challenges in explaining what happened to the funds than giving contradictory answers to the questions.
“If the present management of NNPC is finding it difficult to provide acceptable answers, it is better they say so. The committee will not hesitate to subpoena former officials of NNPC and NAPIMS,” Mr Wadada added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was green for the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, April 20, as it recorded a 0.52 per cent appreciation.
During the session, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) added 20.31 points to close at 3,913.46 points compared with last Friday’s 3,893.15 points, and the market capitalisation went up by N12.15 billion to close at N2.341 trillion versus the previous N2.329 trillion.
Yesterday, there were five price gainers led by MRS Oil Plc, which added N19.75 to sell at N217.50 per share compared with the previous price of N197.75 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.02 to trade at N59.02 per unit versus N58.00 per unit, IPWA Plc grew by 66 Kobo to N7.27 per share from N6.61 per share, Lighthouse Financial Services Plc increased by 7 Kobo to 79 Kobo per unit from 72 Kobo per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc chalked up 3 Kobo to sell at 66 Kobo per share versus 63 Kobo per share.
Data from Monday’s trading session showed that the volume of securities traded rose by 86.4 per cent to 245,830 units from 131,870 units, but the value of securities slowed by 37.2 per cent to N11.1 million from N17.8 million, while the number of deals remained unchanged at 24 deals.
The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 58.8 million units sold for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units transacted for N1.9 billion.
Similarly, the traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units exchanged for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 20, by N6.03 or 0.45 per cent to close at N1,349.67/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,343.64/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency also fell against the Pound Sterling in the trading first session of the week by N2.39 in the official FX market to trade at N1,826.78/£1 compared with the N1,824.39/£1 it was exchanged for last Friday, but appreciated against the Euro by N1.76 to finish at N1,589.38/€1 versus N1,591.14/€1.
A look at the black market window showed that the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the US Dollar yesterday at N1,375/$1, but appreciated by N1 at the GTBank forex counter to sell at N1,354/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,355/$1.
The Naira is under pressure from surging international payments at the start of the week, which is expected to put further pressure on the country’s foreign reserve. The reserve is expected to decline further amid fluctuations in crude oil prices in the global commodity market.
The US Dollar is showing slight strength globally due to rising tensions between the US and Iran. Investors are moving towards safer assets like the Dollar because of uncertainty in the Middle East. The situation is tense as Iran has pulled out of talks with the US, and concerns remain about the Strait of Hormuz, an important route for global oil supply.
As for the cryptocurrency market, digital assets were largely up as markets bet on progress in cease-fire talks between Iran and the US, even as the current two-week truce nears its Wednesday deadline.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is not likely to extend it, and market analysts noted that that’s the deadline markets are now trading on.
Solana (SOL) gained 2.0 per cent to sell at $85.64, Bitcoin (BTC) jumped by 1.9 per cent to $75,791.24, Ripple (XRP) increased by 1.9 per cent to $1.43, and Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 1.8 per cent to $630.76.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) improved by 1.7 per cent to $2,311.60, Cardano (ADA) soared by 1.6 per cent to $0.2490, and Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 1.3 per cent to $0.0954, while TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.3286, with the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The continued strong appetite for local stocks further strengthened the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.44 per cent on Monday.
The domestic bourse remained in green territory yesterday despite a weakened activity level, which saw the trading volume and value down 24.31 per cent and 6.62 per cent, respectively, while the number of deals increased by 34.23 per cent.
According to trading data from Customs Street, investors transacted 984.0 million shares worth N50.8 billion in 76,410 deals on the first trading day of this week compared with the 1.3 billion shares valued at N54.4 billion traded in 56,923 deals last Friday.
Access Holdings returned to the top of the activity log with 91.7 million equities sold for N3.0 billion, First Holdco exchanged 70.2 million stocks worth N4.8 billion, Zenith Bank traded 54.9 million shares valued at N7.0 billion, Lasaco Assurance transacted 53.8 million equities worth N107.5 million, and UBA recorded a turnover of 52.6 million stocks valued at N2.7 billion.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment was weak on Monday despite the positive outcome, as there were 27 appreciating stocks and 46 depreciating stocks, implying a negative market breadth index.
Bargain-hunting in NAHCO, which went up by 10.00 per cent to N242.00, and others ensured that the NGX remained in green territory. Union Dicon also gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N18.15, Fidelity Bank improved by 9.98 per cent to N22.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.92 per cent to N6.65, and Access Holdings rose by 9.87 per cent to N32.85.
On the flip side, Living Trust Mortgage Bank lost 10.00 per cent to quote at N3.69, Stanbic IBTC also declined by 10.00 per cent to finish at N169.70, Transcorp Power gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N272.70, Abbey Mortgage Bank crashed by 9.88 per cent to N7.30, and Guinea Insurance dropped 8.80 per cent to settle at N1.14.
It was observed that all the major sectors of the market were bullish yesterday, with the banking index growing by 2.56 per cent. The energy space appreciated by 0.75 per cent, the consumer goods counter improved by 0.38 per cent, and the industrial goods sector gained 0.35 per cent, while the insurance segment closed flat.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation went up by N609 billion to N140.436 trillion from N139.827 trillion, and the market capitalisation soared by 946.27 points to 218,113.84 points from 217,167.57 points.
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