General
CPPM Asks Buhari to Discipline HoS for Failure to Appoint Accountant General
By Adedapo Adesanya
A civil society organisation, the Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM), has knocked the Head of Service of the Federation (HoS), Mrs Folasade Esan, for allegedly undermining a presidential directive to commence the process of appointing a substantive Accountant General of the Federation.
The group, in a statement made available to Business Post on Sunday, described the move as “irresponsible, provocative, reckless, condemnable, unacceptable and a threat to national security.”
The statement signed by Mr Nelson Ekujumi, its Executive Chairman, said, “We are aware that sequel to the presidential directive with regards to the appointment of a substantive Accountant General of the Federation, following the indefinite suspension of the former Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, for fraud of which he is in court to answer charges as preferred by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the HoS in a memo dated June 21, 2022, announced the commencement of the process for the appointment of a substantive AGF.”
The organisation acknowledged that applications were called for from qualified accountants from the mainstream civil service in the pool of Accountant General of the Federation with set criteria for eligibility and subject to security checks but “surprisingly, before the conclusion of the process in line with presidential directive and the HoS memo, Mrs Folasade Esan stalled the process for reasons which amounts to a violation of her oath of office and an affront to constituted authority.”
“Shockingly, with a motive, which has an interest far and above national interest written all over it, the HoS in a memo to the President dated October 13, 2022, while acknowledging Mr President’s directive conveyed via the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation letter dated June 16, 2022, stated that…
“At the close of submission of applications and security clearance by appropriate agencies, a very negligible number of directors met the criteria. The number will not provide a large pool to engender a competitive process at the end of which a substantive Accountant General of the Federation could be appointed”. She then went ahead to propose to Mr President the extension of the process to the first quarter of 2023 just to satisfy her personal interest and motive.
“This position of the Head of Service of the Federation is rather strange, a perversion of civil service rules and an affront to the authority of Mr President by trying to be clever-by-half. We want ask that under what provisions of the civil service rules did Mrs Folasade Esan derive the powers to single-handedly determine the number of applicants who have met set criteria and security clearance for appointment as negligible? Also, we need to ask that what number of applicants can be described as negligible according to the civil service rules of Mrs Folasade Esan?” it quipped.
The civil society organisation went further to describe the action of Mrs Esan as a contravention of the oath of her office, which amounts to an abuse of official position and public trust for personal gain far and above national interest and security, which is irresponsible and condemnable.
“Thus, we at CPPM wish to draw the attention of Mr President, who is a strong advocate for due process and the rule of law, to the actions of Mrs Folasade in trying to pervert civil service rules and undermine constituted authority and national security,” it continued.
CPPM then demanded the immediate presidential rejection of Mrs Esan’s request for “abortion of the process for the appointment of a substantive Accountant General of the Federation and extension to allow for her personal interest over national interest.”
It also called for disciplinary proceedings against her for the perversion of civil service rules, abuse of public trust, and an affront to a constituted authority which is unacceptable and condemnable.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom–Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), established in 2019 as part of a 16-year legacy of UK-funded infrastructure support to Nigeria, convened over 100 senior stakeholders on Tuesday, December 2, to review its progress and formally close out its current phase of operations.
The event brought together representatives from federal and state governments, development partners, development finance institutions, and the private sector to reflect on UKNIAF’s work across the power, infrastructure finance, and roads sectors. Discussions focused on institutional reforms, capacity development, and the sustainability of tools and processes introduced over the past six years.
Since inception, UKNIAF has delivered targeted technical assistance designed to embed evidence-based reforms, data-driven decision-making, and improved institutional performance. Its interventions have mobilised significant financing, strengthened regulatory and planning systems, and enhanced investor readiness across multiple infrastructure markets.
In the power sector, participants highlighted landmark achievements including the development of Nigeria’s first Integrated Resource Plan, which outlines a least-cost and low-carbon pathway for expanding electricity supply. UKNIAF also supported the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in building advanced real-time data capabilities for tariff monitoring, grid management, and outage tracking. The programme enabled pioneering states to establish their own electricity markets following constitutional reforms.
In infrastructure finance, UKNIAF was recognised for strengthening project preparation systems and enabling access to capital. Notable accomplishments include supporting the mobilisation of $75 million from the African Development Bank to the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) programme in two states, and accelerating mini-grid and solar deployment through improved technical standards at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
UKNIAF also designed a national project preparation facility, for which N21 billion was allocated in both the 2024 and 2025 budgets to build a pipeline of bankable projects.
Speaking on this, Mr Frank Edozie, UKNIAF Team Lead, described the programme’s close-out as a “handover for sustained delivery,” emphasising that strengthened institutions now hold tools that make Nigeria’s infrastructure landscape more transparent, climate-smart, and investor-ready.
On his part, the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, commended the programme, noting that its technical assistance and advisory services had helped lay the foundation for a sustainable and inclusive electricity supply industry.
Mrs Cynthia Rowe, Head of Development Corporation at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in Nigeria, praised the partnership, highlighting achievements ranging from state-level electricity market reforms to unlocking major financing and designing Nigeria’s Climate Change Fund.
Enugu State Secretary to the State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia, underscored the lasting influence of the programme, stating that UKNIAF’s impact continues through the expertise and leadership transferred to national and sub-national institutions.
The close-out event reaffirmed stakeholders’ commitment to sustaining tools, reforms, and knowledge products developed under UKNIAF, while strengthening collaboration among public, private, and development actors in the infrastructure ecosystem.
Participants included federal and state agencies such as the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Federal Ministry of Power, Ministry of Finance, NERC, REA, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria, alongside development partners including the African Development Bank, World Bank, and IFC, as well as private sector and civil society stakeholders.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The gantry price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, has been slashed by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The Lagos-based oil facility brought down the ex-depot price of the petroleum product by 15.58 per cent or N129 per litre to N828 per litre.
Though the company had yet to release an official statement on this development, real-time market data on Petroleumprice.ng on Friday showed the new price.
Punch reports that data from the platform also showed fresh reductions across several private depots following the refinery’s latest review.
Sigmund Depot cut its ex-depot price by N4 to N824 per litre, Bulk Strategic dropped its price by N3, and TechnoOil slashed its by N15.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, has inaugurated a new board for the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) with a renewed push to expand agricultural lending through technology, innovation and deeper financial inclusion.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, Mr Cardoso said the scheme, established in 1977, remains a critical instrument for de-risking credit to farmers nationwide.
“The ACGSF has demonstrated enormous value in supporting Nigeria’s food system. With repayment rates consistently between 90 and 98 percent, it is clear that farmers can deliver when given access to credit,” he said.
The CBN Governor stressed the need for a more modernised approach to agricultural finance.
“We must scale up innovation, deepen inclusion and deploy technology to ensure that more farmers, especially women and youth, can benefit from this scheme,” Mr Cardoso stated, charging the new board to strengthen collaboration with financial institutions while ensuring real-time tracking and monitoring of loans to improve productivity and safeguard the fund’s integrity.
The newly inaugurated Board is chaired by Dr Olusegun Oshin, with members including Professor Murtala Sabo Sagagi, Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Mr Frank Satumari Kudla, Ms Olusola Sowemimo, Ms Adetoun Abbi-Olaniyan and Mr Wondi Philip Ndanusa.
Mr Cardoso expressed confidence in the team’s ability to reposition agricultural credit delivery.
“This Board comes at a crucial time. We expect stronger oversight, improved efficiency and a renewed focus on rural livelihoods,” he said.
According to a statement from the apex bank, Deputy Governors, Directors and senior officials of the bank were present at the ceremony.
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