By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria has received $52.88 million recovered Galactica assets linked to a former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, from the United States Government.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) disclosed this at the formal signing ceremony of the asset agreement between Nigeria and the US in Abuja on Friday.

Delivering his remarks, Mr Fagbemi explained that $50 million of the recovered assets will be deployed through the World Bank to the development of the rural electrification project and the remaining $2 million will be deployed to the International Institute of Justice to expand the Justice system and also counter corruption.

Mr Fagbemi noted that the asset return marks a milestone in the ongoing collaboration between Nigeria and the US in combating corruption and upholding the rule of law

He said the event is also a significant effort by President Bola Tinubu to address the issue of corruption.

Meanwhile, in his remarks, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Richard Mills called for the monitoring and effectively utilizing the recovered assets by the Ministry of Justice to benefit Nigerians.

Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke has been accused of abusing her power when she was petroleum minister under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria, including accepting financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.

In 2023, the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) alleged that Mrs Alison-Madueke benefited from at least £100,000 ($127,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.

Other charges against her also detail financial rewards, including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods, the NCA said.

Since she left office, she has been dogged by corruption allegations but denies the charges.

The 63-year-old woman has been on bail since first being arrested in London in October 2015.

The US Department of Justice has recovered assets totalling $53.1 million linked to Mrs Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Igbokoda has dismantled nine illegal refining sites and destroyed 20,000 litres of crude oil and 15,000 litres of illegally refined diesel in the Obenla community, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The Commander of the Base, Navy Captain Aliyu Usman, disclosed this to journalists on Thursday, noting that the operation, carried out on January 6, 2025, was based on credible intelligence.

Troops of the Nigerian military have in recent times stepped up efforts to curb illegal oil activities, which has impacted to some degree the country’s production levels.

“In continuation with the efforts of the Nigerian Navy to stop all acts of crude oil theft and illegal refining within the Nigerian environment, the Forward Operating Base, Igbokoda, stormed into a farmhouse of illegal refining camp within Obenla community, where we discovered about nine illegal refining sites within the Obenla sea sites,” Usman said.

According to the Commander, the suspects fled the scene before the arrival of naval operatives.

“On arrival at the scene, the perpetrators have fled, obviously informed about our coming in fear of arrest.

“However, the entire area was crammed, and we discovered about 20,000 litres of stolen crude oil, which was yet to be cooked, and about 15,000 litres of illegally refined product suspected to be automatic gas oil (AGO), or diesel.

“This is yet another achievement for the Nigerian Navy in the efforts to clean up the environment and prevent all acts of illegalities by perpetrators against the Nigerian state.

“These efforts will continue until all illegalities are stopped, and this will be sustained as long as possible,” he stated.

He also seized the opportunity to sensitise the residents of the Obenla community to the dangers of harbouring such activities.

The Commander also stated that the Nigerian Navy will not relent in its efforts to stop all acts of illegality, advising criminals to find legitimate businesses to do.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The frequent power outages have been identified as one of the most pressing challenges for Nigerian businesses, forcing many firms to depend on alternative energy sources, the latest survey by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) shows.

The NESG-Stanbic IBTC Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) is the flagship survey-based report of the NESG, supported by Stanbic IBTC.

The report showed that businesses faced significant growth challenges in the month under review, with inadequate power supply, insecurity, limited access to financing, and the complexity of multiple tax regulations topping the list.

Despite these constraints, businesses in Nigeria recorded a modest improvement in performance during the month, reflecting a seasonal uplift in the business environment.

As a result, the current Business Performance Index for December 2024 came in at +0.77, reflecting a rise in business activities and a moderate improvement compared to -2.74 in November 2024.

These constraints contributed to weak positive outcomes in the general business situation (+23.13) and production levels (+17.80).

Other challenges include the high exchange rate of the local currency against global trading currencies which escalated import costs, adversely affecting profitability and pricing strategies.

Businesses also lamented limited access to financing, which remained a persistent structural obstacle, further hindering business growth throughout the month.

A sub-sectoral analysis for December revealed broadly subdued outcomes, with a negative performance recorded in Manufacturing (-2.43), Services (-3.46), and Trade (-5.59).

Conversely, weakly positive results were observed in the Agriculture (+13.93) and Non-manufacturing (+5.80) sectors in the reviewed month.

It was established that structural challenges in Nigeria’s business environment intensified, restraining growth despite higher seasonal demand. Elevated inflation and exchange rates drove up operational costs and consumer prices.

The Cost of Doing Business Index rose sharply by +50.32, underscoring mounting pressures. Access to credit improved slightly (+8.25) driven by response to expanding business activities typical of this period.

Amid this, businesses identified the high cost of financing as a critical barrier to current performance and future growth expectations.

The most significant negative impacts were seen in reduced investment (-31.46) and declining price levels (-30.86), which severely hampered overall business activity and demand conditions.