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

BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation promoting transparency, accountability, and effective service delivery in Nigeria, has observed that there were no allocation for Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in the 2025 Budget.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a 700-kilometer project intended to connect the western and south-eastern regions of Nigeria, enhancing cross-country connectivity and trade relations.

Construction began in March 2024 under President Bola Tinubu’s administration and the first phase of the road was marked to stretch 47.47 kilometers from Lagos.

The highway is expected to be completed in eight years, costing approximately N4 billion per kilometer.

In a statement seen by Business Post, BudgIT said, “This omission implies that if funding for this project materialises, it will likely necessitate reallocating funds from other critical projects, potentially hindering their implementation and impacting the budget’s credibility.”

In December 2024, the Minister of Works, Mr David Umahi, stated that the federal government would require long-term loans to complete the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and other legacy projects.

He emphasized that budgetary appropriations alone would be insufficient, advocating for tolling the completed roads to enhance return on investment.

The group added that, “It is worth noting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent pronouncement regarding the retirement package of military generals, which includes the provision of a bulletproof SUV, fully paid foreign medical treatment, $20,000 as estacode for medical trips, and payments for domestic help, contradicts his previous commitments to reduce the cost of governance and welfare packages to top-ranked public officials and civil servants.”

“Such provisions not only inflate the budget and widen the fiscal deficit but may also demoralise lower-ranking military personnel, who lack adequate health insurance and retirement benefits despite their higher exposure to combat risks,” it added.

The group warned that the excesses in the budget pose serious fiscal risks leading to severe budget financing challenges, additional unforeseen government obligations, and a significant increase in public debt.

“The government’s inflation projection of 15% in the 2025 fiscal year appears grossly unrealistic, considering that inflation, which stood at 34.6% as of November 2024, has been driven not only by monetary factors such as exchange rate and money supply but also by the constant increase in food and energy prices—both of which the government has not created a clear roadmap to resolving in the short term,” it noted.

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.