Dons EzeUS LAWYMAKERS URGE STATE DEPT TO SECURE RELEASE OF BINANCE HEAD, TAG DETENTION ‘HOSTAGE TAKING’
US LAWYMAKERS URGE STATE DEPT TO SECURE RELEASE OF BINANCE HEAD, TAG DETENTION ‘HOSTAGE TAKING’ United States lawmakers have urged the U.S State Department to secure the release of Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance and a former IRS agent, who has been detained in Nigeria since February. Gambaryan was arrested on allegations of money laundering and tax evasion, alongside his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, but Nigerian authorities dropped the tax evasion charges in June. The money laundering case is still ongoing. The U.S lawmakers are now claiming that Gambaryan’s detention has become a hostage situation, citing concerns over his deteriorating health and human rights violations. According to family and colleagues, Gambaryan has contracted malaria and pneumonia, and his condition is worsening. Representatives Rich McCormick and French Hill introduced a resolution to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, calling on the United States government to classify the detention of Gambaryan as a hostage situation. Rep. Hill, who visited Gambaryan in prison last month, expressed concern about the executive’s status saying: “After visiting Tigran at Kuje Prison in Nigeria, I noted that his health is deteriorating. I am proud to join my friend and Mr. Gambaryan’s Congressman, Rep. Rich McCormick, in leading this resolution and sending a signal to the Nigerian government that he must be immediately granted a release, the remaining charges dropped, and return home to America where he belongs.” The resolution demands the immediate release of Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, and urges the U.S. government to declare him as “wrongfully detained by a foreign government.” The congressmen warn that if Gambaryan’s case isn’t resolved by mid-July, his detention could be prolonged due to the court’s typical recess until September. Over 100 federal prosecutors and agents have joined the call for Gambaryan’s release, and a petition launched by his wife is nearing 5,000 signatures. The US government has yet to comment on the matter.Binance has denied any wrongdoing and is working to secure Gambaryan’s release.
NERC REELS OUT NEW SANCTIONS FOR DISCOS
NERC REELS OUT NEW SANCTIONS FOR DISCOS The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has disclosed that there will be new sanctions for Discos that failed to meet up some contractual agreements with customers and regulators. In an Order on Performance Monitoring Framework for all the DisCos, it said this will affect seven issues that would be used to assess their performance. “This includes energy off-take relative to partial contracted capacity; revenue recovery rate; compliance with reporting of a uniform system of accounts; compliance with API feeder streaming; compliance with the order on capping of estimated bills; compliance with the implementation of forum decisions; and compliance with service standards for the resolution of complaints received through the NERC contact centre and NERC headquarters,” it said. The order which was signed by NERC’s chairman, Sanusi Garbo, and Commissioner Legal, Licensing & Compliance, Dafe C. Akpeneye, added that the new order sought to hold the top management of each DisCos accountable for their compliance with reporting requirements and implementation of directives of the commission in line with the terms and conditions of the utility. “This will drive increased operational performance from DisCos thereby improving energy delivery to customers under their franchise area,” it said. The order stipulated that failure to off-take up to 95 per cent of available nominations in any month will attract issuance of a rectification directive. But the failure of any DisCo to off-take up to 95 per cent of available nominations in two of the three months in any quarter will attract a downward adjustment of DisCos guaranteed Admin OpEx by 5 per cent for the next quarter. Also, for any instance of a customer overbilled, 10 per cent of the naira value of the total over-billing for the period will be deducted from the DisCo’s annual Admin OpEx allowance during the next tariff review, and credit adjustment for overbilled customers. “If the energy overbilled is greater than 20 per cent of the allowed cap or the number of customers overbilled represent is greater than 20 per cent of unmetered customer base, the Commission may take other enforcement actions including the withdrawal of the KYL of the Head of Billing or the officer responsible for the billing function in the utility.“For non-compliance to the resolution of complaints through the NERC contact centre or headquarters after the expiration of timelines in the CPR, the DisCo would be made to pay fines within the first month -billing: N10,000 per day; disconnection: N2,000/day; interruption: N2,000/day; metering: N1,000/day; delay in connection: N1,000/day; Voltage: N1,000/day,” it said.
DON’T PAY FOR ELECTRICITY TRANSFORMERS, CABLES – NERC WARNS NIGERIANS
DON’T PAY FOR ELECTRICITY TRANSFORMERS, CABLES – NERC WARNS NIGERIANS The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC):has warned Nigerians against paying for electricity distribution infrastructures such as transformers, cables or poles. In a statement shared alongside a video on X on Tuesday, NERC emphasised that consumers should not be coerced into purchasing transformers, cables, or poles, as this responsibility lies squarely with the distribution companies. The statement reads, “Is your distribution company expecting you to buy transformers, cables, or poles? Don’t! It is the DisCo’s obligation, not yours!” NERC stated emphatically. The regulatory body urged consumers to report any coercion or delays in providing necessary materials by the distribution companies. The statement added, “Report any coercion to purchase, or delays in providing these materials to NERC for prompt action.” NERC assured the public of prompt action upon receiving such complaints. To facilitate this, NERC said it has established a dedicated email and phone number for reporting issues related to network investments.“A dedicated email and phone number have been set up to address issues relating to investments in the network as follows: [email protected] 07074865354.”
NIGERIA GETS NEW WORLD BANK COUNTRY DIRECTOR
NIGERIA GETS NEW WORLD BANK COUNTRY DIRECTOR The newly appointed Country Director for Nigeria, Dr. Ndiamé Diop, assumed his new position on Monday. He is succeeding Shubham Chaudhuri who completed his term in the same capacity. Prior to his assignment to Abuja, Dr. Ndiamé Diop served as the World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand, based in Manila. In this position, he more than tripled the Bank’s financing to the Philippines to scale up the Bank’s support to key economic reforms (policy-based budget support programs) and the nation’s endeavors to bridge disparities in various sectors, including nutrition, stunting, healthcare, social protection delivery, education, agriculture, and digital connectivity. In Malaysia, he supervised the delivery of a large Malaysia-funded knowledge program aimed at helping the country become a high-income economy through cutting edge economic analyses and technical assistance. Furthermore, he engaged the Thai government to resume World Bank investment lending after a pause of two decades. “I am most excited to be leading the World Bank’s program in Nigeria, especially at this critical time when Nigeria has a significant opportunity to make progress towards improving its economy and delivering development outcomes for its citizens. I look forward to deepening our partnership with the Government of Nigeria at the Federal and States level by ensuring quality technical and financial support which will help accelerate progress for Nigeria’s development priorities,” said Dr. Ndiamé Diop. “Nigeria is a dynamic and vibrant country which is significant for the entire sub region. The World Bank Group is most committed to working with the Government, development partners and citizens to realize a thriving economy where jobs and economic prospects are created, and millions of Nigerians are lifted out of poverty”. In his new position Diop will lead the World Bank’s team in Nigeria and deepen policy dialogue and partnership with the government and key stakeholders. He will oversee the delivery and implementation of lending and non-lending support to Nigeria. Diop has held several leadership positions in the World Bank which include, Head of the Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment unit for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, based in Jakarta and Bangkok, Lead Economist for Indonesia, based in Jakarta, Lead economist roles for Jordan and Lebanon, Country Economist roles in the Middle East and North Africa. Notably he served as the Bank’s Resident Representative for Tunisia between 2007 and 2010. He joined the World Bank in Washington DC in 2000 as a Young Professional.As an economist, Diop has published in peer reviewed Journals and books on fiscal policy and growth, monetary policy and inflation, macro policies and resilience to sudden stops in capital inflows, natural resource abundance, Dutch disease, and economic diversification.
EEDC TO REFUND OVER N11B TO SOUTH EAST CUSTOMERS FOR OVER-BILLING
EEDC TO REFUND OVER N11B TO SOUTH EAST CUSTOMERS FOR OVER-BILLING The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) is to refund over N11 billion to customers in the southeast region, being the sum it over-billed them between January to September 2023. This is contained in an order by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which insisted that the EEDC over-billed 1,011,402 customers within the period through overestimation. At the billing cycle for energy consumed in February 2024, NERC said EEDC shall credit the accounts for all customers that were over-billed between January to September 2023 based on the Commission’s assessment as contained in Schedule 1. The commission lamented that the persistent non-compliance with the order on capping of estimated bills by the EEDC for the period January-September 2023 had led to widespread customer dissatisfaction, which had aggravated customer apathy to pay their bills, thereby contributing to the liquidity issues in the NESI. A check on order no 2024/006 by the NERC indicates that the sum of N11,866,263,420.31 was over-billed from customers between January and September 2023. According to a performance review done by the NERC within the period under review, the EEDC failed to comply with the monthly caps as estimated bills approved by the commission. “Upon completion of the review, the commission issued an RD stipulating a 14-day compliance deadline which expired in August 2023. “The RD also notified EEDC that further regulatory actions shall be taken in accordance with the KPI Order for subsequent non-compliance. The continuous failure of EEDC to adhere to the commission’s monthly caps for estimated billing has led to significant over-billing of customers,” the NERC noted. While outlining the monthly over-billings, the NERC noted that 203,375 customers were over-billed N1,933,495,624 in September; 188,298 customers were over-billed N1,745,269,356 in August, while 169,867 customers were over-billed N1,700,205,554 in July, among others. The commission ordered as follows: “At the billing cycle for energy consumed in February 2024, EEDC shall reconcile the accounts and issue credit adjustments for all customers that were over-billed between January-September 2023 based on the Commission’s assessment as contained in Schedule 1. “EEDC shall submit its billing data for the February 2024 cycle (and any other relevant information) to the Commission as evidence of compliance with the provisions of section 11(A)(6) of this Order, no later than the 31st of March 2024. “EEDC shall publish, in 2 (two) National dailies, citing the provisions of this Order, the list of credit adjustment beneficiaries (follow the sample contained in Schedule 1), and the same concurrently posted on its website, not later than the 31st of March 2024.” To forestall further non-compliance, the NERC ordered a deduction of N1,186,626,342, which is equivalent to 10% of the naira value of the total over-billing for the period January – September 2023, to be applied to EEDC’s annual OpEx over a rolling 12-month period during the next tariff review. It warned that notwithstanding the provisions of section 11(B)(6), and pursuant to the provision of section 34(2)(F) of the EA 2023, the Commission may deduct a greater percentage of the total over-billing from EEDC’s admin OPEX where non-compliance with capping Orders persists.Efforts to get a reaction from the EEDC on the development on Monday proved abortive. Spokesperson of the Company, Emeka Eze, declined to speak on the matter.
FG ALLOCATED N732B ON VAGUE EMPOWERMENT PROJECTS IN 2024 BUDGET – TRACKA
FG ALLOCATED N732B ON VALUE EMPOWERMENT PROJECTS IN 2024 BUDGET – TRACKA Tracka, a subsidiary of BudgIT, has said that Nigeria allocated N732 billion on vague empowerment projects higher than the N646.5 billion allocated to health projects in the 2024 national budget. Ayomide Ladipo, the Head of Tracka disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. Tracka maintained that Nigeria’s empowerment projects were vague and challenging to track due to their nature. According to Tracka, the huge allocation for empowerment projects would have been channeled to curb the gap in Nigeria’s health sector having the second-highest child mortality rate in the World. Tracka alleged that empowerment projects were used as a funnel to siphon public resources. It noted that the National Assembly has 7,447 projects valued at N2.24 trillion in the 2024 budget. Further analysis of Tracka’s report also showed that over 2,558 projects worth N624 billion were allocated to agencies outside their mandate. Accordingly, Tracka asked anti-graft agencies in Nigeria to probe these anomalies in the 2024 budget to forestall diversion, misappropriation, and embezzlement. “Tracka maintains that empowerment projects are vague and challenging to track due to their nature. They are also used as a funnel to transfer public resources to party loyalists, resulting in the misuse of public funds. “In the 2024 Federal Government budget, there are 4,440 empowerment projects. Previously, empowerment projects were limited to constituency projects, but over the years, they have gradually seeped into capital projects through insertions by the National Assembly. For instance, the National Assembly inserted 7,447 projects valued at N2.24 trillion in the 2024 budget. “Tracka identifies this as a problematic trend, considering the huge infrastructure gap and budget deficits the nation is grappling with. “Further analysis also showed that over 2,558 projects worth N624 billion were allocated to agencies outside their mandate. An example is the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) – ERGP20241489 – allocated N5 billion for the Procurement and Distribution of Official Vehicles to Selected Traditional Rulers in the Six Geo-Political Zones in Nigeria (Multiple Lots). Another is the Nigeria Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NiOMR) – ERGP20245718 – allocated N2.32 billion to construct a 3.5km Road from Methodist Church Ibu to the Eri River,” the organisation said. BudgIT’s Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo commenting on Tracka’s discovery said, “The implications of assigning projects to agencies outside of their mandate are that it undermines monitoring, evaluation, and the sustainability of these projects. “These agencies lack the expertise and personnel to ensure quality service delivery for these projects, leading to under-delivery and a colossal waste of taxpayers’ money and scarce resources.”Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the N28.7 trillion 2024 budget into law in January this year.
ENUGU LEADS SOUTH EAST IN EXTERNAL DEBT OF $494.72M, RECORDED ZERO FOREIGN INVESTMENT – DMO/NBS
ENUGU LEADS SOUTH EAST IN EXTERNAL DEBT OF $494.72M, RECORDED ZERO FOREIGN INVESTMENT – DMO/NBS Nigeria’s five South-East states have accumulated a total of $1.89 billion external debt in four years, between 2020 and 2023; but recorded a paltry $261.6 million foreign investment during the period, The South-East region comprises Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states. Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the states’ combined external debt jumped by 14.1 percent from $428.3 million in 2022 to $489 million as of December 31, 2023. Enugu state has the highest external debt stock of $494.72 million and recorded zero foreign investment during the period. The reports showed Anambra in the second position of the zone’s external debt portfolio with $429.6 million during the review period. However, the state recorded a foreign investment of $51.48 million during the reference period. Abia’s external debt amounts to $381.24 million, however, it recorded the highest foreign investment of $210.12 million among the south-east states during the four-year period. The DMO data showed that Imo’s external debt position was $308.22 million but the state recorded zero investment inflow during the period. Similarly, Ebonyi which recorded the least external debt of $283.7 million had no capital inflow to the economy during the period. A further study of the reports showed that Abia attracted its highest foreign investment within four months of Dr Alex Otti’s tenure as governor from May 29, 2023. Although Abia is among the few Nigerian states that attract foreign investment to their economies on a fairly regular basis, the state never attracted capital inflow to the tune of $150.09 million within three months, as was the case in Q3 2023 under Otti. By that outstanding feat, Abia came third after Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FTC) Abuja in capital importation destinations during Q3 2023. The report further revealed that Abia and Anambra remained investment destinations among the South-East states, while investors shunned the other three – Imo, Enugu and Ebonyi. That of Imo was most disappointing. Despite housing the largest natural gas reserves in West Africa, and significant crude oil deposits, Imo attracted zero foreign investment in four years, between 2020 and 2023. The NBS reports showed that, after recording $3 million in 2019, Imo had no dime to its name by way of investment inflow to the state during the four years. Imo was also the only oil-producing state that attracted no foreign investment for the period. The situation did not change in the Q1 2024 report by the NBS. Among the five South-East states, Anambra and Abia achieved a total of $51.48 million and $210.12 million, respectively in four years (Abia had received a cumulative of $60.03 million from 2020 to 2022.) . Commenting on Imo’s potential energy wealth, former Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, said Nigeria has nearly 300 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, ranking 9th in the world, with Imo holding the largest reserves amongst all. “Imo state with 200 trillion cubic feet of gas deposits should be set for economic boom”, Sylva said during a visit to Governor Hope Uzodinma in Owerri in April 2019. “Governor Otti is on a fast lane and has proved in practical terms that he has not come to tell stories like what his predecessors in office did. Matching words with action is the way to go. You will soon see Abia and Anambra ahead of the other South-East states” said Clifford Okoro, a Lagos-based investment analyst from Abia. Governor Otti on January 18, 2024, inaugurated the Abia Global Economic Advisory Council, with a charge to evolve initiatives that are focused on identifying, capitalising and showcasing the state’s area of comparative…
JOB LOSSES AS 16 MULTINATIONALS EXIT NIGERIA IN THREE YEARS
JOB LOSSES AS 16 MULTINATIONALS EXIT NIGERIA IN THREE YEARS As Nigeria battles an economic crisis sparked by the government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of FX windows, United Kingdom-based Diageo joined about 15 other multinational companies that have exited the country in the past three years. Diageo is the latest to announce its departure on Tuesday, June 11 when it said it will sell its 58.02% stake in Guinness Nigeria to Tolaram. Diageo joins others like Kimberly-Clark, manufacturers of Huggies and Kotex brands of diapers; US-based Procter and Gamble (P&G); GlaxoSmithKline (GSK); Unilever and Sanofi-Aventi Nigeria, who are either exiting completely or reducing their exposure in a country facing its worst cost-of-living crisis in decades. Unilever Nigeria announced its exit from the home care and skin cleansing markets in Nigeria in November 2023, saying it did so “to find a more sustainable and profitable business model.”Procter & Gamble was the last to announce its exit from the country the same year.Similar reasons given by these and other companies include high energy costs, currency depreciation, insecurity etc. The Federal Government itself acknowledged these challenges in an interview granted by Minister of Finance, Wale Edun on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, where he said “lack of a liquid foreign exchange market was the major reason why some multinational companies exited Nigeria,” explaining that the inability of the exiting multinationals to access foreign exchange was a major impediment to their operations in the country. Weighing-in, the Director-General of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, Adewale Oyerinde, disclosed that at least 15 multinationals have either divested or partially closed operations in the country in the last three years. Oyerinde, in his assessment, stated: “Over 15 organisations, with a combined value-chain staff strength of over 20,000 employees, have either divested or partially closed operations,” lamenting that this has “dire consequences not only for organised businesses but also for labour, government revenue and the households; massive job losses across sectors, which would continue to create insecurity challenges”. Oyerinde added, “When NECA examined the exit of prominent companies like GSK, Sanofi, Procter & Gamble, Nampak, and others, who had been doing business in Nigeria for decades and were huge employers of labour, it was worried about the ripple effect on the broader business ecosystem. “Within the value chain, numerous enterprises serve as suppliers to these major corporations, and their sustainability is significantly compromised when the primary businesses they cater to face extinction. “The survival prospects of these secondary businesses are at stake, and their employees are also at risk, as the departure of the main clients could lead to their demise. The crisis within the value chain deserves more attention than it currently receives”. Other sectoral group leaders and analysts maintain that the continuous exit of multinational firms would dampen Nigeria’s $1trn GDP target of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The President had, at the 29th Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja, told business leaders and Nigerians that Nigeria’s economy can grow to $1 trillion by 2026. Analysts believe the persistent exit of multinational companies from the country is set to impact negatively on this target. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the performance of the GDP in the first quarter of 2024 was driven mainly by the services sector, which recorded a growth of 4.32 per cent and contributed 58.04 per cent to the aggregate GDP, whereas the nominal GDP growth of the manufacturing sector in the first quarter of 2024 was recorded at 8.21 per cent (year-on-year), 9.64 per cent points lower than the figure recorded in the corresponding period of 2023. Real GDP growth in the manufacturing sector in the first quarter of 2024, on its part, was 1.49 per cent (year-on-year),…
SUBSTANDARD PETROL FLOOD NIGERIAN MARKET – SENATE
SUBSTANDARD PETROL FLOOD NIGERIAN MARKET – SENATE The Senate has raised the alarm that substandard Premium Motor Spirit or petrol, and Automotive Gas Oil or diesel have flooded the Nigerian market. Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong, in a matter of urgent national importance, observed that on June 16, 2024, a report revealed that 12 diesel cargoes conveying a total of 660 kilotons of diesel, were exported by refineries to offshore Lome, Togo for further distribution to West African markets, mainly Nigeria. According to him, the quality of the said diesel was below the Nigerian standard in terms of flash and Sulphur levels. Ekpeyong disclosed that; even though the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) recently revised the standards of diesel importation into Nigeria in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, it has been incapable of enforcing compliance with the standards. The Senate then set up an ad-hoc committee, to launch an investigation into the continued importation of hazardous petroleum products, and dumping of substandard diesel into Nigeria. Ekpeyong stressed that the NMDPRA has continued to issue import licences for diesel and jet, despite sufficient local production capacity. The lawmakers expressed anger over what they described as sabotage and a clear failure of the objectives of the PIA. The Upper Chamber asserted that those found culpable in the illicit act must face the wrath of the law. Meanwhile, the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, has corroborated views by other lawmakers, that the issues raised within the PIA should be reviewed, not as an act of witch-hunting anyone, but to set the records straight.The Adhoc committee to investigate the allegation, chaired by the Senate leader, has been given three weeks to report back to the house.
DON’T PAY TO APPLY FOR PRE-PAID METER – EEDC WARNS CUSTOMERS
DON’T PAY TO APPLY FOR PREPAID METERS – EEDC WARNS CUSTOMERS The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company PLC, EEDC, has cautioned its customers against falling victim to any individual or group demanding money from them to process their electricity meter application. The Head of Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr. Emeka Ezeh on Tuesday in a statement reacting to a claim circulating on social media aimed at defrauding its customers who are applying for meters. He stressed that EEDC does not charge customers for meter applications. The company said it has an online meter application infrastructure in place that allows customers to apply for prepaid meters and monitor their applications seamlessly. It noted that a situation where customers would be made to pay for meter applications is worrisome. Ezeh said the fraudulent announcement is said to have emanated from a group known as South East Electricity Consumers Association (SEECA), signed by its National Chairman, Rev. Okechukwu Christopher Obioha, requesting electricity customers who are applying for prepaid meters to submit their application form to the Association with a remittance of N5000 into a First Bank account (2044673039) as cost for “data and other logistics”. “We call on our customers not to allow themselves to be defrauded by paying for meter application as it is illegal, inapplicable and unnecessary. “It is only the cost of the meter that customers are expected to pay for (under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) program), after a Demand Note must have been issued to them, having formally applied for the meter through the approved official channel.“All that customers who want to apply for meters need to do is simply log on to the EEDC website,” he stated.