At NPA, No Victor, No Vanquished: Hadiza Bala-Usman Cleared, Removed; Bello-Koko Now Substantive MD Amaechi gets his way
Kasim Sumaina in Abuja
The nine months investigation into
alleged financial improprieties at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), came to a close yesterday with a
win-win verdict handed all the parties involved. Report of the 11-man committee,
headed by the Director of Maritime services in the Ministryof Transport, Suleiman Auwalu, cleared the
former Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala-Usman of any financial improprieties.
At the same time, President Continued on page 50
NNPC Moves to Ameliorate Queues Nationwide, Expects 2.3bn Litres of Petrol in Two Weeks… Page 5 Wednesday 16 February, 2022 Vol 27. No 9808. Price: N250
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496 Foreign Trained Doctors Fail MDCN Examination... Page 5
Buhari Accuses National Assembly of Inserting N887bn into 2022 budget Sends N2.557trn supplementary budget for petrol subsidy Asks Senate to amend 2022 Appropriation Act Sunday Aborisade, Udora Orizu and Juliet Akojie in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday criticised the National
Assembly for removing crucial projects from the 2022 budget estimates sent to it by the executive and inserting the lawmakers’ projects to the tune of N887 billion
in the fiscal document before it was signed into law. He also accused the federal lawmakers of making unnecessary incursion into the operational areas
of the executive. This was just as the president has asked the National Assembly to amend the 2022 Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly
in December, 2021. The requests were contained in a letter dated February 10, 2022, and read during plenary by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.
Buhari in the letter, he also said it was imperative to remove all capital projects that were replicated Continued on page 50
Massive Oil Theft, High Pipeline Repairs Cost, Bleeding Nigeria’s Economy At 200,000bpd, over $29bn lost to theft in six years Over N700bn expended on repairs, maintenance
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
A combination of huge oil pipeline repairs cost and a high-level crude oil theft are bleeding the Nigerian economy, with losses amounting to at least $29 billion in the last six years, spanning 2015 to 2021. In February last year, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited disclosed that the country lost an average of 200,000 barrels per day of its crude oil production to saboteurs and illegal pilfering by criminals. At the time, the national oil company's Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, had said, “We have two sets of losses, one coming from our products and the other coming from crude oil. In terms of crude losses, it is still going on. On average, we are losing 200,000 bpd.” Kyari said this in Abuja during a meeting with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, Continued on page 50
BUILDING NEW PARTNERSHIPS...
L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Dolidol Morocco, Mohamed Lazaar; Investment Professional, DPI, Ghali Filali; Managing Director, Mouka Limited, Femi Fapohunda; Chairman, Palmeraie Holding, Saad Berrada Sounni, and General Manager, Palmeraie Holding, Omar Lahlou; while visiting Mouka Limited, the newest member of the Dolidol International Group, in Lagos... yesterday
IMF: Nigeria Has Capacity to Repay its Debts, Our Worry is Fiscal Deficit… Page 52