News
PFIPC Never Received Budget Funds Despite N1.32bn Allocation – DG Budget Office
By Gloria Ikibah
The Budget Office of the Federation has told the House of Representatives that although the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) was allocated N1.32 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act, not a single kobo was released to the organisation because it failed to meet the legal conditions required for public expenditure.
The clarification came on Friday when the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, appeared before the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the alleged unlawful establishment and funding of the PFIPC.
The committee is probing how the council found its way into the federal budget despite growing evidence that it was never legally established by the Federal Government.
Defending the Budget Office’s actions, Yakubu maintained that the agency neither created the council nor approved its establishment, recruitment, staffing or salaries. He said its responsibility was limited to assessing the financial implications of approvals forwarded by the relevant government authorities.
He disclosed that although the council requested N3.8 billion for personnel costs, the Budget Office rejected the figure and carried out its own independent assessment using the approved staff strength and the salary structure prescribed for public servants.
He said: “The Budget Office did not create the council. It did not assign its budget code. It did not approve its establishment. It did not grant its recruitment waiver. It received official instruments and did what the law required of it. It measured their fiscal effect.
“That estimate did not form the basis of the Budget Office’s recommendation. The Budget Office rejected it and made an independent calculation. That calculation produced N802,978,783. This was not a concession to the council. It was the Budget Office’s own fiscal proposal.”
Yakubu explained that the proposed personnel allocation never translated into actual spending because the Budget Office did not issue the financial clearance required before recruitment, enrolment on the government payroll and payment of salaries.
He emphasised that although personnel costs accounted for about 61.63 per cent of the council’s total appropriation, the funds remained untouched.
“There was therefore no financial clearance. There was no lawful recruitment. There was no payroll enrolment. There was no salary payment.
“Not one naira of the personnel provision has been drawn. There is no personnel expenditure to recover because no expenditure ever occurred”, he added.
The Director-General also told lawmakers that the N200 million earmarked for overheads was never accessed because treasury warrants and cash backing were not issued.
Similarly, he said the N300 million capital allocation remained on paper as the procurement process never reached the stage where public funds could legally be spent.
According to him, the financial safeguards of government worked exactly as intended by preventing unauthorised expenditure before any money left the treasury.
“No procurement reached the point at which expenditure would arise. No Ministerial Tenders Board approved a transaction. No Certificate of No Objection was issued. No treasury warrant followed. No treasury cash-backing followed.
“The law did not recover money after it had gone. It prevented the expenditure before it began”, Yakubu noted.
During the hearing, members of the committee questioned the legal basis upon which the Budget Office made provisions for the council after examining what they described as a purported Act establishing the PFIPC.
A committee member, Rep. Abubakar Fulata, argued that the document lacked the essential features of a valid Act of Parliament, including a gazette number, the signature of the Clerk to the National Assembly and presidential assent.
He also faulted government agencies for failing to verify the authenticity of the document before acting on it.
“The purported Act is very clear. It is not genuine because it did not carry the gazette number, it did not have the signature of the Clerk of the National Assembly and it did not carry the signature of Mr. President”, he stated.
In response, Yakubu insisted the Budget Office relied solely on official establishment approvals, recruitment waivers and directives from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission in calculating personnel costs.
“We do not rely on any instrument to calculate personnel costs other than the establishment authorisation and the directives of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission”, he stressed.
Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, said the evidence before the panel indicated that the Budget Office acted based on documents presented by the appropriate government institutions, which were only later discovered to be forged.
Gagdi said the investigation had now shifted from the Budget Office to uncovering how forged documents entered official government channels.
“The question is whether the Budget Office allocated budget to this agency without the agency satisfying the requirements. The answer, based on the documents before us, is no. I repeat, no.
“The agency satisfied all the requirements the Budget Office needed before allocating a budget. The issue now is whether those documents were genuine. That is what this committee is investigating”, he noted.
He disclosed that the Accountant-General of the Federation has been invited to appear before the committee on Monday to explain how the council obtained its budget code, while other agencies will also be questioned as the investigation enters its final stage.
“By the special grace of God, we will conclude our findings and finish by next week”, he added.
The House constituted the ad-hoc committee following allegations surrounding the operations of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, which reportedly appeared in official government records and the 2026 Appropriation Act despite questions over its legal status.
The panel is expected to determine how the council gained official recognition, identify those responsible and recommend measures to prevent similar occurrences within the public service.
News
Reforms in NNPCL under Ojulari have increased Nigerians’ trust in current administration – Centre
The Centre for Reforms and Good Governance (CRGG) has hailed the transformative leadership of Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari as Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), declaring that the sweeping reforms under his stewardship have significantly boosted public confidence in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Maxwell Onazi, the Centre described Ojulari’s tenure since his appointment on April 2, 2025, as a defining chapter in the commercialisation and professionalisation of Nigeria’s national oil company.
According to the CRGG, Ojulari’s results-driven approach has delivered measurable gains across upstream production, financial performance, transparency, infrastructure delivery and investor confidence, reversing years of opacity and operational inefficiency.
The Centre noted that these outcomes align directly with the Renewed Hope Agenda and demonstrate the administration’s capacity to appoint competent technocrats capable of delivering tangible national value.
“Engr. Bayo Ojulari has shown that with disciplined leadership, commercial focus and commitment to transparency, NNPCL can be transformed from a historically loss-making entity into a profitable, investor-ready national asset,” Maxwell Onazi stated.
“The surge in production, the restoration of regular Federation Account remittances, the unprecedented financial disclosures and the unlocking of multi-billion-dollar investments are not abstract achievements.
“They are concrete evidence that the Tinubu administration’s reforms in the oil and gas sector are working and that Nigerians can once again trust that their most strategic national resource is being managed with integrity and competence.”
The Centre highlighted the dramatic rise in upstream output under Ojulari’s watch.
According to the CRGG, the first half of 2026 alone produced clear evidence of the transformation. NNPCL recorded ₦19.04 trillion in revenue and ₦2.28 trillion in profit after tax between January and June 2026, while statutory remittances to the Federation Account reached ₦6.286 trillion in the same period and climbed to ₦7.913 trillion by the end of July, including a single-month payment of ₦1.627 trillion in July.
These figures, the Centre noted, represent a decisive break from past patterns of irregular transfers and limited disclosure.
“The 2026 half-year numbers speak louder than any rhetoric. Revenue of ₦19.04 trillion, profit after tax of ₦2.28 trillion and nearly ₦8 trillion remitted to the Federation Account in seven months show that NNPCL is now operating as a true commercial entity that delivers value to the Nigerian people,” Maxwell Onazi stated.
“When citizens see consistent, transparent remittances and rising production under a leadership appointed by this administration, their trust in the broader reform agenda of President Tinubu naturally increases.
“Ojulari’s results have made that connection clear and credible.”
The Centre further highlighted the operational gains that underpinned the financial performance.
National crude oil production has been sustained at levels above 1.7 million barrels per day for much of 2026, reaching peaks of approximately 1.73 million barrels per day, the highest in five years.
NNPC Exploration and Production Limited continued to post strong output, with earlier records of 355,000 barrels per day in late 2025 extended into higher peaks of around 365,000 barrels per day.
Gas production also strengthened, hitting 7,841 million standard cubic feet per day in June 2026, supporting the administration’s gas-based industrialisation push.
“Infrastructure progress has been equally notable, the group added. “The Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) and Obiafu–Obrikom–Oben (OB3) gas pipelines advanced to 94 per cent and 98 per cent completion respectively in 2026, while major upstream projects such as Bonga Southwest-Aparo moved closer to delivering additional barrels and jobs.
“Cost discipline remained a priority, with Ojulari’s team achieving $3.4 billion in savings through systematic contract reviews and optimisation.
“These are not isolated successes. Higher production, stronger gas output, near-completion of critical pipelines and multi-billion-dollar cost savings form a coherent picture of a national oil company that is finally being run with commercial rigour,” Onazi said.
The Centre for Reforms and Good Governance concluded that Ojulari’s first year-plus in office has set a new benchmark for public-sector performance and provided a clear demonstration that competent, reform-minded leadership can deliver results that benefit the entire nation.
It called on stakeholders to sustain support for the ongoing transformation so that the gains already recorded can be consolidated and expanded in the years ahead.
The Good Governance Assembly (GGA) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to remove the Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, from office over allegations arising from the recently concluded insurance industry recapitalisation exercise.
The civil society organisation, in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Peter Bawa, alleged regulatory overreach, abuse of office and financial impropriety in the implementation of the recapitalisation programme.
The group said its demand was based on a petition before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Ministry of Finance concerning disputed fees and capital transfer requirements imposed during the exercise.
Among the issues raised are an alleged one per cent capital injection fee, the directive requiring certain insurers to transfer their recapitalisation funds into an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and an alleged N180 million payment described as a fee for verification consultants.
The allegations have also been raised by NICON Insurance Limited and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation, which petitioned government authorities over the disputed requirements. The Federal Ministry of Finance subsequently directed NAICOM to suspend enforcement of the contested fees and the full-capital escrow directive against the two companies pending determination of their petition.
The ministry also requested NAICOM to provide detailed explanations and legal justification for the disputed requirements.
According to the GGA, the controversy raises questions about regulatory accountability and could affect confidence in the insurance industry.
“The allegations against Mr. Ayo Omosehin are not administrative technicalities,” Bawa said, alleging that the disputed requirements involved significant sums of money across the sector.
He argued that Omosehin should not remain in charge of the industry regulator while the allegations are being examined.
The GGA further claimed that the disputed charges, if applied across the industry, could amount to billions of naira.
It said the development was particularly concerning coming after the recapitalisation exercise, which was designed to strengthen the financial capacity of insurance companies and improve confidence in the sector.
The organisation also urged the Federal Government to ensure that any investigation into the allegations is independent and transparent.
“We therefore call on President Tinubu to remove the NAICOM boss without further delay so that a full, independent and transparent investigation can proceed free from any perception of interference,” Bawa said.
However, NAICOM has rejected allegations of fraud or wrongdoing by its officials.
In a September 10 rejoinder, the commission described reports alleging fraudulent activities and the detention of its officials as false and misleading. NAICOM said neither the Commissioner for Insurance nor any of its directors had been indicted, charged or found culpable of fraudulent activity.
The commission also confirmed that the EFCC had requested information and explanations concerning allegations circulated in the media, but said responding to such a request was part of its cooperation with law-enforcement agencies and should not be interpreted as evidence of wrongdoing or culpability.
NICON and Nigeria Re, however, have maintained their call for an investigation, alleging that the one per cent capital injection fee lacked statutory backing and questioning the handling of funds collected during the recapitalisation process.
The companies have also challenged NAICOM’s alleged requirement that insurers transfer their entire capital injections into a CBN escrow account, arguing that Section 16(3) of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025 provides for a 10 per cent statutory deposit.
. As NDLEA intercepts over N3billion worth of opioids at Lagos airport, nabs Cross-border Togolese traffickers, others in Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Bauchi raids
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 25-year-old newlywed businessman Lovely Chukwulobelu at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, for attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine which he ingested, to Portugal where he resides.
The groom was intercepted by NDLEA officers at the departure hall of the Enugu airport on Thursday 25th September 2026, with cocaine in his gut and wedding ring on his finger, while he attempted to board an Ethiopian Airline flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa. He was subsequently placed under excretion observation during which he egested a total of 72 wraps of the Class A illicit drug.
The suspect, who claimed he was into car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo area of Lagos before he relocated to Portugal in May 2023, said he returned to Nigeria recently to get married on 13th September 2026. He said he resorted to the criminal trade to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.
At the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 22nd September 2026 uncovered one of the year’s biggest opioid hauls during a joint examination of three monitored consignments, leading to the seizure of Two Million Five Hundred and Fifty-Five Thousand (2,550,000 ) pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg, and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 1,640.55 kilograms. The consignments, were imported from India and Bangladesh via Qatar Airways, RwandAir, and Ethiopian Airlines.
In Bauchi, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects: Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass with 300 compressed blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 262.5kg, concealed in the false bottom of a truck marked MUB757 YH, while two cannabis farms with a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23kg at Eko Camp, Ilushi, Edo state were destroyed by NDLEA officers supported by soldiers on Wednesday 23rd September.
In Lagos, two female suspects: Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested on Saturday 26th September when NDLEA operatives raided Anifowoshe Street in Mushin where they recovered 3.4kg skunk from them. In another operation in Lagos same day, NDLEA officers intercepted a 58-year-old man Ugwu Johnson at Ebute-Ero motor park, with large quantities of illicit consignments, including: 5.920kg skunk; 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection; 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam; and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
Two Togolese nationals: Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were nabbed by NDLEA officers on Saturday 26th September at Iganna-Ilero road, Iganna, Oyo state with 305.6kg of skunk concealed in two pick-up vans used for cross-border trafficking racket, moving Ghanaian-sourced cannabis into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, five suspects were arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide popularly called laughing gas weighing 1,688.4kg, along with two vehicles used in conveying the exhibit from the border into Lagos. They include: Kingsley John, 40; John Chibuike Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA sensitization lecture to students and staff of Community High School, Saki, Oyo state; Auchi College, Auchi, Edo; Alkali Modibbo Islamic Centre, Dukku, Gombe; and Junior Arabic Secondary School, Kahu, Kibiya LGA, Kano, while the Delta Ports Command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatshe III, the Olu Of Warri, Delta state, among others.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme, and Bauchi Commands for the various successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
Reforms in NNPCL under Ojulari have increased Nigerians’ trust in current administration – Centre
Group Demands Omosehin’s Removal as NAICOM Chief Over Recapitalisation Allegations
Europe-bound bridegroom excretes 72 wraps of cocaine at Enugu airport(Photos)
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