Headlines
FG Blames Fuel Subsidy, Oil Thieves for Loss of N29tn in 16 Years
The Federal Government, on Thursday, said the amount spent on subsidising Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, between 2005 and 2021 was N13tn, adding that the country lost N16.3tn to oil theft from 2009 to 2020.
It disclosed this in Abuja through the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative at a policy dialogue on oil swap, co-hosted by NEITI and Policy Alert, an indigenous civil society organisation, with support from the Opening Extractives.
In a presentation by NEITI’s Executive Secretary, Orji Ogbonnaya-Orji, which was made available to our correspondent, he said there was an urgent need to make decision on the agitation for the removal of fuel subsidies.
He stressed that the full deregulation of the petroleum sector would permanently lay to rest the conversation around oil swaps, adding that latest findings by NEITI showed the humongous amount spent on subsidising fuel by the government.
“NEITI’s latest policy brief titled, ‘The cost of fuel subsidy: A case for policy review,’ revealed that Nigeria expended over N13tn ($74bn) on fuel subsidies between 2005 and 2021.
“The figure in relative terms is equivalent to Nigeria’s entire budget for health, education, agriculture, and defence in the last five years, and almost the capital expenditure for 10 years between 2011 2020. It is also important to note other economic opportunity costs of fuel subsidy which include slashing allocations for the health, education, and technology infrastructure sectors.
“Others include the deterioration of the downstream sector with the declining performance of Nigeria’s refineries and recording zero production in 2020; disincentivised private sector investment in the down and mid-stream petroleum sector; low employment generation since the refining process is done outside the shores of Nigeria; worsening national debt; declining balance of payment, forex pressures and depreciation of the naira and of course product losses, inefficient supply arrangements, scarcity and its attendant queues, etc,” Orji stated.
On crude oil theft, he said NEITI policy brief and data pulled from industry reports of the oil and gas sector “showed that between 2009 and 2020 (12-year period), Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at $46.16bn or N16.25tn.”
Orji explained that the volume of crude oil losses represented a loss of more than 140,000 barrels per day, adding that between 2009 and 2018, Nigeria also lost 4.2 billion litres of petroleum products from refineries valued at $1.84bn.
“These findings and recommendations on tackling crude oil theft have been submitted to the President through the Presidential Committee on Crude Oil Theft, in which NEITI also served as a member.
“The committee has concluded its work and submitted its report to the President. The committee did an excellent job with far reaching recommendations. I will like to commend the Office of the NSA (National Security Adviser) that coordinated that panel’s work,” the NEITI boss stated.
The Punch
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
