Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen has discharged and acquitted a from his conviction of false assets declaration charges by the Code of Conduct Tribuna by The Court of Appeal in Abuja. Former President Muhammadu Buhari had in 2019 removed Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria during the pendency of a charge against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. The conviction of Onnoghen on April 18, 2019, and forfeiture of his bank accounts by the Umar Yakubu Danladi-led tribunal was struck down by the Appellate Court following the resolution of the issues that led to the trial and conviction. Justice Abba Bello Mohammed in a judgment on the terms of settlement adopted by the federal government and Onnoghen ordered that the bank accounts of Onnoghen frozen since 2019 be unfrozen. The bank accounts are maintained by the former CJN at the Standard Chartered Bank in the Wuse area of Abuja. In the terms of settlement of the matter, it was unanimously agreed by parties that the Code of Conduct Tribunal was wrong in convicting Onnoghen without resorting to the National Judicial Council, NJC as a body Constitutionally empowered to discipline judicial officers in Nigeria. The terms of the settlement were endorsed by Onnoghen, two of his lawyers, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN and Dr Ogwu James Onoja SAN while the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, AGF Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi SAN signed for the federal government. Onnoghen’s lead counsel, Awomolo announced the terms of settlement dated October 24 but filed on November 1, and was confirmed by Tijani Gazali SAN who stood for the federal government at Monday’s proceedings. Justice Abba Bello Mohammed who led a 3-man panel of Justices of the Court of Appeal pronounced the settlement terms as the judgment of the court. The Code of Conduct Tribunal had in 2019 convicted Onnoghen in all the 6-count charges of breach of Code of Conduct for Public Officers brought against him by the federal government while in office as head of the country’s judiciary. In the lead judgment delivered by the Chairman of the CCT, Danladi Yakubu Umar, he had ordered the immediate removal of Onnoghen from office as the CJN. The Tribunal had also stripped him of all offices earlier occupied among which were the Chairman of the National Judicial Council, NJC, and also the Chairman of the Federal Judicial Service Commission. The tribunal also ordered the forfeiture of his five bank accounts and the money in the accounts which Onnoghen did not declare in his asset declaration form submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, an agency of the Federal Government. Although Onnoghen had been on suspension since January 25, 2019, and had resigned on April 4, the tribunal nonetheless ordered his removal from office as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and also as the chairman of both the National Judicial Council and the Federal Judicial Service Commission. But dissatisfied with the CCT decision, Onnoghen on April 29, 2019, approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja with 16 grounds on why his conviction by the Tribunal should be quashed. The former head of the Nigerian judiciary prayed the Court of Appeal to void and set aside the CCT judgment delivered against him on April 18, 2019, on various grounds. In his appeal marked CA/ABJ/375 & 376 & 377/2019, Justice Onnoghen through his lead counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, asked the appellate court to quash his conviction primarily on the ground of want of jurisdiction, bias and absence of fair hearing.Among others, he maintained that the Danladi Umar-led CCT panel erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice against him when it failed to decline jurisdiction to entertain the six-count against him. He contended that the CCT Chairman, ought to have recused himself from presiding over his trial. In his seven-point reliefs, Onnoghen applied for an order setting aside his conviction as well as quashing the order for forfeiture of his assets and to discharge and acquit him of all the charges levelled against him. Contrary to the CCT finding, Onnoghen, said he did not admit the fact of non-declaration of Assets from 2005 as the Justice of the Supreme Court, adding that he only stated that he did not declare in 2009 as required because he forgot. Onnoghen challenged the order for the confiscation of his assets on the grounds that the assets were legitimately acquired, as against the provisions of paragraph three of section 23 of the CCB Act which only permits the seizure of such assets “if they were acquired by fraud.” He faulted the failure of the prosecution to present the petitioner, Denis Aghanya, before the tribunal whose petition led to the charges against him. Onnoghen maintained that all the allegations brought against him “constitute no offence and should therefore not have formed the basis for his conviction.” In a brief remark, Onnoghen’s lawyers Adegboyega Awomolo and Ogwu James Onoja bot SAN thanked President Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation AGF for ensuring the resolution of the issue. “The decision of the Court of Appeal delivered this morning is historical and very significant. It is significant in that, it restored the dignity, honour and integrity of Honourable Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, past Chief Justice of Nigeria. “More than these personal gains to His Lordship is the fact that the damage done to the honour, integrity, dignity and Independence of the Judiciary, the 3% arm of government under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, has been rebuilt and restores. “Two decisions and actions of the Executive Arm of Government between 2016 and 2019 did grave damage to the public perception, integrity and independence of the judiciary.“The first was the invasion of the homes of judicial officers of the realm, including the justice of the Supreme Court in the early hours of the night, like a common criminal and bandits. “It was claimed that there were
To counter the allegation that President Bola Tinubu’s administration favours the South-West regarding appointments in the security sector, the Presidency has publicly released hard facts on the situation. The president last week, named Major General Olufemi Oluyede as Acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS), to hold forth for the substantive COAS, General Tahoreed Lagbaja, who has been away from the country treating an undisclosed ailment. Oluyede hails from the southwest (Ekiti State) same as Lagbaja and Tinubu, who are from Osun and Lagos states, respectively. This tribal affinity has led to insinuations in some quarters that the President has perfected the Yorubaniation (a term which loosely interprets as favouring the Yoruba) of the security sector at the expense of other regions. The accusers argued that Tinubu could have opted for an equally competent general to deputize for Lagbaja instead of another person from the South-West Debunking the ‘Yorubanisation’ claim, Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Public Communications and Orientation, published a list of the heads of security agecies appointed by the current administration. The post, shared on his X account on Saturday, November 2, 2024, showed that the North West has the highest number of appointees (eight), followed by the South West (five) and North Central (four).
The world watches with bated breath as Americans vote for their next president in a general election that is underway across the nation. Widely perceived as the world’s most powerful nation, and leading democracy, it is unsurprising that all nations, states, organizations, and personalities, whether political, government, or private, will be monitoring the blow-by-blow, minute-by-minute goings-on in the election that could decide the fate of the whole world for the next four years.And, once polls close, depending on how close the contest is, it is possible a winner will not be projected for several hours, days, or even weeks. Here’s what you need to know. When is the 2024 presidential election result expected?Democrat Kamala Harris, the current vice-president, and Republican Donald Trump, a former president, have been running neck-and-neck for weeks.National and swing state polls have tightened in the weeks leading to the election, so there could be very narrow margins of victory in several places, which may require votes to be recounted.It is also possible that some results may come in more slowly this year due to changes in how individual states – including all seven swing states that will ultimately decide the race – have administered their elections since 2020.On the other hand, vote-counting has been sped up in places like Michigan, and far fewer votes will be cast by mail this time than in the last election, which was held during the Covid pandemic.This means there are several possible outcomes – a winner declared on election night, the next morning, or possibly days or weeks later.When are presidential election results usually announced?Generally, voters have become used to the idea that they will know who the next president is going to be by the time they go to bed late on election night or at least in the early morning hours of the next day.In 2016, for example, when Trump first won the presidency, he was declared the winner shortly before 03:00 EST (08:00 GMT) the day after the election.In 2012, when Barack Obama secured a second term, his victory was projected before midnight on polling day itself.But one notable recent exception was the 2000 election between George W Bush and Al Gore.The two campaigns went to war over a tight contest in Florida, and the race was not decided until 12 December when the US Supreme Court voted to end the state’s recount process, keeping Bush in place as the certified winner and thus handing him the keys to the White House. What are the key states to watch?Across the country, the first polls will close at 18:00 EST (23:00 GMT) on Tuesday evening and the last polls will close at 01:00 EST (06:00 GMT) early on Wednesday.But this race is expected to come down to results from the seven swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.19:00 EST (00:00 GMT) – Polls close in Georgia and five other states, and partially in two more states. This is also when US TV networks are likely to begin making their first calls of the night, in less competitive states like Kentucky.19:30 EST (00:30 GMT) – Polls close across three states, including North Carolina, where Harris is hoping to end a string of losses for Democratic presidential candidates since 2008.20:00 EST (01:00 GMT) – Polls close in Pennsylvania, 15 other states and the District of Columbia, as well as partially in Michigan and four other states.21:00 EST (02:00 GMT) – All remaining polls close in Michigan. Voting will also end in Arizona, Wisconsin and 12 other states.22:00 EST (03:00 GMT) – Polls close across Nevada and two other states, and partially in two others. How does the vote-counting work?Typically, the votes cast on election day are tallied first, followed by early and mail ballots, those that have been challenged, and then overseas and military ballots.Local election officials – sometimes appointed, sometimes elected – verify, process and count individual votes, in a process known as canvassing.Verifying ballots includes comparing the number cast with the number of active voters; removing, unfolding and examining every single ballot for tears, stains or other damage; and documenting and investigating any inconsistencies.Counting ballots involves feeding each one into electronic scanners that tabulate their results. Some circumstances require manual counts or double-checked tallies.Every state and locality has rigorous rules which specify who can participate in the canvass, the order in which votes are processed and which parts are open to the public, including how partisan observers can monitor and intervene in vote-counting. What could delay the presidential election result?Tight margins will compel media outlets to wait longer before making their projections, but they also raise the spectre of recounts and legal challenges.In Pennsylvania, for example, an automatic state-wide recount goes into effect if there’s a half-percentage point difference between the votes cast for the winner and the loser. In 2020, the margin was just over 1.1 percentage points.More than 100 pre-election lawsuits have already been filed across the country, including challenges to voter eligibility and voter roll management by Republicans. Ongoing court rulings in these cases have been shaping this race by the day.Other scenarios that could cause delays include any instances of election-related disorder, particularly at polling locations, and obstacles to vote-counting, like the bursting of a water pipe at a ballot processing site in Georgia in 2020. What happens if the presidential election results are challenged?Once every valid vote has been included in the final results, and after processes such as recounts have been completed, the election results are certified – first in local jurisdictions, then at the state-wide level.A state executive, typically the governor, then certifies what’s known as a slate of electors that will represent their state in the electoral college. These electors meet in their respective states on 17 December to cast their votes and send them to Washington.On 6 January, a new US Congress meets in a joint session to count the electoral votes, with the current vice-president presiding.After the 2020 election, Trump refused to
After facing a barrage of criticism from Nigerians over the non-disclosure of its petrol prices, and claims made by IPMAN, PETROAN, and other associations regarding the import and pricing of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Dangote Refinery has addressed the issues.In a statement released Sunday night and signed by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, Dangote Refinery noted that it followed the pricing benchmark by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), adding that it went lower in pricing for selling into ships.The company revealed that its PMS prices align with international standards, suggesting that any competitor claiming lower import prices might be introducing substandard products into Nigeria, potentially harming vehicle longevity and consumer health.It cited the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) recent PMS pricing, noting that NNPCL set a benchmark of ₦971 per liter for ships and ₦990 per liter for trucks, which the refinery has since reduced to ₦960 and ₦990, respectively.The refinery also expressed concern over a nearby depot facility blending potentially inferior products to compete with Dangote’s offerings, warning of potential risks to Nigeria’s domestic industry and economy.The statement reads, “Both organizations claim that they can import PMS at lower prices than what is being sold by the Dangote Refinery. We benchmark our prices against international prices and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports.“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low-quality products into the country, without concern for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles. Unfortunately, the regulator (NMDPRA) does not even have laboratory facilities that can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.“Post deregulation, NNPC set the pace by selling PMS to domestic marketers at N971 per litre for sale into ships and at N990 for sale into trucks. This set the benchmark for our pricing and we have even gone lower to sell at N960 per litre for sale into ships while maintaining N990 per litre for sale into trucks.“In good faith, and in the interest of the country, we commenced sales at these prices without clarity on the exchange rate that we will use to pay for the crude purchased.“At the same time, an international trading company has recently hired a depot facility next to the Dangote Refinery, to use it to blend substandard products that will be dumped into the market to compete with Dangote Refinery’s higher quality production.“This is detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria. We should point out that it is not unusual for countries to protect their domestic industries to provide jobs and grow the economy. For example, the US and Europe have had to impose high tariffs on EVs and microchips to protect their domestic industries.“While we continue with our determination to provide affordable, good quality, domestically refined petroleum products in Nigeria, we call on the public to disregard the deliberate disinformation being circulated by agents of people who prefer for us to continue to export jobs and import poverty.
To further reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria, a coalition of civil societies in Osun State, The Osun Masterminds (TOM), has urged President Bola Tinubu and state governors to reduce their convoys.Arguing that reducing the number of convoys for only the ministers is not enough to reduce the cost of governance, the group also charged the president and governors with reducing travel expenses to help Nigerians through the present hardship.In a statement by its Executive Director, Professor Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli, the group said the President’s instruction to Ministers to reduce their convoys to three vehicles would not effectively reduce the cost of governance but should also bring down cost on travels.According to Oyedokun-Alli, “We appeal to every public office holder to be more empathic with the people by cutting off unnecessary expenses often characterised by needless and avoidable travels particularly in the offices of the President, Vice president and the governors of the states.“Cutting down on the numbers of official vehicles isn’t the only way by which cost of governance can be brought down. The political class can’t be feeding fat at the expense of the hunger of the people.”The group also urged Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State to deal with the current hardship by using the increased federal allocation to enhance quality of people’s lives.He said: “It is deeply disturbing that while the Federal Government is not doing much to alleviate the suffering of the people, the state governments which are now earning increased federal allocations, are also not doing anything to make life easier for their people. In Osun here, instead of pursuing accelerated human development policies, we are busy constructing flyovers, and arguing over inanities.“The people of Nigeria and Osun deserve to have a better life than the current hardship that they are battling with. Our people deserve to be happy and live in a society where their dreams and aspirations are allowed to thrive.“We are again calling on the Federal Government and the Osun State Government more importantly, to as a matter of urgency, intensify efforts to free the masses from the shackles of poverty. We must work quickly on eradicating hunger and creating opportunities for our people to make legitimate living.”
The Presidency has ripped into the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, saying that the former Vice President would have plunged Nigeria into a worse economic situation if he had won the 2023 presidential election. The presidency in a statement in Abuja, titled, “Our initial response to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,” which was signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused Atiku of supervising what it described as a questionable privatisation programme. It said that the former vice president and his principal, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo ”demonstrated a total lack of faith in the nation’s educational system, and both went to establish their universities while they allowed ours to flounder.” Furthermore, the presidency said the Wazirin Adamawa lost the 2023 presidential election partly because he vowed to sell the NNPC (Nigeria National Petroleum Company) and other assets to his friends. The statement read: “We have just read a statement credited to former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in which he tried to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform programmes while pushing his untested agenda as a better alternative. “First, Alhaji Atiku’s ideas, which lacked details, were rejected by Nigerians in the 2023 poll. “If he had won the election, we believe he would have plunged Nigeria into a worse situation or run a regime of cronyism. “Abubakar lost the election partly because he vowed to sell the NNPC and other assets to his friends. Nigerians have not forgotten this, nor would they be comforted by Atiku’s antecedents when he ran the economy in the first term of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government between 1999 and 2003. “As Vice President, Atiku supervised a questionable privatisation programme. He and his boss demonstrated a lack of faith in our educational system, and both went to establish their universities while they allowed ours to flounder. “Talk is cheap. It is easy to pontificate and deride a rival’s programmes even when there are irrefutable indices that the economic reforms yield positives despite the temporary difficulties. “Despite the futile attempt to hoodwink Nigerians again in his statement, it is gratifying that the former Vice President could not repudiate the economic reforms pursued by the Tinubu administration because they are the right things to do. “His advocacy for a gradualist approach only showed that he was not in tune with the enormity of problems inherited by President Tinubu. “It is so easy to paint a flowery to-do list. It is expected of an election loser.” The statement further claimed that “President Tinubu met a country facing several grave challenges. Fuel subsidies were siphoning away enormous resources we could ill afford, and there was criminal arbitrage in the forex market. “No leader worth his name will allow these two economic disorders to persist without moving to end them surgically. “While advocating for gradual reforms may sound appealing, Tinubu took measures that should have been taken decades ago by Alhaji Abubakar and his boss when they had the opportunity. “Alhaji Abubakar calls for empathy and a human face to reforms. We have no problem with this as it resonates well with our administration’s focus. President Tinubu has consistently emphasized the need for compassion and protection of the most vulnerable. “The administration has prioritized social safety nets and targeted support for those affected by recent economic transitions.”
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris has said President Bola Tinubu is committed to alleviating the suffering of Nigerians. The minister spoke on Sunday in Kaduna when he featured in a live phone-in programme of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Hausa Service, Kaduna, “Hannu Da Yawa.” Speaking on the hardship caused by the fuel subsidy removal, Idris said the subsidy was only benefiting a few people at the expense of all Nigerians. He assured that the economy would be stable, adding that no government would want backwardness in its administration. The minister emphasized that what needed to be fixed in the country did not only lie with the National Assembly, elected representatives, or executive arms of the government, but also all Nigerians. He said Tinubu had recently directed the ministers to cut the cost of governance by limiting the number of their official vehicles when going around their official duties and the number of their personnel during trips. “President Tinubu is pointing out the need to change from the old ways of doing things in Nigeria. ”Whenever we sit for FEC meetings, what the president is emphasising is the need to cut out many expenses which are not necessary in governance. “Tinubu even came out with a circular on the cost of travelling and the number of vehicles. This might be seen as little, but they actually count” he said. Idris disclosed that the president said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was renamed the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to tackle the issues of agriculture from various angles. The minister said the insecurity issues were being tackled head-on by Mr Tinubu, adding that the issues were on ground even before his administration. Idris added that the federal government was still acquiring platforms and ensuring the welfare of security personnel to enhance the nation’s security architecture. He added the creation of state police was still on consultation by the president. Speaking further, Idris said the recent power outage in the northern states was not planned or orchestrated by the public. The minister added, ”The president is doing his best to find lasting solutions to the recurring collapse of the national grid. ”The AKK Gas Pipeline Project is also on the verge of being completed and it will help in revamping industries in the North.” The minister urged the public to always use social media to propagate the country in a good light.
The Nigeria Police Force has arrested 130 suspects comprising 113 foreign nationals for their alleged involvement in high-level cybercrimes, hacking, and activities that threaten national security. The suspects consist of 87 males and 26 females, primarily of Chinese and Malaysian origin, and their 17 Nigerian collaborators, made up of four males and 13 females. Disclosing this in Abuja on Sunday, Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement said the operation was conducted the the Police Zonal Command headquarters, Zone 7 led by AIG Benneth Igweh and the CP in charge NPF National Cybercrimes Centre, CP Ifeanyi Henry Uche. The statement said, “This strategic operation was conducted through a coordinated raid on a building at the Next Cash and Carry area of Jahi, Abuja, where the suspects were reportedly using computers and other sophisticated devices to facilitate criminal activities. “The operation which was led by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police for Zone 7 Headquarters, Abuja, AIG Benneth Igweh, on Saturday, 3rd November 2024, comprised officers of the Nigeria Police Force Zone 7 Command Abuja and the National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC). “We are investigating the matter and scientifically analysing the exhibits recovered from them. “The suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of our investigations. “We will update the public on the outcomes of our investigations as and when due.”
How we would have approached Nigeria’s problems – Atiku Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has outlined what he would have done differently from President Bola Tinubu if he was the president. Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, highlighted many measures he would have put in place to tackle the numerous socio-economic problems confronting Nigeria. The Nigeria’s former number 2 man said this in a statement titled: “What We would Have Done Differently”, which he signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Sunday. According to him, he wrote the piece in response to inquiries by a cross section of Nigerians on what he would have done differently from President Tinubu if he were to be President. Atiku said, In general, “We would have planned better and more robustly: My journey of reforms would have benefited from more adequate preparations; more sufficient diagnostic assessment of the country’s conditions; more consultations with key stakeholders; and better ideas for the final destination. “We would have been guided by my robust reform agenda as encapsulated in ‘My Covenant With Nigerians’, my policy document that sought to, among others, protect our fragile economy against much deeper crisis by preventing business collapse; our document had spelt out policies that were consistent and coherent. “We would have sequenced my reforms to achieve fiscal and monetary congruence. Unleashing reforms to determine an appropriate exchange rate, cost-reflective electricity tariff, and PMS price at one and the same time is certainly an overkill. Add CBN’s bullish money tightening spree. As importer of PMS and other petroleum products, removing subsidy on these products without a stable exchange rate would be counterproductive. “We would have been more strategic in our response to reform fallout. We would not over-estimate the efficacy of the reform measures or underestimate the potential costs of reforms. I would recognise that reforms could sometimes fail. I would not underestimate the numerous delivery challenges, including the weaknesses of our institutions, and would work assiduously to correct the same. I would, as a responsible leader, pause, reflect, and where necessary, review implementation. “I would have led by example. Any fiscal reform to improve liquidity and the management of our fiscal resources must first eliminate revenue leakages arising from governance, including the cost of running the government and the government procurement process. I (and members of my team) would not have lived in luxury while the citizens wallow in misery. “We would have communicated more effectively with the people, with civility, tact, and diplomacy. “Transparent communication with the public is essential to build public trust, which in turn is important to ensure that the public understands what the government is doing.We would have consulted more with all stakeholders to learn, negotiate, adapt, and modify, among other policy goals. “We would have demonstrated more empathy. My Reforms would wear a human face.“We would have been more strategic in the design and implementation of reform fallout mitigating measures. I would not run a ‘palliative economy’ yet, we would have a robust social protection programme that will offer genuine support to the poor and vulnerable and provide immediate comfort and security to enable them to navigate the stormy seas. “SPECIFIC MEASURES “We would have undertaken extensive reforms of the public sector institutions to maximize reform impact.We would have placed special focus on security viz “We would have launched an Economic Stimulus Fund (ESF), with an initial investment capacity of approximately US$10 billion to support MSMEs across all economic sectors. “How would this have been funded?Details are in my Policy Document. “Alongside the ESF, we would have launched a uniquely designed skills-to-job programme that targets all categories of youth, including graduates, early school leavers as well as the massive numbers of uneducated youth who are currently not in education, employment, or training. “To underscore our commitment to the development of infrastructure, an Infrastructure Development Unit (IDU) directly under the President’s watch would have come into operation. The IDU will have a coordinating function and a specific mandate of working with the MDAs to fast track the implementation of the infrastructure reform agenda within the framework provided herein. The IDU will hit the ground running in putting the building blocks for our private sector driven Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) of approximately US$25 billion. “To engender fiscal efficiency and promote accountability and transparency in public financial management, we would have committed to a review of the current fiscal support to ailing state-owned enterprises. We would’ve also begun a process review of government procurement processes to ensure value-for-money and eliminate all leakages. “We would have initiated a review of the current utilization of all borrowed funds and ensured that they were deployed more judiciously. “On the issue of subsidy removal, the former Vice President said, “Yes, I have always advocated for the removal of subsidy on PMS because its administration has been mildly put, opaque with so much scope for arbitrariness and corruption. Mind boggling rent profit from oil subsidy accrued to the cabals in public institutions and the private sector. “I would have prioritized the following:First, tackling corruption. Fighting corruption should have commenced with the repositioning of the NNPCL, which is a huge beneficiary of the status quo. Its commitment to reform and capacity to implement and enforce reforms is suspect. The subsidy regime has provided an avenue for rent seeking, and the NNPCL and its guardians will be threatened by reforms. “Second, paying particular attention to Nigeria’s poor refining infrastructure. We are by far the most inefficient OPEC member country in terms of both the percentage of installed refining capacity that works and the percentage of crude refined. We would’ve commenced the privatization of all state-owned refineries and ensure that Nigeria starts to refine at least 50% of its current crude oil output. Nigeria should aspire to export 50% of that capacity to ECOWAS member states. “Third, adopt a gradualist approach in the implementation of the subsidy reforms. Subsidies would not have been removed
