PPPRA finance director admits not remitting N501m to FG in 2014

By Brajest
Peter Joshua, the director of finance and administration at Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), has admitted that the agency did nor remit N501.2 million into the federation account in 2014.
At an investigative hearing by the house of representatives committee on finance on Monday, Joshua said the agency should have remitted N708.6 million, not N207.7 million.
The N708.6 million, he explained, represents 25% of the N2.8 billion generated as revenue by the agency.
According to Joshua, the amount was largely generated from the 15 kobo charged on every litre of fuel imported or refined locally.
Responding to Joshua’s comments, James Faleke, the committee’s chairman, threatened to recommend sanctions against the agency and its officials.
“You are hiding facts from us. It is either you are not competent or whatever you are doing here is deliberate. We will recommend appropriate sanctions,” Faleke said.
“You are sitting on Nigeria’s money even when you know Nigeria cannot finance its capital budget beyond 20 per cent. You have stayed on this seat for too long.
“Remember we have a new sheriff in town. We are not here to joke. What we want is a system where we can finance our budget. If your agency alone is sitting on N500 million yearly based on your declaration in 2014 alone, then what is the essence of PPPRA?”.
NAN reports that Faleke ruled that the agency’s management should reappear before the committee on February 27 with all documents showing revenue generation and remittances from 2011 to date.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Post

Court frees ‘100’ IMN members in detention

By Brajest
Image
Hanatu Gwada, judge of Kaduna state high court, on Friday, discharged and acquitted 100 members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN). In a statement on Friday, Ibrahim Musa, IMN spokesman, said the freed members of the group were being prosecuted by the state government in connection with the December 2015 clashes between the group and the Nigerian Army in Zaria. He said another court had previously  acquitted about 100 members  of the group in the same case. “The Islamic Movement in Nigeria has today, Friday, 21/2/2020 again secured a favourable judgement in the case brought before the Kaduna State High Court against the last batch of its members detained since December 2015 following the heinous attacks by the Nigerian Army in Zaria,” Musa said. “The court discharged and acquitted all the 100 remaining accused members and vindicated the Islamic Movement, thereby absolving both the leadership and membership of any blame in the events leading up to the Zaria ...
Read more

COVID-19: We spend over N15m weekly on health workers, says Bauchi gov

By Brajest
Image
Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, says the state government spends over N15 million weekly on allowances of health workers and others involved in the fight against COVID-19. Mohammed, who spoke while inaugurating the state’s molecular reference laboratory for COVID-19, said the amount is being spent on allowances for contact tracing, risk management, case management among others. He said his administration is giving adequate attention to the well-being of all COVID-19 patients, including a stable diet of three square meals daily. “My government pays more than N15 million every week in allowance for contact tracing and surveillance, case management, risk communication, logistic and supply, as well as infection prevention and coordination teams,” he said. “In addition, we also ensure that all COVID-19 patients in the state are on a stable diet with three meals daily. “This explains why our rate of recovery and discharge is almost the best in the country.” The governor sai...
Read more

Court dismisses Melaye’s suit against infectious diseases bill

By Brajest
Image
A federal high court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by Dino Melaye, former senator representing Kogi west, seeking to stop the infectious diseases control bill. Melaye had filed the suit against Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, and four others seeking the protection of his fundamental rights over the bill. According to Melaye, the bill threatens “the dignity of person, personal liberty, right to private and family life, right to freedom of movement and right to own immovable property in Nigeria”. The bill also gives the director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the minister of health powers to declare “any premises” as an isolation centre and empowers the police and health officers to do whatever that is ”necessary” to enforce some provisions. Other respondents in the suit are the clerk of the national assembly, the clerk of the house of representatives, Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, and Moham...
Read more

TCN: No relationship between poverty and electricity tariff — Nigerians must pay more

By Brajest
Image
Usman Mohammed, managing director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), says consumers should be prepared to pay more for electricity to ensure regular power supply. Mohammed (pictured) was speaking during the groundbreaking for the replacement of old wires on the Ikeja West-Alimosho-Ogba-Alausa-Ota transmission lines in Lagos on Friday. “I want to tell the Nigerian public that we cannot move forward if we do not pay more for electricity,” NAN quoted him to have said. “There is no relationship between poverty and payment for electricity. “For the poor, give them electricity and a means of measurement and manage their cost. “But if we don’t initiate a cost-reflective tariff system and the situation continue like this, public funds would continue to sink in the sector in futility.” The TCN boss also urged the government to stop subsidizing the power sector in order to move the sector forward. “We have to be prepared to remove the government in the middle, ...
Read more

‘You’re the bisexual ex… leave me the hell alone’ — Tonto Dikeh, Churchill trade words on Instagram

By Brajest
Image
Tonto Dikeh, a Nigerian actress, and Olakunle Churchill, her ex-husband, have reignited their war of words after the former claimed the latter is a “bisexual”. Dikeh, 34, has been in a protracted feud with Churchill ever since they ended their short-lived marriage — a union that has birthed numerous allegations and repeated counterclaims. On Monday, the movie star struck the first blow at the father of her son after she asked fans what they’ll do if they discover that their partner is bisexual. “You wake up one day and you discover you are married to a bisexual man. What will you do? I walked out,” she wrote on her Instagram page. “For those of you who say God forbid, well I hope you know that 60% of the men we marry sleep with men or y’all still casting and binding for change.” In a swift reaction, Churchill described Dikeh’s claim as “humongous lies.” He also charged Nigerians not to succumb to those instigating Twitter trends with his name. “Churchill is the new ...
Read more

Naira Marley Releases Artwork & Tracklist For His Coming Debut EP “LOL

By Brajest
Image
Naira Marley  has unveiled the artwork and tracklist to his highly anticipated EP tagged “ LOL “ The rapper/singer made us know that that the EP will be officially out by December 18th, and it will be available for pre-order by 13th of this month. He also releases the tracklist of the  LOL EP , check it out below; eaTracklist 1. Tingasa – NM x Cblvck (beat by Killertunes) 2. Tesumole – NM (beat by Rexxie) 3. Mafo- NM (beat by Rexxie) 4. Isheyen- NM (beat by Rexxie) 5. Oja [Challenge Version] – NM (beat by Rexxie) 6. YanYanYan- NM x Mayorkun (beat by studio magic)
Read more

‘Does the justice system still work?’ — Regina Askia speaks on threats to Denrele’s life

By Brajest
Image
Regina Askia, Nigerian-born family nurse, has poured out her annoyance on those behind the recent death threats received by Denrele Edun, a media personality. It all started on Saturday when the eccentric TV host took to his social media page to share screenshots of death threats sent to him by some Twitter users. In the screenshots, a group of people who christened themselves “Titans” appeared to have threatened to “kill” Edun because “Tacha has decreed it.” The 38-year-old entertainer, born  Adenrele Oluwafemi Edun,  said he decided to share the screenshots so his fans could see it while laughing off the development. “In my usual manner of RETWEETING the good, bad, vile and wickedly ugly tweets thrown at me (Because I consider them hilarious) from a certain fan base (even though I NEVER mentioned their fave), I noticed some “We will kill Denrele” tweets this morning,” his post read in part. “KILL DENRELE? Now that’s a laugh! I RETWEETED them as well!” In h...
Read more

Uzodinma meets Buhari, seeks refund of N32bn ‘spent on FG roads in Imo’

By Brajest
Image
Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo state, on Thursday met with President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking his intervention in the refund of over N32 billion his predecessors reportedly spent on federal roads in the state. Speaking with state house correspondents after the meeting with Buhari, Uzodinma said Imo is in “financial distress”. He said the funds, if released, will assist in clearing both salary and pension arrears. He said the consultants he engaged discovered that at least N32 billion was spent on federal roads in the past. Uzodinma said he briefed Buhari on the situation of things he met on the ground in the state, adding that the president listened to him. Uzodinma’s predecessors are Achike Udenwa (1999 to 2007), Ikedi Ohakim (2007 to 2011), Rochas Okorocha (2011 to 2019) and Emeka Ihedioha who governed for seven months before the supreme court replaced him. In 2016, Okorocha had described roads in the state as death traps, adding that his administration ha...
Read more

Venue, date of Anthony Joshua's next fight confirmed

By Brajest
Image
Anthony Joshua's next fight will be against Kubrat Pulev at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, June 20. The 38-year-old Pulev is the mandatory IBF challenger to take on Joshua, who currently holds the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Joshua won back the belts with a unanimous point victory over Andy Ruiz Jr. in December. "I am happy to have the opportunity to show the world how strong I really am," Pulev told reporters on Monday. It will be Joshua's first fight in the UK, since he defeated Alexander Povetkin at Wembley in September, 2018. This also means boxing fans won't get to see Joshua fight Tyson Fury just yet. Both British boxers now hold all of the division's belts between them. However, Deontay Wilder has triggered a rematch clause with Fury.
Read more

Wilder reacts to defeat, reveal what he will do after being rushed to hospital for serious complications

By Brajest
Image
Immediate WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has been reportedly rushed to the hospital following a shocking first career defeat to Tyson Fury. The Bronze Bomber failed to replicate his dominance which has made his career an enviable one as it was the Gypsy King who proved the magic to become new WBC heavyweight champion of the world. Deontay Wilder's hope of defending his WBC championship for an eleventh-time record hit a massive rock on Saturday, February 22, as he was beaten by Tyson Fury in a moment that will go down in history. Tyson Fury drops Deontay Wilder 👀  pic.twitter.com/Y9sTaCHfdA — b0xingfan (@b0xingfan)  February 23, 2020 During the sweat-boiling showdown at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Fury recorded an emphatic seventh-round stoppage over Deontay, leaving the ears and mouth of his opponent in bleed in the fourth round. Wilder's corner had to throw in the towel to save the American from more damage from Tyson Fury's brutal punches. Wi...
Read more