Fuel subsidy costs Nigeria N18.397bn daily – Zainab Ahmed
Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, has said that the country spends N18.397 billion per day on fuel subsidies.
The minister gave this revelation during an investigative hearing of the House ad hoc committee which is investigating the petroleum subsidy regime between 2017 and 2021.
“The total amount of subsidies per day is N18.397 billion per day,” she said. “So if you are projecting for the full year, it would be N6.715 trillion.”
Ahmed said that this figure was arrived at from data provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and other regulators.
She also stated that in four years, N1.774 trillion had been paid as subsidies to independent oil marketers.
Read also: Aviation fuel rises to N900 per litre as Lagos-Abuja ticket sells for N100,000
Court fixes October 12 to hear Tinubu certificate forgery suit
The hurdles for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate for the All Progressive Congress to occupy the Aso Villa residence come 2023, seem to be growing by the day.
This follows a suit by the Federal High Court scheduled for hearing on October 12 to hear the petition to disqualify him on grounds of his alleged certificate forgery.
According to Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the Judge hearing the case, he had fixed the October date to enable both parties in the suit to complete the filing of their processes and exchange same as required by law.
Earlier Ukpai Ukairo, counsel to Action Alliance, which instituted the suit, informed the court that he had just received a notice of preliminary objection from Tinubu asking the court not to entertain the case instituted against him on several grounds.
Tinubu’s counsel had presented as a defence that the charges instituted against him were from the 1999 electoral forms he submitted to the electoral body and consequent to a report of the Lagos State House of Assembly, which has now become a statue barred.
Ukairo informed the court that the statute barred position would be adequately attended to in the subsequent proceedings.
The judge, after listening to both parties, adjourned the suit to October 12 for them to regularise their processes in order to have proper representation.
Lukoil not willing to postpone Ghana oilfield submission bid
Lukoil, Russia’s biggest non-state enterprise, said on Thursday that a decision by Norway’s Aker Energy to delay the submission of a development plan for its Pecan oilfield in Ghana over western sanctions was wrong and has no legal backing.
According to Reuters, Lukoil had said in a statement that there were no lawful grounds for a perceived delay. “The company and its management are not subject to sanctions, so there are no obstacles to the joint development of the oilfield,” it read.
Aker Energy owns 50 percent of the deepwater block off Ghana where the Pecan field is located, while Lukoil holds 38 percent, Ghana National Petroleum has 10 percent, and Fueltrade 2 percent. Aker C.E.O had said that the company would not submit any development plan to Ghanaian authorities until the challenges have been resolved.
Food prices in Japan rise to 8-year high
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in Japan has said that food inflation in the country rose to an 8-year high of 4.4 percent in July, 2022, from 3.7 percent in the previous month.
The latest data marked the 11th straight month of increases in the cost of food, boosted majorly by fresh food, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, fish and seafood, meats, dairy products, cakes and candies, oils, fats, meals outside the home, cereals and cooked food.
The ministry linked the spike in prices to events in Ukraine that have gravely affected the supply chain of many products from Russia and Ukraine.
Crude oil set for modest weekly loss
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures are set for a modest loss following a likely close above $90 per barrel.
This follows concerns about a likely increase in supply from some major producing countries and a global economic slowdown. Oil analysts at rig zone say that recession fears continue to dictate the direction of the market, with the US Federal Reserve, determined to raise interest rates further to bring inflation lower.
According to Trading Economics, Russia’s potential jump in revenue by 38 percent due in part to higher oil export volumes is likely going to drive the price even lower.
The market is also closely focused on positive news from the revived 2015 US-Iran nuclear deal that could boost Iranian oil exports by about 2.5 million bpd.
