Bayelsa receives N90bn from excess crude accounts
Timipre Seipulo, the technical adviser to the Bayelsa Governor on Treasury and Accounts, confirmed Wednesday that the State got N90 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) of the federal government as of October 2022.
Seipulo made this known during the state’s monthly breakdown of income and expenditure for the months of September and October 2022 in Yenagoa.
He said that the money was paid quarterly from the Federation Account, not monthly as some speculated.
On the monthly revenue profile, the governor’s aide announced that the sum of N20.24 billion in net receipts for September 2022 was disbursed to the state government from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), while total FAAC deductions stood at N1.59 billion.
He also announced N27.56 billion in net receipts for October 2022 and N1.6 billion in total FAAC deductions.
Read also: Lekki Port to build Truck Park to ease cargo movement, control traffic
Lekki Port ready for commercial operations – Official
Du Ruogang, the Managing Director of the Lekki Port Lagos Free Trade Zone Enterprises Ltd. (LPLEL), said in a news conference on Wednesday that arrangements had been completed for the port’s inauguration by President Muhammadu Buhari.
This news comes as the port, one of the biggest in Africa, is ready for commercial operations.
“The terminal operator, Lekki Free Port Terminal (LFT), is putting everything in place to give a world-class port experience.
“All relevant agencies have been sensitised to their roles in the new port,” he said.
Ruogang applauded the media for its support in the port’s success and urged practitioners to extend the same support to the container terminal operator, Lekki Freeport Terminal, as it prepares to begin operations.
He pleaded with the Lagos State government to provide more infrastructure in the area so as to ensure easy cargo movement.
Poor choice of leadership, Nigeria’s challenge — Obi
Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, said on Wednesday that the country’s biggest challenge is basically one of poor leadership choices.
Obi made this known during the party’s rally in Calabar, where he was received by a large crowd of his supporters at the Uj Esuene Stadium.
He thereafter paid a courtesy visit to the Obong of Calabar, His Eminence, Ekpo Abasi-Otu V.
He promised to secure and unite the country if elected president in February next year. He also promised that there would be law and order if given the chance to lead the nation.
Obi spoke further on his plan for the development of Cross River.
According to him, the state has cocoa; we will develop it and ensure we export it.
“We will also boost the tourism potential of the state because it is the tourism capital of Nigeria.”
“We want to make Nigeria work.” You can trust us.
“Don’t vote for people you cannot trust to turn around the nation,” the presidential hopeful said.
Prosecutors charge two top executives in connection with FTX collapse
Federal prosecutors in the United States said they have charged Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Zixiao (Gary) Wang, the former Chief Technology Officer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), with defrauding investors in the crypto trading platform.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said on Wednesday in a video statement that both Wang and Ellison have pleaded guilty to the charges and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. He said that Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, is now in FBI custody and is on his way to the United States.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also said in a separate statement that it had charged Ellison and Gary Wang for their roles in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors of FTX.
Both accused persons were active participants in a scheme to deceitfully obtain money from unsuspecting investors, the SEC said.
The SEC alleged that Wang created the software that allowed Alameda to divert FTX customer funds, while Ellison used misappropriated FTX customer funds for Alameda’s trading activity.
“Gary has accepted responsibility for his actions and takes seriously his obligations as a cooperating witness,” Ilan Graff, a lawyer for Wang, said in a statement. This is according to Reuters.
Oil prices gain on tight U.S. stocks as winter blast hits
Oil prices climbed above their threshold prices for the fourth straight day on Thursday as an expected surge in holiday travels added to a tight U.S. crude, heating oil, and jet fuel stock supply to help drive its price higher.
According to Reuters, the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 35 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $78.64 a barrel, while Brent crude futures gained 27 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $82.47 at 0145 GMT, extending gains of around 2.7 percent in the previous session.
After government data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories that was much more than analysts had anticipated, the prices of both benchmarks gained.
Simultaneously, distillate stocks, which include heating oil and jet fuel, fell, defying expectations for a build.
However, oil prices are likely to go up following China’s desire to get production back to the pre-COVID era as it is determined to end its “zero-COVID” policy.
