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NNPC indebtedness to suppliers not good image for Nigeria – economist
An Economist, Dr Chijioke Ekechukwu says the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) indebtedness to fuel suppliers is not good for the country’s credit rating globally.
The expert says the chaos that the debt may cause could be devastating to Nigeria’s already fragile economy.
Ekechukwu, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dignity Finance and Investment Ltd. said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
The NNPC Ltd. had recently acknowledged that its six billion dollars debt to petrol suppliers is a financial strain that has placed considerable pressure on the company and poses a threat to fuel supply sustainability.
Reacting to the development, Ekechukwu said for credibility and credit rating of Nigeria in the global arena, the NNPC Ltd. should as a matter of urgency and necessity find means of paying their creditors.
He said the NNPC Ltd. should not be seen to be defaulting in its obligations to contractors.
“The chaos that may be caused by NNPC Ltd. continuously owing these suppliers may be very devastating to our already fragile economy and state of affairs.
“It makes a mockery of the so-called profit declared.
“However, it can still have and still make profit. Such liabilities should be considered before declaring profit,” he said.
The NNPC Ltd. Retail Management on Tuesday approved upward review of pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and adjusted it to N897 per litre as against N617 per litre.
The independent marketers are selling between N930 and N1,000.
Speaking on the sudden increase in PMS pump price amidst scarcity of the product, he said the country should be ready for attendant increase in inflation rate.
“Nigerians are heading toward a more severe economic hardship.
“We have been trying to curb the continuous uptick in inflation rate using monetary policy tools that have not succeeded optimally.
“With this current increase in petroleum products, we should get ready for a major hike in prices of goods and services and attendant increase in inflation rate.
“Hardship will continue to pervade the system, which will have a direct link with a higher criminality rate,” he said. (NAN
A coalition of youth organisations has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to reconsider its wanted tag on socialite, Dr Aisha Sulaiman Achimugu, OFR.
The organisations, Niger Delta Youth Council for Good Governance and Middle Belt Youth Stakeholders’ Initiative said this in a joint press statement they issued on Thursday in Abuja.
According to them, the declaration of Achimugu wanted by the anti-corruption agency came to them as a rude shock.
The joint statement was signed by Comrade Emma Niboro and Ali Ameh for Niger Delta Youth Council for Good Governance and Middle Belt Youth Stakeholders’ Initiative, respectively.
They described Achimugu as a dedicated friend of the youths, who had always shown commitment to the welfare and care of the downtrodden.
According to the youth coalition, “we know the Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, as a man who came with utmost zeal to sanitize the agency. He has already demonstrated this and we are proud of his achievements so far.
“However, we urge him to resist pressure from politicians, which is a plague that has dwarfed EFCC for several years of its existence.
“The commission had hitherto remained a tool for politicians to undue their perceived political foes and this has always rubbed off on the credibility of the agency.
“The case of Achumugu doesn’t appear to be different in any way, as the haste with which she was declared wanted showed there is a hand of Esau and voice of Jacob.
“Our appeal is that the commission should withdraw the wanted tag on her and give her ample time to report to the commission, as she has never been indicted of any offence whether in Nigeria or outside the country.”
While noting that Achimugu is a global figure, they added that they can always vouch for her integrity.
“We know her, she has always been of immense help to the youths and other members of the society.
“Her closeness to certain politicians should not be used as a tool to persecute or harass her,” the youths further stated.
The Supreme Court has overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision that recognised Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP). In a decisive ruling, a five-member panel declared that the Court of Appeal lacked the legal authority to determine the party’s leadership matters.
In a unanimous verdict, the highest court in the land stated that the Court of Appeal had no jurisdiction over the matter. The panel observed that since the case revolved around the internal leadership structure of the Labour Party, it fell outside the jurisdiction of the courts.
The ruling reinforced the long-standing principle that leadership disputes within political parties should be resolved internally, rather than through judicial intervention.
The Supreme Court stressed that leadership struggles within political parties are purely internal matters. According to legal principles, courts should not interfere in such issues, as they fall under the party’s constitution and governance framework. By upholding this legal doctrine, the apex court reaffirmed that political parties must settle their leadership crises independently.
The Supreme Court upheld the appeal lodged by Senator Nenadi Usman and a fellow appellant, ruling that their claims were valid. Their appeal challenged the earlier judgment, arguing that it was flawed due to jurisdictional overreach. After thorough legal scrutiny, the Supreme Court found merit in their argument and ruled in their favour.
The legal battle also involved a cross-appeal filed by supporters of Julius Abure, who sought to challenge the decision against their leader. However, the Supreme Court dismissed this cross-appeal, declaring it unsubstantiated and lacking merit. The ruling effectively ended the legal contest over the Labour Party’s chairmanship, cementing the judiciary’s stance on non-interference in party leadership disputes.
Bitcoin experienced sharp fluctuations following President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement, initially surging to $88,000 before dropping to $82,000.
By April 3, it stabilized around $83,000, with the broader crypto market down over 4%. Major altcoins like Ethereum and Solana also declined over 6%, hitting multi-month lows.
Analysts see the tariff news as reducing market uncertainty, potentially attracting institutional investors.
Despite higher-than-expected rates, experts believe the clarity could help Bitcoin regain momentum toward $90,000. Bitcoin ETFs, led by BlackRock, recorded $218 million in inflows on April 2, reversing prior outflows.
Kraken’s Thomas Perfumo challenged the idea that institutional interest stabilizes crypto, emphasizing that volatility signals demand for a scarce asset.
Some analysts viewed the sell-off as an overreaction to trade policy concerns, highlighting Bitcoin’s resilience as a store of value.
With ETFs showing strong demand, Bitcoin’s price may stabilize and rise, though market participants remain cautious, monitoring trade policies and economic conditions.