NEWS
Buhari, NNPCL to Appeal Judgment on Restoration of Ifeanyi Ararume
The Presidency says President Muhammadu Buhari has taken due notice of judgment by the Federal High Court, Abuja, restoring Sen. Ifeanyi Ararume as the non-executive Chairman of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
According to a statement by Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman, on Wednesday in Abuja, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation /Minister for Justice is yet to receive a formal copy of the ruling,
He, however, maintained that the President had affirmed that due judicial process would be followed, and ”NNPCL has already taken steps to go on appeal
”The Administration respects the Rule of Law, and nothing will be done outside it to resolve the matter.
”Adesina quoted the president as calling for calm from all sides involved.
Report says that a Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Intang Ekwo had on Tuesday declared the sack of Ararume by the Federal Government as Non-Executive Chairman of the NNPCL as illegal and unlawful.
Delivering judgment in the matter, Ekwo, said that his removal was unconstitutional and as such the court restored him as the Non- Executive Chairman of the company with full benefits.
The judge also awarded N5 billion against the federal government and NNPCL in favour of Ararume as damages for what he suffered on account of the wrongful sack and disruption of his appointment.
Ekwo ordered that Ararume be immediately restored to office as non Executive Chairman of the NNPCL.
Ararume had dragged the federal government before the court, praying it to declare his removal as NNPCL chief illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional and a breach of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) law under which NNPCL was incorporated.
Specifically, Ararume asked the court to issue an order returning him to office, Ararume also demanded N100 billion in damages. Issues he raised for determination included whether, in view of provisions of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the NNPCL, CAMA, 2010 and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, the office of non-executive chairman was not governed and regulated by stated provisions of the law.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/691/2022, was instituted on his behalf by a group of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), comprising Chief Chris Uche, Ahmed Raji, Mahmud Magaji, Ogwu James Onoja, K.C Nwufor and Gordy Uche.
Among others, the plaintiff wanted the court to determine whether by interpretation of Section 63 (3) of the PIA, the President could lawfully remove him as non-executive chairman of the NNPCL for any reason outside the provisions of the law.
Besides, Ararume prayed the court to determine whether Buhari can sack him without compliance with expressly stated provisions of the Articles of Memorandum of Association of the Company, Section 63 (3) of the PIA Act, 2021 and Section 288 of the CAMA Act, 2020 (NAN)
NEWS
Gunmen Attack Police Station, Kill 2 in Anambra
The Police Command in Anambra says gunmen have burnt its station in Umunze, Orumba South Local Government Area, killing two officers.SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, announced this in a statement issued in Awka on Monday.He said that the gunmen attacked the police facility with improvised explosives, shooting sporadically, which caused a fire to burn part of the station.
He said further that during the attack, two police operatives on duty were killed when they attempted to resist the gunmen. Ikenga stated that the bodies of the deceased policemen had been recovered and taken to the morgue.He also noted that joint security forces, including the police, army and navy, among others, had recovered five unexploded improvised explosives.Ikenga noted that the Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Nnaghe Itam, had visited the scene for assessment.He said that Itam called on anyone with information that could assist in the investigation to come forward, assuring then that such information would be treated confidential.(NAN)NEWS
IPPIS Data Base not Compromised, OAGF Assures Employees
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) has reiterated the Federal Government’s determination to maintain and operate a secure and efficient personnel and payroll system.In a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr Bawa Mokwa on Monday, the OAGF maintained that the Integrated Personal and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) database has not been compromised, assuring that employees personal data on the IPPIS database is safe and secured.
The OAGF, which manages the IPPIS and other financial management initiatives of the Federal Government, said it is already implementing its ICT Security Policy that aims to ensure that its digital assets are secured in line with global best practices. The Office explained that no data is saved on its website, adding that the IPPIS uses the website to only share information and not for any transaction. “The IPPIS is not using the OAGF website for any transaction. The website is actually the medium to share information. Neither payroll nor payment is made through the website, therefore, no data is contained in the website”, it said. The OAGF stated that the IPPIS validation portal that was recently developed for updates of employees information was deployed for a period and after the exercise was over, the data were pulled out and the site shut down permanently.According to the statement, “the IPPIS Validation Portal was deployed on a secure platform. A secured database and application were purchased from the popular HELIX-FONS.”The Office acknowledged that the IPPIS is of utmost importance to Nigerian workers, thus it became imperative to assuage the fears of any loss or breach of employees personal data in the IPPIS database. The OAGF noted that the IPPIS has put in place necessary mechanism to resolve any problem that may arise in its operations and advised workers that observe anomalies in their salaries to follow the official procedures inorder to get such issues resolved.NEWS
Again, Inflation Drops to 32.15% in August
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Nigeria’s headline inflation dropped to 32.15 percent in August, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report
The report released on Monday said the inflation eased the second time in 2024 after a 19 month increase that peaked at 34.19 percent in June.
“Looking at the movement, the August 2024 headline inflation
rate showed a decrease of 1.
It however, said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.35 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (25.80%).
“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in August 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.
e, August 2023).Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.22%, which was 0.06% lower than the rate recorded in August 2024 (2.28%).
” This means that in August 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is lower than the rate of increase in the
average price level in July 2024.”
The report added that food inflation rate in August 2024 was 37.52 percent on a year-on-year basis, which was 8.18% points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (29.34%).
It said the rise in food inflation
on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of; “Bread, Maize Grains, Guinea Corn, etc (Bread and Cereals Class), Yam, Irish Potatoes, Water Yam, Cassava Tuber, etc (Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Palm Oil, Vegetable, etc (Oil & Fats Class) and
Ovaltine, Milo, Lipton, etc (Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Class).”
But on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.37 percent, a 0.10% decrease compared to the rate recorded in July 2024 (2.47 percent).
“The fall can be attributed to the decline in the rate of increase in the average prices of Tobacco, Tea, Coco, Coffee, Groundnut Oil, Milk, Yam, Irish Potatoes, Water Yam, Cassava Tuber, Palm Oil, Vegetable etc.”
It added that the average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending August 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 36.99 percent, which was 11.98 percent points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in August 2023 (25.01 percent).