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Senate Discovers, About N300b Crude Oil Proceeds Unaccounted For
The recent discovery by the Senate’s ad-hoc committee investigating crude oil theft in the Niger Delta that about N300 billion crude oil proceeds were unaccounted for has been generating reactions from Nigerians.
The committee’s interim report to the Senate detailed massive discrepancies, weak oversight mechanisms and systemic lapses that have enabled large-scale diversion of Nigeria’s crude oil revenue.
A forensic review of domestic crude proceeds and tax oil proceeds records, according to the report, revealed crude oil sale’s differentials, mismatches and unaccounted funds, amounting to about $22 billion. It further found a shortfall of $81 billion between receipts declared by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and those recorded by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for 2016 and 2017.
The committee also said its review of crude oil sales from 2015 to date, supported by investigations from international consultants projected that over $200 billion proceeds from the crude oil sales remained unaccounted for globally.
The interim report, which followed months of document reviews, written submissions and public hearings, traced the problem to faulty measurement systems, weak regulatory oversight and poor coordination among the government’s agencies.
It identified the use of unverified measuring instruments, lack of metrological control, ineffective interagency collaboration and uncoordinated enforcement mechanisms as major enablers of crude oil theft.
The report, however, faulted the suspension of the Weights and Measures Department’s activities in the upstream sector under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, saying the decision undermined accountability and accurate measurement in crude oil operations.
It also noted that the absence of a special court to prosecute oil thieves and the non-implementation of the Host Communities Development Trust Fund, HCDTF, under the PIA had contributed to persistent sabotage and theft in oil-producing areas.
The committee projected that the unaccounted proceeds from the domestic crude sales amounted to about N300 billion, calling for urgent local and international tracking, tracing and recovery of stolen crude oil funds for the benefit of the country.
It urged the Federal Government to mandate the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, to enforce international crude oil measurement standards at all production sites and export terminals or restore the Weights and Measures Department to its former regulatory role.
They also urged the government to provide the security agencies with modern surveillance technology and equipment, including unmanned aerial vehicles, to strengthen monitoring of oil facilities and detect theft and leakages in real time.
It called for the establishment of a Maritime Trust Fund to support the development and maintenance of maritime infrastructure, training and safety operations, as well as the creation of a special court to promptly prosecute crude oil thieves and their collaborators.
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Breaking: Nigerian Workers Demand N300,000 Minimum Wage, FG Faces Fresh Salary Pressure
The Federal Workers Forum, FWF, has demanded an immediate increase in the federal minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000, noting that the current salary structure can no longer sustain civil servants amid Nigeria’s rising cost of living.
The Forum made the demand in a letter dated September 2, 2026, addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly, with the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Head of the Civil Service of the Federation listed among the recipients.
The workers also proposed a new salary structure that would place the highest-paid Level 17 officer on a monthly salary of N1.5 million, while Level 1 Step 1 workers would earn N300,000.
“We call for justice and immediate wage review now, adjust the federal minimum wage to N300,000 and a maximum wage of N1.5m for the Level 17 officers,” the Forum said.
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The FWF argued that the Federal Government had not fully implemented the 2024 minimum wage agreement, claiming that federal workers had yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and associated allowances.
“It will surprise you to hear that the Federal Government has not fully implemented the new national minimum wage since July 2024. We have been in the battle for full consequential adjustment of the new minimum wage,” it said.
Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in August 2026, demanded an upward review of the minimum wage to N500,000.
In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu’s government increased the minimum wage to N70,000 per month from N30,000.
However, the cost of living for many Nigerians has tripled between 2024 and 2026.
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The Federal Government has said Nigeria will never support a military coup or any unconstitutional change of government, following claims that the country backed a failed coup attempt in the Niger Republic.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, made this known in a statement issued on Thursday.
According to the statement, the claims circulating on social media are baseless and misleading.
Enikanolaiye said Nigeria remained committed to democracy, constitutional rule and political stability in West Africa and would not support any attempt to remove a government through unconstitutional means.
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“Nigeria will never support illegality or unconstitutional change of government anywhere, no matter who is involved or which country is concerned,” he said.
The minister also rejected claims that Nigeria, through its membership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), supported or endorsed the military takeover in Niger.
He said the Federal Government had already stated its position on the situation in Niger in an earlier statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 30, 2026.
According to him, Nigeria remains deeply concerned about developments in Niger and wants the country to return peacefully to stability and constitutional order.
Enikanolaiye said Nigeria’s close historical, cultural and fraternal ties with Niger made peace and stability in the neighbouring country particularly important.
“Nigerians at home and abroad should disregard the videos and narratives circulating online, they are intended to create confusion and tarnish Nigeria’s image,” the statement said.
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