President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the 2019 operational
budget of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the
Group Managing Director of e state oil company, Dr. Maikanti Baru,
disclosed Wednesday.
Although Baru did not state how much the corporation’s budget
for 2019 was worth, he however disclosed that Buhari was gracious
to approve it early enough.
in a statement from NNPC’s Group General Manager, Public
Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, Baru did not also reveal if the
corporation will now submit the budget to the National Assembly for
appropriation in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007,
which provides that federal revenue generating agencies must submit
their budgets to the National Assembly .
Baru said the corporation would move against any of its staff or
management found guilty of taking any action that contravenes the
provisions of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) in the award of
contracts.
He warned of severe penalties for any of them found to have
defaulted the PPA in award of contracts.
The statement explained that he gave the warning at a supply
chain management workshop for NNPC’s procurement managers which
held at its corporate headquarters in Abuja.
Baru, who cautioned staff against contract splitting and
accumulation, said such acts are deliberately done by procurement
managers to subvert due process in the procurement process.
He restated the corporation’s commitment to transparency in
every aspect of its operations, stressing that all procurements and
contract awards in the corporation under his watch so far had been
carried out in conformity with the PPA.
To further deepen the culture of transparency in the
corporation, Baru directed the supply chain management division of
NNPC to step up its level of monitoring of the various tender
boards within the corporation for full compliance.
Commending President Buhari for the early approval of NNPC’s
budget, he stated that as Nigeria’s chief revenue earner, the
corporation was committed to the economic policies of the federal
government.
According to him: “The whole essence of the next level is to
ensure that things are done correctly and speedily for the benefit
of the people.”
Read more buhari-approves-nnpcs-operational-budget-for-2019/
2019 Elections: NAF Deploys ISR Aircraft for
Intelligence Gathering
NAF Air Officers at meeting with CAS
In line with the directives of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS),
General Abayomi Olonisakin, to all Services on the need to ensure
peaceful conduct of the forthcoming Gubernatorial and States’ House
of Assembly elections, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air
Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has directed Air Officers Commanding
(AOCs) and field commanders to ensure safety of lives and
properties in their various locations.
This is in addition to the deployment of NAF aircraft, including
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, to
various flash points in support of the Nigeria Police and other
security agencies for the peaceful conduct of the elections.
The CAS stated this during his operational briefing to Principal
Staff Officers (PSOs) and AOCs held today, 6 March 2019, at the
Headquarters, NAF Abuja. The meeting also afforded the AOCs the
opportunity to give updates on the level of preparedness and the
security arrangements put in place for the conduct of the elections
in their various areas of responsibilities (AORs).
During the meeting, Air Marshal Abubakar noted that contingency
plans have been emplaced in case of any break down of law and order
while NAF Hospitals and medical centres have been put on alert to
assist in attending to any medical emergencies. The CAS emphasized
that the responsibility of Commanders is to ensure security of
lives and property of Nigerians. He noted that no excuse would be
tolerated for any failure in this regard.
He also reminded AOCs that they must ensure that all NAF
personnel remain professional in the discharge of their duties
whilst ensuring that no individual or group of individuals is
allowed to undermine the electoral process.
He stressed that NAF personnel must endeavour to operate in
accordance with the Code of Conduct promulgated by Defence
Headquarters (DHQ) for members of the Armed Forces during
elections. They must sternly resist any entreaties by unscrupulous
politicians to get involved in partisan politics. Air Marshal
Abubakar therefore urged all eligible voters to come out en-masse
to vote for the candidates of their choice.
The CAS also noted that, as part of its constitutional role of
providing aid to civil authority, the NAF assisted the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) in successfully airlifting a
total of 633,790 Kg of electoral materials to 31 different
locations across the country from 12 February to 3 March 2019. He
highlighted that 8 NAF aircraft were employed in the airlift
operation, flying a total of about 340 hours in 257 sorties with
about 120 crew members involved, comprising pilots, technicians and
other specialties operating on an almost round the clock basis.
IBIKUNLE DARAMOLA
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Nigerian Air Force