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Labour and Lib Dems urge Morrisons owners to protect workers

Morrisons 

Labour and Lib Dems urge Morrisons owners to protect workers

Opposition parties have urged Morrisons’ incoming private equity owners to protect workers and ensure that the supermarket is not heaped with debt and stripped of assets as a result of the company’s pending takeover.

Politicians from Labour and the Liberal Democrats have signalled that they will be keeping an eye on US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), which over the weekend won a tense auction with a rival suitor to take control of the supermarket chain for £7.1bn.

“Morrisons is a much-loved British firm which has been rooted in communities up and down the country for over 100 years,” Seema Malhotra, Labour MP and shadow minister for business and consumers, said. “The new owners must urgently deliver binding assurances for workers, pension fund holders and local people.”

“We cannot see a repetition of previous cases where businesses have been loaded with debt and asset-stripped. Morrisons is a great British company, which must be safeguarded for the future,” Maholtra added.

Unions and politicians have raised concerns over the wave of private equity takeovers aimed at UK firms, warning companies could be stripped of their property holdings and burdened with borrowed funds to pay off private equity backers, and that working conditions would deteriorate without binding guarantees.

Sarah Olney, Lib Dem MP and the party’s spokesperson for business, said: “It would be a great shame to see local teams lose their stake in the future direction of the business. With uncertain economic times ahead, the new owners must pass the key tests of not loading the business with debt, not cutting jobs, and critically, protecting existing working conditions.”

Labour has already warned it would crack down on the private equity industry if it gains power, saying it would close a loophole on carried interest, which lets private equity executives pay a lower rate of tax on their bonuses, resulting in larger payouts. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said on Twitter that it would “reduce some of the tax incentives leading to asset-stripping.”

CD&R has tried to ease politicians’ fears by confirming that there were no plans to sell off Morrisons’ attractive store estate to raise cash, and promising that the company’s head office would remain in Bradford. Morrisons – which employs about 120,000 staff in the UK – owns the freehold for 85% of its 497 stores, which has been tipped as an attractive asset for any buyer. It also prides itself on its 19 manufacturing sites including bakeries, abattoirs, fishing fleets and egg farms.

But CD&R has also reached a deal with pension trustees to provide additional security and support for the scheme in a move that helped the private equity firm clinch backing from the Morrisons board even before the takeover went to auction.

The private equity firm, which narrowly beat the 286p offer by a consortium led by Softbank-owned Fortress Investment Group with a 287p bid on Saturday, has also expressed support for Morrisons’ recent pay award of at least £10 an hour for all workers in stores and manufacturing sites.

A CD&R spokesperson said: CD&R values Morrisons’ distinctive business model and is committed to supporting it, including the successful ESG [environmental, social, and governance] and broader stakeholder engagement strategies of the company that are essential to its continued success.”

But Maholtra said the UK government had a responsibility to hold CD&R to its promises. “It must ensure that the new owners are responsible, long-term investors, seeking to build the business for the future and that decisions taken are also in the public interest.”

CD&R’s offer, which has been backed by the Morrisons board, will go to a shareholder vote on 19 October.

Business

Tinubu increases 2025 budget to N54.2tn

President Bola Tinubu has raised the proposed 2025 budget from ₦49.7 trillion to ₦54.2 trillion, citing additional revenues generated by key government agencies.

The President conveyed the budget adjustment in separate letters sent to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which were read during plenary today by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

According to President Tinubu, the increase was driven by ₦1.4 trillion in additional revenue from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), ₦1.2 trillion from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and ₦1.8 trillion generated by other government-owned agencies.

Following the announcement, the Senate President has referred the President’s request to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for urgent consideration.

He assured lawmakers that the budget would be finalised and passed before the end of February.

With this development, the National Assembly is expected to fast-track deliberations to ensure timely approval and implementation of the 2025 budget.

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NMDPRA seals off 19 illegal LPG depot in Delta

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, has sealed 19 illegal Liquified Petroleum Gas, LPG, and category D cooking gas outlets in Delta State.

Speaking with newsmen on Tuesday in Warri, Coordinator, NMDPRA in Delta, Victor Ohwodiasa said the illegal gas outlets were sealed within the past two weeks.

He said they were shut in Orerokpe, Ogwashi-Ukwu and Warri and its environs of the state.

The category D class of LPG operators are the ones within localities that refill gas from licensed gas plants for customers to pick up from them.

Ohwodiasa said the illegal gas outlets were shut over offences ranging from lack of prerequisite approvals to operating such facilities in unsafe locations.

“During the operations, about 28 illegal outlets were spotted by the authorities. We tried to see if it is possible to have them regularised as they were wrongly sited.

“The outlet that was sealed in Ogwashi-Ukwu was a five metric tonnes refilling plant constructed on a roadside closed to a high tension cables.

“The authority looked at the environment, it was wrongly sited on a right of way and has no approval. It was sealed and a relocation order issued immediately.

“Other offenders were the ones doing what we called, “decanting”, meaning bottle to bottle transfer. We do not allow that.

“What they are expected to do is “bottle swap”, bring your empty cylinder and go with a filled one,” he said.

The coordinator said the essence of the exercise was not to frustrate the small scale gas business owners but to ensure they operate in a safe and secured environment.

Ohwodiasa appealed to landlords not to allocate portions to the LPG category D operators who want to do illegal business on their premises or properties.

According to him, the essence is to prevent possible fire outbreak that could destroy lives and properties of the operators and the neighbours.

He said that NMDPRA was committed to ensuring lives and properties were adequately protected.

“Imaging someone storing cooking gas close to where welding operation is taking place or where a woman is frying beans cake or roasting corn. Once there is a leakage, the resultant effect will be catastrophic.

“If the operator of the illegal outlet does not appreciate his life, it is our duty to ensure he does not kill himself and others by illegally operating such a facility,” he said.

Ohwodiasa said the regulatory authority would continue to sustain the exercise in the state and assured that anybody found wanting would face the full wrath of the law.

He also said that any offender that refused to relocate his facility would be handed over to the relevant security agencies for prosecution.

The coordinator appealed to the public to report anyone transferring cooking gas from one cylinder to another to the NMDPRA for prompt action, “help us to serve you better”.

Ohwodiasa while assuring that the regulatory body would continue to sensitise the operators, said the authority had annual stakeholders engagement with the gas plant owners and the category D operators.

He also said the regulatory authority organised jingles on Radio and Television stations to educate people on the best ways to handle cooking gas because of its volatility.

The coordinator thanked the Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Ahmed Faruok for his consistent support for the state’s operations.

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FG bans export of crude oil allocated to domestic refineries

The Federal Government has banned the export of crude oil meant for domestic refineries in the country.

About 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day meant for domestic refining have been finding their way to the international market as producers and traders shortchange the policy for quick foreign exchange proceeds.

Acting through the upstream sector regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, the government warned that it will henceforth deny export permits for crude oil cargoes intended for domestic refining.

The commission in a statement in Abuja, insisted that any changes to cargoes designated for domestic refining must receive express approval from its chief executive.

In a letter dated February 2, 2025, addressed to exploration and production companies and their equity partners, the commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe said diverting crude oil meant for local refineries is a violation of the extant laws of the country.

At a meeting last weekend, attended by more than 50 critical industry players, both refiners and producers blamed each other for inconsistencies in the implementation of the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation, DCSO, policy.

While refiners claimed that producers are not meeting supply terms and preferred to sell crude outside, forcing them to look elsewhere for feedstock, producers countered that refiners hardly meet commercial and operational terms, forcing them to explore other markets elsewhere to avoid unnecessary operational bottlenecks.

They, however, agreed that the regulator has put in place appropriate measures for effective implementation of the law.

The regulator cautioned against any further breaches from either party, and advised refiners to adhere to international best practices in procurement and operational matters.

The commission reminded producers not to vary the conditions stated in the DCSO policy without obtaining express permission from the chief executive before selling crude outside the agreed framework.

Komolafe referenced Section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which aims to ensure stable supply of crude to domestic refineries and strengthen the nation’s energy security.

He said NUPRC would, henceforth, strictly enforce the policy regarding implementation and defaults by oil companies.

He stated that significant regulatory actions had already been taken by the commission, in line with enabling laws to enforce compliance with the DCSO.

These actions, according to him, include development and signing of the Production Curtailment and Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligation Regulation 2023, as well as the creation of the DCSO framework and procedure guide for implementation.

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