Business

‘No evidence’ conflicts of interest were considered in Lex Greensill contracts – NAO

‘No evidence’ conflicts of interest were considered in Greensill contracts – NAO

Whitehall’s independent watchdog has found “no evidence” that ministers or officials considered potential conflicts of interest before giving the disgraced financier Lex Greensill government contracts just months after he had left a job as a No 10 adviser.

The National Audit Office said Greensill left a job as an adviser to David Cameron, then the prime minister, in 2017. Eight months later, his firm was involved in a bid for a large public sector contract.

A report released on Friday said the two projects involving Greensill Capital – an early-payment scheme for pharmacies and a salary advance facility for employees of NHS trusts – did not receive the expected uptake and offered no material benefits to the NHS.

Greensill Capital collapsed in March 2021, triggering a series of investigations examining the financier’s close links with the government and Cameron’s lobbying activities.

Meg Hillier, chair of the Commons public accounts committee, said: “This report provides further information on the role of Lex Greensill and Greensill Capital in providing government services.

“It raises yet more questions over the government’s ability to prevent conflicts of interest and the independence of advice it receives.

“The consequences once again fall squarely on the taxpayer, with increasing risks to value for money and promised savings vanishing into thin air.”

Auditors said Greensill advised ministers and officials on supply chain finance in various roles from 2012 to 2017.

He attended a “key meeting” in March 2017, his final month advising the government, which considered the setting up of a framework agreement for supply chain finance.

By November 2017, Greensill Capital was a subcontractor to a firm called Taulia as part of a bid to provide supply chain finance to the public sector, ultimately landing the pharmacies deal.

The scheme allowed chemists to be paid for dispensing prescriptions earlier than they would have under NHS systems.

“We have seen no evidence that there was any discussion of a potential conflict of interest in relation to Greensill Capital being appointed as a subcontractor for supply chain finance services, about which Lex Greensill had earlier provided advice,” the NAO said.

The report found there is “no evidence that the predicted benefits and savings” from the pharmacies deal were ever realised.

The collapse of Greensill resulted in the government stepping in to pay pharmacies for predicted dispensing activity, although the cost to taxpayers was “minimal”.

Greensill’s salary advance scheme for NHS trust workers – Earnd – resulted only in “limited employee uptake”, the NAO said.

After the firm failed, some NHS trusts switched to a paid-for salary advance scheme, rather than the free version that had been offered by Greensill.

A government review by the corporate lawyer Nigel Boardman into the Greensill scandal called for a new code of conduct and greater clarity about who is funding lobbying in Whitehall.

The extent of the lobbying efforts, which included Cameron contacting the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, on his private mobile phone, were initially revealed by media reports rather than official records. The scandal raised concerns over the way private businesses have been able to hire and use former officials to try to gain preferential access to government contracts.

Boardman recommended in his review that the “transparency of lobbyists be strengthened”, including by “requiring lobbyists to disclose the ultimate person paying for, or benefiting from, their lobbying activity”.

Business

CAC threatens to shut down PoS operators as deadline for registration expires

The Corporate Affairs Commission has said it will work with law enforcement agencies and other legal means to shut down recalcitrant Sales Operators who fail to register their businesses as its 60-day deadline lapses.

The Commission disclosed this in a notice Friday on its official X handle.

This comes after CAC on July 7, 2024, issued a 60-day deadline which expired on Thursday, September 5, 2024, for all PoS operators to register their businesses.

CAC noted that there was inadequate compliance with its directive, noting that those who decided not to register may be engaging in unwholesome activities.

“The Commission notes inadequate compliance with the directive for formalization when viewed from the background of the large number of POS operators in the country. Those who have taken steps to formalize in line with the Commission’s directive are commended for their positive attitudes.

“Recalcitrant operators have refused to adhere to the advice for formalization due possibly to engagements in unwholesome activities or for some reasons best known to them.

“We are here to make it clear that the Commission is working with Law Enforcement Agencies and other relevant stakeholders to deploy a comprehensive enforcement and sanction framework that may include not only possible shutdown but other severe legal Consequences.”

Meanwhile, the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, AMMBAN, recently challenged the CAC’s registration directive.

Business

Dangote’s petrol to flood market from Sept 15 — NNPCL

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from the Dangote Refinery will begin to flood the market starting on September 15, 2024.

This development follows the refinery’s commencement of petrol refining earlier in the week.

In a statement signed by the NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, on Thursday in Abuja, the company clarified that petrol prices would now be determined by market forces.

The statement addressed speculations about price control, reiterating that the downstream sector had been fully deregulated and that NNPCL would no longer fix fuel prices.

Adedapo Segun, NNPCL’s Executive Vice President of Downstream, emphasised that foreign exchange (forex) illiquidity had been a major factor influencing PMS price fluctuations, which are now regulated by the free market as mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Segun also noted that the current fuel scarcity should ease within a few days as more filling stations recalibrate their systems and resume selling PMS.

He cited Section 205 of the PIA, which established that petroleum prices are governed by market forces rather than government intervention. The exchange rate, he added, significantly impacts fuel prices.

Regarding the supply of petrol from the Dangote Refinery, Segun stated that NNPCL was preparing for the September 15 timeline when products would be available for distribution.

He assured Nigerians that NNPCL is working closely with fuel marketers to ensure stations remain open and well-stocked to meet demand, while measures are being taken to prevent product diversions.

Segun’s comments come on the heels of the Federal Government’s announcement of an impending boost in petrol supply over the weekend, as vessels had started offloading while reaffirming that PMS prices would not be fixed by the government.

Business

PMS Prices are determined by free market forces—NNPC Ltd

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has stated that foreign exchange (forex) illiquidity has been a significant factor influencing the fluctuation in prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which are governed by unrestricted free market forces, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.

Speaking on TVC News’ “Journalists’ Hangout” show on Thursday, the Executive Vice President of Downstream, NNPC Ltd., Mr. Adedapo Segun explained that the current fuel scarcity was expected to “subside in a few days as more stations recalibrate and begin selling PMS.”

He said Section 205 of the PIA, which established NNPC Ltd., stipulated that petroleum prices were determined by unrestricted free market forces.

According to him, “The market has been deregulated, meaning that petrol prices are now determined by market forces rather than by the government or NNPC Ltd. Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices.”

On the commencement of lifting PMS from the Dangote Refinery, Segun said that the NNPC Ltd. was awaiting the September 15th timeline provided by the Refinery.

Segun, who said no right-thinking individual would be comfortable with the current fuel scarcity, added that the NNPC Ltd. has nearly a thousand filling stations nationwide and was collaborating with marketers to “ensure that stations open early, close late, in order to maintain adequate fuel supply to meet the needs of Nigerians.”

He assured Nigerians: “We are also engaging relevant authorities to ensure products diversions are prevented and timely deliveries to all stations are ensured. The scarcity should ease in the next few days as more stations recalibrate and begin operations.”