Business
Osinbajo Blames Massive Losses In Public Revenue On Corruption, Privatisation
The Vice President, Prof.
Yemi Osinbajo, has said that official corruption and privatisation of public enterprises led to massive losses in public revenue.
He said this while delivering a key speech at the 55th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja.
He said the penchant for graft was high and Nigerians spent a lot of time meant for creativity to pursue wealth.
“Official corruption and privatization of public resources have caused massive losses in public revenue.
“Indeed the truth is stranger than fiction in this matter of corruption in the public service.
“Dysfunctional government bureaucracies, waste and misallocation of resources.
“A great deal of talent and enterprise that should focus on creativity and innovation is concentrated in wealth seeking activities.’’
The vice president urged lawyers to find means of shedding the public garb that justice could be bought to remove the legal profession from all sorts of compromise.
Osinbajo said that enforcing contracts and the general area of dispute resolution in the country were bugged down by ‘’judicial process that is slow, burdensome and notoriously open to dilatory tactics.
“Perhaps even more damaging to attracting investments is the largely and compelling narrative that Justice can be purchased.
“This is a major problem of perception in our justice system and of cause a major problem of bringing business in the country.
“Even local investment suffers when there is a sense that the Justice system can be compromised.’’
Osinbajo said that it was absolutely important that we deal with the issue of integrity in our judicial system even as we deal with the overall question of corruption.
According to him, there is no question at all that if we don’t handle corruption squarely our justice system will be so degraded that it will be practically impossible to get very much done or to encourage anyone to come into our economy.
He advised the NBA members to find ways of ensuring that authentic dispute resolution were not caught up in the slow moving justice system.
“Applications of all types in the civil courts to stop or delay arbitrary processes run their slow course in many business disputes.
“An economy that must provide jobs for 80 per cent of graduates from our universities and a youth unemployment population of 40 per cent cannot afford destructive delays in creating these wealth opportunities.’’
The vice president said it was the plan of the administration to initiate consultations at the highest levels of government to re-write the story of the nation’s business environment.
Osinbajo mentioned the challenges in the power, infrastucture, employment, and monetary policies and said the administration was committed to finding lasting solutions to them.
In an interview with correspondents, a former President of the NBA, Mr Olisa Agbakoba, (SAN), said that the citizenry needed more action from the government to demonstrate the need for change in the country.
He said the NBA was glad that government was talking tough on corruption and that the association was ready to key into the programme.
“One of the challenges we are posing to government is that we have had so much of talking on different issues.
“What we would now like to see is action.
“So, if for instance you say you want to fight corruption, in what way?
“How will you be able to recover all the loot because access to that is easy?
“I think the essence of the conference is that when we leave here government can begin to take action that we can measure.
“If you want to turn around poverty we can see so. If you want to see new jobs, NBA is demanding action from our government.’’
Agbakoba said it was not true that counsel were deliberately slowing down legal processes and said it was the responsibility of judges to speed up all legal matters.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Enoh said this at the 8th annual induction and conference of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN).
He explained that abandoned projects continue to lock up public funds that could have been used for infrastructure development, industrial growth, job creation and essential social services.
Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Chris Osa Isokpunwu, he said the impact goes beyond financial losses, as incomplete projects affect communities and limit access to important public services
He cited examples of that remain unopened, schools that cannot accommodate students, roads that fail to connect communities and electricity projects that have not delivered their intended benefits.
The Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of CIPMN, Henry Ifeanyi Mbadiwe, also identified poor project management as a major challenge affecting development in Nigeria.
He revealed that the institute had developed a project management curriculum for Nigerian universities, which has received approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC). The programme is expected to enable universities to offer project management as a bachelor’s degree.
Mbadiwe further referenced findings by the Presidential Projects Assessment Committee, which identified 11,886 ongoing federal capital projects in 2011, with an estimated financial commitment of ?7.78 trillion.
He noted that inadequate planning, supervision, accountability and implementation were among the factors contributing to the abandonment of projects across the country.
The minister called for stronger project management structures across ministries, departments and agencies to improve planning, monitoring and evaluation.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had introduced a 90-day implementation reporting cycle to strengthen transparency and monitor the progress of government programmes.
Ikenga said the company remained committed to Nigeria’s power sector and would continue investing in its operations despite the challenging business environment.
He spoke in Lagos at the third edition of the Shell Power Conference, themed “Powering Nigeria’s Progress: Turning Ambition and Action into Sustainable Impact”.
The Transcorp Power chief said the company would sustain electricity generation, invest in its facilities and deliver value to shareholders.
“Transcorp Power is a long-term player, not a short-term player. This year has been challenging, but what is important is getting power to schools, hospitals and businesses to power progress,” he said.
Ikenga said the company’s focus on operational efficiency and investment had strengthened its contribution to Nigeria’s electricity supply.
He disclosed that since acquiring the Ughelli Power Plant in Delta State in 2013, Transcorp Power had quadrupled its available generation capacity.
He also said the company became the first privatised power generation firm to receive a post-privatisation discharge certificate after fulfilling all its privatisation obligations.
The company’s unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, showed a profit before tax of N83.1 billion, while its profit-before-tax margin rose to 31.2 per cent from 29.6 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Its total assets rose to 11.7 per cent amounting to N629.5 billion, while shareholders’ funds grew 8.9 per cent to N199.8 billion. Cash and cash equivalents also rose to N10.3 billion, supported by improved collections.
On the company’s contribution to grid stability, Ikenga said Transcorp Power’s black-start capability enabled it to restart operations without relying on electricity from the national grid.
He explained that the capability allowed the company to support power restoration following grid disturbances, helping to restore electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries.
Ikenga noted that Nigeria had an installed electricity generation capacity of about 13,000 megawatts, with an estimated potential of 50 gigawatts, adding that realising the potential would require effective coordination across the entire value chain.
“Everything in the value chain has to work,” he said.
He called for stronger collaboration among federal and state governments, regulators and private-sector operators, alongside increased private investment, to build a sustainable electricity market.
This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Press Secretary, Maryann Duke.
The statement said Oyedele pointed to “improved digital systems, including electronic invoicing, as a key driver behind a record of N33tn in government revenue collected between January and October 2026.”
The minister said the performance demonstrated the potential of technology to improve revenue administration, strengthen compliance and increase efficiency across government institutions.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Digital Sovereignty and Ethics: Guarding the Economy for the Next Generation,’ Oyedele warned that Nigeria risked losing substantial economic opportunities if it continued to depend heavily on foreign digital infrastructure.
Citing Nigerian Communications Commission figures, he disclosed that the country recorded more than 157 million active internet subscriptions as of May 2026.
He explained that these connections generated significant volumes of information through financial transactions, healthcare, education and taxation.
However, citing estimates from the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Oyedele said as much as 90 per cent of the country’s data was hosted abroad.
According to him, the situation has implications for foreign exchange expenditure, employment opportunities, technological skills and Nigeria’s control over information generated by its citizens.
He compared the country’s reliance on foreign digital infrastructure with its historical dependence on imported refined petroleum products, warning against a situation where Nigerian data would be processed abroad and the resulting services sold back to domestic users.
The minister consequently advocated greater investment in local data infrastructure, technical expertise, cybersecurity and predictable regulations to enable Nigerian businesses to capture more value from the digital economy.
He clarified that digital sovereignty should not translate into technological isolation but should strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to participate competitively in international markets.
Addressing graduating students, Oyedele urged young Nigerians to become developers of technological solutions rather than remain primarily consumers of products created elsewhere.
He identified artificial intelligence as both a disruptive force and an opportunity for innovation, advising graduates to acquire relevant digital skills alongside critical thinking, creativity, sound judgement and integrity.
The minister also cautioned against irresponsible online behaviour, explaining that digital footprints increasingly influence employment prospects, commercial relationships and professional credibility.
Oyedele outlined five priorities for graduates, including continuous learning, value creation, integrity, responsible digital citizenship and active participation in national development.
“Your degree is evidence of what you have learned. Your competence will demonstrate what you can do. Your character will reveal who you truly are,” he told the graduating students.
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