The Kaduna State Government has announced that it will reduce the price of school fees for all its state-owned tertiary institutions.

The State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, announced that the downward review of the fees is in tandem with the rise in the cost of living in the country, especially following the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu in May this year.

According to a statement signed by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mohammed Shehu, Governor Sani made the announcement while speaking to the media at the government house on Monday.

In the statement, Kaduna State University fee was slashed by 30 per cent from the current fee of N150,000 to N105,000.Nuhu while the Bamalli Polytechnic was reduced by 50 per cent from N100,000 to N50,000.

The College of Education, Gidan Waya was also reviewed downward from the current fee of N75,000 to N37,500, which is a reduction of 50 per cent.

For Shehu Idris College of Health Sciences & Technology, Makarfi, the fee for HND Courses was reduced by 30 per cent from N100,000 to N70,000 while for National Diploma, it was cut from N70.000 tp N52000.

The statement read in part, “On assumption of office on May 29, 2023, we made a solemn commitment to the citizens of Kaduna State to run a people – centred, all-inclusive administration that shall leave no one or any part of Kaduna State behind.

“In response to the public outcry over the current fees being charged by tertiary institutions in Kaduna State and its effect on school enrolment and retention, I directed heads of tertiary institutions in conjunction with the Ministry of Education to obtain relevant information on the extant fees regime in state owned tertiary institutions.”

“This downward review of the extant fees regime aligns with the KDSG’s commitment to offer palliatives to cushion the effect of general rising cost of living in the polity, especially in the wake of recent petrol subsidy removal in Nigeria.

“The welfare of the people remains this administration’s topmost priority and the Kaduna State Government shall continue to take all measures necessary to ensure access to free and qualitative education for every child in Kaduna State from primary to secondary school.”

The development comes at a time where tertiary institutions across the country, public and private, are raising their fees to keep up with rising costs of goods and services.

Bayero University stated that it had to increase it fees because of the high cost of running a university, stating that it spends N75m on diesel and electricity supply monthly.

Similarly, students of Babcock University had taken to social media

A combination of foreign exchange forwards, securities lending, currency swaps, and outstanding contracts has weakened Nigeria’s net external reserves to an all-time low of $3.7 billion as of the end of last year, according to JP Morgan.

The American multinational financial services firm noted in an August 17 report that Nigeria’s net FX reserves are significantly lower than previously estimated.

The external reserves stood at $33.88 billion as of August 10, down from $37.08 billion at the end of last year, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“We estimate that CBN’s net FX reserves were around $3.7 billion at the end of last year, from US$14.0 billion at end-2021,” JP Morgan said.

In arriving at the estimate, JP Morgan made a few assumptions: “FX forwards ($6.84 billion), securities lending ($5.5 billion) and currency swaps ($21.3 billion); and estimating currency swaps by backing out FX forwards and outstanding OTC Futures balances from an overall aggregate published in the financial accounts.”

The report noted that Nigeria’s low net FX reserves mean continued FX market pressures, “but the CBN still has the ability to source FX at commercial and semi-commercial rates”.

“Nigeria’s exchange rate market remains fragmented. Since the adjustment of USD/NGN at the Investors and Exporters window a few weeks ago, interbank FX liquidity has not improved as much as anticipated, partly due to the re-introduction of de-facto controls limiting local trades and loose monetary policy conditions,” JP Morgan said.

It said Nigeria’s apex bank continues to intervene in small amounts at a rate of around N740-N750/$, without clearing the backlog of unmet FX demand.

“Given the highly profitable nature of the currency swap arrangements between the CBN and domestic commercial banks, we expect these to continue for some time, albeit in smaller sizes and arguably more punitive rates,” JP Morgan said.

The global investment bank noted that Nigeria is upping its game to unlock $17 billion from asset sales, a move aimed at relieving pressure on the country’s struggling FX liquidity.

“The authorities are in the initial stages of identifying assets for sale, which may provide some medium-term relief,” it said. “For example, the President’s policy advisory council has recommended the government sell down its stake in the most joint-venture oil and gas assets, a proposal that is estimated to bring in up to US$17bn.”

On Monday, the naira remained flat as FX dealers in the parallel market bought and sold dollars to customers at N855 and N860.

Investors said Africa’s biggest economy is in desperate need of dollars to boost its declining external reserves and prop up the value of its currency.

“JP Morgan has come out to confirm. The President really needs to address this thing and tell Nigerians the truth. Everyone knows he inherited a mess, but admitting reality is the first step to salvation,” Kelvin Emmanuel, CEO of Dairy Hills Ltd, said.

The lack of clarity on Nigeria’s external reserves worsened after the apex bank audited reports revealed it has a standing $14 billion loan obligation to entities including to American investment bankers, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

“The CBN reports suggest that some of its loans were used to bolster Nigeria’s (Caa1 stable) foreign exchange reserves. Should this be the case, and given the liabilities’ short tenure, our assessment of Nigeria’s foreign-exchange reserve adequacy would weaken,” Moody’s Investors Service, a global financial rating agency, said in its note published on August 18, 2023.

The CBN’s audited report showed that it owes JP Morgan $7 billion and Goldman Sachs $500 million, while $6.3 billion is owed as foreign currency forwards.

Moody’s noted that assuming that the CBN borrowed the whole $14.2 billion to bolster foreign reserves, “we would roughly halve the 2022 year-end gross reserves of $30.3 billion to $16.1 billion”.

“Similarly, our External Vulnerability Indicator, which measures short-term external debt plus maturing long-term external debt and non-resident long-term deposits relative to official foreign reserves, would worsen to up to 200 percent from its 2023 forecast level of 100 percent,” it added.

Apart from Moody’s, JP Morgan also raised concerns on the recent news around the potential re-introduction of fuel subsidies at some level.

The global investment bank noted that Nigeria’s high debt-servicing needs and relatively lower net FX position make it imperative to continue on the reform path to attract FX flows.

“While Eurobonds only start maturing from 2025 onwards with continued maturities from 2027, Nigeria still has to service close to $2.5-$4.5 billion of public and publicly-guaranteed debt over the next few years,” it said.

To change the narrative, it said Nigeria would need foreign direct and other portfolio investments to attract FX inflows.

“Thus, in our view, continuing on the reform path would be imperative to allay concerns on the external side,” JP Morgan said.

Former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gave him the green light to accept the ministerial position under the Bola Tinubu administration.

Wike, who described the PDP leaders as reggae dancers for threatening to sanction him, said the party was well informed before he accepted the position.

The former governor also said that Tinubu wrote the 36 state governors, including those of the PDP, who, according to him, gave 10 names to the president to appoint as ministers.

“Can you even mention who is my enemy? Can you even mention one person that is my enemy?” Wike said at his first press briefing as a minister of the Federal Republic in Abuja on Monday.

“See, people carry propaganda. Let me use this opportunity to tell you that I don’t like people who don’t tell the truth.

“They said they’re going to sanction me because I accepted the appointment. I don’t have any clause.

“The president wrote to the 36 state governors to bring names of people to appoint, didn’t PDP governors submit names?

“Every PDP governor wrote a letter and nominated ten persons to be appointed by this government.

“But the one they talk about is Wike. Before this appointment came, I wrote to the national chairman. I wrote to the minority leaders of the House of Reps and Senate.

“I wrote to the zonal chairman of the party and my state chairman. I wrote to my governor and all of them wrote me back and said “accept.”‘

“I have my evidence documented. Forget these reggae dancers. I call them reggae dancers because when you’ve lost your opportunity, you’ve lost your opportunity because of arrogance and impunity.”

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has officially resumed as Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, thereby succeeding former AGF, Abubakar Malami SAN.

Following his swearing in, Fagbemi has been advised by a key stakeholder in law, Olisa Agbakoba, to address some urgent issues bedevilling rule of law.

The new AGF served as the lead counsel of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which urged the Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja to dismiss petitions against Tinubu for lacking in merit.

The AGF is a chief law officer of the federation and personal attorney and adviser to the president on matters relating to relevant applicable laws.

Olisa Agbakoba, in series of tweets on Monday, highlighted areas that require the urgent attention of the new AGF, including unbundling of the EFCC and creating a prosecution outfit separate from it.

Agbakoba added that the AGF should work towards advocating for Constitution review and decentralisation of the police.

“Major reforms of the criminal justice system with particular reference to the utter confusion in the duplicated work of our law enforcement agencies in particular EFCC and ICPC are urgently needed.

“Also, there is a need to unbundle EFCC and restrict them to investigation only while a new National Prosecution Agency ought to be established.

“Another key reform would be a completely decentralized Police Force at the local state and Federal levels,” Agbakoba stated.

He insisted that a major revamp of Nigeria’s outdated laws is urgently needed to redirect the country towards progress

“Last but not least the AGF must work on Speed of Justice. It’s a crying shame it takes upwards of 15 years to conclude cases from the High Court to the Supreme Court.

“Finally but not exhausted is to create sector-specific dispute resolution Agencies to free up the utterly cluttered dockets of the regular courts.

“The other very important task before the Attorney General will be the unnecessary and wholly inefficient matter of over centralization of our superior courts. There is no better time than now to hack down the highly centralized Court systems in Nigeria.

“The AGF is invited to consider major constitutional amendments to create a system of Federal and State Courts. State Courts ought to have exclusive jurisdiction over matters related to them. This is also the case for Federal Courts whose Jurisdiction must be limited to Federal causes. This will free up the Clutter at the Supreme Court and make it the Policy Court it ought to be in the first place,” he added, saying Fagbemi was capable of the task.

The call for the unbundling of the EFCC, the country’s anti-graft agency, seems to align with the thinking of the current AGF.

During his ministerial screening at the National Assembly, Lateef Fagbemi, representing Kwara State, held that unbundling EFCC was the way to go.

He said “left for me, the EFCC and ICPC must be unbundled for proper functioning.

“You can’t have an investigating body prosecuting, it’s wrong.

“Let there be a body to investigate and another to prosecute,” he had said.

Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi on Monday described reports that he is discussing the possibility of a merger with Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as a rumour.

There were reports on Monday that Obi, Atiku, and Kwankwaso have commenced talks towards forming a formidable party that will effectively challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in elections.

It was also reported that towards the actualisation of the objective, the three political leaders, who contested the February 25 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu of the APC, have held a number of meetings.

According to the reports, Atiku first met Kwankwaso, before Obi held talks with PDP stakeholders.

The reports said the planned merger would present a united front to challenge the APC, if the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal nullifies Tinubu’s election and orders a rerun or fresh election.

However, if the tribunal goes ahead to uphold Tinubu’s election, Obi, Atiku and Kwankwaso are considering forming a formidable political party that can wrest power from the APC in 2027, the reports said.

But, addressing Labour Party members in Edo State on Monday, Obi suggested that the reports are mere speculations.

Obi spoke at the LP rally in Benin ahead of the local government elections in the state.

Apparently commenting on the reports that he was in merger talks with Atiku and Kwankwaso, Obi said, “The Labour Party will continue to grow. We will continue to get stronger (and) better.

“Half of the things you are hearing everywhere are rumours, don’t listen to them.

“We are committed to building a better and a new Nigeria where we will move Nigeria from consumption to production.”

Obi was a member of the PDP before moving to the Labour Party.

He was the running mate of PDP presidential candidate, Atiku, in the 2019 presidential poll.

The former Anambra State governor indicated interest in the PDP presidential ticket for the 2023 general elections before leaving for the LP.

According to the result released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso finished second, third and fourth, respectively, behind Tinubu of the APC, in the February 25 presidential election.

Obi and Atiku are challenging Tinubu’s election at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

The tribunal has reserved judgment on separate petitions filed against Tinubu’s election by Atiku, Obi and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

Meanwhile, speaking further at the LP rally in Edo State on Monday, Obi urged the party’s candidates to ensure that they fulfil their campaign promises, if they win the election.

“Those of you who are contesting, go and tell the people what you will do and whatever you say, if you succeed, do it.

“No more promise-and-fail. The time for fake promises has passed in this country; we don’t want anybody to promise us fake things now. Anything you promise you must deliver.”

Obi is also expected in Owerri, Imo State, as the special guest of honour at the flag-off of the campaign of Athan Achonu, Labour Party candidate for the November 11 governorship election in the state.

Nigeria is undergoing fundamental re-setting of the macroeconomic framework. The long overdue disruptive change (especially the removal of subsidy on PMS and reduction of distortions in the exchange rate) comes with certain hardships on all the residents of Nigeria. Governments at all levels in Nigeria have shown a keen commitment to ameliorate the consequent short term effects of the policy change on livelihoods. The President of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has rolled out an agenda of palliatives as the response of the federal government. We support the FGN agenda and expect to partner with the federal government to ensure that Anambra residents benefit maximally from the federal programmes.

Ours is a government on the foundation of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). We are progressives, and the welfare of the ordinary Nigerians especially the poor and vulnerable, remains our primary focus. Our motto is: “Be your brother’s and sister’s keeper”. There is no better time to rise up to the full essense of our motto and ideological stance on behalf of the ordinary persons than now.

In our 2024 budget, we shall roll out a more comprehensive agenda to address the medium to longer term issues that will help to smoothen the path for all our residents, and ensure that everyone shares in our broad agenda of building a livable and prosperous homeland. In the meantime and over the remaining four months of the year (September – December 2023) as well as within the context of our 2023 budget framework, we are rolling out a few immediate and medium term measures.

Our response recognizes that the subsidy removal affects ALL citizens, especially millions of the unemployed and underemployed youths and vulnerable segments of the population. Our interim response reflects the need to target the total population.

Palliatives
a. Salary Augmentation and Cash Award:

(i) In our foresighted response to the rising inflation, our government had increased the salaries of all public servants by 10% effective January 2023. We have been paying the 10% adjustment since January 2023.

(ii) In addition to the salary increase, we will be paying every pensioner and public servant in the employment of the Anambra State Government and the 21 LGAs (approx. 59,000 persons) for the period September 2023 to December 2023 a monthly flat non-taxable cash award of N12,000. This is to augment their monthly take-home.

b. We will continue to clear the backlog of gratuity and pension of our pensioners. Recall that we met 4-year pension and gratuity arrears when we assumed office, which we have been paying since assumption of office.

c. Anambra State Government will be distributing rice to over 300,000 households in the coming weeks across the 326 wards in Anambra.

Tax Exemptions/Reductions:

a. The following highly vulnerable persons are exempt from all forms of taxation/levies: hawkers; wheel barrow and truck pushers; vulcanizers; artisans, okada drivers; petty traders with capital of less than N100,000; etc.

b. The IGR payments of ALL transporters --- Keke, Minibus, etc are hereby reduced by 20% with effect from September 01, 2023.

c. Basic Education (primary school to JSS3) remain tuition free for all public schools. We are reviewing the plethora of other levies, fees, and charges in these schools. Before schools resume in September 2023, we shall make further announcements to sanitize the system and reduce the burden on our pupils/students and their sponsors.

d. Henceforth, we will provide free antenatal services and free delivery services to pregnant mothers in State primary health centres and general hospitals. We will announce a more comprehensive medical package for our residents, especially the senior citizens and children in our 2024 budget.

e. We call on the landlords to show empathy to their tenants at this challenging moment and consider easier options for rent payment.

Transport
a. We have approved the repair/renovation of all serviceable Public Servants Staff Buses currently under the office of the Head of Service of Anambra State to facilitate the movement of public servants.

b. Still on initiative to reduce the cost of transportation for the larger segment of Ndi Anambra, we will be applying to purchase many of the CNG-fueled buses to be provided by the Federal Government for intra-state transportation. The aim is to reduce the cost of transportation within Anambra.

c. We will embark immediately on the repair of existing and purchase of new water boats to ease transportation for our citizens in the riverine local governments.

Medium to long-term

a. We recently distributed a total of 1.1 million oil palm and coconut high yielding seedlings to over 100,000 households. We plan to sustain the distribution of one million seedlings per annum over several years in continuation of our revolution to create a new palm-coconut green/industrial ecosystem that will guarantee 500,000 – 1,000,000 households earning N1.5m to N3m per annum, thereby lifting them out of poverty, create wealth and earn foreign exchange for Nigeria. We also expect a new industrial complex to process the products, thereby creating more jobs for our youths.

b. We are getting ready to deal with the heavy flooding expected to massively affect eight local governments in Anambra soon. We have made arrangements for resettlements of Ndi Anambra living in flood-prone areas. We will take every necessary measure to ameliorate the effects on the victims.

c. In the next few weeks, we will be energizing our One Youth Two Skills program by providing a mix of grant and soft loan schemes at a maximum interest rate of 9% per annum through a collaborative initiative between the Anambra State Small Business Agency (ASBA) and its partner development finance institutions. This will benefit about 4,500 of our youths who have recently completed the year-long intensive trainings, and will enable them to become entrepreneurs and employers of labour. We are rolling out about N4 billion for this project.

d. We are completing the set-up and funding of the Ward-based Cooperative Initiative for micro-enterprises. We are proposing a revolving loan scheme at near zero interest rate. We are targeting over 100,000 micro businesses.

e. Already we employed 5,000 teachers and over 300 medical professionals within our first 9 months in office plus thousands of youths in the security sector. We understand that the teeming unemployed youths remain a potent time bomb. We are committed to recruiting further thousands of youths as teachers for our schools and road/street sweepers and engaging youths in public works.

f. We are rolling out a very ambitious program to build/modernize the primary health centres (PHCs) in all the 326 wards --- to let everyone have access to qualitative healthcare. This is in addition to renovation/modernization of hundreds of primary schools and secondary schools. We recently approved a huge program for urban and rural water schemes to ensure that especially the poor have access to clean portable water.

g. We are constructing over 340km of roads across all the 21 local governments and we are poised to continue. We have also started repairs of some "trunk A" federal and state roads, to improve the lives of Ndi Anambra and reduce transportation cost in the State. As we enter the dry season, we will deliberately prioritize palliative works on many of our critical roads to lessen the burden on commuters and ensure more effective traffic management.

h. We are working assiduously to improve the Ease of Doing Business in Anambra to attract private sector investment into the State for improved job creation for Ndi Anambra. Security of life and property remain the number one priority of government. We are stepping up measures to deal with touts who inflict pain on our innocent citizens around some major places in the state.

i. Food prices are rising and food security has become a critical issue. We are determined to provide every assistance to the farmers for the next planting season in 2024 to boost food and animal production.

j. Finally, we are determined to collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure that Anambra residents benefit maximally from the myriad of palliatives being rolled out by Mr. President, including:

- Provide our updated Social Register for Anambra residents to benefit from the FGN cash transfer
-- apply to attract a conditional grant of N50,000 to at least 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 21 LGAs of the State
- support MSME and Startups in Anambra to apply for N500,000 – N1million soft loan each at 9% pa and repayable over a period of 36 months
- in collaboration with the Organised Private Sector in the State, apply to obtain the N1bn soft loan each at 9% pa and repayable over 5 years available to 75 manufacturers in the country;
-- the N100 billion CBN commercial agricultural loan
-- the Gas conversion scheme; etc

As expected, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has rejected the unreasonable three-year political timetable proposed by the Niger junta leaders for return to constitutional order following the 26^{th of} July coup that deposed elected president Mohamed Bazoum.

Dr Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security calls the plan “unilateral, provocative and a smokescreen” by the junta to cling to power after what appeared to be a positive movement following the retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar-led ECOWAS delegation to Niamey. The delegation met with the junta leader Brig.-Gen, Abdourahmane Tchiani, his colleagues and detained Bazoum, whose state of health had generated much public interest.

The initial fault steps and brinkmanship that preceded that ice breaking visit had heightened tension with the junta literally inciting the public against ECOWAS, which has also been accused of being teleguided by France and the U.S., which are defending their defence and economic interests in Niger.

The ECOWAS leaders’ decisions to slam sanctions and the seven-day ultimatum given the junta to reinstate Bazoum and restore constitutional order or risk the use of military force were considered precipitate and unprecedented.

Under provisions of the 2001 regional Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, which prescribed zero-tolerance for unconstitutional change of government, the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government is vested with unlimited powers to authorise whatever measure it deems fit to restore constitutional rule.

The protocol also has provisions for checkmating abuse of political power and violation of human rights, but the fixation had always been on military coups.

The Niger putsch is the fourth successful army takeover of government in four of ECOWAS’ 15-member States. It was roundly condemned internationally, and rightly too.

The only point of disagreement appears to be ECOWAS’ threat to use military force in Niger, after having failed to rein in similar coup makers in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, all former French colonies in West Africa.

Neighbouring Chad too, a non-ECOWAS member is also under military rule.

Ironically, Chad’s military dictator, Gen. Mahamat Kaka Idriss Derby, who seized power after the assassination of his father by Chadian rebels in 2021, is among initial envoys dispatched to canvas restoration of constitutional order in Niger, while blatantly delaying the same process in his own country.

With a new management at the ECOWAS Commission, the regional bloc needed to take some drastic measures to put an end to coups in the politically restive region wracked by insecurity, characterised by deadly strikes by Islamic terrorists and other armed groups, such as Al-Qaida, ISSI and Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Traditionally, ECOWAS uses conflict management tools such as the Mediation and Security Council from Ambassadorial to Ministerial and Heads of State levels, the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff, the Council of the Wise, if necessary, before escalation to the Authority of Heads of State and Government.

This could vary. But having issued an ultimatum, which passed without any military intervention, ECOWAS needed to redeem itself by staying on the message but at the same time allowing back-channel diplomacy for the peaceful resolution of the Niger impasse.

But the Niger junta had also not covered itself in glory, by restricting ECOWAS’ initial delegation led by Gen Abubakar to the Niamey airport, citing security concerns, and also refusing to receive a joint ECOWAS-African Union-UN joint Mission to Niger.

This annoyed ECOWAS leaders and informed their activation of the ECOWAS Standby Force to restore constitutional order in Niger at their second summit on Niger on 10^th August.

Following that marching order, the ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff at their second emergency meeting in Accra, Ghana on 18^th August, announced that an undisclosed “D-Day” had been decided for possible military intervention in Niger.

Fast forward to the second Niamey visit by the Abubakar-led ECOWAS delegation.

The three-year transition programme announced by the junta must be part of an attempt to consolidate its hold on power and as a negotiation strategy.

Opposition to the use of military force does not mean support for the military coup, neither does the dubious turnout by youths seeking to join Niger armed forces. Rather the latter is a manifestation of the failed governance system, characterised by pervasive youth unemployment, economic hardships, insecurity and lack unleased by successive administrations from which the military cannot exonerate itself.

Even with the conscription of Niger’s estimated 26 million impoverished and long-suffering population into the national armed forces plus the ill-advised support from the armed forces of the Mali and Burkina Faso troops, the Niger junta cannot withstand an ECOWAS joint military force under normal circumstances.

The junta must therefore climb down its arrogant high horse and make diplomatic initiatives a priority for quick return to constitutional order in Niger.

Also, to whip wayward member State into line, ECOWAS should be more strategic, admit where mistakes have been made and make amends, especially on the governance failures by some of its leaders now pretending to be born-again democrats, contrary to their track records.

Commissioner Musah says the ECOWAS plan for possible use of force is a decision conceived by and would be entirely funded by the organisation, explaining that the less than satisfactory responses to the coups in other member States should not an excuse to condone subsequent bad behaviours.

“A time comes when you have to draw a line in the sand and say, no more to military coups in the ECOWAS region,” Dr Musah said, adding that experience had also shown that “soldiers are not the messiahs for solutions to Africa’s myriad problems, some of which are global.”

But apart from the fact that using military force to restore constitutional order cannot be described entirely as democratic, and the fear that kinetic option is a high-risk venture that could result in unintended catastrophe and humanitarian disaster, the involvement of powerful external interests have further complicated the already bad situation in Niger, an otherwise mineral-rich but impoverished nation.

France and America have military bases and an estimated combined 2,500-armed forces in Niger. What will be their role if ECOWAS were to follow through with military intervention?

Furthermore, what can be deduced from the recent arrival in Niamey of America’s new Ambassador to Niger?

Another sticking point is how to unpack the growing anti-French sentiment in its former colonies, especially in the coup countries in West Africa, from the opportunism behind the Tchiani-led coup?

More importantly, foreign governments have evacuated their nationals from Niger, and the coup leaders have also moved their families to safety. As usual, World attention is on the important figures, but where is the interest of ordinary Nigeriens, who are victims of decades of bad governance, and the crippling sanctions in the ongoing geopolitical game?

ECOWAS must now seize the initiative and control the narrative by asserting its independence, to eliminate any perception that it is acting as a proxy to foreign interests in Niger.

Soldiers are not primed to govern. ECOWAS must therefore guide, accompany and redirect its drifting member States on the path of constitutional order, with leaders showing examples.

ECOWAS should deploy its conflict management and resolution tools to ensure that a short transition programme of 12-18 months is strictly implemented in Niger with a damage control strategy to spare the organisation further reputational damage.

Niger, and other African countries must be governed for the overall benefit, protection, wellbeing and with equal opportunities for all citizens, not for the selfish interests of the corrupt and compromised political class and their external collaborators.

Bazoum and France might end up as the greatest losers in the Niger equation. His reinstatement seems unlikely, going by the domestic political temperature and as citizens appear determined to take back their countries from decades of suffocating French overbearing influence.

Also, as Russia, China and other external interests wait in the wings, Africans and particularly, their political leaders, must realise that switching alliance or allegiance among foreign powers/interests is not a solution to the governance and development challenges bedevilling the continent.

Africa’s rich human and natural resources must be harnessed by visionary and dynamic leaderships at national, regional, and continental levels for the benefit of the continent’s estimated 1.4 billion population.

After more than three decades of independence African leaders cannot continue to use colonialism or foreign interference as plausible excuses for unpardonable governance failures.

Paul Ejime is a Global Affairs Analyst and Consultant on Peace & Security and Governance Communications

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has sounded a demolition warning to landlords of properties distorting the master plan of Abuja.

“All those people who are distorting the master plan of Abuja, too bad. If you know you have built where you’re not supposed to build, it will go down,” Wike said during a press conference in Abuja on Monday, moments after taking his oath of office at the State House.

He added that for anyone who has developed where they are not supposed to, even if the culprit is a minister or an ambassador, “your house must go down”.

The former Rivers State governor’s warning also went out to landowners who had taken over “the green areas” to build properties, saying those areas must come back.

“If you hate green, you must hate yourself. So, if you know you have anybody involved that has taken over the green areas or has taken over the parks to where you now do restaurants, no, we will not accept that. Sorry,” he said.

In a call to action, President Bola Tinubu has urged the recently appointed ministers to collaborate with him and each other to fulfill the aspirations of the Nigerian people through their work in government.

He gave the charge during the inauguration of the 45 confirmed ministers-designate on Monday held at the Conference Centre of the State House, Abuja.

“We are in this boat, even if it is a vehicle and I am the driver, the entire Nigerians are behind sitting and watching as you and I navigate this vehicle. We must hold each other responsible, we have to do the job to meet the expectations of all Nigerians.

“As I said earlier on, you are not a minister of a particular state, colony, region or ethnic nationality, you are a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” President Tinubu said.

Also in his speech, the President reminded the newly-sworn Ministers that it is a high honour to be chosen to serve as a minister in the Federal Executive Council and also charged them with teamwork.

He added that the greatest number of Nigerians are expectant of their delivery, accountability and transparency and as well expect them to work with integrity, dignity and deliver.

“With the inauguration of Ministers today, we are about to accelerate our governing efforts to move forward in realizing our best aspiration for Nigeria. It’s all about a great team and I believe we have them here. It is a high honour to be chosen to serve as a minister in the federal executive council of our beloved republic.

“With such high honour comes tremendous responsibility in this moment of abundant promise and peril in equal measure. All of you who have been sworn in have been called to distinguish yourselves. It is me who knows you and delegates this authority but the greatest number of Nigerians are highly expectant of delivery, accountability and transparency.

“Nigerians expect that you will serve with integrity, dignity and deliver. I will hold you to that standard. Your assignment began immediately. As your country honours you today by this call to service, you must each work to make yourselves worthy in the eyes of God and all our nation’s people,” he said.

The inauguration of the ministers comes less than a week after President Tinubu released the list of portfolios for the appointees, which was again reviewed on Sunday.

Those sworn in include former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike as Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wale Edun (Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy), Adegboyega Oyetola (Marine and Blue Economy), David Umahi (Works), Festus Keyamo (Aviation and Aerospace Development), and Betta Edu (Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation).

Also among those sworn in are Bosun Tijani (Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy), Ishak Salaco (State, Environment and Ecological Management), Adedayo Adelabu (Minister of Power), Tunisia Alausa (State, Health and Social Welfare), Dele Alake (Solid Minerals Development), Lola Ade-John (Minister of Tourism), Sa’idu Alkali (Transportation), and Bunmi Tunji-Ojo (Interior).

Leaders of the North-Central geopolitical zone, have commended President Bola Tinubu for his “display of spirit of fairness” in the appointment of ministers.

The leaders, led by Alli John Alli, under the aegis of the League of Middle Belt Bishops, also appealed to Mr Tinubu to appoint Moses Ayom as ambassador-designate to China.

In a letter to the Presidency on Monday, Mr Alli, who noted that Mr Ayom was from Benue, called on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, Governor Hyacinth Alia, to support the call for Mr Avom’s appointment.

In the letter, also copied to the North-Central zone governors, the leaders described Mr Ayom as having an edge over other nominees that might be considered for the position because he was the most qualified.

In the letter titled ‘Before it is too late’, the leaders said, “We are here once again as an umbrella body of Middle Belt Bishops, to commend the president for his unbiased appointments so far. However, recall that, High Chief Moses Ayom was the leader of agitation for Middle Belt presidency, but later dropped his ambition and went all out to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is now our president.”

The letter added, “Ayom has shown undiluted love and patriotism for this country and for the fact that there has been a very solid relationship and understanding that had existed between the Middle Belt and Southwest right from the days of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.”

The group urged Mr Tinubu not to forget to offer Mr Ayom a political appointment.

“We believe this will be the minimum the trio of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Sen. George Akume and Rev Fr Dr Hyacinth Iormem Alia, will do for Chief Moses as a mark of reward for his immeasurable contributions,” said the group.

(NAN)