Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on Friday, gathered in Abuja to advance discussions on the launch of a single regional currency, the ECO.

This significant assembly underscores a collective ambition to drive economic growth and enhance integration across West Africa.

The meeting received a strong endorsement from Nigeria, the region’s largest economy.

In a statement released by the Ministry of Finance, Wale Edun, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, highlighted the pivotal role the ECO is expected to play in fostering economic development within the community.

“Nigeria is fully committed to the ECO and its potential to improve economic growth and development in the region,” Edun stated.

The Abuja meeting focused on detailed preparations for the introduction of the ECO, marking a crucial step toward the realization of this ambitious currency integration project.

The discussions aimed to lay a robust groundwork to ensure a smooth transition to a single currency system among the fifteen member states of ECOWAS.

The envisioned single currency extends beyond the simplification of monetary transactions—it seeks to become a cornerstone of economic integration.

By streamlining trade and enhancing monetary stability, the ECO aims to transform the economic landscape of West Africa, making it easier for countries to engage in cross-border commerce and investment.

The gathering saw the participation of key economic leaders from the region, including Mr Olavo Correia, Minister of Finance of Cape Verde; Mr Adama Coulibaly, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs of Cote d’Ivoire; and Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of Finance of Ghana.

These figures, among others, form a collaborative effort dedicated to shaping a prosperous economic future for West Africa.

According to the statement, “The meeting culminated in a renewed sense of purpose surrounding the ECO’s introduction. Participants emerged with a shared belief that the single currency holds immense potential to reshape the economic landscape of the region, paving the way for a more prosperous future for all member states”.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, who is also the President General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, has officially declared Sunday, July 7, 2024, as the commencement of the Islamic year 1446 after Hijrah.

This announcement marks a significant moment in the Islamic calendar, initiating celebrations and religious observances across the Muslim community in Nigeria.

The declaration was based on the lunar Islamic calendar, which relies on the sighting of the moon to determine the beginning of each month.

The Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs at the Sultanate Council in Sokoto, Sambo Junaidu, confirmed in a statement released on Friday that there had been no report of the moon being sighted by the national moon sighting committees.

Muharram is one of the four sacred months in the Islamic calendar and marks the beginning of the new Islamic lunar year.

He said, “The national and the various moon sighting committees across the country did not receive any report on the sighting of the new moon of Muharram on Friday, 5th July, 2024, which is the 29th of Dhul’Hijja 1445 AH, hence Saturday, 6th of July, is the 30th of Dhul’Hijja.”

The Sultan felicitated Nigerian Muslims on the new year.

He urged them to continuously pray for peace, progress and development in Nigeria.

The leader of the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), Edwin Clark has disclosed how he and others were able to secure the release of the leader of Niger Delta Volunteer Force, Muhajid Asari Dokubo during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Clark made the disclosure while calling for the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

Speaking during an interview with The Sun, he opined that Kanu should be released considering that other agitators with similar crimes were also set free.

The elder statesman explained that during Dokubo’s trial, he led a delegation to meet with Obasanjo, who subsequently advised them on the steps to be taken.

He said, “Asari Dokubo was being tried for the same offence. I gathered our leaders and led them to meet with President Obasanjo, who was in power at that time.

“So he said, E. K, this matter is in the court, I cannot interfere with the court. So we discussed it. He advised us on what to do. Our leaders went to court. We said we wanted bail first because the man had been there for too long. One of our leaders, Alabo Graham Douglas, he is dead now, provided his title deed. That’s how we were able to free Asari Dokubo. And since the President was aware of what we were doing, that was the end of the case. It was abandoned.”

Although Peter Obi had earlier disclosed details of his meeting with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Political Commission, nothing was said about his meeting with Joe Ajaero on Thursday.

Peter Obi visited the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, in line with his statement that he was committed to building the Labour Party and addressing concerns troubling members.

Obi, had in the early hours of Friday, said that there would soon be a meeting of all stakeholders of the Labour Party to address issues confronting factions.

“In the coming days, we will convene a more comprehensive stakeholders’ meeting, bringing together a broader representation of interests and perspectives.

“I am confident that through open communication, empathy, and a willingness to listen, we will successfully resolve our differences and emerge stronger and more united than ever. Our strength lies in greater unity for our common national good,” Obi said after his meeting with the NLC Political Commission.

He further stated that he had a meeting with the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, over plans on how to rebuild the party.

Naija News reports that Ajaero, on Friday, revealed that the former governor of Anambra State paid him a visit.

He said the meeting was strategic, adding that he and Peter Obi discussed a “wide range of issues” towards building a better Nigeria for all workers and citizens.

In a brief statement, Ajaero said, “Yesterday (Thursday), I had the honour of receiving his excellency, Mr. Peter Obi in my office.”

He added, “Wide-ranging issues were discussed towards building a better Nigeria for all workers and people.“

A dramatic armed robbery unfolded on Friday at a commercial bank in Ughelli, Delta State, resulting in a bank customer being robbed of an undisclosed sum of money and multiple shootings that injured three people, including a private security guard.

The robbery, executed by a gang of five armed men using a Toyota Venza, occurred in broad daylight and triggered widespread panic along Isoko Road in Otovwodo, where the bank is located.

According to The Nation, eyewitnesses reported that the robbers, who had apparently trailed their victim to the bank premises, fired shots sporadically before snatching three “Ghana Must Go” bags filled with money as the customer approached the bank’s entrance.

The assailants’ gunfire injured a private security guard and two other individuals.

Emergency services responded promptly, and the victims are currently receiving medical treatment. The severity of their injuries has not been disclosed.

The Delta State Police Command, through its spokesman, SP Bright Edafe, confirmed the robbery.

Edafe clarified the nature of the incident, emphasizing that it was not a bank heist but a targeted attack on a bank customer.

“A bank customer was double-crossed before he could get to the bank. It’s not a bank robbery,” Edafe stated.

In response to the robbery, law enforcement authorities have increased security measures around the bank and other critical areas within the metropolis. The heightened security presence aims to reassure the public and prevent further incidents.

The incident has had a considerable impact on the local economy, with many shop owners around Upper Agbarho Junction along Isoko Road opting to close their businesses for the day due to safety concerns.

Afrobeats singer, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has suggested he may leave his first child, Aurora Imade Adeleke, in the custody of her mother, Sophia Momodu.

Recall that this follows Momodu’s recent counter-affidavit, which claims that Davido is unfit to raise their daughter.

In her response, Momodu alleged that Davido’s home environment is unsafe for a young girl, referencing the tragic death of his son, Ifeanyi, in 2022 to support her claim.

The circulating document partly states, “The applicant cannot take proper care of our daughter because he lives a controversial lifestyle (negative media attention) that will expose our daughter to more negative trauma at her tender age.”

The affidavit further contends that Davido’s frequent travels, the presence of unsavory adults in his home, and his estrangement from their daughter make him an unsuitable custodian.

Momodu also questioned the suitability of Imade being raised in a household with Davido’s new wife, citing concerns about proper upbringing.

Momodu’s statement included, “The fact that the applicant lost his son in his house in rather unfortunate and questionable circumstances shows that our daughter cannot be placed in the custody of the applicant.”

In response, Davido expressed his ongoing grief over his son’s death in a post on X.com, criticizing Momodu for repeatedly bringing up the tragedy.

He wrote, “ Your constantly bringing up the death of my child at any point you can to just remind us of this tragedy that haunts us everyday of our lives.”

Davido indicated his readiness to relinquish his pursuit of Imade’s custody, expressing hope that Imade will one day understand his efforts.

“Imade will grow up to see I fought for her. As for now, you can have her. P.S: she won’t be a child forever… enjoy, Imade Aurora Adeleke! Your father loves you!,” Davido wrote.

He further lamented the backlash he faced, noting, “All I asked for was ‘joint custody’ but cus it’s Davido yall wanna act like yall can’t read! SMH I’m off this … yall be blessed and I pray this never happens to you.”

Naija News previously reported that Davido had taken Momodu to court, seeking custody of Imade, and claiming he had been responsible for her education, housing, transportation, living expenses, health care, and periodic travel.

In response to the lawsuit, Momodu stated that since their relationship ended in July 2022, Davido had neither contacted Imade nor provided emotional and financial support.

She insisted that Davido had chosen not to see Imade and that she had never denied him access to their daughter.

Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, says the All Progressives Congress (APC) will win the forthcoming governorship election in Edo state.

Oshiomhole spoke in Abuja on Friday after he led Monday Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Dennis Idahosa, his running mate, to meet with President Bola Tinubu at the State House.

The former governor of Edo said the crisis within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state is an advantage for the APC to win the forthcoming election.

He denied allegations that the APC orchestrated the crisis that led to the invalidation of the PDP governorship primary.

Oshiomhole said the crisis was an internal affair of the PDP, which had nothing to do with the APC.

On Thursday, the federal high court Abuja nullified the primary election that nullified Asue Ighodalo as the PDP guber candidate in Edo

“I think you should dismiss that because this is PDP versus PDP, and you know that by law, another party cannot go into intra-party conflicts in court. So if it is convenient for them to explain that, you can dismiss it without asking me,” he said.

“The fact that there had been division in Edo before their primaries and after their primaries is an open secret, and the issues in dispute are also very open.

“The PDP legacy group complained that the man they gave their master bedroom to has completely chased them out of the building, and now they’re under the rain, and as we speak, they are still trying to settle.

“Those who couldn’t find accommodation, we picked them one by one, and don’t forget that those on Osadebe Avenue were my own creation in the sense that I supported Obeseki to become governor, and so I have people who still have affection for me.

“Edo people won’t forget in the hurry what I did when I was governor and those of them who didn’t quite readily appreciate it now compare the past with the present.

“So if they have disputes or disagreements that they cannot settle and they choose to settle them in court, the court will nullify the process.

“I mean, you read the judgment, not me. How can anybody say… if you know Dan Orbih, the leader of Legacy Group, he was my fierce critic when I was in government, so what power do I have? How can we, as a non-state group, have the power to influence a seasoned politician to move against themselves?

“So this is purely PDP intra-party, and I think the lesson is very clear, namely that parties must be encouraged to obey the laws that regulate the conduct of primaries and that rules are meant to be obeyed if you formulate your constitution.

“It is the basis of the contract between party members. Now, the Electoral Act is meant to ensure that everybody plays the game within the rules, so we have nothing to do.”

Oshiomhole told State House correspondents that he led the APC candidates to the president to update him on the campaign activities.

“He is the leader of the party, so we went to give him an update on the campaigns, on what we are doing, and on the fact that we are harvesting more and more people every day,” he said.

“I’m surprised that rather than speculating about who will face what, you are not a witness to the fact that the entire PDP in Egor decamped to the APC a month ago.

“Just last week in my local government, the remaining remnants of the PDP decamped to the APC and across Edo central, doing the same thing. People are jumping out because the umbrella is leaking and this is rainy season.”

Fresh queues for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, surfaced in Abuja, parts of Niger and Nasarawa States on Friday, following the closure of many filling stations operated by independent marketers.

Dealers closed their retail outlets due to their inability to access petrol as a result of the hike in the ex-depot price of the commodity to N710/litre by private depot owners.

Motorists besieged the few stations that dispensed petrol on Friday, particularly those operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and some major oil marketers in Abuja and neighbouring states.

This led to massive queues in outlets, such as the NNPC mega station on the Gwarimpa axis of the Zuba-Kubwa Expressway, Conoil and Total filling stations directly opposite the headquarters of NNPC in the Abuja city centre, and Salbas filling station at the Dei-Dei end of the Zuba-Kubwa expressway, among others.

Independent oil marketers, who own over 70 per cent of filling stations across the country, blamed the hike in the ex-depot price of petrol as dispensed by private depot owners.

The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, told Saturday PUNCH that private depot owners had raised the ex-depot price of PMS to N710/litre, whereas the pump price of the commodity at NNPC retail stations was N617/litre.

Maigandi said, “The current situation is a result of how the private depot owners have been selling their products. It has been very difficult for independent petroleum marketers to get the product and sell it in Abuja and neighbouring states, as well as in other states in the North.

“So, the queues you are seeing now are because of the cost of PMS by private depots. The private depots are selling at N710/litre, but if you check the price of the same product at NNPC retail outlets, it is N617/litre.

“Therefore, by the time the independent marketers buy from private depots and bring it to our filling stations, we will not be able to sell our product because our cost price is already so high, while the cost at NNPC retail outlets is far lower.

“And you know that when we buy it at the rate of N710/litre, we have to add transportation cost again because there is no equalisation. And when we add the cost of transportation, the pump price is going to be higher than the N710/litre ex-depot price, whereas NNPC stations sell at N617/litre.”

Maigandi explained that because of the widespread number of stations operated by IPMAN, any distortion in the supply of products to members of the group would lead to fuel queues because major marketers and NNPC stations were fewer in number.

On whether IPMAN members cannot get direct PMS supply from NNPC, instead of buying the product from private depots, he replied, “That is what we have been negotiating with them (NNPC), and they promised us that they will start giving us our allocation.

“They have started, but the quantity is small compared to the number of retail outlets operated by IPMAN nationwide. We are getting products from NNPC, but the volume is too small for our members.

“So, we are requesting additional volumes because, in Abuja alone, we have over 250 retail outlets belonging to IPMAN members. This is just for Abuja. We have not talked about Niger, Kaduna, and other states in the North, not to mention the number nationwide.” 

Maigandi, however, stated that the queues for petrol were not pronounced in remote villages, adding that “when you go to the villages, you will see that there are no queues.”.

“But in the city centres, where you have NNPC stations selling very cheaper than the N710/litre price, you will see queues there, as well as in front of the few outlets that have products to dispense.”

The IPMAN president said petrol was not scarce, as there were enough volumes in-country concerning what was imported by NNPC – Nigeria’s sole importer of the commodity.

“There is no scarcity. There is the product. The queues are caused basically by the market challenge, as I have explained to you. But as soon as we get products from NNPC or at fairly good prices, we will dispense and the queues will vanish,” he stated.

Officials at the Federal Minister of Petroleum Resources confirmed that there was enough product in-country, and stated that the market had been deregulated.

“It is a deregulated downstream oil sector, so dealers buy and sell based on demand and supply. There is enough product from NNPC. There is no scarcity,” an official at the ministry, who requested not to be named due to a lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

Another official at NNPC assured motorists that the queues would clear out fast because the company had enough product in-country.

The United Nations has again predicted that 82 million Nigerians, may go hungry by 2030, calling on the government to tackle climate change, pest infestations, and other threats to agricultural productivity.

The prediction comes in the wake of a persistent hike in food prices in the country.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s food inflation rate hit a record high of 40.66 per cent in May 2024, surpassing the previous month’s 40.53 increase.

This surge represents the largest year-on-year increase in food prices since records began in 1996.

Historically, food inflation in Nigeria has averaged 13.42 per cent, with the lowest point of -17.50 per cent in January 2000.

In 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organisation predicted that no fewer than 2.6 million Nigerians in Borno, Sokoto and Zamfara states, and the FCT may face a food crisis between June and August 2024.

According to a government-led Cadre Harmonisé analysis released in March, 2024, approximately 4.8 million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states are experiencing severe food insecurity, the highest level in seven years.

Also, as Nigerian workers commemorated the 2024 May Day, Organised Labour expressed concern about the country’s rising food prices and fuel scarcity, saying that the current situation threatened the survival of workers.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba, also recently warned that a hunger riot might soon break out in Nigeria, calling on the Federal Government to act fast.

Speaking recently at the launch of CropWatch in Abuja, the Resident Humanitarian Coordinator of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, represented by one of the UN officials, Taofiq Braimoh, said, “The government of Nigeria, in collaboration with others, conducts an annual food security survey. This year’s results are alarming: approximately 22 million Nigerians will face food insecurity in 2024, and around 80-82 million are at risk of severe food insecurity by 2030.

“Nigeria, like many countries, grapples with food insecurity, climate change, unreliable water patterns, pest infestations, and other threats to agricultural productivity. As an agrarian society, our farms’ success directly impacts food availability for our population. Leveraging technology is crucial to strengthening our agriculture sector and ensuring food security.”

He stressed that satellite-based crop monitoring provided real-time data on crop conditions, enabling farmers and policymakers to make informed decisions and optimise agricultural practices.

He noted that the technology could help expedite the accomplishment of sustainable development goals in food and agriculture.

Kenyan President William Ruto has announced measures to cut government spending after a finance bill meant to raise taxes triggered violent protests across the country.

Ruto said he declined assent to the controversial bill after reflecting on the conversation around its content.

The protests had left over 23 people dead as demonstrators breached the national assembly for the first time in Kenya’s history.

During an X-Space engagement with Kenyans on Friday, Ruto said the bill was marred with “falsehood and propaganda”.

The president explained that the bill provided interventions that would have created more jobs and protect Kenyan industries.

The presidency said the bill was meant to plug Kenya’s ballooning budget deficit and reduce reliance on borrowing.

Kenya’s public debt currently stands at 68 percent of GDP, significantly higher than the 55 percent recommended by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

AUSTERITY MEASURES

Ruto said his administration has settled on slashing various governance costs after wide consultations.

The president announced the resolutions in a separate speech at the State House in Nairobi.

Part of the cuts include the removal of budgets in the offices of the first and second lady.

“The budgetary provisions for confidential budgets in various executive offices, including my office, shall be removed, and the budget for renovations across the government reduced by 50 percent,” he added.

Ruto also dissolved 47 state corporations with overlapping functions “resulting in the elimination of their operational and maintenance costs”.

“Their functions will be integrated into the respective line ministries,” he said.