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IMF Downgrades Nigeria’s Economic Growth To 3 Percent

April 23, 2025

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has predicted three percent economic growth for Nigeria, the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN reports.

The projection was contained in its new economic outlook report, for 2025 and 2026 which was released on Tuesday after a meeting in the United State.

The three percent projection is a reversal of the 3.2 percent growth the IMF earlier predicted for the country.

The April report was released on Tuesday during World Economic Outlook, WEO, at a press briefing at the ongoing IMF/World Bank 2025 Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.

The report cut the forecast for Nigeria’s growth to 3 per cent for 2025 and 2.7 per cent for 2026, from the 3.2 per cent and 3.0 per cent projection earlier stated in the January WEO update.

The IMF report cited mounting global uncertainties and sustained weakness in oil prices.

According to the report, the IMF places the growing probability of a global recession at 40 per cent compared to previous 25 per cent estimation it released in October 2024.

The IMF attributed the downward revision of the the growth to a combination of domestic economic challenges and worsening global conditions.

The international financial body said this includes trade tensions, reduced demand from advanced economies, and a significant drop in crude oil prices.

In the report, the Fund warned that without strong policy responses, Nigeria might find it difficult to maintain macroeconomic stability amid external headwinds.

The IMF Economic Counsellor and Director of Research Department, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said that emerging economies like Nigeria were particularly vulnerable due to their integration into global supply chains.

“The uncertainty is discouraging investment and activity, and these countries are suffering from declining demand for their exports,” Gourinchas said.

Meanwhile, economic experts insist that the nation’s economic team led by Vice President Kassim Shettima must now work harder to make decisions and policies that will turn the economy around, particularly as the country is facing its worst economic crisis in decades.

SDP Won’t Allow El-Rufai Hijack Party In His Fight Against President Tinubu – Adebayo

Akinwale Kasali

April 23, 2025

Adewole Adebayo - SDP Presidential Candidate

By Akinwale Kasali

“SDP not a get-away car for conspiracy and robbery”

Adewole Adebayo, Social Democratic Party, SDP, Presidential Candidate in the 2023 Elections, have stated that former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, and other opposition leaders are planning to hijack the Party in their personal fight against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. But he has a warning for them: “They will not be allowed to use the party to fight Tinubu.”

Regardless of their plans and plot, they cannot hijack the Party for personal vendetta with the President, he said.

Adebayo made this known during the 50th birthday celebration of his wife, Queen Lillian Adebayo in Abuja.

He said that the SDP is not a “getaway car for a conspiracy and robbery”.

Ever since El-Rufai dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, a party he was a founding member, he has pitched tent with SDP, but Adebayo is stating that his plot to hijack the Party won’t work.

However, Adebayo who said he was still in the race for the 2027 Presidential seat, maintained that SDP is not a platform for personal political battles.

“Of course, my party knows that I’m running for the 2027 election. As for the coalition, we are listening to them. We don’t want to be a getaway car for a conspiracy and robbery we did not plan. That’s not available.

“If the coalition is for the Nigerian people, the SDP is available. But if it is just a crime centre for disappointed Tinubu followers, they should go back to him and resolve their differences there. Don’t come to SDP to borrow us for a fight we are not involved in,” he said.

On the killings in Benue, Plateau and some other parts of the country, Adebayo urged the President to re-strategise the security architecture to address insecurity in the country.

Don’t Be Passive On Killings Of Southerners In The North – Yoruba Assembly

Ayodele Oni

April 23, 2025

By Ayodele Oni

The Yoruba Assembly, has flayed reactions from some groups to the killing of 16 persons at Uromi, Edo state, last month.

The deceased persons, described as Hausa hunters were traveling for the Eid Fitri celebration in Kano when their vehicle was halted and attacked by a Vigilante group at Uromi.

The Federal Government, Edo and Kano States as well as groups and individuals have reacted to the incident with some of them calling for the trial of those involved in the incident.

Yoruba Assembly, at a security summit in Lagos condemned the brutal killing of the travelers, but flayed response to the incident, describing it as unfortunate.

In a speech at the summit, a Representative of the Group, Adewale Adeoye remarked that “The killing of 16 people in Edo State is unfortunate. We condemn it. No society should tolerate mob action.

“It is noteworthy too, that the response from a section of the country to the unfortunate killing of 16 people in Edo by agitated indigenes is a big lesson to leaders in the South and the Middle Belt.

“The core Northern leaders are calling for ultimatum to fish out the killers. They have set up a committee in Kano to fish out the killers. Unfortunately the same people have failed to show similar concern about the deaths, in hundreds, of many of our people in the North West and North East.

“They keep quiet on the killings in the Middle Belt. The actions of the Northern leaders to the killing in Edo is a lesson to the people of Western Nigeria that they have to also show deeper concern to the plight of our people in the North who are daily victims of terrorism that the same Northern leaders have found no reason to condemn with nothing done by the government or the host communities to appease the victims and their families.

“It is also a wakeup call to our people that we need to hold accountable those who killed four traditional rulers in Yorubaland, who kidnapped school children in Emure, Ekiti State who sacked 2000 people from Yelwa in Ogun State and who bombed Owo in Ondo State.

“The responses to the Edo killing from a section of the country has shown clearly that the political leaders in Western Nigeria can do more to raise their voices against the killing of their own people right in their motherland.

“We have gathered here to chart a new cause in our collective desire to ensure our homeland is secure, safer and more conducive to live without the fear of terrorists and without the fear to die in the most humiliating manner.

“I hope we shall come with resolutions that will talk and walk in the most dignifying manner that would restore the floundering honour of our long suffering people.”

Governors Not Using Security Votes To Fight Insecurity – Presidency

Adesina Soyooye

April 23, 2025

By Adesina Soyooye

The Presidency has, literally, accused State Governors of pocketing billions of Naira of Security Votes instead of using it for the purpose it is meant for – fighting insecurity.

The Presidency lamented that Governors, especially, of States with security challenges, instead of giving Security Agencies enough funds to fight Insecurity, pocket the funds and give to the Agencies, atimes, a paltry N20 million out of the billions of Naira they collect every month.

This disappointing disclosure was made by Daniel Bwala, Presidential Adviser on Policy Communications when he appeared on a Channels Television interview programme on Tuesday.

He lamented that the large security votes which run into billions of Naira notwithstanding, a number of the Governors give peanuts to the Military, Police, Department of State Services, DSS, as little as N20 million every month, an amount he said which hardly does much.

Bwala said it is the poor funding by Governors that help spread insecurity. According to him, if Governors use part of the money allocated to Security every month to buy modern equipment -drones, well equipped vehicles, the security situation would improve.

The Army’s Reaction to Low Enrollment of S.E. Youths in Recruitment

The Source

April 23, 2025

By Abraham Amah

The Nigerian Army’s recent reaction to the low turnout of youths from the South East in its recruitment exercise is both noteworthy and commendable. It demonstrates a rare but welcome level of concern from a national institution regarding the inclusion of all parts of the country in strategic national service. This action, on the surface, shows that the military is attentive to the need for national cohesion and security—one that is inclusive of all regions, including the long-marginalized South East.

Their concern suggests that the Nigerian military is not only focused on operational effectiveness but also on the sociopolitical dynamics that influence enlistment and patriotism. This is a noble development. However, as commendable as this action may be, it opens up a broader conversation that Nigeria must engage in if we are to truly build a nation united not just in theory but in practice.

Could the action—or inaction—of Igbo youths in this context be interpreted as a form of silent protest? Could it be a deeply rooted response to years of exclusion, discrimination, and systemic marginalization in national recruitment exercises and federal appointments? The military high command may not be in a position to provide full answers to these questions, but as a key stakeholder in national security, it has a moral obligation to initiate an honest inquiry into the underlying issues.

The consistent underrepresentation of South East youths in key national institutions has bred widespread resentment and disillusionment. It must be understood that patriotism cannot be demanded in an environment where trust has been eroded. When young people from the South East observe their peers from other regions gaining employment, securing appointments, and being celebrated in public service—while they remain sidelined—it is only natural that they begin to question the value of their loyalty to the Nigerian state.

Recently, the Presidency released data outlining the distribution of political appointments across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. This may have been an effort by the Tinubu-led administration to demonstrate fairness and inclusiveness in political representation. While this move may have brought some clarity in the political domain, it raises further questions about how appointments and recruitments are handled within the civil service and other government agencies, which are often less transparent.

We must ask: What has been the employment pattern in key Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) over the last decade? Institutions such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Department of State Services (DSS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) all wield significant national influence. Yet, there is growing evidence to suggest that the South East is consistently underrepresented in their recruitment exercises.

The most recent FIRS recruitment exercise is a pertinent example. How many Nigerian youths have been shortlisted? More importantly, how many of them are from the South East? If transparency and equity are to be the bedrock of national governance, then these are legitimate questions that deserve honest answers. If the military can be bold enough to speak out about a regional disparity in its recruitment, why are other government agencies silent?

This silence is not neutral—it is dangerous. It creates a vacuum where frustration and alienation can thrive. It fosters a sense of exclusion among young people, who begin to feel like outsiders in their own country. These young Nigerians are observant. They are informed. Their reluctance to participate in national recruitment may well be a reflection of a deeper loss of faith in the fairness of the Nigerian system.

It is easy to dismiss this as apathy. But it is far more important—and honest—to ask what has caused such apathy. Could it be that these young people no longer believe that the system will ever treat them fairly? Could their non-participation in military recruitment be a form of peaceful protest against a country that appears not to recognize their value?

If the Nigerian Army is truly committed to understanding the root cause of this issue, it must go beyond issuing public statements. It must become a leading voice in advocating for a national conversation on inclusion and equitable representation. It should champion the publication of employment and recruitment data across all federal MDAs over the last decade, categorized by geopolitical zone. Only then can we begin to address the foundational challenges undermining national unity.

The Presidency, too, must go beyond gestures of inclusion. It should commission an independent, comprehensive audit of employment and recruitment across all federal agencies. If we can publicly share data on political appointments, we must also make transparent the figures related to civil service employment, agency recruitment, and scholarship distributions. Transparency is the cornerstone of justice—and justice is the foundation upon which true unity is built.

We cannot continue to build a nation on selective inclusion and systematic exclusion. Every region must be given a fair opportunity to contribute to, and benefit from, national service, public employment, and federal appointments. This is not just a political requirement—it is a moral imperative. A country that hopes to endure must treat all its citizens with equal dignity and opportunity.

The Nigerian Army has taken a noble first step by acknowledging the low participation of South East youths. That gesture must not end as a media headline. It should serve as a catalyst for national awakening—a call to action to recognize and address the deep structural imbalances threatening the soul of this country.

Nigeria needs healing—urgent and intentional healing. That healing must begin with justice and fairness. It must begin with the recognition that no region or people within Nigeria are inferior or less deserving. Leaders at every level must now rise—not just to correct the imbalance but to restore faith in the Nigerian dream.

Let us move beyond politics and sentiment, and boldly do what is right—for the sake of posterity, peace, and the unity of our great nation.

Elder Amah, PDP Chairman, Abia State*is a frequent commentator on current issues and an Advocate for Justice & Unity

Coalition: “PDP An Incurable Virus, Not In Our Calculation” – Babachir Lawal

Adesina Soyooye

April 23, 2025

By Adesina Soyooye

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has described the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as a virus that has no cure. “PDP is an incurable virus”, said Lawal, the SGF under the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari. He was, however, removed from office as SGF before the end of that Administration over some unexplained reasons.

A former political ally and confidant of President Bola Tinubu, the two fell badly apart over Tinubu’s choice of Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate. Lawal, a Christian from Adamawa State, was against a Muslim-Muslim ticket, and is now one of the arrow heads of a coalition which aim is to sack Tinubu from office in 2027.

Lawal’s dismissal of the PDP as an incurable virus stemmed from the decision of PDP’s Governors not to be part of the coalition which also has its Presidential Candidate in the 2023 Election, Atiku Abubakar, as a key figure.

At its meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, a couple of days ago, the Governors said the PDP is not interested in any coalition but is open to welcoming anybody or party interested in joining the Party.

In response, Lawal said the arrow heads of the Coalition have never put the PDP into calculation, and had never mentioned the name of the Party in all their discussions either now, or when they began to discuss the idea of a coalition because everybody dismisses PDP as an incurable virus.

His words: “Every time we had discussions with members of the other groups working on the coalition, the name PDP never comes up. Everybody we talk to about PDP says it is an incurable virus.

“I have never attended a meeting where the PDP was under consideration for the merger. Maybe Atiku planned to bring them in, but our discussion has mostly revolved around two options: forming a brand-new political party or joining an existing one. The PDP has never been one of those options.

“Quite a lot of people inside and outside the PDP have approached us, saying the party can be repaired. But each time, the situation seems to deteriorate further. I don’t think those in the PDP are serious people.”

In 2015, a coalition put together by Tinubu, then Leader of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, which included the defunct CPC led by Major General Buhari, and a couple of other fringe political parties, swept incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan out of office and installed Buhari as the President after he had tried and failed four times.

The Loss of a Good Man: A Tribute to Pope Francis and the Power of Universal Faith

The Source

April 23, 2025

By Vinod Shenkar

I only met Pope Francis once. It was brief. Just a few moments in a crowded room filled with dignitaries and seekers, some there out of duty, others out of belief. I was neither Catholic nor there on some divine pilgrimage. I was just a man in need of a little hope. And somehow, in that fleeting encounter, I received it.

It’s hard to explain without sounding overly romantic, but when you’re in the presence of someone truly good — not performatively good, not “publicly moral” or selectively kind — but genuinely, deeply, relentlessly good… something shifts in you. You feel lighter. You feel braver. You feel like humanity, for all its wounds and wickedness is still worth fighting for.

That was the gift Pope Francis gave me. And I imagine, from the tears I’ve seen today and the aching silences of millions across faiths, races, and borders, that he gave that same gift to many.

Today, we mourn not just the passing of a Pope. We mourn the loss of one of the strongest chess pieces humanity had on this plain of existence.

He was a man who made kindness radical again. Who reminded the powerful that humility was not weakness. Who spoke of love not as doctrine but as duty. He was not just a religious man. He was something far more rare — he was universally spiritual.

I am a Hindu. My God wears different names. My prayers come in different rhythms. But I would have followed this man through fire. Because in his belief in God, he carried a belief in all of us. His eyes didn’t see denominations — they saw dignity. His voice, always soft but never weak, carried the weight of truth even when it unsettled the comfortable. Especially when it unsettled the comfortable.

This world has a way of chipping away at your soul. The noise, the greed, the hate, the empty rituals that masquerade as faith or patriotism or family values. It’s easy to go numb. It’s easy to give in to cynicism. But once in a while, someone comes along who reminds us that the better angels of our nature are still within reach. That goodness is still possible. That we don’t need to be perfect to do good — we just need to be brave.

Pope Francis was that man.

He chose love over doctrine. He chose compassion over judgment. And most remarkably, he chose action over applause. He walked with the poor. He knelt before the discarded. He challenged the powerful not with anger, but with moral courage. And he did all of this with a smile that felt like a prayer.

He understood something many religious leaders forget: that God doesn’t reside only in temples or Churches or Mosques. That holiness isn’t a place — it’s a way of living. A way of seeing others. A way of choosing kindness, over and over, even when it hurts.

So yes, today we mourn. I mourn. Not just for the Catholic world, but for all of us. Because when a man like this leaves, it feels like a light has been dimmed.

But maybe — just maybe — the way we honour him is by becoming the light ourselves.

Let us remember his faith in humanity, and let it fuel our own. Let us keep making the right chess moves in this complicated, brutal, beautiful game of life. Let us speak truth with grace. Let us protect the vulnerable, question the powerful, and lift each other up not because of who we are, but because we are here — together.

Pope Francis believed in a world where dignity wasn’t conditional. Where faith was lived, not just preached. That world can still exist — if we build it.

And maybe that’s the final gift he’s given us. A call not to despair, but to duty.

Because as long as we carry his belief in each other, then truly, he has not left us at all.

Vinod Sekhar is a Hindu

Police Launches Probe Into How Serving Inspector Killed Self In PH

Suleiman Anyalewechi

April 23, 2025

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Rivers State Police Command has assured that it would unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of one of its officers, Inspector Maxwell Zubu.

Zubu was said to have on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, shot himself dead in the Eagle Island Area of Port Harcourt, the State Capital..

As at the time of reporting, no reasons has been adduced for the shocking incident. Zubu was, until the sad development, one of the security details attached to a former Port Harcourt City Local Council Chairman.

The incident was immediately reported to the nearest police formation in Eagle Island ,said to be under the command of Azikiwe Road Police Division in the mile 2, Diobu area of the Port Harcourt metropolis.

Officers from the Azikiwe Road Division were said to have visited the scene of the unfortunate development as part of an ongoing investigation by the Service, a Police source revealed.

However, speaking on the development on Tuesday, spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, SP, while confirming the incident, promised to provide further insight when investigations are concluded.

She expressed the determination of the Command to thoroughly investigate the matter, with a view to establishing both the remote and immediate causes of the sad development.

The matter, according to the Police Command spokesperson, has been referred to the State Criminal Investigation, and Intelligence Department for a full scale inquest.

“Yes, I can confirm the incident, but we have commenced an investigation to ascertain the cause(s) of the incident and we will make our findings public”, Iringe-Koko assured.

George Moghalu Not LP’s Authentic Governorship Candidate – Aspirant Nwosu

Suleiman Anyalewechi

April 23, 2025

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

One of the two aspirants that initially purchased the expression of Interest and nomination forms of the Labour Party LP for the November, 8, 2025, off-circle Anambra State Gubernatorial contest, Chief John Nwosu, has insisted that his rival, George Moghalu, is not the authentic candidate of the party.

The Source reports that Nwosu, in the wake of the April, 4, 2025, Supreme Court ruling that sacked the Julius Abure-National Working Committee, NWC, had withdrawn from the April 5 Abure-led NWC supervised primaries.

Nwosu had cited the Supreme Court Judgment as a major reason for pulling out.

However, his withdrawal left the field open for his co- aspirant, Moghalu, to emerge from the contentious primaries.

Instructively, Nwosu, who participated in the primaries organized by the Senator Esther Nenadi Usman-led Interim National leadership on April 10, 2025 and lost to a serving member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon Jude Umennajiego, said the primaries that threw up Noghalu was conducted by an illegal national leadership of the LP.

At a media briefing on Tuesday, Nwosu noted that with the April 10 primaries conducted by the LP Interim National Leadership which produced Hon Umennajiego as a place-holding LP gubernatorial flag bearer, the fate of Moghalu has been sealed

According to Nwosu, since the Supreme Court has sacked the Abure led NWC, any actions and activities taken by it, including the April 5 primaries and its outcome have been nullified.

“The Supreme Court ruling of 4th April, 2025, was definitive. We know who the leaders of LP are. It is now up to INEC to do the needful for the process to continue.

“The primaries of 5th April is null and void, and the primaries of 10th April should be upheld, except, of course, that the issue of a place holder is extraneous to the established process.

“I am a firm believer in due process and rule of law. So, I remain in the race for the candidacy of the Labour Party.

“In the fullness of time, there will be clarity, and vindication. My appeal is before the party. Once the Easter holidays are over, they will, indeed, make a pronouncement”, Nwosu stated.

But much as he is optimistic that the impasse surrounding the party’s candidate, will be amicably resolved, Nwosu, however, did not rule out the possibility of seeking legal options to stake his claim .

The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, has informed that its legal team is presently studying the Supreme court’s judgment with a view to taking a decision on who to recognize as the authentic leadership of of the LP.

On the strength of the rulings of the Courts, the electoral umpire currently has the Abure-led leadership on its portal as the authentic NWC.

However, the Nation’s apex court was definitive in its nullification of the two previous Court verdicts affirming the Abure leadership.

According to the Supreme court, the tenure of Abure’s NWC had long expired before the controversial Nnewi Convention at which Abure and his NWC were purportedly re-elected for a second term in office.

Insecurity: Niger Gov Bago Imposes Curfew in Minna

Ayodele Oni

April 23, 2025

Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State

By Ayodele Oni

Niger State, Governor Umar Bago has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew, effective from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Minna, State Capital, following escalating cases of insecurity.

The decision comes on the heels of a disturbing rise in violent attacks and killings throughout the city.

Speaking at a security meeting held at the Government House on Tuesday, Governor Bago announced that the curfew would also cover commercial motorcycle and tricycle operations within the same hours.

He, however, noted that individuals dealing with medical emergencies would be exempted.

“The recent surge in criminal activities in the state capital has become intolerable. We can’t afford to remain passive while our people live in fear. This curfew is one of several urgent measures to restore order.”

He also directed local leaders—district, village, and ward heads—to begin documenting all visitors within their communities.

The governor warned that any property found sheltering criminals or drug dealers would be demolished.

Minna has recently been plagued by a wave of violence, including thuggery and fatal attacks, heightening concerns among residents.

Governor Bago reaffirmed his administration’s resolve to take firm and immediate actions to end the chaos and ensure the city’s security.

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