News

IMF boss urges support for poorest countries

Published

2 months ago

April 13, 2023

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the international community to support the world’s poorest countries.

Georgieva said this should be done by helping to close a funding gap facing the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust ((PRGT), the Fund’s main instrument to support low-income countries with interest-free loans.

She said this at the High-Level Roundtable Discussion on Low-Income Countries’ Challenges and Concessional Financing at the World Bank/IMF 2023 Spring Meetings in Washington D.C.

Georgieva said that low-income countries had been impacted severely by multiple economic shocks in recent years.

She explained that these countries’ per-capita income was expected to rise at the slowest pace since 1990, hindering their aspirations to catch up with richer economies.

“This puts them in danger of further divergence unless we act,” she said.

Georgieva said since the start of the pandemic, the IMF had provided 24 billion dollars in support through the PRGT, alleviating people’s suffering and preventing instability from spreading beyond borders.

However, she said higher international interest rates had raised the cost of borrowing and increased the funding shortfall.

“As an urgent first step, what I call for is to close the subsidy gap by providing pledges of 1.6 billion dollars, and we need 4.7 billion dollars to close the loan resource gap.

“Remember, every one dollar of subsidy mobilises five dollars of zero-interest loans, and that is what countries rely on for us to be able to support them.

“We have to work together to close this gap and I have no doubt that we will be successful,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Bank Group/IMF 2023 Spring Meeting opened on Monday in Washington DC and will end on April 16.

Headline

No Going Back On Proposed Nationwide Strike – NLC

Published

7 hours ago

June 4, 2023

Fellow Press

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has debunked speculations that it might back down on its proposed industrial action slated nationwide for Wednesday.

It said the only reason it would shelve the strike is when the Federal Government and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited NNPCL did the needful by returning to status quo on the fuel subsidy removal issue.

NLC declared the position in a statement by Benson Upah, Head of Information and Public Affairs on Sunday.

The workers’ body was reacting to a story in a national newspaper on Sunday.

It described the report as laughable and desperate attempt by enemies of the people to polarise Nigeria Labour Congress along ethnic or regional lines on an issue with a national spread.

According to Upah, “this scenario only plays in their imagination as Nigeria Labour Congress continues to be the biggest pan-Nigerian organisation united by a common vision/ mission and shared national values.”

“On the looming strike, we want to assure that all the affiliate unions of the Congress stand together with an unshakeable resolve to prosecute, come Wednesday, except the NNPC and Government do the needful.

“Whereas, primordial sentiments such as religion, region or ethnicity may be refuge for some, at the Nigeria Labour Congress, they have no place. What counts for us are issues such as the mindless and criminal increase in the pump price of pms whose burden will be borne by the already impoverished communities of the poor across Nigeria,” it stated.

NLC said the burden of the malevolent policy would not be borne by other segments of the country to the exclusion of the North or South-West, hence, there is no reason for those regions to back out of the strike.”

Recall that the President, Bola Tinubu had during his inaugural speech declared that the era of subsidy for petroleum products was gone, a development that has had ripple effect on the Nigerian polity since May 29, 2023.

News

Daniel Bwala List Positions Tinubu Should Not Appoint Politicians To Occupy

Published

7 hours ago

June 4, 2023

Fellow Press

Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has advised President Bola Tinubu ahead of the constitution of his cabinet.

Bwala listed five offices Tinubu should not appoint politicians to occupy.

Tweeting, Bwala wrote: “No 16th biggest test would the appointment of these;

Atiku’s aide list positions Tinubu should not appoint politicians to occupy

Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has advised President Bola Tinubu ahead of the constitution of his cabinet.

Bwala listed five offices Tinubu should not appoint politicians to occupy.

Tweeting, Bwala wrote: “No 16th biggest test would the appointment of these;

1. National Security Adviser

2. Minister of the economy

3. Director General of SSS and NIA

4. Minister of Petroleum

5. Central Bank Governor

“He must not appoint a politician or quasi-politician for any of these roles, or else he will repeat history.”

Tinubu was inaugurated on May 29 in Abuja.

This was after he won the 2023 presidential election. He defeated Atiku, Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

However, Atiku and Obi are contesting Tinubu’s victory in court because they claim the election was flawed.