Business
WAES To Fast-Track West Africa Integration, Says Nigeria
Mr Tuggar said this on Tuesday during a media parley with journalists in Abuja while reaffirming Nigeria’s readiness to host the event scheduled for June 20-21.
Foreign affairs minister Yusuf Tuggar says the maiden West African Economic Summit is not just about policy but a practical solution to fast-track economic integration in the region.
Mr Tuggar said this on Tuesday during a media parley with journalists in Abuja while reaffirming Nigeria’s readiness to host the event scheduled for June 20-21.
According to him, the summit is an initiative of President Bola Tinubu aimed at advancing trade relations and promoting a market economy among small and medium-sized enterprises in the sub-region.
”It is with a deep sense of honour and responsibility that I announce Nigeria’s readiness to host the WAES 2025 under the chairmanship of President Tinubu.
”This important economic gathering is aimed at unlocking opportunities that abound in the region and to serve as a strategic platform for shaping the economic future of our region.
“WAES will convene heads of states, ministers, private sector leaders, development partners, as well as youth innovators from across West Africa and beyond,” stated Mr Tuggar.
The minister stated the summit would enhance the economic integration of West African countries through partnerships in the economic sector,, among other objectives.
He added that the summit would also foster cross-border trade relations in line with the Economic Community of West African States vision.
On sustaining the WAES initiative, Mr Tuggar noted that the success of the summit would drive future events, explaining that the whole idea was to partner the private sector in promoting regional integration.
He revealed the Nigerian government’s partnership with the United Nations Development Programme to extend WAES ownership to the entire sub-region.
”Recently, we launched a partnership with the UNDP. The whole idea is to create a template that is not going to be owned by Nigeria alone but by the entire region and all the countries that choose to adopt it and utilise it.
”The template will also strengthen the institutions, tackle the perennial challenges that are caused by misinformation/disinformation, and engage the civil society so that there is more understanding between government and the people. It will further strengthen the social contract,” Mr Tuggar explained.
Gazettengr.com
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) marketers have slashed depot prices, offering distributors lower wholesale rates and raising expectations that cooking gas refill costs could ease for Nigerian consumers in the weeks ahead.
Fresh market data showed that PPMC recorded the sharpest reduction, cutting its depot price to N1,010/kg, a 0.69%.
Rainoil Lagos followed with reduction, bringing its depot price down to N1,030/kg. NIPCO Lagos held its rate steady at N1,025/kg, data from petroluemprice.ng show.
The only marketer to move in the opposite direction was Matrix Warri, which is N1,100/kg.
The new cooking gas depot prices are:
PPMC: N1,010/kg
NIPCO Lagos: N1,025/kg
Rainoil Lagos: N1,030/kg
Matrix Warri: N1,100/k
Industry sources attributed the downward movement to greater competition among suppliers and improved product availability at the wholesale level.
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has demanded that the National Assembly (NASS) immediately conduct a comprehensive forensic review of the 2026 Appropriation Act, following revelations of over ₦210 billion in overlapping and duplicated allocations in the budget.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the revelation, coming alongside Nigeria’s poor showing on nearly 90 percent of globally recognised prosperity indicators, exposes the Tinubu administration as one of the most fiscally reckless governments in Nigeria’s democratic history.
“For more than three years, Nigerians have been subjected to relentless hardship. They were told that fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, higher taxes and rising tariffs were bitter pills that would eventually restore economic stability. Yet today, the same government cannot explain how more than ₦210 billion found its way into duplicated and overlapping budget provisions,” he said.
He linked the finding to what he called a growing pattern of questionable budget practices, citing allocations for projects outside agencies’ statutory mandates and insertions running into billions of naira.
The former vice president also cited the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC Limited’s audited 2024 financial statements, which he said showed ₦7.13 trillion spent on “Energy Security Expenses” — what NNPC itself identifies as petrol subsidy — despite claims that subsidy had been removed in 2023.
Atiku argued that this fiscal indiscipline is reflected in declining living standards, noting that families are skipping meals, small businesses are shutting down, and graduates cannot find jobs, even as government celebrates selective economic indicators.
He also urged the Auditor-General of the Federation, anti-corruption agencies and civil society organisations to independently scrutinise the budget, identify officials responsible for the duplicated allocations, and ensure all improperly appropriated funds are recovered.
Atiku pledged that an ADC administration would restore credibility to public finance through transparent budgeting, zero-based expenditure planning, digital public expenditure tracking and strict personal accountability for public officers.
“When the owner of the barn invites goats to keep watch over his harvest, he should not be surprised when hunger follows abundance. Nigeria deserves custodians of her commonwealth, not Bourdillon caretakers of waste,” he added.
The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, has explained how a retired factory worker’s monthly pension increased from N18,000 to N206,000 after the Federal Government carried out pension reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The PenCom boss shared the story while speaking on the impact of the reforms, saying the increase reflects the government’s commitment to improving the welfare of retirees.
She said the retiree received a pension alert earlier in the day showing the increased payment.
“Early this morning, somewhere in Nigeria, a retired factory worker checked the alert on his phone. For 21 years, that alert read ₦18,000. This month, as in every single month now, it reads N206,000,” she said.
Oloworaran said the increase was not a gift but the result of the government’s decision to meet its obligations to retired workers.
“He did not win a lottery. He was not given anything he had not already earned. What changed was simple. His country decided to keep its promise,” she added.
According to Oloworaran, the improvement is not limited to one person, as hundreds of thousands of pensioners across the country are benefiting from the reforms.
She credited the progress to President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to workers and vulnerable Nigerians, saying the administration has focused on policies that improve the welfare of retirees.
“Work has been made easy because we have a president that is passionate about the Nigerian people, passionate about vulnerable Nigerians, and doing everything in its power to make sure that it puts more money in the hands of the average Nigerian,” she said.
The PenCom Director-General added that the administration’s record on pension welfare over the past two years reflects the impact of the reforms.
She said, “Today, standing before you with 24 months of evidence, I can say that that case is no longer emerging. It is on the record. Because history is rarely defined by one decision. It is defined by a pattern of decisions.”
FULL DETAILS HERE
BREAKING: Tinubu Gives Three Fresh Appointments
BREAKING: Painful as Ooni of Ife Ogunwusi Bereaved
Another APC Governorship Candidate Picks Running Mate; Photo Emerges
Former Super Eagles Star Loses Life Savings, Duped By A Pastor of ₦1.2 Billion
I’m A Married Man, I Can Never Get Myself Involved With Such A Thing, Delta Gov Aide Reveals Why He Offered Comfort ₦500,000 Job
Lagos Imposes ₦250,000 Fine For Illegal Waste Disposal
-
Tech1 day agoSad End as Top Nigerian Church General Overseer Dies (PHOTO)
-
Business1 day agoBreaking: Atiku Reveals Fresh Scandal in Tinubu’s Administration
-
News2 days agoWike Gives Condition to Resign From Tinubu’s Cabinet, Video Surfaces
-
Politics17 hours agoAnother APC Governorship Candidate Picks Running Mate; Photo Emerges
-
Business1 day agoMarketers Slash Cooking Gas Prices, Release New Rates Nationwide
-
News6 hours agoBREAKING: Tinubu Gives Three Fresh Appointments
-
Tech15 hours ago
BREAKING: Painful as Ooni of Ife Ogunwusi Bereaved