AfDB elects New President, Sidi Tah

The Mauritania's former Economy minister, Sidi Ould Tah on Thursday,29th May 2025 clinched victory with 76.18 percent of votes in the third round of an election in Abidjan, Ivory Coast for the post of president of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).

His closest challenger, Zambian economist Samuel Munzele Maimbo, was second on 20.26 percent.

Ould Tah succeeds Nigeria's Akinwumi Adesina, who has been in charge of the AfDB since 2015, to become Africa's next "super banker". He would be reportedly inaugurated in September, 2025.

The latest contest took three rounds of voting to secure the requisite majority of votes from all member countries and a majority of votes from African nations.

The AfDB is one of the world's largest multilateral development banks and is funded by member subscriptions, loans raised on global markets as well as repayments and income from loans.

Ould Tah faces a disrupted international economic environment, probably due to the US President Donald Trump's tariff announcements.

Beyond tariffs, the AfDB is also facing the threat of losing 500 million dollars in US funding for its projects to support low income countries on the continent.

In the lead-up to the election, all the candidates in the race promised to make the AfDB even more effective to transform Africa, continuing Adesina's five priorities to light up, feed, industrialise, integrate and improve quality of life.

"I am proud of the legacy we are leaving behind for... my successor, for the bank and for Africa," the outgoing president, Adesina said in a speech on Tuesday, two days earlier.

"We have built a world-class financial institution that will continue to advance Africa's position within a rapidly changing global development and geopolitical environment," he added.

Adesina said 565 million people had benefited from AfDB projects during his decade in charge.

Major projects include support for the construction of the Gabal El Asfar wastewater treatment plant in Egypt – the largest in Africa.

"The bank also helped finance a bridge connecting Senegal and the Gambia, expanded the port of Lome in Togo and supported sanitation projects in Lesotho and access to electricity in Kenya," Adesina boasted.

"From 2015 to this year, the bank's capital more than tripled from $93 billion to $318 billion." he added.

Tinubu seeks Senate Approval for $21.5bn Loan, others

The Nigeria's President, Bola Tinubu, has sought the approval of the Senate for the 2025-2026 external borrowing plan of $21.5 billion.

Tinubu also sought the approval of the Senate for a loan request of 15 billion Japanese Yen and 51 million Euros grant.

Tinubu’s request is contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read at plenary in Abuja on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.

The president stated: ”Following the removal of the first fuel subsidy and its impact on the national economy, approval is sought for the external building plan.

“I want to emphasise that the projects and programmes included in the plan were selected based on technical and economic evaluations and the anticipated contributions to the socioeconomic development of the country.”

Tinubu noted that the initiatives were aimed at generating employment, promote skill acquisition, foster entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and enhance food security.

AfDB elects New President, Sidi Tah

He strongly opined that the move would improve the livelihoods of Nigerians.

Tinubu added that majority of the projects and programmes would be implemented across the country.

He stated: “These funds will primarily be directed towards critical infrastructure projects including sectors in power, railways healthcare among others.

“Given the urgent nature of business and the importance of stabilising the economy, it is therefore crucial to seek approval of the distinguished senate for the 2025-2026 external borrowing plan.

“This will enable the government to fulfill its obligations to the Nigerian people through timely and effective project implementation.”

Akpabio thereafter forwarded the request to Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for further legislative inputs and to revert to plenary within two weeks.

Uzodinma Sacks Imo Justice Commissioner, Akaolisa

The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma has sacked the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Cyprian Akaolisa.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Imo State Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation, and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, on Monday, May 26, 2025.

However, Emelumba did not disclose any reason behind Akaolisa’s removal.

Akaolisa was directed to hand over all government property under his care to the Imo State Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice.

The sacked commissioner denied speculations that the removal was sequel to the controversies that followed the appointment of a Chief Judge for the State.

“Honestly, I don’t want to speculate. All I know is that His Excellency, Hope Uzodimma, in his wisdom appoints his commissioners and removes them; when it is auspicious, he will give reasons." Akaolisa stated. “But this is part of a minor cabinet reshuffling.” He opined.

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Wike spits Fire in PDP as Crisis deepens

The Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, has announced that he has pulled out of every peace agreement he assented to in order to quell the current crisis crippling the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a statement released on Sunday, 25th May 2025, Wike revealed that he was no longer interested in seeking Peace and would fight until Justice is served.

It could be recalled that that Wike and his allies in the party have been in a running battle with Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo state and Peter Mbah of Enugu State over control of the Party which has led to a bitter crisis that has been going on for months.

Below is the full statement from the minister.

“Since after the 2023 General election, the PDP has been wantonly swinging from one part of a slippery precipice to another, owing fundamentally to dishonesty and lack of trust amongst its key stakeholders. To stem this ugly trend, efforts have been made to arrest this pernicious virus of dishonesty and treachery and enthrone fidelity to agreements with a view to stabilizing the party and moving it forward.”

“To this end, a meeting of the G5 was held in Lagos. In that meeting, I made it clear to the Governor of Oyo State, HE. Seyi Makinde, that he was the architect of our problems, pointing out to him that non-adherence to agreements reached was the bane of the party, and that he was the chief culprit of this anomaly. At the end of the meeting, we resolved to bury the hatchet and make progress.”

“As a follow-up to the aforementioned meeting, there was an expanded meeting in Abuja involving HE. Seyi Makinde, HE. Umaru Fintri, HE. Bala Mohammed, HE, Bukola Saraki, and I in Saraki’s guest house. In that meeting, I made it clear that I had no personal problems with HE. Bala Mohammed, except that he hides under the facade of Chairman of PDP Governors Forum to serially renege on agreements.”

“Tensions rose mightily in the meeting and it took all concerned to calm frayed nerves. At the end of the meeting, we came to some resolutions, including:

a. That Senator Samuel Anyanwu remains the National Secretary of the PDP in tandem with the Supreme Court judgement.

b. All legal matters relating to Rivers State must be withdrawn by the National Legal Adviser.

c. The suit on the State of emergency be withdrawn forthwith.

d. Nobody should deviate from the agreements so reached.

“In the light of the foregoing, they pleaded with me to attend the stakeholders’ meeting at the Bauchi Government Lodge, regardless of my many engagements. I attended the meeting and clearly reiterated my earlier concerns, and to this end and in order to resolve all other lingering and pending issues, a committee was formed, headed by HE. Bukola Saraki.”

“It is disheartening to note that even before the Bukola Saraki Reconciliation Committee began its work, the gentleman’s agreement we reached at Saraki’s Guest House was already being crudely violated. To my chagrin, Seyi Makinde had connived with Peter Mba of Enugu State to orchestrate the summoning of the meeting of so-called South-East leaders to recommend that if Ude Okoye was not adopted as Secretary, they would pull out of the PDP. I have since granted an interview to the effect that, that resolution of the South-East leaders can not hold.”

“Again, Seyi Makinde organized some people in the National Secretariat to insist that the Deputy National Secretary should act as National Secretary, in violation of the agreement earlier reached.

"To attempt to give credence to this farce, a letter was written by the Deputy National Secretary, calling for a meeting of the NEC of the party. Furthermore, the letter confirming the candidacy of the Governorship candidate of the party in the forthcoming Governorship elections in Anambra State, duly signed by the National Secretary, Senator Anyanwu and the acting National Chairman, was portrayed as rejected by the party through a rebuttal letter signed by the National Publicity Secretary, acting on the orders of Seyi Makinde and Peter Mba.”

“All these actions are in complete violation of the agreements reached and would not do the party any good whatsoever. On the 24th of May 2025, in Jos, for instance, a well publicized and properly attended zonal elective congress of the PDP was aborted because the letter inviting INEC to the congress was signed by the Deputy National Secretary of the party. INEC refused to attend because the proper signatory recognized by law, that is Senator Samuel Anyanwu was not a signatory to the invitation notice. This is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least.”

“I have painstakingly put out all these facts so that PDP members and the general public would know the truth. I have been in this party since 1998 and have worked tirelessly for the survival of this party with all my strength and it is on record that none of these persons have done anything close to what I have done to sustain this party. What is more painful is that I contributed substantially to most of these governors winning their elections, yet I have not made any personal demands on any of them and I would never do so.”

“Most importantly, I had thought that we could keep the trust amongst us, but since it is now obvious that they would continue to play games to the detriment of the party, as is the case in the current debacle in the North-Central zonal elections, I have now firmly decided to pull out of all agreements hitherto reached. I have decided to fight on until justice is attained.”

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Man sets Wife, Children Ablaze in Abia

A man identified as Udochi Amala, has set his wife and their three children ablaze in Onicha Ngwa, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.

It was gathered that the incident occurred at about 2 a.m. on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

The 40-year-old man was said to have set his wife, and their three children on fire over alleged infidelity by his wife.

It was learnt that Amala attempted to flee after the incident but was apprehended.

One of his daughters reportedly passed on having sustained severe burns.

The Abia State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Maureen Chinaka, confirmed the incident on Tuesday, May 20.

“The police are aware. Investigation is ongoing,” the police spokesperson notified.

Pope Leo to be Installed May 18

Pope Leo XIV will be formally installed as the Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday, May 18, 2025 when he is expected to hold his inaugural public Mass at St. Peter's Square.

The first U.S-born pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, would also reportedly preside over his first general audience on May 21.

While Leo held the first Mass of his papacy in the Sistine Chapel on Friday morning, being May 9, 2025, the day after his election, that service was for the cardinals of the Catholic Church and was not open to the public.

During the papal inauguration, a Mass is celebrated before political and religious leaders from around the world.

However, while world leaders are typically invited to attend the Mass for the Beginning of the Pontificate, most nations may decide to send official delegations rather than heads of State.

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"There were errors": JAMB finally admits

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has eventually admitted to errors in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The Registrar of the Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, 14th May 2025.

It could be recalled that most parents and entities had threatened to sue the examination body, saying their wards' performances were manipulated. This came after reports of high level of poor results in the recently concluded UTME.

“What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors,” Oloyede admitted.

According to him, “we set all machineries in order, regardless, there were still errors.”

This follows JAMB announcement that it had received an unusually high number of complaints regarding discrepancies in candidates’ scores.

The JAMB boss added that 379,997 candidates in the five states of the South East and Lagos would be rescheduled for another UTME.

The boss, who took responsibility of what he described as "sabotage", stated that the affected candidates would start receiving messages from JAMB starting from Thursday, 15th May 2025.

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New Pope emerges on 2nd Day of Conclave

Cardinal Rupert Prevost has graciously emerged as the new Pope of the universal Roman Catholic Church.

The new pope, who is the 267th Pontiff in the history of the Church, has taken the name Pope Leo XIV.

The 69-year-old is the first American to emerge the Pope. He hails from the U.S.A. He had been the cardinal in charge of appointment of bishops in Vatican, and was serving in Peru as a Bishop prior to his emergence.

Earlier, white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney on Thursday evening, signalling that the 133 Roman Catholic cardinals gathered inside the Vatican had elected a new pope. Earlier, white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney on the evening of Thursday, May 8, 2025, signalling that the 133 Roman Catholic cardinals gathered inside the Vatican had elected a new pope.

The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers, priests made the sign of the cross and nuns wept as the crowd shouted “Viva il papa!” after the white smoke wafted into the late afternoon sky at 6:07 p.m. Waving flags from around the world.

Tens of thousands of people reportedly waited to learn who had won.

The smoke signal means the winner secured at least 89 votes of the 133 cardinals participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis.

The name of the new Pope was announced when a top cardinal utters the words “Habemus Papam!” — Latin for “We have a pope!” — from the loggia of the basilica. The cardinal then read the winner’s birth name in Latin and revealed the name he has chosen to be called.

The new pope is expected to make his first public appearance and impart a blessing from the same loggia.

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Black Smoke erupts at Vatican on Ist Day of Conclave

Cardinals are currently meeting in a secret and sacred Papal Conclave.

Today being May 8, 2025 marks the second day as they seek a new pontiff to succeed Pope Francis.

The first two votes of the first day, May 7, 2025, failed to find a winner, sending billowing black smoke through the chapel chimney, signifying no success recorded thus far.

The 133 cardinals who are eligible to choose the next pontiff are trying again on Thursday, May 8, 2025, to elect a successor to Francis to guide the 1.4 billion strong Roman Catholic church at time of human upheaval.

The conclave was called after Francis died on April 21 at the age of 88.

There was a delay between his death and the conclave to allow time for a funeral, burial and a period of mourning.

It was also necessary to give cardinals time to arrive in Rome from all corners of the Earth, and to let them get acquainted before entering the conclave, an ancient ritual steeped in mystery and ritual.

The cardinals are cut off from the world while at the Vatican, between residences and the Sistine Chapel, where they vote in secret – and in silence.

The process – fictionalised in the 2024 political thriller “Conclave” – is said to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and is designed to be both contemplative and free from outside interference.

Electors must be under 80 years old, and are more geographically diverse than ever. They represent Catholicism’s growing presence in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as well as its traditional power base in Europe.

The longest conclave in history lasted nearly three years, but it’s reasonable to assume that this conclave will be much, much shorter.

Cardinals this week said they expect a short conclave, though it will likely take at least a few rounds of voting, AFP reported.

For most of the past century, it has taken between three and eight ballots to find a pope.

John Paul I – the pope who reigned for 33 days – was elected on the third ballot in 1978. His successor, St. John Paul II, was elected on the eight. Francis was elected on the fifth in 2013.

There are no official candidates for the papacy, but some cardinals are considered “papabile”, or possessing the characteristics necessary to become pope.

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The IMF's Projection and Nigeria's Economy

Fred Nwaozor

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Nigeria’s economic growth will rise by 3.0 per cent in 2025. The statement has triggered mixed reactions from a cross-section of well-meaning Nigerians.

This was revealed alongside other countries, such as Argentina, China, Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, among others. The projection was contained in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) update for April 2025, released on Tuesday, April 22.

It however equally disclosed a projection of global economic reduction by 2.8 per cent. According to the IMF, the rapid escalation of trade tensions and exceptionally high levels of policy uncertainty are expected to significantly impact global economic activity.

It's noteworthy that the IMF has three critical missions in accordance with its mandate: furthering international monetary cooperation, encouraging the expansion of trade and economic growth, and discouraging policies that would harm prosperity.

To fulfill these missions, the IMF member countries work collaboratively with each other and with other international bodies. This has hitherto been a standard mode of operation among the membership of the prestigious global monetary body.

Any right thinking and discerning Nigerian, either home or abroad, is expected to thoroughly x-ray such a report that might seem confusing in the eyes of an average citizen of the country. In view of this, we mustn't shy away from delving deeply into the highly sensitive matter.

One may begin to wonder how the country's economy is projected to grow whereas over 60 per cent of the citizenry are presently making frantic efforts to survive, let alone making a meaningful life among themselves.

The economy of any country in the world is primarily rated by its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the total market value of all final goods and services produced within the country. Another pertinent factor that determines a nation's economic performance is her Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.

While the GDP reflects the total value of goods and services manufactured within the country's borders, the GNI per Capita metric takes into account the income earned by its residents, both domestically and abroad, and divided by the total population.

How could the Nigeria's GDP be expected to rise when virtually every manufacturer and service provider in the country is crying woefully on a daily basis over the uncalled environment they are currently being faced with? High cost of energy and bloated taxation have endangered the activities of these firms, thereby affecting the cost price of commodities and services.

Since the cost price, which is occasioned by the production cost, directly affects the selling price, it drastically reduces the purchasing power of the final consumers whom are invariably found in helpless condition as they are seen lamenting in various markets. This is the current obvious state of Nigeria's producers and consumers.

The GNI per Capita, on the other hand, is quite unbearable to assert the least. This metric, which signifies the income earned by the residents of the country taking into cognizance its population, has become a thing of intense worry for any rational being in Nigeria.

While the income of the MSMEs' owners is apparently a worrisome situation owing to the huge reduction in quantity demand from the consumers, the salary/wage earners have been left to groan since their monthly take-away could barely afford their basic needs. The workers are reportedly lamenting that the recently approved national minimum wage of 70,000 naira is yet to be fully implemented by the government.

An average worker in the country is no longer concerned about savings as part of their monthly obligation, rather, they are only making frantic efforts to ensure the salaries are enough to cater for their families' feeding and other basic needs. In other words, they are struggling for survival as I earlier stated.

The other day, I read a report from a government ally that the states in Nigeria now receive about three times of what used to be their allocations from the federal government. According to the reporter, the so-called improvement was as a result of the excess savings emanating from the fuel subsidy removal.

The informant had notified Nigerians, albeit ignorantly, that petrol subsidy was removed, so the president and the governors could make more money, without comprehending that such a financial influx ought to primarily be channelled into capital projects as well as debt servicing.

The Nigeria's 2025 budget is anchored on a benchmark oil price of 75 USD per barrel. As of 22nd April, the Brent crude oil price was sold at 67.22 USD, which is about 11 per cent lower than the pegged amount. This unequivocally implies that more sacrifice is required by the already-weary citizens, towards financing the budget.

For Nigeria to anticipate a robust economy within the 2025 fiscal year, inflation must be critically tackled. It's not anymore news that astronomical inflation in our various markets has endangered the citizens' purchasing power, thereby crippling households' economies.

For this to be actualized, two factors mustn't be taken for granted: energy cost and taxation. These two tools have continually posed severe danger to goods and services within the shores of the country, yet apparently nothing is being done to alleviate the quagmire.

The high cost of energy sources, such as fuel basically, will continue to cripple prices of goods in the market, as it's noted that energy billing directly affects trade and investment anywhere across the globe.

Taxation, on its part, which is equally on the high side in the present days' Nigeria, remains one of the major reasons the service providers, like the telecom and TV satellite firms, have chosen to "kill" Nigerians over the cost of services being rendered to them. Even the pitiable workers' salaries are reportedly faced by outrageous taxes.

Tax evasion is also a disturbing scenario that needs to be addressed. This illicit act, in overall, typically involves misrepresentation or concealment of income, falsification of financial records, or exaggeration of deductions to lower taxable income. This financial menace must be critically tackled by ensuring the evaders are fished out and meant to face the wrath of the extant laws.

More so, the Nigeria's Foreign Exchange (FX) market is still bleeding. As at Friday, 25th April 2025, the Naira traded officially at #1599.55 to the US dollar, showcasing a seeming endless struggling physiognomy for the country's economy. The continued floating of the Nigerian currency is seriously telling on her international trade system.

These, and many more, are the reasons the economic authorities in the country, such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Finance Ministry, must decisively work on the country's monetary and financial policies towards experiencing a paradigm shift.

As the concerned bodies carry out the suggested innovations, the government must learn to invest mainly on capital projects, such as physical infrastructure, education and healthcare, as well as endeavour to service the country's scary debts headlong. Think about it.

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