Nigeria: Press zooms in on Tribunal’s delivery of judgment on presidential election petition, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report of heavy security deployment at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and other flash points and dark spots in Abuja on Tuesday ahead of the delivery of the judgment on the election petitions challenging the election of President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Punch reports that there was heavy security deployment at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and other flash points and dark spots in Abuja on Tuesday ahead of the delivery of the judgment on the election petitions challenging the election of President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday.
This was as the supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, and President Tinubu awaited the verdict with earnest expectations.
Supporters of the petitioners have been exchanging brickbats online even as they expressed optimism that the ruling would favour their candidates.
In preparation for the judgment, scores of armed riot policemen, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and other security operatives in plainclothes were deployed at strategic locations in the Federal Capital Territory in a bid to prevent a breach of law and order that might arise after the judgment.
The judgment will be delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel-Justices Stephen Adah, Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Moses Ugo, and Abba Mohammed.
The proceedings will be held at the Court of Appeal, Three Arms zone, Abuja.
The Chief Registrar, Court of Appeal headquarters, Umar Bangari, had disclosed in a statement on Monday that the tribunal verdict will be delivered on Wednesday and aired live on television stations.
The newspaper says that Nigeria has about $8.25bn undisbursed World Bank loan as of July 2023, according to findings by The PUNCH.
This was based on data obtained from the Summary Statement of Loans/Credit/Grants on the website of the World Bank.
A breakdown further showed that the undisbursed loans included $7.45bn from the International Development Association and $1.12bn from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The undisbursed loans encompass loans approved but not signed as well as the signed loan commitments.
The IBRD and the IDA, which make up the World Bank, have, over the years, advanced loans to Nigeria.
The IBRD lends to governments of middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, while the IDA provides concessionary loans – called credits – and grants to governments of the poorest countries.
The PUNCH earlier reported that undisbursed loans might drive Nigeria’s debt to the World Bank from $12.72bn to $21.15bn
It showed that the yet-to-be-disbursed loans could increase Nigeria’s debt to the lending institution by 66.27 percent.
This was according to the audited financial statements of the World Bank for the fiscal year 2022, which showed that the bank was yet to disburse about $8.12bn to Nigeria as of June 30, 2022.
Explaining the reason for the yet-to-be-disbursed loans, particularly the signed loan commitments, the bank said, in its 2022 statements, that the “loans are not effective and disbursements do not start until the borrowers and/or guarantors take certain actions and furnish documents.”
The Guardian reports that the two-day ongoing warning strike by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) recorded full compliance in Taraba, Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, and other Northern states, as businesses, including banks, and government offices were under lock and key.
NLC had directed members and affiliated bodies nationwide to proceed on the industrial action to drive home the dissatisfaction of the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy and its effect on the economy.
The NLC directive was also observed to have been carried out by the various financial institutions, as their entrance gates were padlocked.
After touring government facilities across Jalingo metropolis, the state chairman of NLC, Peter Jediel, said the action became necessary to ensure certain levels of compliance by workers in the states.
He lamented that the N2 billion released by the Federal Government for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was grossly inadequate to address the nation’s present economic hardship.
Kano was not different, as corporate, and commercial activities were paralysed in the state. The union shut down business activities to ensure total compliance to the directive of the mother body.
Confirming the development, Kano NLC secretary, Husaini Buda, said the union recorded almost total compliance to the strike.
Also in Bauchi, banks and government offices were locked in compliance with the NLC warning strike.
The newspaper says that the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that turning away from open trade would only lead to greater price volatility, inflationary pressures and weaker growth prospects overall.
Speaking at a recent economic policy symposium that had in attendance, global leading central bankers, policymakers and economists, she said predictable trade is a source of disinflationary pressure, reduced volatility, and increased economic resilience whereas fragmentation of trade into rival blocs would be very costly.
“A world that turns its back on open and predictable trade will be one marked by diminished competitive pressures and greater price volatility,” she said.
Sustained inflation has made a comeback across the world, with subsequent monetary tightening exacerbating debt distress and financial instability for dozens of developing economies, like Nigeria. Some policymakers have looked at these shocks, alongside rising geopolitical and regional tensions, and concluded that globalisation needs to be rolled back.
However, WTO economists estimate that if the world economy decouples into two self-contained trading blocs, this would lower the long-run level of real global GDP by at least five per cent, with some developing economies facing double-digit welfare losses.
Despite all the tensions and skepticism around trade, overall trade costs for agricultural products, manufactured goods, and services have fallen by 12 per cent over the past two decades, with the increased digitalisation and trade in services potentially becoming a powerful disinflationary force.
‘“Falling trade costs for goods and especially for services mean that globalisation can still be an engine for increased growth, efficiency, and economic opportunities, while also contributing to price moderation,” the DG said.
Increased digitalization and trade in services boosted by initiatives such as the agreement on Services Domestic Regulation, concluded by WTO members accounting for over 90 per cent of global services trade, and the ongoing talks on electronic commerce now being negotiated among 90 WTO members, could become a powerful disinflationary force, she noted.
GIK/APA