Nigeria: Press zooms in on warning by coup leaders against imposition of sanctions on Niger, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that Niger Republic’s military leaders have warned the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) not to send troops to the country is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Guardian reports that Niger’s military leaders have warned the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) not to send troops to the country.
General Abdourahmane Tchiani, also known as Omar Tchiani, had declared himself leader, while the country’s elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, has been held by the military since the coup took place last week.
The leaders in Niger warned against any military intervention in a statement read on national television.
“The objective of the ECOWAS meeting is to approve a plan of aggression against Niger through an imminent military intervention in Niamey, in collaboration with other African countries that are non-members of ECOWAS, and certain Western countries,” Aljazeera quoted military spokesperson, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, as saying.
This was as Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, in Abuja, yesterday, ordered immediate release and reinstatement of Bazoum as legitimate Head of State and Government of the Republic of Niger.
In a communiqué at the end of the Extraordinary Summit on Socio-Political Situation in the Republic of Niger, read by the President, ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, the leaders also rejected the purported resignation by Bazoum and declared him as the only recognised and elected President by ECOWAS, the African Union and the international community.
‘’In this regard, only official acts of President Bazoum or his duly-mandated officials will be recognised by ECOWAS,’’ they said.
The newspaper says the harsh reality of the economy is fast-impacting sectors hitherto assumed to be immune from the vagaries of the overwhelming challenges.
If the half-year losses declared by operators, especially those listed on the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) including telecommunications, FMCG and manufacturing, are anything to go by, the worst may be ahead for the local economy.
The challenges have been traced largely to the foreign exchange (FX) crisis, which has put the naira on a downward trend since the beginning of the year.
Checks by The Guardian showed that about seven firms listed on the exchange – Airtel, MTN, Nigeria Breweries, Guinness Nigeria, Nestle Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria Plc and Dangote Cement –all incurred N623.6 billion losses due to naira depreciation.
Specifically, Airtel Africa Plc, reported that it lost $151 million (N130 billion/going by the current exchange rate) due to the harmonisation of FX rates in Nigeria. It disclosed this in its second quarter report filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“Profit after tax was negative ($151 million), driven largely by a foreign exchange loss of $471 million recorded in finance cost before tax and $317 million after tax, because of the devaluation of the Nigerian naira in June 2023. This impact has been classified as a non-operating exceptional item,” it said.
The telecommunications firm said the unification of the exchange rate by the apex bank, which pushed the exchange rate from N460/$ in June to N790/$ was the reason for the loss.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Olusegun Ogunsanya, said despite the strong operating performance, “our results have been impacted by foreign exchange headwinds. This quarter saw the announcement of the change to the FX market in Nigeria, which resulted in significant naira devaluation. We have welcomed this reform as very positive for the medium and long-term development of our business in Nigeria, our largest market. The country offers significant untapped growth potential, underpinned by highly attractive fundamentals. This has supported and sustained a strong operating performance which has seen a five-year revenue and EBITDA CAGR of 23.5 per cent and 27.3 per cent in constant currency, respectively.
Its competitor, MTN Nigeria Plc, in its 2023 second-quarter results, also disclosed that its pre-tax profits fell by a whopping 64 per cent to N44.6 billion. This took its half-year profits to N200.3 billion compared to N268.6 billion in the same period in 2022.
The Punch reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress has commenced mass mobilisation ahead of its planned nationwide strike scheduled to begin Wednesday to protest the hardship occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal.
In a schedule obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday, the NLC urged Nigerians to “join us at the Unity Fountain, Abuja on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at 7 am.”
“There is nowhere in the world where government leaves its citizens totally to the vagaries of the market without some measure of control and protection. The Federal Government should immediately deal decisively with the criminal content of subsidy instead of exposing ordinary citizens to avoidable pain and hardship.
“As a matter of national importance, it is imperative to fix all our refineries to be able to cater to domestic fuel consumption,” the NLC said.
Speaking further on the recent monetary policies rolled out by the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government, the NLC said: “We are concerned that no government acting reasonably leaves its national currency to forces of the market.”
Insisting on its demands, the union reiterated the need for the government to immediately reverse all “anti-poor policies”, and release the withheld salaries of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, among others.
Ahead of its meeting with the Federal Government scheduled to be held today (Monday) and the nationwide strike scheduled to begin on Wednesday, the NLC said the Tinubu-led administration was playing games with the lives of Nigerians.
The congress also called on the government to take seriously the engagement with the labour unions.
The newspaper says that economists and civil society organisations have backed the appointment of a special investigator to probe the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited and other Government Business Entities by President Bola Tinubu.
The experts and groups in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Sunday said the investigation was necessary to ascertain if there were any infractions or alleged abuse of office by the suspended CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and other top government officials.
Their comments came on the heels of Tinubu’s appointment of the former Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Jim Obazee, as Special Investigator to probe the CBN, NNPCL, and other Government Business Entities.
In a letter sighted by The PUNCH on Sunday, Tinubu directed the special investigator to work with security and anti-corruption agencies to provide a comprehensive report on public wealth currently in the hands of corrupt individuals and establishments, whether private or public.
According to the letter, the appointment takes immediate effect and the investigator is to report directly to the President on a weekly basis.
Findings by The PUNCH on Sunday revealed that other GBEs the probe would cover include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited and the FRCN.
This development came barely a week after Emefiele was arraigned in court for illegal possession of firearms and granted bail, but the Department of State Services rearrested him.
The President, in the letter which he personally signed, said the move was in continuation of the government’s anti-corruption fight.
GIK/APA