The declaration that President Muhammadu Buhari is ready to step down at the expiration of his tenure on May 29, 2023 dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Guardian reports that the Presidency, yesterday, declared that President Muhammadu Buhari is ready to step down at the expiration of his tenure on May 29, 2023, in reaction to the call by Senior Advocate of Nigeria and elder statesman, Chief Robert Clarke, for tenure extension.
Specifically, Clarke had called for tenure extension for President Buhari to enable for more time to tackle the nation’s myriad of problems before elections can be smoothly held.
Reacting, however, in a statement, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said: “Chief Clarke, a very well-respected elder, may be sincere in his wish for the President to extend his term by six months. We wish to categorically restate that the President will step down on May 29, 2023, after serving two terms – as per the Constitution.
“Having been the first recipient of a democratic transfer of power from an incumbent administration to an opposition candidate in Nigeria’s history, the President is committed to extending and entrenching democratic values across the country. He shall, in turn, hand the privilege of serving the people of Nigeria to whomever they choose through free, fair and credible elections.
“However, Chief Clarke is right to say that without security, Nigeria would not likely realise its true potential as a peaceful and prosperous nation. That is why it has been at the core of this administration. The results are there for all to see. Boko Haram has been forced back from controlling whole swathes of this country.
Internally Displaced Persons are now returning to rebuild their communities. These achievements have been accomplished through the bravery and determination of the Nigerian armed forces and the fortitude of the people of our nation.
The newspaper says that as the geo-politics of crude oil and gas aids soaring prices, Energy Ministers across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), yesterday, converged on Abuja to address gas pipeline infrastructure challenges in the region.
At a time Europe and Russia are at loggerheads over gas supply, just as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is reviving the Nigeria – Morocco pipeline project, energy ministers in the region also yesterday said there is an urgent need for leeway on the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) Project.
Speaking at the event, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva said there is more to be achieved on the project, although a level of success has been recorded.
According to him, the region is determined to get to the zenith of projected targets, which are to deepen gas supplies and utilisation within the ECOWAS sub-region.
“This is a must for us all if member countries hope to develop and industrialise. We must count ourselves lucky that today, the global community has classified gas as part of renewable energy and since we cannot but join the global energy transition train we must hurry to explore and exploit the abundant natural gas deposits within the borders of our respective countries,” he added.
Alluding to the changing socio-political landscape occasioned by the Russian-Ukrainian war, Sylva said the project originated from the ECOWAS Energy Policy and aimed at fostering economic development and promotion of integration among ECOWAS States through cross-border natural gas transportation.
WAGPA Director General, Matthew Prempeh committed to the progress so far made in the implementation of the WAGP Project.
“I resumed duties as the DG on 1st February, 2022. Our resolve is that we must all work together to accelerate growth within the mandate given to us under the WAGP Treaty, International Project Agreement (IPA), the Enabling Legislation, the WAGPA Regulations and all other applicable instruments,” Prempeh said.
The Punch reports that a new report by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa has disclosed that Nigeria and 10 other Economic Community of West African States countries are currently in debt distress based on debt sustainability analysis.
The 10 other countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.
The report, titled ‘Debt Management, restricting and Sustainability in ECOWAS’, was recently launched at the Debt Management Office in Abuja.
According to the report, a financial crisis in Nigeria can threaten other countries in the ECOWAS region.
The report read in part, “According to the debt sustainability analysis, 11 ECOWAS countries – Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo – are currently in debt distress. However, the remaining four countries – Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Sierra Leone – are at low risk of debt distress.
“We also find that a financial catastrophe occasioned by a debt crisis in one country may spread throughout the region. The financial woes in Nigeria, in particular, portends a serious threat to other nations in the region.”
The newspaper says that the Nigerian paper mills have collapsed years after privatisation, forcing the economy to depend on imported paper for its needs.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics data, Nigeria imported paper and its allied products worth N296.696bn between July and December 2021.
While paper valued at N188.137bn was imported in the third quarter of 2021, import in the last quarter of the year was estimated at N108.559bn.
A former Chairperson of the Pulp, Paper and Packaging Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and Chief Executive Officer of FAE Limited, Mrs Layo Bakare-Okeowo, told The PUNCH the local paper industry was dying and in need of urgent government intervention.
She said, “We need to have a functional paper industry in Nigeria. Egypt has 25 paper mills but how can Nigeria with a bigger population have no functional paper industry.”
Bakare-Okeowo said governments at various levels must provide the right enabling environment for the industry to operate.
The Nation reports that there is uncertainty in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over three of the 26 presidential nomination forms obtained for aspirants.
The forms are those obtained for former President Goodluck Jonathan by ‘Normadic Herders and Almajiris Community, the one for Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele by the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RFAN) and that obtained for African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwunmi Adesina by the nebulous Coalition of Interest Groups.
Dr Jonathan distanced himself from the group, saying he never authorised anyone or association to pick a form for him.
Emefiele dissociated himself from those who obtained the form on his behalf, clarifying that he would purchase the form on his own, if the coast is clear.
Adesina, a former Minister of Agriculture, has kept mum. He has neither confirmed nor denied interest in the race for the APC ticket, four days after the purchase of form for him.
The CBN governor has gone to court for constitutional interpretation so that the judiciary could determine whether he could contest while still holding on to his position at head of the apex bank.
The court has ruled that he should put respondents, including the electoral commission, on notice and return tomorrow for resumption of the case.
Yesterday, the curtain was drawn on the sale of forms. The submission of forms closes today.
GIK/APA