Business

World Bank Appoints New President

Published

2 years ago

May 3, 2023

The World Bank confirmed on Wednesday that Ajay Banga would be its next president, handing him the reins at a pivotal time as it looks to reshape its role to better address climate change.

“The Board looks forward to working with Mr. Banga on the World Bank Group Evolution process,” the development lender wrote in a statement published shortly after executives voted to approve his leadership for a five-year term.

The bank said it looked forward to working with Banga on its “ambitions and efforts aimed at tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries.”

Banga, the US candidate who was the sole nominee for the top job, will begin his new role on June 2, taking over from David Malpass who is stepping down early amid criticism over his stance on climate issues.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that Banga “will help steer the institution as it evolves and expands to address global challenges that directly affect its core mission of poverty reduction — including climate change.”

More private sector participation
Under an unwritten arrangement, a US citizen has historically held the presidency of the Washington-based development lender, while the International Monetary Fund has been run by a European.

Despite growing public unease over America’s continued grip on the bank’s presidency from developing and emerging economies, the trend continues with Banga, 63, who was born into a Sikh family in India and is a naturalized US citizen.

Banga previously ran the payments company Mastercard for more than a decade between 2010 and 2021. He has also served on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.

He told reporters that during his candidacy, he wanted to see greater private sector funding to help tackle financing for global problems.

“There is not enough money without the private sector,” he said, adding that an organization like the World Bank should set up a system that could share risk or mobilize private funds to achieve its goals.

“These are all tools in the toolkit and I’m going to try and figure it out,” he said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday that “ambitious goals” for the bank would not be met overnight, adding that Washington remains committed to “a staged adoption of reforms over the course of the year.”

Banga’s track record of “forging partnerships between the public sector, private sector, and non-profits uniquely equips him to help mobilise private capital and press for the reforms needed,” she said.

Climate concerns

Banga will enter his new role at a difficult time for the world economy, with slowing global growth and high interest rates in many major economies.

Low-income countries are expected to suffer a double shock from higher borrowing costs and a decline in demand for their exports due to the tough economic conditions, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said last month, adding that this could fuel poverty and hunger.

Banga will take control of the bank shortly after member countries endorsed measures to allow it a $50 billion lending boost over the next decade — a key objective of outgoing president Malpass.

The move is part of an ongoing evolution of the development lender amid pushes for it to meet global challenges like climate change.

The bank estimates that developing countries will need $2.4 trillion every year for the next seven years just to address the costs of climate change, conflict and the pandemic.

While plans to reform the bank have been broadly welcomed, there has been concern by some countries that new objectives could relegate the pressing economic development needs of members in developing economies.

“We want to make sure that the development agenda is not diluted in the climate agenda,” Abdoul Salam Bello, a member of the bank’s executive board representing 23 African countries, told AFP last month.

“Climate is important, but we don’t want to have a trade-off where we have an agenda that will be climate versus development,” he said.
AFP

Business

Fixed Income: CBN Announces Fresh Regulations To Control Nigerian Market

Published

4 days ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced sweeping regulations to take control of the Nigerian fixed income market.

The regulations expected to begin in November are aimed at boosting transparency across Nigeria’s financial sector.
The apex bank disclosed this in a recent statement.

CBN noted that the intervention is a key part of broader financial market reforms.

Accordingly, it said its core objective is to enhance regulatory oversight and strengthen the market’s ability to effectively support the transmission of monetary policy and, ultimately, foster economic growth.

“This transition will enable the CBN to assume direct responsibility for the management of the trading platform and handle end-to-end settlement activities under the bank’s established settlement system for financial market transactions,” the statement read.

According to DAILY POST, Fixed income securities refer to investments which provide a return in the form of fixed periodic interest payments and the eventual return of the principal at maturity.

Business

Confusion Over Euro-Africa CCI’s $250m Investment In Edo

Published

1 week ago

September 29, 2025

Editor

The $250m investment deal Governor Monday Okpebholo claimed to have secured during his recent trip to Scotland is generating ripples over capacity of the European African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EACCI) to make such a huge investment.

The EACCI, headed by a Drector General, Dr. Kingsley Obasohan, is not known to have made any prior investment in Edo State or any part of the country.

Obasohan, who attended the Edo State Global Investment Summit virtually, announced the $250m investment.

He said the investment would be made for a period of three years.

An online search was launched to unravel the EACCI as well as the man Obasohan.

A number on the site was answered by a lady who claimed not to understand English language.

Several foreign partners were listed on the site as board members and advisory council.

Some closed associates of Obasohan said he would have to get clearance from the Board members before talking to journalists on the issue.

Spokesman for the Edo Peoples Democratic Party, Daniel Noah Osa-Ogbegi, said the party would hold Governor Okpebholo accountable to Edo people and demanded clarity on the $250m investment from Glasgow.

Osa-Ogbegi said the proposed investment has become a source of embarrassment to Edo people because of unfolding information about EACCI.

He said the party would shine light on fiscal management practices that appeared to ignore transparency and responsibility.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Umar Musa Ikhilo, had earlier said those that attended the Glasgow summit were interested in keying into the SHINE agenda of Governor Okpebholo.

“One of the chambers of commerce that attended, the European African Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed an MoU with the Edo State Government to invest a sum of $250 million over the next three to five years.

“Last year, diaspora remittances were the second-highest source of foreign income in Nigeria after crude oil, over $20 billion, but only 2% of that went into investment. We are creating a vehicle to help convert more of that into direct investments.”

He added that a delegation from Scotland was expected to visit Edo State in the coming months to explore specific investment projects as a follow-up to the summit.

Business

Dangote Hits Out At PENGASSAN, Says Union ‘Serial Saboteurs, Serving Oligarchs’

Published

1 week ago

September 28, 2025

Editor

The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has berated the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), accusing the union of decades-long sabotage of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and serving the interests of its leaders rather than ordinary Nigerians.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the refinery described PENGASSAN’s latest directive to cut crude oil and gas supplies to the facility as another act of economic sabotage designed to inflict untold hardship on Nigerians.

“Indeed, over time, the Association has consistently proved itself as serving interests other than those of Nigerians and Nigerian workers,” the statement declared.

Dangote recalled that in 2007, when the Federal Government sold its moribund Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to Blue Star Consortium, led by the Dangote Group, for $750 million, it was PENGASSAN and its ally, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), that sabotaged the deal. “It is now obvious to everyone that the FGN’s decision at the time was the right one and that PENGASSAN and NUPENG ignominiously wrote their names on the wrong pages of history,” the company said.

The refinery also faulted the union’s role in the much-publicised rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, describing it as a “ruse” which PENGASSAN “knowingly celebrated despite being a scam on Nigerians.” The statement further accused the union of opposing amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that would have freed up federal liquidity and attracted private-sector funding into Nigeria’s upstream oil ventures.

Beyond policy obstruction, Dangote Refinery accused the association of mismanaging billions of naira in annual check-off dues to allegedly bankroll the “lavish lifestyles” of its leaders, without accountability to members. By contrast, the refinery highlighted its own record of economic contributions within a short period, citing road construction, worker training, the creation of thousands of Nigerian jobs, and a compensation structure that “outdistances the best in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.”

“The Dangote Group is the highest employer of labor in Nigeria and the highest contributor to the tax revenues of Nigeria and its sub-nationals. What comparable social responsibility has PENGASSAN, with its billions of Naira in annual check-off dues and subscriptions, lived up to?” the statement queried, challenging the union to publish its audited accounts for the past ten years. “Can it publish publicly its account for the last 10 years and list out its corporate responsibility activities within that timeframe?”

The refinery insisted that PENGASSAN’s recent directive to withdraw services and cut off essential fuel supplies, including but not limited to petrol, diesel, kerosene, cooking gas and aviation fuel was reckless, lawless and dangerous. It said the order is not about protecting Nigerian workers, but it is about a cabal of oligarchs weaponising hardship against over 230 million Nigerians.

“In the process, it (PENGASSAN) cares little if at all about the unbearable hardship and terror it would thereby inflict on all Nigerians, including but not limited to the provision of essential services in our hospitals and medical facilities, schools (nursery and right up to tertiary and research institutions), emergency services, communications facilities, transportation systems, etc,” it said.

Dangote Refinery called on the Federal Government and security agencies to step in immediately to protect the facility and the nation’s energy security, stressing that the union must not be allowed to “bully Nigerians into chaos and economic sabotage.”

According to Tribune Online, the federal government has announced readiness to broker peace between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN, inviting both to a meeting scheduled for Monday.