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2027 Date For ECOWAS Single Currency UnrealisticWAMZ DG—-The Director-General, West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), Dr Olorunsola Olowofeso, says expectation for an ECOWAS Single Currency by 2027 is no longer realistic.

Oluwafeso, who said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja, said this was due to the inability of all the WAMZ member-states meet all the required criteria.

He spoke against the backdrop of the recently held 48th meeting of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the nember-states of the WAMZ in Abuja.

According to him, it is unlikely that any of the member-states will satisfy all four primary convergence criteria on a sustainable basis between 2024 and 2026.

“The quest for a single currency by WAMZ will take much longer to achieve as the convergence indicators have declined significantly.

“The assessment of member states’ performance reveals that, as of the end of June 2023, all member states failed to meet all the four primary convergence criteria.

“The zone’s performance score declined to 29.2 per cent, compared to 41.7 per cent during the same period in 2022,” he said.

He said that the medium-term projections on macroeconomic convergence suggested that none of the WAMZ member-states would meet all the primary convergence criteria sustainably between now and 2027 for the convergence phase of the ECOWAS Single Currency Roadmap.

Meanwhile, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, said that Nigeria remained committed to achieving the WAMZ objectives.

According to Edun, I am sure we have the wherewithal and resilience to realise the WAMZ ambition.

“ We must, as a bloc, work together to strengthen and improve the economies of the zone. ” he said.

NAN reports that WAMZ is a group of six countries within ECOWAS formed in 2000.

Member countries are Nigeria, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

NAN reports that ECOWAS its 55th ordinary session in July 2019, the 15-member regional group had agreed to launch Eco in January 2020.

While eight, mostly francophone countries — Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau (Portuguese-speaking), Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo — announced in December 2019 that they would be changing from the CFA Franc to Eco, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia and Gambia, who are all English-speaking, as well as Guinea, a francophone country, rejected the adoption of Eco.

 Former President Muhammadu Buhari-led government had called for the extension of the take-off.

Nigeria’s position on the Eco currency is that the convergence criteria have not been met by majority of the countries,” the federal government had said then..”

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Real Reason Dangote May Not Offer Lesser Petrol Price Than NNPCL – Expert

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Real Reason Dangote May Not Offer Lesser Petrol Price Than NNPCL – Expert—-Oil and gas analyst Henry Adigun has explained that the costs involved in producing petrol at the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, which are influenced by dollar-based expenses, may prevent it from selling fuel at prices lower than those of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

During an appearance on Inside Sources, a socio-political show on Channels Television, Adigun noted that the high-quality petrol produced at the $20 billion refinery is one factor that will influence its price. He added that the production of fuel is a dollar-dependent industry, allowing Aliko Dangote, the owner of the refinery, to determine the pricing based on the costs involved.

“Dangote incurs significant expenses. He only receives 40% of the crude from NNPCL and purchases the remaining from countries like the United States. Additionally, his refinery uses a single-train system, which means he needs to blend Nigerian crude with foreign crude for production,” Adigun explained.

He further emphasized that Dangote secured loans in US dollars, not naira, and is required to repay these loans in dollars, contributing to the overall costs. When asked about the potential price of petrol from Dangote’s refinery, Adigun estimated it to be no less than ₦850 per litre due to these operational expenses.

Nigeria, despite being Africa’s largest economy, remains dependent on imported refined petroleum due to the inactivity of its state-owned refineries. As a result, petrol prices have significantly increased, particularly after the removal of subsidies in May 2023. This has intensified fuel scarcity and pushed prices from ₦200 to around ₦800 per litre, affecting citizens who rely heavily on petrol to power both vehicles and generators, especially in the face of unreliable electricity supply.

The Dangote Refinery, which began partial operations in December 2022, is poised to reach full production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. It has already begun supplying diesel and aviation fuel, with plans to start petrol distribution once ongoing arrangements with the NNPCL are finalized. The NNPCL has announced that it will begin lifting petrol from the Dangote Refinery by mid-September, as the country continues to grapple with its energy challenges.

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BREAKING: VeryDarkMan Blast David Hundeyin In A Viral Video [WATCH HERE]

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BREAKING: VeryDarkMan Blast David Hundeyin In A Viral Video [WATCH HERE]—-Controversial social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse, better known as Verydarkman, has reacted to the interview granted by investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, where he was called out. 

Thecloudngr reports that Hundeyin was a guest on a show when the interviewer compared him with the activist. He was later told to share his thoughts about VDM, as he called him an opportunist.

Reacting to what Hundeyin said about him, VDM also called the journalist a stowaway, who ran away from fighting in Nigeria. 

He accused him of seeking asylum in Ghana and trying to run to an European country. VDM also claimed that Hundeyin tried to implicate the Nigerian government but was exposed by the Ghanaian government. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

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