General
Buhari Backs Giadom’s Fight for APC Leadership
By Chubi Eze
In a surprise move, Nigeria’s President, Mr Muhammadu Buhari, has announced that he will attend a meeting to be convened today, Thursday, June 25, 2020, by Mr Victor Giadom, one of the two men laying claim to the leadership of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), which controls the presidency and both houses of parliament.
In a series of Tweets, the president’s spokesperson, Mr Garba Shehu, said that: “The president has received very convincing advice on the position of the law as far as the situation in the party is concerned and has determined that the law is on the side of Victor Giadom as Acting National Chairman. And because he will always act in accordance with the law, the President will be attending the virtual meeting called for tomorrow afternoon.
“We urge the media to stop promoting manufactured controversies and to not give any further room for mischievous interpretations of the law on this matter.
“In addition to the president, the Giadom meeting will hopefully, be attended by our governors and leaders of the National Assembly.”
A former Commissioner of Works in the southern oil-rich state of Rivers, Mr Giadom is a political disciple of the Minister of Transport, Mr Chibuike Amaechi, himself a former two-time governor famed for being a vocal maverick.
There has been a growing rift between the factions within the APC since a Court of Appeal announced the suspension of the APC’s erstwhile chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, a combative ex-unionist and former governor of Edo, who has presided over a tumultuous state of affairs at the party.
Mr Oshiomhole, perceived by critics to be a pugilistic politician who shuns consensus-building, has been locked in a fierce battle with a group of governors, who oppose his style and are perceived to be hell-bent on neutralizing him.
Mr Oshiomhole’s opponents say that he has repeatedly flouted the party’s guidelines by refusing to convene meetings of the party’s National Executive Committee, paying bloated salaries to members of the National Working Committee, and appointing unelected officers into the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
Party insiders say that the president’s surprising show of support for Mr Giadom means that Mr Oshiomhole is almost certainly going to be expelled from the party’s NWC.
After Mr Oshiomhole’s shock ouster by a federal appeal court a few weeks ago, the party’s NWC endorsed the appointment of a former Oyo governor, Mr Abiola Ajimobi, to act in his stead. This was resisted by Mr Giadom who relied on an earlier court judgement to declare himself the party’s acting National Chairman.
Mr Ajimobi is gravely ill and while most observers saw the NWC’s coronation of Mr Ajimobi as an attempt by Mr Oshiomhole and his allies to run the party by proxy, Mr Giadom’s aggressive push to take over the party jolted the party’s hierarchy who tried, albeit unsuccessfully to expel him from the party through court judgements in his home state of Rivers.
The impasse effectively led to a schism, and a proxy battle between the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Mr Kayode Fayemi, Transport Minister, Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Aviation Minister, Mr Hadi Sirika, Kaduna’s governor, Mr Nasir el-Rufai and the Bola Tinubu/Oshiomhole faction of the party.
A scrum of governors, upset at the manner in which one of their colleagues the governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, was humiliated out of the party by his predecessor, Mr Oshiomhole, his estranged predecessor, also joined the anti-Oshiomhole camp.
Since Mr Ajimobi was critically ill, after reportedly contracting coronavirus, the party’s executive committee settled on Mr Hilliard Eta, a little-known Cross River politician, who is believed to owe fealty to Mr Oshiomhole.
However, Mr Giadom refused to budge, using the courts and the law enforcement authorities to continue in his disputed role as the APC’s acting National Chairman. And while acknowledging that this was a temporary position, Mr Giadom has repeatedly said that he will only accept decisions taken by the party’s larger decision-making organ, the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Only one member of the party’s NWC, Mr Salisu Mohammed, the APC’s National Vice-Chairman (North-East), himself an avowed critic of Mr Oshiomhole, had supported Mr Giadom.
Mr Buhari’s public declaration of support for Mr Giadom has suddenly changed the APC’s internal dynamics. While the president is perceived as not being a natural politician, no party member would want to publicly challenge the president or oppose his choice of party chief.
Mr Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, an APC leader in Rivers and a supporter of Mr Giadom, praised the president for taking a position on the contentious leadership tussle.
He said that the APC’s NEC should confirm Mr Giadom as the National Chairman while it works towards organising a new executive for the party. He asked party members to sheathe their swords and coalesce around Mr Giadom to strengthen the party.
Mr Giadom’s ascendancy also poses a problem to the APC’s governorship candidate in Edo state, Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Mr Iyamu is backed by Mr Oshiomhole who had ensured that his former enemy-turned protege had a clear path to the party’s nomination in Edo.
Mr Ize-Iyamu now finds himself in a bit of a quandary since Mr Giadom had publicly rejected the party primaries that led to Mr Ize-Iyamu’s coronation, raising questions about their legality.
Analysts believe that Ekiti’s Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, the cerebral head of the Nigerian Governorship Forum and Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, one of the president’s most vociferous supporters are the arrowheads of a larger group of powerful governors that counts Jigawa’s Badaru, Kebbi’s Bagudu and Ondo’s Akeredolu as members.
The group, which includes other less-visible members, is said to be wary of Mr Oshiomhole’s combative style and his unwavering loyalty to the party’s “National Leader” Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, who is one of Nigeria’s most polarizing svengalis.
Mr Tinubu, one of the most powerful men in Nigerian politics, is widely believed to be eyeing the presidency in 2023 and a formidable coalition of politicians and intellectuals has been trying to stop him. The word in political circles is that powerful Northern dynasts do not want a Tinubu presidency.
President Buhari’s decision to back the faction of the party opposed to former Chairman Adams Oshiomhole and his benefactor, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, has effectively altered the balance of power within the APC and suggests that a clearer picture is emerging in the battle for the presidency in 2023.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The World Bank Group’s private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Standard Chartered on Wednesday announced a new risk-sharing facility aimed at strengthening supply chains and supporting business growth across Africa.
The programme will roll out across eight markets—Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia—targeting sectors including agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing, with a focus on improving access to working capital for suppliers.
This marks the IFC’s first project under its Global Supply Chain Finance Program and the Africa Trade and Supply Chain Recovery Initiative, supported by the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility.
Global demand for supply chain finance continues to rise, reaching an estimated $2.7 trillion in 2025, an increase of 8 per cent year-on-year. However, access in emerging markets remains limited, as financial institutions tend to prioritise developed economies.
The facility will cover up to $300 million in supply chain and trade finance assets originated by Standard Chartered. It includes financing instruments such as payables finance, receivables discounting and pre-shipment finance programmes, which enable businesses to access funds earlier in the payment cycle.
The facility aims to address this imbalance by mitigating risk in short-term trade and supply chain finance portfolios, helping to unlock capital in underserved markets.
By accelerating payments to suppliers, the initiative aims to strengthen supply chain relationships, improve delivery reliability and support job creation across value chains.
IFC will provide guarantees of up to $150 million, with $100 million committed as an initial tranche. The facility will support transactions in both U.S. dollars and selected local currencies.
Over three years, the partnership is expected to enable approximately $1.9 billion in supply chain finance transactions, supporting more than 500 suppliers, including small and medium enterprises. The programme also has the potential to indirectly benefit over 1 million farmers.
Speaking on this development, Mr Mohamed Gouled, Vice President, Products & Clients at IFC, said, “Supply chain finance is among the fastest ways to narrow the growing finance gap that businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, are facing in emerging economies. By partnering with Standard Chartered to support companies at the centre of strategic value chains, we can unlock much-needed working capital at scale for businesses across Africa, including smaller firms and farmers, making supply chains more competitive and boosting job creation.”
On his part, Mr Dalu Ajene, Chief Executive and Head of Coverage, Standard Chartered Africa, said, “This $300 million facility with IFC underscores our shared commitment to strengthening Africa’s supply chains and enabling sustainable business growth. As a super-connector bank with deep expertise across key trade corridors linking Africa to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas, we are uniquely positioned to channel capital and innovation into the real economy.”
“By expanding access to supply chain finance, we are helping African companies unlock liquidity, manage risk, and invest with confidence. Our collaboration unites Standard Chartered’s cross-border expertise with IFC’s development mandate to empower businesses – from major corporations to smaller local suppliers – to engage more actively in regional and global trade, fostering job creation and promoting inclusive growth,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that the average retail price of a litre of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, rose by 22.55 per cent or N237.07 per litre to N1,288.54 in March 2026 from N1,051.47 in February.
In the Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch for March released on Tuesday, the NBS said on a year-on-year basis, the average retail price of fuel also increased by 2.13 per cent from N1,261.65 recorded in March 2025.
This surge in fuel prices could be linked to global disruptions brought on by the US-Israel war on Iran, which triggered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and sent prices of crude oil above $100 per barrel.
While the country was not heavily hit by the impact, it felt the ripple effect of crude prices increasing, particularly as Dangote Refinery imported crude from other markets to cover for local feedstock shortfalls.
The data noted that by state, Anambra recorded the highest average retail price of N1,441.22 per litre, followed by Sokoto at N1,377.55 and Borno at N1,375.16.
However, the price was cheapest in Lagos at N1,162.71, followed by Ogun at N1,169.78 and Kaduna state at N1,193.40.
By zone, it was most expensive in the North East at N1,336.50 last month, while the South-West recorded the lowest at N1,232.46.
A look at the Diesel Price Watch Report for March showed that the average retail price paid by users rose by 16.05 per cent on a month-on-month basis to N1,648.08 per litre from N1,420.17 per litre a month earlier.
“On state profiles analysis, the highest average price of diesel in March was recorded in Ebonyi at N2,262.29 per litre, followed by Akwa Ibom at N1,895.72 and Osun at N1,872.15.
“On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Kogi at N1,383.40 per litre, followed by Katsina State at N1,438.25 and Enugu at N1,480.06,” parts of the report said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr Datti Baba-Ahmed, has left the party to join the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the politician said he’s no longer interested in the way the Labour Party was being run.
He disclosed that there is no more peace in the political party he flew its flag in the last general elections because of greed.
He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of destabilising opposition political parties to ensure President Bola Tinubu does not have a credible opponent in the 2027 presidential poll.
“What the Labour Party stood for is not the same now. We have a government of today which is interested in destroying other political parties,” he said.
“I am leaving the Labour Party tomorrow (today) by 12 midnight,” Mr Baba-Ahmed said when asked about his plans for next year.
I am leaving the Labour Party [at] midnight, and I am joining PRP. PRP is the new destination. PRP is the one with a history. It’s about 75 years old,” he further stated.
He further said, “When there was real peace in the Labour Party, someone was redeployed to the Labour Party and because of the antecedents of the person, [I don’t see things getting better].
PRP, a progressive Nigerian political party, was established in 1978 by Mallam Aminu Kano. It is rooted in social democratic principles and populist ideology, often focusing on the empowerment of the talakawa (common people).
Its current National Chairman, according to data obtained from the website of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is Mr Falalu Bello, while the National Secretary is Mr Babatunde F. Alli.
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