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The National Vice Chairman (Northwest), African Democratic Congress (ADC) , Mallam Jafaru Sani has said his party can and will defeat the ruling APC in Kaduna and other states in the zone with unity, displine and grassroots mobilization.

In a statement titled ‘ Nigeria at 65: A Call for Collective action ‘ issued by the National Vice Chairman of ADC in North West Mallam Jafaru Sani and made available to newsmen in Kaduna on Thursday noted that the party is building a formidable coalition in the seven states in the zone to defeat the ruling APC.

‘ In Kaduna State and across the Northwest, the ADC is building a formidable coalition of leaders and citizens committed to real change.

‘ Iam proud to announce that the leadership of ADC in Kaduna and Northwest comprising of people of proven integrity and competence, are united in their vision of a future where we can achieve our dreams of a prosperous nation with equal opportunities to all citizens. ‘Together, we will work tirelessly to defeat the APC in 2027, both in Kaduna and at the national level.

‘We acknowledge the concerns raised by Salihu Lukman in his recent press release, where he questioned ADC’s capacity to unseat the APC in Kaduna. His caution is valid but it is not a verdict. It is a challenge. And we accept it.

‘ The truth is simple, ADC can and will defeat APC if we work together. Unity, discipline, and grassroots mobilization will be our tools.’ He said

‘We call on all ADC supporters, members, and sympathizers to rally around our leadership. Let us strengthen our structures, deepen our engagement, and amplify our message.

‘The rescue mission is not just about Kaduna it is about Nigeria. It is about restoring dignity to governance and giving power back to the people.

‘Let this Independence Day be a turning point. Let it be the day we recommit ourselves to building a Nigeria that works for all.

Sokoto State Government has suspended the Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SSPHCDA), Dr Larai Aliyu Tambuwal, with immediate effect.

Her suspension was conveyed in an official letter dated October 2, 2025, signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Ibrahim Haliru Dingyadi, on behalf of the Commissioner for Health, concerning the PHC Executive Secretary role.

According to the letter, Governor Ahmed Aliyu approved the decision and directed Dr Bilyaminu Sifawa to assume office immediately as Acting Executive Secretary of the agency.

‘Dr. Bilyaminu Sifawa will take over the office with immediate effect as Acting Executive Secretary,’ the letter read in part, indicating a temporary replacement for the PHC Executive Secretary position.

Although no reason was given for Dr. Tambuwal’s suspension, the move signals a major shake-up in the leadership of the state’s primary health sector by changing the PHC Executive Secretary.

The SSPHCDA is pivotal to delivering quality primary health services, especially in rural communities across Sokoto.

Stakeholders say the leadership change could impact ongoing initiatives aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery and improving access for residents.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reiterated his administration’s commitment to empowering Nigerian women through the Renewed Hope Agenda, describing women as crucial to nation-building.

Speaking at the 9th edition of the Voice of Women Conference and Awards (VOW 2025), held on the eve of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, praised the resilience and contributions of Nigerian women to national development.

‘Our ever-supportive and resilient Nigerian women, as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I salute the 9th Edition of the Voice of Women Conference. The story of our nation is incomplete without the strength of her women,’ Tinubu said.

Guided by this year’s theme, ‘Nigerian Women and the Power of Collective Action’, he emphasised that his administration stands resolute in empowering women as protectors of families, drivers of innovation, and catalysts for building a one trillion-dollar economy.

Vice President Kashim Shettima echoed the President’s message, describing the theme as both ‘timely and timeless.’

He noted that women remain the backbone of the nation’s resilience and the vanguard of its future.

‘Under the steadfast leadership of Mr. President, we remain committed to unlocking the full potential of Nigerian women as builders of families, leaders of enterprise, and key drivers of national renewal,’ Shettima said.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, in her keynote address, highlighted the importance of the Reserved Seats Bill, describing it as a strategic necessity rather than an act of benevolence. She said the bill would align Nigeria with international best practices and institutionalise women’s participation in governance.

She commended President Tinubu for prioritising women, children, and vulnerable groups through the Renewed Hope Agenda, and applauded the leadership of the 10th National Assembly for supporting the bill.

The Convener of the VOW Conference and Awards, Toun Okewale Sonaiya, urged President Tinubu to ensure the passage of the Reserved Seats Bill, saying history would remember his administration and the 10th Assembly as champions of women’s rights.

‘Your leadership is needed to turn promises into policy and back words with action. The passage of the bill is a crucial step towards promoting gender balance and inclusive governance in Nigeria,’ she said.

Sonaiya noted that grassroots women hold the largest voting bloc but often have their political choices shaped by men, calling for stronger collective action among women regardless of political, ethnic, or economic differences.

Also speaking, the President of the League of Women Voters, Irene Awunah-Ikyegh, raised concerns over the increasing deaths of female political leaders, particularly in Lagos State, warning that insecurity, stress, and intimidation continue to discourage women from public service.

‘When women are absent in governance, our democracy is weakened. When leadership becomes a graveyard for women, who will dare to walk the path tomorrow?’ she asked.

Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun has said that the process for the appointment of judicial officers in the country now enjoys greater transparency.

Justice Kekere-Ekun, who is also the Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), said this while presenting a paper, titled: ‘Innovations in judicial practice: Embracing change for a better future,’ at the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges’ Association Triennial Conference held in Banjul, The Gambia.

A statement by the media aide to the CJN, Mr Tobi Soniyi on Thursday, said the NJC, at its 108th meeting held between April 29 and 30 approved a landmark policy to publish the names of candidates under consideration for appointment as judicial officers and to invite public input.

The CJN, in her presentation, explained that, the policy adopted by the NJC was to introduce an additional layer of transparency into the process of appointing judges by ensuring that members of the public and other relevant stakeholders can raise objections, provide information, or endorse nominees before appointments are finalized.

According to her, it is a deliberate effort to strengthen accountability, enhance public trust, and align Nigeria’s appointment procedures more closely with international best practices, including those recommended in the Constitution Hill Guidelines.

The Constitution Hill Global Guidelines on Apex Court Appointments, published in September 2024, provide globally for a set of baseline principles tailored to the singular role of apex courts as the final arbiters of constitutional interpretation and guardians of democratic governance.

Justice Kekere-Ekun noted that, members of the public are already taking advantage of the initiative as shown in the last exercise for the appointment of judicial officers conducted by the NJC.

In her words, ‘In a plural society such as Nigeria, with over 200 million citizens across different ethnic, religious, and linguistic identities, the visibility of diversity on the Supreme Court bench strengthens public confidence and assures citizens that the judiciary reflects the society it serves.’

The CJN noted that despite several efforts to strengthen appointment of judicial officers, challenges still remain, some of the challenges she said, include executive delays in acting on recommendations for appointments made by the NJC, which could impair the court’s capacity to sit at full strength.

Other challenges, she added, include the requirement for security vetting and the interpretation of federal character requirements, which often sparks debate about whether merit is being compromised for inclusivity.

The CJN however, assured the audience, among whom were Chief Justices of Commonwealth countries, that Nigeria will continue to appoint to the Bench only people who satisfy constitutional, professional, and ethical standards.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), has revealed that 166 people have died from Lassa fever between January 1 and September 14, 2025.

The Case Fatality Rate is now 18.5 per cent, higher than the 16.9 per cent recorded during the same period in 2024.

By epidemiological Week 37, the country had reported 7,673 suspected cases and 895 confirmed cases across 21 states and 106 Local Government Areas.

According to the World Health Organisation, Lassa fever is an acute viral illness caused by the Lassa virus. It is endemic in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, but likely exists in other West African countries.

The WHO explained that the virus is mainly transmitted to humans through food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces, while person-to-person transmission can also occur, particularly in health care settings without proper infection prevention and control measures.

The NCDC, in a report, revealed that ‘in week 37, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 13 in week 36 of 2025 to 11. These were reported in Ondo, Bauchi, Kogi, and Anambra states.’

‘Cumulatively, as at week 37, 2025, 166 deaths have been reported with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.5 per cent, which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2024 (16.9 per cent).

‘In total for 2025, 21 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 106 Local Government Areas.’

The agency said 90 per cent of confirmed cases were from Ondo (33 per cent), Bauchi (23 per cent), Edo (18 per cent), Taraba (13 per cent), and Ebonyi (3 per cent), while the remaining 10 per cent came from 16 other states.

‘The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 1 to 96 years, Median Age: 30 years). The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.8,’ the report added.

The report further noted that no new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week, and that suspected and confirmed cases declined compared to the same period in 2024.

The NCDC said the National Lassa Fever Technical Working Group continues to coordinate response activities at all levels.

Nigeria will showcase 105 of its brightest innovators at the Grand Finale of the NextGen Innovation Challenge 2025 in London, as the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI) described it as the nation’s most defining innovation moment of the decade.

The Director General of NBTI, Dr Kazeem Kolawole Raji, announced this at a world press conference in Abuja on Thursday, calling the initiative ‘a national movement, not just a competition.’

He said, ‘On October 9, 2025, in the city of London, 105 of Nigeria’s most outstanding innovators, selected from over 3,000 ground-breaking entries, will converge at the Hilton London Paddington to pitch revolutionary solutions across HealthTech, AgriTech, FinTech, Clean Energy, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, and more,’ Dr. Raji declared.

He added: ‘This is not merely a competition-it is a bold, ambitious, and coordinated effort to connect grassroots ingenuity with global capital; to match local innovation with international collaboration; and to catalyse a new generation of entrepreneurial problem-solvers powered by vision, excellence, and global ambition.’

The NextGen Innovation Challenge was launched on May 28, 2025, in Abuja by the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji.

A national showcase followed in July, where the top 105 innovators, representing every state and the FCT, presented their projects before an audience of policymakers, industrialists, investors, and diplomats.

According to Raji, the projects went through an international vetting process ‘led by Prof. Hari Mohan of London South Bank University, a world-renowned and award-winning inventor,’ ensuring what he called ‘transparency, global standardisation, and credibility.’

The innovations range from a smart wearable Bra-X for early breast cancer detection to AI-controlled drones for precision farming, ventilators capable of supporting six patients simultaneously, affordable clean energy systems, and next-generation financial technologies.

‘These innovations are proof that Nigeria’s creativity and problem-solving genius can compete anywhere in the world,’ the NBTI chief said.

Explaining the choice of venue, Dr. Raji noted that London was a hub for global capital and innovation.

‘London provides the ideal platform to connect Nigerian innovators with global venture capitalists, present their ideas to diaspora investors, network with European industry leaders and policy influencers, and unveil strategic innovation partnerships,’ he said.

The London finale will feature innovation pitches, a consortium project showcase-including the $1 billion Innovate Africa-Israel Solar Project-and global spotlights from SpinLab (Germany), Innovate UK, Zumah FinTech, and the Commonwealth Roundtable.

Keynote speakers will include the CEO of Tesla Group Europe, Dr. Shambhu Pokharel; the UK’s Global Entrepreneur Programme lead; Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Nnaji; and Amanda Frankel Haber of Innovation: Africa.

Raji expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying his ‘Renewed Hope Agenda has rekindled the flame of innovation and empowered young Nigerians to dream beyond borders.’

He also commended the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the British High Commission, and state governors who sponsored innovators from their states.

He saluted Air Peace Chairman, Allen Onyema, for providing subsidised and complimentary flights to London.

‘Your patriotism is unmatched, and your commitment to nation-building inspires us all,’ Raji said.

The DG also announced the launch of its Global Innovation App, designed to connect Nigerian innovators with diaspora markets and international investors.

Looking ahead, Raji revealed that the NextGen Innovation Challenge 2026 would be launched at the London finale, with entries opening in the first quarter of 2026.

‘Let the world take notice: Nigeria has arrived-not as a consumer of technology, but as a global leader in innovation. We are not exporting talents-we are amplifying solutions from Africa to the world,’ he clarified.

THE Oyo State government, in partnership with the Society for Family Health, the Planned Parenthood Federation, and other organizations, has urged women to make family planning a norm, emphasizing that contraception provides families with the freedom to plan, the power to choose, and options for all.

During a speech at the 2025 World Contraception Day in Ibadan, organized by the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, the Society for Family Health, the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria, and other partners, Mrs. Folashade Olatunde, the State Family Planning Coordinator from the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, emphasized that women should space their children for the benefit of both their own health and that of their children.

‘We are not advising them against having more children in the future. We want there to be a gap between each child to improve the woman’s health. Additionally, the health of the children will also benefit. We don’t want them to give birth every year, she stated.

According to her, family planning services are free and serve as a means to reduce maternal mortality rates.

Mercy Okeyode, State Programme Officer for the DISC 2.0 project in Oyo State at the Society for Family Health, explained that the celebration aimed to ensure women have access to all family planning options, enabling them to make informed decisions for their lives and families, prevent high-risk pregnancies, and reduce maternal mortality.

She declared, ‘The goal is to reduce the rate of abortions and unplanned pregnancies in the states. Contraception offers multiple benefits at various levels-for the individual, the family unit, and the nation as a whole.

‘We want to increase awareness and visibility of family planning throughout the state. Representatives from all 11 LGAs in Ibadan Metropolis are present at the celebration. We hope they will take these messages back to their respective local governments, intensify efforts to raise awareness, empower women to take charge of their health, and encourage men to support their wives in making informed choices for their families.’

In a statement, Mrs. Ajibola Adesope, the PPFN state clinic officer, reassured the public that family planning is about helping people decide when and how to have children, not about preventing them from having children.

‘Many people, due to the misconception that family planning is intended only for married couples, begin to restrict young people’s access to family planning services.

Unless you want to shy away from it, many unmarried couples also have unprotected sex. They, too, need protection from unintended pregnancy,’ Mrs. Adesope added.

Dr. Aderonke Atoyebi, the Medical Officer of Health for Ibadan Northwest Local Government in Onirike, told women during her health talks that a woman can recover from the stress of pregnancy and childbirth before choosing to become pregnant again if she allows sufficient time between pregnancies.

She urged increased support from husbands to enable women to space their children, enhanced training for healthcare workers on family planning, and greater government investment in health education for both women and men.

Dr. Atoyebi stated that health education is essential for dispelling myths and misconceptions about family planning, which will increase the utilization of family planning services.

A rally to raise awareness about the benefits of family planning and the availability of free family planning services was held as part of the 2025 World Contraception Day celebrations in marketplaces and communities.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, has disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is unperturbed and completely not disturbed about the coalition, under the umbrella of African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing them as ‘food is ready politicians’.

This was just as he said that the former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) in 2023 election, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso is free to rejoin the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Abdulaziz, who made this known during an interactive session with journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Kano, added that most of these people now ganging up can best be described as food is ready politicians, frustrated because they thought the business is no longer as usual.

Dismissing political coalitions being championed by some opposition figures, he then described their promoters as ‘politically expired, bitter individuals driven by personal vendetta.

‘You should also know that these are a group of bitter individuals. People driven by personal vendetta and a sense of personal loss.

‘Their concern is not the people, is not the ordinary Nigerians. Their concern is that they are not on the table. And Nigerians have sufficiently understood this. And that is why the coalition is not catching fire as they thought it would,’ he added.

While reacting to questions on whether the presidency was worried about the coalition moves ahead of 2027, he said President Tinubu remained ‘completely unperturbed.’

‘President Tinubu is not in any way jittery about whether it is coalition or any political formation. Because one, is that the people that are championing these things, most of them are politically expired,’ he said.

‘There are people with no political weight or relevance that would jitter the government or the president. We have had serial contesters who had, you know, thrown their hearts into the ring on many occasions. And they were fully lost. And nothing much has changed. In fact, their star is dimming.

‘The so-called coalition leaders were only concerned with their exclusion from power rather than the welfare of Nigerians.’

Abdulaziz maintained that Tinubu’s leadership style was focused on tough but necessary reforms rather than political expediency.

According to him, ‘There is a difference between leadership and politics. Politics is a game of popularity. Leadership is a game of nation building. And that is what President Tinubu is doing.

To really take hard-hitting decisions, even if they affect him personally. But those decisions that he feels are for the good of the country,’ he said, citing infrastructure projects, the student loan scheme, and subsidy reforms as examples.

While commenting on the notion that the administration was concentrating major projects in the South, Abdulaziz said such claims lack substance and political sentiment to court favour by disgruntled politicians.

‘These views were ‘largely political,’ he said, noting that the president has continued with multi-billion-naira projects in the North including the Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail line, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway and Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline.

Tinubu’s aide therefore stated that if Tinubu ‘is like other politicians and is wicked or doesn’t like the North, he could leave these projects to be abandoned.

‘He can withhold financing. If there is no financing, these projects will stagnate or will even naturally die. But none of these projects that he inherited, which are massive, are actually stopped,’ he added.

He however noted that the Tinubu-led administration was also embarking on new projects such as the Sokoto-Badagry highway, stressing that development under the president was ‘holistic and not fragmented.’

Also commenting on the move by the presidential candidate of the NNPP in 2023 election, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso to rejoin the APC, he noted that everybody is free to come to the party.

‘Tinubu’ is a kind of man, who does not forget his friends, ‘ adding that both Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’, the immediate past National Chairman of the APC and Senator Kwankwaso were his good friends and there is no love lost between them.

‘Therefore, political party is about members adding that if today Senator Kwankwaso is ready to rejoin the APC and others also, the door is wide open for them, as numbers matter most in a political party,’ Abdulaziz added.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has identified key skill areas where it will focus its capacity-building efforts to create optimal job opportunities in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

According to the Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, these skill areas include underwater welding, subsea engineering, geosciences, project management, deepwater operations (drilling and production engineering), as well as instrumentation and controls.

Others include digitalization-such as Artificial Intelligence (AI)-and helicopter piloting, with training delivered through both classroom and hands-on approaches. Ogbe disclosed this in his keynote address at the ongoing Africa Energy Week (AEW), where he highlighted Nigeria’s success story in local content development.

In his keynote address, entitled ‘From Policy to Prosperity: Scaling Local Content for Africa’s Energy Future,’ the Executive Secretary stressed that no policy succeeds without people. He explained that challenges such as infrastructure gaps and financing limitations should not be reasons to slow down but rather opportunities to deepen collaboration among government, operators, service companies, and host communities to co-create solutions.

He pointed out that these challenges also present opportunities for African countries to harmonize local content policies, create regional supply chains, and leverage continental institutions such as the emerging African Energy Bank. He further urged African nations to ensure that the skills of their citizens, the creativity of entrepreneurs, and the strength of their institutions shape the future of Africa’s energy sector.

Represented by the Director of Corporate Services at the NCDMB, Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, Ogbe noted that the local content strategy developed by the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) for member countries, as well as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) policy of the African Union, are clear pathways to fostering trade-based multilateral cooperation within the continent.

He emphasized that scaling local content requires human capital development and deployment, infrastructure development, technology and innovation, cross-border collaboration and partnerships (through common standards, tariffs, and demand), in addition to policy harmonization.

On Nigeria’s local content journey, Ogbe noted that in-country value addition has risen to 57 per cent, up from five per cent in 2010 when the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act came into effect. He explained that the overarching objective is to position Nigeria as the destination of choice for investment in exploration and production (EandP), but more importantly, to create jobs for citizens, establish new industries to support the EandP value chain, and ensure sustainable operations for future generations.

Local content implementation, according to him, is anchored on six broad pillars: regulatory framework, gap analysis, capacity building, incentives and funding, research and development (RandD), and market access. These pillars are driven by several policy interventions.

‘The policy interventions include the Equipment Component Manufacturing Initiative, which requires companies to obtain a Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate to qualify for equipment supply; the marine vessel categorization scheme, which mandates proof of indigenous ownership for vessel contracts; and project-based training, which requires project promoters to commit a percentage of project costs to industry-relevant training,’ he said.

Highlighting accomplishments under the NOGICD Act, Ogbe stated: ‘Nigeria now hosts a world-class fabrication and integration yard for the production of platforms and the integration of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, high-voltage cables, and fiber optics for LNG trains.’ He added that production platforms are now fabricated using Nigerian-made cables, while design engineering capacity now exists for onshore, offshore, LNG, and gas-gathering facilities.

He also disclosed that operators such as Renaissance Africa Energy Limited, Seplat, and Oando have acquired assets from international oil companies (IOCs) under a divestment programme and are poised to become key contributors to Nigeria’s target of achieving three million barrels per day in production by 2030.

Ogbe further noted that recent Executive Orders by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, which introduced tax incentives tied to time-bound upstream investment and cost leadership, as well as measures to accelerate contract processing cycles from 36 months to six months, have already given rise to major projects such as the UBETA Gas Development Project and the Bonga North Project, with others in the pipeline.

He concluded with a strong assurance to other oil- and gas-producing countries on the continent that the NCDMB remains committed to partnering with them to build an African energy sector that is ‘owned, operated, and sustained by Africans.’

The African Energy Week, organized by the African Energy Chamber, is an interactive exhibition and networking event attended by energy policymakers, operators, service companies in the oil and gas sector, and prospective investors.

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr Emomotimi Agama, has called on West African countries to accelerate the integration of their capital markets, describing it as a crucial step toward mobilising large-scale investment for regional development.

Speaking in Abuja, Thursday at the Experts Meeting on the Validation of the WASRA Charter and Recognition of the West Africa Securities Regulators Association (WASRA) as the regulatory body for cross-border securities in ECOWAS, Agama, who also chairs WASRA, said the initiative marks ‘a watershed moment’ in the region’s financial history.

He noted that West Africa faces pressing challenges, including infrastructure gaps, climate adaptation, digital transformation and job creation, which require financing far beyond the capacity of individual national markets.

‘An integrated regional capital market is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity,’ he stated.

Agama lamented the slow pace of regional integration, stressing that Africa’s infrastructure financing gap exceeds $100 billion annually, while West Africa alone requires tens of billions to modernise transport corridors, upgrade energy systems and expand digital infrastructure.

Without integrated markets, he warned, governments and businesses would remain constrained by limited fiscal space and costly borrowing.

Drawing lessons from the European Union and ASEAN, he argued that harmonised regulations and investor confidence are essential to unlocking capital flows across borders.

‘Potential means little without decisive action,’ Agama said, highlighting opportunities in agriculture, digital innovation, fintech, and youth empowerment that could benefit from pooled regional capital.

He outlined WASRA’s mandate to drive integration through harmonised regulation, mutual assistance, and common projects. ‘Integration is not only about policy declarations; it is about practical collaboration and shared initiatives that deliver results,’ he stressed, urging ECOWAS finance ministers to demonstrate the political will required.

Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Mr. Wale Edun, represented by Mr. Hassan Adamu Jibrin, described the WASRA Charter validation as a critical step toward harmonised regulation and sustainable market development in the sub-region.

Similarly, ECOWAS Commission’s Acting Director for the Private Sector, Mr. Peter Oluonye, emphasised that breaking down barriers to capital movement through common standards, interlinked trading systems and unified governance frameworks was vital to financing the region’s economic aspirations.