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Tinubu Laments Cost Of Borrowing, Puts 2026 Debt Servicing Figure At $11.6b 

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Nigeria President, Bola Hamed Tinubu has lamented the cost of borrowing by African countries, submitting that this has made it difficult for Africa manufacturers to compete meaningfully with their Europe, Asia and North America counterparts.

 

He said this on Wednesday ,during the Africa Forward Summit held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, explaining that the global financial architecture is largely skewed against Africa, leaving the continent at the receiving end of development.

Tinubu quarried”how an African manufacturer can compete with a competitor in Europe, Asia, or North America when the cost of borrowing in our nations is five to ten times higher?”

Revealing that Nigeria will spend $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026, Tinubu said the amount is half of the projected revenue for this year.

Contained in a statement by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President was further quoted as saying that Nigeria would spend about $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026, representing nearly half of projected government revenue.

“Every single dollar that leaves our treasury to pay punitive interest rates is a dollar that did not go into our steel sector, our textile mills, our agro-processing plants, or our digital industries.

“We export raw minerals, crude oil, and agricultural commodities, and we import processed goods at a premium. This pattern is not an accident.

“It is the product of a global financial architecture that starves our industries of affordable capital, tolerates massive illicit financial flows, and imposes policy constraints that our competitors themselves never observed when they built their own industrial bases,” he said.

The summit, co-hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron, drew leaders and senior officials from more than 30 African countries.

Among those who delivered opening remarks were United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Chairman of the African Union Commission Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.

President Tinubu said Africa’s persistent export of raw materials and importation of finished goods at premium prices was the direct consequence of an international system structured against the continent’s industrial development.

According to him, Africa’s share of global manufacturing value remains below two per cent despite decades of political independence.

The President stressed that Nigeria had undertaken painful but necessary economic reforms through sovereign decisions rather than external impositions.

He listed the removal of fuel subsidies, unification of exchange rates, recapitalisation of the banking sector with over $3.4 billion and Nigeria’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list as part of the reforms already implemented.

President Tinubu said the measures had helped deliver a declining debt-to-GDP ratio projected at 32.3 per cent in 2026, stronger external reserves of $45.5 billion and renewed investor confidence.

He, however, lamented that even reforming African economies remained trapped by an unfair financial system.

“How can an African manufacturer compete with a competitor in Europe, Asia, or North America when the cost of borrowing in our nations is five to ten times higher?

“How can we build cross-border industrial value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area when our infrastructure projects face a financing gap deepened by the very institutions meant to bridge it?”

Declaring that the present financial system had become “an instrument of industrial disarmament for Africa,” President Tinubu said: “Nigeria is not asking for charity.

“We are demanding a financial system that intentionally enables Africa to industrialise; to process its own minerals, refine its own crude oil, manufacture its own pharmaceuticals, and compete fairly in global markets.”

The President advocated stronger regional cooperation in maritime security and blue economy development, describing ocean governance as central to Africa’s future prosperity

He pledged that Nigeria would intensify regional coordination by making its Deep Blue Project maritime intelligence infrastructure available as a shared data hub for willing Gulf of Guinea countries.

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Sign-Out Viral Video: Ondo Withholds 17 WAEC Results, Expels Non-Graduating Students

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The Ondo State Government has sanctioned 17 secondary school students by withholding their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results and testimonials over a viral “sign-out” video that sparked widespread reactions on social media.

 

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said the students are from three schools: Oyemekun Grammar School, Aquinas College and CAC Grammar School, all in Akure.

Recall that the video surfaced shortly after the students completed the 2026 WASSCE.

It showed them engaging in unruly conduct, including tearing school uniforms and chanting inappropriate slogans during end-of-examination celebrations.

Disciplinary measures were announced after an emergency meeting between ministry officials and administrators of the affected schools at the ministry’s headquarters in Akure.

According to the ministry, official testimonials and WASSCE results of the 17 students identified in the video have been withheld indefinitely.

Their names will be entered into a newly established “black book” for student misconduct in their respective schools. Principals across the state were directed to create similar records for disciplinary infractions.

Senior officers in the affected schools were also issued queries for alleged lapses in supervision that allowed the celebrations to degenerate into disorder.

The ministry further ordered the immediate expulsion of any student featured in the video who is not in the graduating class.

Commissioner for Education Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun said the government would not tolerate conduct capable of undermining discipline and the reputation of schools.

Ajibefun said that “While celebrating academic milestones is natural, the growing sign-out culture among secondary school students must be guided by decency.

“We will not fold our arms and watch the discipline we have painstakingly instilled in our schools be eroded for the sake of social media clout,” he said.

Ajibefun added that government is determined to protect the integrity of the state’s education system.

The Permanent Secretary Dr Akindele Ige urged principals to report disruptive incidents to Zonal Education Offices before they escalate.

Parents and affected students have been summoned to the ministry to receive official letters conveying the sanctions.

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Ogun Doctors Suspend 10-Day Warning Strike

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The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State, has suspended its ongoing 10-day warning strike following assurances from the state government on the payment of its members’ professional allowance on or before July 31, 2026.

 

The association said that the government gave this commitment at a meeting held with the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tokunbo Talabi, and the Head of Service, Mr Olanrewaju Saka.

The meeting also had in attendance the state leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

The President of the association, Dr John Omotoso, disclosed this in a statement issued at the end of the association’s emergency meeting held on Wednesday.

Omotoso said that the association, after due appraisal of the issues at hand, decided to suspend the warning strike and urged its members to resume work by 8 a.m. on Thursday.

He stated: “Following a thorough appraisal of the association’s demands and the progress made thus far, Congress resolved to suspend the ongoing industrial action, with the expectation that payment of the Professional Allowance will be effected and reflected in members’ accounts on or before 31st July, 2026.

“This follows meetings and dialogue with the Ogun State Government (the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tokunbo Talabi, and the Head of Service, Mr Olanrewaju Iskeel Saka) in the presence of NMA Ogun leadership.

“We hereby direct that our members should resume work by 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, 25th June, 2026.”

Omotoso said the association will convene an Emergency General Meeting (EGM) on August 1, 2026, to appraise the situation and determine the next line of action.

The association warned against any form of victimisation, intimidation, or harassment arising from the industrial action, urging members not to hesitate to promptly report such actions to the leadership of the association for appropriate intervention.

The association appreciated the prompt intervention of the state government under the leadership of Governor Dapo Abiodun on issues that may disrupt the provision of health services to the people of the state and affect residency training in the state-owned teaching hospital.

The doctors had on Tuesday announced a 10-day warning strike over the non-payment of revised professional and specialist allowances, delayed training funds, and worsening welfare conditions.

They noted that despite the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum earlier issued by the doctors, no Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed, and no firm commitment had been received from the state government regarding the implementation and payment of revised Professional and Specialist Allowances, including outstanding arrears.

The doctors also expressed dissatisfaction with the delay in the payment of the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), despite its domestication by the government, coupled with critical manpower shortages resulting in excessive workload, burnout, and prolonged working hours due to inadequate staffing across departments.

Other concerns raised by the doctors include recurrent security breaches, theft, and burglary within the hospital environment, posing risks to staff and patients; the poor state of call rooms and inadequate accommodation facilities for doctors; and the persistent poor quality and inadequate provision of call meals for resident doctors, among others.

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Burnley And West Ham To Meet On First Championship Weekend

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Relegated Burnley and West Ham will meet on the opening weekend of the Championship season on Sunday, 16 August.

 

The Clarets finished 19th in the top flight last season and will host the Hammers, who went down on the final day.

Fellow relegated side Wolves will play the league’s curtain-raiser against Blackburn at Molineux on Friday, 14 August.

Elsewhere, Southampton, who will start the season on minus four points after the Spygate scandal, travel to Watford on the opening weekend and promoted Cardiff welcome Welsh rivals Wrexham on Monday, 17 August.

League One champions Lincoln start the season at beaten play-off finalists Middlesbrough on Saturday, 15 August and third tier play-off final winners Bolton begin the campaign with a home game against Preston on the same day.

The Championship season starts a week after clubs play their first competitive fixture in the first round of the Carabao Cup and one week before the Premier League gets under way.

Burnley, West Ham and Wolves will all be looking to secure Premier League promotions at the first time of asking.

The Clarets have now been relegated from or promoted to the top flight in each of the past four seasons.

However, now less than two months out from the start of the season they remain without a manager following the departure of Scott Parker in May.

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has remained despite them dropping out of the top flight after 14 seasons.

The Portuguese led Wolves to the Championship title in his one previous season managing at this level in 2017-18.

Wolves finished bottom of the Premier League in 2025-26 and sacked boss Rob Edwards earlier this month to bring in Cesar Peixoto.

They have bolstered their squad with former England defender Kieran Trippier and returning Mexico striker Raul Jimenez.

However, all three will be aware that in both of the past two seasons a team relegated from the top tier has suffered a second successive demotion to League One.

Former Premier League champions Leicester City went the same way as Luton Town had in 2024-25.

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