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ECOWAS Plans to Abandon Single Currency Initiative

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By Gloria Ikibah
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is currently reevaluating its plans for the ECO, the proposed single currency for the region, after facing persistent challenges over the years.
Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe, Co-chair of various ECOWAS committees, revealed in an interview in Banjul, Gambia, that the single currency initiative is experiencing significant setbacks.
Naijablitznews.com reports that the ECO project, initially proposed in the late 1990s and gaining momentum with the establishment of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) in 2000, was aimed to foster economic growth and integration among the 15 member states by simplifying transactions and enhancing regional prosperity.
Despite these ambitions, the initiative has been grappling with political complexities. According to Hon. Snowe, political challenges have hindered progress. He noted that while there are capable economists and analysts, the integration of the ECO has been complicated by existing currency systems, particularly the French CFA used by Francophone countries and the reserve systems in France.
Snowe suggested a potential interim solution: creating separate currencies for Anglophone and Francophone countries.
He proposed that English-speaking nations such as Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Gambia, and Sierra Leone could initially adopt a common currency, while Francophone countries would adopt another. Over time, these two currencies could merge into a single currency.
Political instability has delayed consideration of this dual-currency proposal, but Hon. Snowe assured that addressing regional security issues is the current priority. Once stability is achieved, discussions about the single currency will be revisited.
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Denzel Washington reveals he is part Nigerian

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Famous American actor, Denzel Washington has revealed he has Nigerian ancestry.

The ‘Gladiator II’ actor disclosed that his heritage test shows that he is 90 per cent Irish and 10 per cent Nigerian.

Washington spoke in a recent interview with British-Nigerian media personality, Ada Enechi.

“I am 10 per cent Nigerian and 90 per cent Irish,” he stated.

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Meanwhile, Denzel Washington has hinted at retirement.

The 69-year-old thespian disclosed during a press tour of his latest movie ‘Gladiator II’ in Australia that ‘Black Panther 3’ is one of his last films before retirement.
He said he would be retiring after shooting ‘Black Panther 3’, ‘Othello 2’ and ‘King Lear.’

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Police parade 20 suspected armed robbers, others in Osun

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About 20 suspected criminals arrested for various crimes across Osun State, including three suspected highway armed robbers, were on Friday paraded by the state police command.

Presenting the suspects to journalists, the spokesperson for the police, Yemisi Opalola, said the armed robbery suspects, Olajide Kareem (28), Mike Emmanuel (33), and Godwin Emmanuel (23) were arrested along Osu/Ilesa road.

Opalola said the suspects, during their operations robbed many people of their jewelries, phones cash, and other valuables.

She added that during one of the robbery incidents, a bus driver was shot in the leg, while a female passenger was raped by one of the suspects.

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Also paraded was Emmanuel Anthony, accused of using military uniforms to rob passengers along Ekiti road, where he forced a victim from Esa Oke, to transfer a sum of N3m to his account.

Anthony was also accused of robbing other people of their mobile phones valued at N1.25m.

Seven other suspects arrested for conspiracy, armed robbery and receipt of stolen vehicles, were also paraded.

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Four northern states in darkness as transmission lines trip

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Four northern states of Gombe, Bauchi, Benue and Plateau have been thrown into darkness, due to a fault on the 330kV double circuit transmission lines of Ugwuji-Makurdi-Jos.

The states are among the franchise area of Jos Electricity Distribution Company.

According to the Head of Corporate Communications, JEDC, Friday Elijah, the tripping of the lines occurred in the afternoon on Friday, resulting in the loss of power supply on all the 33KV feeders.”

He disclosed that the Transmission Company of Nigeria engineers were working to rectify the fault.

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“We hope to restore normal power supply to our esteemed customers as soon as the fault is rectified and power supply is restored back to normalcy,” said Elijah.

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