The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that Nigeria has completely settled the $3.4 billion in COVID-19 financial assistance received through the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).

However, the government still owes approximately $30 million to the multilateral organisation for Special Drawing Rights (SDR) charges.

This $30 million, equivalent to ₦48.2 billion, will be paid annually over four years as fees associated with the loan, totalling over ₦190 billion.

we work towards reducing the totality of our debt exposure especially external debt because from all indications, external debts are much more difficult to manage and service than domestic debts.”

According to him, the focus must be on doubling down on both domestic and external debt.

“So the payment of these components of debt is a welcome development, it will in some sense reduce the burden of outstanding debts and we need to do a lot more of that and going forward, as much as possible, we should reduce our exposures, especially to foreign debts,” Yusuf stressed.

“And utilisation of debts is also essential, debts must be committed to projects that would enhance the productivity in the economy and that should be our priority, and that is speaking largely to our infrastructure stock.

“We should prioritise infrastructure investment in our debt exposure, which is extremely important. I am also hoping that our fiscal consolidation objectives will be improved and better achieved with the current tax reform.

“We expect that the revenue administration would be much more efficient without necessarily putting additional burden on the citizens or businesses. If we are able to do that, then the pressure to incur more debt would reduce. We need to ensure that the cost of domestic debts is as low as it can be as well,” he concluded.

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, presided over by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, has granted music producer and former manager of gospel artist Mercy Chinwo, Ezekiel Onyedikachi (also known as EeZeeTee), a N20 million bail in connection with a fresh $255,000 alleged forex transaction fraud brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Aneke, in a brief ruling on Friday, set the bail condition, requiring one surety who must reside in Lagos and own property worth the bail sum.

The judge, who had previously released EeZeeTee to his lawyer, Ojukwu Chikaosolu, gave him 72 hours to meet the bail condition.

The EFCC had initially filed a 14-count charge against EeZeeTee for alleged fraudulent conversion but later amended the charge to seven counts, accusing him of engaging in foreign exchange transactions without a license.

Prosecuting counsel Bilikisu Buhari-Bala told the court that in June 2023, EeZeeTee, without authorization from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), negotiated a foreign exchange transaction worth $52,895 with one Mr. Oladotun Olaobaju Mureke.

This, she argued, violated Sections 5 and 29(1)(c) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Cap F34, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is punishable under Section 29(2) of the same Act.

EeZeeTee pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case has been adjourned to June 20, 2025, for trial.

Several areas in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have been thrown into darkness for days.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, confirmed this in three separate outage statements released on its X handle on Thursday and Friday.

The disco blamed the blackout on technical fault affecting the feeders serving the concerned locations.

“We regret to inform you that the ongoing power outage is due to a technical fault affecting the feeders serving these locations,” the AEDC stated in a notice on Friday.

Several areas and businesses affected include Jabi District, Lifecamp, Kado District, Aire Gas, Total Marble, and others along Kaduna Road.

Also, Idu, Citec Mbora, Karmo, EFAB Global Estate, Karmo, Woodfield Estate, Zulu Community and all its environs are experiencing outages.

Also, Sokale Garden, Dutse Makaranta, Dutse Bokuma, Ushafa, Pegi, Gigo, Defence College Estate, Kogo, Zuma, Veritas University, Jamb Headquarters, Law School, Bwari and environs are experiencing similar power outages.

Meanwhile, for Bwari and its environs, the disco said the epileptic power supply was particularly due to a technical fault in the 33 kV Bwari Feeder serving the areas.

“The ongoing power outage is due to a technical fault on the 33kV Bwari Feeder, which is affecting supply to these areas.

“The TCN technical team is working tirelessly to restore power as quickly as possible,” the Abuja disco disclosed.

Meanwhile, residents in the affected areas have continued to lament the impact of the outage.

“We have not had power supply for over a week now. The situation is really impacting households and businesses in Jabu. I now spend more money to buy fuel. The AEDC and TCN need to fix this situation,” he stated.