George Mgbeleke

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to explain the $12.4 billion (about N16.5 trillion) gap in Nigeria’s external accounts identified in the World Bank’s October 2026 Nigeria Development Update.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said President Tinubu owes Nigerians a clear account of the discrepancy, particularly at a time when families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis are forced to account for every naira.

According to the report, Nigeria recorded a $12 billion current-account surplus and $6.2 billion in net financial inflows in the first half of 2026. That money should have strengthened the country’s reserves. Instead, the report identified a $12.4 billion gap.

The Bank said the gap reflects, in part, oil export earnings that were never brought home. It also noted that the return of export proceeds remains limited, partly because Nigerian oil has been pledged against several long-term loans.

“The scale is staggering,” the ADC said. “This unexplained gap is larger than the entire current-account surplus for the same period. It is about 5.6 times the $2.2 billion Nigeria attracted in foreign direct investment. In naira terms, it is almost a quarter of the N68.32 trillion 2026 federal budget.

“This cannot be dismissed as a minor accounting discrepancy. President Tinubu welcomed this report. He cannot celebrate one part of the report and stay silent on a gap bigger than the surplus that he and his government are celebrating.

“Due to President Tinubu’s failed policies, families across Nigeria are forced to skip meals and account for every naira just to survive. Meanwhile, money that could have been used to ease their hardship, is currently unaccounted for. Tinubu owes Nigerians an explanation.

“Sacrifice cannot be compulsory for everyday citizens while accountability remains optional for the government that is in charge of our collective resources.

The ADC called on the Federal Government to publish a full public reconciliation of the $12.4 billion gap and disclose all oil-backed loans and pledged crude commitments. It also demanded updated net reserve figures and clear evidence that higher revenues are improving essential services such as health, education and power.

“President Tinubu must open the books. Nigerians have sacrificed enough. We deserve answers.”

By David Owei
The Convener and Founder of the Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER), Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, has congratulated the Deputy Chairperson of the Women’s Forum and Director of Blue Sovereignty & Traditional Ocean Governance, HRH Queen Nosipho Mthembu, on her conferment of the Outstanding Pan-African Mining Sector Leader and Visionary Award – the highest honour at the Africa Mining Convention Awards (AMCA) in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

The congratulatory message was contained in a statement issued by the Director of Communication & Public Affairs, Hajiya Medina Dauda Nadabo, in Abuja on Friday.

Dr. Kiyaramo described HRH Queen Mthembu as an invaluable asset to Africa, stating that her recognition is a testament to her ingenuity, visionary leadership and forward-looking enterprise in the blue economy.

Jury Citation

In its citation, the AMCA Jury stated: “On the sacred soil of Zimbabwe, a nation whose mineral wealth has shaped Pan-African history – the Africa Mining Convention Awards Jury proudly confers its highest honour on Her Royal Highness Queen Nosipho Mthembu.

In the land of Great Zimbabwe, built on gold and vision, we honour a Queen whose own vision has built bridges between mines and oceans, between policy and people, between wealth beneath the soil and prosperity in the community.

She is honoured for her outstanding Pan-African leadership in transforming how Africa governs its mineral resources – championing beneficiation over extraction, inclusion over exclusion, and community prosperity over enclave development.

Through her leadership at the ABER Women’s Forum and her pioneering concepts of the Africa Blue Ocean Economy Institute (ABOEI) and Pan-African Coastal Community College (PACC), she has given Africa a practical roadmap to domesticate the Africa Mining Vision and empower women and youth in mining communities from Durban to Lake Victoria to the Zambezi.

For embodying the spirit of Ubuntu in mining leadership and for making Zimbabwe proud as host of this historic recognition, she is hereby inducted into the Pan-African Mining Leaders Hall of Fame.”

About ABER’s Mandate and Scope

The Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER) is a pan-African, multi-stakeholder platform established to accelerate the domestication and implementation of the African Union’s Africa Blue Economy Strategy, the Africa Mining Vision, Agenda 2063, the Lomé Charter on Maritime Security and Safety, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 14 – Life Below Water.

ABER’s broad mandate and scope cover four strategic pillars: Policy Advocacy and Institutional Alignment: Advocating for an integrated approach that merges mining, maritime, and ocean governance into one sustainable development framework. Inclusive Growth – Women and Youth at the Centre: Driving the AU’s agenda for inclusive growth through the ABER Women’s Forum and Youth in Blue Economy Initiative, with a deliberate focus on access to leadership, ownership, finance and markets for women and youth in coastal and mining communities.

Capacity Building, Research and Innovation: Through its knowledge institutions, ABER provides research, vocational training, and innovation in ocean governance, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, green shipping, mineral beneficiation, and the preservation of traditional ocean knowledge systems.

Investment Facilitation and Community Prosperity: Promoting value addition and value retention through the REMAP AFRICA doctrine – moving Africa from exporting raw minerals to producing finished goods – under the principle of ‘From Pit to Port, From Mine to Market.’

Dr. Kiyaramo noted that HRH Queen Mthembu’s induction into the Pan-African Mining Leaders Hall of Fame affirms ABER’s integrated model as the future of Africa’s sustainable development.

In her acceptance remarks, HRH Queen Mthembu dedicated the honour to women in mining and coastal communities across Africa and to the people of Zimbabwe as host nation.

By Our Correspondent

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the Federal Government’s decision to realign part of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway with the existing East-West Road, describing the development as a disturbing indictment of the government’s infrastructure planning and accountability.

HURIWA said Works Minister David Umahi’s explanation that the realignment was necessary to address flooding and climate change had raised fundamental questions about the quality of the feasibility studies, engineering assessments and environmental evaluations conducted before the project was launched.

The association described the development as a potential national embarrassment, questioning why climate risks that should have been central to the original design were now being presented as a major justification for changing the route.

“How does a government embark on a multibillion-naira coastal highway project without adequately resolving fundamental questions about flooding, environmental risks and the most suitable route? Who approved the original plans, and who will take responsibility if avoidable errors are established?” HURIWA asked.

The association said Nigerians must not be expected to celebrate every change in project direction as a presidential achievement without first examining the reasons for the change, its financial implications and the consequences for the original project design.

HURIWA said Umahi’s disclosure that sections of the existing East-West Road would need to be raised by about two metres to address flooding exposed serious questions about whether the project’s environmental realities were adequately considered from the outset.

The minister had explained that President Bola Tinubu approved the use of the existing East-West Road for the stretch running from the Ondo State boundary into Edo State, rather than continuing with a new coastal alignment along that section.

Umahi also put the distance across the affected corridor at approximately 104 kilometres, including a proposed 45-kilometre bypass.

For HURIWA, the critical issue is not whether an existing road can be upgraded or a bypass constructed. It is whether the government conducted the necessary technical assessments before committing public resources to the original alignment.

“This is not a minor adjustment to a village access road. We are talking about one of the Federal Government’s flagship infrastructure projects. Nigerians deserve to know whether this change is the product of responsible engineering review or evidence of serious weaknesses in the original planning process,” the association said.

HURIWA warned that the government must not use climate change as a convenient explanation to avoid scrutiny of decisions taken before construction began.

While acknowledging that new technical information can legitimately require adjustments to major infrastructure projects, the association insisted that the government must demonstrate, with verifiable evidence, why the change became necessary and whether the risks could reasonably have been anticipated.

The association demanded that the Ministry of Works publish relevant feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments, engineering reports and documents explaining the revised alignment, subject to applicable legal and commercial restrictions.

It also called for disclosure of the financial implications of the change, including whether the realignment would increase or reduce project costs, affect contractual commitments or delay completion.

HURIWA urged the National Assembly to summon Umahi and relevant project officials to explain the circumstances surrounding the decision and establish whether due diligence was observed at every stage.

The association further demanded an independent technical and financial review to determine whether the original alignment was adequately assessed and whether public funds could be exposed to avoidable additional expenditure.

“If this government is serious about accountability, it cannot turn every presidential decision into a public relations victory while leaving taxpayers in the dark about the engineering and financial realities behind it,” HURIWA said.

The association added that any finding of negligence, professional misconduct or avoidable waste should attract appropriate sanctions, including disciplinary action against responsible officials and the removal of the minister where the evidence and applicable procedures justify such a measure.

HURIWA said the controversy also raised broader concerns about the tendency to announce ambitious infrastructure projects before Nigerians receive sufficient information about their technical foundations, financing arrangements, implementation risks and long-term sustainability.

It stressed that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway must not become a project in which political visibility takes precedence over engineering discipline, environmental responsibility and value for public money.

“Nigeria is not a private estate, and public infrastructure is not a favour dispensed by political officeholders. Every major project must be properly conceived, transparently executed and open to scrutiny. If the original planning was deficient, Nigerians deserve the truth, not political applause for correcting a problem that should never have arisen,” the association said.

HURIWA maintained that the Federal Government owes Nigerians a detailed explanation of the realignment and must establish whether it represents a sound engineering decision, a necessary response to new information or a correction of shortcomings in the original project planning.

The association said accountability must follow the evidence, insisting that neither the President nor the Minister of Works should be shielded from legitimate public scrutiny over a project involving substantial public resources.