Business

ECOWAS suspends single currency for political reasons

Published

10 months ago

September 3, 2024

OCHEFA

6 Views

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended its long-anticipated plan to implement a single currency, the ECO, after years of setbacks and struggles to bring the initiative to fruition.

The decision was disclosed by Edwin Melvin Snowe Junior, a prominent member of the ECOWAS Parliament and Co-chair of multiple joint committees within the organisation, during a recent interview with journalists in Banjul, Gambia.

The ECOWAS single currency initiative, first proposed in the late 1990s and gaining momentum in 2000 with the establishment of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), aimed to create a unified currency for the 15-member regional bloc.

The ECO was envisioned as a cornerstone for economic growth and development, simplifying transactions, reducing currency exchange challenges, and fostering a more integrated and prosperous West African region.
However, the ambitious project has faced numerous obstacles, particularly political challenges, which have now led to its indefinite postponement.Snowe Junior, said that the roadblocks are largely political rather than economic or technical.
The single currency is a work in progress. It has its own political implications.

“There have been a lot of political situations that need to be addressed. It’s not that we don’t have competent economists or analysts to implement it”, Snowe Junior explained.

A significant hurdle in achieving a single currency is the need to integrate the French-speaking countries’ use of the CFA franc, which is tied to France with reserves held there, alongside the Anglophone countries.
This complex arrangement requires significant political will and negotiation.

“So, it still needs a lot of political will, and that is why the last three countries that had coup d’état are talking about changing their currencies because their reserve is in France and not in West Africa or Africa,” Snowe Junior noted.

To address these challenges, ECOWAS is now considering a revised plan to establish separate currencies for the Anglophone and Francophone countries as a step towards eventual unification.

“We propose that Nigeria, along with Ghana, Liberia, Gambia, and Sierra Leone — the five English-speaking countries — could have one currency for now.

“Then, the Francophone countries could have another currency. Over the years, these two currencies could potentially merge into a single currency”, Snowe Junior said.

Business

June Tax Returns: FIRS Extends Office Hours to Weekends

“As you are aware, the month of June marks the peak of the annual Companies Income Tax (CIT) filling season, with many taxpayers whose financial year ends 31st December expected to file their tax returns by June 30.“

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2025

OCHEFA

11 Views

THE Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zaacheus Adedeji, has directed the extension of tax office operations to weekends for the month of June.

In a statement on Monday, Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS chairman, explained that the directive is part of Adedeji’s commitment to matching the agency’s customer-centric policy with tangible action.

The statement reads: “The weekends service, which started on June 14, will end on Sunday, June 29, “and it is aimed at helping companies who are mandated by law to file their tax returns by the end of the month meet up with the deadline.”

“With the directive, tax offices are expected to open for business from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday throughout the month of June.”

Consequent upon Adedeji’s approval, the Coordinating Directors of Large Taxpayers Group (LTG), Government and Medium Taxpayers Group (GMTG) as well as Emerging Taxpayers Group (ETG), Ms Amina Ado, Dr Dick Irri and Mr Kabir Abba respectively have conveyed the decision of the management to all staff in the tax offices in the three groups.

To ease the process for taxpayers, enhance service delivery, and maximize tax collection during this critical period, management has approved extension of tax office operations to weekends for the month of June 2025,” a directive jointly signed by the three Coordinating Directors said.

The FIRS chairman, on assumption of office, reorganized tax operations for ease of tax payment, leading the transformation of the agency from merely being a tax-collecting entity to a service-providing body.

Business

Dangote Expands Sugar Refinery Business To Ghana

The Dangote Group say that the investment will reduce Ghana’s $162 million annual sugar import bill and boost local industrial growth.

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2025

OCHEFA

21 Views

Africa ‘s richest industrialist- Aliko Dangote, is constructing another sugar refinery in Ghana

The Dangote Group say that the investment will reduce Ghana’s $162 million annual sugar import bill and boost local industrial growth.

The expansion is also part of Dangote’s broader goal to expand integrated agriculture across Africa.

The factory, located at Kwame-Danso Bono East Region as part of the government’s “One District, One Factory” initiative, has the capacity to crush 12,000 tons of sugarcane per day throughout a 25,000-hectare irrigated sugarcane plantation.

It will also produce byproducts like molasses and ethanol.

In a LinkedIn post, the Dangote Group described the project as more than just a factory, calling it “a catalyst for self-sufficiency, employment, and continental transformation.”

Meanwhile, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc – its Nigerian operation is already the country’s largest sugar producer, with a crushing capacity of 1.44 million tonnes.

Business

Israel-Iran conflict sharply drives Nigerian petrol prices up as crude oil hits $74pb

According to Petroleumprice.ng, the depot prices of petroleum products would continue to rise in the coming weeks, due to instability of the global oil market.

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2025

OhiBaba

19 Views

The ongoing Israeli-Iran conflict has triggered an upward adjustment in petrol prices by 10 marketers as crude oil rose 8.8 per cent to $74 per barrel from $68 per barrel.

The 10 oil marketers that adjusted depot prices included Aiteo, Pinnacle, Dangote, MENJ, Swift, Rainoil, First Royal, Emadeb, First Fortune and Ever.

EMADEB made the highest adjustment to N845 from N827 per litre, indicating an increase of 2.18 percent while Ever implemented the least adjustment to N870 from N866 per litre, showing a marginal increase of 0.46 percent.

Also, Aiteo adjusted its depot price to N840 per litre from N835 per litre; Pinnacle adjusted to N845 per litre from N829 per litre while Dangote Petroleum Refinery adjusted to N840 per litre from N830 per litre.

MENJ, Swift and Rainoil (Lagos) adjusted prices to N850 from N810 per litre, N845 from N830 per litre and to N850 from N840 per litre, respectively.

First Royal and First Fortune also adjusted their depot prices to N838 from N826 per litre and N860 from N850 per litre, respectively.

According to Petroleumprice.ng, the depot prices of petroleum products would continue to rise in the coming weeks, due to instability of the global oil market.

Crude prices are expected to rise further should Iran carry out its threat to block the Straight of Hormuz, which is responsible for the shipment of more than 20 per cent of global oil and gas.