Business
Make Journalists Safety, A Priority …IFJ Urges African Leaders
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and some 37 journalists’ unions and associations are pressing government leaders attending the 15th AU Summit in Kampala to make safety of African journalists
a priority for the African Union.
In a letter to AU leaders, the unions, led by the IFJ African regional body, the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), welcomed the declaration by African leaders to designate 2010 as the “Year of Peace and Security in Africa”.
“This timely declaration must be taken forward with practical, pragmatic and prompt actions.
“It is a sad and incontrovertible fact that, many decades after the achievement of political independence, so many Africans continue to lose their lives as a result of armed and non-armed conflicts, much of it driven by unscrupulous politics, intolerance and rivalries whether based upon ethnic, religious or cultural divisions.
The wanton violence suffered by African communities continues to be an obstacle to social progress and economic development,” they said.
Addressing the safety and protection of African journalists, the journalists and media groups said: “Among the many victims are African journalists who are routinely targeted, often injured, killed, displaced or mentally scarred.
“Their only crime is their defence of African peoples’ right to know, their determination to expose all forms of corruption and their conviction that everyone should enjoy the right to free expression.”
“Last year 13 African journalists were murdered in Africa, nine of them in Somalia.
“This year six journalists have already been murdered – three in Nigeria, one in Somalia, one in Rwanda and one in Angola.
It will almost be inevitable that other journalists will continue to be the victims of grave human rights violations and fall to assassins’ bullets as they strive to carry out their legitimate job to inform their fellow citizens,’’ they stated.
They said in many cases, journalists found themselves in the firing line, facing death, arrest and torture “which make journalism today one of the most perilous professions”.
Last March, the continental congress of the Federation of African Journalists held in Harare, Zimbabwe, adopted a strong resolution on safety of journalists and called for an end of the culture of impunity against media workers in Africa.
“The loss of media lives should remind all African citizens of the sacrifices that journalists and media staff make in the cause of the right to know.
“Whatever the future brings, journalists will continue to strive to be the pillar of democracy, providing invaluable journalism as a public good often under difficult and dangerous conditions”, the joint letter said.
The letter stated that if the Year of Peace and Security is to have a lasting meaning, African leaders should do more to make journalism safer and bring to an end the injustice of impunity.
Edun made the call while speaking at the 2025 Fellowship Investiture of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos, where he reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to sustaining ongoing reforms and expanding access to finance as key drivers of economic growth beyond four per cent.
“We all know that monetary policy under Cardoso has stabilised the financial system in a most commendable way. Of course, it is a team effort, and those eye-watering interest rates have to be paid by the fiscal side. But the fight against inflation is one we all have to participate in,” he said.
The minister stressed the need for banks to broaden credit access and finance innovation-driven enterprises that can create jobs for young Nigerians.
“The finance and banking industry has more work to do because we must finance their ideas, deepen the capital and credit markets down to SMEs. They should not have to go to Silicon Valley,” he said.
The minister who described the private sector as the engine of growth, said the government’s reform agenda aims to create an enabling environment where businesses can thrive, access funding, and contribute meaningfully to job creation.
The facility, known as the Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration (P512892), is a Development Policy Financing (DPF) operation scheduled for World Bank Board consideration on December 16, 2025.
According to the Bank’s concept note , the financing would comprise $500m in International Development Association (IDA) credit and $500m in International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan.
If approved, it would be the second-largest single loan Nigeria has received from the World Bank under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, following the $1.5 billion facility granted in June 2024 under the Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation (RESET) initiative.
The World Bank said the new programme aims to support Nigeria’s shift from short-term macroeconomic stabilisation to sustainable, private sector–led growth.
“The proposed Development Policy Financing (DPF) supports Nigeria’s pivot from stabilization to inclusive growth and job creation. Structured as a two-tranche standalone operation of US$1.0 billion (US$500 million IDA credit and US$500 million IBRD loan), it seeks to catalyse private sector–led investment by expanding access to credit, deepening capital markets and digital services, easing inflationary pressures, and promoting export diversification,” the document read.
The document further stated that Nigeria’s private sector credit-to-GDP ratio stood at only 21.3 per cent in 2024, significantly below that of emerging-market peers, while capital markets remain shallow, with sovereign securities dominating the bond market.
To address these weaknesses, the DPF will support the implementation of the Investment and Securities Act 2025, operationalisation of credit-enhancement facilities, and introduction of a comprehensive Central Bank of Nigeria rulebook to strengthen risk-based regulation and consumer protection.
The operation also includes measures to deepen digital inclusion through the passage of the National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill 2025, which will establish a legal framework for electronic transactions, authentication services, and digital records.
Beyond the financial and digital sectors, the programme targets reforms to lower production and living costs by tackling Nigeria’s restrictive trade regime. High tariffs and import bans have long driven up consumer prices and constrained competitiveness, particularly for manufacturers and farmers.
Under the proposed reforms, Nigeria would adopt AfCFTA tariff concessions, rationalise import restrictions, and simplify agricultural seed certification to increase the supply of high-quality varieties for maize, rice, and soybeans. The World Bank projects that these measures will help reduce food inflation, attract private investment, and enhance export potential.
The operation is part of a broader World Bank FY26 package that includes three complementary projects—Fostering Inclusive Finance for MSMEs (FINCLUDE), Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth (BRIDGE), and Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth (AGROW)—all focused on expanding access to finance, strengthening institutions, and mobilising private capital.