News
Expert Tasks RSG On Hedge Measures
A renowned banker and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, in Rivers State, Dr. Isaac Mietamuno-Jaja, has called on the state government to create hedge measures to strengthen its economy from the shocks of the dwindling federal allocation.
Mietamuno-Jaja, in an exclusive chat with The Tide said though it was difficult for the state to totally shield itself from recession, it however, needs to create peculiar empowerment scheme such that the people are genuinely into productive ventures.
“Rivers State economy cannot be different from what happens at the federal level, so, what I advice is that states should not wait till the impact begins to hit them,” he said.
For the state to achieve improved internally generated revenue base, the expert stressed the need for government to exploit other areas of the economy to protect the state from shocks, saying, “by hedge, I mean a protective mechanism such that we need to look for areas to empower our people.”
He commended Wike for the way and manner he has managed the state’s resources, adding, “I don’t know the magic wand he is using because anywhere you go, there is one project or another. What he is doing to sustain that is a mystery to me. In short, in the entire country, I don’t think any governor is embarking on the kind of project he has done.”
On the other hand, he suggested that the governor should adopt a “wait and see” approach to some of the projects, explaining that with such method, it would be easy to assess the impact of such projects before embarking on another, considering the state’s current meagre resources.
Calling on the governor to set up an economic team, Mietamuno-Jaja, maintained that at a time like this, the state needs experts’ advice on how to manage the economy.
Though Mietamuno-Jaja supported calls for the selling of some Federal Government assets, “But my view is that government should not be in a hurry to sell them, they should study the situation very well.”
He regretted that the delay in passing the federal budget coupled with poor economic policies were responsible for the wobbly economic growth being experienced in the country.
“Until today, nobody knows the economic policy of the government, and those managing it lack the technical know-how to go about it,” he added.
Mietamuno-Jaja insisted that what the Federal Government needs is experts in the field of economics to chart a course for growth and sustainable development for all Nigerians.
The banker expressed belief that considering recent statements from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor and minister of finance, the country may soon be out of the woods, though he insisted that consistent measures need to be taken to reduce the impact of the current recession on the people.
Nigerians may experience an increase in the prices of premium energy products diesel and petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery temporarily halts the sale of petroleum products in Naira.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
The $20billion refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the company explained.
The refinery said it remained committed to serving the Nigerian market and would resume the sale of its product to the local market in Naira as soon as it received crude cargoes from the NNPCL in Naira.
“As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira,” it said.
The announcement by the refinery comes amid its price war with the NNPCL.
As part of moves to reduce the strain on the US dollars, and guarantee price stability of petroleum products, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in July 2024, directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States’ greenback.
In the beginning of March 2025, the NNPCL said its Naira-denominated crude sales agreement with the Dangote Refinery was structured for six months with March 2025 as the expiration date.
The state company, however, said that talks were on to replace the contract, and that over 48 million barrels of crude oil have been made available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024 under the Naira-denominated arrangement.
The NNPCL also said it had made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the private refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until 2024. The country was heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPCL being the major importer of the essential commodities.
Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol more than quadrupled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, from around ¦ 200/litre to about ¦ 1,000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
Last December, the billionaire industrialist commenced operations at the facility situated in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.
Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player in the world, now sitting at 18th in the week 12 ranking released on Tuesday.
Aruna moved up from 19th place in week 11 to 18th in the latest ranking, while Assar dropped from 17th to 19th.
Denmark’s Jonathan Groth took over Assar’s 17th place, moving up from 18th.
Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have boosted his ranking.
Aruna remains the only African male player to have reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year in January.
This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who beat him to become the champion of the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.
Aruna’s next tournament is the WTT Contender Chennai which serves off in India from March 23 to 20.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda maintained her top spot in Africa, moving up one place to 26th in the week 12 ITTF ranking. Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, remained static at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.
China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player globally, behind his compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot. Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto dethroned China’s Liang Jingkun as the third-best player in the world after his semifinal finish in Chongqing.
In the women’s ranking, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.
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