Economy - Abia ThinkTank News

Oct

2025

Amid Debt Concerns, House Of Reps Approve Tinubu’s $2.35 Billion Loan Request

Amid Debt Concerns, House Of Reps Approve Tinubu’s $2.35 Billion Loan Request The House of Representatives has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to secure a $2.35 billion loan to help finance the 2025 budget deficit, despite growing concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile. The House also granted approval for the issuance of a $500 million sovereign sukuk on the international capital market to support infrastructure development and broaden the country’s funding sources. The lawmakers reached the decision after reviewing the report of the Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debt Management. This development comes amid heightened debate regarding Nigeria’s escalating debt…

Oct

2025

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Re-Measuring Productivity In Abia: How Data, Digital Economy And Leadership Are Rewriting Our Growth Story – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Economy, Good Governance

Re-Measuring Productivity in Abia: How Data, Digital Economy and Leadership Are Rewriting Our Growth Story Why I Embarked on the Table Research For too long, productivity discussions in Abia have focused only on roads, contracts, and budgets. But governance in the 21st century now lives where people work, learn, and trade — online.In Abia, thousands of young people, artisans, and traders already use WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok to sell goods, teach skills, and build livelihoods. Yet, traditional productivity models don’t measure these contributions. This gap inspired me to conduct a “table research” on the National Productivity & Digital Engagement Index,…

Oct

2025

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The Facts Behind Budgit 2025 Report And The Real Story Of Abia’s Rising Fiscal Performance- By Ebere Uzoukwa, Ph.D (SSA To Governor Otti On Public Affairs)

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Economy, Good Governance

THE FACTS BEHIND BUDGIT 2025 REPORT AND THE REAL STORY OF ABIA’S RISING FISCAL PERFORMANCE By Ebere Uzoukwa, PhD It is unfortunate, though not surprising, that those who once looted Abia’s treasury beyond recognition now find it difficult to come to terms with the new era of fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, OFR. The recent BudgIT 2025 Report, which ranked Abia fourth in fiscal performance and among the five most viable states in Nigeria, is a clear validation of the far-reaching reforms and positive transformations introduced by the Otti administration.…

Oct

2025

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FGN Set To Expand Cash Transfer Beyond 15 Million Households

FGN, Economy, News Flash

FG Set To Expand Cash Transfer Beyond 15 Million Households The Federal Government has disclosed plans to expand its direct cash transfer programme to reach more beneficiaries at the grassroots level in a broader effort to cushion the impact of economic reforms in the country. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, made this known on Tuesday at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference and Book Launch in Abuja. While announcing plans to scale up the cash transfer programme to include more poor and vulnerable Nigerians, Edun revealed that the initiative currently benefits over 15…

Oct

2025

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CBN Finally Speaks On Alleged Allocations Of $1.3 Billion For Fuel Import

CBN/Commercial Banking, Economy, FGN

CBN Finally Speaks On Alleged Allocations Of $1.3 Billion For Fuel Import The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has refuted the report that it allocated $1.269 billion foreign exchange for the importation of petroleum products in the first quarter of the year. It said in a statement on Tuesday that the report was misleading and inaccurate. “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has noted some misreporting that falsely implies the Bank disbursed US$1.259 billion to major oil sector operators for the importation of refined petroleum products and related items. Such reporting is entirely inaccurate and misleading,” the statement said. The…

Oct

2025

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When Governance Must Meet Facts: Re-Examining The Allegations Against Abia Revenue System- By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Abia State, Economy, Good Governance

When Governance Must Meet Facts: Re-examining the Allegations Against Abia Revenue System In a recent opinion piece titled “ALEX OTTI ADMINISTRATION AND THE ROT IN ABIA REVENUE SYSTEM: WHEN GOVERNANCE BECOMES A TOOL FOR VENDETTA”, Writer Obinna Eze Oriaku accuses the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue of political victimisation and unprofessional conduct. Yet a careful review of the public record and recent reforms casts serious doubt on the assertions — and invites a more nuanced evaluation. Leadership Appointments and Reform Context The piece alleges hostility from the revenue board towards non-aligned taxpayers. Yet publicly available records show that in…

Oct

2025

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Never Underestimate Quite Strength: Stoic. Strategic. Steadfast- By Prof. Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Economy, Good Governance

Never Underestimate Quiet Strength: Stoic. Strategic. Steadfast History, it is said, is the greatest witness of character. When the chronicles of Abia State are written, Governor Alex Otti will not appear as one who inherited comfort but as a man who built his destiny from the debris of doubt. Time and again, his story has followed a single pattern—dismissed early, doubted mid-race, and triumphant at the finish line. Otti’s political journey began not from the corridors of privilege but from the hard pavements of conviction. When he first contested for governor in 2015 under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA),…

Oct

2025

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EFCC Recovered Over N500 Billion, Secured 7,000 Convictions In Two Years – Tinubu

Crime, Economy, News Flash, Presidency

EFCC Recovered Over N500 Billion, Secured 7,000 Convictions In Two Years – Tinubu President Bola Tinubu says that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured over 7,000 convictions and recovered assets worth over N500 billion within the past two years under his administration. Speaking on Monday at the seventh edition of a three-day capacity-building workshop for judges and justices, organised by the EFCC and the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja, the president, represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, said the figures reflect his administration’s commitment to the anti-corruption fight and the independence of the judiciary. “The EFCC has…

Oct

2025

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AI Boosts Currency Stability Across Emerging Markets – New University Of Abuja Study Reveals- By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Columns/Opinions/Letters, Business, Economy

PRESS RELEASE AI Boosts Currency Stability Across Emerging Markets — New University of Abuja Study Reveals Abuja, Nigeria A new study led by Dr. Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke of the University of Abuja’s Department of Economics and Sustainable Development Centre has revealed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness significantly enhances exchange-rate stability across emerging economies. Drawing on panel data from 25 emerging nations between 2010 and 2024, the research—titled “Predictive Artificial Intelligence and the Stability of Financial Equilibrium in Emerging Economies: Dynamic and Lagged Adjustment Analyses”—demonstrates that countries with higher levels of AI development and digital finance adoption experience less currency volatility…

Oct

2025

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Governor Otti Vs The Chokepoints: How Abia Is Breaking Free From Nigeria’s Economic Traps – By Prof. Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Economy, Good Governance

Gov Otti vs the Chokepoints: How Abia Is Breaking Free from Nigeria’s Economic Traps When American scholar Edward Fishman released his 2025 bestseller Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare, he wasn’t writing about Nigeria.But his ideas — that real power lies in who controls economic gateways like banking, trade routes, and digital systems — speak loudly to what’s happening right now in Abia State under Governor Alex Otti. From the dust of bad debts and broken promises, Otti is building a new Abia — one that refuses to be strangled by national and global chokepoints. In his…