Zenith Bank Plc will on Aug. 25 host the 10th edition of its International Trade Seminar, focusing on strategies to unlock Nigeria’s non-oil export potential and accelerate economic growth.

This was according to a statement by the bank on Wednesday in Lagos.

The bank said the seminar with the theme “Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth in Non-oil Export”, will bring together policymakers, regulators, exporters, manufacturers, investors and other stakeholders.

The bank said the virtual event would examine ways to move Nigeria beyond raw commodity exports by developing competitive value chains, expanding market access and improving trade infrastructure and financing.

It said the discussions would also focus on how businesses could leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to access regional markets and deepen intra African trade.

The seminar will feature the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Mr Wamkele Mene and Chief Executive Officer of Plot Enterprise Ghana Ltd., Patricia Poku Diaby.

Other speakers include the immediate past President of the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah and Abba Bello, Managing Director of the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM Bank).

Also to speak are: Mr Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service; and Ms Aderinola Shonekan, Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Central Bank of Nigeria.

The event will also feature representatives of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and leading private sector companies.

Zenith Bank said the discussions would provide practical perspectives on export financing, customs and port efficiency, regulation, market access and the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses.

The bank said AfCFTA would be a major focus, given its potential to connect Nigerian businesses to a continental market of more than one billion people.

According to the bank, Nigerian enterprises must strengthen their value chains and competitiveness to fully benefit from the opportunities created by regional integration.

It said the International Trade Seminar had, over the years, provided a platform for government, regulators, businesses and financial institutions to discuss challenges and opportunities in Nigeria’s trade ecosystem.

The bank said the 10th edition would seek practical answers to how Nigeria could derive greater value from its non-oil exports and translate its productive capacity into sustainable economic growth.

The seminar will be streamed live on Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok.

The bank urged interested participants to register through its website. (NAN)

From Ayinde Akintade, Osogbo

Tension gripped Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Wednesday after suspected gang members attacked the convoy of Governor Ademola Adeleke shortly after his visit to the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji, in an incident that left one person dead.

The shooting occurred hours after Adeleke received his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), following his victory in the August 15 governorship election.

Adeleke had arrived at the Ataoja’s palace at about 3:15pm in a convoy of about 20 vehicles after leaving the INEC office in Osogbo.

The meeting ended with prayers, after which the governor and his close aides left the palace hall through an exit reserved for the monarch and his wives.

According to eyewitnesses, gunfire erupted moments later as suspected attackers arrived in an unregistered Sienna space bus through the Ita-Olokan axis and allegedly opened fire around the palace.

Security personnel attached to the governor responded, leading to an exchange of gunfire that lasted between 12 and 15 minutes. The attackers were subsequently forced to retreat from the area.

The police, however, later disclosed that the incident may have been triggered by an attempt to gain access to music star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, who accompanied the governor to Osogbo.

Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, said preliminary investigations indicated that members of the Eye Confraternity were allegedly after Davido.

According to Ojelabi, one Adebayo Taoreed, popularly known as “Small Rugged,” an ex-convict and suspected member of the confraternity, allegedly attempted to gain access to Davido but was resisted by members of his security team.

The confrontation, he said, attracted other suspected gang members in the vicinity, who allegedly blocked the palace entrance and obstructed the movement of the governor’s convoy.

The police spokesman said the suspects later left the area but allegedly shot 60-year-old Tajudeen Yusuf at Ita-Olokan.

Yusuf was rushed to the University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, where he was pronounced dead by doctors.

The development marked a sharp turn in an otherwise celebratory day for Adeleke, who had earlier received his Certificate of Return amid cheers from supporters.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the governor promised to work harder to improve the welfare of residents and expressed concern over the loss of lives during political activities.

“No election, political office or ambition is worth the life of a single citizen,” Adeleke said, while recalling victims of electoral violence.

He also announced plans by the Adeleke family, through the Springtime Development Foundation, to provide scholarships up to university level for children and dependants of those killed in electoral violence. The state government, he added, would establish a ₦500 million Election Violence Victims Endowment Fund.

Meanwhile, the shooting around the Ataoja’s palace sent traders, residents and other members of the public fleeing for safety. Witnesses said some shops were hurriedly shut as gunshots rang out.

A trader near the palace, identified as Munirat, said the attackers damaged part of the palace gate during the confrontation and later moved towards the Osogbo Central Mosque before escaping through the Ita-Olokan axis of the Osogbo-Ilesa Road.

Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, earlier confirmed the attack on the governor’s convoy, saying the governor’s security personnel successfully repelled the assailants.

The police have commenced a full-scale investigation and intensified efforts to identify and arrest the fleeing suspects.

The Commissioner of Police (Election), Osun State Command, CP Samuel Etaifo, condemned the killing and urged residents to remain calm and avoid taking the law into their own hands.

As of the time of filing this report, security personnel remained deployed around the palace and adjoining streets, while the incident continued to generate tension in the state capital.

Fiscal Reforms Prevented Deeper Economic Crisis’ – Oyedele

The Federal Government has defended the removal of the petrol subsidy and other economic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, saying the measures have generated substantial fiscal resources, strengthened Nigeria’s economic position and helped avert a deeper financial crisis.

Presenting the administration’s “Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits, Costs and Harms Prevented” in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the reforms had created fiscal space for investment in infrastructure, security, human capital development and social protection.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed that between June 2023 and December 2025, the removal of the petrol subsidy generated ₦15.8tn in savings for the Federation. Of this amount, ₦5.4tn accrued to the Federal Government, while ₦10.4tn was shared among states and local governments.

Oyedele said the Federal Government also generated ₦3.1tn in incremental independent revenue and obtained ₦11.9tn in incremental borrowing, bringing its total incremental resources to ₦20.4tn during the period.

However, the additional resources did not remain unused. The Federal Government’s incremental expenditure stood at ₦30.64tn, with wage-related expenses and external debt servicing accounting for a significant portion.

According to Oyedele, ₦9.39tn was spent on wage adjustments, minimum wage increases and allowances for public-sector workers. He stressed that the amount was higher than the entire savings from subsidy removal that accrued directly to the Federal Government.

“The incremental amount that the Federal Government spends paying higher wages is more than the entire savings that the Federal Government earned from subsidy removal,” he said.

Another ₦9.37tn went into servicing external debt, largely because of the sharp depreciation of the naira. Oyedele explained that dollar-denominated obligations became significantly more expensive when converted into naira.

“If we’re paying $1bn, but instead of ₦460, it’s now ₦1,415, that’s more naira than we need to incur,” he explained, adding that debt obligations could not simply be postponed because delays or defaults would carry serious consequences.

The figures provide one of the clearest explanations yet of how the savings from the controversial subsidy removal have been absorbed since President Tinubu announced the policy in May 2023.

Oyedele, however, cautioned against presenting the reforms as an unqualified success. He acknowledged that Nigerians had borne significant costs, including higher petrol prices and a sharp increase in the monetary policy rate.

He noted that petrol prices had risen from about ₦185 per litre to more than ₦1,100, describing the increase as a “major felt cost” that the government could not ignore.

“We are not saying all of it is rosy,” Oyedele said, arguing that a credible assessment must account for both the gains and the pain associated with the reforms.

He maintained that the proper assessment should also consider the consequences Nigeria might have faced if the previous subsidy and foreign-exchange policies had remained in place.

The Finance Minister said the scorecard was intended to give Nigerians, journalists and independent analysts access to the government’s methodology and figures, promising that supporting data would be made available through the Ministry of Finance for verification.

The government also highlighted improvements in several macroeconomic indicators. Oyedele said headline inflation had eased to 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, while gross foreign reserves stood at $52.5bn and real GDP growth had risen to 3.89 per cent.

He further cited Nigeria’s improved standing in international financial markets, including a sovereign credit-rating upgrade by S&P Global and the country’s removal from international anti-money-laundering deficiency lists.

Despite these gains, the government acknowledged that the reform programme remains unfinished, particularly in translating macroeconomic improvements into better household welfare and reductions in poverty.

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, said the reforms were necessitated by the weak fiscal position inherited by the administration, including Nigeria’s historically low revenue-to-GDP ratio.

According to Bagudu, the government had to confront fiscal leakages and restore confidence in the economy to create room for spending on security, infrastructure, human capital and development across the country.

He said interventions had also been introduced to cushion vulnerable Nigerians from the effects of the reforms, while improved revenues were expected to strengthen the government’s capacity to meet its constitutional and developmental responsibilities.

Idris said the administration remained committed to explaining the consequences of its economic policies and ensuring that improved fiscal stability eventually translates into better living standards, greater economic opportunities and stronger public services.

The government’s latest scorecard therefore presents a mixed picture: the subsidy reform has generated significant resources and improved some key economic indicators, but much of the fiscal gain has been absorbed by higher wages, debt costs and other expenditure pressures, while millions of Nigerians continue to grapple with the immediate cost of economic adjustment.