NEWS
Monetary Policy Must Support Real Economy – Adebayo
By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
Leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has charged the government to support the real economy by dealing with inflation, stressing that there was no way anybody could think of a meaningful economy without dealing with inflation.
According to him, “You have to manage inflation to a single digit.
To do that, you have to manage spending which means you have to align your fiscal policy with your monetary policy so that you don’t have the wrong expansion that will put pressure on cost and push inflation. There is no way you can think of a meaningful economy if you don’t deal with inflation,” he said.He stressed that the government must reduce poverty through job creation, as a way of supporting the real economy.
“You need to generate employment if you are going to have sustainable population for medium, short and long term taxation, which means that you need to look at your activity based on costing of your spending to say that there is an ability for your spending to rebound in job creation and to do that, you need to do two things.
“First, you have to make the cost of doing business come down because the cost of business is rising, it is not coming down. Then you have to bring down the cost of living because from both ends, employers cannot solve all the problems of the employee.
“So if the general inflation of the economy is down and purchasing power is up with reasonable pay, the worker can be more efficient. And to do all of that for those businesses and the cost of living, you have to invest in infrastructure, which means your capital expenditure has to be better than what they are doing now,” he stated.
He decried the lack of financial discipline in the government saying, “There is no accountability even for the money that is being spent. They are doing three simultaneous budgets running at the same time.
“Nobody does that and succeeds, even a magician will not succeed in that scenario where you have three budgets running simultaneously and you are not funding them.”
He condemned the government for not abiding by its own fiscal laws, urging the government to always adhere to the appropriation law if the country wants to have a meaningful economy.
“The first thing they need to do which they are not doing is that they need to obey the fiscal laws; that is to obey the Appropriation Act. Then, set a good target in the Appropriation Act,” he said.
Adebayo, who declared that he would contest the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the SDP, stated that he would be focusing on poverty and insecurity because according to him N35 million have a food crisis while 135 million still live below the poverty line.
“And if you don’t deal with the inflation, cost of living, unemployment and infrastructure, you cannot get these numbers. I believe the country has all it takes to be a strong economy and one of the top economies in the world. We should be the one hosting the G20 economy summit, not just ghosting it.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemned “some Senegal players” for the “unacceptable scenes” which overshadowed their victory in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final when they walked off the pitch in protest at a penalty awarded to Morocco.
“We strongly condemn the behaviour of some ‘supporters’ as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members.
It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner,” said Infantino in a statement. “It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport; it is simply not right.”African football’s showpiece event was marred by most of the Senegalese players walking off the pitch when deep into injury time of normal play, with the match all square at 0-0, Morocco were awarded a spot-kick following a VAR check for a challenge on Brahim Diaz.
Senegal’s former Liverpool star Sadio Mane remained on the pitch and urged his teammates to come back onto the pitch for the penalty.
They were already furious at having a goal disallowed at the other end for a soft-looking foul minutes earlier.
Meanwhile, trouble broke out in the stands as some Senegalese fans tried to enter the field of play and became involved in fighting with security personnel.
The game was held up for almost 20 minutes before Diaz could take the penalty, and his weak ‘panenka’ kick was saved by Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Pape Gueye then went on to score a brilliant goal in the fourth minute of extra time to give his team a 1-0 win.
Infantino, while congratulating Morocco on “a fantastic tournament, both as runners-up and exceptional hosts” — a boost ahead of them co-hosting the men’s 2030 World Cup — said teams have to abide by the match officials’ decisions.
“We must always respect the decisions taken by the match officials on and off the field of play,” he said.
“Teams must compete on the pitch and within the Laws of the Game, because anything less puts the very essence of football at risk.”
Infantino, who will be hoping there are no such scenes in this year’s World Cup finals being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, said images such as those on Sunday sent the wrong message to supporters round the world.
“It is also the responsibility of teams and players to act responsibly and set the right example for fans in the stadiums and millions watching around the world,” he said.
“The ugly scenes witnessed today must be condemned and never repeated. I reiterated that they have no place in football and I expect that the relevant disciplinary bodies at CAF will take the appropriate measures.”
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Reaffirming its strong commitment to free technical education and skills development, the Federal Government has announced the commencement of applications for admission into Federal Technical Colleges across Nigeria.
The announcement was made by the Federal Ministry of Education following the approval of the initiative by the Minister of Education, Dr.
Tunji Alausa.The initiative according to a statement by the director of education, Folashade Boriowo on Monday, aligns with the Federal Government’s broader strategy to expand access to quality technical and vocational education and to equip young Nigerians with practical, employable, and industry-relevant skills.
Registration for the National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) into Federal Technical Colleges will open on Monday, 26th January 2026, and close on Sunday, 24th May 2026.
The entrance examination will be conducted nationwide on Saturday, 6th June 2026.
Prospective candidates are required to complete their applications through the official National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) online portal via the designated website.
The Ministry emphasises that possession of a valid National Identification Number (NIN) is compulsory for all applicants and remains a prerequisite for successful registration.
The Federal Government further reiterates that technical education in Federal Technical Colleges is fully funded upon admission, underscoring its commitment to human capital development, youth empowerment, and enhanced national productivity.
Admission is open to candidates aged between 13 and 20 years. Parents, guardians, and prospective candidates are advised to strictly comply with all application requirements and obtain information solely from official channels of the Federal Ministry of Education and designated examination bodies.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised Nigeria’s economic growth forecast for 2026 to 4.4 per cent, up from the 4.2 per cent projected in October 2025.
The revised forecast is contained in the IMF’s January 2026 update of the World Economic Outlook, released on Monday.
The Fund said Nigeria’s improved outlook forms part of a broader assessment of global economic conditions, which it expects to remain relatively stable in the medium term.
According to the IMF, the upward revision reflects gradual economic strengthening across Sub-Saharan Africa rather than an isolated adjustment for Nigeria.
Nigeria’s revised growth projection follows a period of major economic adjustments marked by policy reforms and efforts to stabilise the macroeconomic environment.
In its October 2025 outlook, the IMF had expressed concerns over inflationary pressures, fiscal constraints and structural weaknesses in the Nigerian economy.
However, the Fund noted that policymakers have since continued reforms aimed at strengthening fiscal coordination, restoring macroeconomic balance and improving productivity in key sectors.
The IMF again stressed the importance of structural reforms in driving sustainable growth in emerging and developing economies, including Nigeria.
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, regional growth was revised upward from 4.0 per cent to 4.1 per cent for 2025, and from 4.3 per cent to 4.4 per cent for 2026, signalling a broadly shared recovery trend.
Globally, the Fund projects economic growth of 3.3 per cent in 2026 and 3.2 per cent in 2027, largely in line with the estimated 3.3 per cent growth recorded in 2025.
It said the outlook reflects a balance between headwinds from shifting trade policies and tailwinds from technology-driven investments, including artificial intelligence, alongside accommodative financial conditions.
The IMF also projected that global inflation will continue to ease, with headline inflation expected to decline from 4.1 per cent in 2025 to 3.8 per cent in 2026 and 3.4 per cent in 2027.
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