General News
Finance for Development Lab Calls for an African Liquidity and Stability Mechanism (ALSM)
The Finance for Development Lab (FDL), a new Paris-based economic think-tank dedicated to building a fairer and more effective architecture for international finance, was officially launched earlier this week, in presence of WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics winner Esther Duflo.
Central to its launch was the presentation of the African Liquidity and Stability Mechanism (ALSM), a new regional financial arrangement for Africa and the first policy recommendation crafted by the Finance for Development Lab, in collaboration with Egypt’s Economic Research Forum (ERF).
The proposal aims to tackle the need for African countries to address short-term liquidity and long-term solvency challenges in the face of declining financial flows, lower economic growth and the rising cost of sustainable development.
Daniel Cohen, Chair of the Finance for Development Lab, said: “The purpose of the ALSM is to shield African sovereigns from external shocks by fostering deeper and more stable local financial markets, protecting against commodity price shocks and providing technical and financial assistance to help governments manage external debt burdens.”
Ibrahim Elbadawi, Managing Director of the Economic Research Forum said: “While fiscal problems in African countries can be attributed in part to policy-made development failures, the ALSM can complete the continent’s financial architecture by providing a layer of regional financial safety net.”
The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have put African countries under severe financial pressure while tightening global monetary conditions and waning risk appetite from international investors are raising the risk of debt defaults.
Ensuring macro-financial stability and reasonable funding costs is of the utmost importance for the African continent given on one hand, the heavily constrained policy space of African national authorities, and on the other, the urgent challenge of investing in the energy and sustainable transitions.
Financing costs tend to be higher for the region, at least in part because bonds are less liquid and markets perceive them as riskier than other emerging markets, even when fundamentals are equivalent.
Existing financing arrangements have proven inadequate to respond to emergencies and crucially lack scale to achieve global development and climate objectives. Other developing regions have set up their own Regional Financing Arrangements (RFAs) in the aftermath of crises, but the African continent lacked its own.
To achieve this, FDL and its partners advocate for the creation of four facilities which will alleviate countries’ short-term liquidity constraints by enhancing credit and increasing liquidity on debt markets and by tackling the liquidity costs of commodity price volatility. Grouped together, they will form the so-called ALSM fund.
(1) UNECA’s Liquidity and Sustainability Facility, which will improve liquidity and reduce government borrowing costs by providing repo (short-term loans) in exchange for sovereign debt collateral.
(2) A Commodity Hedging Facility, which will protect against the fluctuations in global commodity prices by guaranteeing margin calls which are triggered when prices rise.
(3) A Credit Enhancement Facility which will stabilize the existing debt stock by offering rolling interest payment guarantees.
(4) A Debt Restructuring Facilitation Facility which would facilitate debt restructuring negotiations by providing cash ‘sweeteners’ of a fixed price to marginal creditors in the event of debt restructuring. This liquidity line would reduce the length and the costs of restructuring negotiations
Police in Abuja have uncovered a criminal group making fake diplomatic and government number plates.
Ahmed Sanusi, commissioner of Police FCT, stated this during a press briefing on Friday.
He explained that criminals use these fake plates to dodge security checks and enter restricted areas.
The investigation started soon after Sanusi took office.
He noticed too many unauthorized cars driving around with official government and diplomatic tags.
“I immediately ordered a comprehensive investigation into this disturbing trend,” Sanusi said. He noted that these individuals use the plates as a cover to commit crimes and avoid arrest.
The police have already arrested several people caught using the fake plates.
They have also figured out who is making them.
The manufacturers operate outside Abuja, and police are actively hunting them down.
Sanusi kept their names secret so they would not flee.
He stressed that this is a highly profitable illegal business.
Buyers pay between N500,000 and N1.7 million for a single fake plate.
“This will tell you that they are making such huge expenditure because they have an agenda,” Sanusi explained.
“Now they will face punishment that is bigger than both the cost they incur and the agenda they are planning.”
The commissioner urged residents to report any cars with suspicious diplomatic plates.
He reminded the public that real diplomatic tags follow a very specific format.
A diplomatic number plate in Nigeria is a special vehicle identification tag issued to foreign embassies, high commissions, and accredited international diplomats.
Gavi has approved $500 million to strengthen Nigeria’s immunisation programme, primary healthcare services and long-term vaccine financing.
The move followed high-level discussions between Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, ]and Dr. Sania Nishtar, chief executive officer, Gavi in Abuja.
The funding, approved under the Gavi 6.0 programme, will support Nigeria’s efforts to accelerate routine immunisation, sustain polio eradication, expand HPV vaccination, strengthen primary healthcare services, and improve long-term vaccine financing.
Speaking during the meeting, Pate said Nigeria was strengthening its partnership with Gavi to accelerate immunisation, expand primary healthcare services, and ensure sustainable financing for vaccines.
He welcomed Gavi’s country-focused reforms, including the introduction of a predictable five-year funding envelope.
Pate said the US$500 million allocation will enable Nigeria to plan more effectively and deliver life-saving vaccines to more children and vulnerable populations.
The minister also revealed that quarterly visits to primary healthcare centreshad increased from about 10 million in 2023 to more than 45 million, reflecting significant progress in revitalising the country’s primary healthcare system.
Pate welcomed the announcement of a US$600 million pledge by the United States government to Gavi, describing it as a strong endorsement of the alliance’s leadership and the global value of vaccines.
He also commended Nishtar for prioritising Nigeria and praised the closer coordination among Gavi, World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, World Bank, Gates Foundation, and other development partners, describing it as a model that has improved efficiency and aligned support with Nigeria’s health sector reforms.
The minister expressed appreciation to Gavi and its partners for their continued technical and financial support, while calling on state governments to invest more in healthcare and immunisation to complement federal efforts.
For many women, financial independence means the freedom to provide for their families and build a better future. Yet, this remains out of reach due to limited access to opportunities, business support, and secure payment solutions.
Like millions of women in Nigeria determined to be financially independent, Pricillia started with a single PalmPay POS terminal, and as an agent, every successful transaction provided a commission which brought her one step closer to achieving her dream.
Through consistency, discipline, and support from the payment platform, she reinvested her earnings and eventually opened her own provision store.
“I started as just a PalmPay agent with one POS. The consistency of the platform gave me the confidence to expand. With the income I earned, I was able to open my own provision shop.” Priscilla said.
For Priscilla, PalmPay was more than a payment platform. Its secure payment infrastructure gave her the confidence to serve her customers, build trust, and grow her income.
Today, Pricillia has joined the statistics of SMEs powering Nigeria’s economy and PalmPay continues to support her daily operations, helping her receive payments, as she works towards her next business milestone. Her journey is a reminder that when women have access to secure financial tools and opportunities, they can build lasting economic independence.
Speaking on Pricillia’s journey, Femi Hanson, Head of Marketing, PalmPay said: “Providing a secure platform that users can trust, whether for everyday payments or high-value transactions, is central to our vision of advancing financial inclusion. Priscilla’s story reflects our commitment to supporting the ambitions of Nigerians by providing a platform they can rely on to grow their finances. After all, seamless banking begins with security, and every successful transaction reinforces the trust our users place in us.”
Priscilla stands among thousands of PalmPay agents nationwide who are helping to expand financial access across Nigeria while earning commissions to create sustainable sources of income for themselves.
Every payment tells a story. It begins with trust, the confidence that your money is secure and that financial services are accessible. And when that opportunity reaches women, it creates ripple effects that transform families, strengthen communities, and drive economic growth.
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