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Blockchain Can Fix Supply Chain Failures Exposed by COVID-19 – WEF
Blockchain technology has the ability to tackle supply chain failures exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and boost economic recovery.
This is according to the World Economic Forum, which launched the Redesigning Trust: Blockchain Deployment Toolkit, which enables leaders to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks of the technology and help organisations improve future pandemic preparedness and accelerate an economic rebound post-COVID-19.
WEF notes the pressure created by the COVID-19 outbreak on global trade systems highlights an urgent need for global cooperation to maintain and strengthen the resilience of international supply chains.
It explains that over the past four decades, much of manufacturing production world-wide has been organised in what has become known as global value chains (GVCs).
Raw materials and intermediate goods are shipped around the globe multiple times and then assembled in yet another location, says WEF, noting the final output is re-exported to final consumers located in both developed and developing markets.
For many goods, China is at the heart of such GVCs – for example, as a primary producer of high-value products and components, as a large customer of global commodities and industrial products, and as a major consumer marketplace.
China, where the pandemic can be traced back from, is also producing many intermediate inputs and is responsible for processing and assembly operations.
WEF says Foxconn, an electronics contract manufacturer, is a well-known example. Its assembly plants, located in mainland China, produce for many world-leading electronics companies, among them Apple, Intel and Sony.
It says China’s position at the heart of many GVCs is illustrated by the fact that the production decline is also associated with major contractions in international trade flows.
“COVID-19 has shown the vulnerabilities of our supply chains and the opportunity for technologies such as blockchain to boost efficiencies and strengthen trust across a range of stakeholders,” says WEF.
“However, as organisations pivot quickly to put these new technologies into place, the crisis has highlighted the need for both speed and clarity in implementations.”
WEF spent more than a year working with more than 100 organisations and 50 countries across six continents. It also dug deep into 40 blockchain use cases ranging from provenance and traceability, to automation and streamlined operations.
The toolkit’s 14 different modules represent key success and risk factors for the deployment of a blockchain solution within the supply chain context.
According to WEF, organisations can use the toolkit to support more responsible blockchain deployments, de-risk early adoption, and ensure careful consideration of unintended consequences.
It points out that resilience in supply chains depends on trust, transparency and integrity, which can be improved through the responsible deployment of blockchain technologies that offer a “shared truth”.
“The current pandemic underscores the need for businesses and governments to improve the integrity and provenance of pharmaceutical products and medical supplies, as well as food, goods, and industrial and consumer products.
“The first of its kind toolkit is the culmination of more than a year of efforts to capture best practices from blockchain deployment across industries,” says WEF.
“The blockchain deployment toolkit is essential for designing solutions that work for a multitude of actors, including smaller players who may not have access to the resources required to unlock the value of blockchain technology,” says Nadia Hewett, blockchain and digital currency project lead for WEF in the US.
“For this reason, the toolkit can level the playing field for small and medium-sized enterprises. There are many lessons to learn from the current pandemic and this toolkit is a starting point for improving long-term pandemic preparedness and accelerating an economic recovery led by public-private cooperation.”
The toolkit has been piloted in a variety of different contexts by organisations developing blockchain solutions within their supply chains, including the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, Hitachi, Saudi Aramco, as well as a number of SMEs.
Federal government may lose $4 million from a World Bank loan after failing to get a pass mark on key audit standards in its revenue-generating agencies, such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service.
This is according to a World Bank restructuring paper dated June 2025.
The amount, which is the equivalent of around N6.2 billion with an exchange rate of N1,568 per dollar, could have helped to address one of Nigeria’s infrastructural deficits.
The fund formed part of the $103 million Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project, a public financial management initiative financed through a credit facility from the International Development Association.
Accordingly, the revenue assurance audit covering the FIRS and Customs for the 2018 to 2021 financial years was assessed as not achieved because the reports submitted did not meet international auditing standards.
“Revenue assurance audit of Main Income Generating Agencies, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigeria Customs Service for FY 2018–2021, with an allocation of $4m.
“These Intermediate Results to be implemented by the Office of Auditor-General of the Federation were assessed as not achieved by the Independent Verification Agent because the reports submitted for verification did not meet the requisite international auditing standards.”
Also, the unsuccessful audit was one of ten performance-based conditions under the project that the government could not deliver before the closing date of June 30, 2025. Consequently, the Federal Ministry of Finance formally requested the cancellation of $10.4 million in project funds.
“The FMF has requested cancellation of $0.9m of unused funds for technical assistance and $9.5m, which is the amount allocated to 10 performance-based conditions, which will not be achieved by the close of the project on June 30, 2025,” the document read.
Further analysis shows that $4.5 million was tied to the uncompleted Revenue Assurance and Billing System, while $1 million was allocated to the development of a National Budget Portal.
According to the document, the Budget Office of the Federation, which was responsible for the portal, did not submit any evidence of achievement. In addition, $0.9 million in technical assistance funding was left uncommitted and has also been cancelled.
Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) has warned job seekers to be wary of fraudsters circulating inappropriate recruitment information.
The warning came against the backdrop of social media publications that President Bola Tinubu has ordered massive recruitments into some government agencies.
The agencies listed in the report were the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS); the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC); the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) and the Federal Fire Service (FFS)..
The agencies are all under the Ministry of Interior, headed by Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
However, while responding to the reports, the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) cautioned Nigerians against falling into the traps of job racketeers.
The Board acknowledged a Presidential approval for the recruitment of personnel in the four (4) Paramilitary Services under its purview, but insisted that due process would be followed on the matter.
Major Gen. Abdulmalik Jibrin (rtd), board secretary, said in a statement that “there are series of processes which leads to the actual recruitment exercise.”
“The Board wishes to reiterate that for all its recruitment processes, appropriate notifications would be done via adverts in the national dailies and it would be carried out in a fair and transparent process devoid of payment of any fee.
“To this effect, members of the public should be weary of the activities of recruitment racketeers who may want to take advantage of unsuspecting job seekers to rob them of their hard-earned resources”, Gen Jibrin said.
Adefowora Abiodun, one of the alleged promoters of the CBEX investment scheme, who voluntarily surrendered to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in April following a ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, is still languishing in the custody of the anti-corruption agency.
Adefowora Abiodun, one of the alleged promoters of the CBEX investment scheme,
Concerned Nigerians who have been following the matter have urged the EFCC to release him unconditionally since he honoured their invitation without being arrested.
The court had approved the EFCC’s request to arrest and detain six individuals connected to the scheme, including Abiodun.
Alongside Abiodun, five other individuals—Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, Seyi Oloyede, Avwerosuo Otorudo, and Chukwuebuka Ehirim—were declared wanted by the EFCC for their involvement in the alleged fraudulent investment scheme, which was valued at over $1 billion.
Fadila Yusuf, EFCC’s legal counsel, had submitted evidence that led to their public declaration as wanted individuals.
After the announcement, Abiodun, who was shocked by the declaration, alongside his legal team, presented himself to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, expressing his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.
Babatunde Busari, his legal counsel, explained that Abiodun’s decision to submit voluntarily was made in order to clear his name and address the media narratives circulating about the case.
Despite the return of investor funds and CBEX’s assurance that withdrawals would be allowed by June 25, Abiodun has been in detention for over a month, triggering speculation about the EFCC’s high-handedness and rights abuse.
His legal team is now advocating for his release on administrative bail, emphasizing that the ongoing detention is unwarranted under the circumstances since he submitted himself for investigation.
According to one of the family sources, “Keeping him in a cell for over one month would send a negative signal to other Nigerians who would be declared wanted by the EFCC in the future. It would discourage Nigerians who have clear cases from surrendering themselves voluntarily to security agencies if, at the end of the day, they don’t receive mutual respect for surrendering themselves.”
He added that CBEX is not a Ponzi scheme.
Reacting to the agitation by concerned Nigerians, Dele Oyewole , EFCC spokesman hinted that the agency obtained a remand order to keep him beyond 48 hours.
According to him, “Anybody that we are holding beyond 48 hours, be rest assured that we have a lawful remand order from the magistrate court to hold him beyond 48 hours.
“We are a law-abiding commission. Concerning that suspect, we are holding him on the basis of that remand order.”
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