President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, presided over a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the State House in Abuja.

Naija News reports Wednesday’s FEC meeting is the second for the week after the one earlier held on Monday.

On Monday, the council approved several memos, including the one for the completion of the Oyo-Ogbomoso road project and the license approval for new private universities in the country.

The agenda of today’s meeting is yet to be revealed, but the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, at the end of the last meeting, had indicated that another meeting of the council was scheduled for today.

At the commencement of today’s meeting, the council honoured two former members who passed on recently with a minute of silence.

Those honoured were the first female Minister, Adenike Oyagbola, who served under late Shehu Shagari’s administration and late Chief Edwin Clark, who was a Federal Commissioner for Education and later Information.

The meeting was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

In other news, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has denied describing the recent Supreme Court ruling on the political crisis in Rivers State as reckless.

Peter Obi, in a statement on Wednesday, clarified that even if the Supreme Court ruling is not agreeable to him, he couldn’t have described it as reckless.

Naija News reports the former Anambra State Governor made the clarification following some reports claiming he described the verdict of the apex court on Rivers State as reckless.

Obi, however, explained that his submissions were misinterpreted and taken out of context.

[NaijaNews]

Rivers State deputy governor, Professor Ngozi Odu, says she has not resigned.

In a trending video on social media, it was reported that the deputy governor resigned as a result of intense pressure.

In a statement which her press secretary, Owupele Benebo, issued on her behalf, on Wednesday, she said contrary to the viral social media video the deputy governor has remained committed to her responsibility.

“The Office of the Deputy Governor of Rivers State wishes to categorically debunk the false and misleading reports circulating online suggesting that Her Excellency, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, DSSRS, has resigned.

“Contrary to these baseless claims, Her Excellency remains committed to her duties as Deputy Governor, a position she was duly elected to serve alongside His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, the Executive Governor of Rivers State .

“As a seasoned public servant and academic, Prof. Odu is dedicated to supporting the Governor in his efforts to deliver dividends of democracy to the good people of Rivers State.

” Her exemplary leadership and expertise have been invaluable to the administration, and she remains steadfast in her commitment and support to His Excellency Sir Dr. Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS,” Owupele Benebo stated in the press statement.

The statement urged the public to disregard , “the unfounded reports, which are clearly the product of malicious speculation.”

[DailyTrust]

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has confirmed that the final of the 2026 World Cup will feature a half-time show for the first time in the tournament’s history.

Infantino also revealed on Wednesday that the World Cup would “take over” Times Square during the final and third-place match.

The introduction of a half-time show will see the World Cup adopt a tradition similar to the spectacle at the Super Bowl.

Next year’s competition will be held across 16 cities in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

“I can confirm the first-ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final in New York/New Jersey, in association with Global Citizen,” Infantino wrote on his personal Instagram.

“This will be a historic moment for the World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world.”

[Daily Post]

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RISIEC) has fixed August 9, 2025 to hold fresh local government elections following the Supreme Court’s judgement that sacked the local government chairmen and councilors.

The Chairman of RSIEC, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd.), released the new date on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt.

Enebeli said the decision was in line with the last Friday’s Supreme Court judgment, which nullified the October 5, 2024, local government elections conducted by his commission.

He said: “In exercise of the powers conferred on the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission by Section 5 of the RSIEC Law No. 2 of 2018, and all other enabling provisions, the commission hereby provides guidelines for political parties, stipulating rules and procedures for electioneering campaigns.

“The commission, therefore, announces that local government council elections will hold on Saturday, August 9, 2025, in all 23 local government areas of Rivers state.”

[TheNation]

The lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, failed to appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions on Wednesday, which is investigating her conduct during last week’s plenary session.

The female lawmaker had previously engaged in a heated exchange with Senate President Godswill Akpabio over seat allocation.

Akpoti-Uduaghan also accused Akpabio of publicly humiliating her and obstructing her motions and bills on the Senate floor.

Her refusal to accept the new seating arrangement led to the Senate President denying her the opportunity to speak during the session.
In response, the Senate referred the matter to its Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.

At the committee meeting, the Chairman, Senator Neda Imasuen (PDP, Edo South), expressed disappointment over Akpoti-Uduaghan’s absence, stating, “Senator Natasha was duly invited to this meeting. We hope she will join us as we continue.”

As of the time of filing this report, the Kogi lawmaker had yet to arrive for the hearing.

Details later…

[Punch]

• AAVE gains nearly 8% on Wednesday as crypto traders digest Bitcoin’s return above $87,000 after the flash crash. 
• Crypto market capitalization is back above $2.9 trillion, even as institutional traders slowly lose appetite for risk assets. 
• Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP lag and observe a slow recovery from Monday’s market crash. 

Aave (AAVE), the native token of the Aave lending protocol, is rallying on Wednesday as the crypto market recovers from Monday’s bloodbath. Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP note small gains on the day as traders maintain a risk-averse stance in crypto, grappling with volatility concerns this week ahead of the White House Crypto Summit on Friday. 

While the crypto community prepares for the first White House Crypto Summit of its kind, enthusiasm among traders is capped. The crypto Fear & Greed Index on alternative.io shows that traders remain fearful as the indicator reads 20 on a scale from 0 to 100. 

AAVE yields nearly 8% gains for traders on the day, while the top 3 cryptocurrencies, BTC, ETH, and XRP, lag behind at the time of writing. 

Why AAVE is rallying?

AAVE recently deployed its lending markets on Sonic, a blockchain that evolved from Fantom. This marked the DeFi lending platform’s first Layer 1 expansion in 2025, part of the project’s roadmap. 

AAVE’s version 3 was deployed following the approval of the governance proposal, and the launch on Sonic Labs was followed by a gain of $33 million in total value locked (TVL) within 24 hours. 

Data from Lookonchain, an on-chain intelligence tracker, shows that large wallet investors like izebel.eth(@izebel_eth) purchased AAVE tokens worth $4.25 million on Wednesday. 

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP post 1.21%, 3.15%, and 1.85% gains, respectively, on the day. The addition of XRP to the US Crypto Strategic Reserve raised concerns among traders across X, sparking debates over the relevance of the altcoin. However, the token is holding its seven-day gains of nearly 8% and continues to recover slowly. 

Ethereum hovers around the $2,100 level, and Bitcoin is inching close to resistance at the $90,000 level on Wednesday. 

AAVE eyes double-digit rally

AAVE’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) key momentum indicator in the daily chart is sloping upwards and reads 47, close to the neutral level of 50. Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) shows a bullish crossover, suggesting there is underlying positive momentum in AAVE’s price trend, albeit relatively small compared to the last week of February. 

AAVE trades at $224 at the time of writing on Wednesday and steadily climbs towards the 10-day and 50-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) at $251.77 and $254.04, respectively. A re-test of resistance at the 50-day EMA at $254.04 would mark over 13% gains in AAVE price. 

On the downside, the DeFi token could find support at the lower boundary of the Fair Value Gap (FVG) on the daily chart at $213. 

AAVE/USDT daily price chart 

Expert comments on crypto market recovery and impact of proposed tariffs

After the steep decline in crypto prices on Monday, crypto traders are digesting the impact of the pump and dump that followed US President Donald Trump’s strategic reserve announcement. Though Bitcoin rallied to its all-time high in January, the token recorded a 17.39% decline in February, the largest drop since 2014. 

While the market reels from over $1 billion in liquidations across derivatives exchanges, traders are fearful. 

Uldis Teraudklans, Chief Revenue Officer at Paybis, discussed the state of the market with FXStreet and what to expect. 

Teraudklans said, “Thus far this year, Bitcoin has proven more reactive to macroeconomic trends, including trade wars and interest rate trends. With large Wall Street firms now exposed to the coin, it is more susceptible to significant liquidity flows, thus contributing to its volatility. This [negative 17.39% monthly return in February] decline can be attributed to a loss of institutional appetite for risk assets, driven by the trade and tariff tensions initiated by the Trump administration. Bitcoin's correlation with the S&P 500 has further contributed to the decline. 

Bitcoin has never been a safe-haven asset—only an aspirational one. Yet, the promise remains, and with every cycle, critics revisit this so-called "failure." My perspective is that Bitcoin has consistently been a risk asset, following a long-term trajectory toward becoming a safe-haven, risk-off asset. This was true in previous cycles and remains true today.”

The expert says, “Only when Bitcoin reaches the market capitalization of gold can we seriously evaluate whether it can replace it as a safe-haven asset.”

[fxstreet]

Technical charts, particularly the shape of candlesticks, often reflect the psychology behind the market, highlighting trader sentiment and behavior. Since Friday, at least two bitcoin (BTC) candles have indicated bullish undercurrents at multi-month lows, providing a glimmer of hope for crypto bulls.

The chart below shows that BTC's price decline has stalled at the 200-day simple moving average support level since last Wednesday. Daily candles for Tuesday and Friday are of particular interest, as both have small bodies with long lower wicks, hinting at bear failures below the 200-day SMA.

In other words, on both days, sellers initially pushed prices below the key average but failed to establish a foothold there, likely due to buyers stepping in to protect the support level.

Such candles appearing after a notable downtrend, which is the case in BTC, signal a potential bullish reversal. Traders usually see it as evidence of weakening selling pressure that might translate into a renewed bullish phase.

So, BTC could bounce back to Sunday's high of around $95,000, above which traders may once again set sights on the $100,000 mark. On the flip side, a downside break of the 200-day SMA could deeper losses.

• 
  

  Sygnum Bank Expands Custody to Include Leading Crypto Options Exchange Deribit

  

   

  Crypto bank Sygnum has expanded its custody platform to include the world's leading options exchange Deribit.

  Sygnum and Deribit are now leveraging crypto custodian Fireblocks' "Off Exchange" service, which allows traders to essentially "mirror" their assets held in custody on a trading platform.

  This will allow traders to hold their assets in a regulated bank while continuing to access the deep liquidity of Deribit, according to an announcement shared with CoinDesk on Wednesday.

  Traders received an unwelcome reminder of the dangers in keeping their assets on an exchange last month with the $1.4 billion hack of Bybit by North Korean Group Lazarus.

  "Counterparty risk awareness in crypto comes in cycles, and the recent major cyber-attack has triggered one of the largest waves of exchange derisking since FTX," Sygnum's chief product officer, Dominic Lohberger, said.

  Zurich-based Sygnum, which acquired a valuation of over $1 billion following a $58 million funding round in January, is licensed in its native Switzerland as well as Luxembourg and Singapore.

  Deribit is among the world's leading derivatives exchanges, with trading volume surpassing $1 trillion in 2024. Its options volume alone reached $743 billion.

  [CoinDesk]

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr Temitola Adekunle-Johnson as Special Adviser (SAD) to the President on Job Creation & MSME (Office of the Vice President) and Mrs Uju Anwuka as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health (Office of the Vice President).

The appointments are in continuation of efforts to actualise the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration, especially in the respective sectors.

Prior to their appointments, Mr Adekunle-Johnson and Mrs Anwuka served in the same portfolios as Senior Special Assistant and Special Assistant to the President respectively, all in the office of the Vice President.

As Senior Special Assistant, Mr Adekunle-Johnson has diligently driven some of the administration's policies and programmes in areas of job creation and development in the micro, small and medium enterprises space in Nigeria.

Key initiatives implemented under his supervision include the Expanded National MSME Clinics, and the Shared Facility Initiative, among others.

Mrs Onwuka, on the other hand, has industriously anchored the administration's vision in combating malnutrition and hunger, especially in vulnerable communities across the country, while serving as Special Assistant. A key programme under her watch is the recently launched Nutrition 774 Initiative.

Their latest appointments as Special Adviser and Senior Special Assistant respectively are with immediate effect.

Stanley Nkwocha
Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications
(Office of The Vice President)