Showing posts with label Nigeria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nigeria. Show all posts

Monday, October 30, 2023

Germany willing to invest in Nigerian gas and minerals

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday his country was willing to invest in gas and critical minerals in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, as he started a two-nation visit to sub-Saharan Africa.

This is the third visit to the region by Scholz in two years and comes as conflicts elsewhere highlight the growing importance of an energy-rich region in which Berlin has traditionally had little involvement.

"There is a willingness to invest, especially in critical minerals," Scholz told reporters at a joint briefing with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in the capital Abuja.

On gas, he welcomed Nigeria's efforts to expand its LNG capacity.

"If we are successful, if there is a better chance of exporting the produced gas ... it is then the question for German companies to do their private business," said Scholz.

Tinubu said he had "a very deep discussion" on the issue of gas and encouraged German businesses to invest in pipelines in Nigeria.

Nigeria is also seeking to woo investors to its mining sector, which has long been underdeveloped, contributing less than 1% to the country's gross domestic product.

Without giving details, Scholz said there was also a willingness from German companies to build railways in Nigeria. That sector is currently dominated by Chinese companies, which have won contracts to expand rail lines in Africa's biggest economy.

Scholz also met the president of the commission of West African regional group ECOWAS and said it was necessary to work with the bloc "to prevent that putsches will become a trend" following recent military coups in Niger and Gabon. 

By Felix Onuah, Reuters


Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Policeman sentenced to death in Nigeria for killing a lawyer

A Nigerian court sentenced Monday a police officer to death for shooting and killing a lawyer in the commercial hub of Lagos. Many applauded the rare sentence as a punitive measure against rampant cases of police abuse.

After nearly a year, Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos High Court found police officer Drambi Vandi guilty of one count of murder of Bolanle Raheem, who was pregnant at the time when she was shot dead Christmas Day last year. Local reports said Raheem was in her early forties.

Vandi shot the lawyer after her vehicle in the town of Ajah in Lagos failed to stop at a checkpoint, local media reported at the time.

He had denied opening fire at Raheem, but one of his colleagues who testified during the hearing confirmed hearing the gunshot. Vandi has a right to appeal the ruling.

“You will be hanged by the neck till you are dead,” the judge told the police officer who had pleaded not guilty.

The death sentence was lauded by many in Africa’s most populous country where allegations of abuse and extrajudicial killings against the police are rife. On social media, people hoped the sentence would send a warning signal to erring police officers who often evade justice.

Death sentences in Nigeria are common but no police officer has received such sentence in the country in many years.

Nigeria has thousands of pending death sentences. Executions rarely go into effect as they require approvals by powerful state governors. Only two warrants for death sentences were carried out since 1999, according to Inibehe Effiong, a Nigerian human rights lawyer.

There were questions about whether the Lagos Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu would approve the police officer’s execution.

Authorities have been under increasing pressure to hold security forces accountable after the deadly nationwide protests against police brutality in 2020.

While many in Nigeria praised the death sentence, some argued it should be abolished.

"The death penalty is inhumane, amounts to vengeance and prone to error. There is no evidence that it has achieved the objective of creating a deterrence to crime," said Okechukwu Nwanguma, who leads the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre which advocates for police reforms in Nigeria.

By Chinedu Asadu, AP

NNPC becomes sole petrol importer in Nigeria as forex shortages hit rivals

Nigeria's national oil firm NNPC Ltd has again become the sole importer of petrol because local private firms are unable to obtain foreign currency, its chief executive said on Monday, four months after imports were opened up to private players.

Mele Kyari also said the government had not reintroduced a decades-old petrol subsidy scrapped at the end of May, despite concerns from investors of a de facto return as pump prices have not moved since July, despite a more than 30% rise in oil prices.

Africa's largest oil exporter, Nigeria, imports nearly all its fuel as it does not refine nearly enough to meet the demand of its 200 million citizens. In recent years, it has swapped crude for fuel, depriving it of a source of U.S. dollars.

Opening up petrol imports to the private sector was part of reforms by President Bola Tinubu to wean the country off fuel subsidies.

Some fuel companies began imports in July but Kyari told an energy conference that they were now struggling to get foreign currencies to import petrol, known as premium motor spirit (PMS).

"We are the only company importing PMS into the country," he said.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Tinubu, Kyari dismissed the concerns that a partial fuel subsidy had been restored.

"We are recovering our full cost from the products that we import. No subsidy whatsoever," he said.

Petrol is widely used by households and small businesses to power generators because millions of Nigerians are not connected to the national electricity grid.

Nigeria is in the grips of foreign currency shortages, which have seen the naira weaken to record lows on the parallel market. The new central bank governor has said that policymakers faced a nearly $7 billion backlog in foreign exchange demand. 

By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters




Thursday, June 15, 2023

Anti-corruption agency head of Nigeria suspended

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has suspended the head of the economic and financial crimes unit, Abdulrasheed Bawa, indefinitely for abuse of office.

The suspension was due to “weighty allegations of abuse of office”, against Bawa, a statement from the presidency said late on Wednesday.

The move came a week after the president suspended the country’s central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.

Local media have reported that Bawa is currently being interrogated by Nigeria’s secret police, like Emefiele.

A spokesman for the unit, officially known as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) did not immediately respond to calls for comment.

Created 20 years ago, the EFCC investigates and prosecutes financial crimes, including money laundering and corruption.

Bawa, the fifth head of the anti-graft commission, was appointed in 2021 after the Senate refused to approve the reappointment of his predecessor Ibrahim Magu who was in office for four years.

Previous occupants of the office have also been involved in controversies that eventually led to their removal; Magu was also suspended by then-president Muhammadu Buhari over allegations of corruption.

Al Jazeera



Monday, June 12, 2023

Video - Community in Lagos celebrates Osimhen's record season in Football



Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen became the first African player to win the Italian Serie A Golden Boot after his 26 goals powered Napoli to the Scudetto. Osimhen is also the first player since 2009 to win the Italian Golden Boot and Scudetto in the same season. His record-breaking achievements sparked celebrations in one small community in Lagos. 

CGTN

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

54% of currency in Nigeria no longer in circulation

Nigeria currently has about 1.39 trillion of its currency in circulation, after cutting off an estimated 1.6 trillion in just a month.

This 54% drop is part of the Central Bank’s governor's initiative to inflate the value of Nigeria’s currency, the Naira. In January, the money in circulation totaled N3.1 trillion.

Subsequently, the currency outside the vaults of banks has also been cut down by 69.3%, jumping from N2.56 trillion to N788.92 within the same month.

In December, the governor of the Central Bank Godwin Emefiele alongside the president of the country, Muhammad Buhari, revealed the new redesigned legal tenders for the N200, N500, and N1000 notes.

This redesign according to the governor was to recover the lost value of the naira. The governor disclosed that the Naira was depreciating because most of the country’s cash was being hoarded outside banking halls.

This, in his assessment, amongst other factors, devalued the naira. As a result, some of the country’s legal tender were redesigned, and the governor gave a short deadline for the return of the old notes.

The first deadline was a little over a month after unveiling the redesigned notes on the 31st of January, which would eventually be extended to the 7th of February.

After massive bouts of civil unrest across the country and a disagreement with the country’s supreme court, which ruled that the deadline be extended, the CBN governor and the president of Nigeria insisted that the deadline would stand, and the redesigned notes would be the country’s official legal tender.

As result, the CBN has managed to reduce the level of hoarded cash outside of banking halls, by a significant margin. This refusal to budge under pressure has also made Nigerians more receptive to the idea of a cashless economy. Now more than ever, Nigerians have keyed into the idea of transacting business via transfers.

In the same period under review, Nigeria’s money supply rose to N53.27 trillion, a 2.2% increase compared to the previous month.

Chinedu Okafor, Business Insider Africa

Related stories: President Buhari grants 60-day extension for cashswap

Anger and chaos outside banks in Nigeria

Video - Nigerian banks face a shortage of new naira notes

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Video - Possible violence ahead of polls opening in Nigeria



With elections in Nigeria just days away, recent attacks have caused concern among the public. Outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari had promised to end violence by Boko Haram in the north. Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris has more from Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Al Jazeera

Thursday, February 16, 2023

President Buhari grants 60-day extension for cashswap

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday gave approval to the central bank to extend the deadline to turn in old banknotes by another 60 days after cash shortages stoked anger ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next week.

Nigeria's central bank decided last year to start circulating newly designed 1,000 ($2.17) 500 and 200 naira notes. The deadline to turn in old notes has already been extended once to Feb. 10, after which they would no longer have been legal tender.

But the new notes have been in short supply, leading to long queues and chaotic scenes at banks across the country. Most of Nigeria's economy is still informal and many people use cash for transactions because they do not have bank accounts.

Buhari said in a television broadcast that old 200 notes would continue to circulate in the economy alongside new 1,000, 500 and 200 notes until April 10.

But the old 1,000 and 500 notes could only be swapped at the central bank and "designated points", he said.

The comments contrasted with last week's Supreme Court interim ruling that said all old notes remain legal tender until it hears a challenge brought by some state governments.

Buhari defended the initiative saying it would lead to greater transparency in financial transactions, curb money laundering and reduce money supply in the economy.

"Notwithstanding the initial setbacks experienced, the evaluation and feedback mechanism set up has revealed that gains have emerged from the policy initiative," said Buhari.

Some politicians have criticised the timing ahead of Feb. 25 elections, as campaigns are funded by mostly hard to trace cash.

Local media reported on Thursday that some angry citizens had vandalised cash dispensing machines at some banks in southern Nigeria as they protested the cash shortages.

By Felix Onuah, Reuters

Related stories: Anger and chaos outside banks in Nigeria

Fuel and cash shortage in Nigeria rile voters ahead of election

Video - Nigerian banks face a shortage of new naira notes

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Video - Military in Nigeria denies claims it's planning to disrupt Presidential election



The Nigerian military denied claims that it is planning to disrupt the upcoming presidential election after a official from the governing party, the APC, alleged that army generals held a secret meeting with the rival PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The army said it was professional and loyal to the constitution, and would never be part of a plot to overthrow civilian authorities.

CGTN

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Anger and chaos outside banks in Nigeria

People in Nigeria have taken to sleeping outside banks. They want to be among the first in line to get notes from the cash machine once it is loaded up in the morning.

A lack of newly designed naira notes has led to a cash shortage and a growing sense of anxiety among those desperate to get hold of their money in a country where 40% of the population don't have bank accounts.

The Supreme Court has even become involved and has ordered that the deadline to hand in old notes be extended but this has made little difference.

People here have long been used to the periodic bouts of fuel shortages leading to long lines of cars snaking from the petrol stations. But now long lines of frustrated, confused and angry people have become a common sight outside banks as the country builds up to a presidential election at the end of the month.

"I have not eaten today," says Abraham Osundiran, 36, as he stands in one of two queues at a bank in Ikoyi, a district in the country's main commercial hub, Lagos.

He has had to miss work at a construction company for a second day because he does not have the cash to pay the taxi fare. Some Nigerians have embraced digital payments, but many still rely heavily on cash.

"I don't have any cash. I've had to skip breakfast so I could come here, and I don't know what I will eat for the rest of the day."

It is a similar situation for many others.

"It's painful. I can't go to the market, because they want cash. Buses want cash - now I have to trek everywhere," hairdresser Lilian Ineh, 26, tells the BBC from her salon.

"There's no money to buy stock, so I have less products to sell. There are even less customers. Usually on a Saturday I have a minimum of five."

Last Saturday, she only had two.

Nigerians were told last October that the old notes were being replaced with new notes and they were encouraged to deposit any cash savings in the bank.

"They made us put all our money into our accounts, and now we can't access it. It's unbearable," says Osarenoma Kolawole, 40. She works in telesales, but has not been able to access her salary since getting paid last week.

"The last time I went to the shops, I had to buy eggs instead of fish - that really hurt me - not the food, but having to buy what I didn't want to, just because the banks won't let me get my money."

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it redesigned the higher denomination notes - 200, 500 and 1,000 naira - to replace the dirty cash in circulation, to tackle inflation, curb counterfeiting and promote a cashless society.

It hoped the redesign would bring some of the money being hoarded by individuals and companies back into the financial system.

The reform has created something like a cashless society - but not in the way the CBN had planned.

People have been finding it difficult to make online payments and transfers. Analysts say the infrastructure to support a digital system is not robust enough.

"The whole idea was to limit how much cash people have access to, in order to encourage them to make digital payments, so they [CBN] can monitor where money goes," says Paul Alaje, a senior economist at management consultants SPM Professionals.

"But Nigerian banks don't have the capacity or structure to make digital payments work seamlessly."

The CBN has not said whether the shortages are deliberate.

"The government has been trying to move the country into a cashless economy for ages," argues policy analyst and economist Yemi Makinde.

"Its intention is good, but it is just not feasible, the banking systems were not ready and Nigeria is just used to cash."

When announcing the redesign, the CBN said the new notes would begin circulating from 15 December and the old notes would cease to be legal tender at the end of January.

The bank then extended the deadline to last Friday. But the Supreme Court stepped in and suspended this deadline but the queues outside banks remain.

"The only way this judgment would work is to release old notes back into system to meet the shortage [but] doing that will only take us back to square one," says economist Mr Alaje.

Accusations of hoarding


Many have also blamed individual bank branches.

Firstly, they were still giving out the old notes rather than new ones, even up to the week of the initial deadline, thereby keeping them in circulation.

Secondly, agents from the country's anti-fraud body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, raided some bank branches and arrested managers who were accused of hoarding the new notes in vaults rather than putting them in cash machines and giving them to customers.

"The banks are not doing a good job distributing the money. Bank managers have been keeping a lot of the money aside for people with connections and for the rich, misusing the central bank's policy," Dr Makinde says.

As a consequence, the lack of new naira notes has hit those who primarily deal with cash day-to-day, like market sellers and hawkers.

Iya Ruka, 52, sells plantains at a market in Ojodu Berger, Lagos. She has had to adapt by accepting bank transfers - but this has not helped her when she needs money.

"All my customers are saying they don't have cash, they will pay using a bank transfer, but I go to the bank and there's no cash for me to collect. So what do I do?"

Further down the street, Kingsley, who only gave his first name, sells mobile phone accessories.

The 27-year-old told me he has hardly sold anything in the last few days.

"People only pay [by] transfer. If I want to get home, I need to go to a Point of Sale (POS) to get money and they charge a lot now."

POS vendors are individuals standing at street corners who have a card machine and can make transfers for people, but often charge a commission.

They have been accused of fleecing ordinary people by charging extortionate amounts for cash withdrawals.

'Things will get better'

One vendor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, defended the need to charge extra.

"I queued for an entire day at a bank to get new notes and old notes. That's why they must pay, because we queue," says the 25-year-old, who runs a kiosk in Lekki.

She adds that she is not sure how much longer she will be able to keep up the business, as the banks run dry.

"Some customers can get angry and nearly violent - I just avoid looking up at them. They forget I'm suffering as well, like now, I have to trek for an hour home, and I have only been eating garri [cassava flakes]."

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele has said he has taken steps to get more of the new notes into the system with the aim of easing the situation.

The chaos has become a major election issue with calls for President Muhammadu Buhari to take action to avoid losing votes for the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Despite the crisis, there are a few people, especially those who managed to plan well ahead, who have not felt the crunch just yet.

Ruth Okeke, 35, runs a convenience shop in Omole. She says even though her number of customers has dropped, she is not worried.

"I know things will get better. The bankers are the ones making money from all this panic, but there will be new notes soon, everybody should relax."

By Simi Jolaoso, BBC

Related stories: Video - Supreme court suspends currency swap deadline in Nigeria

Fuel and cash shortage in Nigeria rile voters ahead of election

Video - Nigerian banks face a shortage of new naira notes

Friday, February 10, 2023

President Buhari sets transition to a new leader in motion

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday signed an executive order setting up a council to facilitate transition to a new president who will emerge after a Feb. 25 election.

Buhari, 80, who is constitutionally barred from contesting the election, is serving his second and final term. He becomes the second Nigerian leader to complete two terms in office since the end of military rule in 1999.

A new president will be sworn in on May 29.

"The new Executive Order puts in place a legal framework for the seamless transition of power from one Presidential Administration to another," Buhari said in a statement.

He said Nigeria's secretary to the federation would chair the transition council, which will be launched on Tuesday.

Three main candidates, Bola Tinubu from the ruling party, Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition party and Peter Obi from a smaller party are the top contenders vying to succeed Buhari.

By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters

Related stories: 800 ballot boxes destroyed by Gunmen in Nigeria

U.S. blocks entry to those 'undermining' democracy in Nigeria

 

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Fuel and cash shortage in Nigeria rile voters ahead of election

At a fuel station in Nigeria's commercial capital, tempers flare and harsh words are exchanged as motorists wait in line for hours to fill up their tanks at one of the few outlets with petrol left in the vicinity.

Across the road, young men drenched in sweat from the sweltering Lagos heat sell petrol in plastic containers at more than double the regulated pump price.

Recurring fuel shortages in Africa's top oil producer are adding to voter frustration as Nigeria prepares to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Feb. 25. They are a stark example of the economic hardships that have dogged Nigeria for years, including surging inflation, widespread unemployment and acute shortages of foreign exchange that have severely weakened the naira currency.

"People are suffering; there is no money; there is no food," said Titus Nwafor, a 53-year-old bus driver as he waited to fill up at the Lagos station.

With elections around the corner, he expressed frustration with the candidates, who he said were "blaming this, blaming that" without offering any solutions.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who will be stepping down in May after serving his constitutionally allowed two terms, promised to revive the economy and improve livelihoods when he took office in 2015.

He has prioritised state-funded infrastructure, investing billions of dollars in new roads, bridges, airports and rail.

Nigeria's poor transport and power networks have stymied economic growth for decades, holding back the distribution of wealth in Africa's biggest economy where 63% of people live below the poverty line, according to the national statistics bureau.

Building infrastructure has, however, come at a cost.

Nigeria's foreign debt has risen fourfold to $40 billion under Buhari, and the budget deficit has widened every year. The government spent 98% of the revenue it collected in 2022 on debt servicing, finance ministry data showed.

Buhari has also pushed protectionist policies, including import bans on the staple rice. This initially spurred local production, but spreading insecurity is hurting farmers' ability to plant, while the high cost of fertiliser and diesel have pushed the price of a 50 kg bag of rice nearly 90%, to 55,000 naira ($120) last year.

In 2017, the central bank introduced a multiple exchange rate system to avoid devaluing the naira currency, but this has contributed to dollar shortages, and the local unit has weakened to record lows against the greenback on the black market.

A central bank decision to replace old banknotes with new ones - part of an initiative to curb cash in circulation and control double-digit inflation - has caused huge controversy because there are not yet enough new notes in circulation. Enterprising Nigerians are selling cash at premiums of up to 20%.
 

GETTING WORSE

While Buhari says his government has been laying the foundations for a stronger economy, many Nigerians complain that economic conditions have worsened on his watch.

The country has weathered two recessions since 2016, driven by crude oil price slumps, hard currency shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic fallout from the war in Ukraine and heavy flooding last year pushed inflation to its highest level in 17 years, further squeezing consumers in a country where 33% of job seekers are unemployed.

Oil is the biggest foreign exchange earner, but rampant crude theft in the Niger Delta and years of underinvestment have hurt output and strained government finances. For a few months last year, Angola overtook Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer and exporter.

Nigeria relies on imports for nearly all refined fuels. Its state refineries have produced little or no fuel over the past decade due to poor maintenance, and a refinery being built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has been beset by delays.

Fortune Alfred, who makes a living driving for the Bolt ride-sharing business, had to park his car at home after spending six hours in a fuel line in Nigeria's southern oil-producing Rivers state. When he reached the pump, fuel had run out.

"The economic situation at the moment is worse than the early days of Buhari, the 40-year-old said. "The hardships have been created by failure of government."
 

CANDIDATES PROMISES

Amaka Anku, head of the Eurasia Group consulting firm's Africa practice, said Nigeria's economic woes had "created this very high anti-establishment sentiment".

That is propelling a presidential candidate, the Labour Party's Peter Obi, who is mounting a challenge to the two parties that have dominated Nigeria since the end of military rule in 1999.

"Obi will do better, and I hope he is able to resuscitate this country and not let it drown even further," said Ruth Geku, a 21-year-old street food seller in Yenagoa city, Rivers state.

However, there are few major policy differences between Obi and his establishment rivals - Bola Tinubu of Buhari's All Progressives Congress and Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People's Democratic Party.

All have promised to reform the economy, including ending the multiple exchange regime and a fuel subsidy that cost the government $10 billion last year.

But that has proven difficult in the past. Nigerians say cheap fuel - at 184 naira ($0.40) a litre - is one of the few benefits they get from their government.

By Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa, Reuters

Related stories: Supreme Court suspends banknote deadline in Nigeria

Video - Nigerian banks face a shortage of new naira notes

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Supreme Court suspends banknote deadline in Nigeria

Nigeria's Supreme Court has temporarily suspended Friday's deadline to stop using old banknotes, which had caused a cash crisis in the country.

Many banks have not had enough of the new naira notes, leading to desperate and chaotic scenes as people tried to get their hands on them.

Videos were shared of people stripping in banks in protest and fights at ATMs.

The chaos led to concern that it could affect this month's elections, as many Nigerians do not have bank accounts.

The head of the election commission said some election service providers will need to be paid in cash, and that could prove to be difficult.

The Central Bank said the currency redesign would help it tackle inflation, which is currently running at about 21%.

The bank said 80% of the notes currently in circulation were being held outside financial institutions. It hoped the redesign would bring some of that money being hoarded by individuals and companies back into the financial system, and so stop prices from rising so quickly.

The case, which was brought by the northern states of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara, has been adjourned to 15 February.

By Cecilia Macaulay, BBC

Related stories: Nigeria should consider extending banknote swap deadline according to IMF

States challenge central bank cash swap deadline in Nigeria

 

Nigeria should consider extending banknote swap deadline according to IMF

The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that Nigeria should consider extending a deadline to swap old banknotes because of the disruption to trade and payments being caused by a shortage of new notes.

Nigerians have to turn in 1,000, 500 and 200 naira notes by Friday, when they cease to be legal tender.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has started releasing newly designed notes, but many Nigerians say they are not yet available in banks, sparking acute cash shortages and chaotic scenes at banks.

Ari Aisen, IMF resident representative in Nigeria, said in a statement: "In spite of measures introduced by the CBN to mitigate the challenges in the banknote swap process, the IMF encourages the CBN to consider extending the deadline, should problems persist in the next few days."

The CBN has said recalling the banknotes is part of plans to reduce the use of cash and curb double-digit inflation. About 1.3 trillion naira ($2.8 billion) in old notes has been deposited into the bank since the announcement in October, according to the bank.

Some politicians have queried the CBN's timing for the swap, ahead of elections this month, where campaigns are funded mostly by cash.

Some ruling party officials have publicly accused the CBN of a plot to turn voters against its presidential candidate in the Feb. 25 election, in which President Muhammadu Buhari is not running as he will have already served two terms.

Opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has said extending the deadline would help by "reducing the financial consequences for citizens".

Three states on Monday asked the country's highest court to stop the federal government and central bank from ending the use of old naira notes this week, saying this was causing hardship ahead of the election.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

Related stories: States challenge central bank cash swap deadline in Nigeria

Video - Nigerian banks face a shortage of new naira notes

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Video - Asisat Oshoala football academy grows in strength



Nigerian and African top women's footballer, Asisat Oshoala is giving back to her society in a unique way. In 2022, she launched her foundation, which includes a football academy to empower marginalized girls in Nigeria by giving them access to sports and education.

CGTN

States challenge central bank cash swap deadline in Nigeria

Three states in Nigeria have asked the country's highest court to stop the federal government and central bank from ending the use of old naira currency notes this week, saying this was causing hardships, ahead of an election later this month.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gave a 10-day extension until Friday for citizens to turn in 1,000 ($2.17), 500 and 200 naira notes, after which they will cease to be legal tender.

The plan has sparked acute cash shortages and chaotic scenes at banks. Most transactions in Nigeria are still in cash.

Some ruling party officials have publicly accused the CBN of a plot to turn voters against its presidential candidate in the Feb. 25 election, in which President Muhammadu Buhari is not running because he is serving his final second term.

Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara state governments in northern Nigeria filed a suit in the Supreme Court on Monday saying the cash swap had caused restiveness among Nigerians and that this would "degenerate into the breakdown of law and order."

The three states are seeking an order "restraining the federal government through the CBN (and) the commercial banks from suspending on the 10th of February 2023 the time frame within which the now older versions of the 200, 500 and 1000 denominations of the Naira may no longer be legal tender."

The court could make an interim ruling this week.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

Related stories: Video - Nigerian banks face a shortage of new naira notes

Video - New currency in Nigeria to affect small businesses according to World Bank

 





15 Pilgrims from Nigeria killed by Burkina-Faso gunmen

At least 15 Nigerian Muslim pilgrims on their way to Senegal were killed when gunmen in Burkina Faso attacked the buses transporting them, Nigeria's presidency said on Monday.

"President Muhammadu Buhari has received the tragic news of the murder," the State House said in a statement without providing a number of casualties or further details on the attack.

A Nigerian presidency spokesperson told Reuters via a WhatsApp message that the death toll stood at 15 "so far".

According to a Senegalese religious order, unidentified assailants attacked the convoy of buses on Wednesday and killed 18 passengers.

The pilgrims were on their way to a religious ceremony in Senegal from Niger and Nigeria, a trip that involves crossing jihadist hotspots in northern Burkina Faso and central Mali.

"Eighteen passengers lost their lives during these attacks, and most of the survivors were robbed," the Medina Baye Mosque in Koalack, the Senegalese town where the victims were headed, said in a statement on Saturday.

Nigerian authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.

Nigeria's presidency said in the statement that it was in touch with Burkinabe authorities and awaiting the outcome of their investigation into the incident.

Burkina Faso's Foreign Affairs Minister Olivia Rouamba met with Nigeria's ambassador to the country on Monday to discuss the allegations.

"For the time being there is no concrete information or element picked up on the field that proves the veracity of these facts," Rouamba said in a statement after the meeting.

She added that authorities had strongly discouraged travel through the north due to "huge risks" of attacks.

Burkina Faso is battling a jihadist insurgency with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State that spilled over from neighbouring Mali in 2015.

Militants have spread over the tri-border area between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and encroached on coastal West African states despite costly international efforts to stop them.

Regular attacks on towns and villages, army posts and U.N. peacekeepers have caused thousands of deaths, displaced over 2 million people across the Sahel and aggravated food insecurity.

By Felix Onuah, Reuters

Monday, February 6, 2023

Tems wins Grammy award






 


 

 

 

Top Nigerian artists have joined music fans from across the world to congratulate singer Tems on winning a Grammy award.

She won the Best Melodic Rap Performance category for her contribution to the hit song "Wait for U" with Future and Drake.

They beat a strong field which included Kendrick Lamar and DJ Khaled.

Artists including Tiwa Savage, Waje and Omowunmi have posted messages congratulating Tems.

"It's Tems' time. Nobody can stop her shine. Superstar," posted Afrobeat singer Olamide.


Many fans have also taken to Twitter to congratulate her.

The 27-year-old has been praised by fellow artists for her vocal talent.

She reportedly has collaborations lined up with several mega starts including Beyoncé and Rihanna.

Meanwhile, South Africans Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikode also won a Grammy Award - for Best Global Music Performance for their collaboration Bayethe.

BBC

Friday, February 3, 2023

Artist from Nigeria turns flip-flops into portraits






 

 

 

 

 

 

Eugene Komboye, a Nigerian artist, is turning discarded plastic flip-flop sandals into colourful portraits in an effort to help clean up the environment in a country where plastic pollution is prevalent.

What started as an assignment in college in 2017, has become a full time job for Komboye, whose studio in the city of Abeokuta in the southwest state of Ogun now trains aspiring artists who want to follow in his footsteps and create flip-flop portraits.

Nigeria produces at least 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, according to government figures, with some of it finding its way into the ocean and rivers.

Flip-flops are the footwear of choice for many Nigerians and

Komboye, 30, sources his material mostly from dump sites, landfills and river banks. Back in his studio he disinfects and washes his findings before cutting them up and pasting them on a board to create a face on each one. Some customers come to his studio with photographs which he will use to create a personalised portrait.

By Seun Sanni, Reuters

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800 ballot boxes destroyed by Gunmen in Nigeria

More than 800 ballot boxes were destroyed by armed gunmen, who attacked an office of the electoral commission in southeast Nigeria on Wednesday.

It's the latest in the series of attacks on the electoral commission's offices across the region, blamed on armed pro-Biafra separatists groups. Biafra was the country separatists hoped to create but was quashed during Nigeria's bloody civil war.

In recent years, pro-Biafra militants have caused widespread terror, attacking government and security posts, and more recently, electoral offices. It's raising fears for whether the election can hold as planned.

Insecurity is a huge issue in Nigeria, with a militant Islamist insurgency in the north east, banditry in the north west and a rise in kidnapping for cash countrywide. Voters in Africa's most populous country are due to head to the polls at the end of this month.

By Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR   

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