Video - Rising Food Prices spark protests and smuggling in Nigeria

Nigeria is on the brink of a food crisis as skyrocketing prices, exacerbated by smugglers, leave millions struggling to afford basic necessities. The situation has prompted trade unions to call for protests against the government's handling of the crisis. The cost of food has risen by almost 40% in the past year alone, leaving many Nigerians unable to feed themselves or their families. With no end in sight to the crisis, the country is facing an uncertain future.

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Nigerian military speaks on reports of alert over coup plot

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has denied allegations that the Guards Brigade has been put on high alert over suspected activities of coup attempts in the country.

The Acting Director Defence Information, Tukur Gusau, a brigadier general, disclosed this on the DHQ official X account on Sunday.

Mr Gusau said the attention of the DHQ was drawn to a report published by SaharaReporters on 25 February claiming that the Guards Brigade had been put on high alert following unusual movements, leading to suspicion of a coup plot in Nigeria.

The report also said the suspicion prompted an emergency meeting involving President Bola Tinubu, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Commander of the Guards Brigade, Adebisi Onasanya, a colonel.

Mr Gusau said the publication was a figment of the imagination of the publisher and should be disregarded by the public.

He said the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, had repeatedly reiterated the unalloyed commitment of members of the armed forces to the protection and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.

“It will be recalled that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa OFR had in various fora reiterated the unalloyed commitment of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to the protection and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria. Therefore, the Defence Headquarters strongly condemn this unsubstantiated assertion which is just a figment of the imagination of the publisher and enjoins members of the public to disregard it,” the statement said.

Last week, Mr Musa had cautioned those demanding a coup in the country.

Read the full statement below:

PRESS RELEASE
DHQ REFUTES ALLEGATION OF GUARDS BRIGADE PLACED ON HIGH ALERT OVER SUSPICION OF COUP PLOT IN NIGERIA

1.​The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to a malicious and unfounded article published online by @SaharaReporters on 25 February 2024 claiming that the Guards Brigade has been put on high alert following unusual movements, leading to suspicion of a coup plot in Nigeria. The publication also asserted amongst other things that the suspicion prompted emergency meeting involving President Bola Tinubu, the Chief of Staff to the President and Commander of the Guards Brigade.

2.​The publication also asserted amongst other things that the suspicion prompted emergency meeting involving President Bola Tinubu, the Chief of Staff to the President and Commander of the Guards Brigade.

3.​It will be recalled that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa OFR had in various fora reiterated the unalloyed commitment of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to the protection and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria. Therefore, the Defence Headquarters strongly condemn this unsubstantiated assertion which is just a figment of imagination of the publisher and enjoins members of the public to disregard it.

4.​Furthermore, the Defence Headquarters calls on relavant security agencies to immediately take appropriate action against the Sahara Reporters for this unpatriotic action. Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters will seek legal redress on the issue which has the ulterior motive of creating unnecessary tension in the country.

Signed:

TUKUR GUSAU

Brigadier General

25 February 2024

Acting Director Defence Information

By Ademola Popoola, Premium Times

Nigeria to merge, scrap, government agencies to trim costs

Nigeria's government has approved a plan to merge, scrap, and relocate several agencies to streamline its bureaucracy and cut costs, the information minister said on Monday.

The move followed recommendations from a 2012 report from a government-appointed committee that suggested the elimination or merger of some 220 of more than 500 government agencies.

Information Minister Mohammed Idris told reporters that under the plan announced on Monday more than 20 government agencies will be merged, subsumed under existing ministries, or relocated.

Streamlining government bureaucracy in Nigeria has been the subject of debate for years, with critics pointing to overlapping mandates and redundancies among agencies.

President Bola Tinubu has set up a committee to ensure that necessary legislative amendments are made within 12 weeks to ensure the plan is fully executed, said Hadiza Bala Usman, an adviser to the president, who gave details of the policy.

Africa's largest economy is grappling with sluggish economic growth, low revenue and rising public debt.
After taking office in May last year, Tinubu embarked on the boldest economic reform program in decades, but his government is now under pressure to cut the cost of governance and improve efficiency.

Although welcomed by investors, unions say the reforms have have led to soaring costs at a time when Nigerians are already grappling with sky-high inflation. 

By Felix Onuah, Reuters

Video - Drop in oil production leaves government budget of Nigeria under stress

Despite missing OPEC's 1.5 million barrels per day target, Nigeria set ambitious sights in 2024, eyeing a daily production target of 1.7 million barrels. But the year is off to a rocky start. January 2024 oil production fell to 1.42 million barrels per day, a drop of 3,000 barrels per day from the previous month. Experts worry that the consequences could be dire.

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Video - Nigeria sees hundreds hit the streets over growing crisis

The protesters say they want immediate action from the government to help reduce the soaring cost of living in the country.

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Naira hits record lows, stocks sink

 

 

Defense chief of Nigeria accuses nations withholding arms sales over abuses of ‘double standards’

Nigeria’s defense chief expressed frustration Tuesday with what he called the “double standards” of some countries that won’t sell his military weapons because of human rights concerns.

Gen. Christopher Musa’s comment underscores one of the biggest challenges for Africa’s most populous nation in combating a deadly and complex security crisis, from the Islamic militant insurgency in northeast to the dozens of armed groups targeting travelers and communities in the northwest and central regions.

“Even with our money, it is difficult getting equipment,” Musa told reporters in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja, acknowledging a huge need for items such as helicopters, drones and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.

“Some say human rights, some say ‘You have killed’ … but again, sometimes, people pointing fingers at you have done worse and yet nobody is holding them to account. It is these double standards that (are) making the world more dangerous,” Musa said.

He declined to name the countries in question when asked by The Associated Press.

Nigeria’s security forces for many years have faced allegations of extrajudicial killings and illegal arrests. The United States and other major arms suppliers at one point or another have withheld the sale of weapons over those accusations.

In December, at least 85 civilians were killed when a Nigerian army drone erroneously targeted a religious gathering in northwest Kaduna state, the latest of several such incidents.

Musa said Nigeria’s military has continued to improve on its human rights record and is holding its personnel to account. Alleged abuses are often investigated, and a report on the December incident will be released soon, he said.

“The Nigerian Armed Forces have the capacity to secure Nigeria (and) the entire region,” Musa said, but added that the lack of needed weapons will continue to limit that capacity.

However, there is little evidence to show that Nigeria’s military has improved on its human rights record, according to Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s director in Nigeria.

“Protecting civilians should be their priority (and) they should look at all human rights violations they have committed to ensure accountability,” Sanusi said.

U.S. military support to Nigeria has at times included training on how to mitigate risks to civilians, according to a State Department statement in January on security cooperation. It said that in August, Nigeria delivered the first payment for 12 attack helicopters worth a total of $997 million.

By Chinedu Asadu, AP

Protests in Nigeria over skyrocketing inflation as local currency hits record low value

Nigerians are facing one of the West African nation’s worst economic crises in years triggered by surging inflation, the result of monetary policies that have pushed the currency to an all-time low against the dollar. The situation has provoked anger and protests across the country.

The latest government statistics released Thursday showed the inflation rate in January rose to 29.9%, its highest since 1996, mainly driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages. Nigeria's currency, the naira, further plummeted to 1,524 to $1 on Friday, reflecting a 230% loss of value in the last year.

"My family is now living one day at a time (and) trusting God," said trader Idris Ahmed, whose sales at a clothing store in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja have declined from an average of $46 daily to $16.

The plummeting currency worsens an already bad situation, further eroding incomes and savings. It squeezes millions of Nigerians already struggling with hardship due to government reforms including the removal of gas subsidies that resulted in gas prices tripling.
 

A SNAPSHOT OF NIGERIA’S ECONOMY

With a population of more than 210 million people, Nigeria is not just Africa’s most populous country but also the continent’s largest economy. Its gross domestic product is driven mainly by services such as information technology and banking, followed by manufacturing and processing businesses and then agriculture.

The challenge is that the economy is far from sufficient for Nigeria’s booming population, relying heavily on imports to meet the daily needs of its citizens from cars to cutlery. So it is easily affected by external shocks such as the parallel foreign exchange market that determines the price of goods and services.

Nigeria's economy is heavily dependent on crude oil, its largest foreign exchange earner. When crude prices plunged in 2014, authorities used its scarce foreign reserves to try to stabilize the naira amid multiple exchange rates. The government also shut down the land borders to encourage local production and limited access to the dollar for importers of certain items.

The measures, however, further destabilized the naira by facilitating a booming parallel market for the dollar. Crude oil sales that boost foreign exchange earnings have also dropped because of chronic theft and pipeline vandalism.

MONETARY REFORMS POORLY IMPLEMENTED

Shortly after taking the reins of power in May last year, President Bola Tinubu took bold steps to fix the ailing economy and attract investors. He announced the end of costly decadeslong gas subsidies, which the government said were no longer sustainable. Meanwhile, the country's multiple exchange rates were unified to allow market forces to determine the rate of the local naira against the dollar, which in effect devalued the currency.

Analysts say there were no adequate measures to contain the shocks that were bound to come as a result of reforms including the provision of a subsidized transportation system and an immediate increase in wages.

So the more than 200% increase in gas prices caused by the end of the gas subsidy started to have a knock-on effect on everything else, especially because locals rely heavily on gas-powered generators to light their households and run their businesses.

WHY IS THE NAIRA PLUMMETING IN VALUE?

Under the previous leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria, policymakers tightly controlled the rate of the naira against the dollar, thereby forcing individuals and businesses in need of dollars to head to the black market, where the currency was trading at a much lower rate.

There was also a huge backlog of accumulated foreign exchange demand on the official market — estimated to be $7 billion — due in part to limited dollar flows as foreign investments into Nigeria and the country’s sale of crude oil have declined.

Authorities said a unified exchange rate would mean easier access to the dollar, thereby encouraging foreign investors and stabilizing the naira. But that has yet to happen because inflows have been poor. Instead, the naira has further weakened as it continues to depreciate against the dollar.
 

WHAT ARE AUTHORITIES DOING?

CBN Gov. Olayemi Cardoso has said the bank has cleared $2.5 billion of the foreign exchange backlog out of the $7 billion that had been outstanding. The bank, however, found that $2.4 billion of that backlog were false claims that it would not clear, Cardoso said, leaving a balance of about $2.2 billion, which he said will be cleared "soon."

Tinubu, meanwhile, has directed the release of food items such as cereals from government reserves among other palliatives to help cushion the effect of the hardship. The government has also said it plans to set up a commodity board to help regulate the soaring prices of goods and services.

On Thursday, the Nigerian leader met with state governors to deliberate on the economic crisis, part of which he blamed on the large-scale hoarding of food in some warehouses.

"We must ensure that speculators, hoarders and rent seekers are not allowed to sabotage our efforts in ensuring the wide availability of food to all Nigerians," Tinubu said.

By Friday morning, local media were reporting that stores were being sealed for hoarding and charging unfair prices.
 

HOW ARE NIGERIANS COPING WITH TOUGH TIMES?

The situation is at its worst in conflict zones in northern Nigeria, where farming communities are no longer able to cultivate what they eat as they are forced to flee violence. Pockets of protests have broken out in past weeks but security forces have been quick to impede them, even making arrests in some cases.

In the economic hub of Lagos and other major cities, there are fewer cars and more legs on the roads as commuters are forced to trek to work. The prices of everything from food to household items increase daily.

"Even to eat now is a problem," said Ahmed in Abuja. "But what can we do?"

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Nigeria considering state policing to combat growing insecurity

Nigeria is considering the introduction of state police in its 36 states to bolster its national police force as it struggles to contain widespread violence and insecurity, the information minister said on Thursday.

An Islamist insurgency in the northeast, kidnappings for ransom, deadly farmer-herder clashes in the central belt and separatist and gang violence in the southeast are some of the challenges faced by Nigeria's police force.

President Bola Tinubu met the country's state governors to discuss insecurity, which is hurting farmers and contributing to high food prices and inflation.

The federal government and the state governments agreed that a state police force was necessary, marking "a significant shift" in approach, Information Minister Mohammed Idris told reporters after the meeting.

This is the first time that Nigeria's federal and state governments have agreed on the need to set up state police to reinforce the more than 300,000-strong national police force in Africa's most populous nation.

Nigerian Police Inspector General Kayode Egbetokun said last year at least 190,000 more officers were needed to secure the country adequately. He said the force was well below the United Nations' recommended ratio of one police officer to about 450 citizens.

Some states, like Lagos, have annual budgets the size of small African countries, and have long advocated for their own state police, saying this would help combat insecurity.

Ikemesit Effiong of risk consultancy SBM Intelligence said establishing state police would not solve the whole problem.

"Expanding the police force is one thing, fundamentally reframing the architecture and focus of policing from retribution and state control to investigation and crime prevention is quite another," Effiong said. 

By Felix Onuah, Reuters

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President Tinubu picks son-in-law to run housing agency

President Bola Tinubu has appointed his son-in-law as the head of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), sparking concerns about nepotism.

Oyetunde Oladimeji Ojo is married to Mr Tinubu's eldest daughter, Folashade.

This is the first time President Tinubu has selected a relative for a position in the federal government.

Announcing his appointment, the presidency said Mr Ojo had "over a decade of work experience in the housing and hospitality industries".

He is also a former member of the House of Representatives.

But there has been a strong reaction on social media with some arguing that there were more qualified and deserving candidates than Mr Ojo.

"Blatant nepotism is a leadership weakness. It's unfortunate Nigerian leaders don't see it as a form of ethical failure," one person posted on X.


Some have come out to defend the naming of Mr Ojo for the role, saying his relationship with the president should not bar him from government jobs.

His appointment was part of the president's move to overhaul the management of the housing ministry.

The FHA, which falls under the ministry, is supposed to help deliver affordable homes across Nigeria.

The government did not immediately comment on the criticisms raised about the appointment.

By Wycliffe Muia, BBC 

Nigeria to remove ‘political farmers’ from database

The federal government, on Wednesday, announced that it is making efforts to modify farmers’ databases to get rid of “political farmers” as it plans to kick off the second phase of dry season farming.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this in a maiden press briefing organised by the Minister of Information and National Orientation to regain public confidence.

According to him, only genuine farmers will benefit from government-subsidised interventions.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Bola Tinubu administration earlier announced that a lot of agricultural policies meant for farmers were enjoyed by ‘political farmers’: persons linked to politicians but who were not real farmers.

Last year, the ministry launched the first phase of dry season farming under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) project. The first phase focused on 15 wheat-growing states.
 

I50,000 hectares of rice to be cultivated in second phase

Mr Kyari said following a key evaluation of the first phase of dry season farming, measures have been taken to ensure the success of the subsequent phase.

He said 150,000 hectares of rice would be cultivated during the second phase, noting that 300,000 genuine farmers are targeted for this. The farmers, he said, would benefit from the government’s subsidised interventions such as fertilisers, herbicides and micronutrients among others.

According to him, the farmers would get three bags of these agro-inputs for free after purchasing half bags.

In addition, he said, 30,000 hectares of maize would be cultivated across the 36 states of the federation. The minister expressed optimism, noting that some state governors have shown interest in the scheme.

Mr Kyari also clarified that 42,000 metric tonnes of grains earmarked for distribution to vulnerable households would be at no cost.

“The 42,000 metric tonnes of food from the national food reserves is free,” he clarified. “We’re trying to crash down the prices of food and make it available.”

“So these 42,000 metric tonnes of food will be given to the needy free of charge. It would go directly to the needy at no cost at all.

“We’ve met with the DSS and NEMA to give us the index. This is to gather intelligence on where it is needed the most, and we are going to look at those indices,” Mr Kyari added.

Idris unveils five-pillar agenda to regain public confidence

In his remarks, the information minister, Muhammed Idris, said his ministry has developed a five-pillar agenda in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope vision.

Mr Idris said the agenda is targeted at restoring trust, amplifying policies and programmes, reorienting national values, modernizing technology and talent, and creating an enabling environment for the media.

“The Ministerial Press Briefing Series (MPBS) that we are kicking off today, are in line with our ‘Restore Trust’ and ‘Amplify Policies and Programmes’ pillars. This is a chance for you, the distinguished members of the press, to engage with senior officials of the federal government, on behalf of the good people of Nigeria,” the minister told journalists.

“You will hear first-hand about what the federal government is doing, policies, programmes, targets and objectives, and you will be able to ask questions and receive relevant clarifications. We have also made efforts to ensure that this Briefing Series receives the widest possible coverage, through traditional and digital platforms,” the minister explained.

Mr Idris said the ministry is “determined to restore trust, confidence and credibility to public communications, by engaging in a timely, proactive and consistent fashion with all our stakeholders, across government, the media, private sector and international community, deploying all available platforms and media.”

He noted that the press briefing will subsequently feature other ministers who will be brought before the press to highlight the government’s efforts in stabilising the country.

ByYakubu Mohammed, Premium Times

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New Dangote refinery in Nigeria to export first fuel cargoes

Nigeria's Dangote oil refinery has issued tenders to sell two fuel cargoes for export, the first from the newly commissioned refinery, trading sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The refinery, Africa's largest with a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, was built on a peninsula on the outskirts of the commercial capital Lagos by the continent's richest man Aliko Dangote.

Nigeria has for years relied on expensive imports for nearly all the fuel it consumes but the $20 billion refinery is set to turn it into a net exporter of fuel to other West African countries, in a huge potential shift of power and profit dynamics in the industry. Dangote declined a Reuters request for comment.

The first cargo is 65,000 metric tons of low-sulphur straight run fuel oil, which Dangote has awarded to Trafigura and is due to load at the end of February, three of the sources said. Trafigura declined to comment.

At least one refiner said they had been offered the cargo by Trafigura without elaborating further.
The second tender is for about 60,000 tons of naphtha, three other sources said. Two of them added that the tender closes on Feb. 15. Loading details were not immediately available.

Sources told Reuters last week that the refinery was preparing to deliver its first fuel cargoes to the domestic market within weeks.

The two fuels on offer are typical products of running light sweet crude through a crude distillation unit (CDU) in a refinery without further upgrading capacity. It is expected to take months for upgrading units to be brought online, experts have said.

The refiner began buying crude in December last year and Nigeria's state-owned oil firm NNPC Ltd has been the main supplier. Dangote has also purchased some U.S. oil and is expected to receive 2 million barrels of U.S. WTI Midland in early March, according to LSEG and Kpler ship tracking.

By Ahmad Ghaddar, Reuters 

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Nigeria to clear debt, fix gas shortages in plan to end power woes

Nigeria plans to fix its chronic power woes by settling outstanding debts of about $2.16 billion to energy producers and tackling gas supply shortages to generating firms, the power minister said on Wednesday.

Africa's largest economy has 12,500 megawatts of installed capacity but only produces about a quarter of that, forcing households and businesses, including manufacturers to resort to diesel and petrol generators.

Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu told reporters on Wednesday that outstanding debts, inadequate gas supplies and ageing equipment were the key barriers hampering optimal power output.

Adelabu said power generators are currently owed 1.3 trillion naira ($858.65 million), in addition to a $1.3 billion legacy debt from a decade ago.

"Part of preparation to turn around and transform the sector is the settlement of existing outstanding debt obligations to the gas supply and power generation companies using partly cash payments and guaranteed debt instruments," he said.

Last week, Adebalu proposed a naira payment for gas sales to power plants as a solution to solve dollar shortages as costs are expected to balloon after a second currency devaluation in less than a year.

Natural gas is sold in dollars to power plants because investments tied to building gas processors and pipelines are priced and paid for in dollars.

Grid power is erratic in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. The grid collapsed on Feb. 4, causing a national blackout, and at least three times in 2023, which authorities blamed on technical problems. 

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters 

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Naira at record low despite improving FX liquidity

Nigeria's naira dropped to a record intra-day low against the dollar on Friday, LSEG data showed, following a devaluation last week, its second adjustment in less than a year, despite the central bank saying liquidity was improving.

Central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso said on Friday that over $1 billion had come into the economy in the last few days to buy Nigerian Treasury bills after it auctioned one trillion naira ($678.60 million) worth of notes that were oversubscribed.

He told lawmakers on Friday that the measures taken by the bank to improve dollar supply have tamed currency volatility. But he added that forex demand had to be moderated for these measures to be sustainable.

The central bank this week hiked open market rates to 19% from under 12% to draw investors to bills which had lost their shine to equities as inflation climbed to a nearly three-decade high and lagged behind the benchmark policy rate of 18.75%.

It also scrapped caps on interbank forex spreads.

"These measures, aimed at ensuring a more market-oriented mechanism for exchange rate determination, will boost foreign exchange inflows, stabilize the exchange rate, and minimize its pass-through to domestic inflation," he said.

Africa's largest economy has been experiencing a crippling dollar shortage that has pushed its currency to record lows in recent weeks, though Cardoso has said that dollar liquidity was improving.

The official naira exchange rate last week plunged to as low as 1,531 per dollar from 900, well below black market levels, after the market regulator changed its closing rate calculation methodology, in a de facto devaluation.

The naira fell to as low as 1,540 intra-day on Friday, dropping lower than the 1,449.27 naira quoted on the unofficial parallel market.

The central bank is due hold its first rate-setting meeting under Cardoso on Feb. 26, six months after the last one, with several analysts expecting the bank to tighten rates by at least 200 basis points to 20.75%.

"Indeed, they (central bank measures) have already started yielding early results with significant interest from foreign portfolio investors that have already begun to supply the much-needed foreign exchange to the economy," Cardoso said. 

By Chijioke Ohuocha, Reuters

Video - Nigeria caps foreign exchange position for banks

Nigeria's central bank has announced limits on how much banks can hold in foreign currency. The move comes after the apex bank expressed concern about the growth of forex exposure on the balance sheets of commercial banks. The naira has tumbled against the U.S. dollar affecting dollar-denominated sovereign bonds that have suffered sharp falls.

CGTN

Nigeria seeks to resolve disputed oilfield issues, denies criminal liability

Nigeria wants to resolve outstanding issues around the disputed OPL 245 oil block as it seeks to attract investment to its oil and gas industry and has held talks with Shell and Eni to discuss the matter, its oil minister said on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Petroleum Heineken Lokpobiri reiterated the government's position that there was no criminal liability on its part, or by the other parties, in the oil block deal, which has been embroiled in litigation for years.

Nigeria in November, withdrew a $1.1 billion civil claim against Shell (SHEL.L) and Eni related to allegations of corruption in the deal, ending all litigation around the oil asset.

An Italian court in 2021 acquitted Shell, Eni, the operator of the block, and company executives of corruption allegations in the acquisition of the field a decade earlier.

"For 28 years, there has been no investment there. Nobody has benefited from the block," Lokpobiri told reporters. "The President in his wisdom directed that we should resolve the problems around OPL 245."

Lokpobiri said the government is committed to resolving the issues surrounding OPL 245 in a way that benefits all parties and has held meetings, including in London last week, with Shell and Eni to discuss the matter.

Shell and Eni did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

Central bank of Nigeria to replace policymakers as shakeup continues

Nigeria’s central bank is set to replace the external members of its monetary policy committee who say they have been sidelined ahead of a meeting in February. This comes amid an ongoing shakeup of the institution.

CGTN

America determined to remain strong security partner for Nigeria

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said the United States is determined to remain a strong security partner for Nigeria, whose military is backed by the U.S., Britain and other allies in a long war against Islamist insurgents.

Blinken also discussed challenges to democracy and security in the region during his meeting on Tuesday with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in a visit that comes after last year's coup in neighboring Niger, one of a series of coups or attempted power grabs over the past few years in West and Central Africa.

"The United States is determined to be and remain a strong security partner for Nigeria," Blinken told reporters.

Blinken added that he discussed how it is vitally important there be a focus on ensuring civilians are protected and humanitarian considerations.

Observers have noted a pattern of deadly aerial assaults by the Nigerian military that have killed civilians, which was the subject of a Reuters special report last year.

The U.S. faced a setback in its fight against militants in the Sahel when military officers toppled Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum, a key ally, in July last year.

The coup in Niger was one of a series of military takeovers or attempted power grabs that occurred in West and Central Africa over the past three years.

The instability has raised concern, particularly as juntas have cut ties with traditional Western allies such as the European Union and France, which withdrew thousands of troops from the Sahel last year.

Blinken, speaking in Abuja as part of a four-nation tour of Africa taking him to Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola from Jan. 21-26, also said repatriation of capital and corruption were among challenges that need to be tackled for companies to invest in Nigeria.

Africa's biggest economy has about $7 billion in forex forwards that have matured, a major concern for investors as foreign currency shortages continue to weigh down the naira currency, despite assurances by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear the backlog.

So far, about $2 billion of the backlog across sectors such as manufacturing, aviation, and petroleum have been paid, CBN spokesperson Hakama Sidi Ali said in a statement.

By Chijioke Ohuocha and Felix Onuah, Reuters

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Nigeria "essential" to global future according to U.S. Secretary of state

Yusuf Tuggar tweeted Anthony Blinken's visit focused enhancing trade relations and deepening democracy in West Africa.

Nigerian president Bola Tinubu held discussions with the US secretary of state ahead of a press conference.

The US top diplomat said Nigeria had an essential part to play in how Africa could shape the global future.

"Nigeria as Africa's largest country, largest economy, largest democracy, is essential to that effort [Editor's note: referring to the role Africa has in shaping the future globally]."

"We are doing a lot of work together already to drive in a positive direction. We're we're we're driving climate action. As partners in the Global Methane Coalition, we're pushing for permanent representation for African voices in the U.N. Security Council, in other international organizations."

"The United States is committed to strengthening genuine partnerships on the continent, to work to solve shared challenges, and also to deliver on the promise and the fundamental aspirations of our peoples," Blinken said.

His trip is part of President Biden's attempt to tout the USA as Africa's key economic and security ally.

Nigeria is Blinken's third stop on his tour of African nations, following Cape Verde and Ivory Coast. He will travel next to Angola.

Africa News

US emphasizes 'accountability and transparency' in Nigeria security operations

Senior U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland met Nigerian National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and discussed "promoting accountability and transparency" in the aftermath of security operations in Nigeria, the State Department said on Thursday.


WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Observers have noted a pattern of deadly aerial assaults by the Nigerian military that have killed civilians, which was the subject of a special Reuters report last year.


Nigeria's military is backed by the United States, Britain and other allies in a long war against Islamist insurgents in the northeast.

KEY QUOTE

"They further agreed on the importance of protecting civilians, safeguarding human rights, and promoting accountability and transparency in the aftermath of security operations," the State Department said in a statement on Thursday.

CONTEXT

Civilians were killed n Nigeria's northern Kaduna state following a military drone attack targeting insurgents and bandits in December. The death toll in the attack was at least 85, including women and children.

The Boko Haram and splinter Islamic West Africa Province have waged an insurgency in Nigeria's northeast for more than one decade and continue to carry out sporadic attacks against civilians and the military.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Nigeria in the coming week as part of a West Africa trip. 

By Kanishka Singh, Reuters

Related story: Video - Nigeria recruits nearly 30,000 police officers to tackle insecurity

 

Video - Nigeria recruits nearly 30,000 police officers to tackle insecurity

Nigeria Security agencies have been struggling to contain a 14-year insurgency by militants that has led to the death of over 350,000 people. Analysts have welcomed the recruitment of additional police officers but insist that the welfare of security personnel across the country needs to be improved.

CGTN

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