Election-related visa restrictions imposed on citizens of Nigeria

The United States has imposed entry restrictions on more Nigerians for undermining the democratic process during the African nation's 2023 election cycle, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.

"These individuals have been involved in intimidation of voters through threats and physical violence, the manipulation of vote results, and other activity that undermines Nigeria’s democratic process," Blinken said in a statement.

Additional details were not provided.

The action is the latest in a series of visa restrictions imposed on Nigerian individuals in recent years.

Nigeria's election tribunal this month was to begin hearing opposition petitions challenging president-elect Bola Tinubu's victory in the disputed February presidential vote, court records showed.

Tinubu, from the ruling All Progressives Congress party, defeated his closest rivals Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party and the Labour Party's Peter Obi, who have alleged fraud and have launched a court challenge.

Atiku and Obi want the tribunal to invalidate Tinubu's victory, arguing that the vote was fraught with irregularities, among other criticisms. Tinubu, who is set to be sworn in on May 29, says he won fairly and wants the petitions dismissed.

There have been numerous legal challenges to the outcome of previous Nigerian presidential elections but none has succeeded.

By Doina Chiacu, Reuters

Video - Government of Nigeria says cow skin or "ponmo" should be worn, not eaten

The Nigerian government is trying to ban the consumption of cow skin in the country. Ponmo, as it's popularly known, is widely enjoyed across the West African nation, especially by those who might otherwise struggle to afford meat. But the government says it has no nutritional value, and the skins would be much better used in the leather industry.

CGTN

Related story: Video - Nigeria’s ponmo cuisine under threat as the leather sector seeks growth

 

Hilda Baci from Nigeria breaks Guinness world record for longest cooking time

 

 

 

 

Nigerian chef, Hilda Bassey Effiong, popularly known as Hilda Buci has broken the Guinness World Record for longest cooking hours.

Hilda broke the record which was previously held by Indian chef, Lata Tondon on Monday morning at 7:45 am.

Tondon had made meals for 87 hours, 45 minutes and 00 seconds.


However, as of the time of filing this report, Hilda has cooked for 88 hours, 19 minutes.

She aims to cook for 96 hours.

She is expected to complete the task at 5pm on Monday.

The chef has been getting massive support, especially from Nigerians, celebrities and politicians in the country.

Nollywood actor, Charles Okocha; actress, Kate Henshaw; singer, Tiwa Savage; media personality, Enioluwa, and many others appeared at the event.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also visited the venue on Sunday to cheer up Baci.

Baci is not new to cooking competitions, she was a participant in the maiden edition of the Jollof Face-off Competition in 2021. The talented chef made Nigeria proud by winning the competition and walking away with a grand prize of $5000.

Africa News

Naira hits record low after central bank adjusts spot rate

The Nigerian naira hit a record low of 466 per dollar on the official market on Thursday, after the central bank weakened the currency on the spot market and at its foreign exchange auction as it tries to address a backlog of demand for foreign currency, traders said.

Nigeria's central bank has been adjusting rates to manage demand for foreign currency against its level of foreign reserves while at the same time intervening on the foreign exchange market to keep the currency stable after it has weakened.

The central bank adjusted rates on Wednesday to 465 naira from 460 naira per dollar, traders said, while it sold hard currency to businesses for raw materials and other imports at 630 naira at its last auction on Friday.

"Generally, the market impression is that (FX) rates are moving up," one currency trader said.

The naira, which trades within a range on the official market, has fallen to successive lows due to dollar scarcity, coupled with the central bank's adjustments to manage the backlog of demand for foreign exchange.

The currency later recovered some ground to trade at 463 naira per dollar on the official market on Thursday.

"At the current level, clients are not getting funds," the trader said. "The appetite is to seek more dollars to meet obligations."

The naira eased to 748 against the dollar on the black market as individuals and firms channel unmet currency demand to informal sources.

By Chijioke Ohuocha, Reuters

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

Nigeria overtaken by Angola as top African crude oil producer

Angola has now emerged the topmost crude oil producer in Africa, upstaging Nigeria as the latter’s output level hits a new low.

The direct communication data in the April 2023 monthly oil market report (MOMR) of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) shows that Angola recorded 1.06 million barrels per day (mbpd) crude production in April 2023.

Despite initial optimism, Nigeria’s oil output dropped 23 per cent, month-on-month, MoM, to 999,999 barrels per day, bpd, in April 2023, from 1.3 million bpd in the preceding month of March 2023.

Also, on year-on-year, YoY, Nigeria’s output level indicated a drop of 16.7 per cent to 999,999 bpd in April 2023, from 1.2 million bpd recorded in the corresponding period of 2022.

After a steady decline to about 1.1 mbpd in the second half of 2022, due majorly, to oil theft, Nigeria’s oil output began to recover after a nationwide outcry in the fourth quarter of 2022 hovering at 1.3 million bpd in the first quarter of 2023.

At less than 1.0mbpd, this is the lowest production rate Nigeria has recorded in the year 2023 while Angola’s output shows steady increases.

The OPEC figure is close to that of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the regulatory authority in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, which shows that Nigeria produced 998,602 barrels per day during the period.

The OPEC report further stated that total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged 28.60 million barrels per day in April 2023, lower by 191,000 barrels per day, month-on-month. Overall, the report showed that crude oil output increased mainly in Saudi Arabia, Angola and Iran, while production in Iraq and Nigeria declined.

OPEC noted in the MOMR that Nigeria’s economy faced challenges in gaining momentum in the first quarter of 2023, with business activity and consumer spending remaining subdued, in addition to high input-cost inflation and lower employment levels compared with 2022.

By Udeme Akpan & Yinka Kolawole, Reuters