Nigeria to encourage investments rather than borrowing according to finance minister

Nigeria will seek to encourage investments rather than rely on borrowing to create jobs, Finance Minister Olawale Edun said on Monday, as the new government tries to find a solution to sluggish growth, double-digit inflation and a high debt burden.

Edun, 62, who doubles as coordinating minister for the economy, was speaking to reporters in Abuja after president Bola Tinubu held his first meeting with his new cabinet following last week's swearing-in of ministers.

"The federal government is not in a position to borrow at this time," Edun said, adding that the emphasis is on creating a stable environment to attract both local and foreign investments.

Nigeria's economy has been battered by previously low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered two successive recessions in 2016 and 2020. The country has since exited that recession but growth is still fragile.

The disruptions weakened Nigeria's public finances and created large deficits, leaving the previous government reliant on both local and foreign loans to plug holes in its budgets.

Tinubu at his inauguration in May vowed to expand the economy by at least 6% a year, lift barriers to investment and create jobs, while also tackling rampant insecurity.

He has embarked on some of the boldest reforms that Nigeria has seen in years, including scrapping a popular but costly petrol subsidy and removing exchange rate restrictions. The naira has weakened to record lows.

The reforms are a gamble to try to kick-start growth but inflation has soared, worsening a cost of living crisis.

Edun, an ex-investment banker, who was special adviser to Tinubu on monetary policy before his appointment as minister, said he will focus on fixing Nigeria's public finances.

He added that the government's naira revenues have increased from crude oil proceeds following a devaluation in June.


"The federation earns dollars and if those dollars are feeding through, at let's say, 700 naira or 750 naira or so to one dollar as opposed to 460 naira where it was before. Clearly, that is repairing the finances of government," Edun said.

"So, that's the plan."

By Felix Onuah, Reuters

Video - Nigeria's women football star Oshoala trains girls at her academy

Nigeria's Super Falcons are just back from the FIFA Women's World Cup where they went out in the Round of 16 and star forward Asisat Oshoala who also plays for Barcelona has been using her break to meet and train with the girls at her football academy in Lagos.

President Tinubu orders immediate resolution to disagreement with Emirates Airline

Nigeria's president, Bola Tinubu, has ordered an immediate resolution to disagreements with Emirates Airline (EMIRA.UL) and visa issuance by the United Arab Emirates, the president's spokesman said on Thursday.

The UAE stopped issuing visas to Nigerians last year after Dubai's Emirates suspended flights due to an inability to repatriate funds from Africa's biggest economy.

Tinubu's office said in a statement on Thursday that he met with the UAE's ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi, and that Tinubu is prepared to "personally" intervene in the dispute.

"We must work together. We need to agree on core aviation and immigration issues," Tinubu said in the statement.

Al-Shamsi was quoted in the same statement as saying; "We are getting somewhere. These are small issues, all within a family, and they will be resolved."

Emirates Airline said in March it has "substantial" revenue trapped in Nigeria and has made slow progress in repatriating the blocked funds.


Nigeria has withheld at least $743 million in revenue earned by international carriers operating in the country, global airline industry association IATA said in March.

Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, faces shortages of foreign currency despite some reforms.

The dollar shortages have made it difficult for some foreign

airlines that sold tickets in the Nigerian naira currency to get their money out of the country.

By Felix Onuah, Reuters

Former oil minister of Nigeria Alison-Madueke charged with bribery by UK police

 

 

 

 

 

 

British police said on Tuesday they had charged former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke with bribery offences, saying they suspected she had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million pound oil and gas contracts.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and top oil producer, has one of the most corrupt political systems in the world and its former colonial ruler Britain has been a destination of choice for Nigerian kleptocrats seeking to enjoy their wealth.

Alison-Madueke, 63, served as petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015, under former President Goodluck Jonathan. She also acted as president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2014-2015.

"We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million pound contracts," said Andy Kelly, Head of the National Crime Agency's (NCA) International Corruption Unit.

"These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation."

Alison-Madueke was arrested in London in October 2015, a few months after leaving office, and has also been the subject of investigations in Nigeria and the United States.

She has previously denied allegations of corruption but could not be reached on Tuesday. A London lawyer who was acting for her in 2015 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The NCA said she was currently living in St John’s Wood, an upmarket area of west London, and would appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Oct. 2.

It said Alison-Madueke was accused of benefiting from at least 100,000 pounds ($127,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.

Charges against her also detail financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods, the NCA said.


It added that assets worth millions of pounds relating to the alleged offences had been frozen, and that it had provided evidence to the U.S. Department of Justice that enabled them to recover assets worth $53 million linked to Alison-Madueke.

Nigerian courts have also ordered the seizure of tens of millions of dollars' worth of assets including properties, cars, large quantities of jewellery and a gold iPhone in a series of rulings in recent years.

News of the British charges comes a month after a London court ordered the confiscation of $130 million from a former Nigerian oil state governor, James Ibori, in an unrelated but equally high-profile case involving political corruption in Nigeria.

With its highly developed legal and financial industries and lucrative property market, Britain is a global money-laundering hub and the NCA's anti-corruption unit is part of the authorities' effort to stem the tide of dirty money.

By Michael Holden and Estelle Shirbon, Reuters

Related stories: Ex-Oil Minister of Nigeria Seeks $215 Million in Defamation Lawsuit

Nigeria former oil minister Alison-Madueke arrested

Possible Trans Niger oil pipeline leak investigated by Shell Nigeria

Shell's (SHEL.L) Nigerian business is investigating a possible leak on its Trans Niger oil pipeline, which passes through the Bodo community in Rivers state, after being alerted to the potential problem on Aug. 18.

Oil theft and pipeline sabotage are common in the southern oil production heartland of Nigeria, with Shell blaming most spills on pipeline vandalism and illegal tapping of crude.

The 180,000 barrel per day (bpd) pipeline is one of two conduits that export Bonny Light crude from Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer.

"We are working with the community and other stakeholders to ensure we can safely look into and resolve this situation," said company spokesperson Bola Essien-Nelson without providing further detail.

No force majeure has been declared.

The investigation into the Trans Niger pipeline comes days after another Shell pipeline in Nigeria resumed exports.

The medium sweet grade Forcados was scheduled to ship 220,000 bpd in July, but loadings were suspended for about a month because of a potential leak at the export terminal.

The cause of the Forcados suspension has yet to be determined by a joint investigation between company and community representatives in tandem with government agencies.

By Tife Owolabi, Reuters

Related story: The Criminals Undercutting Nigeria’s Oil Industry