The development of Nigeria-China relations is robust, with multiple sectors recording gains. Analysts project even more benefits in the period ahead.
Friday, January 10, 2025
Video - Analyst highlights key sectors benefiting from China-Nigeria relations
The development of Nigeria-China relations is robust, with multiple sectors recording gains. Analysts project even more benefits in the period ahead.
US returns $50m in alleged stolen funds to Nigeria
Close to $53m (£43m) in alleged illicit funds recovered from Nigeria's former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke among others will be used to fund public services, the country's justice ministry says.
The money is being sent back to Nigeria from the US, whose authorities allege that Alison-Madueke enriched herself, and others, while leading Nigeria's state oil firm by awarding contracts in exchange for bribes.
The US alleged that the money was then used to buy a 65-metre superyacht called the Galactica Star plus multiple luxury properties in California and New York.
Alison-Madueke, 64, has always denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
Her alleged ill-gotten gains are also under scrutiny in the UK, where two years ago she was charged with bribery offences including gifts of Louis Vuitton luxury goods, payment of private school fees, and at least $127,000 in cash.
A key figure in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, she also served as the first female president of the oil exporters group Opec.
Her time as Nigeria's minister of petroleum resources began in 2010 and ended in 2015. She previously served as transport minister, and the minister for solid minerals and steel development.
The US Department of Justice announced in 2023 the final resolution of two civil cases on the forfeiture of assets that were reportedly laundered in and through the US by Alison-Madueke and her associates.
On Friday, the US and Nigeria confirmed that the sum of $52.88m would be repatriated to the West African nation.
This will be the first repatriation to Nigeria of assets outside the West African country linked to Alison-Madueke, the Reuters news agency reports.
Speaking at the formal signing ceremony in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said the return of the funds marks a significant step in the ongoing efforts to combat corruption.
Fagbemi said $50m of the money will go through the World Bank to support rural electrification projects, and the remaining $2.88m will be directed to the International Institute of Justice to strengthen the justice system and promote anti-corruption efforts.
Meanwhile the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, has emphasised the need for accountability as well as the careful monitoring of the returned funds.
"The ministry of justice must guarantee that these funds are used transparently and effectively to improve the lives of Nigerians," he said.
In November 2022, the US government repatriated to Nigeria, $20.6m in assets allegedly stolen by former Nigerian military leader Gen Sani Abacha.
Five years ago, Washington transferred $311.8m to the Nigerian government as part of a previous agreement to repatriate assets that traced back to the Abacha regime.
Video - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Nigerian President Bola Tinubu
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says China is prepared to assist Nigeria in accelerating its development initiatives and combating terrorism. President Bola Tinubu, in response, emphasized that the successful implementation of outcomes from the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing last year will significantly aid Nigeria's national development.
Video - General Yakubu Gowon, former Nigerian Head of State, reflects on Jimmy Carter’s death
Speaking to VOA’s Hausa service, General Yakubu Gowon, a former head of state of Nigeria, talks about his experiences with former President Jimmy Carter, who visited the country in the late 1970s to begin his work combatting Guinea worm disease.
Military drones deployed as Nigeria loses billions to oil theft gangs
Oil exports make up 80 percent of Nigeria’s revenue, with current production at 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), placing the country among the world's largest oil producers.
The Niger Delta, where most of the country’s oil is extracted, has long been a hotspot for illegal refineries and theft, costing Nigeria millions each month.
Chief of defence staff General Christopher Musa said security forces have been relying on technology, in land and air operations, to monitor and protect the region.
“We have drones and helicopters that fly [over], [and] patrols that go on water,” Musa said.
The government has also been tackling illegal operations that, in 2022, cost an estimated $23 million per day, according to Nigeria's Senate. Losses continued into 2023, with $1.43 billion reported in the first quarter alone.
The country suffers frequent blackouts due to load shedding – the interruption of the electricity supply to avoid excessive load on its electricity plants.
"We have the challenge of energy security in Nigeria... We must increase electricity generation and distribution throughout the country," President Bola Tinubu said in June 2024.
"As a nation, it is so shameful that we are still generating 4.5 gigawatts of electricity."
Nigeria receives China-made armed reconnaissance drones
The Niger Delta, where most of the country’s oil is extracted, has long been a hotspot for illegal refineries and theft, costing Nigeria millions each month.
Chief of defence staff General Christopher Musa said security forces have been relying on technology, in land and air operations, to monitor and protect the region.
“We have drones and helicopters that fly [over], [and] patrols that go on water,” Musa said.
The government has also been tackling illegal operations that, in 2022, cost an estimated $23 million per day, according to Nigeria's Senate. Losses continued into 2023, with $1.43 billion reported in the first quarter alone.
The country suffers frequent blackouts due to load shedding – the interruption of the electricity supply to avoid excessive load on its electricity plants.
"We have the challenge of energy security in Nigeria... We must increase electricity generation and distribution throughout the country," President Bola Tinubu said in June 2024.
"As a nation, it is so shameful that we are still generating 4.5 gigawatts of electricity."
Institutional criminality
“The issue of theft would have been far more successfully tackled decades ago, had so many people not been profiting from it," said Jon Marks, editorial director of energy consultancy and news service African Energy.
He told RFI that criminality has become embedded in Nigeria's regional and national politics, as well as its business world.
“Oil theft has become institutionalised, with gangs tapping into pipes and often exporting via small ships that offload to bigger ships. This has been achieved by local gangs becoming very powerful, but even more so by the connivance of local politicians and the military – who, in turn, have become very rich."
He believes that nothing much has changed since a 2013 report by think tank Chatham House, carried out under Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, which concluded that no concerted action against illegal oil operations could be expected soon.
Change within the military
“The big potential change under Tinubu – who desperately needs more formal revenue for an ailing economy – comes with changes within the army. He has appointed new top brass, more in tune with his thinking and factional alliances," added Marks.
In June 2023, following a meeting with Tinubu, Asari Dokubo, Ijaw leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, declared that: "The military is at the centre of oil theft in Nigeria."
Prominent Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings and a member of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, has also chimed in, saying that the government should be able to tell Nigerians who is stealing the country’s crude oil. “Our security agencies should tell us who is stealing our oil. You bring vessels into our territorial waters, and we don’t know?"
“The issue of theft would have been far more successfully tackled decades ago, had so many people not been profiting from it," said Jon Marks, editorial director of energy consultancy and news service African Energy.
He told RFI that criminality has become embedded in Nigeria's regional and national politics, as well as its business world.
“Oil theft has become institutionalised, with gangs tapping into pipes and often exporting via small ships that offload to bigger ships. This has been achieved by local gangs becoming very powerful, but even more so by the connivance of local politicians and the military – who, in turn, have become very rich."
He believes that nothing much has changed since a 2013 report by think tank Chatham House, carried out under Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, which concluded that no concerted action against illegal oil operations could be expected soon.
Change within the military
“The big potential change under Tinubu – who desperately needs more formal revenue for an ailing economy – comes with changes within the army. He has appointed new top brass, more in tune with his thinking and factional alliances," added Marks.
In June 2023, following a meeting with Tinubu, Asari Dokubo, Ijaw leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, declared that: "The military is at the centre of oil theft in Nigeria."
Prominent Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings and a member of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, has also chimed in, saying that the government should be able to tell Nigerians who is stealing the country’s crude oil. “Our security agencies should tell us who is stealing our oil. You bring vessels into our territorial waters, and we don’t know?"
Foreign interference
According to Marks, the authorities may be “looking the other way” because they are in on the deal. He also claims that the Russians too have become involved in the oil theft business.
“By providing more ships, the Russian shadow fleet and other players – who use unregistered carriers – transport illegally obtained crude oil offshore where bigger ships wait to pick it up,” he said.
Any action taken by Tinubu and the military chiefs he has recently appointed may be limited, Marks argued, by their concern not to upset existing power balances within Nigeria, where powerful factions would suffer from any disturbance to the oil theft business, and other sectors where reform is vital.
By Zeenat Hansrod, rfi
According to Marks, the authorities may be “looking the other way” because they are in on the deal. He also claims that the Russians too have become involved in the oil theft business.
“By providing more ships, the Russian shadow fleet and other players – who use unregistered carriers – transport illegally obtained crude oil offshore where bigger ships wait to pick it up,” he said.
Any action taken by Tinubu and the military chiefs he has recently appointed may be limited, Marks argued, by their concern not to upset existing power balances within Nigeria, where powerful factions would suffer from any disturbance to the oil theft business, and other sectors where reform is vital.
By Zeenat Hansrod, rfi
Related story: Nigeria to begin using drones to combat oil theft
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