President Muhammadu Buhari sacks anti-corruption chief

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked the head of the country's anti-corruption agency.

No reason was given for the removal of Ibrahim Lamorde, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In August, Mr Lamorde denied allegations that $5bn (£3.3bn) had gone missing at the commission.

Mr Buhari won Nigeria's presidential elections in March, promising to fight corruption in the country.

In August, a Senate committee said it was investigating charges that assets and cash recovered by the EFCC had been diverted.

At the time, Mr Lamorde told the BBC the charges were a smear campaign.

He led the EFCC for four years until his dismissal on Monday.

President Buhari's spokesman Garba Shehu said later on Monday that assistant Police Commissioner Ibrahim Mustafa Magu had been appointed as the EFCC acting commissioner.

President Buhari - the former army general known for his authoritarian style - was elected in March on a platform of cleaning up Nigerian politics, the BBC's Martin Patience in Lagos reports.

More than five months after he came to power his new cabinet is finally expected to be sworn in later this week. The reason for the extraordinary delay is that President Buhari wants to try to ensure that new ministers will not use their offices for personal gain, our correspondent says.

He adds that this has won Mr Buhari widespread support in Nigeria where many are tired of the corruption, which they believe is preventing the country from realising its full economic potential.

BBC

Video - MTN CEO resigns due to $5.2 billion fine imposed by Nigeria

MTN Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Sifiso Dabengwa unexpectedly resigned from Africa’s biggest mobile-phone operator to take responsibility for a $5.2 billion fine in Nigeria that’s wiped almost a fifth off the market value of the company.

Dabengwa will be replaced by former CEO and Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko, 55, for as many as six months while the company searches for a permanent successor, Johannesburg-based MTN said in a statement on Monday. Nhleko, who led MTN for almost nine years until 2011 and increased subscriber numbers 30-fold through rapid international expansion, said he will deal with the Nigerian Communications Commission personally about the penalty. Talks are at an advanced stage, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as discussions are private.

Nhleko said he will “pro-actively deal with the Nigerian regulator and will continue to work with them in addressing the issues.” MTN shares traded 1.8 percent higher at 160.35 rand as of 11:43 a.m. in Johannesburg.

Dabengwa, 57, resigned over the weekend after consultation with the board and his financial compensation hasn’t been decided, spokesman Chris Maroleng said by phone, describing the move as an “honorable gesture.” The company has until Nov. 16 to pay the Nigerian fine, which was imposed for missing a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered subscribers and is based on a charge of 200,000 naira ($1,008) for each unregistered customer.

“We’ve been anticipating this but not the timing,” Arthur Goldstuck, an analyst at World Wide Worx, said by phone. “One can only assume his role in the negotiations was not effective.”

MTN shares have declined about 16 percent since the Nigeria penalty was made public two weeks, valuing the company at 289 billion rand ($20.4 billion).

“The departure of Sifiso Dabengwa is the beginning of a clearing out that is necessary to regain the confidence of investors,” Goldstuck said.

MTN expanded into markets such as Iraq and Syria under Nhleko and now has more than 230 million customers in 22 countries. Nigeria is the company’s biggest market with more than 62 million subscribers, or almost a quarter of the total. The NCC last week approved the renewal and extension of MTN’s license for another five years until 2021 pending the payment of $94.2 million.

“Due to the most unfortunate prevailing circumstances occurring at MTN Nigeria, I, in the interest of the company and its shareholders, have tendered my resignation with immediate effect,” Dabengwa said in the statement. He didn’t answer calls to his mobile-phone seeking further comment.

“Sifiso leaving is a loss to the industry,” Shameel Joosob, CEO of MTN competitor Vodacom Group Ltd., said by phone. “I see this issue as a bump in the road. They will probably negotiate a settlement on the fine.”


Bloomberg

Nigeria wins World Scrabble Championship

Nigerians have been congratulating countryman Wellington Jighere, who has become the first African to win the English-language World Scrabble Championship.

The 32-year-old beat Englishman Lewis MacKay 4-0 in the final in Australia.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was among those to congratulate him, saying he has "done the country proud".

Mr Jighere said on his Facebook page that he felt he was playing with the "whole continent" behind him.

He added that it "still baffles" him that he managed to win, given how tired he felt as he had "not slept well in about a week".

Wellington Jighere put down:
Dacoit - a member of a class of robbers in India and Burma
Yow - Australian slang for keeping a look-out
Katti - an alternative spelling for a weight used in China
Aah - an expression of surprise

Lewis MacKay put down:
Jomo - an alternative spelling for zhomo, an animal bred from a yak and a cow
Yex - an Old English word for sobbing
Guiro - a musical instrument made from a gourd
Wemb - an obsolete alternative spelling of womb
Onely - an obsolete alternative spelling of only

He told the Guardian newspaper that he had training to deal with the fatigue from the jet lag, but also had to cope with 32 rounds of matches in four days before getting to the final in Perth.

Mr Jighere and the five other members of the Nigerian team only arrived in Australia the day before the tournament started, so had little chance to get over the 20-hour flight or the seven-hour time difference.

President Buhari phoned him in Perth to "rejoice" with him over the performance and pass on his congratulations to all the players, who finished the competition as the best team.

According to the president's spokesman, Mr Jighere "pledged to bring more glory to his fatherland".

Mr Jighere will be coming home with a $10,000 (£6,600) prize but now has to find a job.

He recently finished his national service following his graduation from university, but took a few months off from looking for work in order to prepare for the championship.

President of Nigeria's Scrabble federation Sulaiman Gora told the BBC on the telephone from Nigeria that Mr Jighere is a quiet person whose "greatest strength is humility".

Mr Gora, who also heads the Pan-African Scrabble federation, said that the "whole country and the whole of Africa is celebrating this success".

In 2008, Ivorian Elisee Poka won the French-language Scrabble World Championship and this year Schelick Ilagou Rekawe from Gabon reached the final of that competition. He lost to New Zealander Nigel Richards, who does not speak French.


BBC

Video - Nigeria defend title and defeat Mali in 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup Final

A very good Final at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 between the Nigerians and Malians was a worthy end to a fantastic event.

South African government concerned about $5.2 billion imposed by Nigeria on MTN

The South African government has expressed concerns about the $5.2 billion fine imposed on MTN by the Nigerian communications regulator.