Nigeria hosted the largest gathering of the country's best sports personalities, including local and foreign-based Olympians at a summit to recognize heroes who have put the nation on the global map. At the core of the discussion was returning the country to its glory days.
Monday, July 24, 2023
Video - Nigeria hosts largest gathering of sports personalities
8 Killed in fuel explosion in Nigeria
At least eight people were killed when a fuel truck exploded in southwestern Nigeria as residents were trying to siphon petrol out of it, police said on Monday.
The truck was involved in an accident on Sunday night in a neighbourhood of Ondo state which caused it to veer off the road and topple on its side, the police said.
"Some people went there to scoop fuel, in the process the tanker exploded," said Ondo state police spokesman Fumilayo Odunlami-Omisanya.
The price of petrol has more than tripled since the removal of a decades-old subsidy at the end of May, hitting motorists and households and small businesses who use petrol generators for power.
By Tife Owolabi, Reuters
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Friday, July 21, 2023
Naira hits record low on black market ahead of central bank meeting
Nigeria's naira traded at a record low of 860 per dollar on the black market on Thursday, according to traders, weakening below its official rate a month after the country devalued the currency and ahead of a central bank policy meeting next week.
The bank last month allowed the naira to weaken by more than a third in a bid to unify Nigeria's multiple exchange rates and to lure foreign investment to shore up liquidity in an economy struggling with dollar shortages.
Last month's devaluation helped narrow the gap between the naira's exchange rates on the official window and the black market but pressure is gradually building up especially from individuals paying for expenses abroad.
The naira has been swinging widely on the official market since the devaluation. It touched a new low of 853 naira per dollar on Wednesday, according to OTC market regulator, FMDQ Exchange.
The currency closed at 742 naira against the dollar on the official market on Thursday, Refinitiv data showed.
Dollar shortages on the official market have seen customers turning to the black market, helping to widen the gap between the spot rate and the black market, one trader said.
Nigeria has embarked on its boldest reform agenda in decades, including the removal of a popular but costly petrol subsidy and the loosening of restrictions on foreign exchange trading, a gamble President Bola Tinubu hopes will boost sluggish economic growth.
Analysts have warned that a weaker currency and the fuel subsidy removal would likely to push inflation higher in the short term.
The central bank will meet on Monday and Tuesday to set interest rates with investors looking for measures to support the currency.
By Elisha Bala-Gbogbo and Chijioke Ohuocha, Reuters
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Former Central Bank Chief of Nigeria charged with Illegal Firearm Possession
Nigeria’s suspended Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele was charged with the illegal possession of a firearm, according to a court document filed by the State Security Service.
Emefiele will face trial after an unlicensed “single barrel shotgun” and 123 rounds of ammunition were found at his residence in the commercial hub of Lagos, a copy of the charge sheet confirmed by Bloomberg shows. The SSS had said it was investigating Emefiele over allegations of major crimes including misappropriation of public funds and economic sabotage.
The SSS, which is similar to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, filed the charges against Emefiele in Lagos on June 13, the same day as a court in the capital, Abuja, ordered the agency to prosecute or bail the governor within seven days. The governor has been in custody since June 10, a day after he was removed from his post by President Bola Tinubu.
The alleged offense for which Emefiele was charged was not among the specific allegations listed in court filings previously submitted by the SSS. The organization then said it was investigating the governor over suspicions he had committed crimes including misappropriation of public lending programs, money laundering, terrorism financing and economic sabotage.
Emefiele said he is a victim of “a political witch-hunt” because Tinubu’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, had been satisfied with his management of the central bank, according to a bail application filed on June 13. Tinubu took over from Buhari at the end of May following an election held three months earlier.
Illegal possession of firearms and ammunition carries a maximum prison sentence of five years under Nigerian law.
Anthony Osae-Brown and William Clowes, Bloomberg
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