After fighting formidable presidential campaigns, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar have failed to follow up
Whether it is the 1,400-strong Nigerian delegation to the UN COP28 climate summit in Dubai, or the supplementary budget that allocated US$35 million to items such as a...
Based on ultra-optimistic data on oil exports and tax, the President insists his market reform policies are on track
The Central Bank of Nigeria's second successive postponement of a bi-monthly meeting of its influential monetary policy committee (MPC), in November, points to dissension behind the scenes...
The radio silence from President Tinubu's economic reform team is unsettling financial bigwigs
Mystery surrounds the failure of the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to meet since its new governor Yemi Cardoso was appointed in late September. Bankers don't like...
The President is accused of stacking the cabinet and the military with his fellow Yoruba – and the critics are getting louder
The government's policy team has won plaudits internationally but at home it is struggling to reignite the economy and the burden of its reforms is hitting middle-class and...
Violence, low turnouts and blatant vote rigging raise doubts about the APC's latest state election victories
Such was the nature of the victories for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the off-cycle state governorship elections on 11 November in Kogi and Imo states,...
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Fears of violence and rumours of vote rigging resulted in fewer than 20% of voters going to the ballot box in polls that saw the APC win two states and the PDP take one
President Bola Tinubu's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had a convincing win in two out of three state elections at the weekend as turnout slumped below 30%.
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A judge in the London High Court has ruled against an award which could have cost Nigeria US$15 billion, but the shadow of corruption in the affair remains
'Victory is claimed by all,' said Tacitus, a historian of ancient Rome, 'failure by one alone.' His point resonates with the 23 October verdict in the case of...
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The public fight over the president's history polarises politics and reinforces the need for judicial reform
That so many Nigerians expected the Supreme Court to confirm Bola Tinubu's victory in this year's Presidential elections reflects a consensus about the judiciary rather than the merits...
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Vol 64 No 22 |
- NIGERIA
- GERMANY
The Chancellor explores a deal with Abuja to diversify Germany's energy suppliers as Moscow's war on Ukraine forces gas importers to widen their horizons
The prospect of Germany opening negotiations for a longer-term gas supply agreement with Nigeria could be a turning point for the government's search for investment in its energy...
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President Tinubu says judgement was a blow against economic malpractice and the exploitation of Africa
The end of the $11 billion failed gas project case against the Nigerian government is in sight after London High Court Judge Robin Knowles ruled on 23 October...
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Both government and citizens seek US dollars but the greenbacks are getting scarcer and the naira keeps depreciating. The government wants portfolio investors to return to Nigeria and...
After Britain's National Crime Agency investigated her for 11 years, Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's former Minister of Petroleum Resources in 2010-15, finally appeared at Westminster Magistrate's court on 2...
The government is hunting for foreign exchange to stabilise the naira and speed up growth after its reform shocks
The nomination of Olayemi Michael Cardoso, a former chairman of Citibank, as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) opens the next chapter of President Bola Ahmed...
The President's policy experiments – on subsidies, the naira and the military – have raised questions about his ministerial team
A mass of contradictory signals greeted Bola Ahmed Tinubu's first hundred days in the presidency on 6 September. The day before, the National Labour Congress had called on...
Anger on the streets is mounting in the wake of spiralling food and fuel
Hailed by bankers and foreign investors, President Bola Tinubu's decisions to end fuel subsidies and float the naira have collided with reality. The measures are fuelling the highest...
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Claimed number of civil service employees is unbelievable, President tells World Bank chief Ajay Banga
Spelling out sweeping reforms in the public sector, President Bola Tinubu told Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, in Abuja on 4 August that he was refocusing...
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Vol 64 No 17 |
- NIGERIA
- BRITAIN
Under investigation by Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) for a decade, Nigeria's former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was charged on 22 August with several bribery offences. Alison-Madueke has...
Political payback rather than competence shapes list of ministerial nominees as economic woes deepen
The publication of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's list of 28 ministerial nominees on 27 July was held up for almost two months by tortuous negotiations over federal and...
Federal lawmakers jostle to run the most lucrative committees in Abuja as accountability plummets
Nigerians are eagerly waiting to see President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's choice of ministers, likely to be announced in the next days, but he has already made many of...
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Food and fuel prices soar and negotiations continue over new social welfare payments scheme
The big story in Abuja this week is President Bola Tinubu's cabinet – who's in and who's out. The deadline for Tinubu to unveil the list is 29...
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Having chosen to push through radical reforms in the government's first weeks, officials are scrambling to address the political consequences
After the policy advisors around President Bola Ahmed Tinubu backed a shock therapy approach to ending fuel subsidies and floating the naira, their next priority is to cushion...
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A chain of policy and personnel changes are reshaping the country's economy and surprising investors
Money market traders and other investors have been reassessing Nigerian assets following President Bola Tinubu's suspension of central bank governor Godwin Emefiele after the end of the trading...
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Ending subsidies, selling oil assets and devaluing the naira are on the agenda as the new government goes for growth
Proclaiming the end of fuel subsidies at his inauguration on 29 May and his intention to merge the multiple exchange rates for the beleaguered naira, President Bola Tinubu...
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The central bank governor's days appear to be numbered as President Tinubu changes economic tack – and lines up a handy scapegoat
Making clear his position on Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele's future, President Bola Tinubu announced the bank needed 'house-cleaning' in his inaugural speech on 29 May....
The new government has to forestall the threat of hyper-inflation and the economy slipping back into recession
Within hours of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu proclaiming 'the end of fuel subsidies' at his inauguration on 29 May, the pump price for gasoline had almost tripled at...
Sacked director of Ogoniland project spells out corruption concerns in rebuke to environment ministry
Shell is withholding payments towards the Ogoniland clean-up until it sees a full accounting for the disputed contracts issued to date, Africa Confidential has learned from sources in...
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The new government sets out tough market-oriented policies on exchange rates and subsidies but questions loom over implementation
Peppering his inaugural speech on 29 May with promises of big economic changes, Nigeria's new President Bola Tinubu skirted questions about his health, the legitimacy of his election...
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The incoming President's feted dealmaking skills will be tested in the courts and in the legislature
Ahead of the scheduled 29 May inauguration of President-elect Bola Tinubu, there are two key procedural hurdles: he has to resolve the fight over the leadership of both...
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Production and pricing questions haunt launch of Dangote's $20 billion refinery complex
Plagued by logistical obstacles, the pandemic and doubts about the future of Nigeria's fossil fuel industry, Aliko Dangote's mega fertiliser, petrochemical and oil refinery complex is still a...
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The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) launched its much-anticipated report on 60 years' worth of oil pollution in the state, where local companies now produce about...
The removal of the head of HYPREP is the latest effort to clear resistance to wholesale plunder of the $1 billion Delta anti-pollution programme
The head of the government agency charged with cleaning up decades of oil pollution by Shell in Ogoniland, Ferdinand Giadom, was summarily sacked without cause by President Muhammadu...
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Facing rows over resources and state finances, the new government isn't prioritising the census
Postponing the planned national census due to run from 3 to 7 May is the latest policy decision by the outgoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to be...
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After five weeks in France, the presidential election winner is preparing for his inauguration in Abuja on 29 May
The new government due to take office at the end of this month faces a dizzying array of financial and political challenges, including questions about the health of...
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The European Union's diplomatic service, the European External Action Service, has earmarked four countries, one from each continent, as 'key strategic partners' as it seeks to boost its...
Boosting revenues, ending fuel subsidies and the multiple exchange rate regime will be priorities for the new government
The opening gambit of Bola Tinubu's Presidency has been played – almost two months before he moves into the villa at Aso Rock. On 5 April, outgoing Finance...
With less half the voters on the lowest turnout since 1999 supporting him, the president-elect has a credibility problem
Questions about the national and state elections are stubbornly taking centre-stage with daily demonstrations in the capital at which the ruling All Progressives' Congress (APC) is accused of...
Peter Obi's Labour Party will face fierce local fights as incumbent governors defend their fiefdoms after last month's political upsets
The outcome of the elections in 28 of Nigeria's 36 states on 18 March will have more effect on the daily lives of most voters than the disputed...
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Vol 64 No 6 |
- MOROCCO
- NIGERIA
Abuja and Rabat could miss an historic chance to boost gas exports to the north unless they expedite project work
Near the top of the priority list for Nigeria's new oil minister, due to start work on 29 May, will be whether to move ahead on a trans-Sahara...
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The two main opposition parties are disputing the presidential results and seek guarantees about the technology ahead of state elections on 11 March
Working overtime in this election season, the Supreme Court, the Federal High Courts and the special election tribunals will be tied up on politically-connected cases at least until...
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Opposition contenders question the ruling party candidate's victory in elections marred by technical failures, sporadic violence and a historically low turnout
The next act of Nigeria's presidential election drama has started with fire and fury. At one end of the stage stands the official winner, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose...
Peter Obi easily wins the opinion polls but the elections on the ground are still wide open
If many of the local and international opinion polls on Nigeria's presidential elections on 25 February prove accurate, then Peter Obi, the multi-millionaire banker standing on the Labour...
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With over 30 of 36 states having submitted results, the ruling party's candidate is heading for victory
Festus Keyamo, communications director for Bola Tinubu's presidential campaign, said the ruling party's candidate had won comfortably – having secured a plurality of votes and 25% of the...
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A Federal High Court in Nigeria has ordered the government's flagship environmental remediation agency to stop work and publish its accounts.
Campaigners for the ruling party's presidential candidate accuse the central bank of sabotage days ahead of the election
A desperate scarcity of banknotes and fuel are adding a final note of drama to what looks like the most open election ever in Nigeria. Whatever the merits...
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The latest round of litigation on pollution in the Niger Delta sees Shell digging in its heels and denying any legal responsibility
The London-based law firm Leigh Day is pushing ahead with a case in the London High Court on behalf of members of the Ogale and Bille communities in...
Facing chronic fuel shortages and a contentious reissue of the national currency, politicians search for targets to blame
The country's economic emergency in all its facets – chronic fuel shortage, protests against a politicised redesign and reissue of the naira, and the threat of ballooning national...
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The central bank's plan to replace naira currency notes weeks before national elections has drawn anger on all sides
Godwin Emefiele, the self-styled development central banker, has been courting national controversy this year for the second time in this presidential election season.
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Vol 64 No 2 |
- NIGERIA
- BRITAIN
Of Nigeria's presidential candidates so far to set out their stall at London's Chatham House think tank, the Labour Party's Peter Obi easily won on points on 16...
Cash-fuelled presidential campaigning dominates politics as economy falters and security frays
Presidential and national assembly elections on 25 February presage sweeping changes. Among 11 million new voters, most of them aged between 18 and 34, many are frustrated with...