Foreign exchange and tax reforms are praised by international banks but most Nigerians are yet to see the benefits
For the multilateral financial institutions and investment banks, President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms are stabilising the country’s finances and staunching the loss of billions of dollars in revenues...
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State governors and federal lawmakers oppose plans to centralise revenue collection in a new agency in Abuja
President Bola Tinubu’s alliance with northern Nigeria, which helped him get into power last year, risks falling apart as he attempts to re-engineer the country’s revenue structure. Tinubu’s...
After a spate of coups swept West Africa, the President has stacked key positions with officers from his home region
Faced with security threats on multiple levels – jihadist fighters, mass unrest and would-be putschists – President Bola Tinubu is taking no chances. He is building the country’s...
A $100 million museum to exhibit Benin bronzes looted by British soldiers is opening but few of the artefacts will be on display
A trial of strength between powerful figures in Edo State and the Federal Government highlights the complexities around demands for reparations and restitution to Africa. The bold vision...
Economic hardship and political frustration are worsening but the president endorses most of his cabinet
Five months after receiving a performance report on his 45 ministers, President Bola Tinubu finally reshuffled his cabinet, sacking five ministers and making seven new ones, raising the...
The President’s party wins a key governorship race but it’s tarnished by claims of voter fraud
President Bola Tinubu ate his dish of revenge lukewarm last month when he orchestrated the defeat of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Edo State...
A split opposition allows President Tinubu to co-opt parliament and crack down hard on protestors
Many Nigerians say the country is going through the worst hardship for 30 years, with an economy blighted by spiralling prices, capital flight and grand corruption. And rights...
The vested interests of the political class are driving the public fight over a US$20 billion refinery and may determine its fate
The threat of more mass protests and the spiralling cost of petrol, over 1,000 naira (62 US cents) a litre in parts of Nigeria, have played to Aliko...
Sierra Leone University lost US$4.5m of public money to a Nigerian company after red flags were ignored and safeguards overridden. Then, they kept it secret
An Africa Confidential Special Report By Josef Skrdlik and Andrew Weir
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A week of mobilisation on the streets is changing the political landscape
For President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, one of the most threatening elements of the ‘Days of Rage’ protests against his government is their national spread stretching from the ‘usual...
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Demonstrations have continued in the northern cities of Kaduna and Kano where sentiment against the President is highest
The planned 10 days of protests in Nigerian cities starting on 1 August slowed down on Monday after at least 21 people were killed, mostly by police bullets...
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With handouts, political co-option and force of arms, the government aims to face down mounting public anger
A month after Kenyan activists forced President William Ruto to drop plans for sweeping tax hikes, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government has organised a comprehensive pre-emption campaign against...
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Within a year bank governor Yemi Cardoso has won a reputation for competence – despite the government’s mounting economic woes and dislike of accountability
As spiralling prices hit a 30-year high and the weakening naira triggers another round of protests and strikes due to start on 1 August, the Central Bank of...
The government announces a $1 billion anti-poverty programme and monitors activists as its tries to pre-empt Kenya-style protests
Sitting atop a 120-foot telecommunications mast in Abuja and threatening to jump, unemployed labourer Shuaibu Yushau refused to come down until the government addressed the economic hardship, insecurity...
As anger grows over worsening living conditions and grand corruption, state security battens down the hatches
The mass protests in Kenya which forced William Ruto’s government to scrap US$2.4 billion of tax hikes, albeit after 20 citizens lost their lives, have prompted calls for...
Political alliances for the 2027 elections are fuelling the contest for the traditional leadership of Kano
Two emirs are laying claim to the throne of the Kano Emirate – a 220-year-old stool. On the surface it is just a battle of two cousins but...
After a bumpy year, the President will have to sack some of his worst ministers and reshuffle others
As he prepares to mark a year in office, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has received a scorecard from his Political Advisor, Hadiza Bala Usman, which contains an evaluation...
Top cryptocurrency platform Binance is accused of tax evasion, currency speculation and money laundering by Abuja
Officials in Abuja say that Binance, an online platform to trade cryptocurrencies, came close to destroying what is now only Africa's third largest economy by facilitating money laundering...
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Abuja is silent after a top official at the EU says it has agreed to a migrant return scheme – without cash incentives
Top officials at the European Commission say they have concluded talks on a migrant readmission and return agreement with Nigeria that could mark a breakthrough in Brussels-Abuja relations....
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As multinationals retreat from the continent, Tinubu seems keen to offer incentives to domestic firms to take over their assets
Nigeria's state petroleum authority has made an unusual offer to the oil and gas giants who now want to sell up their assets in Nigeria: quick approval for...
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Ogoni activists say most of the companies contracted by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to carry out remediation work on disastrously polluted Ogoniland have not turned up...
Tough new capital requirements by the central bank will mean fewer but busier commercial banks
An improbable revolutionary, central bank governor, Olayemi Michael Cardoso, could preside over the biggest shake-up of Nigeria's financial sector for decades. His announcement last month of tough new...
President Tinubu's ties with convicted fraudster and ex-Delta State governor will boost the ruling party and may cut oil theft
In Abuja, the story is of the rise and fall and rise again of James Ibori, former Governor of oil-rich Delta State, sentenced to 13 years in Britain...
Minister confirms upfront payments to Hitech Construction on a no-bid contract for 'Africa's biggest road'
The international rehabilitation of billionaire businessman Gilbert Chagoury had seemed complete. Convicted in Geneva for laundering money stolen by military leader Sani Abacha and in the United States...
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The president has vowed to punish the 'cowardly offenders'
A spate of murderous attacks and kidnappings is vying for President Bola Tinubu's attention alongside the continuing cost-of-living crisis. Over the last month in Kaduna state alone, over...
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Armed attacks and kidnappings, combined with food riots and looting, are putting President Tinubu and his inner circle under pressure
The cost-of-living crisis is becoming the most serious political challenge facing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's government a year after it was elected. Whether it is maladministration and corruption...
Facing political pushback and food riots, the government is rethinking its devaluation and subsidy cuts
There was no hiding the desperation when Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso announced on 27 February that interest rates would be hiked from 18.75% to 22.75%,...
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Government responds to critics with command economy tactics
On 18 February, armed state security agents surrounded a foreign currency trader in Abuja accusing him of sabotage. For many Nigerians, it was a throwback to the military...
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Top officials are accused of raiding a state-funded programme meant to offer desperately needed relief for struggling communities
The detention of former Humanitarian Affairs Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq on 2 January on charges related to alleged fraud over US$38 million of public funds has led to...
Theft of oil spill clean-up funds in Ogoniland is set to continue as the UN Environment Programme cuts ties with HYPREP
Activists and environmentalists looking for a policy change on the troubled US$1 billion clean-up project in the Niger Delta by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's government have been disappointed....
The separatist leader refused to appear in court in Abuja on 8 February but has more wealthy supporters in Washington DC
The campaign for a 'Jewish Autonomous Region in Biafra' is trying to boost its profile after hiring new lobbyists in the United States. Its backers hope to rekindle...
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Access Bank restructures after the death of its founder who had been establishing a pan-African financial network
Following the death of the founder and chief executive of Access Bank Herbert Wigwe in a helicopter crash on 9 February, its directors moved quickly to appoint Bolaji...
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Dollar-rich investors have reacted to President Tinubu's radical reforms by rushing to the door
President Bola Tinubu's great gamble that shock therapy – ending subsidies and devaluing the naira – would bring back foreign capital and stabilise state finances isn't working. Instead,...
A band of gunmen hoped to become Africa's newest junta and couldn't muster support, but questions about the role of ex-President Koroma abound
Ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma's release for 'medical treatment' in Nigeria and the backroom deal that brought it about has enraged many of President Julius Maada Bio's supporters. Controversy...
Companies accused of under-investment – arrangements on financing and liability for pollution may be contested
When the British oil major Shell announced on 16 January that it would be selling its interests in 18 oil licences in shallow water and onshore Niger Delta...
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Raid on Dangote Group and other companies raises 'governance questions' says manufacturers' group
The ballooning investigation into illegal foreign exchange transactions at the Central Bank of Nigeria under suspended governor Godwin Emefiele is rattling local firms who argue that some of...
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The reported deaths of Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, who was kidnapped along with 22 others in the Bwari Area of Abuja, and 13-year-old Folasade Ariyo, who was abducted alongside eleven...
Career-politician President Tinubu's espousal of business-friendly economics could cost him support this year
As the President's lengthy convoy snaked its way through the bustling streets of Isale-Eko (Lagos Island), where he was to attend the last Friday prayers of the year...