Vol 65 No 5 | NIGERIA Spiralling prices imperil Tinubu’s reforms 29th February 2024 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%, the lar...
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 5 | NIGERIA Slumping naira adds to pressure on Tinubu to change tack 21st February 2024 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 regime of... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 4 | NIGERIA How the poor help the rich 15th February 2024 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 a trail of d...
Vol 65 No 4 | NIGERIA UN breaks with scandal-hit pollution agency 12th February 2024 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 d...
Vol 65 No 4 | NIGERIAUNITED STATESISRAEL Kanu's lobbyists for Biafra step up campaign 9th February 2024 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 the political a...
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 4 | NIGERIAECONOMYAFRICA US helicopter crash robs Africa of one of its most ambitious bank chiefs 14th February 2024 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 Agbede as the... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 3 | NIGERIA Shock therapy keeps the people waiting 1st February 2024 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...
Vol 65 No 3 | NIGERIASIERRA LEONEECOWAS Anatomy of a failed coup in Freetown 29th January 2024 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....
Vol 65 No 3 | NIGERIA Shell leads oil majors' exit from the Niger Delta 26th January 2024 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 it raised awkward questi...
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 2 | NIGERIA Local firms protest state tactics in central bank probe 11th January 2024 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 th... READ FOR FREE