Bola Tinubu - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

Shell sees $6 billion oil, gas investments in Nigeria, presidency says

SHELL sees a $5 billion offshore oil investment opportunity in Nigeria and pledged to spend a further $1 billion in five to 10 years to boost natural gas output for domestic supplies and exports, a presidential spokesperson said, citing Shell's director of gas and upstream operations. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu held talks with Shell's Zoe Yujnovich in a move to attract capital to Africa's top energy producer, presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. Yujnovich was cited as saying Shell has "an imminent $5 billion investment opportunity" in the offshore Bonga North oil project. "I am really keen to…

Dec

2023

By FELIX ONUAH and GARBA MUHAMMAD

Nigeria’s president orders investigation after drone strike kills 85

NEWS

NIGERIA'S President Bola Tinubu ordered a thorough investigation into a weekend military drone attack that killed at least 85 people, including women and children, in northern Kaduna. Nigerian army chief Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja visited Tundun Biri village and apologised for the air strike. At a Kaduna hospital where the injured were receiving treatment, he promised to take care of their bills. The incident highlights a pattern of deadly aerial assaults by the Nigerian military and is the latest in a series of attacks that have killed civilians, which was the subject of a special Reuters report in June. Kaduna is 163 km (101…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s Tinubu to attend ‘G20 Compact with Africa’ conference in Berlin

NEWS

NIGERIA'S President Bola Tinubu will fly to Berlin to attend the G20 Compact with Africa conference as he seeks to attract investments in energy and infrastructure and boost trade, his office said. The conference, hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, will focus on enhancing economic and business cooperation between African nations and G20 countries, spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. Tinubu will also participate in the fourth G20 Investment Summit, co-hosted by the German government, where he will make a case for Nigeria as an investment destination, Ngelale said. Nigeria is seeking to boost investment rather than rely on…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria central bank says old bank notes to remain legal tender

BUSINESS

NIGERIA'S central bank said that old bank notes that were due to be removed from circulation next month would now remain legal tender, ending months of uncertainty after an attempt earlier this year to remove them caused serious cash shortages. The Supreme Court in March ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend until December 31 the use of old 1,000, ($1.18) 500 and 200 naira notes, whose initial withdrawal from circulation became an election issue after it caused widespread hardship and anger. The bank had defended the removal of the notes, saying new ones would be harder to counterfeit and…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s central bank sees ‘refocused’ role in supporting growth

BUSINESS

NIGERIA'S central bank will pull back from direct fiscal interventions and take "more limited advisory roles" in support of the government's economic growth agenda, governor Olayemi Cardoso said. The bank's current approach blurred the lines between monetary and fiscal policy, undermining its ability to effectively manage inflation and foreign reserves, Cardoso said in an emailed speech. The central bank, under former governor Godwin Emefiele who was ousted in June, had kept the naira artificially strong and pursued unorthodox monetary policy by providing liquidity to money markets through interventions. "There is need to pull the central bank back from direct development…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria gets refineries investment, forex pledge from Saudi Arabia

BUSINESS

NIGERIA and Saudi Arabia agreed to a series of investment and cooperation deals, including a pledge by the Saudi government to invest in the revamp of Nigeria's oil refineries and provide financial support to sustain the government's foreign-exchange reforms. The agreements were reached at a bilateral meeting between Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the Saudi-Africa summit in Riyadh. Under Tinubu, Nigeria has embarked on the boldest reforms in decades, scrapping a popular petrol subsidy and unifying the country's multiple exchange rates as part of measures "aimed at improving the ease…

Nov

2023

By FELIX ONUAH

Nigeria’s president signs budget including funds for yacht, bulletproof cars

NEWS

NIGERIAN President Bola Tinubu has signed into law a $2.8 billion supplementary budget that includes funding for new bulletproof cars for himself and his wife, despite widespread criticism from citizens facing a cost-of-living crisis. The budget, which was approved by lawmakers on November 2, also includes allocations for a presidential yacht, official vehicles for the first lady's office, and renovations to the president's residential quarters. The spending plan was initially proposed by Tinubu as a means to address "urgent issues" such as defence and security. The presidency defended the provision for the yacht, describing it as an operational naval boat with specialised security…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Canada investigates fatal embassy explosion in Nigeria, issues travel alert

NEWS

CANADA is investigating an explosion at its embassy in Nigeria that killed two people, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said, as Ottawa joined Washington and London in issuing a warning against nonessential travel to the West African nation. "We can confirm there was an explosion at our High Commission in Nigeria. The fire is out and we are working to shed light on what caused this situation," Joly said on X. "I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of the 2 people killed in this tragedy," she said. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu's spokesperson said that there were deaths and injuries…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigerian stocks rally, cross psychological 70,000 level for first time

BUSINESS

NIGERIA'S share index crossed a psychological threshold of 70,000 points for the first time after stocks gained for the third straight session, Refinitiv data showed. The All Share Index climbed 1.94% to close at 70,581 points for the first time ever. Nigerian equities started to rally at the end of May, when new President Bola Tinubu launched reforms to the country's foreign exchange market and scrapped a costly but popular fuel subsidy that had sucked up government finances. Stocks have gained 35% since May as local funds have piled back into equities. Double-digit inflation has also supported the shift to equities as yields on the…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s Atiku says court ruling will erode trust in elections

NEWS

NIGERIA'S main opposition leader Atiku Abubakar said last week's Supreme Court decision affirming President Bola Tinubu's election win would erode trust in elections and called for changes to the electoral laws to improve transparency. The country's top court rejected a challenge by Atiku and Peter Obi, who came second and third in the vote, slamming the door on any legal challenge against Tinubu, who says he won fairly. Reacting to the judgment for the first time, Atiku told reporters the court's decision would lead to "the erosion of trust in the electoral system and our democracy". He criticised the judges for refusing…