Nigeria Archives - The African Mirror

Jul

2023

Nigeria charges suspended central bank chief after court ruling

NIGERIA'S Department of State Security (DSS) said on Thursday it had filed charges in court against detained and suspended central bank governor Godwin Emefiele following an earlier order to charge him or release him. Papers filed by government lawyers showed that Emefiele is facing criminal charges including misappropriation of funds, meaning he could face long jail terms if convicted. The DSS did not give details on the charges and Emefiele has yet to appear in court. Emefiele was suspended by new President Bola Tinubu on June 9 and arrested a day later by the DSS. "Sequel to an Abuja High…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria says intercepts vessel with stolen crude, to destroy it

NEWS

NIGERIA'S state-owned oil firm NNPC Ltd said an 800,000-litre (211,338-U.S. gallon) vessel carrying stolen crude had been intercepted offshore while heading to Cameroon and would be destroyed as a deterrent to oil theft. Crude theft from pipelines and wells in the Niger Delta has hobbled the country's output in recent years and is one of the biggest challenges confronting new President Bola Tinubu. NNPC said the oil was stolen from a well in southwestern Ondo state. The company said the MT Tura II vessel was owned by locally registered Holab Maritime Services Limited and had no valid documentation for the…

Jul

2023

By OMOLOLU FAGBADEBO

Four priorities for Nigeria’s newly elected national assembly

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, EDITORS CHOICE

NIGERIA’S National Assembly – the 10th since independence – was inaugurated on 13 June 2023. It has two arms: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The 109 senators and 360 representatives were elected on 25 February 2023. Godswill Akpabio was elected Senate president and Tajudeen Abass House of Representatives speaker. Its primary responsibility is lawmaking for the effective administration of the state. In Nigeria, the power of the National Assembly’s two houses to legislate is enshrined in section 4 of the 1999 constitution. The constitution also enables the National Assembly to scrutinise and monitor executive activities. Sections 88 and…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria: Where are the Abacha billions?

NEWS

A Nigerian court has directed President Bola Tinubu's government to disclose how much in stolen funds it has recovered from late military ruler Sani Abacha and how the money was used, court documents showed. Abacha ruled Africa's most populous nation and top oil exporter from 1993 until his death in 1998, during which time Transparency International estimated that he took up to $5 billion of public money. He was never charged. A Nigerian rights group asked the High Court in the federal capital Abuja to force the government to account for Abacha's loot since the country returned to civilian rule…

Jul

2023

By LUCY GITHUGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

State of the news: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa push African countries high up the media trust ladder, TikTok advancing rapidly

EDITORS CHOICE, MEDIA FREEDOM

ACCORDING to the recently released Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023, Kenya has the second-highest level of trust in the news of all countries included in the global report. At 63%, Kenyans' trust in the news is remarkably high, surpassed only by Finland (at 69%). Kenyan commercial TV outlets are that country's most trusted news sources, alongside the Daily Nation newspaper and its associated website, according to the report. Portugal ranked third with a score of 58%, while Nigeria and South Africa tied for fourth place with 57% each, according to the twelfth edition of the report, published by the…

Jul

2023

By MARK GLEESON

Africa have more teams but not increased hopes at World Cup

FOOTBALL

MORE African teams at an expanded Women’s World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand this year might mean more chance of improved results for the vast continent, but realistically they may be lucky to do much more than get past the first round. There will be four African countries in the 32-team field, up from three in the last two editions. But Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia are not expected to make anything like the impact that Morocco did at the men’s tournament in Qatar last year when they became the first African side to reach the semi-finals.…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria targets millions of informal traders to boost tax

NEWS

NIGERIA'S federal revenue agency said it had partnered with a traders association to collect value-added tax (VAT) from millions of informal traders, part of a push to widen the tax base by President Bola Tinubu's government. Africa's largest economy has embarked on its boldest reform agenda in decades, including removing a popular petrol subsidy and restrictions on foreign exchange trading, a gamble by Tinubu to try to boost sluggish growth. Nigeria has one of the lowest tax collection rates in the world at around 10.8% of GDP, according to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Only 47% of this year's…

Jun

2023

By GABRIELLA OPARA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Comics renaissance underway in Nigeria with Universal Studio Deal

NEWS

GROWING up, Jide Martin consumed a lot of Western media and comics. Like young consumers across the continent, however, he grew increasingly frustrated with the way Africans were depicted. As he grew older, he resolved to change that and in 2013, he founded Comic Republic. "I started a comic book company when I could, mostly to create icons and the right narratives for the next generations. While I was growing up, most Western media I liked portrayed us negatively or as being primitive, but that isn't how we are. So, I thought, 'Why don't we showcase our best qualities by…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

As Nigeria scraps fuel subsidy, a vibrant black market collapses

NEWS

DESIRE DANGA ESSIGUE THINGS have been topsy turvy lately on the roadsides of West African nations where cheap contraband petrol from Nigeria has abruptly doubled in price, upending an informal sector that is central to the region's economic activity. Since Nigeria scrapped a state fuel subsidy on May 31, black market fuel vendors and commercial drivers in Cameroon, Benin and Togo who were heavily reliant on petrol smuggled from Nigeria have seen their businesses collapse. With supplies dwindling, queues have been forming at official petrol stations, where fuel is now competitively priced. In Garoua, a town in northwest Cameroon about…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s new foreign exchange policy is good news – but it can’t work wonders for the economy on its own

BUSINESS

THE Central Bank of Nigeria recently announced changes to the way the country’s foreign exchange market will work. Foreign currencies can now be bought and sold at rates determined by the market – not by the central bank. This signals the intention of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to allow market forces to determine the value of the naira. STEPHEN ONYEIWU, Professor of Economics & Business, Allegheny College In the past, there were multiple exchange rates for the currency. The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly called on Nigeria to end this. The huge gap between the official and unofficial rates…