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☆ Tunde Onakoya: Nigerian chess champion breaks world record for longest chess marathon
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Ifeanyi Abraham | For Cnn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate Tunde Onakoya has broken the record for the longest chess marathon after playing for an extraordinary 60 hours nonstop under the bright lights of New York City’s Times Square. The Guinness World Record organization has not yet confirmed Onakoya’s attempt, which can sometimes take weeks, but for many Nigerians, the 29-year-old is already considered something of a national hero. Onakoya played against Shawn Martinez, a US chess champion, in accordance with the Guinness World Record guidelines that any attempt to break the record must be made by two players who play continuously for the duration. Onakoya founded Chess in Slums Africa, which seeks to empower children in underprivileged communities by using chess to enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills, in Lagos. People celebrate as Tunde Onakoya marks 46 hours for consecutively playing a chess game in Times Square, Friday, April 19, 2024, in New York.

Persons: Tunde, Onakoya, Hallvard Haug Flatebø, Let’s, Shawn Martinez, Martinez, Davido, Adekunle, Bola Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, “, Tinubu, Yuki Iwamura, Solomon Passy, Russell Makofsky Organizations: CNN, New York City’s, Guinness, Nigeria’s, Champion, People, Times Locations: Nigerian, New York, Africa, Norway, Manhattan, Nigeria, Lagos, Berlin, Bulgarian, US

☆ Nigeria’s president calls for investigation after drone attack kills 85
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters —Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday called for a thorough investigation into a military drone attack that the state emergency agency in northern Kaduna state said killed at least 85 people at the weekend. The state’s governor, a religious leader and witnesses told Reuters on Monday that dozens of civilians were killed following the military drone attack that was targeting insurgents and bandits on Sunday night. The Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency said on Tuesday at least 85 people had died during the attack, giving the first official confirmation of the toll from the weekend incident. “The President directs a thorough and full-fledged investigation into the incident and calls for calm while the authorities look diligently into the mishap,” said Ngelale. The Nigerian Army is yet to comment on the incident but the Air Force has denied being involved in the mission that led to Sunday’s attack.

Persons: Reuters —, Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, ” Organizations: Reuters, Emergency Management Agency, Zonal, Nigerian Army, Air Force Locations: Kaduna, Dubai, Tundun, United States, Britain, Abuja

☆ Nigeria and Germany sign $500 mln renewable energy and gas deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Union Bank of Nigeria and Germany's DWS Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on renewable energy. The agreement seeks to harness $500 million in investment in renewable energy projects across Nigeria, mostly in rural communities, spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. A second MoU on gas export partnership was agreed between Riverside LNG of Nigeria and Germany's Johannes Schuetze Energy Import AG. Under the accord, Nigeria will supply 850,000 tons of natural gas to Germany annually which is expected to rise to 1.2 million. Under Tinubu, Nigeria has embarked on the boldest reforms in decades, scrapping a popular petrol subsidy and lifting restrictions on foreign exchange trading.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Bola Tinubu, Fabrizio Bensch, Ajuri Ngelale, Germany's Johannes, Ngelale, Tinubu, Elisha Bala, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Union Bank of Nigeria, Germany's DWS, Riverside, Germany's Johannes Schuetze Energy, AG, Africa, Thomson Locations: Africa, Berlin, Germany, Rights ABUJA, Nigeria, Riverside LNG, Tinubu

☆ Nigeria gets refineries investment, forex pledge from Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsABUJA, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Nigeria and Saudi Arabia on Friday 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. 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 of doing business." Information Minister Mohammed Idris said the Saudi government pledged to make "a substantial deposit of foreign exchange to boost Nigeria's forex liquidity". "Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have always enjoyed a special relationship at both the bilateral and multilateral levels. The two leaders agreed to work together over the next six months to "develop a comprehensive road map and blueprint" to deliver on the investments, Idris said.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Temilade, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mohammed Idris, Idris, Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, Boko, Felix Onuah, Elisha Bala, Emelia Sithole, Matthew Lewis, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Saudi Crown, Saudi Aramco, Thomson Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, Rights ABUJA, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Africa, Riyadh, Tinubu, Africa's

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu Urges UN to Help Curb Exploitation of Africa's Resources
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Nigerian President Bola Tinubu urged the United Nations to become more proactive in addressing his African nation's poverty and security issues and helping to fight illicit resource extraction, his spokesman said on Thursday. Tinubu raised the issues when he met U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, his spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. The Nigerian leader said malign actors who engage in illicit activities, including resource and weapons smuggling, exploit Africa's vast mineral wealth and undermine its stability. "We now recognize the need to reform the institution to represent the world as it is today," Guterres was quoted as saying. (Reporting by Felix Onuah in Abuja; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Howard Goller)

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Tinubu, U.N, Antonio Guterres, Ajuri Ngelale, Guterres, Felix Onuah, Elisha Bala, Howard Goller Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Reuters, United Nations, General Assembly, United, General, West African, ECOWAS Locations: New York, United Nations, West Africa, Niger, Abuja

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu picks banker Cardoso as next central bank governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - President Bola Tinubu has nominated the former head of Citibank in Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, to serve as the country's new central bank governor, days before its next interest rate meeting, a presidential spokesperson said on Friday. The central bank did not respond to a request for comment on whether Emefiele and his deputy governors had resigned. The central bank raised rates by a smaller-than-expected 25 basis points in July, contrary to analysts' expectations, under acting Governor Folashondun Shonubi, one of Emefiele's deputies. The central bank pursued unorthodox policies under Emefiele who kept the currency artificially strong, a policy backed by former President Muhammadu Buhari, which supported government borrowings on the international markets. He was a former commissioner for economic planning and budget in Lagos state when Tinubu was governor between 1999-2007.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Olayemi Cardoso, Godwin Emefiele, Tinubu, Cardoso, Ajuri Ngelale, Ngelale, Folashondun Shonubi, Emefiele, Muhammadu Buhari, Camillus Eboh, Chijioke Ohuocha, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Richard Chang, Jane Merriman, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Citibank, Central Bank of Nigeria, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Lagos

☆ UAE lifts visa restrictions for Nigerians
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —The United Arab Emirates has lifted a year-long visa ban imposed on Nigerian travelers, authorities in the West African country said Monday. The restriction placed by the UAE last October was lifted following negotiations between Nigeria’s new President Bola Tinubu and UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “Furthermore, by this historic agreement, both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines are to immediately resume flight schedules into and out of Nigeria, without any further delay,” the statement added. Flights between both countries were stopped last year after Dubai’s Emirates airline suspended its operations in Nigeria citing trapped revenues. The UAE’s Dubai emirate has been a popular destination for Nigerian travelers for many years but visas to the West Africans and nationals of 19 other African states were halted last year for undisclosed reasons.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale Organizations: Nigeria CNN —, United Arab, UAE, Etihad Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Dubai’s Emirates, West Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, West, UAE, Abu Dhabi, Dubai

Emirates airliners are seen on the tarmac in a general view of Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates January 13, 2021. REUTERS/Abdel Hadi Ramah/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsABUJA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Emirates Airlines will resume immediate flight schedules to Nigeria and lift a visa ban on Nigerian travellers, following a meeting between the leaders of the two countries, the Nigerian presidency said on Monday. Tinubu stopped in Abu Dhabi on his way from G20 summit in India, where he wooed investors to Nigeria. Last month Tinubu said he wanted an immediate resolution to the disagreements with Emirates Airlines and visa issues by the Arab country. The UAE stopped issuing visas to Nigerians last year after Dubai's Emirates suspended flights due to an inability to repatriate funds from Nigeria.

Persons: Abdel Hadi Ramah, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Emirates Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, Ngelale, Chijioke Ohuocha, Felix Onuah, David Evans, Peter Graff, Richard Chang Organizations: Emirates, Dubai International, United Arab Emirates, Rights, Emirates Airlines, United, UAE, Dubai's Emirates, Etihad Airlines, Thomson Locations: Dubai, United Arab, Rights ABUJA, Nigeria, Emirates, Abu Dhabi, India, State, Nigerian

☆ Fact Check-Nigerian report on President Tinubu switching the naira for dollars is fake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A digitally altered Nigerian news broadcast that says President Bola Tinubu is planning to ditch the country’s currency for the dollar is being circulated online. Responding to circulation of the video, Arise News said in a statement on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that it’s a fake report. “ARISE News totally dissociates itself from a DEEP FAKE VIDEO making the rounds on social media mimicking the What's Trending segment's anchor Ojy Okpe,” the outlet said. “The digitally-altered video which claims that President Bola Tinubu plans to abolish the naira in favour of the dollar is the handiwork of Fake News peddlers” (here). The clip of Tinubu was taken from a press conference in 2022 where he announced his intention to run for president (here) (here).

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Ojy, Ajuri Ngelale, Okpe, Read Organizations: Reuters, Fake

Bola Tinubu, President of Nigeria, arrives for the closing session of the New Global Financial Pact Summit, Friday, June 23, 2023 in Paris, France. Lewis Joly/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Nigeria has secured nearly $14 billion of pledges from Indian investors and seeks an economic cooperation pact with the South Asian nation, a presidential spokesperson said on Wednesday. Skipperseil Ltd's founding Chairman Jitender Sachdeva and India's Bharti Enterprises each pledged $1.6 billion over four years to build power generation plants and $700 million in Nigeria, respectively, Ngelale said. Tinubu is attending at the invitation of India, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the bloc. "We are ready to give you the best returns for investment possible, there's nowhere else like our country," Tinubu said in the statement.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Lewis Joly, India's Jindal, Ajuri Ngelale, Skipperseil, Jitender Sachdeva, Ngelale, Tinubu, Nidhi Verma, Felix Onuah, Elisha Bala, Shivam Patel, Christina Fincher, Richard Chang Organizations: New Global Financial, South, India's Jindal Steel, Indorama Corp, India's Bharti Enterprises, Defence Industries Corporation, Thomson Locations: Nigeria, Paris, France, DELHI, West, New Delhi, India, Africa's, South Africa, Abuja

☆ Nigeria mulls G20 bloc membership, president to attend summit in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

President Bola Tinubu will leave on Monday to attend the G20 summit in India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said. "While Nigeria's membership of the G-20 is desirable, the government has embarked on wide-ranging consultations with a view to ascertaining the benefits and risks of membership," Ngelale said in a statement. Tinubu's attendance was in part to further Nigeria's membership objective, he said. On Friday, Ngelale said Tinubu will attend the G20 summit to try to promote foreign investment in Nigeria and mobilize global capital to develop infrastructure. Tinubu will attend the summit with some of his cabinet members including foreign affairs, finance and trade ministers.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Lewis Joly, Narendra Modi, Ajuri Ngelale, Ngelale, Tinubu, Felix Onuah, Chijioke Ohuocha, Andrew Cawthorne, Angus MacSwan Organizations: New Global Financial, Rights, Thomson Locations: Nigeria, Paris, France, Rights ABUJA, India, South Africa

☆ Nigerian president recalls ambassadors worldwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu looks on after his swearing-in ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria May 29, 2023. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsABUJA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - President Bola Tinubu has ordered a recall of Nigeria's ambassadors the world over with immediate effect, his spokesman said on Saturday. Nigeria's United Nations permanent representatives in New York and Geneva are exempted from the "total recall" due to the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) later in the month, Tinubu's office said in a statement. Nigeria has 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, comprising 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates. Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Temilade, Ajuri Ngelale, Joe Biden, Felix Onuah, Elisha Bala, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Nigeria's United Nations, United Nations General Assembly, U.S, Thomson Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, Rights ABUJA, New York, Geneva, Brazil, India, South Korea, Germany

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu to attend G20 summit in India to promote investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bola Tinubu, President of Nigeria, arrives for the closing session of the New Global Financial Pact Summit, Friday, June 23, 2023 in Paris, France. Lewis Joly/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsABUJA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu plans to attend the G20 summit in India this month to try to promote foreign investment in Africa's largest economy and mobilize global capital to develop infrastructure, his spokesman said on Friday. The summit in India will hold on Sept 9 and 10. Ngelale said Tinubu will meet leaders from Brazil, India, South Korea and Germany on the sidelines of the G20. Tinubu also plans to meet Indian executives, including Jindal Steel and Power Company, among others, Ngelale said.

Persons: Bola Tinubu, Lewis Joly, Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, Ngelale, India's Bharti, Joe Biden, Felix Onuah, Chijioke Ohuocha, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: New Global Financial, Rights, Jindal Steel, Power Company, India's, India's Bharti Airtel, U.S, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson Locations: Nigeria, Paris, France, Rights ABUJA, India, West African, Brazil, South Korea, Germany, Africa, New York

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