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☆ Nigeria's Obi says he, not Tinubu, won presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Summary Presidential election marred by technical problemsWinner Tinubu says vote was credibleChallenger Obi vows to overturn result in courtAfter vibrant campaign, turnout was record lowABUJA, March 2 (Reuters) - Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi said on Thursday he had won Saturday's election, called Bola Tinubu's victory fraudulent and promised to claim the top job through legal means. Tinubu, the ruling party candidate, was declared president-elect of Africa's most populous nation on Wednesday, having won 37% of the vote. He said the election was credible and the reported problems had had no impact on the overall outcome. "We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians," he said. While neither generated the visible enthusiasm directed at Obi, both had powerful political machines and decades of networking behind them.

☆ Nigeria’s Obi to challenge presidential election result in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ABUJA, March 1 (Reuters) - Nigeria’s labour party led by presidential candidate Peter Obi will mount a legal challenge against the election of new president-elect, Bola Tinubu, the party's vice presidential candidate said on Wednesday. Reporting by Camillus Eboh and Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by James Macharia ChegeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nigerians vote for new president, delays seen at some polling stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Anamasere Igboereteonwu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/8] People looks for their names on voters list put up on a wall at a polling unit, during Nigeria's Presidential election in Agulu, Anambra state, Nigeria February 25, 2023. Polling stations were scheduled to open at 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), though Reuters reporters at locations across the country saw a mixed picture, with delays of several hours in some places while voting got underway more swiftly at others. In the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the vice presidential candidate from the ruling party, Kashim Shettima, arrived to cast his ballot but was unable to do so as his designated polling station had not opened. In another northeastern city, Yola, opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar was able to vote, surrounded by a chaotic scrum of media and supporters. Vote-counting will begin as soon as polls close and results will be posted outside polling stations, according to the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).

☆ Nigerian soldiers patrol ahead of election, land borders shut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Internal movements have been restricted to the polling units. There will also be no movement of persons across national borders," the ministry of interior said in a statement. The candidate for Enugu East district and the driver of a campaign minibus belonging to another party were killed in coordinated attacks in Enugu State in the southeast. "Materials already delivered for the senatorial election will remain in the custody of the central bank in the state until the new date for the election," Yakubu told a news conference. Flanked by the head of the police, Yakubu said INEC was on guard against possible attacks on its electronic system.

Nigerians were due to turn in old 1,000, 500 and 200 naira banknotes in exchange for newly designed notes by Friday as part of a central bank initiative to curb cash in circulation and control double-digit inflation. Supreme Court Judge John Inyang Okoro said the decision to suspend the deadline was unanimous, pending a legal challenge from three states who had argued that the note swap plan was causing hardship ahead of the elections. The court is due to hear the states' challenge on Feb. 15. Earlier on Wednesday, the IMF's resident representative in Nigeria urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to consider extending the deadline for notes to be swapped given disruption caused by the shortage of new notes. About 1.3 trillion naira ($2.8 billion) in old notes has been deposited into the bank since the announcement in October, according to the bank.

☆ Nigeria's central bank extends deadline to turn in old naira notes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank will extend by 10 days a deadline for swapping old naira currency notes, it said in a statement on Sunday. Nigerians will now have until Feb. 10 to turn in 1,000 ($2.17), 500 and 200 naira notes. The central bank (CBN) started releasing newly designed notes last month but many say they cannot find them at banks or cash machines. Nigerian legislators and opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar had called on the central bank to extend the Jan 31 deadline. About 1.3 trillion naira in old notes has been deposited into the bank since the announcement in October, the bank has said.

☆ Nigeria launches domestic card scheme in cashless bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank on Thursday launched a domestic card scheme to rival foreign cards like Mastercard and Visa, hoping to enhance its drive to make Africa's biggest economy a cashless society and save the country foreign transaction fees. The announcement by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele follows the bank's decision last year to phase out old higher denomination bank notes. Emefiele told a virtual launch of the "AfriGo" card scheme that although penetration of card payments in Nigeria had grown over the years, many citizens remained excluded. AfriGo is owned by CBN and Nigerian banks and Emefiele said that Nigeria was joining China, Russia, India and Turkey in launching a domestic card scheme. International card service providers like Mastercard and Visa would not be stopped in Nigeria, he added.

☆ Nigeria to bar cash withdrawals from government accounts - statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Nigerian officials will be barred from withdrawing cash from government accounts from March 1, the head of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) said in a statement. "Civil servants are becoming more and more vulnerable to money laundering and its predicate offences due to their exposure to cash withdrawals from public accounts," NFIU director and chief executive Modibbo R. HammanTukur said in the statement. NFIU analysis found that from 2015 to 2022, officials withdrew nearly 1.1 trillion naira ($2.45 billion) from government accounts - most of it exceeding previous withdrawal limits. Last month, Nigeria's central bank began circulating newly designed 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes and limited weekly cash withdrawals in order to curb inflation and move towards a cashless economy. Almost 85% of the 3.23 trillion naira ($7.2 billion) in cash in circulation is now held outside of banks.

☆ Germany hands over 20 looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerABUJA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Germany has handed over 20 Benin Bronzes from its museums to Nigeria, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday, making it the latest European country to return cultural artefacts to their African homeland. Germany had agreed to start returning Benin Bronzes held in its museums last year. Earlier this year, Germany signed a declaration with Nigeria to release all 1,130 Benin Bronzes - actually copper alloy relief sculptures, many showing court figures - in German public museums. The returns are likely to increase pressure on the British Museum in London, which holds by far the largest and most significant collection of Benin Bronzes. Nigeria's information minister called on the British Museum to release the more than 900 Benin Bronzes it has.

☆ Nigeria offers concession on $1.3 billion China-funded hydro power plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Nigeria plans to grant a concession on its $1.3 billion hydropower plant now under construction and is seeking bids from private investors to operate the China-funded plant, authorities said on Friday. The Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant (ZHPP), the biggest of its type in Nigeria, is expected to generate 700 megawatts and is being funded by loans from China's Exim Bank, the Bureau of Public Entreprises (BPE), Nigeria's privatisation agency, said. Diesel prices have soared in Nigeria since the start of the year as global oil prices surged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The privatisation agency said it expects bids to be submitted by Nov. 24 and hopes to complete the concession by March next year. The private partner will be responsible for repaying the Chinese loan, the privatisation agency told investors in an online roadshow on Thursday, because it wanted to reduce government's financing of the plant.

An oil slick is seen on Santa Barbara creek, following an oil spill in Nembe, Bayelsa, Nigeria, November 25, 2021. "Hundreds of thousands of people (in Benin) organize their survival around this traffic," Boris Houenou, a Beninois economist said of the smuggling of Nigerian gasoline. NNPC recorded gasoline deliveries of 90 million litres a day in March and 83 million in April, Reuters calculations showed. 'CURIOUS CASE'Although the Nigerian government announced plans to remove the gasoline subsidy last year, it then backtracked in July, citing concerns over potential social unrest. And although gasoline is subsidised, the amount ordinary Nigerians pay at the pump remains higher than the set price.

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