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☆ Nigeria gets World Bank funding for social program ahead of fuel subsidy cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A participant stands near a logo of World Bank at the International Monetary Fund - World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 12, 2018. REUTERS/Johannes P. ChristoABUJA, April 5 (Reuters) - Nigeria has secured $800 million from the World Bank to scale up its national social program ahead of the removal of its costly but popular subsidies on petrol in June, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said on Wednesday. Ahmed said the government was considering cash transfers and mass transit buses for workers to ease the pain of the subsidy removal on the most vulnerable segment of its population. She added that the country has registered ten million households, which is equivalent to 50 million people on its vulnerable list. Ahmed said discussions were going on at different levels of government and with members of the incoming administration of President-elect Bola Tinubu on the subsidy removal.

☆ Nigeria's junior oil minister Timipre Sylva has resigned -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, March 30 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Timipre Sylva has resigned as the country's minister of state for petroleum to seek a new term as governor of oil-producing Bayelsa State in the southern Niger Delta, ministry and presidency sources told Reuters on Thursday. Sylva handed his resignation letter last week to Buhari, who doubles as petroleum minister, and stopped coming to the office, said two sources who did not want to be identified. They said he would be seeking the ruling All Progressives Congress ticket to run for Bayelsa governor in party primaries scheduled to take place on April 14. Appointed junior oil minister in August 2019, Sylva oversaw major reforms in the oil sector, including the passing of legislation that overhauled the sector's fiscal regime in a bid to spur investment. During his time as minister, Nigeria's oil output fell to its lowest in decades due to crude theft and pipeline vandalism.

☆ Emirates airline says 'substantial' ticket revenue trapped in Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Ghaida Ghantous | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, March 24 (Reuters) - Emirates Airline has a "substantial" amount of ticket sale revenue trapped in Nigeria and has made only slow progress in repatriating blocked funds out of Africa's biggest economy, it said on Friday. Emirates declined to say how much was trapped in Nigeria, but a spokesperson said about half of the amount in its backlog was overdue for repatriation and that the process "remains beset with constant delays". Nigeria is withholding $743 million in revenue earned by international carriers operating in the country, the highest amount owed by any nation, global airline industry association IATA said last week. Oil is Nigeria's biggest foreign exchange earner, but rampant crude theft in the Niger Delta and years of under-investment have hit output and strained government finances. For a few months last year, Angola overtook Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer and exporter.

☆ 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.

☆ 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 asks social media giants to curb fake news ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannABUJA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Nigeria has asked Google (GOOGL.O) and Meta (META.O) to control the spread of fake news on their platforms ahead of a presidential election this month, Information Minister Lai Mohammed said on Friday. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has been exploring ways to regulate social media usage. The country is home to millions of internet users and platforms like YouTube, Twitter , Facebook and Tiktok are popular. Mohammed's request comes after he asked Google last year to block the use of YouTube channels and livestreams by secessionist and Islamist militant groups in the country. "These actions, if executed, will go a long way in checking the proliferation of fake news and disinformation on social media ahead of, during and after the elections," Mohammed said.

☆ 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.

☆ Nigerian inflation rate climbs for 10th straight month in Nov
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Chijioke Ohuocha | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Afolabi SotundeABUJA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Annual inflation in Nigeria climbed to 21.47% in November from October's rate of 21.09%, accelerating for the 10th straight month as food prices surged, the statistics bureau said on Thursday. A separate food price index showed inflation at 24.13% in November, compared with 23.72% in October, as Africa's most populous nation continues to struggle with rising prices for staples. "The rise in food inflation was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, ... and fish," the NBS said in a report. The government expects inflation to remain in double digits, averaging 17.16% next year. Virag Forizs, emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said November inflation data was stronger than expected, meaning prices could rise further.

☆ Meta's Oversight Board restores Nigeria church attack video on Instagram
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Meta's Oversight Board on Wednesday overturned a decision to remove a video that was shared on Instagram showing the gruesome aftermath of an attack on a church in Nigeria that killed at least 40 people. The video showing motionless, bloodied bodies on the floor, apparently the aftermath of the church attack that took place on June 5 in Owo, southwest Nigeria, was shared by an Instagram user on the same day. Meta removed the video, saying hashtags added by the user could be read as glorifying violence and minimizing suffering. Nigerian authorities have accused insurgents from the Islamic State in West Africa group of carrying out the attack on St Francis Catholic Church, which took place during Pentecost Sunday mass. Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

☆ Gunmen abduct at least 10 hospital workers in Nigeria's Niger state
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Gunmen have abducted at least 10 healthcare workers in Nigeria's Niger state and killed an unspecified number after bandits invaded a general hospital early on Tuesday, a hospital and military source said. Armed bandits operating for cash have kidnapped or killed hundreds across northwest Nigeria. Niger state officials have said that Islamist militant group Boko Haram had taken over multiple communities in the state, offering villagers money and incorporating them in their ranks to fight the government. read moreThe hospital source said more than 20 staff were kidnapped, including patient relatives, while the security source said two people had been killed after the gunmen invaded the general hospital in Lapai local government in large numbers. Niger state governor, Sani Bello said a number of people were killed during Tuesday's attack at Gulu General Hospital and unspecified number abducted including medical workers.

☆ Nigeria mulls next steps after court drops charges against separatist leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu is seen at the Federal high court Abuja, Nigeria January 20, 2016 REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File PhotoABUJA, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Nigeria's police minister said the government was considering what steps to take on Friday after a court dropped terrorism charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu on Thursday, although it did not acquit him. All three judges hearing the case at the Nigeria's Court of Appeal dropped terrorism charges that the government had brought against Kanu, citing that a lower court had no jurisdiction to try the case and that Kanu was abducted and extraordinarily extradited to Nigeria. It is not clear whether Kanu, who was not in the courtroom for the ruling, has been released from custody. Kanu leads the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which campaigns for the secession of a part of southeastern Nigeria where the majority belong to the Igbo ethnic group. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by James Macharia Chege and Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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