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☆ How this 26-year-old went from running bitcoin trading desks in Taco Bells to creating the largest crypto exchange in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +28 min

Yellow Card CEO Chris Maurice just before meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Accra, Ghana. Chris MauriceFrom there, Yellow Card users can send or receive digital cash in eligible markets. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Yellow Card CEO Chris Maurice in Accra, Ghana loading cash onto his Mobile Money account, MoMo. Yellow Card has facilitated $1.75 billion in transactions since launching in 2019 and has about 220 employees – mostly in Africa. A resident checks his phone outside a mobile money kiosk in the Kibera district of Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022.

☆ 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.

☆ Batteries for hire could help Nigerians ditch their generators
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Ollie Macnaughton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

As a result, many Nigerians rely on petrol and diesel to fuel the generators that power their homes and businesses. Fuel shortages were a key issue in Nigeria’s recent presidential election and have made it increasingly difficult to run generators. His company Reeddi rents out small, lightweight solar-powered batteries called “Reeddi Capsules” that can power devices including TVs, laptops and refrigerators. One Reeddi Capsule can power a TV for around five hours, or a 15-watt fan for 15 hours. Olubanjo says organizations in countries including Uganda, Ghana and South Africa have expressed an interest in the Reeddi Capsule.

Persons: Olugbenga, Reeddi, Prince William’s Earthshot, Prince, Wales, ” Reeddi, Prince William's Earthshot, “, Olubanjo, ”, Joel Jewell, We’re, Anita Otubu, – Organizations: CNN, International Energy Agency, University of Ibadan, University of Toronto, “, Reeddi, Mobile Power, Sustainable Energy, –, UN Locations: Nigeria, Canada, Ogun State, Lagos, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, Africa, Zambia

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —Nigeria’s botched attempt to replace its banknotes has been declared invalid by the country’s Supreme Court. In a ruling Friday, the country’s highest court said a presidential directive to discontinue the use of old naira notes following a redesign was illegal. The court said the old banknotes should continue to be legal tender, alongside new versions, until the end of this year. The Nigerian presidency has yet to respond to the Supreme Court ruling. Sixteen Nigerian states took the federal government to the Supreme Court to challenge the short notice they were given to exchange the old notes for new ones.

☆ Ahead of Nigeria elections, residents stock up on food, essentials
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Abraham Achirga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In past elections, violence has flared in Kano, a largely Muslim state, after results were announced. [1/3] Vendors selling fruits and vegetables are pictured in a market, ahead of Nigeria's presidential election in Kano, Nigeria February 24, 2023. Widespread insecurity is a major concern for voters, although the army and police have promised a peaceful election. Ejike, 22, was among last-minute shoppers before markets closed in Anambra's capital Awka but was unable to buy what she wanted. "We just place it in God's hands although we know that there is definitely going to be killing."

☆ 'Unpredictable' election in Africa's largest economy is set to resonate around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

After 24 years of uninterrupted democracy since ending military dictatorship in 1999, Africa's most populous nation and largest economy is conducting its seventh election. Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria's president, speaks during the U.S.-Africa Business Forum in New York. Leena Koni Hoffmann, associate fellow of the Africa Programme at Chatham House, told CNBC on Monday that the presidential election will be the "most unpredictable" since the transition to civilian rule. Alongside the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine, Koni Hoffmann noted "missed opportunities" and "self-inflicted crises" under Buhari's regime. Economists panned the decision, which Koni Hoffmann suggested rendered Nigeria and its neighbors more vulnerable to the damage of the pandemic.

☆ Nigeria's Buhari grants 60-day extension to turn in old banknotes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nigeria's central bank decided last year to start circulating newly designed 1,000 ($2.17) 500 and 200 naira notes. The deadline to turn in old notes has already been extended once to Feb. 10, after which they would no longer have been legal tender. Buhari said in a television broadcast that old 200 notes would continue to circulate in the economy alongside new 1,000, 500 and 200 notes until April 10. But the old 1,000 and 500 notes could only be swapped at the central bank and "designated points", he said. The comments contrasted with last week's Supreme Court interim ruling that said all old notes remain legal tender until it hears a challenge brought by some state governments.

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday directed Nigeria’s central bank to reissue old 200-naira ($0.43) banknotes withdrawn just days ago as concerns grow that the botched introduction of new money could disrupt general elections later this month. In a televised broadcast Thursday, Buhari expressed sympathy for Nigerians experiencing hardship and announced that the old 200- naira note will return to circulation for 60 days. The higher denomination notes remain canceled but can be exchanged at the central bank and other designated points, he said. He also assured Nigerians that the supply of cash would improve in the coming days. “I have been reliably informed that since the commencement of this program, about 2.1 trillion naira ($4.5 billion) out of the banknotes previously held outside the banking system, had been successfully retrieved,” he said.

☆ Fact Check-Video of people damaging ATM machines is years old
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A 30-second video of people damaging ATM machines has been falsely claimed online to show violence in Nigeria ahead of a government deadline for citizens to swap their banknotes. Shared on Facebook and Twitter between Feb. 8-9, the video shows a group of people using planks to break a row of ATMs. On Feb. 8, Nigeria’s Supreme Court suspended the deadline as the International Monetary Fund flagged disruptions to trade and payments. The video, however, is unrelated to the note swap deadline. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

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.

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —Nigeria was forced Wednesday to delay plans to replace its banknotes with a redesigned currency after chaotic scenes at ATMs as millions of people struggled to get their hands on the new cash. The new naira notes are, however, “fortified with security features that make them difficult to counterfeit,” President Buhari said last year. Across the country, banks have increasingly become targets of mounting anger over the frustrating search for the new naira notes. Angry Nigerians vandalise Bank premises over frenzy of new naira notes. Nigerians are desperately relying on their banks to distribute new bills after the February 10 deadline to exchange the old currency saw many scrambling to deposit their old notes.

☆ Nigerian rights panel, underfunded and overmatched, begins probe of powerful military
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja/File PhotoFeb 7 (Reuters) - A special panel named by Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission launched an investigation Tuesday into recent Reuters reports on rights abuses by the country’s army. Nigerian military leaders said the abortion program did not exist and that children were never targeted for killing. The U.S. defense and state departments, the United Nations Secretary-General, the German foreign minister, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch all called for Nigeria to investigate the Reuters findings. In a 2002 paper, two Nigerian scholars called the body "a red herring” to distract from human rights violations. In 2013, the military allegedly killed as many as 200 civilians in the town of Baga, in northeastern Borno state.

☆ Factbox: Nigeria election 2023: what you need to know and what's at stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here is what you need to know about the election. Tinubu and Atiku have significant powerbases across Nigeria, while Obi is banking on frustration over the economy and insecurity to turn voters against the two major parties. Obi, who left the PDP last year and was Atiku's running mate in 2019, casts himself as a reformist willing to overhaul Nigeria's political system. But on policy, there is little separating the main candidates. Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia Chege, Gareth Jones and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Nigeria's government bonds fell heavily on Monday after ratings agency Moody's downgraded the West African oil producer late on Friday to Caa1 from B3, saying the government's fiscal and debt position was expected to keep deteriorating. Longer-dated bonds were down the most, with the dollar-denominated 2051 Eurobond falling more than 2.8 cents in the dollar to 68.758 cents according to Tradeweb data . Nigeria's bonds had outperformed other African and emerging market issuers over the last six months, according to JPMorgan. "Immediate default risk is low, assuming no sudden, unexpected events such as another shock or shift in policy direction," Moody's added. Moody's said it expects just the interest payments on Nigeria's debt to take up about half of the government's revenue in the medium term, up from 35% in 2022.

☆ 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's Atiku joins calls to extend deadline on old banknotes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAGOS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Nigerian opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar urged the central bank on Saturday to extend a Jan. 31 deadline to phase out old high-value banknotes, a measure many Nigerians fear will disrupt business in the cash-reliant economy. The central bank started releasing newly designed notes last month but many Nigerians say they are not yet available in banks. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says recalling the notes is part of plans to reduce the use of cash. About 1.3 trillion naira in old notes has been deposited into the bank since the announcement in October, the bank said this week. Nigerian legislators have also asked the central bank to extend the Tuesday deadline.

☆ FTX recruited customers in Africa by signaling that crypto would protect them from soaring inflation, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

FTX promoted itself in Africa by signaling crypto would shield people's money from inflation, according to the Wall Street Journal. Many African currencies plummeted last year as the Federal Reserve's interest-rate hikes pushed the dollar higher. FTX also ran glamorous events for young Nigerians and offered all new customers a $5 sign-up bonus, the WSJ reported. African currencies like the Nigerian naira, the Ghanaian cedi, and the Malawian kwacha plunged against the dollar last year as the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening fueled capital outflows from developing markets. Before 2022, crypto bulls had long pitched digital currencies as a potential hedge against inflation in the developing world.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Nigerians unimpressed with resigned Naira banknotes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says that the redesigned notes will replace notes currently in circulation by Jan. 2023. But many locals are not impressed, describing the supposedly redesigned banknotes as a mere color revamp, given their similarities to the old notes. “Snapchat filter, waste of time and resources, so a whole CBN cannot employ experts to redesign the naira notes. The Nigerian leader added that replacing the current currency with the redesigned notes will help to combat the hoarding of funds outside of the banking system. Old naira notes will be completely phased away by the end of January next year, the CBN says, as locals scramble to deposit their old notes at commercial banks.

☆ Nigeria: TikTokers caned and ordered to wash toilets as court rules they defamed Nigerian governor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —Two TikTok comedians have been publicly whipped in Nigeria for making a video that a court in the northern Kano State ruled had defamed the state Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, according to a judicial spokesperson. The two friends, according to Ibrahim, were sentenced on Monday after being brought before a magistrate’s court on Friday. They didn’t even ask or beg for a lawyer to stand for them,” Ibrahim told CNN. “They were arraigned before the Kano State Magistrate Court for defaming the character of Governor Umar Ganduje on their TikTok social media account. They were also ordered to make a video on social media to publicly apologize to Governor Ganduje.

Desperate to survive, many locals fleeing raging floods which have wrecked their homes and livelihoods are also forced to depend on floodwater for sustenance. A child is pictured doing her dishes in floodwater in Odi, in Nigeria's southern Bayelsa State, on Tuesday. Aniso Handy has remained in his house in Odi, in Nigeria's Bayelsa State. Displacing the living and the deadIn Bayelsa’s capital Yenagoa, located 28 kilometers (17 miles) from Odi, floods have displaced not just the living but also the dead. Flooding in Nigeria's Bayelsa state has forced people to wade through waiste-high water.

☆ Frustrated Nigerians 'flee' abroad in punishing pre-election brain drain
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Libgeorge Angela Ukomadu | Angela Ukomadu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nwaogu, like hundreds of other Nigerians, left amid a brain drain that is punishing even for a nation used to losing its young and educated. "We have serious doubts if this is the time for that hope to blossom," he said before flying to the UK last month. "We are witnessing an epidemic of brain drain," said Dr Dare Godiya Ishaya, president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD). But British government data showed a 300% increase in Nigerians getting UK work visas in the year to June, to 15,772. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting By Libby George; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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.

☆ Nigeria hikes rate to highest level to head off inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

read moreBut with inflation at its highest in 17 years, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele said the Monetary Policy Committee had to continue with an aggressive stance. Tuesday's rate hike, the third in a row, means the central bank has delivered a total 400 basis-point increase this year, its most hawkish in a single cycle, analysts said. 1/2 A view shows Nigeria's Central Bank headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria November 22, 2020. "It also felt that an aggressive rate hike would slow capital outflows and likely attract capital inflows and appreciate the naira currency," Emefiele added. Responding to reporters' questions, Emefiele declined to rule out further rate hikes to fight inflation.

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