On their tenth day at sea, the four Nigerian stowaways crossing the Atlantic in a tiny space above the rudder of a cargo ship ran out of food and drink.

They survived another four days, according to their account, by drinking the sea water crashing just meters below them, before being rescued by Brazilian federal police in the southeastern port of Vitoria.

Their remarkable, death-defying journey across some 5,600 kilometers (3,500 miles) of ocean underlines the risks some migrants are prepared to take for a shot at a better life.

"It was a terrible experience for me," said 38-year-old Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, one of the four Nigerians, in an interview at a Sao Paulo church shelter. "On board it is not easy. I was shaking, so scared. But I'm here."

Their relief at being rescued soon gave way to surprise.

The four men said they had hoped to reach Europe and were shocked to learn they had in fact landed on the other side of the Atlantic, in Brazil. Two of the men have since been returned to Nigeria upon their request, while Yeye and Roman Ebimene Friday, a 35-year-old from Bayelsa state, have applied for asylum in Brazil.

"I pray the government of Brazil will have pity on me," said Friday, who had already attempted to flee Nigeria by ship once before but was arrested by authorities there.

Both men said economic hardship, political instability and crime had left them with little option but to abandon their native Nigeria. Africa's most populous country has longstanding issues of violence and poverty, and kidnappings are endemic.

Yeye, a pentecostal minister from Lagos state, said his peanut and palm oil farm was destroyed by floods this year, leaving him and his family homeless. He hopes they can now join him in Brazil.

Friday said his journey to Brazil began on June 27, when a fisherman friend rowed him up to the stern of the Liberian-flagged Ken Wave, docked in Lagos, and left him by the rudder. To his surprise, he found three men already there, waiting for the ship to depart. Friday said he was terrified. He had never met his new shipmates and feared they could toss him into the sea at any moment.

Once the ship was moving, Friday said the four men made every effort not to be discovered by the ship's crew, who they also worried might offer them a watery grave.

"Maybe if they catch you they will throw you in the water," he said. "So we taught ourselves never to make a noise."

Spending two weeks within spitting distance of the Atlantic Ocean was perilous.

To prevent themselves from falling into the water, Friday said the men rigged up a net around the rudder and tied themselves to it with a rope. When he looked down, he said he could see "big fish like whales and sharks." Due to the cramped conditions and the noise of the engine, sleep was rare and risky. "I was very happy when we got rescued," he said.

Father Paolo Parise, a priest at the Sao Paulo shelter, said he had come across other cases of stowaways, but never one so dangerous. Their journey paid testament to lengths people will go in search of a new start, he said. "People do unimaginable and deeply dangerous things."

Reuters

The Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) has reserved judgment on the petition which Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), filed to challenge the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 election.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Tinubu winner of the election but Obi rejected the outcome and headed for the tribunal.

In their final written address dated July 20, Obi and Datti Baba Ahmed, his running mate, said Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election.

But a five-member of justices led by Haruna Tsammani said the date for the ruling would be communicated.

Obi and Datti were in court accompanied by renowned Novelist and scholar, Chimamanda Adichie.

Earlier, the court  had adjourned ruling in the petition of Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Daily Trust

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has exempted microfinance banks (MFBs) and primary mortgage banks (PMBs) from paying processing fees for withdrawals above the cash withdrawal limits.

This is contained in a circular issued on Monday and signed by Musa Jimoh, director of payments system management department.

“Central Bank of Nigeria hereby directs the exemption of microfinance banks and primary mortgage banks that provide banking services to the economically active poor from paying the processing fees for withdrawals above the cash withdrawal limits for direct cash withdrawals from their correspondent banks,” the circular reads.

“This is to enable them continue to play their expected roles in the economy and provide specialised retail banking services to their customers.

“Please, note that the microfinance and primary mortgage banks are required to fully comply with the cash withdrawal limits in serving their customers as per the circular with reference number BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/015/073 dated December 21, 2022.

“Please be guided accordingly.” In December 2022, the CBN directed deposit money banks and other financial institutions to ensure that over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities per week do not exceed N100,000 and N500, 000, respectively.

However, due to mixed reactions from Nigerians, the apex bank increased the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawals across all channels by individuals and corporate organisations to N500,000 and N5 million, respectively.

The apex bank said in compelling circumstances where cash withdrawal above the specified limit is required for legitimate purposes, a processing fee of 3 percent and 5 percent will be charged for individual and corporate organisations, respectively.

According to the CBN, the aim is to boost the cashless policy and reduce the amount of cash outside the banking system.

The cash withdrawal policy commenced on January 9, 2023.

The Cable

A light aircraft crashed and burst into flames while on a test flight in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, on Tuesday, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau said.

The bureau said it had commenced investigating the accident involving a Jabiru J430 light airplane with registration number 5N-CCQ, which occurred just after 1500 (1400 GMT).

The aircraft was operated by Air First Hospitality & Tours and had two passengers on board, before it crashed around Oba Akran, a busy area of Lagos. There were no fatalities, the bureau said.

Ibrahim Farinloye, Lagos state spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency, said two people on board were rescued alive.

Earlier, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said a helicopter had crash-landed on a road in front of the United Bank for Africa building in Lagos, and that four people were taken to hospital.

The NSIB, investigates transport accidents in Nigeria with the aim of identifying the probable cause and providing safety recommendations.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

UN condemns Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ office has condemned a series of drone attacks on Moscow and called for an end to “any and all attacks on civilian facilities.” Russia has blamed the “terrorist strikes” on Ukraine, and Kiev has heavily suggested that it was responsible.

“We are against any and all attacks on civilian facilities and we want them to stop,” Guterres’ deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq, told reporters on Monday.

Haq spoke a day after multiple unmanned airborne vehicles (UAVs) were intercepted over Moscow’s financial district, with debris from the downed craft damaging two skyscrapers and injuring one person.

One of the same buildings was damaged again on Tuesday, when one of three incoming UAVs was electronically jammed and veered off course into the glass facade of the tower, according to Russian authorities.

While Kiev has not taken direct responsibility yet, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky declared on Sunday that “war is returning to the territory of Russia,” while one of his top advisers, Mikhail Podoliak, said on Tuesday that “Moscow is rapidly getting used to a full-fledged war,” and will soon experience “more unidentified drones, more collapse, [and] more civil conflicts.”

Zelensky and his officials have followed a similar pattern after previous Ukrainian strikes on civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian officials cheered the bombing of the Crimean Bridge last October, but denied responsibility. Ukrainian security officials eventually admitted to the attack earlier this summer, and claimed responsibility for a follow-up strike on the bridge last month.

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Ukraine is launching “terrorist strikes” on Moscow and other civilian targets in Russia out of frustration over its failures on the battlefield. The attempted drone strikes are “some sort of acts of desperation against the background of those failures. And, of course, Kiev resorts to such terrorist tactics,”Peskov said.

Russia has thus far limited its missile and drone strikes within Ukraine to military and infrastructure targets. Former Russian president  Dmitry Medvedev warned last month that this may soon change if Kiev continues to attack Russian civilians.

“We need to choose non-typical targets for our strikes. Not only warehouses, energy hubs, and oil bases,” said Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council. “There are other places where they are not expecting us yet. And where the effect will be very significant.”

** Russian forces repel eight Ukrainian army attacks in Donetsk area over past day

Russian air defense forces intercepted 16 rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and shot down 21 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Tuesday.

"In the past 24 hours, air defense capabilities intercepted 16 rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system," the spokesman said.

In addition, Russian air defense systems "destroyed 21 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Zaliman in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Novoandreyevka, Spornoye, Berestovoye, Kremenets and Volnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Michurina, Balochki and Konskiye Razdory in the Zaporozhye Region, Staraya Zburyevka, Radensk and Novaya Kakhovka in the Kherson Region," the general reported.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Explosions, drone debris hit Kyiv, mayor, officials say

Anti-aircraft units worked to shoot down drones attacking the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early on Wednesday, with drone debris falling in three districts but causing no injuries, Mayor Vitali Klitschko and military officials said.

Klitschko, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said that debris had fallen in the central Solomianskyi district and that a non-residential building had been damaged. Emergency services were on site.

Klitschko said that debris had also fallen in the Svyatoshyn district, further west, and that a tree had caught fire.

Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said debris also came down in a playground in the Holosiivskyi district, near the city centre, and set fire to a non-residential building.

Neither official reported injuries.

Air raid alerts were lifted for the capital, the surrounding Kyiv region and most other parts of the country.

** Russia hits port, grain silo in Ukraine's Odesa region - official

Russian drones attacked port and grain storage facilities in the south of Ukraine's coastal Odesa region in the early hours of Wednesday, setting some of them on fire, regional governor Oleh Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

There have been no reports of casualties, he said. Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian agricultural and port infrastructure after refusing to extend the Black Sea grain deal which had allowed for exports of Ukrainian grain.

RT/Tass/Reuters

Antibodies that can neutralise virtually all known Covid variants have been discovered by scientists, offering hope of preventing future coronavirus outbreaks.

The antibodies were initially isolated from the blood of a recovered SARS patient who went on to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. 

Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, which led the research, said in a statement: ‘This unique combination of prior coronavirus infection and vaccination generated an extremely broad and powerful antibody response capable of stopping nearly all related coronaviruses tested.’

Six antibodies were obtained that could neutralise multiple coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 – Covid-19 – its variants Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron, the original SARS virus, and multiple other animal coronaviruses transmitted from bats and pangolins.

The most powerful antibody, named E7, functions by targeting a particular weakness in the virus’s spike protein, which it uses to invade cells. The antibody appeared to ‘lock’ the spike in an inactive conformation and block the shape-shifting process the virus requires to infect cells and cause illness.

‘The neutralising potency and breadth of the E7 antibody exceeded any other SARS-related coronavirus antibodies we’ve come across,’ said first author Chia Wan Ni. ‘It maintained activity against even the newest Omicron subvariants, while most other antibodies lose effectiveness.’

Senior author Wang Linfa, a world-renowned bat virus expert with Duke-NUS’s emerging infectious diseases (EID) programme, added: ‘This work demonstrates that induction of broad sarbecovirus-neutralising antibodies is possible – it just needs the right immunogenic sequence and method of delivery.

‘This provides hope that the design of a universal coronavirus vaccine is achievable.’

The outbreak of Covid-19 almost four years ago led to a global pandemic as a never-before-seen disease swept through the human population. 

A number of vaccines were developed in record time, enabling widespread inoculation against the disease, but Covid-19 has continued to mutate and spawn new variants, effectiveness has waned.

The development of targeted vaccines continues, but the latest developments could not only serve as a powerful preventative measure as a universal vaccine – and also a treatment for the virus – but it could help prevent future outbreaks.

‘This collaborative effort led by Wang and his team expands our capability in protecting against coronavirus threats that currently threaten human health, as well as new viruses that may emerge in the future,’ said Patrick Tan, senior vice-dean for research, Duke-NUS Medical School. 

‘This underscores the pivotal role basic science research plays in advancing knowledge, with the goal of discovering new approaches to transform medicine and improve lives.’

The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

Metro

Risk is uncertainty that matters. To prevent this, we try to control, mitigate, standardise and manage people and processes.

This principle was revealed to me years ago when I hosted a speaker at the South African Reserve Bank. He was an expert in risk, there to do a lunchtime presentation. What I learned that day has stayed with me over the many years since. 

What it ultimately boils down to is that risk is uncertainty that matters. There is one such kind of uncertainty with which we are all familiar – the risk that bad things will happen. 

A different perspective

However, there is a whole additional type of risk. It’s as real as the first kind, but it is hardly ever considered in how we approach life and leadership and the uncertainties surrounding us. It’s the risk that good things will not happen. 

If you think that this is just semantics, you’ve probably not fully grasped the implications of the point and what it opens up for all of us in terms of possibilities. 

How different might the world be if we spent the same amount of energy working to make possible the good, rather than only to prevent the bad? What if we focus on the goals we want to achieve – with and through others – rather than on the adverse outcomes we want to avoid? 

So now, when I am giving someone a new opportunity, I constantly ask myself some important questions: 

• Am I spending as much time imagining what they could do if they rise to the challenge as I am thinking about what could go wrong if they are out of their depth? 
• Am I putting as much effort into preparing them to succeed as I make contingency plans if they fail?

This applies to my work as a facilitator. If I suddenly realise things have taken a turn I wasn’t expecting during a session, and I don’t know how to navigate it, I no longer become paralysed by fear that my client will think that I am incompetent if I admit that I don’t have the answer.

Instead, I take the alternative path and embrace it as an opportunity for growth. By being honest about the situation, I’m creating a chance for something powerful to happen when I ask the team to step up and work through the challenge together.

Another scenario

All leaders at one time or another have had to manage an individual who is a high performer and toxic. Anyone who has faced that kind of dilemma will probably feel like I did – like I was being held hostage by someone whose skills were critical to the project but whose way of bringing those skills to their work was poisoning everyone else. 

It dawned on me that instead of feeling trapped, I needed to spend my time, effort and energy not being concerned about what risk I ran if I asked this person to leave. I needed to focus on what might be possible if he were gone. 

If the team had their confidence, competence and contribution restored by his going, we may well be able to figure it out together in ways that would surprise – and delight – all of us. 

Without question, the most rewarding experiences of my career have been seeing what people are capable of when I have created an environment in which I don’t just get the most out of them but also the best. It’s when their discretionary energy comes back to life, and they achieve things that no one, including themselves, thought possible. 

As leaders, we are elevated and entrusted not only with resources but with people’s lives. This is something we cannot help but take seriously. And sometimes, it’s worth the risk to avoid the possibility that good things will never happen. 

Geena Davis said it best: “If you risk nothing, then you risk everything.”

Niven Postma has enjoyed a wide and varied career, including being CEO of the Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa, Head of the South African Reserve Bank Academy, and Head of Leadership and Culture for the Standard Bank. The author of If You Don’t Do Politics, Politics Will Do You, Postma is a global strategy and culture consultant and works on women’s leadership development.

Inc

PRESS RELEASE

My fellow citizens,

I want to talk to you about our economy. It is important that you understand the reasons for the policy measures I have taken to combat the serious economic challenges this nation has long faced.

2. I am not going to talk in difficult terms by dwelling on economic jargon and concepts. I will speak in plain, clear language so that you know where I stand. More importantly, so that you see and hopefully will share my vision regarding the journey to a better, more productive economy for our beloved country.

3. For several years, I have consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy had to go. This once beneficial measure had outlived its usefulness. The subsidy cost us trillions of Naira yearly. Such a vast sum of money would have been better spent on public transportation, healthcare, schools, housing and even national security. Instead, it was being funnelled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a select group of individuals. 

4. This group had amassed so much wealth and power that they became a serious threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic governance. To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it.

5. The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.

6. The preceding administration saw this looming danger as well. Indeed, it made no provision in the 2023 Appropriations for subsidy after June this year.  Removal of this once helpful device that had transformed into a millstone around the country’s neck had become inevitable.

7. Also, the multiple exchange rate system that had been established became nothing but a highway of currency speculation. It diverted money that should have been used to create jobs, build factories and businesses for millions of people. Our national wealth was doled out on favourable terms to a handful of people who have been made filthy rich simply by moving money from one hand to another. This too was extremely unfair. 

8. It also compounded the threat that the illicit and mass accumulation of money posed to the future of our democratic system and its economy.

9. I had promised to reform the economy for the long-term good by fighting the major imbalances that had plagued our economy.  Ending the subsidy and the preferential exchange rate system were key to this fight. This fight is to define the fate and future of our nation. Much is in the balance.

10. Thus, the defects in our economy immensely profited a tiny elite, the elite of the elite you might call them. As we moved to fight the flaws in the economy, the people who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through every means necessary.

11. Our economy is going through a tough patch and you are being hurt by it. The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it. Households and businesses struggle. Things seem anxious and uncertain. I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help not hurt the people and nation that I love.

12. What I can offer in the immediate is to reduce the burden our current economic situation has imposed on all of us, most especially on businesses, the working class and the most vulnerable among us. 

13. Already, the Federal Government is working closely with states and local governments to implement interventions that will cushion the pains of our people across socio-economic brackets.

14. Earlier this month, I signed four (4) Executive Orders in keeping with my electoral promise to address unfriendly fiscal policies and multiple taxes that are stifling the business environment. These Executive Orders on suspension and deferred commencement of some taxes will provide the necessary buffers and headroom to businesses in the manufacturing sector to continue to thrive and expand.

15. To strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs, we are going to spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024. Our objective is to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start a sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity. Each of the 75 manufacturing enterprises will be able to access N1 Billion credit at 9% per annum with maximum of 60 months repayment for long term loans and 12 months for working capital.

16. Our administration recognises the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as drivers of growth. We are going to energise this very important sector with N125 billion.

17. Out of the sum, we will spend N50 billion on Conditional Grant to 1 million nano businesses between now and March 2024. Our target is to give N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 774 local governments across the country.

18. Ultimately, this programme will further drive financial inclusion by onboarding beneficiaries into the formal banking system. In like manner, we will fund 100,000 MSMEs and start-ups with N75 billion. Under this scheme, each enterprise promoter will be able to get between N500,000 to N1million at 9% interest per annum and a repayment period of 36 months.

19. To further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, we have had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain.

20. In the short and immediate terms, we will ensure staple foods are available and affordable. To this end, I have ordered the release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices. We are also providing 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to our food security agenda.

21. Our plan to support cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course. To be specific, N200 billion out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly will be disbursed as follows:  

-Our administration will invest N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize.

-N50 billion each will also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.

22. This expansive agricultural programme will be implemented targeting small-holder farmers and leveraging large-scale private sector players in the agric business with strong performance record.

23. In this regard, the expertise of Development Finance Institutions, commercial banks and microfinance banks will be tapped into to develop a viable and an appropriate transaction structure for all stakeholders.

24. Fellow Nigerians, I made a solemn pledge to work for you. How to improve your welfare and living condition is of paramount importance to me and it’s the only thing that keeps me up day and night.

25. It is in the light of this that I approved the Infrastructure Support Fund for the States. This new Infrastructure Fund will enable States to intervene and invest in critical areas and bring relief to many of the pain points as well as revamp our decaying healthcare and educational Infrastructure.

26. The fund will also bring improvements to rural access roads to ease evacuation of farm produce to markets. With the fund, our states will become more competitive and on a stronger financial footing to deliver economic prosperity to Nigerians. 

27. Part of our programme is to roll out buses across the states and local governments for mass transit at a much more affordable rate. We have made provision to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3,000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses.

28. These buses will be shared to major transportation companies in the states, using the intensity of travel per capital. Participating transport companies will be able to access credit under this facility at 9% per annum with 60 months repayment period.

29. In the same vein, we are also working in collaboration with the Labour unions to introduce a new national minimum wage for workers. I want to tell our workers this: your salary review is coming.

30. Once we agree on the new minimum wage and general upward review, we will make budget provision for it for immediate implementation.

31. I want to use this opportunity to salute many private employers in the Organised Private Sector who have already implemented general salary review for employees.

32. Fellow Nigerians, this period may be hard on us and there is no doubt about it that it is tough on us. But I urge you all to look beyond the present temporary pains and aim at the larger picture. All of our good and helpful plans are in the works. More importantly, I know that they will work.

33. Sadly, there was an unavoidable lag between subsidy removal and these plans coming fully online. However, we are swiftly closing the time gap. I plead with you to please have faith in our ability to deliver and in our concern for your well-being.

34. We will get out of this turbulence. And, due to the measures we have taken, Nigeria will be better equipped and able to take advantage of the future that awaits her.

35. In a little over two months, we have saved over a trillion Naira that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy which only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters. That money will now be used more directly and more beneficially for you and your families.

36. For example, we shall fulfill our promise to make education more affordable to all and provide loans to higher education students who may need them. No Nigerian student will have to abandon his or her education because of lack of money.

37. Our commitment is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of our people. On this principle, we shall never falter.

38. We are also monitoring the effects of the exchange rate and inflation on gasoline prices. If and when necessary, we will intervene. 

39. I assure you my fellow country men and women that we are exiting the darkness to enter a new and glorious dawn. 

40. Now, I must get back to work in order to make this vision come true. 

41. Thank you all for listening and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Organised Labour says its nationwide strike to protest the removal of petroleum subsidy will proceed as planned.

The strike is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

The unions, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), spoke after a meeting with government representatives at the presidential villa on Monday.

The unions expressed doubt regarding the ability of President Bola Tinubu to effectively control inflation and petrol price due to the unification of the exchange rate.

Joe Ajaero, president of the NLC, said the plan for workers to engage in a peaceful protest starting from Wednesday remains unchanged. 

He dismissed fears of the protest being hijacked by hoodlums, saying that such incidents have never occurred in the history of workers’ protests.

He, however, emphasised that it is the responsibility of the security agencies to ensure the safety of the demonstrators.

Regarding Tinubu’s plan to intervene in the exchange rate in an attempt to address inflation and the high cost of petrol, Ajaero expressed doubts about its effectiveness.

Given the reliance on imported energy and the absence of comparative advantages, he questioned how control could be exerted. 

Ajaero also highlighted the challenges faced by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in resisting tariff increases, as well as the significant increase in the price of corn in rural areas.

Participants in Monday’s meeting included Ajaero, representatives from the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and other delegates from the labour unions.

On the government side, attendees included Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to the president; Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer of Nigerian National Petroleum company Limited (NNPCL); among others.

The meeting of the labour unions and government representatives was then adjourned till 12 noon on Tuesday.

The Cable

The junta that seized power in Niger last week detained senior politicians on Monday, their party said, defying international calls to restore democratic rule, while fellow military rulers in West Africa expressed their support.

The overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum has sent shockwaves across West Africa, pitting Niger's former Western allies against the likes of Russia and other junta leaders in the region.

The African Union, the U.N., the European Union and other powers have condemned the overthrow of Bazoum - the seventh military takeover in less than three years in West and Central Africa that has undermined democratic progress in one of the world's poorest regions.

Regional bloc ECOWAS has imposed sanctions, including a halt in all financial transactions and a national assets freeze, and said it could authorise force to reinstate Bazoum, who is still locked in his palace.

But the juntas of neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea all voiced their support for the coup's leaders on Monday.

"Mali and Burkina Faso warn that any military intervention in Niger will be considered as a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali," said a joint statement read on both countries' national broadcasters.

Niger's junta on Monday arrested the ousted government's mines minister, the head of the ruling party and the oil minister, among others.

Meanwhile, a United States official on Monday said the coup had not been fully successful and that there was still an opportunity to reinstate Bazoum. France and Germany echoed those comments.

RUSSIAN FLAGS

Last Wednesday's coup has raised fears for the security of the Sahel region. Niger is the world's seventh-biggest producer of uranium, the radioactive metal widely used for nuclear energy and treating cancer.

The United States, former colonial power France and other Western states have troops in Niger and had been working with the government to overcome an Islamist insurgency by groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda.

But attacks on civilians and soldiers persist, fomenting discontent and straining relations with Western powers.

There have been four takeovers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso during the last two years, all of which have come amid frustrations about growing insecurity. Both countries have turned increasingly towards Russia as an ally.

The coup leaders, who have named General Abdourahamane Tiani, the former presidential guard chief, as head of state, said they overthrew Bazoum over poor governance and discontent with the way he handled the Islamist threat.

On Sunday, supporters of the junta burned French flags and attacked the French embassy in Niger's capital, Niamey, prompting police to fire volleys of tear gas in response.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, last week welcomed the coup in Niger, and said his forces were available to restore order.

The Kremlin said on Monday that the situation in Niger was "cause for serious concern" and called for a swift return to constitutional order.

ECONOMIC PINCH

ECOWAS appears to have taken a tougher stance towards Niger than its junta-led neighbours, which have been sanctioned but never threatened with force.

Both the EU and France have backed the bloc's response suspended their own financial support, while the U.S. has threatened to do so.

"The EU and Niger share deep ties developed over decades. The unacceptable attack on the democratically elected government puts these ties in jeopardy," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

After days of turmoil, the International Monetary Fund said it was closely monitoring developments in Niger. But the IMF has not yet taken any specific actions in response to the coup.

It has yet to disburse a $131.5 million loan to Niger that was approved on July 5, it added.

The regional central bank has meanwhile cancelled Niger's planned 30 billion CFA ($51 million) bond issuance, scheduled for Monday in the West African regional debt market, following sanctions, sources said.

Reuters