Nigerian GDP grew 3.11% in the first quarter, slower than in the previous quarter as a fall in oil production hit the rest of the economy, the national statistics office said on Monday ahead of a central bank interest rate decision on Tuesday. It was the sixth consecutive quarter of growth, with non-oil sectors helping Nigeria bounce back from a severe recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The full-year GDP figure for 2021 showed the fastest growth in seven years. Gross domestic product grew by 3.98% in the fourth quarter of 2021. In the first three months of last year,…

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, asked the 36 State governors in the country to comply with a directive issued by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) restraining them from withdrawing funds from local government accounts. The anti-graft agency had in 2019 issued a directive and guidelines on the withdrawal of funds allocated to the 774 Local Government Areas recognized by the country’s 1999 constitution. NFIU’s director, Modibbo Tukur, while issuing the guidelines, had explained that the directive was aimed at curbing crime vulnerabilities created by cash withdrawals from local government accounts by state governments. Tukur stressed…

Kaduna airport has resumed flight operations two months after shutting down over an attack by gunmen. Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, acting general manager, corporate affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria confirmed this on Monday. Hope-Ivbaze said flight operations commenced today. “Flight operations to Kaduna airport have commenced today with Azman Air,” she said. It would be recalled that about two months ago, gunmen attacked the airport and killed a security guard. On its official Twitter account, Azman Air announced the resumption of flights to the Kaduna airport, making it the first airline to resume operations on the route since the incident. The…

China on Monday expressed outrage at President Joe Biden’s apparent break from America’s prior policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding Taiwan, blasting his assertion that the U.S. would militarily defend the island nation if Beijing invaded. No country should underestimate China’s “firm resolve, staunch will and strong ability” to protect its sovereign and territorial interests, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Monday in response to Biden’s comments. “On issues that bear on China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and other core interests, no one shall expect China to make any compromise or trade-offs,” Wang said. Other Chinese Communist Party insiders…