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Tuesday, 22 February 2022 06:31

Russia has recognised two Ukrainian breakaway regions. This is what that means

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the French and German leaders on Monday that he planned to sign a decree recognising two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent. Here's a look at the implications for the wider crisis, in which the United States says Russia may be poised to invade Ukraine with a force of up to 190,000 troops it has massed near its neighbour's borders. WHAT ARE THE BREAKAWAY REGIONS? Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions - collectively known as the Donbass - broke away from Ukrainian government control in 2014 and proclaimed themselves independent "people's republics",…

Tuesday, 22 February 2022 06:29

eNaira: IMF warns of potential use of Nigeria’s digital currency for terrorism financing, money laundering

International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the expansion of eNaira for cross-border transfers and agency banking may boost money-laundering/financing of terrorism. IMF said this in its recently released staff country report titled ‘Nigeria: 2021 Article IV Consultation’. In October 2021, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unveiled the country’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) known as the eNaira. IMF said the digital currency is envisaged to bring multiple benefits, including increased financial inclusion, facilitation of remittances, reduced informality and illegal activities as eNaira transactions are in principle fully traceable. It, however, said the eNaira carries macro-financial, cyber security, operational, financial integrity…

Monday, 21 February 2022 06:08

Nigerian forces kill children in airstrike over border in Niger, official says

The Nigerian military has killed and wounded children in an airstrike in neighbouring Niger, a local governor in Niger, state television and an aid agency said on Sunday, although Nigeria's armed forces said they were still investigating. The attack took place in the village of Nachadé in the region of Maradi, Niger, on Friday, a few kilometres from the border with Nigeria, said Chaibou Aboubacar, governor of Maradi. He said seven children were killed and five wounded. He did not say how he knew that Nigerian forces carried out the attack. Niger's state television also said it was carried out…

Sunday, 20 February 2022 06:27

Kenya’s high commissioner to Nigeria slumps after eating lunch, dies in Abuja

Wilfred Machage, Kenya’s high commissioner to Nigeria, has died at the age of 65. Machage collapsed in his Abuja home on Saturday, after which he was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The deceased high commissioner’s wife was said to have been with him when he collapsed. Kenya’s ministry of foreign affairs has released a statement announcing Machage’s demise. The statement reads: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets to announce the sudden death of Wilfred Machage, Kenya High Commissioner to Nigeria, which occurred today. “Machage collapsed at home and was pronounced dead at [the] hospital shortly thereafter…

Sunday, 20 February 2022 06:23

Putin oversees nuclear drills amid heavy shelling in rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine

Russia's strategic nuclear forces held exercises overseen by President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, and Washington accused Russian troops massed near Ukraine's border of advancing and being "poised to strike". With Western fears of war rising, the White House said U.S President Joe Biden's national security team told him they still believed Russia could launch an attack in Ukraine "at any time" and he planned to convene his top advisers on Sunday to discuss the crisis. Foreign ministers from the G7 group of rich nations said they had seen no evidence Russia is reducing its military activity in the area and…

Saturday, 19 February 2022 06:20

Lagos govt takes Magodo land dispute back to Supreme Court

Lagos State Government on Friday said it had approached the Supreme Court for clarification on the settlement of a judgment delivered by the apex court on the ownership of the Shangisha/Magodo land. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, in a statement on Friday, said there was a serious division among the judgment creditors, representatives of the Shangisha Landlords Association, as to who had the right to represent the association. In the statement, titled, ‘Update on settlement of Supreme Court judgment on Shangisha/Magodo,’ Omotoso said following the intervention of the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, officials of the state government and…

Saturday, 19 February 2022 06:16

17 dead in fuel tanker crash in Ogun

Some 17 people died after a fuel tanker and commuter bus collided in Ogun state on Friday, the Federal Road Safety Corps said. Spokesperson Bisi Kazeem said the crash happened around 5:00 a.m. on Friday and that the number of fatalities may vary. "There was a head-on collision that resulted in fire," Kazeem told Reuters. "Efforts are ongoing to remove the charred bodies as well as the crashed vehicles." Nigeria is facing fuel shortages caused by imports of sub-standard petrol. This has angered motorists, who have been spending hours in lines to fill their tanks while some public transport owners…

Friday, 18 February 2022 06:18

Nigeria’s economy in 2021 got highest GDP growth since Buhari became president - NBS

Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.4 percent in 2021, the strongest since 2014. The figure is the first annual growth above 3 percent since President Muhammadu Buhari won the 2015 election. In 2014, the economy grew 6.3 percent. National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said this in its fourth-quarter GDP report released on Thursday. According to the report, the GDP also posted a strong recovery of 3.98 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 — but lower than the 4.03 percent in the third quarter. “Nigeria Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.98 percent (year-on-year) in real terms in the…

Friday, 18 February 2022 06:16

Jigawa doesn’t suffer bandit attacks because of how Fulani cattle herders are ‘settled’ - Gov

Governor of Jigawa State, Muhammad Badaru, has said the reason why the state is not facing banditry challenges is because it had identified the root cause of such. Speaking when he received the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council’s (PEBEC) ‘Business Made Easy, Badaru said previous administrations created policies that allowed Fulani herdsmen to use cattle grazing routes and even forest reserves. This he said kept the state free of clashes between farmers and herders witnessed in states in the Northeast. According to him, the administration of governor Saminu Turaki between 1999 and 2007 “allowed the Fulani to use cattle routes…

Friday, 18 February 2022 06:13

Ghanaian university lecturers’ strike over pay enters 6th week

Public universities in Ghana are on the verge of a shutdown in the coming weeks unless lecturers currently on strike for over four weeks return to work. The lecturers, who are part of the national umbrella body called the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), downed their chalks on January 10, 2022, over poor working conditions. The lecturers' union said the government had refused to implement a pay policy that pegs their basic salary and market premium at $2,084 (€1,824). A market premium payment is a salary bonus for a specific group of workers whose posts have been identified as…

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Thursday, 17 February 2022 06:36

Nnamdi Kanu: DSS, trial judge say separatist leader can’t wear clothes with lion head design

The Department of State Services (DSS) says it cannot allow Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to wear clothes with an insignia of a lion’s head. The contentious outfit is known as ‘isi agu’ in Southeast Nigeria. It is a traditional garb that is usually worn on special occasions. Previously, Binta Nyako, judge of a federal high court in Abuja, had directed the DSS to allow the IPOB leader to have a bath whenever he wants, change his clothes, eat properly and practice his faith. However, Shuaibu Labaran, counsel representing the federal government, told the court…

Thursday, 17 February 2022 06:32

Russia's military build-up near Ukraine growing, not shrinking, warns West

There is a growing Russian military presence at Ukraine's borders, Western countries warned on Wednesday, as Estonia said battle groups were moving ahead of a likely attack to occupy "key terrain," contradicting Moscow's insistence of a pullback. More armored vehicles, helicopters and a field hospital have been spotted, Britain's defense intelligence chief said in rare public comments. Up to 7,000 more troops have moved to the border in recent days, including some arriving on Wednesday, a senior official in U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said, without providing evidence. World powers are engaged in one of the deepest crises in East-West…

Wednesday, 16 February 2022 06:31

Buhari sends N2.56trn supplementary budget to N’Assembly to fund fuel subsidy, others

President Muhammadu Buhari has forwarded a proposal for the amendment of the 2022 Appropriation Act to the National Assembly. In a letter to the Senate and House of Representatives, he sought an additional N2.557 trillion to fund the subsidy of Premium Motor Spirit in the 2022 fiscal year. The president said the supplementary budget had become necessary, as there was need to restore provisions for key projects, which was slashed by the National Assembly. Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who disclosed this during plenary, yesterday, said the request was contained in a letter dated February 10, 2022. Buhari in the letter…

Wednesday, 16 February 2022 06:29

Buhari seals Hadiza Usman’s fate as NPA MD, appoints substantive replacement

President Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed the appointment of Mohammed Bello-Koko as the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). The confirmation was announced in a release signed by a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation, Eric Ojiekwe. The appointment is to take effect immediately. Bello-Koko was first appointed acting MD of the agency in May 2021 after the previous managing director, Hadiza Usman, was suspended. Buhari approved Usman’s suspension after the transport minister, Chibuike Amaechi, accused her of “insubordination” and “refusal to take or carry out lawful instruction from superior officers/higher authorities”. The government said the suspension would allow…

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