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Wednesday, 23 August 2023 17:59

Wagner chief Prigozhin dies in plane crash, Russian authorities say

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on a private jet which crashed on Wednesday evening north of Moscow with no survivors, the Russian authorities said. There was no confirmation that Prigozhin was physically on board and Reuters could not immediately confirm that he was on the aircraft, which crashed north of Moscow. "An investigation has been launched into an Embraer plane crash that occurred tonight in the Tver region. According to the passenger list, the name and surname of Yevgeny Prigozhin is among them," Rosaviatsia, Russia's aviation agency, was cited as saying by the state TASS…

Wednesday, 23 August 2023 04:39

Ex-Nigerian military leader Abdusalam speaks against war, says diplomacy the way out of Niger crisis

A West African bloc mediator sent to meet Niger’s junta leaders following a July 26 coup says a peaceful way out of the crisis remains possible. Last week’s visit to Niger “has opened an avenue to start talking,” Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former Nigerian president, told reporters in the capital, Abuja. “Hopefully diplomacy will see the better of this.” The Economic Community of West African States has said it stands ready to use force if talks fail. Abdourahamane Tiani, the coup leader, has proposed a return to democracy within three years, but the bloc does not want any prolonged transition, Abdel-Fatau…

Wednesday, 23 August 2023 04:37

BRICS: De-dollarization irreversible – Putin

The US dollar is losing its global role in an “objective and irreversible” process, the Russian president told participants at the BRICS Summit in South Africa on Tuesday. Vladimir Putin spoke via videolink, after choosing not to attend the event in person. De-dollarization is “gaining momentum” Putin declared, adding that members of the group of major emerging economies are seeking to reduce their reliance on the greenback in mutual transactions. The Russian leader claimed the five BRICS members – Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa – are becoming the new world economic leaders, adding that their cumulative share of…

Wednesday, 23 August 2023 04:35

UNICEF pledges $270m to support poverty alleviation in Nigeria

United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, plans to commit $270 million to Nigeria's humanitarian and poverty alleviation efforts and pledged to help set up an emergency operation centre, its executives said on Tuesday. The government of President Bola Tinubu wants to lift 133 million citizens out of poverty, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Betta Edu told UNICEF executives Christian Munduate and Eduardo Celades at a meeting in Abuja. Edu did not provide a timeline for achieving the target. UNICEF said the agency will support the establishment of a humanitarian emergency operation centre that will help monitor, mitigate and prevent…

Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:11

Nigeria’s true foreign reserves $3.7bn, not $36.61bn reported by CBN - JP Morgan

JP Morgan, an American multinational financial services firm, estimates that Nigeria’s net foreign exchange (FX) reserves fell to $3.7 billion as of the end 2022. This is contained in the firm’s latest report titled ‘Nigeria: Reform pause rather than fatigue’. Gross FX reserves represent the government’s total holdings of foreign currency reserves. Net FX reserves deduct foreign currency liabilities from gross foreign currencies reserves. According to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data, the country’s gross FX reserves was $36.61 billion as of end of 2022. Nigeria’s FX reserves play a crucial role in defending the naira and covers the country’s…

Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:10

BRICS summit opens today in South Africa, set to reduce reliance on US dollar

Member states of the BRICS, the emerging market group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are widely anticipated to deepen financial cooperation in an upcoming gathering, in particular in the payment and currency sectors to counterbalance the hegemony of the US dollar, which has left emerging economies and developing countries struggling financially. Based on the trade scale of the BRICS members and the increasing willingness of more countries to join the bloc, the process of de-dollarization, which has become an irreversible trend, will be accelerated, experts told the Global Times. Data from China's General Administration of Customs showed…

Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:06

7 Nigerian states bordering Niger in huge economic losses over border closure. Here’s what’s happening at the borders

• Perishable foods worth N40b lost in three weeks• Rice price soar from N30,000 to N55,000 per 50kg• Border closure splits couples, families• Reject war option against Niger, stakeholders say in final push Ripple effects of economic sanctions on Niger Republic are rocking at least seven Nigerian states bordering the south of Niger. In the third week of the political and economic tension, about 8.5 million Nigerians living in border towns and communities have continued to count their losses running into over N40 billion. They said since the Federal Government closed the border on August 3, perishable goods like onions,…

Tuesday, 22 August 2023 04:05

Wagner boss announces major move ‘to help Africa become even more free’

The Wagner private military company is continuing to recruit and is working hard “to make Russia even greater,” the head of the group, Evgeny Prigozhin, has said in a new video address. He added that Wagner is also seeking to help Africa become “even more free.” The short video emerged online on Monday and was apparently filmed in Africa. The PMC boss was armed and dressed in military garb while standing in a savannah-like landscape, with multiple armed men and gun trucks visible in the background. “The Wagner Group conducts reconnaissance and search activities. Making Russia even greater on all…

Monday, 21 August 2023 04:34

CBN loans to power, aviation, manufacturing sectors totaled N5.6tn in 3 years - Report

Central Bank of Nigeria interventions in the power, manufacturing and aviation sectors have risen to N5.6tn in three years. The soft loans were advanced amid the continued and varied challenges facing the key sectors of the economy. The apex bank loans to the three sectors were obtained from the CBN result and accounts between 2020 and 2022. The reports which showed credit concentration in the various sectors of the economy indicated that power, aviation and manufacturing sectors recorded an aggregate ofN5.6tn in loans from the central bank. CBN under its suspended governor, Godwin Emefiele, competed with commercial banks in aggressive…

Sunday, 20 August 2023 04:49

Niger military rulers pledge return to civil rule within 3 years

Niger’s self-declared military leader on Saturday proposed a return to democracy within three years and warned the regional bloc against using military force. Abdourahamane Tiani, an army general and leader of last month’s coup, said he had given the government 30 days to develop a framework for a return to democracy after a transition period that “cannot exceed three years.” He stressed that foreign military intervention to restore constitutional order would have “repercussions on the entire region.” “It’s largely thanks to the professionalism and courage of our force that Niger has remained the lock that prevents hordes of terrorists from…

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Sunday, 20 August 2023 04:48

Thousands of Nigeriens turn up as volunteers to fight against ECOWAS invaders

Supporters of Niger's junta were forced on Saturday to halt a census of people willing to volunteer for non-military roles in defence against a possible intervention by West African powers, saying they had been overwhelmed by the numbers who turned up. Thousands of mostly young men had massed outside a stadium in the capital Niamey hours before the scheduled start-time of the event - a sign of the strong support for the junta, which has defied international pressure to stand down after the July 26 ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum. "In all our calculations and our understandings, we never thought…

Saturday, 19 August 2023 05:11

Depreciating Naira: CBN issues new guidelines to BDCs

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced additional guidelines for Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in a bid to improve efficiency of the Nigerian foreign exchange market. The decision comes two years after the apex bank banned the sale of dollars to BDCs amid efforts to stabilize the market. However, the latest directive does not state that the central bank will resume the sale of dollars to the BDCs. The new operational mechanism, contained in a circular dated 17 August, stated that the spread on buying and selling by BDC operators will be within an allowable limit of -2.5 percent…

Saturday, 19 August 2023 05:09

ECOWAS says 'D-Day' set for military invasion of Niger

West Africa's main regional bloc on Friday said it had agreed an undisclosed "D-Day" for a possible military intervention to restore democracy in Niger if diplomatic efforts fail, stressing that it would not hold endless dialogue with the defiant junta. The comments came at the end of a two-day meeting of West African army chiefs in Ghana's capital Accra, where they have been hashing out the logistics and strategy for a possible use of force in Niger. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has said such action would be a last resort. "We are ready to go anytime the…

Saturday, 19 August 2023 05:07

Hunger: Taraba residents steal neighbours’ farm produce - Report

Some residents of Taraba have started stealing farm pŕoduce to feed their families. Reports from some communities across the state revealed that incidents of stealing of raw Cassava, Yam and Maize were recorded in recent weeks. A lady, who owned a cassava farm in one of the villages in Ardo-Kola local government area of the state, said she caught her neighbours harvesting cassava in her farm severally. The lady farmer, Lami John, told our reporter that the first person she caught in her farm confessed that he stole cassava from her farm not to sell but to feed his family.…

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