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Sunday, 13 August 2023 04:34

‘It is finished for Bazoum. There is no one among soldiers still loyal to him’, notable Niger activist says

The only way to avoid conflict in Niger between mutinous soldiers who ousted the president and regional countries threatening an invasion to reinstate him is to recognize the new regime, a rights defender with ties to the junta told The Associated Press. In his first interview with Western media Friday, Insa Garba Saidou, a local activist who assists Niger’s new military rulers with their communications and says he is in direct contact with them, said there will be no dialogue with regional countries until they acknowledge the new head of state. Although Saidou is not an official member of the…

Sunday, 13 August 2023 04:31

Kano residents protest against military invasion of Niger

Some residents of Kano on Saturday protested against any attempt to use military action to restore democratic rule in the Niger Republic as they stormed the streets of the commercial city. The protesters who are mostly residents of the state embarked on the action to show their displeasure and non-support of the planned military invasion of the country. While moving in a procession, they kept chanting, “Nigeriens are our brothers; Nigerians are also our family.” “Niger is ours; we don’t want war; war against Niger is injustice, a plot by the Western forces,” they kept chanting, raising Nigerian and Nigerien…

Saturday, 12 August 2023 03:58

CBN reveals deals with Goldman, JPMorgan - Bloomberg

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed large dollar deals with JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs in documents that also confirmed it broke limits on lending to the government. Annual financial statements, published for the first time since 2015, refer to two securities lending agreements with JP Morgan Chase & Co. for $7 billion in 2021 and two of $500 million with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. There was no further information disclosed regarding the securities that were pledged in return for cash. Goldman declined to comment. Officials at JPMorgan and the CBN did not respond to requests for comment. CBN, which…

Saturday, 12 August 2023 03:57

Residents doctors suspend nationwide strike

Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARDs) has suspended its ongoing nationwide strike, which commenced over two weeks ago following government’s failure to meet the demands of its members. NARDs President, Emeka Orji, disclosed this yesterday, saying that following the intervention of Mr President and the Senate President earlier in the week, some of the demands of the association have been met, while they promised to start working on the remaining ones. “So we don’t see the need to continue with the strike, we are hoping that they continue the process of resolving the problems that made us to go on…

Saturday, 12 August 2023 03:55

Russia warns ECOWAS against military intervention in Niger

Russia has warned that military intervention in Niger would lead to a "protracted confrontation" after regional bloc Ecowas said it would assemble a standby force. Such an intervention would destabilise the Sahel region as a whole, the Russian foreign ministry said. Russia does not formally back the coup. But the US, which backs efforts to restore deposed leader Mohamed Bazoum, says its Wagner mercenary group is taking advantage of the instability. On Friday, coup supporters, some waving Russian flags, protested at a French military base near the capital NIamey, some chanting "down with France, down with Ecowas". Both France and…

Friday, 11 August 2023 04:40

ECOWAS orders military intervention in Niger ‘to restore democratic order’

West African leaders said they would deploy a standby force of troops to potentially intervene to restore democracy in Niger, where the president was deposed in a July 26 coup. The announcement came on Thursday at an emergency meeting of the Economic Community of West African States in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, after Niger’s ruling military junta ignored the regional bloc’s deadline to reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum. “No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort. If we don’t do it, no one else will do it for us,” said Nigerian President…

Friday, 11 August 2023 04:38

Niger junta threatens to kill overthrown president in the event of military invasion, Western officials allege

Niger’s junta told a top U.S. diplomat that they would kill deposed President Mohamed Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule, two Western officials told The Associated Press. They spoke to the AP shortly before the West African bloc ECOWAS said it had directed the deployment of a “standby force” to restore democracy in Niger, after its deadline of Sunday to reinstate Bazoum expired. The threat to the deposed president raises the stakes both for ECOWAS and for the junta, which has shown its willingness to escalate its actions since it seized power on July…

Friday, 11 August 2023 04:35

Naira falls further at both official and parallel markets

The naira fell to an all-time low of N950 to a dollar at the parallel market on Thursday afternoon. The figure represents a N53 or 5.9 percent depreciation compared to the N897 it traded earlier this week. Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in Lagos who spoke to our correspondent said that there is high demand for foreign currency in the street market. The street traders, popularly known as ‘abokis’ put the buying price of the dollar at N935 and the selling price at N950, leaving a profit margin of N15. Meanwhile, currency traders in the Agbara area of Ogun state…

Thursday, 10 August 2023 04:31

Naira hits new lows as dollar crosses the 900 mark

Naira extended its slump in black-market trading as the nation’s dollar shortage deepened two months after the central bank moved to a more flexible exchange rate to encourage inflows. The currency of Africa’s biggest crude oil producer weakened to 917 naira per dollar, compared with 900 naira the day before, according to Umar Salisu, a bureau de change operator who tracks currency data in the nation’s commercial capital. Banks are unable to come up with the dollars to meet demand, and buyers are increasingly turning to the black market, widening the gap between the official exchange rate and the price…

Thursday, 10 August 2023 04:28

Sultan-led Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs opposes sanctions, military action in Niger

Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has stated its opposition to the sanctions imposed on Niger by ECOWAS following the coup in the country. “…it is well known that such kinds of economic sanctions are counter-productive and eventually end in futility,” the NSCIA stated in a statement by its Deputy Secretary-General, Salisu Shehu. NSCIA, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar, also stated its opposition to using force to dislodge the putschists who ousted President Mohamed Bazoum from office last month. In its statement, NSCIA acknowledged that the coup leaders were defiant in their stance but called for…

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Thursday, 10 August 2023 04:27

Niger military leaders meet Nigeria envoys ahead of summit with regional leaders

Niger's military junta met with two Nigerian envoys on Wednesday, offering hope for dialogue before a summit with regional leaders that could result in military action to restore democracy. The talks took place as Niger accused France of violating its airspace, attacking a military camp and freeing "terrorists" to undermine the country. Paris denied the charges. Army officer Amadou Abdramane, speaking for the coup leaders, made the allegations in a video statement, stoking tension ahead of Thursday's meeting of West African heads of state, who are expected to discuss options including military action against the junta. "What we are seeing…

Wednesday, 09 August 2023 04:41

FG lacks sense of urgency in effecting palliatives despite worsening living conditions, Labour tells Senate

Organised labour on Tuesday rejected Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, as head of the Federal Government’s team that will negotiate with the labour unions on subsidy removal palliatives. National President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, made this known when the leadership of the labour unions visited the Senate. According to him, the Chief of Staff has been too busy to call for a meeting adding that President Bola Tinubu’s wage award committee has yet to sit almost two months after the fuel subsidy removal. The labour leaders were in the Senate to meeting with the leadership.…

Wednesday, 09 August 2023 04:36

Niger junta consolidates power as military threat fades

Niger’s junta moved to consolidate power as regional leaders prepared for a second emergency summit since the country’s July 26 coup. The soldiers now running Niger continued to ignore demands to relinquish power and began announcing a new cabinet, days after the expiration of a deadline imposed by its neighbors to restore democracy. West African heads of state are due to meet in Abuja, the capital of neighboring Nigeria, on Aug. 10 to discuss Niger, where President Mohamed Bazoum was deposed two weeks ago. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that America backs regional efforts to bring…

Wednesday, 09 August 2023 04:35

Niger hit with more sanctions as junta rebuffs latest diplomatic mission

Niger was slapped with more sanctions on Tuesday, hours after its new military leaders rejected the latest diplomatic mission aimed at restoring constitutional order following a July 26 coup. President Bola Tinubu ordered the new sanctions through Nigeria's central bank, aimed at squeezing those involved in the takeover, a presidential spokesperson said. The sanctions were imposed after the junta denied a joint delegation from West African states, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations permission to enter Niger, resisting pressure from the United States and the UN to come to the negotiating table. Late on Tuesday, the Economic Community…

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