Nigeria | Cracks Grow in Nigerian Ruling Party Over Buhari’s Plans

Nigeria | Cracks Grow in Nigerian Ruling Party Over Buhari’s Plans

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – With doubts growing that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will seek a second term because of lingering health issues, cracks are emerging in the ruling All Progressives Congress as key politicians jostle to succeed him. Women Affairs Minister Aisha Alhassan appeared in an online video last week declaring support for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to become leader in 2019, when Buhari’s term ends. Alhassan confirmed the recording to the British Broadcasting Corp., saying she…

Read More

Nigerian President Buhari Vows to Intensify War on Militants

Nigerian President Buhari Vows to Intensify War on Militants

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to step up the fight against the Islamist militants and proponents of secession in his first speech after returning from three months of sick leave in London. Nigeria’s national unity is “not negotiable,” Buhari, 74, said Monday in a nationally televised address. “Terrorists and criminals must be fought and destroyed relentlessly so that the majority of us can live in peace and safety.” Buhari informed the…

Read More

President Buhari Due to Return to Nigeria Soon, Deputy Says

President Buhari Due to Return to Nigeria Soon, Deputy Says

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is recuperating and should be back in the country “very soon,” Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said a day after visiting him in the U.K. Osinbajo, who travelled to London Tuesday to meet Buhari, told reporters in the capital, Abuja, that they spoke for more than an hour. Buhari is “in very good spirits,” Osinbajo said. “He’s doing very well.” Buhari, 74, has been in the U.K. since May 7…

Read More

Nigeria’s Succession Jitters With Ill President Buhari

Nigeria’s Succession Jitters With Ill President Buhari

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria is awash in nervous speculation over the health of President Muhammadu Buhari, who hasn’t appeared in public since he returned to the U.K. for medical treatment for an undisclosed ailment on May 7. Buhari, 74 and a Muslim, has formally designated his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, acting president as he did when he was away on medical leave for 49 days from Jan. 20. The prospect of Osinbajo, a 60-year-old Christian,…

Read More

Nigeria Rolls Out $2 Billion Brazil-Like Social-Welfare Plan

Nigeria Rolls Out $2 Billion Brazil-Like Social-Welfare Plan

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria is rolling out its first national social-welfare program modeled partly on Brazil’s Bolsa Familia in a bid to boost a weak economy and curb poverty by giving cash to its poorest citizens and ensuring their children go to school. The government of Africa’s most-populous nation is investing 500 billion naira ($1.5 billion) in the initiative this year and is talking to the World Bank about a $500 million…

Read More

Nigeria’s Buhari Recovering in U.K., Will Return Soon, Wife Says

Nigeria’s Buhari Recovering in U.K., Will Return Soon, Wife Says

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is recovering fast from an undisclosed ailment while on medical leave in the U.K. and preparing to return to the West African nation, according to his wife. Buhari, who has been abroad for almost a month, will be back “soon” in Nigeria, the office of Aisha Buhari said in an emailed statement Tuesday, without giving further details. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo serves as acting leader…

Read More

Nigeria’s Buhari Seeks Approval of $7 Billion Borrowing Plan

Nigeria’s Buhari Seeks Approval of $7 Billion Borrowing Plan

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari asked lawmakers to approve a plan for the government to borrow $7 billion through 2018 from abroad to develop railroads and support an economic recovery. The Export-Import Bank of China approved $6 billion of loans for railroad projects, including $3.5 billion to build a line connecting the commercial capital, Lagos, with the south eastern city of Calabar, according to a letter from Buhari to the lawmakers, which Bloomberg saw…

Read More
1 2