Features

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – After a series of missteps on economic and security issues, one of the things Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari could pin his re-election hopes on was a feeble opposition. Not anymore. More than fifty lawmakers and a state governor quit Buhari’s ruling All Progressives Congress this week, with the vast majority switching allegiances to the People’s Democratic Party. While both parties have struggled with internal divisions, the mass defections are breathing new…

YAOUNDE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sama Jude knew it was time to flee his home town in western Cameroon when he heard the sound of gunfire ringing above the roof of the University of Buea where he’s taught for four years. As clashes between the nation’s army and separatist rebels intensified, the 41-year-old lecturer packed his bags and fled to the commercial capital, Douala, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) to the east. “You never…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa)- Nigeria’s ruling party lost its majority in the Senate after over a dozen lawmakers defected to the main opposition group, dealing a blow to President Muhammadu Buhari who is seeking re-election early next year. A group of 15 senators, including Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of the northern state of Kano, quit the All Progressives Congress to join the People’s Democratic Party, Senate President Bukola Saraki said Tuesday during proceedings in the capital, Abuja. The…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt, one of the world’s largest wheat importers, removed two of its top suppliers from a list of approved sellers after repeated delays in delivering cargoes, according to an official with the state-run buyer. Dubai-based AOS Trading DMCC and its Egyptian sister company Al Wehda will no longer be able to sell to the General Authority for Supply Commodities, said the official, who asked not to be named as…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s Senate said it would probe the renewal process of energy leases undertaken by the oil minister and the Department of Petroleum Resources, in search of anomalies that could cost the government more than $10 billion in lost revenue. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu and the DPR are renewing the “leases of companies that have brazenly and illegally refused to pay royalties,” lawmakers said in a motion…