Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria has struck off 50,000 “ghost workers” from the state payrolls this year, saving nearly 630 million euros, the presidency said Tuesday. The office of President Muhammadu Buhari, who was voted into power last year vowing to stamp out endemic graft in Africa’s most populous …
Read More »Nigerian army ‘crushes’ Boko Haram in key stronghold
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday claimed the military had routed Boko Haram in a key northeastern stronghold, a year after saying the Islamist militants had been “technically” defeated. A campaign lasting for months in the 1,300 square-kilometre (500 square-mile) forest in northeastern Borno state …
Read More »Nigeria’s leader wants spending spree to boost economy
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari proposed Wednesday a multi-billion dollar jump in spending designed to lift the nation out of the “most challenging economic situation” in its history. He pitched his NGN 7.3 trillion budget ($23 billion) proposal for 2017 — a 20 percent boost over …
Read More »As Nigeria’s recession takes hold, Buhari’s shine wanes
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | It’s not Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s fault that Nigeria’s economy is inextricably tied to the global price of oil, now half of its 2014 peak of over $100 per barrel. But the president’s response to the economic crisis has a growing number of people concerned …
Read More »African Development Bank okays $600 million loan for Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | The African Development Bank has approved the first installment of a $1 billion loan to Nigeria to help President Muhammadu Buhari combat a “crisis situation”. In a Wednesday press release, the AfDB said that the $600 million loan was the “first tranche of a US …
Read More »Buhari vows to lead Nigeria out of recession
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday pledged to reverse the country’s economic slump as his government also tackles endemic corruption and the security threat from Boko Haram Islamists. Recession was officially confirmed in Africa’s most populous nation last month, after a second successive quarter of …
Read More »Nigeria halts film village plans after Muslim clerics’ protest
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria has shelved a plan to build a $10 million film village outside the mainly Muslim northern city of Kano, bowing to virulent opposition from radical Muslim clerics. The decision deals a blow to a booming industry, developers said, as the centre was to generate …
Read More »Nigeria ‘talking to’ oil rebels: Buhari
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Thursday Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said the government was in talks with oil rebels whose attacks have hit production, as the head of the state-run energy firm laid bare damage to the sector. Buhari said in a statement that “his administration is talking …
Read More »Nigeria to stop defending naira
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria signalled Wednesday it will ease currency controls, opening the door to a plunge in the value of the naira, after the restrictions were blamed for stifling the economy. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele said in a televised speech from Abuja that …
Read More »Second Chibok girl found as Nigerian president meets first rescued student
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | A second Chibok schoolgirl has been rescued, Nigeria’s army said Thursday, after President Muhammadu Buhari met the first student to be found and voiced fresh hope for the recovery of the more than 200 others still being held. Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said the …
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