News & Announcements

Following the Economic Community of West Africa’s potential armed involvement to restore democracy in Niger Republic, Burkina Faso and Mali have sent warplanes to the country.

On Friday, a Niger television station stated that Mali and Burkina Faso were working together to support Niger and that jets had been sent within Niger’s borders.

“Mali and Burkina Faso turned their commitments into concrete action by deploying warplanes to respond to any attack on Niger,” it said, noting the planes were Super Tucano fighter jets.

President Mohamed Bazoum was detained on June 26 and the elected government of Niger, a significant uranium producer and partner of the West in the struggle against an Islamist insurgency, was overthrown.

On July 30, ECOWAS, headed by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, resolved to impose sanctions on the Nigerian military members and ordered the military junta one week to reinstate Bazoum as president.

After the one-week ultimatum expired, West African leaders met on August 10 and approved a “standby force” to reinstate elected Bazoum.The coupists had called the bluff of ECOWAS and vowed to resist foreign intervention.

Subsequently, ECOWAS Defence Chiefs were ordered to activate the region’s force for action to restore civil rule in Niger, noting that it will invade the country on the “D-Day.”

Mali and Burkina Faso’s military regimes, however, called ECOWAS’s bluff and warned that any armed intervention in Niger would be met with force.

The military chiefs of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger met on Friday in Niamey, the nation’s capital, according to the news station, to decide on “concrete measures” in case ECOWAS decides to “escalate a war.”

In response to the deaths of numerous soldiers who were murdered in an ambush and subsequent chopper accident in Niger State, the former president Muhammadu Buhari expressed his sorrow.

The Defence Headquarters reports that both ambush attacks and an evacuation chopper crash resulted in the deaths of 36 officers.

Buhari also expressed his condolences to President Bola Tinubu over the tragedy in a statement released on Saturday and signed by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu.

“I am saddened by the helicopter accident, following the tragic ambush in which we have lost our brave army personnel. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover at the earliest.

“My heartfelt condolences to the President, @officialABAT, the Armed Forces of the Federation, and the families of the deceased.

“With the soldier-discipline in our troops, it is a matter of time before they overcome,” the former President said.

Police in Zimbabwe said they arrested 40 members of the leading opposition party for blocking traffic and disrupting order during a campaign event on Tuesday, a week ahead of national elections.

The southern African country heads to the polls on August 23 to elect the president and legislature in what analysts expect to be a tense affair, marked by a crackdown on dissent and fears of vote-rigging.

The opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) was campaigning in a southwestern suburb of the capital Harare on Tuesday when supporters were blocked by police, according to party spokeswoman Fadzayi Mahere.

Police confirmed they had arrested 40 CCC activists, alleging the party notified authorities it would hold a rally, but then diverted from the planned location.

The group “went on a car rally procession” in a nearby area, and stopped at a traffic light “openly blocking traffic”, police said, adding that CCC supporters “started chanting party slogans and singing”.

Footage shared on social media showed dozens of people clad in the CCC’s yellow colours, some crammed in the back of a small truck, crowding an intersection.

The opposition has long complained about being unfairly targeted by authorities in the run-up to the election, with its members arrested and dozens of CCC events blocked.

A report by Human Rights Watch this month said the upcoming ballot will be held under a “seriously flawed electoral process” that does not meet global standards for freedom and fairness.

It accused police of “partisan conduct” and of using “intimidation and violence against the opposition”.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 80, who heads the ZANU-PF, in power since independence in 1980, is seeking re-election in the presidential vote next week.

His main challenger is CCC leader Nelson Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer and pastor.

A large group of ISWAP are moving out of their base in the Sahel and Niger Republic to the fringes of Lake Chad and North West, a top security source told Daily Trust on Tuesday.

According to military insiders, the terror group, moving with sophisticated weapons, are fleeing the possible ECOWAS military intervention and border closure in Niger Republic.

“The top ISWAP fighters and their foot soldiers have started moving from their base in the Sahel/Niger down to Nigeria, resettling in Kukawa, Abadam, Gaidam and Guzamala areas of the Lake Chad region.

“Also, Northwest states of Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara and Sokoto have started experiencing exodus of ISWAP fighters from Niger Republic,” he said.

Two military sources said the situation started exacerbating after the coup leader in Niger Republic allegedly pulled out of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

“This has begun to pose a serious security threat to the stabilisation of the Lake Chad region.

“We are monitoring the situations in the Lake Chad region, I can tell you that there is a massive movement of ISWAP top fighters from the Sahel region into Lake Chad. Lately, Katsina, Zamfara and Yobe state are not left out.

“Top ISWAP fighters include Abubakar Modu, Shiek Ba’ana Dujum, Marte Alwady, Mohammed Ibn Abubakar, and El-Mansur Dawahli Mouda among others with hundreds of their fighters are said to be on the move.

“We have several reports indicating that in the last couple of days, there has been a massive movement of these deadly ISWAP fighters into Nigerian space.

“It poses a great security threat to the entire region”.

However, stakeholders and experts in Borno State have expressed concerns over the use of military action in Niger Republic by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Many believed that the action would have security repercussions in the entire Lake Chad region and North West, respectively.

Nigeria needs diplomatic shuttles and negotiations to change the perception of security and people in Niger.

A public affairs analyst, Ibrahim Gwamna Mshelizza, said the action taken by the ECOWAS on Niger has great consequences to the security in Nigeria.

“It’s happening at a time we were sighting some relief that insurgents around Lake Chad were decimated.

“So, the current movement of ISWAP in the Sahelian region right from Mali down across to Burkina Faso, coming to Niger and up to Nigeria means that Nigerian Armed Forces would have to increase their strength and the number of soldiers.

“So, if before, they were comfortable with using only 5,000 soldiers to confront these terrorists, they now had to double or even triple. And you know what it means, it would affect Nigerian security.

“Also, in terms of resources, it means the nation would have to budget more money in order to fight these people,” he said.

He said that Nigeria needs a lot of diplomatic shuttles and negotiations to change the perception of security and people in Niger and other countries in the multinational joint task force (MNJTF).

“Nigeria would have to embark on a greater or more massive diplomacy to see to it that we win over countries that are in this multinational joint task force together. What I mean here is, we have to convince these people that Nigeria is for them.

“Whether we like it or not, Nigeria had erred, because Tinubu should have realised that he is the president of Nigeria not ECOWAS, so what he should have done first was to consult the National Assembly even before going there to agree and make that pronouncement,” he said.

Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has reinstated the fuel subsidy programme President William Ruto scrapped on September 15, 2022, after his inauguration. 

Upon coming into power, President William Ruto removed fuel and maize flour subsidies put in place by his predecessor, saying he preferred subsidizing production over consumption.

The move was also aimed at cutting government spending as it seeks to get a handle on debt repayments that have forced it to deny market speculation about a possible default.

However, The removal led to increased living costs and violent anti-government protests in recent months.

The Kenyan government has now made a U-turn, saying that it has reinstated subsidy to stabilize retail fuel prices for the next 30 days. 

The EPRA said the Petroleum Development Fund was reinstated to cushion Kenyans from higher fuel costs caused by the doubling of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products from 8 to 16 percent. 

The maximum retail price of a liter (0.26gal) of petrol would remain constant at 194.68 shillings ($1.35), shielding consumers from an increase of 7.33 shillings ($0.05), which the government will shoulder through a price stabilization fund.

The regulator did not provide an explanation for the government’s decision. 

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited has secured a $3 billion emergency crude repayment loan to support the naira and stabilise the foreign exchange market.

NNPC Limited secured the crude-for-cash funding from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

While the details are still sketchy, it was revealed  that the NNPC will repay the loan with crude oil at an interest rate between eight percent and 11 percent.

“The NNPC Ltd. and Afrexim Bank have jointly signed a commitment letter and Termsheet for an emergency $3 billion crude oil repayment loan,” NNPC said in a terse statement on Wednesday.

“The signing, which took place today at the bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, will provide some immediate disbursement that will enable the NNPC Ltd. to support the Federal Government in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate market.”

The loan will save Nigeria from approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for loans, and bring respite to the local currency, which had depreciated significantly against the dollar over the past week.

The naira depreciated on Friday to close the week at an all-time low of N950 to the dollar at the parallel market.

On Monday, President Bola Tinubu met with the acting CBN Governor, Folashodun Shonubi, who said the apex bank will roll out its plans to stabilise the naira.

The local currency appreciated Wednesday, recovering from N950 per dollar to N890 to the greenback.

Nigeria produced an average of 1.255 million barrels of oil daily in July 2023, according to data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has wished former military ruler, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd.) a happy 82nd birthday.

Tinubu congratulated the former military president on his birthday, August 17, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, on Wednesday.

According to the statement, Tinubu said that Babangida served with distinction in several roles in the Nigerian army and reached the pinnacle of his career as Chief of Army Staff, leaving indelible legacy for his heroic defence of our nationhood throughout the Nigerian Civil War.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu shares in the joy of celebration with family members, friends, and associates of Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (Rtd), as the former military President turns 82 on August 17, 2023.

“The President affirms the contributions of Gen. Babangida to national development, which include the creation of many states to strengthen the federal structure, physical infrastructure, the liberalization of the media industry, and other initiatives across the health and defense sectors,” the statement read.

President Tinubu noted the influential position of the former Nigerian leader, who he said has, after 30 years outside of power, consistently remained a voice of wisdom and counsel for many political leaders, both within and outside of Nigeria.

The President then prayed for the continuous well-being of Gen. Babangida and his family.

The names of the ministers who will collaborate with President Bola Tinubu were announced by the Presidency on Wednesday.

The complete list of ministers along with their titles may be found here.

Minister Of Communications, Innovation And Digital Economy: Bosun Tijani

Minister Of State, Environment And Ecological Management: Ishak Salako

Minister Of Finance And Coordinating Minister Of The Economy: Wale Edun

Minister Of Marine And Blue Economy: Bunmi Tunji-Ojo

Minister Of Power: Adebayo Adelabu

Minister Of State, Health And Social Welfare: Tunji Alausa

Minister Of Solid Minerals Development: Dele Alake

Minister Of Tourism: Lola Ade-John

Minister Of Transportation: Adegboyega Oyetola

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Anite

Minister of Innovation Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji

Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha

Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy

Minister of Works, David Umahi

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo

Minister of Youth, Abubakar Momoh

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu

Minister of State, Gas Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo

Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri

Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh

Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike

Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development – Abdullahi Gwarzo

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning- Atiku Bagudu

Minister of State, FCT- Mariga Mahmoud

Minister of State, Water Resources and Sanitation- Bello Goronyo

Minister of Agriculture- Abubakar Kyari

Minister of Education- Tahir Mamman

Minister of Police Affairs- Ibrahim Geidam

Minister of Foreign Affairs – Yusuf Tuggar

Minister of Interior- Saidu Alkali

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare- Ali Pate

Minister of State, Steel and Development- Maigari Ahmadu

Minister of Steel and Development- Shuaibu Audu

Minister of Information and National Orientation- Muhammed Idris

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice- Lateef Fagbemi

Minister of Labour and Employment- Simon Lalong

Minister of State, Police Affairs, Inman Suleiman

Minister of Special Duties- Zephaniah Jisalo

Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation- Joseph Utsev

Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Security- Aliyu Abdullahi

Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy- Hannatu Musawa

Minister of Defence- Muhammed Badaru

Minister of State for Defence- Bello Matawalle

Minister of State, Education- Tanko Sununu

Minister of Housing and Urban Development- Ahmed Dangiwa

The Jibia Local Government Area of the state’s Katsina State Police Command reported that its agents stopped a bandit attack in Korogo village by way of Daddara.

In a statement dated August 15 and distributed on August 16 via the Nigeria Police Force’s X handle (previously Twitter), the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abubakar Aliyu, stated that the operatives found 60 rustled sheep and an AK 47 weapon with 110 rounds of 7.62mm live ammo.

According to the statement, “On the 15th of August, 2023, at about 0009 hrs, the command received a distress call that bandits in their numbers, armed with dangerous weapons such as AK 47 rifles and shooting sporadically, invaded Korogo village via Daddara, Jibia LGA, and rustled sixty (60) sheep.”

It mentioned that the Divisional Police Officer, Jibia, “unhesitantly” gathered the team of police operatives who were able to disengage the bandits after a fierce gun duel.

“Upon receipt of the report, unhesitatingly, the DPO Jibia mobilized a team of Police operatives to the scene and engaged the bandits in a fierce gun duel, as a result of which they were forced to abandon their heinous mission and scamper into the nearby bush.”

It also added that the body of one of the bandits was recovered.

Aliyu said, “While combing the scene, the body of one (1) neutralized suspected bandit, sixty (60) rustled sheep, as well as one AK 47 rifle with one hundred and ten (110) rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, were recovered.”

The PPRO stated that the investigation is still ongoing.

Mali’s military leader Assimi Goita has disclosed what he discussed with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin about the Niger Republic situation, where a junta seized power in a coup last month.

According to Goita, he and Vladimir spoke on the phone on Tuesday, and the Russian leader stressed the importance of a peaceful resolution of the situation.

Putin “stressed the importance of a peaceful resolution of the situation for a more stable Sahel,” Goita said on Twitter.

Western powers fear that Niger could go the same way as neighbouring Mali, whose leaders hired mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group to help them fight an insurgency after they overthrew the democratic government three years ago and kicked out French troops.

Putin has called for a return to constitutional order in Niger, while Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin welcomed the coup.