Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A Nigerian radio and television station owned by an opposition politician resumed broadcasting Saturday after a court order temporarily overturned a ban imposed for alleged “inflammatory” content and unpaid licence fees. The Federal High Court in the capital Abuja on Friday said African Independent Television (AIT) …
Read More »In Nigeria’s Lagos, aquatic weed plagues waterways
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Traffic jams on the snarled up roads of Nigeria’s megacity of Lagos are legendary, but a growing problem is also clogging up the waterways of Africa’s biggest city — water hyacinths. The spread of the invasive species of fast-growing plant is not only damaging transport links …
Read More »Nigerian President Buhari sworn in for second term
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in for a second term in office on Wednesday, vowing once more to tackle crippling security threats and root out corruption in Africa’s key economy. The 76-year old leader, in power since 2015 and re-elected in February, took the oath …
Read More »Nigeria’s president signs ambitious 2019 budget
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari signed an ambitious budget into law Monday, days ahead of the official start of his second term leading Africa’s largest oil producer. Buhari approved the spending plan worth 8.92 trillion naira — about $29 billion based on the official fixed exchange …
Read More »OIL: Ghost ships of Lagos, a haven of crime
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | The two men in the motorised wooden canoe look around warily as they leave a towering shipwreck in the Lagos lagoon, with the barrels of oil on board barely concealed under rags. The rusting hulk of iron and peeling paint has been battered by the …
Read More »Nigeria vote tensions rise as counting suspended in volatile state
Port Harcourt, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s election authorities announced the suspension of activities in volatile opposition-held Rivers State on Sunday citing violence and threats to its staff, as tensions rise in the wake of closely-watched regional elections. Counting is continuing across the country after Saturday’s elections for governors in 29 …
Read More »Muhammadu Buhari: Nigeria’s anti-corruption president
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015 on a wave of hope that he could defeat Boko Haram Islamists and turn around a country blighted by decades of corruption and poor governance. But while he will go down in history as Nigeria’s first opposition …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari wins another term
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Muhammadu Buhari was on Tuesday re-elected Nigeria’s president, after a delayed poll that angered voters and raised political temperatures, leading to claims of rigging and collusion. Buhari, 76, took an unassailable lead of more than four million votes with the last states yet to be …
Read More »Buhari votes as Nigeria poll day gets underway
Daura, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerians voted for a new president on Saturday after a week-long delay that has raised political tempers, sparked conspiracy claims and stoked fears of violence. Some 120,000 polling stations opened from 0700 GMT, although there were delays in the delivery of some materials and deployment …
Read More »Nigeria vote delay throws wedding plans into chaos
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Jude Ezeanyagu woke up last Saturday morning and texted guests the final reminders about his wedding the following week in Delta state, southern Nigeria. Then he got a reply. “My friend texted me back, ‘Have you not seen the news? They’ve shifted the elections’,” …
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