Buhari backs oil law changes
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has said the country will soon pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), various versions of which have been in the offing for more than 10 years.
Buhari
What we know so far: Militants end ceasefire, Niger Delta attacks resume
Militants have resumed attacks in the Niger Delta region after a brief ceasefire.
Militants attack pipeline day after crucial talks with Buhari
Militants in the Niger Delta have attacked another pipeline a day after regional leaders made a number of demands to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Niger Delta Avengers rejects talks, blow up Chevron well
The Niger Delta Avengers have rejected a call from the Nigerian Government for talks to end a dispute over oil in the region.
Niger Delta Avengers continue attacks, Buhari cancels visit
Militants have launched new attacks in the Niger Delta with President Muhammadu Buhari cancelling a long-awaited visit to the region.
Nigeria seeks to recover $618 million from contractors in probe
A committee set up by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the awarding of security contracts from 2011 to 2015 has found as much as 123 billion naira ($618 million) in fraudulent payments could be recovered, the government said.
Buhari calls for Nigerian banks to fund farming in move away from oil
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has urged banks in his country to boost lending to agriculture as the region looks to diversify away from oil and gas.
Nigeria’s biggest bank targets consumer industry as oil weighs
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Nigeria’s largest lender by market value, said it will target the consumer industry and small to medium-sized companies for growth as a plunge in oil prices and foreign-exchange restrictions limit opportunities in the West African nation.
Buhari’s budget riddled with errors puts graft war in doubt
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2016 budget proposals are riddled with errors and provisions that may undermine his anti-graft war, civic groups say. In some instances, the same purchase of vehicles, computers and furniture are replicated 24 times, totaling 46.5 billion naira ($234 million), 795 million naira is set aside to update the website of one ministry, while no purpose is assigned to a 10 billion naira provision in the education ministry’s spending plan, according to Oluseun Onigbinde, partner and co-founder of BudgIT, a Nigerian group that campaigns for transparency in public spending.
Nigeria puts burden of rebound on fiscal plan as Naira Peg stays
Nigeria’s government is set to carry the burden of boosting the economy as the central bank signaled it won’t ease currency controls that are hurting businesses. President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking to compensate for plunging oil revenue and the slowest growth in 16 years by boosting spending by a fifth to 6.1 trillion naira ($30.6 billion) this year. With Governor Godwin Emefiele on Tuesday resisting pressure to ease foreign-exchange restrictions and devalue the naira, fiscal stimulus may need to take the lead in sparking a rebound.
Lagarde endorses Nigeria’s efforts to tackle corruption
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has endorsed Nigeria’s efforts to tackle corruption in the country. Christine Lagarde said the country needed to reduce its reliance on oil as a sharp drop in prices has already taken its toll on the economy.
EV Insights: Leadership change marks new phase for Nigerian energy industry
Nigerian's went to the ballot box this year to elect a new leader of the West African country.
Nigeria’s $5.5-billion arms scandal tests Buhari’s war on graft
Revelations that top officials are suspected of pilfering the equivalent of almost the entire annual defense budget would cause shock waves in most countries. Not in Nigeria, where the public sees political power and graft as bedfellows. The novelty this time is that President Muhammadu Buhari immediately ordered the arrest of a former national security adviser, after a government commission found that he and other officials allegedly misappropriated as much as $5.5 billion that was supposed to buy equipment to fight Islamist militant group Boko Haram. “I don’t think Nigerians would be very surprised about somebody stealing $5 billion at all,” Boye Gbadebo, a Nigerian national who works as an Africa analyst at consultancy Ake Partners, said by phone from Johannesburg.
Buhari sacks chairman of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency
Nigeria’s President has sacked the head of the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission). Ibrahim Lamorde had been chairman of the country’s anti-corruption agency. It comes after Lamorde denied allegations $5billion had gone missing from the commission back in August.
Nigerian boss arrested as corruption probe widens
The co-chairman of Nigerian independent Atlantic Energy has reportedly been arrested over alleged corruption and money laundering charges. The move comes just days after the former Nigerian oil minister under President Goodluck Jonathan was arrested before being bailed in the UK.
Nigeria must stop using oil as a ‘cash cow’ to buffer economy
Nigeria must stop using its rich oil resources as a 'cash cow' if it is to reform the nation's politics and economy, according to a leading expert.
Former Nigerian oil minister arrested
Nigeria’s former oil minister was arrested in London on Friday, according to reports. Diezani Alison Madueke held the role for five years under the presidency of former leader Goodluck Jonathan. The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) said five people had been arrested across London as part of an investigation into suspected bribery and money laundering offences. It is understood Madueke was granted bail a few hours after being arrested.
Opinion: Oil will make or break the Buhari Presidency in Nigeria
President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to control Nigeria’s oil industry emphasises the significance that the sector has for the country.
Nigerian President will retain country’s oil portfolio in his new cabinet
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said he will hold the country’s oil portfolio in his new cabinet, rather than trust anyone else with the source of most of its revenue. Buhari, who took office earlier this year, has promised to combat corruption and made clear he wants to overhaul the oil sector in Africa’s biggest economy. At an annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week Buhari said he intended to remain as the minister of petroleum resources.
In hunt for missing billions, Buhari targets Nigeria Oil Company
As oil minister during military rule in the 1970s, Muhammadu Buhari oversaw the birth of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. Now, as democratically elected president, he intends to break up the opaque bureaucracy, which manages the oil assets of Africa’s biggest crude producer, to ensure taxpayers get their fair share. History isn’t on his side. “No Nigerian leader, including Buhari himself from the 1980s, has managed to sanitize the oil sector,” said Philippe de Pontet, head of the Africa practice at the Eurasia Group in New York. “Buhari’s challenge is not only to depoliticize NNPC but to disentangle its vested interests and its rogue commercial operations, which won’t be easy.”