Africa Business Radio

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has commended the Senate for re-amending the Electoral Act Amendment Bill giving room for direct, indirect, and consensus options for nominating candidates for the various political parties in the country. They commended the Senate for amending clause 84 regarding the mode of candidate selection in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. They also urged the House of Representatives to do the same by adding the consensus clause. They resolved to engage the organized labour on the best approach to take to avoid causing hardship to citizens concerning the fuel subsidy removal.

Former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar raised concerns over the removal of fuel subsidies. General Abdulsalami says the country is facing challenges on multiple fronts and a fuel subsidy removal will only compound the situation. The Federal Government says it plans to discontinue the payment of fuel subsidy by June but the move has been rejected by several stakeholders, including the Nigeria Labour Congress. General Abdulsalami says Nigeria now faces a food security crisis that is compounded by the COVID-19 global pandemic and the banditry in many states in Northern Nigeria.

US mobile networks AT&T and Verizon have agreed to postpone the rollout of their new 5G service at some airports. The telecoms firms expressed frustration as they bowed to pressure to limit their rollout. AT&T says it was temporarily deferring the rollout at a limited number of towers around certain airport runways adding that regulators had had two years to plan for the start of 5G service. Verizon says it had voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports.

The Finance Ministry says Britain is to crack down on misleading advertisements for crypto assets, which often target retail consumers with poor knowledge of the risks. The finance ministry says that about 2.3 million people in Britain now own a crypto asset, but research suggests that understanding of the sector is declining, suggesting that some users may not fully understand what they are buying. Britain’s finance minister Rishi Sunak says crypto-assets can provide exciting new opportunities, offering people new ways to transact and invest but important that consumers are not being sold products with misleading claims.

The British parliament is expected to debate a motion entitled recognition of Somaliland which has been tabled by MP Gavin Williamson. Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than 30 years ago, but it is not recognised as an independent state by the African Union or the United Nations. Somaliland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the motion and urged Somalilanders in the UK to contact their respective MPs. Local governments in the British cities of Sheffield, Cardiff and Birmingham support Somaliland's independence, but the British government does not.

President Tayyip Erdogan says that he was pleased with the lessening in lira volatility and that the government was working on steps to increase interest in the Turkish currency. State-owned Anadolu news agency reports that the president said the lira will get firmer, interest rates will fall in the same way, and 2022 will be our brightest year. He says they are quite pleased with the lessening volatility in the exchange rate adding that their additional work is continuing on maintaining stability in financial markets and boosting interest in the lira.

The South African government is collaborating with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development to promote the development of green hydrogen in the country. Minister Mondli Gungubele says the German ministry would be supporting the project with at least €12.5 million in funding. Gungubele added that the Investment and Infrastructure Office in the Presidency has also pledged its support to a project by energy giant Sasol and the German government supported the H2Global initiative to produce sustainable aviation fuel to the international community.

Kenya has extended the suspension of all inbound and transit passenger flights from the United Arab Emirates for a further seven days. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, Director General Gilbert Kibe, says this because of the impasse between the two countries which he says is still persisting. The Dubai Aviator regulator had pointed out that the middle eastern country had banned all inbound and transit passenger flights from Kenya because travellers were testing positive for Covid-19 after arrival despite carrying negative test results.

Kenya’s highest court began weighing a legal bid to revive government plans to shake up the country’s political system, just months ahead of crucial elections. The Supreme Court ruling on the proposed constitutional changes, expected after three days of hearings this week, may have major consequences for the August 9 presidential and parliamentary polls. The government is seeking to overturn court rulings that had dealt a blow to President Uhuru Kenyatta and his allies by rejecting the reforms and the way they were introduced as unconstitutional.

The trial of the leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu stalled on Tuesday after he objected to the fresh charges brought against him by the Federal Government. The Federal Government had filed fresh terrorism charges against the detained leader of the proscribed IPOB leader before the Federal High Court. Kanu objected to the fresh charges bordering on treasonable felony and terrorism, against him, increased to 15. The court is now expected to reconvene on Wednesday, January 19, for him to take his plea.

The House of Representatives is set to amend the provision of Direct Primaries in Electoral Act Amendment Bill. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila says the version of the bill circulating is not the same as the version sent to President Muhammadu He says the argument that political parties do not have a proper register of all their members is an indictment of political parties, as he wonders how they are able to conduct elections through direct or indirect methods without a comprehensive register.

The Lagos State Government and transportation stakeholders in the state on Tuesday signed an agreement and officially unveiled the ‘Consolidated Informal Transport Sector Levy’ to harmonise dues collected by the government from commercial motorists at parks and garages across the state. The agreement between the state, local government, and various unions in the sector, as well as some government agencies in Lagos, was signed on Tuesday during a ceremony held in Ikeja. The Commissioner for Finance, Dr Rabiu Olowo, stated that the levy pegged at a flat rate of N800 covers money for not just the local government, but also that of clearing waste from motor parks paid to the Ministry of Transportation, Lagos State Waste Management Authority and Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency.

Nigeria has mapped out strategies to launch a second satellite into orbit to enhance the communications status of the nation. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami stressed that President Mohammadu Buhari has given approval for the purchase of the Satellite. The Minister noted that he had gone further to lobby the Minister of Finance to ensure that this is included in the 2022 Budget, however, did not disclose the amount approved and how many satellites are to be purchased. The minister says he had approved the establishment of some subsidiaries under NIGCOMSAT, as part of the ongoing effort to revive the institution back to the part of progress and productivity.

The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan says that President Muhammadu Buhari has not directed anyone in his administration to implement the removal of petroleum subsidies. The Senate President says that lawmakers are worried about the agitations and protests across the country on the matter, which prompted the discussion with the President. Lawan further questioned the claim that Nigerians consume a hundred million litres of the Premium Motor Spirit daily. The Senate President explained that while it is impossible to consume that much within the boundaries of the country alone, there is a need to critically investigate to discover the truth.

House Speaker Puan Maharani says Indonesia’s parliament has approved a bill to relocate the nation’s capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan on Borneo. The new state capital law, which provides a legal framework for President Joko Widodo’s ambitious proposal, stipulates how the development of the capital will be funded and governed.

Greece has imposed a vaccination mandate for people over age 60, as coverage remains below the European Union average while a recent spike in infections pressures hospitals. Older people failing to get vaccinated will face penalties, starting at a 50-euro fine in January and followed by a monthly fine of 100 euros after that. Health Minister Thanos Plevris says fines would be collected through the tax office with the money to be used to help fund state hospitals. Plevris says the age factor is important because of its impact on the public health service.

A group of 36 UN human rights experts say Taliban leaders in Afghanistan are institutionalising large-scale and systematic gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls. The experts say they are concerned about the continuous and systematic efforts to exclude women from the social, economic, and political spheres across the country. These concerns are exacerbated in the cases of women from ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities such as the Hazara, Tajik, Hindu and other communities whose differences or visibility make them even more vulnerable in Afghanistan.” Taxi drivers have been directed not to pick up female passengers who are not wearing a specific hijab.

Amazon has dropped plans to block UK Visa credit card payments this week, as the two sides continue to try to resolve a dispute over payment fees. Amazon says the expected change regarding the use of Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk will no longer take place on January 19 adding that it was working closely to reach an agreement. Visa however accused Amazon of threatening to restrict consumer choice. Amazon said it was working closely with Visa on a potential solution that will enable customers to continue using their Visa credit cards on Amazon.co.uk.

The long-awaited Pan-African Payments and Settlement System was launched in Accra, Ghana, in a virtual event. The new system allows a buyer in one African country to make payment in his or her national currency and the seller in another country receives payment in their local currency. The Chief Technical Advisor at the AfCFTA Secretariat, Prudence Sebahizi, says the new system will allow a customer or a buyer to make payment in a national currency and the seller will receive the payment in their own currency. He noted that this is way easier and less costly than changing the Kenyan shilling to the US dollar and then converting the US dollar to the Ghanaian cedi, as has been the case.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reprimanded a senior minister after she slammed the constitution and mentally colonised judges in a scathing attack that has fuelled speculation about new rivalries within the ruling party. Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu launched her extraordinary attack on both the judiciary and the constitution in opinion pieces on the Independent Online news site in recent days. Sisulu attacked the ground-breaking post-apartheid constitution, saying that it had has not helped improve the lot of the majority of black South Africans still living in poverty.