ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria will reopen for international air travel in a matter of weeks, the aviation minister said on Thursday, without giving a specific date for the resumption after months of closure due to the global coronavirus pandemic.



“It will be in weeks rather than in months,” Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika told a regular briefing in the capital Abuja on coronavirus.



Nigeria began to close its airports in March, a month after Africa’s most populous country confirmed its first coronavirus case. Domestic air travel restarted last month.



The country has 44,890 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 900 deaths, figures from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control show.



Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Paul Carsten; editing by Barbara Lewis

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Nigeria to reopen for international air travel in weeks

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos will allow churches and mosques to resume in-person services from August 7, the state’s governor said in a press briefing on Saturday.



Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also said restaurants, social clubs and recreational centres will be allowed to reopen with limited capacity from August 14 as the state, the epicentre of Nigeria’s coronavirus outbreak, eases restrictions despite a continued rise in infections.



Lagos state, home to the megacity of the same name with 20 million people, has more than 15,000 confirmed cases and 192 deaths, by far the largest share of Nigeria’s 43,151 cases.



It ordered widespread closures and a lockdown in March to halt the spread of the highly infectious virus.



The lockdown was eased in early May, but Sanwo-Olu scuppered plans to reopen churches and mosques in June, citing a continued rise in cases.



Christianity and Islam are widely practised in Lagos and the rest of Nigeria, and houses of worship in normal times often host services with thousands of people.



Houses of worship will only be allowed to open for services once a week at no more than 50% capacity. Sanwu-Olu also increased the limit on public gatherings from 20 to 50 people.



Nightclubs, cinemas and some arcades will remain closed.

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Nigeria’s Lagos to allow places of worship to reopen: governor

LAGOS/ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; As women in hairnets and anti-coronavirus masks sort through folded nappies coming off a conveyor belt, the head of the Nigerian firm they work for wonders how much longer he can afford to keep them in employment.



Around 80% of the materials that go into Lagos-based diaper and sanitary towel manufacturer Wemy’s products are imported. To buy them, Paul Odunaiya needs dollars, which he can no longer find.



“We’re pleading with our suppliers to wait a bit longer so that we can source dollars and pay them,” Odunaiya told Reuters.



With the price of oil, Nigeria’s main export, depressed and foreign exchange reserves dwindling, its central bank is hanging on to its dollars to support the local naira &#8211; leaving a dwindling supply of hard currency to buy the imports that are the bedrock of Africa’s largest economy.



Muda Yusuf, director general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, said that, like Odunaiya, the dollar shortage is hitting most of its 2,000 members hard.



“If the situation persists it will lead to lay-offs,” he said. “If you are not producing, there will be a shortage of goods in the market, prices will go up.”



Inflation has risen for 10 straight months, hitting a two-year high of 12.56% in June, piling on greater economic hardship for a population of whom 40% already live below the official poverty line of 137,430 naira ($382) per year.



Added to that, there have been two devaluations of the naira’s official rate this year.



With the oil market depressed by a producer price war and the pandemic-induced global recession, central bank reserves have fallen 20% in the past year to $36.1 billion, around five months of import cover.



The bank initially sought to stem the decline by suspending dollar auctions in March and continues to severely ration their supply.



“It’s been excruciating,” said Fred Ameobi, executive director of Coscharis Group, a conglomerate whose businesses include automobile assembly.



The government says the economy could shrink by up to 8.9% in 2020, while many of the local banks that Nigerian companies rely on have seen their dollar credit lines halted by international lenders who fear they won’t be paid back.



Many firms have resorted to the black market, where the naira trades at around 20% below the official rate, making dollar purchases even more expensive.



For now Odunaiya, whose firm had year to March turnover of 2.5 billion naira, sees only hard times ahead. “It’s going to be a tough year &#8230; Some businesses will die.”

Why Printing Trillions of Dollars May Not Cause Inflation

Starved of dollars, Nigerian businesses struggle for survival

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigerian banks plan to reduce the amount customers can spend abroad using debit cards on Monday, two lenders said, as banks try to limit foreign currency settlement risk.



The country is facing dollar shortages because of the sharp fall in the price of oil, Nigeria’s main export, and domestic banks are trying to avoid transactions with hard currency.



Stanbic IBTC Bank (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/IBTC.LG">IBTC.LG</a>), the local unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/SBKJ.J">SBKJ.J</a>), said it will halve the spending limit for offshore card transactions to $500 per month from Monday and will limit cash withdrawals to $100.



Another top tier lender Zenith Bank (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/ZENITHB.LG">ZENITHB.LG</a>) said it will temporarily suspend the use of debit cards abroad for cash withdrawals and cut the monthly spending limit abroad by more than half to $200.



“This review is in response to today’s economic realities,” Zenith said in a notice, advising clients to request prepaid dollar cards.



Other lenders — Ecobank (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/ETI.LG">ETI.LG</a>) and Fidelity Bank (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/FIDELIT.LG">FIDELIT.LG</a>) — have also lowered withdrawal limits for individuals while abroad.



Such moves have previously been at the behest of the central bank, but it was not clear if the regulator was behind the latest action. The central bank did not respond to a request for comment.



The bank is battling to conserve dollar reserves that are down 19% from a year ago. Last week it depreciated the currency on the official market&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/currencies/quote?srcCurr=NGN&amp;destCurr=USD">NGN=</a>&nbsp;prompting the naira to weaken on the black and over-the-counter spot markets.



Bankers told Reuters that it now takes more than six months to settle foreign lines of credit.



Nigeria is yet to resume forex sales to retail currency traders after it banned international travel as part of a lockdown measure to slow the spread of the coronavirus that has killed 778 people and infected more than 36,000.

Nigerian banks to limit debit card spending abroad to ease FX risk

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said on Sunday he had tested positive for COVID-19, and became the first member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet to contract the new coronavirus.



Onyeama, 64, said on Twitter he had taken a COVID-19 test because of a throat irritation.



“Did my fourth Covid-19 test yesterday at the first sign of a throat irritation and unfortunately this time it came back positive,” he tweeted. “Heading for isolation in a health facility and praying for the best.”



Buhari’s cabinet has been conducting executive council meetings virtually as part of measures to keep the government working while abiding by social distancing rules.



The government started a phased easing of lockdowns in May after implementing measures to slow the spread of the virus, which has killed 778 people in Nigeria and infected more than 36,000.



Onyeama has played a role in repatriating Nigerians stranded because of travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.



Buhari’s former chief of staff, Abba Kyari, died in April from the novel coronavirus, making him the most high profile person in the country to die from the viru

Central Bank of Nigeria cuts benchmark lending rate to 12.5%

Nigerian Foreign Minister Onyeama tests positive for coronavirus

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s gross revenues rose to 653.35 billion naira ($1.7 billion) in June from 517.8 billion naira in May due to higher crude and tax receipts, accountant general Ahmed Idris said, as oil prices recovered from April’s crash.



The coronavirus outbreak early this year prompted a sharp fall in oil prices, Nigeria’s main export, slashing government revenues, weakening its currency and creating a large financing gap for the country.



The global benchmark Brent LCOc1 has since recovered to about $43 a barrel from a 21-year low below $16 in April.



OPEC member Nigeria relies on crude oil sales for two-thirds of government revenue.



The government generated 42.83 billion naira from exchange rate gains, it said in a statement. Income from crude sales and value added tax (VAT) made up the bulk of gross revenues.



Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed has pushed for the central bank to unify its multiple exchange rates so that the government can generate more naira from its crude receipts.



In February, Nigeria increased VAT to 7.5% from 5% to boost revenues, seen among the lowest in the world. Lower government revenue could worsen Nigeria’s debt to revenue ratio this year from a year earlier.

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Nigeria’s revenues rise in June on higher oil, tax receipts

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria hopes changes it has made to gold mining regulation will earn the government $500 million a year in royalties and taxes and create 250,000 jobs, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday.



The reforms have made artisanal mining legal and will create gold buying centres and tax trade of the precious metal, Buhari said in a statement.



“These operations will help in diversifying our revenue base,” said Buhari.



Nigerian authorities have said illegal mining, prominent in the northwest, has fuelled widespread violence they attribute to “bandits”. Thousands of people have been killed in the region in recent years and swathes of the region are inaccessible. The military is deployed to tackle the insecurity but the conflict shows little sign of ending.



The extra revenues from gold could be a lifeline as the coronavirus pandemic and resulting global oil price crash cut off much of the state’s income.



Buhari said the country has lost a total of $3 billion from 2012 to 2018 because of illegal gold mining.



In February, Nigeria licensed two gold refineries mainly to produce gold for the central bank to hold in its reserves but also for export. The bank received its first locally-produced gold bar on Thursday.



Nigeria has largely untapped deposits of 44 minerals including gold, iron ore, coal, tin and zinc, in more than 500 locations, but mining makes up just 0.3% of the economy

Investors rushing for gold amid COVID-19 fears

Nigeria hopes gold mining reforms can bring in $500 million a year

Africa needs to spend 28.6 billion-a-year until 2030 to have any hope of to closing Africa’s yawning energy gap, but it is unclear where the money will come from.



Most Africans live without electricity as most nations struggle to generate the electricity the continent’s emerging economies need. South Africa’s national power generator Eskom – with a struggling national grid putting out 40,000 MW &#8211; generates half of the continent’s electricity. Even South Africa struggles to keep the lights on and countries with tiny electricity, like Malawi, struggle even more and find it an obstacle to growth. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Nigerian Damilola Ogunbiyi, the special representative for sustainable energy foraAll and Co-Chair of United Nations-Energy, confirmed that the energy gap in Africa was huge and would need at least $28.6 billion-a-year, until 2030, to close it. She told CNBC Africa that the question was how to gather the money.



“We need everything on the table. We need public sector support and also private money to come in. There can’t be one source of money. We need to convince private investors that putting power into Africa it is an investment,” says Ogunbiyi. &nbsp;



“I think what this pandemic has taught us is that if we don’t work together, then everyone is going to suffer. &nbsp;



Ogunbiyi was encouraged greatly by the electrification programme in the country of her birth. She said five million Nigerians, in rural areas, had been connected to solar power.



“In a large scale oil energy producing nation, that is not bad,” she says

Damilola Ogunbiyi_Headshot

How we can  close the 28 billion dollar-a-year energy gap in Africa

LAGOS/ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Early one evening, Folasade Fadare and her team of four disease hunters piled into a van and headed for Okegun, a rural community down a narrow potholed road in eastern Lagos state.



A coronavirus patient had visited the area, and it was their task to find anyone exposed, isolate them and trace their contacts. The team quickly realised the job was too big: more than 100 people needed to be interviewed and tested.



Ultimately, only the two sickest people, feverish and gasping for air, were sent to hospital to be isolated and tested. The rest were told what symptoms to watch for and urged to stay home for two weeks.



“We are not enough,” said Fadare, an epidemiologist who has battled Ebola and Lassa fever for more than 20 years.



Contact tracers like Fadare are among the few safeguards standing between Africa’s fragile public health systems and a pandemic that could quickly overwhelm them. Infections are rising, but many governments have been easing lockdowns to save their economies.



In Nigeria, medics who do tracing say they are near breaking point.



Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have increased tenfold to over 32,000 since the government began easing restrictions in May, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says. At least 740 have died.



Lagos, Nigeria’s largest state and epicentre of its outbreak, has 200 tracers for a population of 25 million. That is fewer than one per 100,000 people, compared to around 14 per 100,000 in Turkey.



The state’s health commissioner, Akin Abayomi, dismissed concerns about the scale of its tracing efforts.



“We recruit contact tracers as necessary. We have a large pool of primary health care staff and volunteers to select from,” he said in a text message, adding there were 1,000 people in the pool.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">POLIO NETWORK</h3>



Nigeria’s experience with infectious diseases meant it could quickly mobilize veteran epidemiologists like Fadare along with hundreds of medics and community volunteers already embedded in remote communities to fight polio.



But nothing prepared them for this epidemic, Fadare said. More than 12,400 cases have been confirmed in Lagos state alone &#8211; any one potentially infecting scores of others, she said. Members of her team say they are overwhelmed, receiving updates about infected people as late as midnight.



Unlike South Korea and Singapore, which used contact tracing apps, Nigeria has had to resort to more labour-intensive methods. Only a quarter of the population uses smartphones.



A team of medics is tasked to visit each contact to verify symptoms, identify contacts and ask them to stay at home for 14 days. The team then checks in with the person each day by phone, to monitor compliance. If the person reports symptoms, they will be referred to another team for testing.



However, the stigma associated with COVID-19 means many are keen to avoid tracers, Fadare said. People commonly turn off their phones, deny their identity and lie about when they last saw coronavirus patients.Slideshow&nbsp;(4 Images)



Such fears can be justified. In Abuja, one man’s neighbours moved out after he was tested. Others suspected of being infected have been told to leave, said Ramatu Abdu-Aguye, head of tracing in the capital.



So the teams keep a low profile, using unmarked vans to visit homes.



Nigeria’s low testing rates are making the tracers’ job harder, they say. Just over 183,000 tests have been conducted in a country of 200 million, according to the NCDC. A government target announced in April was for 2 million tests by the end of July.



Olujimi Oyetomi, a Nigerian health ministry spokesman, said more testing machines and materials were being deployed.



Adding to the challenges, 10 tracers working for Fadare contracted COVID-19 and had to take up to three weeks off.



As lockdowns ease, many Nigerians are moving around and ignoring safety measures.



Traffic jams have returned to Lagos, increasing the time it takes tracers to reach contacts, many of whom are already hard to find because their homes have no formal address.



Outside the Lagos clinic where Fadare’s teams meet, life goes on as normal. Men sit around on plastic chairs, women sell instant noodles, and yellow minibuses weave through the streets. Nobody keeps their distance, and those who wear masks pull them down to speak.



Fadare fears they don’t realise the danger: “The truth is that we are all at risk now.”

Nigerian virus hunters in race against COVID-19 in Africa’s giant

OSLO (Reuters) &#8211; Pirates attacked an oil production vessel off Nigeria in the early hours of Thursday and kidnapped nine Nigerian nationals, the ship’s owner BW Offshore said.



The Sendje Berge ship was undergoing maintenance when the attack happened, BW Offshore’s Chief Financial Officer Staale Andreassen told Reuters.



The Oslo-listed company said none of the people remaining on the vessel were injured.



“We are working now with the Nigerian authorities to get those nine people safely back,” Andreassen added.



The vessel, a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) that can produce about 50,000 barrels per day, was working at the Okwori oilfield operated by Addax Petroleum, a part of China’s Sinopec Group.



A maritime security firm Dryad Global, citing unidentified reports, said the attack involved three boats and explosives, making it unusual.



Andreassen said he could not confirmed that a number of boats had been involved, but denied that explosives were used during the attack.

My beautiful picture

Pirates kidnap nine in attack on vessel off Nigeria, says ship owner

ABUJA/LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; A sharp rise in Nigeria’s sovereign debt and a ballooning financing gap could trigger a rating downgrade as policymakers in Africa’s biggest economy struggle to deal with the fallout from a coronavirus-induced oil price crash, a director at Fitch said.



The global ratings agency downgraded Nigeria to “B” in April with a negative outlook from “B+” citing aggravation of pressure on external finances.



Moody’s said in April it would likely downgrade the country if the government was unable to alleviate the damage to its revenue and balance sheet. S&amp;P cut Nigeria’s rating in March on weakening external finances.



Nigeria &#8211; also Africa’s top oil exporter &#8211; is under increasing pressure to stimulate growth and cut debt after its first quarter current account turned negative, overvaluing its naira currency. The oil price slump has slashed government revenues.



“We have two elements that could lead us to take a negative rating action/downgrade on Nigeria. Aggravation of external liquidity pressures and a sharp rise in government debt to revenues ratio,” Mahmoud Harb, sovereign ratings director at Fitch, told Reuters.



The debt to revenue ratio for Nigeria is set to worsen to 538% by the end of 2020, from 348% a year earlier, before improving slightly next year, Harb said. The medium debt ratio for “B” rated countries is 350%, he said.



Nigeria will need $23 billion to meet its external financing needs this year, Fitch estimates, noting that the country only has few options, including running down its reserves, after shelving plans to issue Eurobonds.



Abuja’s foreign currency reserves could fall to $23.3 billion this year if foreign exchange access is normalised, Harb said, from around $36 billion.



Nigeria has been restricting access since the pandemic to boost the naira, similar to a step it took when oil prices crashed in 2015, which worsened a 2016 recession.



The central bank is yet to provide currency to investors that need to leave Nigeria, weakening sentiment. Analysts estimate that around $2 billion needs to exit Nigeria.



Nigeria could avoid a ratings downgrade if it strengthens its finances, reforms its forex policy and shows a path to reducing its deficit by boosting non-oil revenues, Fitch’s Harb said.

Nigeria’s rating at risk as debt, financing gap rise-Fitch

My colleague Wale sees me return to the office from the site late one afternoon and then says to everyone, &#8220;Hey, Paul is back; let&#8217;s ask him what he thinks on our discussions this morning&#8221;.



Wale is quite witty, funny and knowledgeable about things; so immediately, my attention is spiked.



&nbsp;&#8220;If you were paid N1.5 million per month, would you be able to save up to N1 million every month?&#8221; he asks.



The response that comes out of my mouth is: &#8220;Why not N1.2 million&#8221;?



The entire room goes silent as everyone seems to expect me to answer differently



&#8220;Why do you have to spend as much as N500,000 every month on yourself? In my mind, I wondered, &#8220;One needs a plan to scale-up their financial flexibility,&#8221; I add.



I could never &nbsp;fathom why mostly young, unmarried guys and a few newly-weds, saw the need to spend N500,000 a month on living expenses, if they earned up to N1.5 million (roughly $3,947) monthly (which, by the way, is above the average income).



Well, long story short, a lot of my colleagues disagreed me, saying higher earnings mean more expenses. This sounds logical. However, do we really spend more on our needs, or on our wants? And do we find that we tend to spend more only when we have disposable cash, but spend less and still get by just fine when we’re seemingly out of disposable cash?



One fundamental factor that keeps the middleclass in the middle class is the continuous lack of self-discipline to live within their means, work with a budget, and consistently invest in well-designed schemes to scale up their financial flexibility.



I concur that saving substantially with a salary within the range of N100,000 &#8211; N200,000 ,which is the average income of Nigeria’s younger middleclass, might be tough, but not impossible. I believe that whether you earn N100,000 or N1 million monthly, with the desire to save, you will. Married or single, it all comes down to having a plan and sticking to it.



If you make irresponsible financial decisions, you will pay sooner than later. If you keep being overly generous,(when you really can&#8217;t afford it, one day, you&#8217;ll become broke, and those same people you were &#8220;helping&#8221; will accuse you of spending foolishly. Some of them might even abandon or mock you.



In personal finance, don’t cut your coat according to your size but according to your cloth. Societal pressures shouldn’t determine your spending habit. Understand that there&#8217;s nothing wrong if you&#8217;re the only one among your friends who uses an Android phone. You could also be the only one among them who can afford to make a N1 million in emergency spending. Appearances can be deceiving, and mostly are. You don&#8217;t have to look rich when you know you aren&#8217;t. There’s no wisdom in that. Create a realistic plan and work your way to real financial flexibility. And even if you make mistakes, don’t be too discouraged to try again. Put in the hard work to get it right; and you will.



Chukwubuikem Paul Anunaso, is a civil/structural engineer and writer in Lagos, Nigeria.

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OPINION: “You don’t have to look rich when you know you aren’t”  Why Nigerians should save.

While hosting <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/04/09/afdb-announces-10bn-war-chest-to-fight-covid-19/">African Development Bank</a> (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina on a courtesy visit at State House on Tuesday, Nigerian President <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/06/01/grading-buharis-economic-performance-over-the-past-5-years/">Muhammadu Buhari</a> said the country will support Adesina in his bid to get re-elected as President of the multilateral bank.



This follows several <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/west-africa/2020/06/01/stop-this-culture-of-frivolous-allegations-former-world-bank-treasurer-arunma-oteh-defends-african-development-bank-president/">allegations of misconduct</a> against Adesina at the financial institution, of which he has denied.



The following statement provides further details:



PRESIDENT BUHARI TO AfDB PRESIDENT, ADESINA: I’LL STAND BY YOU



President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria will stand solidly behind Dr Akinwumi Adesina in his bid to get re-elected as President of the African Development Bank (AfDB)



The President spoke at State House, Abuja, Tuesday, while hosting Dr Adesina on a courtesy visit.



“In 2015, when you were to be elected for the first term, I wrote to all African leaders, recommending you for the position. I didn’t say because you were a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Minister, and I belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC), so I would withhold my support. I’ll remain consistent with you, because no one has faulted the step I took on behalf of Nigeria,” said President Buhari.



The President pledged that Nigeria would work with all other leaders and stakeholders in AfDB to ensure that Dr Adesina was elected for a second term built on the record of his achievements during his first term.



The African Union had already endorsed the incumbent AfDB President as sole candidate for the continent, but some other stakeholders are trying to ensure that Dr Adesina is re-investigated on some allegations, and rendered ineligible to run.



Giving a background to what was happening in the bank, Dr Adesina, a former Nigerian Minister for Agriculture, said the 16 allegations raised against him were trumped up, “and without facts, evidence, and documents, as required by the rules and regulations of the bank.”



He added that the Ethics Committee of the bank cleared him of all the allegations, and calls for fresh investigation by the United States of America, were against the rules.



“My defense ran into 250 pages, and not a single line was faulted or questioned. The law says that report of the Ethics Committee should be transmitted to the Chairman of Governors of the bank. It was done, and the governors upheld the recommendations. That was the end of the matter, according to the rules. It was only if I was culpable that a fresh investigation could be launched. I was exonerated, and any other investigation would amount to bending the rules of the bank, to arrive at a predetermined conclusion,” Dr Adesina said.



Stressing that the motive was to soil his name, and that of the bank, the AfDB President said he was proud to be Nigerian, and thanked President Buhari for his unflinching support.



“You helped me to get elected in the first place, and you have supported me robustly all along, and the African Union unanimously endorsed my re-election” he declared.



While commiserating with President Buhari on the death of the former Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, Dr Adesina described Professor Ibrahim Gambari, new Chief of Staff as “a man of integrity, and of global standing.”

President Buhari to AfDB President Adesina: “I’ll stand by you”

Former World Bank Treasurer Arunma Oteh has gone into bat for her former colleague Akunwumi Adesina the under pressure president of the African Development Bank. Oteh &#8211; now an academic scholar at the University of Oxford- spoke to Kenneth Igbomor of CNBC Africa’s Lagos bureau.



CNBC Africa: Your take on the recent developments at the African Development Bank?



Arunma Oteh:“Indeed I’ve worked for the African Development Bank for 17 years in a variety of roles and also as you’ve mentioned, most recently as Group Treasurer for the World Bank for little over 3 years.  I do think that the issues that has developed are unfortunate. Particularly because of the difficult times that the world is facing in respect to Covid-19. Also I’ve known Dr Adesina, the President of African Development Bank for several years and I can attest to the fact that he’s not only a great leader but he is a man of upmost integrity.



Most recently, when he was Minister of Agriculture, I was the Director-General of the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission in Nigeria, and he and his team worked with my team and I on leveraging the capital markets to transform the agricultural sector of Nigeria.&nbsp; But I think also important is that we cannot lose sight of the fact that the African Development Bank and multilateral banks generally add credible institutions and highly rated in parts because of the best practice governance and stringent processes. In fact the African Development Bank has more rigorous processes in many cases then some of the other development banks. So let’s take one issue is a critical governance issue which is a selection process for the leadership of the bank.



If you take for example the Asian Development Bank, its President has always been Japanese – its largest shareholder. The World Bank – whose largest shareholder is the United States – the President has always been since 1947 when the World Bank has been established – has always been an American. For the African Development Bank it’s different. The process is a competitive, rigorous process that allows any candidates endorsed by their own country from any of today’s 55 African countries to contest for the elections.



Indeed, Dr Adesina is the first Nigerian that has ever been President of the African Development Bank since its founding. Even though Nigeria is its largest shareholder and so for 50 years because of this process that allows all of the shareholders that are African to submit a candidature, it is a much more rigorous and competitive process.



I was in my last role at the African Development Bank &#8211; Vice President of Corporate Services, and therefore as Vice President of Corporate Services because I was responsible for human resources, for Information Technology, for Administration, for Procurement, for Language Services, and had administrative oversight of the offices around the continent. So I was very involved in hiring processes in procurement and I can also attest to the fact that these processes are by design and by practice very rigorous and involve several levels of decision making.



So by the time something gets to the desk of the President of the African Development Bank it’s gone through rigorous processes. There is also feedback mechanisms to continue to ensure that these governance and best practices and processes remain best practice. I think also important to highlight is that Multilateral Development Banks have been the bastion of collective decision making processes at all levels, I mean if you’re hiring somebody there’s a multi-disciplinary team across departments that get in the selection process – there are different levels in the hiring process. If you take – and for me it’s very representative of one of the essence of what Africa brings to the table – collective collaborative decision making.&nbsp; And if you take for example the fight that I think was had in either January or February that the African shareholders decided through the African Union, through the heads of state that they would endorse Dr Adesina as their sole candidate for the elections which I hear will be held in August this year.



His two predecessors were also re-elected by acclamation. So this principle of collective decision making of best practice – governance practice &#8211; is something that’s associated with the African Development Bank and other development banks. I have had the privilege working in a variety of roles, rising through the ranks. I’ve worked as a loan officer, for West &amp; North Africa as a funding officer, as a portfolio manager, I’ve ran the trading route, I was Treasurer of the African Development Bank, I was Group Vice President of Corporate Services so I’ve worked in operations, I’ve worked in Treasury, I’ve worked in administration.



But as you’ve also mentioned I’ve also worked at the World Bank, most recently from 2015 to 2018. And I can assure you the Multilateral Development Banks are absolutely an amazing institution. They are well-run and they have great impact on society as people have seen and in particularly on the African continent. What I don’t like about them is this pattern of making frivolous allegations of a sitting President just before an election.



I’ve worked with three presidents from 1992 to 2009 when I left the African Development Bank and each of them experienced this. I’ve worked with the President at the African Development Bank (at the World Bank) and he also experience this. So the shareholders must find a way to try and make sure that they stop this issue of these frivolous allegations in trying to undermine the leadership of an institution that’s trying to make a difference on the continent.”



CNBC Africa: I am still trying to understand type of signaling that it gives on the state of governance systems for AAA premise to show, like the African Development Bank, to take the option of an independent probe on cause of a shareholder after the conclusion of the same process by the board of governance.



Arunma Oteh: “What I would like to share with you is that first and foremost, there are rigorous processes and by the time something gets to the board of Directors and the ethics committee has reviewed it; it’s gone through a lot of processes. So I have no doubt that the work of the board ethics committee has been rigorous. But I think we need to go back to something that is unique in terms of the context of the establishment of the African Development Bank. I don’t know if you know this, it was conceptualized by African financial luminaries led by Romeo Horton – the late governor of the Central Bank of Liberia in the 1960s. Their vision was to establish a first class African Institution that will mobilize resources for Africa.



It was also one that ensures that Africa has a leading voice in its economic development. African Development Bank started its operations I think in 1964. It was a decade later that non-African countries joined through the establishment of the African Development Fund which was modelled after the World Bank Group’s international development association. The non-African countries did not join the bank until 1982. So almost two decades later. That said the African Development Bank remains an institution where everybody comes together to focus as a group in advancing Africa’s economic development agenda.



And today I know that there are 81 shareholders. Last year, in that collaborative and cooperative nature there was a replenishment of the fund, there was a capital increase.&nbsp; And I think this is a show of confidence not just by African countries but also by the non-African country shareholders of the excellent work that Dr Adesina and his team have undertaken in the last 5 years. I, of course have looked on with interest and their many, many achievements. Transforming the power sector, revolutionizing agriculture, but importantly putting youth and women at the centre of development. I’ve been struck also by some of the very important initiatives that catalyze resources by the private sector that bring partnerships between the public sector and the private sector. Initiative like the African Investment Forum, which in a short term has catalyzed a lot of resources for the African Development Bank and for Africa’s development more so.



But it’s also focused on trying to make sure that those issues that prevent the acceleration of Africa’s development at tackled that government, private sector and the honest brokers, development banks like the African Development Bank, like the Europe Investment Bank, like IBRD, the Development Finance Cooperation of the United States that they all at the table trying to make sure that the environment that support Africa’s development is taken account of.



I’ve also been struck that this has not distracted Dr Adesina and his leadership team because I’ve seen what they have done in respect to responding and supporting African countries in response to the Covid-19 crises. And I do think that this is extremely important given the difficult times that we face. Permit me to also use this opportunity given to appeal to shareholders and particularly to the Ministers of finance who comprises, who gather the most senior decision-making body of the African Development Bank, the board of governance to speedily bring closure to this issue so that Dr Adesina and his team continue to do the great work that they’ve been doing in supporting African countries at this critical time. I mean these are unprecedented times in terms of the Covid-19. Dr Adesina is someone of the highest integrity. His track record over his 35year career shows that.



The African Development Bank has always had rigor, continues to improve its governance practices, a board, the leadership of the institution, the various organs, the independent mechanisms within the organization, the internal auditor, the inspection mechanisms that report directly to the board. So these institutions are rigorous in terms of cooperative governance. I was the head of the Capital Market Regulator in Nigeria so issues of cooperative governance, understanding where private sector institutions stand. The quality of governance of these institutions are extremely world class and particularly the African Development Bank.



So my appeal really is that we dispense of this issue. That we stop this culture of frivolous allegations around the times of elections. And allow the African Development Bank to support the African continent at this important time.”



CNBC Africa: I would like to look at Nigeria now as the bank’s largest shareholder and try to understand the level recommendations you would have for the Nigerian authorities if they going to response to this issue.”



Arunma Oteh:“I think there is a lot put out by the media and I think that’s one the things that is a bit unfortunate that because of social media there is a lot of amplification of issues. So issues that the governors would’ve taken care of themselves than come out in the media then all of us get to talk about it. So in the media the absolutely well-articulated letter that the minister of finance Ms Zainab Ahmed wrote to the chair of the board of the governor, so the Minister of Planning for Ivory Coast, and she clearly articulates what is clear and I don’t think it’s just a Nigerian position I think that is a position of anybody who understands the governance processes of institutions, Multilateral Development Banks. So I think Nigeria has taken the steps that it should take. I think even important is the collaborative nature in the way that African nation operate because I understand that these allegations were made in January. I think in early February the African Union, chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa, still endorsed Dr Adesina for the elections. The 55 African countries all of them together. And these people will not endorse who they think is not of integrity, who they think have made riches.



So my message is that we need to allow Africa to turn this Covid-19 crises into an opportunity. There is a lot of work that need to be done. There’s a lot of issues to manage. And this is my message to you, to Nigeria, to Africans, to the non-Africans who have been extremely supportive of this institution including the United States which is the second largest shareholder of the African Development Bank.”

Arunma Oteh on Adesina’s probe & why COVID-19 represents an opportunity for Africa

“Stop this culture of frivolous allegations” former World Bank Treasurer Arunma Oteh defends African Development Bank President

By Uzoma Dozie, Chief Sparkler



Nigerians are some of the world’s most creative, energetic, and entrepreneurial people. We are rich with talent, enthusiasm, and passion.



Nigerians are a global force bursting with potential and an enviable track record of success. But in a more complex and fast-paced world than ever before, many of us struggle to find the time or have the ability to fulfil their potential.



Ultimately, this comes down to the lack of effective solutions in the market to support the lifestyle and finances of Nigerians and our businesses. For too long, we have been underserved by the traditional physical retail environment, which is limited by bricks and mortar infrastructure and legacy technology – the weaknesses of which have been laid bare by the Covid-19 global pandemic.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Unlocking Nigeria’s digital economy</h2>



While Nigerians are being underserved by current circumstances, there is also an exciting opportunity to start filling a gap in the market.



Nigeria’s digital economy is thriving, but it remains informal. Nigeria has a population of 198 million people – 172 million have a mobile phone and 112 million have internet access.



Many of us access social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram through our phones and use them as valuable sales tools, especially female entrepreneurs. Data and digital applications have the potential to revolutionize the daily lives of millions of Nigerians.



Therefore, new digital-only solutions are required. These should not just focus on finances though – they have to be intrinsically linked with everyday lifestyles, rather than thinking about linear processes and transactional outcomes.



Let us take one example. Chatbots powered by artificial intelligence have long been used to provide financial advice. But these chatbots could do so much more and evolve to provide support for more sophisticated usage, such as a personal adviser or lifestyle concierge.



Furthermore, these solutions should not just support Nigerians at home, but the ever-growing diaspora across the world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Introducing Sparkle</h2>



The opportunity to play an integral role in transforming Nigeria’s digital economy and lead the charge in growing the digital economy across Africa inspired the creation of Sparkle.



Sparkle was founded with five core values – freedom, trust, simplicity, inclusivity, and personalisation. We are adopting these values and embedding them in everything we do.



We will be leveraging technology and data to create and apply new digital-only solutions which bring more Nigerians into the formal economy thereby benefitting government, businesses, and individuals.



Starting with the launch of a current account, we will co-create with our customers and collaborate with our partners to improve our services and increase our user base. We embrace collaboration and we are working with some of the world’s biggest companies, including Google, Microsoft, Visa, and PwC Nigeria, to achieve our vision.



In addition, we want to create a more inclusive economy and break down barriers by accelerating the role and influence of female entrepreneurs, many of whom already operate in the informal economy with the help of Instagram and other social media apps.



At present, we are facing a global crisis in the shape of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has shown us that we need a strong digital infrastructure to ensure the economy continues to function. It will likely completely change the way we operate and conduct business in the future.



COVID-19 has only reinforced our belief that new digital solutions like Sparkle are required now more than ever before to serve Nigerians, boost the formal economy, and unlock potential in the digital age.

Op-Ed: Supporting the ICT sector in Africa as a cure for the economic crisis

Op-Ed – Uzoma Dozie: How Nigerians can unlock their potential in the digital age

By Chris Bishop



Scores of countries across Europe celebrated VE – Victory in Europe day – today to mark the end of World War Two that saw the slaughter of tens of millions of people of all creeds and colours from the deserts of North Africa to the snows of Scandinavia.



This is a good time also for Africa to reflect on it sacrifice between 1939 and 1945 that also acted as a catalyst for change on the continent. One million people took up arms in Africa to fight the crushing power of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy. South Africa recruited more than 300,000 men – around 70,000 of them black South Africans who fought, worked and died usually unsung. The rush to the colours was staggering in some African nations – Botswana, then called Bechuanaland, asked for a couple of thousand army volunteers from its far flung villages and saw 10,000 recruits in just over a month. When I wrote a story on those men, in 2000, most then in their late 70s, many had kept proudly their uniforms and war medals and could still salute smartly as any parade ground peacock.



Tens of thousands never came back. Many of the black riflemen who fought hand-to-hand with the enemy received little reward, maybe a new suit and a bicycle, and often died in poverty.



One such overlooked hero was Job Maseko from KwaThema, in Springs near Johannesburg. He was a delivery man in his home town and joined up in the then Native Military Corps. &nbsp;Following his basic training he was shipped to North Africa, in 1942, to face General Erwin Rommel’s tough Afrika Korps that had the allies on the run.



On June 21 1942 Rommel’s tanks swept into Tobruk capturing thousands of allied soldiers including more than 10,000 troops of the South African 2nd Infantry Division. Among the 30,000 prisoners was Lance Corporal Job Maseko.



Italian troops held the black South African soldiers under guard and by all accounts treated them poorly. This angered the feisty Lance Corporal Maseko who swore revenge against his enemy captors. They forced Maseko to work loading an Italian military supply ship. He took a milk tin and filled it with cordite and a fuse. With the help of his fellow prisoners he placed it among petrol drums deep down in the ship and blew it sky high – a big blow to the enemy war effort.



Generals recommended Maseko for a Victoria Cross – the highest award for gallantry in wartime regardless of rank – but the colour of his skin counted against him, in their eyes. Instead, they awarded him a lesser Military Medal.



“In carrying out this deliberately planned action, Job Maseko displayed ingenuity, determination and complete disregard of personal safety from punishment by the enemy or from the ensuing explosion which set the vessel alight,” said the medal citation.



When Lance Corporal Maseko came home there was little waiting for him and he died in poverty. In 1952, a train did what the Germans and Italians couldn’t – it hit Maseko and killed him.



Yet others who went to the war from Africa – from Johannesburg to Kenya to Nigeria – returned to fuel the fires of independence. They had seen how their white comrades-in-arms had bled and screamed for their mothers, too, as they died. It exploded many colonial myths of white supremacy and created a generation of battle hardened patriots ready to question and throw off the shackles of imperial rule.



VE Day is not only a time to reflect on the ending of a world war – it is also a time for Africa to reflect on the sacrifices of its great-grandfathers, who fought toe-to-foe with fascism; and also how it led to hard won freedoms at home.

Job_Masego00

Victory in Europe Day – Time for Africa to reflect on its blood and sweat sacrifice

&nbsp;By Peter Burdin



Fake news and scams have risen dramatically since the outbreak of the Coronavirus. As the number of Coronavirus deaths increases every day around the world – so has the number of conspiracy theorists and hoaxers seeking to use social media to exploit or profit from this terrible crisis.



Populations desperate for news and potential vaccines have clicked their way into a minefield of lies, false information and deliberately malicious posts designed to undermine society’s best efforts for whatever reason.



This deepening addiction to “hearsay” or “gists”, as Nigerians would say, has been mounting rapidly in Africa in recent years as the power of social media grows. And these weeks of lock down and national emergencies have created an eager audience keen to share the latest rumours.



In many ways we’re facing a fake news pandemic which festers alongside the global health pandemic and feeds off it.&nbsp; And it’s also costing thousands of lives.



Now so much fake news activity has switched onto WhatsApp it’s increasingly easy to share and difficult to track or pin down the source of this misinformation. To make matters worse, it is often deliberately undermining government actions for political gain, or for profit by spreading fear and trashing commercial rivals.



According to Kroll’s annual fraud report some 84% of businesses feel threatened by fake news about their products. It’s particularly worrying for African businesses where the practice of targeted misinformation designed to harm a company’s reputation has been more acutely weaponised than on any other continent.



In South Africa, fake news went viral that a company’s covid-19 testing swabs were infected and were being used to spread the virus. That was quickly debunked by the Eastern Cape Health Department but how much damage had already been done to that company’s reputation. And how many people will believe it and refuse to be tested in the future?



There are also widely-shared posts claiming that African people are being used as guinea pigs to test a new Coronavirus vaccine. Such claims are false – there is no vaccine for Covid-19 and only a few tests are taking place, and none of them in Africa.



The danger is sometimes people want to believe this kind of misinformation and it goes viral – and without proper counter measures the damage is lasting. Bad reputations are easy to get but hard to shake off – and in the corporate world that can be the difference between prospering and bankruptcy.



The global pandemic has presented opportunities for criminals. A group of scammers in Nigeria have tried to profit from the desperate shortage of protective face-masks. They’ve been exposed for trying to sell hundreds of thousands of them online – the only problem is they don’t actually have any masks, they only want to take your money and run. Apparently people have lost millions already to these online tricksters.



Corporate entities across the world are familiar with the impact of fake news, with many firms being damaged by misinformation.&nbsp; A prominent case in Nigeria was an attempt to hit the Nigerian Immigration Service and Contec Global, a multi-sector technology and sustainability firm which assists the Nigerian government to deliver its resident permits and process fees. Fake News was spread that the fees for the permits were to be increased without approval, almost certainly generated by individuals or companies who felt they would be disadvantaged by any increase.



Facebook has attempted to tackle such attacks by going local in their fact checking efforts. Their third party fact-checking program in partnership with Africa Check, an independent fact-checking organisation has expanded into Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa in Nigeria, Afrikaans, isiZulu, Setswana, Sotho, Northern Sotho and Southern Ndebele in South Africa, Swahili in Kenya and Wolof in Senegal. It is technology firms like Contec Global and Facebook that are well placed to provide successful solutions for turning the tide against this flood of fake news.



At this time of this global pandemic, it’s understandable that people are desperate for news, however, it’s important that people learn to distinguish between what is true and what is an attempt to deceive, frighten or profit from their anguish. Frankly it’s not always easy to tell the difference.



We need more honest journalism in Africa that audiences can trust to help create a healthier media environment and provide concrete tools to identify fakery and demand greater transparency.



We can all start by remembering the proverb: “If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is.” &nbsp;



Peter Burdin, is a former BBC Africa Bureau Chief

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Nigeria

Nigeria to reopen for international air travel in weeks

Nigeria’s Lagos to allow places of worship to reopen: governor

Starved of dollars, Nigerian businesses struggle for survival

Nigerian banks to limit debit card spending abroad to ease FX risk

Nigerian Foreign Minister Onyeama tests positive for coronavirus

Nigeria’s revenues rise in June on higher oil, tax receipts

Nigeria hopes gold mining reforms can bring in $500 million a year

How we can close the 28 billion dollar-a-year energy gap in Africa

Nigerian virus hunters in race against COVID-19 in Africa’s giant

Pirates kidnap nine in attack on vessel off Nigeria, says ship owner

Nigeria’s rating at risk as debt, financing gap rise-Fitch

OPINION: “You don’t have to look rich when you know you aren’t” Why Nigerians should save.

President Buhari to AfDB President Adesina: “I’ll stand by you”

“Stop this culture of frivolous allegations” former World Bank Treasurer Arunma Oteh defends African Development Bank President

Op-Ed – Uzoma Dozie: How Nigerians can unlock their potential in the digital age

Victory in Europe Day – Time for Africa to reflect on its blood and sweat sacrifice

COVID-19: Opinion – Fear the fake news that spreads like wildfire and hurts us all

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