ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s economy is expected to grow by 2 percent this year and by 3 percent in 2019, the country’s Minister of Budget Udoma Udo Udoma said on Wednesday.



The World Bank expects growth at slightly less than 2 percent in 2018, while and Nigeria’s central bank predicts the economy will grow 1.75 percent this year.



“Our projection for the economic growth this year is 2 percent, we believe it will be achieved, and that of next (year), which is projected at 3 percent, will also be achieved,” Udoma told reporters in Abuja.



“Our plans are working,” he said, pointing to growth in the non-oil sector.



Nigeria’s statistics office on Monday said the economy grew by 1.81 percent in the third quarter, after 1.95 percent and 1.50 percent in the first and second quarters.



A sluggish recovery since Nigeria emerged from recession in 2017 could bode poorly for President Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking a second term in February 2019 elections and for whom economic rejuvenation has been a key pillar of policy.



Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by Alexander Smith

How much is the Nigerian economy expected to grow by in 2019 ?

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s economy grew 1.81 percent in the third quarter of 2018 from a year earlier, pushed higher by the non-oil sector, the statistics office said on Monday.



The figures are a slight improvement from the previous quarter, when a slowdown in growth sparked fears that Africa’s biggest oil producer might enter recession for the second time in three years.



But a sluggish recovery since 2017 could bode poorly for President Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking a second term in February 2019 elections and for whom economic rejuvenation has been a key pillar of policy.



The non-oil sector grew 2.32 percent in the third quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, adding that information and communication services were the main driver of the expansion.



Oil production rose slightly to 1.94 million barrels per day (mbpd) in the period, from 1.84 mbpd in the previous quarter, yet the sector’s growth contracted 2.91 percent from the previous year when production was at 2.02 mbpd, the statistics office said.



Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky

Nigeria’s economy grows by 1.81 percent in Q3, pushed higher by the non-oil sector

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/ruth-umoh/" rel="author">Ruth Umoh</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ruthumohnews">@ruthumohnews</a>
<a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2018/01/10/african-billionaire-fortunes-rise-on-forbes-2018-list-of-continents-richest/#579cc18c2777">Nigerians take the lead</a> on lists of <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2018/03/07/the-black-billionaires-2018/#275cb08b5234">black billionaires</a>, and one, Aliko Dangote, takes the top spots.
With an estimated net worth of $10.3 billion, according to <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/aliko-dangote/">Bloomberg</a>, the Dangote Group founder is the richest man in Africa. According to Forbes, he&#8217;s also the <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2018/03/07/the-black-billionaires-2018/#2d6374c25234">richest black person in the world</a>. Most of the entrepreneur&#8217;s wealth <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/aliko-dangote/">derives from his 85.2 </a>percent majority stake in Dangote Cement, which is the <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Dangote-buyout-of-ARM-to-make-it-largest-player/2560-4848348-xa1sb3/index.html">largest cement producer</a> in sub-Saharan Africa.
First launched in 1981, the Dangote Group now owns and operates more than <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8OuwUoO-Co">18 subsidiaries</a> across a range of industries, including Dangote Cement, Dangote Flour and Dangote Sugar.
The 61-year-old billionaire credits much of his success to his maternal grandfather, who instilled a business mindset into Dangote at a young age. At just eight years old, Dangote would buy sweets with his allowance, which he&#8217;d give people to sell for a profit.
&#8220;When you are raised by an entrepreneurial parent or grandparent you pick that aspiration,&#8221; he told<a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2015/03/04/the-little-known-15-billion-empire-of-africas-richest-man/#50e2fe4a3dcb"> Forbes</a> in 2015. &#8220;It makes you be much more aggressive — to think anything is possible.&#8221;
Dangote&#8217;s entrepreneurial interests followed him into adulthood. In 1977, he graduated with a business degree from Egypt&#8217;s Al-Azhar University. When he returned to Nigeria, Dangote moved to Lagos, one of <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/view-africas-10-wealthiest-cities-20180915-2">Africa&#8217;s wealthiest cities</a> and the country&#8217;s largest financial center.
Using a $500,000 loan from his uncle, Dangote began trading in commodities such as bagged cement and agricultural goods like rice and sugar. These business ventures became so successful that he was able to repay his uncle <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRBGX59O-gg">within three months</a> of starting the operation.
In 1999, Dangote shifted to manufacturing, building <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/aliko-dangote/">sugar refineries and a flour mill</a>. When Dangote Sugar first debuted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2010, sales had quadrupled to $450 million, according to <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2015/03/04/the-little-known-15-billion-empire-of-africas-richest-man/#50e2fe4a3dcb">Forbes</a>, making it the largest sugar refinery in Africa and by some estimates, the <a class="inline_asset" href="http://www.ide.go.jp/English/Data/Africa_file/Company/nigeria04.html">second largest</a> in the world. Similarly, Dangote Flour tripled revenue to $270 million.
Dangote describes his professional journey as &#8220;exciting,&#8221; but notes that he&#8217;s also encountered obstacles along the way. Overcoming these challenges, he told <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8OuwUoO-Co">Forbes Africa</a>, required big thinking and an innovative approach. &#8220;You have to dream big to be able to be big and that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re doing,&#8221; said Dangote, who&#8217;s now building an oil refinery that&#8217;s projected to cost <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-dangote-refinery/billionaires-huge-nigerian-oil-refinery-likely-delayed-until-2022-sources-idUSKBN1KV0WA">around $14 billion</a>.
For his part, Dangote says he&#8217;s driven by the impact he can have on humanity. In fact, <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2018/4/19/rise-of-the-rest-africas-new-philanthropists">he&#8217;s also one of Africa&#8217;s top philanthropists</a>. &#8220;You&#8217;d like to be remembered for things that you&#8217;ve actually done,&#8221; he told Forbes. &#8220;We Africans are the only ones that can make Africa great.&#8221;

Billionaire Aliko Dangote is the world’s richest black person—here’s how he made his wealth

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tolu-olarewaju-405190">By Tolu Olarewaju</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/staffordshire-university-1381">Staffordshire University</a>
Two of the largest banking and financial services institutions in the world, HSBC and UBS, have <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-03/hsbc-ubs-shut-nigeria-offices-as-foreign-investment-declines">recently closed their local representative offices</a> in Nigeria.
There’s also trouble brewing elsewhere in Nigeria’s business world that’s prompted fears about the climate for foreign direct investment in the country. Foreign direct investment is an investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country.
For instance, Nigeria’s government in September <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-17/nigeria-fires-back-at-hsbc-after-bank-criticizes-president">accused HSBC of money laundering</a> after an analyst working for the lender said a second term for President Muhammadu Buhari <a href="http://dailypost.ng/2018/09/11/2019-second-term-buhari-will-nigerias-economy-hsbc/">may stall economic recovery </a> in Africa’s biggest oil producer.
There are also tensions between Nigeria’s central bank and the South African telecom company MTN. In 2015, MTN was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-45424537">fined about $5bn</a> for failing to cut off unregistered SIM cards. This was later reduced to $1.7 billion after a long legal dispute and the intervention of South Africa’s then President Jacob Zuma.
Recently, the central bank has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-29/nigeria-orders-mtn-banks-to-refund-8-billion-exported-funds">ordered MTN to repatriate $8 billion</a> it said has been taken out of the country illegally.
Analysts are <a href="https://nextedition.com.ng/2018/11/09/analysis-hsbc-ubs-left-nigeria/">concerned</a> that the Nigerian government’s attitude towards MTN and the two banks may erode the confidence of foreign direct investors. Their fears seem to be well founded: foreign direct investment in Nigeria <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/foreign-direct-investment">fell to</a> <a href="https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/nigeria/foreign-direct-investment">$1 billion in the first half of 2018, from $1.48 billion in the first half of 2017</a>.
Foreign direct investment is crucial for any economy. So how can Nigeria attract and keep the right kind of investment from global companies? Compromise will be key, both for the government and foreign firms.
<h2>Why foreign direct investment?</h2>
Foreign direct investment is often preferred to exporting. That’s because while exports merely involve moving goods from one country to another, foreign direct investment actually involves an investor establishing foreign business operations or acquiring foreign business assets.
This often includes establishing ownership or controlling interest in a foreign country (for instance an American business establishing a physical business presence in Nigeria). Many emerging economies like China, Brazil, Vietnam and India have <a href="https://www.industryweek.com/leadership/top-10-countries-receiving-foreign-direct-investment/gallery?slide=1">built their growth on FDI flows</a>.
The trick is to attract “quality foreign direct investment” that links foreign investors into the local host country economy. The International Growth Centre, a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development">British-funded</a> research centre that aims to promote sustainable growth in developing countries, <a href="https://www.theigc.org/blog/attracting-quality-foreign-direct-investment-developing-countries/">characterises</a> “quality” here as contributing to:
<ul>
<li>decent and value-adding jobs and enhancing the skill base of host economies;</li>
<li>transfer of technology, knowledge and know-how;</li>
<li>boosting competitiveness of domestic firms and enabling their access to markets.</li>
</ul>
<h2>What Nigeria can do</h2>
There are a few things Nigeria can do to boost foreign direct investment. For starters, it must play fair. Foreign and domestic businesses should be treated equally. They should be open, transparent and dependable conditions for all kinds of firms.
Another area that needs attention is infrastructure. Businesses need easy access to ports, an adequate and reliable supply of energy and relative certainty that the country will be good to invest in. Good institutions <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9701.2006.00758.x">also promote FDI</a>.
The government should encourage partnerships between foreign and local businesses. Foreign firms might be familiar with global good business practices, but local firms will be more familiar with the indigenous context. This synergy could be very beneficial.
It’s also critical that Nigeria gets its regional governments involved: there are many regions in Nigeria, and these regions all have unique opportunities and challenges. <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/AMBPP.2018.11006abstract">Our latest research</a> shows that when the central government of Nigeria ran out of ideas and foreigners wanted to exit the agricultural sector, the regional government of Kwara state stepped in to create a positive business climate based on the cooperation of local banks, community members, and the foreigners themselves culminating in the <a href="https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/learning-commercial-farming-through-shonga-farmss-approach.html">Shonga farms</a> public-private venture.
This has kept the firm in Nigeria. It’s also brought private investors to the table, bolstering the firm and the local economy.
Nigeria should also tap into its huge <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-37727761/how-can-investors-tap-in-to-nigeria-s-diaspora">diaspora</a>. There are many Nigerians living outside the country who understand its challenges. They should be encouraged to help, or asked to work with their networks to invest in the country.
<h2>What foreign firms can do</h2>
Foreign firms also have a role to play. They can enhance their success in Nigeria (and elsewhere on the African continent) in several ways.
First, they need a long term strategic plan. This means thinking carefully about what sectors or activities to target. Many foreign firms come to developing countries when things are rosy but leave when conditions change. They don’t properly consider that solving such problems will gain them a competitive advantage in the long run.
If they stay and follow a learning curve, foreign firms will better understand the local business context. They’ll also gain credibility among ordinary people and possibly get more customers and support that way.
In the same vein, foreign businesses should create local solutions that meet ordinary people’s needs. The banks leaving Nigeria have <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/11/breaking-hsbc-ubs-close-their-offices-in-nigeria/">been accused</a> of only catering to the needs of wealthy Nigerians, who are <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/business/2010/10/201010116251929702.html">perceived as corrupt</a>. A more diverse portfolio that catered to the needs of ordinary Nigerians would have nullified this claim.
Foreign firms must also work closely with credible and strategic local firms, and be willing to enter into dialogue with the Nigerian government where necessary. This is crucial especially as administrations may change or government policy may evolve. Dialogue could ensure that all parties are on the same page.
<h2>Act local, think global</h2>
It’s unfortunate that these banking institutions have decided to leave Nigeria. Hopefully both the Nigerian government and other foreign investors can learn from this.
The main takeaway for both foreign investors and governments involved in foreign direct investment is that it would be prudent for all parties to act locally but think globally.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107611/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tolu-olarewaju-405190">Tolu Olarewaju</a>, Lecturer in Economics, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/staffordshire-university-1381">Staffordshire University</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-nigeria-can-attract-and-keep-the-right-kind-of-foreign-direct-investment-107611">original article</a>.

Here’s what Nigeria needs to boost foreign direct investment

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday denied claims that he had died and been replaced by a Sudanese impostor, breaking his silence on a rumour that has circulated on social media for months.
Buhari, who is running for re-election in February, spent five months in Britain last year being treated for an undisclosed illness. One theory widely aired on social media &#8211; and by some political opponents &#8211; was that he had been replaced by a lookalike from Sudan called Jubril.
No evidence has been presented, but videos making the claim have still been viewed thousands of times on YouTube and Facebook.
“It’s real me, I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday and I will still go strong,” Buhari told Nigerians in a town hall session in Poland, where he was attending a conference, when asked about Jubril.
“A lot of people hoped that I died during my ill health,” he said, adding that those who spread the rumour were “ignorant and irreligious”.
The presidency circulated Buhari’s comments in an emailed statement entitled “It’s Real Me, President Buhari Responds to Cloning Allegation”.
Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Kevin Liffey

Has Nigeria’s Buhari died, replaced by a lookalike?

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s main opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar said on Monday he will boost oil sector investment, cut costly fuel subsidies and double the size of the economy by 2025 if he wins next year’s presidential election.
The businessman and former vice president portrayed himself as a champion of the private sector as he released his manifesto and set out his plans to stop incumbent Muhammadu Buhari securing a second term in February.
There are few reliable opinion polls in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer. But Abubakar is seen as a substantial challenger to Buhari, a former military leader who has suffered a run of defections, overseen a stumbling economy and struggled to contain militant violence in the northeast.
The opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate is, like Buhari, a northerner &#8211; but analysts say his business background, in port logistics among other ventures, has won him supporters among the southern business elite.
“I will be proactive in attracting investment and supporting the 50 million small and medium scale enterprises across Nigeria for the purpose of doubling the size of our GDP to $900 billion by 2025,” Abubakar said in a video message.
“These investments will create a minimum of 2.5 million jobs annually and lift at least 50 million people from poverty in the first two years,” he added.
In the manifesto, Abubakar said he would privatise government-owned crude refineries, issue new licenses for greenfield investments in refineries and consider re-introducing bidding rounds for marginal fields and oil blocks.
The plan, the manifesto said, would make sure Nigeria refined half its current crude output of roughly 2 million barrels per day by 2020.
OIL 
Nigeria remains largely dependent on sales of oil, which make up roughly two-thirds of government revenues. But it refines almost none of its crude, instead exporting what it produces and paying to import refined products &#8211; a large drain on the country’s wealth.
Abubakar said he would eliminate subsidies on imported fuel and let the market determine the price, a potentially risky strategy in a country where even rumours of price hikes have triggered violence.
The candidate also vowed to invest $90 billion in infrastructure annually over the next five years, and set up a $20 billion infrastructure debt fund with private backing to finance projects.
He said he would sign the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. Buhari has up to now kept out of the continent-wide pact, saying he wants to carry out wider consultations.
Abubakar’s manifesto re-iterated his plan to partially privatise state oil firm Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Buhari’s government has tried to keep tight control of exchange rates as the naira weakened in the face of global oil price declines.
Abubakar’s manifesto said the exchange rate controls were an issue. But it stopped short of saying whether he would end them.
Buhari &#8211; who in 2015 became the first opposition candidate to oust a president through the ballot box &#8211; has promised to keep up his campaign against corruption.
Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos and Paul Carsten in Abuja; Editing by John Stonestreet and Andrew Heavens

What Nigeria’s opposition candidate Abubakar promises to do if elected

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria is in talks with Transnet for the concession to run its railways after General Electric, which has spun off its transport business, handed the leadership of the consortium to the South African firm, the transport minister said on Sunday.
“We are in talks with Transnet. When we conclude we will sign the concession agreement and they will rehabilitate the entire 3,500 kilometers of railways,” Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi told a government delegation in Abuja.
Transnet was not immediately available for comment.
A procurement process adviser told Reuters last week that General Electric (GE) had pulled out of the $2 billion concession deal with the Nigerian government for two rail lines connecting northern cities to others in the south.
GE on Thursday said it had handed over the leadership of a consortium chosen to run the Nigerian rail concession to Transnet.
The concession aims to cover about 3,500 km (2,200 miles) of existing narrow-gauge lines from the southwestern commercial capital Lagos to Kano in the north and from southeastern oil hub Port Harcourt to Maiduguri in the northeast.
Economic growth in Nigeria has been hampered for decades by its dilapidated rail network, built mainly by British colonial rulers before independence in 1960.
Nigeria, which has one of Africa’s biggest economies and is the continent’s top oil producer, is seeing slow growth after emerging last year from its first recession in a quarter of a century which was largely brought on by low crude prices from late 2014.
Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Here’s why Nigeria is in talks with South Africa’s Transnet

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) &#8211; South African mobile phone group MTN Group plans to apply for payment banking license in Nigeria and launch a service in Africa’s biggest economy by the second quarter of 2019, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
“We will be applying for a payment service banking license in Nigeria in the next month or so, and if all goes according to plan, we will also be launching Mobile Money in Nigeria probably around Q2 of 2019,” Rob Shuter said.
Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia

MTN plans to apply for mobile money license in Nigeria

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigerian trade unions and the government agreed to a new minimum wage proposal on Tuesday, in an attempt to avert a planned nationwide strike following threats to shutdown Africa’s biggest economy, a union official said.
Unions, which have been discussing with the government a new minimum wage proposal, had planned to commence a strike on Tuesday.
Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) General Secretary Peter Ozo-Eson said a committee set up with the government was recommending 30,000 naira as the new monthly minimum wage, after a series of meetings, up from the current minimum of 18,000 naira.
He said the proposal, which was negotiated by senior government officials including Labour Minister Chris Ngige, would be recommended to President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.
“Following &#8230; the signing of the final report recommending 30,000 naira as the recommended new national minimum wage &#8230; the strike called to commence tomorrow has been suspended,” Ozo-Eson said.
“We all need to stand ready in a state of full mobilization in case future action becomes necessary to push for the timely enactment and implementation of the new minimum wage.”
Nigeria’s main unions launched a strike in September after the wage talks broke down. Unions initially wanted the monthly minimum wage raised to about 50,000 naira ($164). But the government, which is facing dwindling revenues due to lower oil prices, declined the proposal.
Unions later suspended strikes on their fourth day, saying the government had agreed to hold talks to discuss raising the minimum wage.[nL8N1WD44P][nL8N1WG0PN]
Buhari had vowed to review the wage due to a fuel price hike and currency devaluation in the last two years aimed at countering the effects of a global oil price plunge that hit the country hard. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest crude producer.
Buhari plans to stand for a second term at an election next February and his economic record will come under scrutiny, given previous pledges to raise living standards, tackle corruption and improve security.
Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Leslie Adler

What you need to know about Nigerian unions and government’s minimum wage agreement

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; A Lagos judge adjourned a hearing on Tuesday in a $10.1-billion dispute between South African telecoms firm MTN Group and Nigeria’s central bank to Dec 4.
The central bank alleges the firm illegally sent $8.1 billion abroad, and the Nigerian government has demanded $2 billion in taxes from MTN.
MTN, which makes about a third of its annual core profit in Nigeria, has said the allegations are without merit.
Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha and Didi Akinyelure; Writing by Paul Carsten; editing by John Stonestreet

Court case between MTN and Nigeria’s central bank postponed

LAGOS/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; MTN Group, Africa’s biggest mobile operator, will keep engaging with Nigerian authorities to resolve a $10.1 billion dispute with the west African country, but is putting its faith in the courts to protect itself, its CEO said on Monday.
The telecom firm, which makes about a third of its annual core profit in Nigeria, has said the allegations are without merit, but added that no further negative steps have been taken by authorities in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s central bank on Aug. 29 ordered the South African firm and its lenders to bring $8.1 billion back into Nigeria that it alleges the company sent abroad in breach of foreign exchange regulations. MTN also faces a $2 billion tax demand from the country’s attorney general.
MTN has denied any wrongdoing, and filed a court case against the central bank.
“We have continued engagement with authorities, exchanging documentation and there is genuine will to reach an amicable situation,” MTN’s Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter said on a conference call.
“However, we need to protect ourselves and we are relying on the courts in Nigeria to make sure there’s an amicable resolution.”
A court hearing between the central bank and MTN on the $8.1 billion repatriation case is scheduled for Tuesday.
Shuter said investors should note that the company did not expect a resolution to come through then.
“No further negative steps have been taken by the authorities in Nigeria, however it is important to keep legal steps going,” Shuter said, adding that MTN was not carrying out any repatriations from Nigeria for now.
“Tomorrow (Tuesday) we are likely to have an adjourned date because more information will likely be requested, however, it is important to create an environment to look for continued solutions.”
Shuter said although it had been a difficult quarter due to the regulatory challenges in Nigeria, the company still managed to put in a strong performance in Africa’s biggest economy with data revenue growing.
MTN said its debut stock market listing in Nigeria may slip into early 2019 because it needs to work on the format for the share sale.
It reported a 1.1 percent rise in quarterly user base, helped partly by strong performances in Nigeria.
The company said its user base increased by 2.5 million subscribers to 225.4 million users in the quarter ended September, and mobile money customers grew by 1.7 million to 25.8 million users.
Mobile money customers charge their phones with cash, and send it to friends or family via the short message service. These counterparties can then make similar transfers or cash in their credits with pre-approved agents, such as merchants or banks.
Reporting by Didi Akinyelure and Chijioke Ohuocha in Lagos and Tiisetso Motsoeneng in Johannesburg; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Here’s what MTN is relying on to end dispute with Nigeria

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; MTN Group, Africa’s biggest mobile operator, reported a 1.1 percent rise in quarterly user base on Monday, helped partly by strong performances in Nigeria, its largest but increasingly problematic market.
The company said its user base increased by 2.5 million subscribers to 225.4 million users in the quarter ended September, and mobile money customers grew by 1.7 million to 25.8 million users.
Mobile money customers charge their phones with cash, and send it to friends or family via the short message service. These counterparties can then make similar transfers or cash in their credits with pre-approved agents, such as merchants or banks.
MTN is embroiled in a $10.1 billion dispute with the west African country of Nigeria, which has accused the company of illegally sending money abroad.
The telecom firm, which makes about a third of its annual core profit in Nigeria, said the allegations are without merit.
Nigeria’s central bank on Aug. 29 ordered the South African firm and its lenders to bring $8.1 billion back into Nigeria that it alleges the company sent abroad in breach of foreign exchange regulations. MTN also faces a $2 billion tax demand from the country’s attorney general.
“We continue to engage with relevant authorities on these matters. We remain resolute that MTN Nigeria has not committed any offences and will continue to defend this position vigorously,” MTN said while posting the quarterly results.
Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips

MTN’s strong performance in Nigeria aid rise in Q3 subscribers despite dispute

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigerian trade unions may resume a nationwide strike if the government fails to publicly agree to a proposed increase in the minimum wage and to set about putting it into law, three union federations said on Sunday.
Unions suspended a national strike on its fourth day last month, saying the government had agreed to hold talks to discuss raising the minimum wage.
Three union umbrella groups said on Sunday they would resume the strike next month if the government did not meet certain demands.
Unions had called for a rise in the monthly minimum wage to as much as 50,000 naira ($164) from 18,000 naira.
President Muhammadu Buhari has previously promised to review the minimum wage. His handling of the economy and the cost of living since he took office in 2015 has become a campaign issue used by his critics in the build-up to a presidential election scheduled for next February.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and United Labour Congress (ULC) said in a joint statement they had agreed to a compromise of a 30,000 naira minimum wage in talks with the government since halting the strike.
They accused the government of failing to disclose the agreement on a new minimum wage and said procedures should be launched to put the commitment into law.
“If nothing is responsibly done by the federal government to meet our demands, on &#8230; the 6th day of November, we shall embark on a nationwide strike to compel this government to show more sensitivity to the plight of Nigerians,” they said.
“We cannot continue discussing a figure that has already been agreed procedurally within the committee,” the unions said about the possibility of further talks.
NLC General Secretary Peter Ozo-Eson told Reuters in a later telephone interview that if unions resumed the strike, it would be indefinite until their demands were met.
A spokesman for the ministry of labour did not immediately respond to a text message and phone calls requesting comment.
Evidence suggested patchy adherence to last month’s strike, and its impact on one of Africa’s largest economies was difficult to calculate. There were no signs that oil production was affected in the continent’s top crude producer.
Buhari’s vow to review the minimum wage followed a fuel price hike and currency devaluation in the last two years. Those measures were aimed at countering the effects of a global oil price plunge which in 2016 pushed Nigeria into its first recession in 25 years from which it emerged in 2017.
Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Adrian Croft

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ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday asked lawmakers to approve the issuance of a $2.79 billion Eurobond, in a letter read in the upper chamber of parliament.
He said he wanted the Eurobond to be issued in the international capital market for the “implementation of new external borrowing” that had already been approved in the 2018 budget to help finance the budget deficit and to fund infrastructure projects.
Reporting by Camillus Eboh and Paul Carsten, writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Kevin Liffey

Why Nigerian lawmakers were asked to approve $2.79 billion Eurobond by President Buhari

PORT HARCOURT (Reuters) &#8211; Atiku Abubakar won on Sunday almost half the votes cast in a primary race to become the main opposition challenger to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in next year’s elections, party officials said.
Abubakar, 71 and a former vice president, will stand as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate.
He scored 1,532 votes to defeat other candidates in the race, including the governor of the northwestern state of Sokoto, Aminu Tambuwal, and Nigeria’s Senate President Bukola Saraki, the officials announced.
“This is a victory for all of us. The task to get Nigeria working again starts now,” Abubakar said in a tweet.
At a party convention on Saturday, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) picked Buhari, who took office in 2015, for the February vote.
Political parties had until Sunday to select their candidates. Ex-minister Obiageli Ezekwesili, co-founder of a group to raise awareness about more than 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014, earlier announced that she will also run.
The handling of the economy has already emerged as a major issue at the start of the election cycle in Africa’s top oil producer, which also plays a key role in regional wars against Islamist insurgents.
Nigeria entered its first recession in 25 years in 2016, mainly caused by lower oil prices and attacks in the Niger Delta crude-producing region. It emerged from recession early last year but growth remains sluggish and inflation above the central bank’s single-digit target range.
Abubakar hopes to replicate Buhari’s 2015 feat of winning a presidential election at the fourth attempt after he left the ruling APC party in November and re-joined the PDP a month later.
The ex-vice president, who is from the northeastern state of Adamawa, in May told Reuters he would privatise parts of the state oil company and allow the naira currency to float to attract foreign investment if elected as head of state.
He has long enjoyed support from the business elite in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos for his conservative-capitalist ideals and, as vice president in a PDP administration from 1999-2007, implemented a programme of liberalisation in areas including the telecoms sector.
Prior to Buhari taking office in 2015, the PDP had been the only party in power since the west African country’s transition to civilian rule in 1999.
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation with some 190 million inhabitants from around 250 ethnic groups spread across a mostly Muslim north and mostly Christian south.
Buhari, in a speech to mark the anniversary of Nigeria’s independence on Oct. 1, sought to reassure voters that next year’s elections would be free and fair after the PDP and international observers raised concerns over the way a gubernatorial vote in the southwestern state of Osun was conducted.
Additional reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha and Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Susan Fenton and Jan Harvey

Nigeria’s Abubakar to challenge Buhari in 2019 presidential election after primary race win, what you need to know…

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; MTN has received a counterclaim from Nigeria’s central bank to its request for an order to stop the bank forcing it to repatriate $8.1 billion it claims was illegally sent out of the country, the South African telecom’s lawyer said on Friday.
MTN has received the central bank’s response to its court filing, Wole Olanipekun said, adding that MTN will file a reply to the bank’s claim.
The central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in August ordered MTN and its lenders to bring back the funds which it alleged the company had sent abroad in breach of foreign exchange regulations.
“MTN had gone to court, sued the central bank and the attorney general. The central bank has filed a response and a counter claim, meaning that nobody can resort to self-help in the matter any longer,” Olanipekun told Reuters.
“With this development everybody has now surrendered &#8230; the greviances to the court. Everybody has to wait for the decision of the court.”
CBN spokesman Isaac Okorafor said: “Although there’s a case in court, the CBN is aggressively engaging MTN and the banks and I’m hopeful that an amicable resolution will soon be achieved.”
Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Jan Harvey and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Nigeria’s central bank responds to MTN with a counterclaim, what you need to know…

<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238156/original/file-20180926-48631-rvjpem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="File 20180926 48631 rvjpem.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1" /><figcaption>Nigeria needs to review existing structures to drive growth. 
xtock/Shutterstock
</figcaption></figure>
By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ohio-omiunu-514053">Ohio Omiunu</a>, Senior Lecturer in Law, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/de-montfort-university-1254">De Montfort University</a>
There have been sustained efforts to diversify Nigeria’s economy since the country returned to democratic civilian rule in 1999. Successive governments have made foreign direct investment a priority to achieve this aim.
Originally, the organised private sector was intended as the primary driver of investment-led economic reforms. But, in the process, the policy space was inadvertently opened up for state governments. Nigeria has three constitutionally recognised <a href="http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/decentralization/march2003seminar/fiscalfedreport.pdf">levels of government</a>. These are the federal government, 36 state governments and 774 local governments. Each level of government has defined powers under the constitution. States are not meant to engage in foreign economic relations.
However, successive economic reforms have given impetus to Nigerian states to grow in stature as gatekeepers to foreign direct investment. It’s now common to hear of states introducing specialised agencies to facilitate and coordinate investment inflows. Examples include the <a href="http://kadipa.kdsg.gov.ng/">Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency</a>, the <a href="http://www.lagosglobal.org/">Lagos Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment</a> and the <a href="https://www.ansippa.ng/who-we-are/">Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency</a>.
Some states have also floated development focused corporate entities in which they have controlling stakes. A recent example is the <a href="http://dawncommission.org/whatWeAre.php">Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission</a>. This was set up by the six state governments in Nigeria’s South-West. They are pursuing a regional economic integration strategy.
All these initiatives invariably lead to foreign entities including diplomatic envoys, multinational companies and international organisations getting directly involved at state level.
The emerging practice is an interesting example of bottom-up economic development. However, the current state of affairs isn’t optimal. This is because having states all pursuing separate deals and arrangements makes central coordination problematic. If coordination is weak, there’s the potential for unnecessary duplication of processes and institutions. This in turn would have a knock-on effect on the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
There are also constitutional questions over the legality of agreements which Nigeria’s state governments have signed with foreign entities. If left unchecked, these could expose the Nigerian state to legal claims by foreign investors. And there’s a question mark over the constitutional status of states opening foreign offices, as <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201406271083.html">Bayelsa state</a> did in 2013. On the face of it, this was unconstitutional. States in Nigeria don’t have constitutional powers to operate quasi-diplomatic offices.
The trend of decentralised economic development has striking similarities with how things worked in the <a href="http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/68.htm">first Nigerian Republic</a>, from 1960 to 1966. Regional governments in this era had constitutional authority to participate in Nigeria’s foreign economic engagements.
An example was the control of commodity boards by states (then regions). Surplus from levies imposed on export commodities was a vital source of funds for economic development in the respective regions.
Given this history it’s not surprising that states today are keen to take control of foreign investment inflows to fund their economic development objectives.
<h2>Why action is needed</h2>
No constitutional disputes have been raised between the federal government and the states. This can be taken as tacit acceptance of these emerging practices by states. Alternatively, the federal government prefers to deal with any fall-out on an ad hoc basis. This would make sense, given the benefits that can accrue from the arrangements.
But those responsible for Nigeria’s economic development policy coordination need to wake up to the changing realities of the times. Other federal systems have been proactive in restructuring the cooperation mechanisms for foreign relations. These include the US, Canada, Belgium, Argentina, Austria, and Germany.
These countries have recognised the need to adjust their existing regime to catch up with an emerging reality about sub-national governments – like states. These groupings are critical stakeholders in the 21st-century global economy.
In Nigeria, meanwhile, there’s little evidence that states going abroad is viewed as a matter of urgency. It’s time it was.
<h2>Time to review</h2>
The emergence of states as gatekeepers of Nigeria’s investment-led economic reforms demonstrates the dynamic nature of federalism. States have already carved out the autonomy they need to determine the pace of their economic development. And they have done so with no formal constitutional changes.
Now the federal government must realise that it’s no longer the sole determinant of Nigeria’s foreign economic policy. It would be both impossible and undesirable to try and reverse the trend.
Instead, there’s an urgent need to review existing arrangements for cooperation. These reviews must happen at the constitutional and institutional levels. The aim should be to maximise the benefits of the drive and impetus that states are bringing to the Nigerian economic reform agenda.
Nigeria stands to benefit immensely if states drive economic development. But effective coordination is critical.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103269/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ohio-omiunu-514053">Ohio Omiunu</a>, Senior Lecturer in Law, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/de-montfort-university-1254">De Montfort University</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigeria-must-wake-up-to-the-changing-role-of-state-governments-103269">original article</a>.

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