Vol 65 No 1 | SENEGAL Sonko's long walk to the ballot box 3rd January 2024 The leading oppositionist could still be barred from running in next month's presidential elections The suspense continues. On 5 January, the Constitutional Court will rule on statements from 13 parliamentarians in support of the presidential candidacy of Ousmane Sonko, leader of the...
Vol 65 No 1 | GHANA No case for the prosecutor 15th December 2023 Widespread outcry and claims of political bias have followed the decision not to press graft charges against a former minister The decision by Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng not to prosecute former deputy Finance Minister, Charles Adu Boahen, has been widely criticised by lawyers and civil society as denting...
Vol 64 No 25 | NIGERIA Opposition left outmanoeuvred 14th December 2023 After fighting formidable presidential campaigns, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar have failed to follow up Whether it is the 1,400-strong Nigerian delegation to the UN COP28 climate summit in Dubai, or the supplementary budget that allocated US$35 million to items such as a...
Vol 64 No 25 | GHANA Questions on electioneering budget 14th December 2023 The government's attempts to 'postpone austerity' could backfire as debt restructuring hits new obstacles President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's success in securing the return of enough MPs from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to push through the 2024 budget by 138...
Vol 64 No 25 | GUINEA BISSAU Chaos reigns again 14th December 2023 Domingo Simões Perreira, leader of the Assembleia Nacional Popular (ANP), Guinea Bissau's parliament, called all deputies to the parliament building on 13 December for the continuation of the...
Vol 64 No 24 | NIGERIA Tinubu struggles to rebalance the budget 30th November 2023 Based on ultra-optimistic data on oil exports and tax, the President insists his market reform policies are on track The Central Bank of Nigeria's second successive postponement of a bi-monthly meeting of its influential monetary policy committee (MPC), in November, points to dissension behind the scenes...
Vol 64 No 24 | NIGERIA Central bank’s Cardoso faces policy fight 30th November 2023 The radio silence from President Tinubu's economic reform team is unsettling financial bigwigs Mystery surrounds the failure of the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to meet since its new governor Yemi Cardoso was appointed in late September. Bankers don't like...
Vol 64 No 24 | MALI Junta falls out with its fanbase 30th November 2023 The regime's split with the anti-French and pro-Russian Yerewolo – its biggest supporter – may have been provoked by links to Hizbollah Fear of links to Iran and Hizbollah helped turn interim President Colonel Assimi Goïta's regime against its biggest domestic supporter, and to imprison its leader and harass other...
Vol 64 No 24 | SIERRA LEONE The Pademba putsch 30th November 2023 The main beneficiaries of the failed coup against President Julius Maada Bio's government in the early hours of 26 November seem to be the 1,890 inmates sprung from...
Vol 64 No 24 | NIGERIA South-west bias claims weaken Tinubu's standing 27th November 2023 The President is accused of stacking the cabinet and the military with his fellow Yoruba – and the critics are getting louder The government's policy team has won plaudits internationally but at home it is struggling to reignite the economy and the burden of its reforms is hitting middle-class and...