Vol 47 No 23 | NIGERIA An outsider moves up the list 17th November 2006 Ruling party insiders suggest that Governor Umaru Musa Yar'Adua could win the presidential nomination Intrigue, speculation, betrayal and disappointment marked the run-up to the 17 November deadline for submission of nomination papers to compete to be the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP)...
Vol 47 No 23 | NIGERIA Sekibo and the drones 17th November 2006 With President Olusegun Obasanjo's sacking of Transport Minister Abiye Sekibo on 6 October, the row over the 215 million euro (US$275.5 mn.) contract to supply aerial drones for...
Vol 47 No 23 | GUINEACONGO-KINSHASA Presidential chopper 17th November 2006 Congolese President Joseph Kabila's campaign helicopter is at the centre of a legal battle between Belgian businessman Philippe de Moerloose and Guinea's Paramount Airlines' Ismaël Doukouré.
Vol 47 No 22 | NIGERIA The next election deadline 3rd November 2006 Presidential hopefuls are quietly launching campaigns but doubts surround the party congresses due in December Within two months, Nigeria's political parties are due to chose their presidential candidates and launch their campaigns for next May's elections. So far, there is an eerie surreality...
Vol 47 No 22 | NIGERIA Starstruck Starcrest 3rd November 2006 On 20 October, Swiss-based and Canadian-listed Addax Petroleum announced that it was buying a controlling interest in a lucrative Nigerian oil block - the award of which until...
Vol 47 No 22 | NIGERIA Fear of flying 3rd November 2006 Africa, with less than four per cent of the world's air traffic, suffers about a third of its air disasters. The latest, on 29 October, killed the Sultan...
Vol 47 No 22 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Banny's bonus 3rd November 2006 The French-sponsored resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 1 Novmber, increasing the powers of Premier Charles Konan Banny at the expense of President Laurent Gbagbo,...
Vol 47 No 21 | NIGERIA All for one, not yet 20th October 2006 Under threat of corruption charges, state governors are losing their political nerve As the net closes in on those state governors accused of corruption and fraud, President Olusegun Obasanjo's position has strengthened markedly against his Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and most...
Vol 47 No 21 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Diamonds, gold and guns 20th October 2006 Both sides in the divided country exploit the underground economy to pay for fresh weapons Another round of regional negotiations has failed, a credible election is impossible by the deadline of 31 October and the international and regional organisations look increasingly ineffectual. The...
Vol 47 No 21 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Diamond dollars 20th October 2006 Diamonds slip through the export ban imposed on Côte d'Ivoire last year. Many are now routed through Ghana. Production is estimated at between 114,000 and 214,000...