Vol 61 No 16 | BENIN Plenipotentiary redundancy 6th August 2020 Benin is planning to close 24 of its 27 embassies around the world in the second major retrenchment of the country's diplomatic corps since President Patrice Talon took...
Vol 61 No 16 | MALIECOWAS The Presidents' club backs Keïta 28th July 2020 An emergency summit has given full backing to the President but leaves grave doubts about his chances of forming a national unity government The 27 July online summit of West African leaders has given full, emphatic backing to President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (IBK) in his confrontation with the opposition and threatened...
Vol 61 No 15 | NIGERIA Fight in the last chance saloon 23rd July 2020 After hearing the arguments, a London court is about to rule on whether Abuja can challenge a record-breaking US$10 billion award against it A substantial part of Nigeria's foreign financing strategy and the fortunes of a New York hedge fund, in partnership with an obscure entity registered in the British Virgin...
Vol 61 No 15 | NIGERIA The shake-up that didn’t happen 23rd July 2020 Plummeting prices prompted a radical plan to restructure the state oil company – then the vested interests fought back Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and several of the country’s most senior ministers recommended hard-hitting reforms to rein in the sprawling and notoriously unaccountable state oil company earlier this year...
Vol 61 No 15 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Quest for a new dauphin 10th July 2020 The death of the prime minister faces the president with difficult choices. One of his riskiest options is to try to stay on Politics is in deep turmoil following the sudden death on 8 July of the man widely expected to have become the new president by the end of the...
Vol 61 No 14 | NIGERIA Divided we stand 9th July 2020 President Buhari has papered over rifts in the ruling party but they will re-emerge ahead of national elections With the Covid-19 pandemic spreading and the economy on the slide, the country's top politicians have taken refuge in the familiarity of an old-fashioned internal power struggle. Rival...
Vol 61 No 14 | MALI Keïta clings on 9th July 2020 A deal that could end the deadlock that has brought thousands to the streets demanding the President’s resignation is edging closer News that on 5 July the beleaguered head of state President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (IBK) had held talks with Mahmoud Dicko, the conservative imam whose mass mobilising appeal...
Vol 61 No 14 | SÃO TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPE The temporary consul 9th July 2020 São Tomé and Príncipe has cancelled the appointment of the controversial Chad-born French businessman Vincent Miclet as honorary consul in Marrakech, Morocco, after it emerged he had been...
Vol 61 No 14 | NIGERIAUNITED STATESWORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION At cross purposes on world trade 8th July 2020 Abuja's support for Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as next head of the WTO faces unforced errors and political hurdles Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Abuja's candidate and emerging front-runner for the top post at the World Trade Organisation, faces tough questions about her campaign's use of lobbyists who advocate for...
Vol 61 No 14 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Crisis summit as insurgents head south 2nd July 2020 A deadly attack on Côte d'Ivoire focused the attention of President Macron and regional leaders in Nouakchott The regional summit in the Mauritanian capital on 30 June started with a note of collective self-congratulation sounded by President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani speaking of reinforcements for Operation...