Vol 59 No 21 | NIGERIA Now the race looks serious 26th October 2018 The challenger Atiku Abubakar has built a new coalition, but strong northern support for President Buhari will give him staying power Hell froze over in Nigeria on 11 October. That's when former President Olusegun Obasanjo endorsed his once Vice-President and newly crowned leader of the opposition People's Democratic Party... READ FOR FREE
Vol 59 No 21 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Lining up for battle 26th October 2018 Falling support for the President’s party in local elections is a foretaste of the national vote in 2020 The ruling party could only count on mixed results in the just-ended regional and local elections, held on 13 October. President Alassane Dramane Ouattara's Rassemblement des houphouëtistes...
Vol 59 No 21 | SÃO TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPE Poll blow for Trovoada 26th October 2018 Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada and his ruling Acção Democrática Independente (ADI) emerged from the elections of 7 October as the biggest party, but they lost eight seats and...
Vol 59 No 21 | NIGERIA The flight into Israel 26th October 2018 The leader of the supposed Igbo independence movement, Nwannekaenyi 'Nnamdi' Kenny Okwu Kanu, seems to have turned up in Israel after going on the run from a trial...
Vol 59 No 20 | GUINEA Turks in troubled waters 12th October 2018 Another over-priced port contract comes under fire for political patronage and secrecy The Port Autonome de Conakry (PAC), Guinea's principal sea port, is a strategic national asset, so the fact that it is now to be run by Turkey's Albayrak...
Vol 59 No 20 | LIBERIA The heist that never was 12th October 2018 Elected on a pro-poor ticket as a ‘man of the people’, George Weah has fast become mired in allegations of graft President George Weah's carefully choreographed image as a champion of the slum poor, which got him elected with an overwhelming majority in December 2017, is unlikely to survive...
Vol 59 No 19 | NIGERIA Big business gets stuck into the elections 28th September 2018 A string of corporate fraud cases is stirring up partisan rivalries ahead of next year’s presidential vote Prosecutors in Milan began to set out their case against oil giants Royal Dutch Shell and Italy's ENI in court on 26 September. Both companies are charged with... READ FOR FREE
Vol 59 No 19 | SIERRA LEONE Man in a hurry 28th September 2018 Julius Maada Bio has promised much on education, and the anti-corruption bandwagon is already rolling Determined to make his mark early, President Julius Maada Bio has promised a revolution in transport, in education and in tackling corruption. As well as promising a US$1.3...
Vol 59 No 18 | SIERRA LEONE A bridge too far 14th September 2018 After trashing ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma's plan to build a new US$300 million airport as a 'sham', President Julius Maada Bio has pledged another Chinese-financed project set to...
Vol 59 No 18 | SENEGAL Not lacking convictions 14th September 2018 Having lost his first appeal against conviction for the misuse of municipal funds, Khalifa Sall has been dismissed as mayor of Dakar by President Macky Sall – even...