Features

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa)- Nigeria’s ruling party lost its majority in the Senate after over a dozen lawmakers defected to the main opposition group, dealing a blow to President Muhammadu Buhari who is seeking re-election early next year. A group of 15 senators, including Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of the northern state of Kano, quit the All Progressives Congress to join the People’s Democratic Party, Senate President Bukola Saraki said Tuesday during proceedings in the capital, Abuja. The…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt, one of the world’s largest wheat importers, removed two of its top suppliers from a list of approved sellers after repeated delays in delivering cargoes, according to an official with the state-run buyer. Dubai-based AOS Trading DMCC and its Egyptian sister company Al Wehda will no longer be able to sell to the General Authority for Supply Commodities, said the official, who asked not to be named as…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s Senate said it would probe the renewal process of energy leases undertaken by the oil minister and the Department of Petroleum Resources, in search of anomalies that could cost the government more than $10 billion in lost revenue. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu and the DPR are renewing the “leases of companies that have brazenly and illegally refused to pay royalties,” lawmakers said in a motion…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria revealed plans for a new national airline and said a majority stake could be available to an overseas backer as it seeks know-how and cash to help the start-up avoid the fate of former flag carriers. The West African state has no cap on overseas ownership of its airlines and would be prepared to offer more than 50 percent of the company — named Nigeria Air — to…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tullow Oil Plc may shut down operations in northern Kenya in two weeks unless persistent issues with local residents, which threaten progress of the project, are resolved. Disruptions in the remote Turkana region have already halted the shipments of a pilot program to test early production and deliver oil from Lokichar to the port of Mombasa about 1,000 kilometers (640 miles) away, for future export. Tullow, along with partners Africa…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The U.S. is set to scale back aid to African military units fighting terrorism as it realigns its defence strategy to compete with more traditional threats from China and Russia. The shift comes despite a growing terror threat on the continent that has led to an increased American presence, resulting in attacks on U.S. forces in Niger and Somalia that have left six U.S. service members dead since early…