Africa Business News

The Police Service Commission has suspended a Deputy Commissioner of Police and Head, Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police Force, Abba Kyari.
A statement by the commission’s Head of Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani says the decision was conveyed in a letter signed by Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi, a retired justice of the Supreme Court.
Kyari’s suspension took effect from July 31 and would subsist pending the outcome of the investigation in respect to his indictment by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States.
The commission has also directed the Inspector General of Police to furnish it with information on further developments to further action.

Tunisian President Kais Saied has indicated plans for a looming crackdown on corruption in the country, days after he seized control of the government by sacking the prime minister and several cabinet members, and suspending the parliament.
President Saied acted on an article in the constitution that gives him temporary exceptional powers in times of a crisis, but his political opponents described the move as a constitutional coup.
He says hundreds of businesspeople had stolen nearly $5bn in state funds through fraud and unpaid taxes.
President Saied says he will offer conditional amnesty to these business people in exchange for their investment in development projects chosen by citizen-based regional commissions.

Kenya has signed a deal with the UK that will allow its unemployed nurses and other medics to work in the UK.
Britain's Health Minister Sajid Javid and Kenya’s Labour Minister Simon Chelugi signed the agreement on the third day of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to London.
The British government says the scheme is open to Kenyan health workers who are qualified but unemployed, ensuring the process is managed for Kenya’s benefit.
This arrangement was requested by Kenya and should allow health professionals and managers to benefit from a special way through the UK's immigration system, before returning to work in Kenya’s health sector.
The exact details should be confirmed before the end of October.

The US aid agency boss Samantha Power is set to visit Ethiopia to push for more aid to be allowed into the conflict-hit Tigray region.
The agency says Ms Power will meet government officials to seek a solution to the lack of humanitarian aid to those affected by the nine-month conflict.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths says the humanitarian needs in Ethiopia had increased because of the conflict and ethnic clashes in other regions.
The UN World Food Programme added that its supplies were running out as trucks couldn't get into the northern region because of the fighting.

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority has concluded plans to build a world-class hospital in Abuja, as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s healthcare system.
Managing Director of NSIA, Mr Uche Orji, says NSIA is also developing 20 other health projects in the areas of cancer, radiology, and diagnostics nationwide to support Nigeria’s comatose health sector as part of its health intervention initiative.
He added that NSIA had already built one world-class cancer centre at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and two radiology and diagnostics centres in Kano and Umuahia.
He stated that NSIA’s health care investment company was managing the health sector initiatives.

The federal government says that it would require about $2.3 trillion cumulatively or $150 billion annually to upgrade the poor state of Nigeria’s infrastructure.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, noted that the private sector is expected to fund about 56 per cent of this sum.
He says even with dwindling resources, the federal government is committed to putting in its own 44 per cent to ensure that the nation’s infrastructure stock which he said the Muhammadu Buhari met at 35 per cent is upgraded.
Mustapha stated that this number was grossly inadequate for a country that was in dire need of inclusive growth and was far below the 70 per cent international benchmark already attained by some emerging markets.
He stated that in the light of limited resources worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, the government needed to explore other financing options, which necessitated a greater focus on public-private partnerships.

The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission has warned the Transmission Company of Nigeria against dealing with unlicensed individuals and business concerns on an eligible customer basis.
The Vice-Chairman, NERC, Dr Musiliu Oseni, explained that the TCN could not continue to deal directly with the so-called eligible customers when they had not met the requirements for eligibility.
TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, says in Abuja that power was fully restored at 4:59 pm on July 28, after the grid collapse triggered by a sudden drop in system frequency to 47.21Hz.
NERC says TCN should deal with only those who had fulfilled the eligibility conditions.

Human rights lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana has kicked against the breakup of Nigeria along ethnic lines.
Falana says he has a fundamental disagreement with secessionist groups in the country.
He explained that amid the agitations in some quarters that the nation should split, the Federal Government owes it a duty to convince the agitators by reposing confidence in the corporate existence of Nigeria.
Falana says the current administration should respect human rights in line with Article 20 of the African Charter on Human Rights.

The Department of State Services has defied a court order to produce the 12 detained aides of Yoruba-nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the DSS to produce in court on July 29, the 12 aides who have been in their custody since July 2, 2021.
Their case was expected to proceed regardless of the annual court vacation slated to begin on July 26.
He stressed that when a court of competent Jurisdiction, gives an order, such must be respected and obeyed.

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, has ordered an internal review of the allegations against a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, by a United States Court.
The United States District Court for the Central District of California says alleged international fraudster, Ramon Abbas aka Hushpuppi used Kyari to arrest and jail a co-conspirator, Chibuzo Vincent.
A communique from the court says the arrest was made after Vincent threatened to expose a $1m fraud committed against a Qatari businessman.
The IGP says further developments on the case will be communicated to members of the public accordingly.