Africa Business News

The presidency has reacted to accusations levelled against President Muhammadu Buhari by the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom over the insecurity in the country.Ortom had on Tuesday accused President Buhari of working for the Fulani ethnic stock to take over Nigeria in a reaction to the recent killing of residents allegedly perpetrated by herdsmen.The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, condemned Governor Ortom for blaming President Buhari for the deaths.He says the President expresses his condolences to the families of citizens who lost their loved ones in the recent spate of killings in Benue State.

Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek says he wants to bring back the glory to Arsenal as he plans to test the resolve of the club’s American billionaire owner Stan Kroenke with a takeover bid.Kroenke, through his Kroenke Sports and Entertainment business, has been the Gunners’ majority shareholder for a decade and took full control of the club by buying out Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s stake in 2018.Arsenal’s performances on the pitch have declined markedly during the Kroenke reign.Arsenal was one of 12 clubs to initially sign up to proposals for the breakaway competition but, along with five other English clubs, withdrew from the plans within 48 hours after a fierce backlash from fans, players, governing bodies and the British government.

South Africa's finance minister, Tito Mboweni has upset Zambia over an alleged disparaging tweet.The tweet says that nothing much was happening in Zambia, insinuating that the country's economy was not doing well.A statement by Zambia's Information Minister Dora Siliya says the government has noticed a very worrying trend by Mr Mboweni, of ignoring diplomatic etiquette and embarking on bad-mouthing a sovereign state.Ms Siliya says she hoped Mr Ramaphosa will censure the minister again.The offending tweet has since been deleted but Mr Mboweni's tweeted on Tuesday about being persecuted for scientific truth.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has admitted to the failure of the ruling party to prevent corruption during former president Jacob Zuma’s rule.He says the African National Congress should have done more to prevent corruption, as he gave his testimony before a judicial inquiry probing allegations of corruption during Mr Zuma’s term as president.He says the ANC had not lived up to the expectations of the South African people in enforcing accountability, noting that corruption had undermined the rule of law.He says ANC would try to shed light on the matters being investigated - so as to hold to account those responsible.

The federal government has been urged to involve information technology professionals in its digital economy drive in order to achieve the desired results.President, Nigeria Computer Society, Prof. Adesina Sodiya, says the federal government would achieve faster and better results when indigenous IT professionals are involved.He frowned upon the situation where the federal government still rely on foreign IT professionals to execute sensitive government projects, thereby putting citizens’ sensitive data at risk while encouraging capital flight in the process.He says such NCS member needed government support and the enabling business environment to perfect the solution and develop more for the country.

The federal government has reiterated its commitment to national development through the use of Information and Communications Technology solutions.The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ibrahim, Pantami, says the projects, which cut across several geo-political zones of the country, were executed by the government parastatals as part of the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a digital Nigeria.He says in line with the Economic Development Road Map of Nigeria and the present administration’s focal points of economic development, security and the eradication of corruption.He noted that the federal government had also approved the National Policy on Virtual Engagement, which has recently institutionalized virtual engagement, particularly in government circle.

The Senate has extended the powers of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria to enable it to recover monies from bank debtors.It has also empowered the agency to go after bank debtors and take over assets other than those used as collateral to recover their debts.These new measures formed part of the amendments to the AMCON bill passed by the Senate during Wednesday’s plenary at the upper chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja.They also give AMCON the power to approach credit tribunals to recover their funds, eliminating the bottlenecks often encountered in normal courts.

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has called on the elites to rise up and speak the truth against forces of division in the country.He explained that this has become necessary to preserve the unity of the nation as Nigeria cannot afford a war.He warned that if the political elite does not speak up, they will endanger themselves and endanger the future of the country.He stated that every conflict was a result of the elite’s failure to speak up and tell the truth to their communities.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced the date for the 2023 general elections in the country.INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu says By the principle established by the Commission, the 2023 General Election will hold on Saturday 18th February 2023 which is exactly one year, nine months, two weeks and six days or 660 days from today.He says they hope to immediately release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election after the Anambra Governorship election scheduled to hold on 6th November 2021.Yakubu noted that one of the numerous responsibilities carried out by the commission is the prosecution of electoral offenders, describing it as the most challenging duty for INEC.

A bipartisan group of US Senators urged the Biden to impose additional sanctions on Myanmar's military junta over its February takeover of the government.Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a letter on Tuesday was asked to explore new avenues to support the people of Burma in their ongoing struggle for democracy in the face of escalating crimes against humanity.Biden is urged to target or freeze all foreign currency revenues and foreign exchange reserves held in state accounts outside of Burma. The lawmakers also called for the joint ventures involving multinational oil and gas companies to pay revenue into a trust or protected account which is either held until such time as Burma has a legitimate and democratically-elected government or used for humanitarian purposes.