Newscast - Africa

The Debt Management Office has announced that it raised N724.9 billion in February 2023 Federal Government bond auction.
DBO say it was a 100% increase compared to the previous year.
The auction saw a total of 577 bids worth N724.9 billion received for the total amount offered of N360 billion.
The total amount allotted was N771.56 billion, with successful bids allotted at marginal rates of 13.99%, 14.90%, 15.90%, and 16.00%.
The DMO’s says the auction was part of its efforts to raise funds for the implementation of the Federal Government’s 2023 budget and to finance critical infrastructure projects across the country.

Ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol has risen by 110 per cent in four months.
The data showed that the ex-depot price rose from N148 per litre last October to an average of N312 per litre on February 3 this year.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had set the price at which products can be sold to oil marketers at depots at N148 per litre.
It noted that N303/litre was recorded at Apapa depots, while N305/litre was recorded at Ibafon depots. The product was sold at the highest price of N312/ltr at the Satellite depot- all in Lagos State.
DAPPMAN also cited illegal levies and the high cost of daughter's vessels as other factors fuelling the price hikes.

A proposal for the creation of new agencies to monitor and evaluate Federal Government projects by the National Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies has been rejected by the Federal Government.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, argued this at the opening session of the Dialogue on the National Monitoring and Evaluation Policy and Women’s Economic Empowerment at the State House, Abuja.
Ahmed says the Federal Government had upgraded its monitoring and evaluation framework by involving citizens in its projects.

Germany Government says People affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria will be allowed to stay temporarily with relatives in Germany.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser says it is emergency aid and they want to allow Turkish or Syrian families in Germany to bring their close relatives from the disaster area to their homes without bureaucracy.
She says this would be done with regular visas, which would be swiftly issued and remain valid for three months.
The decision comes as the death toll from the earthquakes surpassed 29,000 on Sunday. Millions have been displaced in both countries.

Residents in Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city, are hunkering down at home as they brace for heavy rain, flooding and gale-force winds from Cyclone Gabrielle.
People in the city and its surrounding areas were asked to stay home for all but essential trips as train services were cancelled, flights suspended, and libraries and most schools closed.
Rachel Kelleher, deputy controller of Auckland Emergency Management, says they expect the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle to get, unfortunately, worse before they get better.
The cyclone comes two weeks after a record-breaking storm swamped Auckland and killed four people.

Burundi has deployed a specialised team of ten to Turkey to help in the rescue and recovery operations following last week's devastating earthquake.
Burundi Foreign Affair Minister Albert Shingiro says they will be deployed by Turkish authorities to areas where they need them most.
Burundi did not deploy a team to Syria because access to affected areas is difficult, but the minister added that they sympathise with the suffering brotherly people of Syria.

Malawi has dropped criminal charges against the head of the anti-corruption agency following pressure from the country’s main donors and local civil society groups.
Martha Chizuma was facing charges of criminal defamation over a leaked audio in which she allegedly made remarks suggesting that a number of senior government officials and some judicial officers were hindering the fight against corruption.
The Director of Public Prosecutions says he discontinued the cases following a review and consultation with the attorney general. Ms Chizuma's lawyer however told Voice of America that the charges have not been formally dropped.

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council has expressed its commitment to ensure that in 2023, Nigeria makes more than $4.82bn it generated from non-oil export business in 2022.
Ekiti State Coordinator, NEPC, Mrs Iyabode Abe, says over $4.82bn was generated from the non-oil export business in the year 2022 as a result of the Council’s effort in promoting non-oil export which jacked up the Gross Domestic Product economy of the country by 15 per cent.
She says that the Council was committed to stepping up efforts to promote non-export through training programmes, that will expose SMEs to some technicalities of export business for them to have clear competitive edge in the global market.

President Muhammadu Buhari approved a work plan for the National Council on Climate Change.
The President also approved the deployment of staff from key Ministries, Department and Agencies to the Council to ensure its effective take-off.
President Buhari approved the proposed Institutional Arrangement for the Council while eesponding to a number of requests by the Director-General of the Council, on ensuring a smooth take-off and operationalization of the Council.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has warned that the continuous scarcity of the N200, N500 and N1,000 new notes may lead to economic recession as well as severe food inflation.
The Forum lamented that though the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami said the Federal Government would comply with the order of the Supreme Court of Nigeria nullifying the February 10 deadline for the validity of three old notes, Nigerians have not experienced any change so far.
The Chairman of the Forum and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal called on the Federal Government and the CBN to respect the Rule of Law and listen to the voice of reason expressed by Nigerians and several other stakeholders including the Council of State, before the damage to the economy becomes too great to fix by the next administration.