Newscast - Africa

The House of Representatives at plenary rejected a bill that sought to repeal the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority Act 2011 and the Sovereign Wealth Fund and transfer the assets and liabilities to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.
Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, Hon. Wole Oke argued that all funds currently in the custody of the NSIA be transferred to the federation account and all investments made by the Authority be managed by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated established pursuant to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated Act.
He also pointed out that the NSIA had always failed and refused to submit its spending to the appropriation powers of the National Assembly.

The federal government has expressed concern over the significant decline in the contribution of the mining sector to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product which fell from about 5.6 per cent it used to be 42 years ago to the current 0.33 per cent.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, stated that the government was doing everything to diversify the economy.
He says by so doing, the government aspires to capture economic linkages, create jobs and increase revenues.
Adegbite says productivity from the Nigerian mining sector was still insufficient to meet local demands for key inputs from mining.
The minister stressed that efforts were ongoing to make sure that the illegal exportation of Nigeria’s gold to Dubai was curbed.

Nigeria has approved the request by the United States for the extradition of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari.
Kyari is wanted to stand trial for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft.
He was accused of conspiring with a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Nigerian, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi to commit the crime.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), had on Tuesday filed an application before the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja for Kyari’s extradition.
The AGF says the application followed a request by the Diplomatic Representative of the U.S. Embassy in Abuja.

A senior US defense official says the Russian military advance on Kyiv has momentarily stalled, hampered by Ukrainian resistance as well as fuel and food shortages.
The official says the Russians are regrouping and rethinking and trying to adjust to the challenges that they’ve had.
The official says a massive Russian convoy north of Kyiv is barely moving, but that the US believes they still intend to surround and capture the Ukraine capital, by siege tactics if necessary.
The US official says the Ukraine military continues to challenge the invasion force, and that the Russians have not gained control of the skies above the country.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says that his country warned the international community about the passing of warships through the country’s straits since the war between Russia and Ukraine started.
He says that Ankara has been implementing an international pact on naval passage to the Black Sea. Under the 1936 Montreux Convention.
Cavusoglu says Turkey has not yet received any requests from any countries for warships to pass the Turkish straits since the Russian-Ukrainian war began last week.

The EU rejected a plea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for immediate membership to the bloc for his country as Kyiv battled a Russian invasion.
EU officials stressed that the adherence procedure takes years, dampening Ukraine’s hopes that suddenly becoming part of the European club could help it better weather the Russian onslaught and speed up military, financial and political support.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal tweeted that the time to put it down on paper has come.

FIFA in a joint statement with UEFA says Russia has been expelled from the 2022 World Cup and its teams suspended from all international football competitions until further notice after its invasion of Ukraine,
The announcement also affects Russian clubs involved in European competitions.
Russia was due to play Poland in a World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final on March 24 and could have gone on to face Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 for a place at the finals.

Mali has been unable to pay almost $80m it owes on an international debt after sanctions imposed in January froze its foreign bank accounts.
The country's total debt defaults since January have now reached $180m.
The West African regional bloc, Ecowas, ordered the sanctions after Mali's military rulers went back on plans to hold elections and said they would stay in power for five years.
The Malian authorities say the restrictions - and the cutting of foreign aid - were inhumane and will push people into deeper poverty.

The African Union says it is disturbed by reports of Africans in Ukraine being refused the right to cross the border to safety.
The body urged all countries to respect international law and offer assistance to everyone fleeing from the war irrespective of their race.
The AU says reports that Africans are singled out for unacceptable dissimilar treatment would be shockingly racist and in breach of international law.
The union hailed member countries and their embassies in countries neighbouring Ukraine that is supporting those fleeing from the war.

Burkina Faso's new military ruler has approved a transitional charter that will allow him to stay in power for three years.
Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba signed a charter that was drawn up by a military-appointed commission and had been discussed by a national forum in Ouagadougou.
The document says he will not be allowed to stand in elections scheduled for 2025.
An opposition leader, Eddie Komboigo, says not everyone would be happy with the plan, but it was based on consensus.