Newscast - Africa

The House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on the redesign of three naira notes has rejected the 10 days extension granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 bank notes.
The Chairman of the Committee and the Majority Leader of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, said the green chamber will proceed and sign an arrest warrant to compel the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele to appear before the committee.
He says the new naira redesign policy is capable of frustrating the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
He described the extension as a mere political gimmick to further deceive Nigerians and worsen their economic and social livelihood, insisting that the CBN governor must appear before or stand the risk of being arrested on the strength of legislative writs signed earlier by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has extended the deadline for the use of the old notes till February 10.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, explained that the apex bank has sought approval from President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the deadline for the use of the old notes by 10 days.
The CBN Governor also solicited the cooperation of all Nigerians in ensuring a hitch-free process for the implementation of the policy.
Before the apex bank extended the use of the naira note, many Nigerians experienced difficulty in lodging their old banknotes.

The US Department of Justice and eight US states have filed a case against Google alleging it has too much power over the online ad market.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland says Its anti-competitive actions had "weakened if not destroyed the competition in the ad tech industry", Google accused the DOJ of doubling down on a flawed argument.
The Firm says the case attempted to "pick winners and losers" in a competitive industry.
Online advertising accounts for the lion's share of Google's multibillion-dollar revenue.

Social networking giant Meta announced it would soon reinstate former president Donald Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram with new guardrails, two years after he was banned over the 2021 US Capitol insurrection.
Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, says they will be reinstating Mr. Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks, adding that the move would come with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.
Clegg says going forward, the Republican leader could be suspended for up to two years for each violation of platform policies.

A summit on food security across Africa has heard calls for the continent to feed itself, rather than relying on aid or imports.
The current African Union chairman - Senegalese President Macky Sall - told the meeting in Dakar that Africa had huge potential that was not exploited.
The head of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, two-thirds of the world's uncultivated arable land is in Africa adding that Africa can and must feed itself.
Tens of millions of people in East Africa and the Sahel region face hunger because of drought, conflict and a rise in the cost of food and fuel.

Angola has expressed concern over the use of heavy military equipment in the war in Ukraine as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visits the oil-rich southern African country.
The Angola foreign affairs ministry says the use of increasingly sophisticated equipment might lead to greater involvement of the different parties to the conflict, and eventually lead to a third world war.
The statement also highlighted Angola's historic friendship ties with Russia and its good cooperation ties with Ukraine.

France has agreed to a request from Burkina Faso's military leaders to withdraw all its troops from the country.
Burkina Faso says it wants to defend itself.
France says it would also recall its ambassador to the country for consultations. Last year French troops also left neighbouring Mali, where they had spent eight years fighting jihadists.
France has kept close military links with many of its former colonies in West Africa and has been helping several of them fight jihadists who are active across the region under the now-terminated Operation Barkhane.

The United States Government declared that people involved in undermining the electoral process in Nigeria will be slapped with visa restrictions.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, says his country supports Nigeria’s democratic process and desire to uphold the rule of law. To support Nigeria’s upcoming elections, today I am announcing visa restrictions for those involved in undermining democracy in Nigeria.
Blinken says the United States supports Nigerian aspirations to combat corruption and strengthen democracy and the rule of law.
The US Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria, in a statement, says the visa restrictions are specific to certain individuals and are not directed at the Nigerian people or the Government of Nigeria.

The UK Government has launched the Developing Countries Trading Scheme in Nigeria, which will enable the country to benefit from free-duty trade on exported goods.
The British Deputy High Commission, Lagos, says the DCTS offers one of the most generous sets of trading preferences in the world and demonstrates the UK’s commitment to building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with countries like Nigeria.
The commission says the work is part of a wider push by the UK to drive a free trade, pro-growth agenda across the globe, using trade to drive prosperity and help eradicate poverty.

The Federal Executive Council in Abuja approved the National Child Online Protection Policy and Strategy.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isah Pantami, says that the strategy aims at protecting children from the harmful side of the digital environment. The meeting was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Pantami says the policy was in line with the International Telecommunication Union’s policy document for all its member countries.
He says the cabinet also approved the Nigeria Data Protection Bill to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of data being submitted to the government and to other institutions.