🇳🇬Week of November 2

Aliko Dangote launched a $2.5 billion fuel storage project in Namibia, with plans for a 1.6 million barrel tank farm. The Dangote Group also plans a 1,700km pipeline linking Southern African countries.1234

Namibia's President called the $2.5 billion energy investment a landmark for Africa's industrial future. The project is intended as a fuel-storage gateway to Southern Africa, a region where parts of the market have no sea access.156

Dangote also plans an undersea fuel pipeline from Nigeria to Ghana, a separate project from the Namibian storage development.7

In Abuja, the Africa Energy Bank launched with $5 billion in capital and appointed Helmy Ghazi as its first president. Dangote said Africa must be bold to lead change for prosperity, and Kenya's President William Ruto said the Dangote refinery shows what African governments, investors and financial institutions can do together.8910

Dangote secured $2.5 billion to expand Africa's largest refinery, and picked Kenya for an East African mega refinery. Tanzania and the Dangote Group are exploring multi-billion-dollar investments in infrastructure, energy and fertiliser.111213

Nigeria's Federal Government has begun the National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI), a scheme paying 50,000 naira in cash relief to vulnerable Nigerians. The programme was announced in a statement by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro.12

Banks have published steps for customers to claim the money. Moniepoint Microfinance Bank released a USSD code for eligible customers to check their status and access the 50,000 naira relief support, while OPay users were given a step-by-step guide to receive the funds.32

The government has also set out how beneficiaries are selected for the 50,000 naira payment, with the selection process explained in Hausa-language coverage of the scheme.45

Galaxy Television reported the start of the monthly cash payment to vulnerable Nigerians and published six steps for MoMo users to claim the 50,000 naira.5

Nigerian-born legal scholar Professor Dapo Akande has been elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice. Vanguard described the election as a significant milestone in his career and a diplomatic victory for the United Kingdom.1

Akande is a British lawyer and was the UK nominee to the UN court. The Guardian Nigeria called the result a big diplomatic win, and The ICIR reported the Nigerian-born UK nominee emerging as an ICJ judge.23

The UK government announced that its judge takes on a key role in upholding international law at the International Court of Justice.4

Kenya's Phoebe Okowa was also elected to the International Court of Justice, according to KBC Digital.5

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, accused the Department of State Services of recruiting thugs to obstruct ADC campaigns in Sokoto. He said he would address a rally in the state today, and the ADC vowed to proceed with its campaign despite the closure of its office.12

The DSS denied the allegation and ordered an investigation into it. The agency said it was probing Atiku's claim of a plot to organise protests in Sokoto.34

The campaign kickoff in Sokoto is being held with the venue kept secret after a rift between the ADC and the Sokoto State government. PDP state chairmen also petitioned the Inspector General of Police.51

The African Credit Rating Agency is in talks with 15 sovereign borrowers and plans to publish its first African sovereign credit ratings by March 2027. The agency is being launched by the African Union to counter what it says is bias that inflates borrowing costs for African countries.1234

Togo is among the first countries on the new agency's research agenda. The agency's push targets borrowing costs of about $75 billion across 15 African countries.56

Nigerian tax reform official Oyedele urged global investors to judge African countries fairly, weighing in as the new agency prepares its first assessments.7

The African Peer Review Mechanism, cited alongside the ratings push, is presented as a route to strengthening good governance and unlocking Africa's investment potential.8

Women's rights organisation NILOWV and the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) are seeking a cross-party pact to increase women's representation in the 2027 elections. Stakeholders at the same push called for legal safeguards and financial support to boost women's political participation.12

Adeola Azeez, a founder of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) and daughter of the late Afenifere leader Pa Ayo Adebanjo, said Nigeria's political structure is not built for women. Her remarks were carried as the centrepiece of the women-in-politics discussion.32

The National Assembly has proposed 74 legislative seats reserved for women as part of the constitution review. The proposal sits alongside the stakeholders' demand for concrete action on women's political inclusion.45

A minister affirmed President Bola Tinubu's commitment to women's empowerment, the government's stated position in the same week's debate.6

BudgIT published its 2026 State of States report under the title "From Allocation to Impact: Rethinking State Spending Priorities," arguing that higher allocations to Nigeria's states have not translated into better services. The report's release was taken up by outlets across the editorial spectrum, from pro-government LEADERSHIP to oppositional TheCable, Peoples Gazette and BudgIT itself.1234

Peoples Gazette reported that Nigerians still face poor public services and living conditions despite increased revenues to the states, citing BudgIT's findings. TheCable framed the same report around closing what it called Nigeria's costly budget execution gaps.24

Vanguard reported that Oye lamented rising hardship and poverty despite higher revenue for the federal government and the states. The claim places the complaint about living conditions alongside the revenue gains the report documents.5

LEADERSHIP reported that Bagudu pushed for bigger budgets, a position that runs against the report's emphasis on spending results rather than larger allocations.3

BusinessDay reported a World Bank finding that Nigerian states spend more on roads than on education and healthcare. The finding adds a sector breakdown to the revenue-versus-outcomes argument in the BudgIT report.6

Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Australian Federal Police signed a memorandum of understanding to combat transnational drug trafficking. The agreement commits the two agencies to intelligence sharing and joint operations against international drug cartels.123

The pact was announced on Monday and reported across Nigerian outlets from the state agency's own release to oppositional and pro-government papers. Punch described the deal as aimed at a drug route, while The Nation framed it as strengthening the war against drug cartels.452

Coverage of the agreement continued into Thursday, when TVC News, Daily Trust, ThisDay and Pointblank News reported the same partnership as a pact to dismantle international trafficking networks. No outlet disputed the existence or the stated purpose of the memorandum.6789

OPay, the SoftBank-backed Nigerian fintech, withdrew its $304 million US initial public offering after a regulatory inquiry. The company had targeted a $4 billion valuation in the New York listing.123

Attributed claim: Accounts of the listing's fate diverge. Premium Times reported that OPay listed on the NYSE and raised $304 million at a $4 billion valuation, while Bloomberg reported that Opay shares failed to trade after raising $304 million in the US IPO. Reuters and Techpoint Africa reported the offering was pulled.4512

The China-Global South Project described OPay as a Chinese-founded Nigerian fintech giant and reported that it scrapped the $304 million US IPO amid a regulatory probe.6

Earlier coverage reported that the Chinese-backed Nigerian fintech was targeting a $4 billion valuation in its US IPO.3

Nigerian troops killed a top ISWAP Shura Council member, high-ranking commanders and two Arab fighters in Borno State, according to accounts published on Monday and Thursday. The operation was reported in Kukawa, where the Shura Council member and other commanders were neutralised. The two Arab fighters were named in the same accounts as among those killed.12345

A separate joint operation by naval marines and army forces in the Lake Chad region killed 34 insurgents, described in one account as Boko Haram terrorists. The two operations were reported together in the same week's coverage of the military campaign in the northeast.6

Attributed claim: The accounts differ in emphasis rather than in the core facts: TheCable and BusinessDay reported the killing of the ISWAP leaders and two Arab fighters, The Nation described a high-profile ISWAP commander among the dead, and LEADERSHIP and ZAgazola led on the Shura Council member and other commanders in Kukawa. All name the same location and the same categories of casualties.12345