Coastal West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea: Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and the ports, oil, and politics of the gulf.
Talib Ahmed Bensouda has submitted nomination papers for Gambia’s December 5 presidential election while appealing adverse local-government inquiry findings. The electoral commission and courts face a test of both accountability and fair ballot access, not a settled case of criminal guilt.
An Abuja court’s ruling reaches beyond party offices to nominations made under David Mark’s leadership. The ADC says it has appealed, but no stay has been verified and INEC says it has not yet acted on the judgment.
Finance Minister Cheikh Diba defended the 2027 bill before lawmakers on Saturday after the finance committee sought its withdrawal. The hearing keeps the budget process moving, but leaves unresolved a dispute over fiscal assumptions, transparency and the political backing needed for a proposed IMF programme.
Guinea-Bissau has stopped a controversial US-funded study that proposed delaying hepatitis B vaccination for thousands of newborns. The decision, followed by a police seizure of vaccine stocks, has exposed deeper tensions over medical ethics, African sovereignty, scientific independence and the influence of American vaccine politics on international research.
A Lagos court has restrained Nigeria’s anti-graft agency from arresting or detaining Honda executives, dealers and more than 200 other applicants over an ongoing investigation. The dispute began after an EFCC visit to Honda’s premises in September during which original company documents were allegedly taken. But the central question remains unanswered: what exactly is the commission investigating?