Daily Watch – ISWAP executes former leader, Coronavirus to hit consumer credit & airlines

Nigeria’s House of Representatives resolved to proceed on a two weeks break to avert the spread of COVID-19. The lawmakers took the decision Tuesday while adopting a contribution by Minority Leader Ndudi Elumelu. This is coming as two more suspected cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Lagos, according to the Vanguard. One of the suspected cases is reported to be a Chinese man isolated on arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport on Tuesday. The unnamed man was said to be coughing excessively when accosted. The paper quotes a source as saying that the patient was quarantined at the isolation centre at Yaba, Lagos. Herbert Wigwe, the chief executive officer of Access Bank Plc, says consumer loans in Nigeria will be affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Wigwe told Bloomberg on Tuesday that the impact will be felt because markets converge. “Coronavirus and its knockoff effect on crude oil is a big issue. China is the largest consumer of oil and with China on lockdown, it must affect our reserves,” he said. Raphael Kuuchi, Vice President of the International Air Transport Association says African airlines risk losing about $400 million from flight cancellations and suspension to and from China alone. The global impact of coronavirus outbreak on air transport is estimated at $26 billion.

Outspan Nigeria Ltd, an Olam Group subsidiary, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kano dairy and cooperative union for milk collection. According to a statement by the company, the Kano dairy consists of 74 cooperative societies with 12,000 members. “As part of this MoU, Olam Dairy aims to develop and execute a backward integration plan that seeks to enhance and support the dairy value chain in line with the federal government’s plan for self-sufficiency in the dairy industry. Olam plans to set up the infrastructure to enable and assist farmers of the Kano dairy union to collect, store and transport raw milk in a safe and hygienic environment bringing to bear its experiences garnered from its forays in Russia and Uruguay.” The MoU signing ceremony was moderated and witnessed by Adamu Abdu Faragai, permanent secretary of the Kano state ministry of agriculture who represented the Kano state deputy governor; and Mohammed Shehu, a director from the federal ministry of agriculture and rural development who represented Sabo Nanono, the minister. Praveen Paulsamy, head of Olam Diary and Usman Abdullahi, chairman of Kano dairy cooperative union, perfected the signing.

The new leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province, Lawan Abubakar, otherwise called Ba Lawan, is moving rapidly to consolidate his position, by executing five Shura council members (the supreme leadership council of the terrorist group) including the erstwhile leader of the group Abu Abdullahi Umar Al Barnawi, also called Ba Idrisa, Premium Times quotes “authoritative sources familiar with developments around the group” said Sunday in Diffa and Maiduguri. “It is by far the most bloody and extensive move in the history of the group to behead its leadership crop in one fell swoop” researchers and reporters on the Media and Terrorism collaborative project of Premium Times and HumAngle Media Foundation learnt at the weekend, an indication that the regime of Ba Lawan may be paved with blood and pain. After an early February coup that led to the overthrow of Ba Idrisa, the new leadership detained him together with four members of the Shura who constituted his kitchen cabinet, sources said. The precise date of the execution is still in contention, but multiple sources familiar with the development said the killing of Ba Idrisa, along with Mohammad Bashir, Mustapha Jere, Ali Abdullahi, and the notorious Baba Mayinta, believed to be the power valve and key behind the throne under the Idrisa dispensation, “definitely triggered the mutiny of Wednesday 26th February into Thursday, 27th February by Ba Idrisa loyalists.

Togo’s Constitutional Court on Monday affirmed the outcome of the February 22 presidential vote that saw incumbent Faure Gnassingbe secure re-election, his fourth consecutive victory. Reacting on social media after the declaration, the 57-year-old president said the court had affirmed what was a clean, fair and transparent process. He reiterated calls on opponents to join in nation-building efforts. “The proclamation of the final results of the presidential election today by the constitutional court marks the culmination of a democratic, free, inclusive and transparent electoral process,” he said. Two days after the vote, the elections body, CENI, declared Faure winner with 72% of valid votes cast. The declaration came amidst an opposition victory claim with other aspirants congratulating a former Prime Minister for “unseating” the president.