Daily Watch – Shell-Renaissance deal approved, DRC files criminal complaints against Apple

19th December 2024

Nigeria has approved a $1.3 billion deal that would see a group of local companies buy Shell Plc’s onshore assets. Petroleum Resources Minister Heineken Lokpobiri is allowing Renaissance Africa Energy’s purchase of Shell Petroleum Development Co., a deal first announced in January after the deal was initially rejected in October, the group said in a statement Wednesday. ND Western Ltd., Aradel Holdings Plc, Petrolin Group, FIRS Exploration and Petroleum Development Co. and Waltersmith Group own Renaissance. The deal would fulfil Shell’s long-term goal of exiting operations in the challenging Niger Delta area. The company has received notification of the approval and is assessing it, the firm said. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has announced the auction of undeveloped oil and gas blocks in 2025, prioritising natural gas development to support the country’s commitment to UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported that diaspora remittances through International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) totalled $4.22 billion from January to October 2024, almost doubling the $2.62 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2023. Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the regulatory bank, disclosed this during an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions on Wednesday at the National Assembly. The increase in remittances represents a growth of approximately 61.1% in one year. Providing a monthly breakdown, Cardoso noted that remittances rose from $336.61 million in September 2024 to $402.38 million in October 2024. Cardoso further projected that remittance inflows would continue to rise by the end of the year, given the current trajectory. 

Ghana’s Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed two separate cases challenging the legality of the anti-LGBT legislation, paving the way for the president to sign it into law. The country’s parliament unanimously approved the bill in February. However, President Nana Akufo-Addo delayed signing it pending the challenges filed at the Supreme Court. Amanda Odoi and Richard Sky, both lawyers, filed separate challenges to the bill, seeking to declare it illegal and prevent the president from signing it. Justice Avril Lovelace-Johnson, from the seven-member panel court, said in the televised ruling that the cases were premature.  Lawyers for Odoi and Sky told Reuters they were disappointed by the ruling and would examine their options after studying the full judgment. Gay sex was already punishable by up to three years in prison before this legislation. The bill now also imposes a prison sentence of up to five years for the “wilful promotion, sponsorship, or support of LGBTQ+ activities.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints against Apple’s subsidiaries in France and Belgium, accusing the tech firm of using conflict minerals in its supply chain, lawyers for the Congolese government told Reuters. Apple strongly disputes the allegations and says it has told its suppliers they must not use the minerals in question sourced from Congo or Rwanda. Apple does not directly source primary minerals and says it audits suppliers, publishes findings and funds bodies that seek to improve mineral traceability. Its 2023 filing on conflict minerals to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said none of the smelters or refiners of 3T minerals or gold in its supply chain had financed or benefited armed groups in Congo or neighbouring countries.