Power, politic and people shaping West Africa – from democracy to military rule, coups to culture, ECOWAS to youth-led change.
Ghana’s President John Mahama on Tuesday urged global firms to ramp up crude oil production in the West African nation before the global shift to renewable energy renders the resource worthless. He warned that Ghana risks seeing its oil resources stuck in the ground if drilling is not fast-tracked while demand still exists. Many countries […]
Junta-ruled Guinea is doing “everything” to ensure presidential and parliamentary elections are held in December, Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah told AFP on Tuesday. The west African country’s junta leader General Mamady Doumbouya has promised that 2025 would be “a crucial electoral year” and has announced a constitutional referendum in September. But no date had […]
At least 100 civilians were killed by Burkina Faso government forces in March near the western town of Solenzo, Human Rights Watch said Monday. According to victim testimony and videos shared on social media gathered by the rights group, the attackers were Burkina Faso special forces and members of a pro-government militia, the Volunteers for […]
Ivory Coast’s main opposition leader, who has been barred from standing in an October presidential vote, said Monday that he was resigning as party leader but would still lead the fight to win the election. Six months before voters choose a new head of state, political tensions are running high in the west African country […]
Benin Republic President, Patrice Talon, has closed the border route between Taberu, a village in Nigeria’s Kwara State, and Tanu, a neighboring village in Benin, as part of efforts to curb illegal agricultural trade. The closure is focused on halting the movement of key commodities like Cashew nuts and Soya beans. Emir of Yashikira, Alhaji […]
Mali owes more than $94 million to the entity managing a key hydroelectric dam that also supplies power to Senegal and Mauritania, raising the spectre of more electricity outages for the country. SOGEM, the regional body responsible for running the Manantali Dam and power station, said the funding shortfall threatens its continued operation. It has […]
A Malian transitional government decree on Wednesday mandates the immediate suspension of the activities of all political parties throughout the country until further notice. According to the official text read on national television, the suspension applies not only to formally established political parties, but also to “all political associations and organisations claiming to be political.” […]
Ghana’s central bank will begin overseeing the digital asset space later this year, pending the passage of legislation currently before parliament, Governor Johnson Asiama has revealed. Asiama spoke at the African Leaders and Partners Forum, held in Washington on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank Spring Meetings. He pledged the Bank of […]
Ghanaian authorities on Wednesday charged a former top security official with skimming millions of dollars from a cybersecurity contract, according to a court document seen by AFP. Prosecutors said Kwabena Adu-Boahene, a former director of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), which monitors national security communications, used the money to buy property in Ghana and Britain and […]
President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana has suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo with immediate effect and initiated an investigation following three petitions filed against her. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Office of the President on Tuesday. According to the statement, the President, after consultations with the Council of State, determined that […]
Burkina Faso’s military government has said it foiled a “major plot” to overthrow junta leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré, with the army alleging the plotters were based in neighbouring Ivory Coast. Security Minister Mahamadou Sana said the coup attempt was led by current and former soldiers working with “terrorist leaders”. The intention was to attack the […]
The Mayor of Kumasi, Richard Boadi, has declared a crackdown on stray cattle in the city, announcing that beginning May 1, any roaming cow will be seized, slaughtered, and served as food to inmates at the Kumasi Central Prison. Speaking at a press conference in Kumasi on Friday, Boadi said the new policy is a […]
