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A recent flurry of activity by outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari will help his successor Bola Tinubu to tackle key macroeconomic problems, including cutting subsidies and overhauling the exchange rate. It could pave the way for a more proactive government at a time of extreme economic and other stresses, writes Jon Marks.

Nigeria-focused, London-listed Seplat Energy said it was waiting for chief executive Roger Brown’s visa status to be resolved before he retakes the reins at the company, after the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) withdrew a case it had brought at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The International Monetary Fund has trimmed its economic growth expectations for sub-Saharan Africa in its latest World Economic Outlook to 3.6% for 2023. Low-income countries are expected to outperform most of their richer neighbours, but some analysts have warned the IMF is being overly optimistic.

The continent’s main crude grades are finding themselves priced out of the largest Asian markets including China and India, although in the longer term there may be a way for African players to benefit from the advent of cheaper Russian supplies.

As Bola Ahmed Tinubu prepares for his scheduled 29 May inauguration, Africa Confidential and African Energy are co-hosting a high-level panel on continuity, change, energy strategy and the policy mix in Nigeria on 18 April, during the AIX Energy in Transition event in London.

Lagos-headquartered Rensource plans to launch a Series B funding round in the near future, aiming to raise $12m by end-year, which it will use to advance its 70MW commercial and industrial project pipeline, chief executive Prince Ojeabulu told African Energy.

Lagos-headquartered Royal Power Energy (RPE) is planning to expand out of its home market and into Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as it seeks to exploit opportunities stemming from the rising demand for electricity from mobile phone network providers.

Legal protests are under way, but in all likelihood president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu will take over the Aso Rock Presidential Villa following their inauguration, scheduled for 29 May.

In the run up to elections, president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu sought to burnish his pro-business credentials by offering everything from taking Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (NNPCL) beyond corporatisation to privatisation, to cutting fuel subsidies in reforms that would bring greater coherence to public finances.

A new administration is coming to Abuja, with some familiar faces and the same old daunting problems to fix. An uncomfortably small proportion of Nigeria’s 220m-plus population voted in an election that could have a big impact, but only if Bola Tinubu surprises his detractors by driving forward with a diverse package of reforms and reconciliation measures that have defied previous governments, writes Jon Marks.

A Lagos court ruling against the leadership of ambitious independent oil and gas company Seplat could reinforce concerns that, even with an apparently pro-business president-elect, Nigeria may not prove an easy market for international oil companies.

Nigeria’s National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has named the local Mainstream Energy Solutions Ltd (MESL) as preferred bidder for two hydroelectric power (HEP) plant concessions. African Energy understands that negotiations are expected to start soon to finalise terms between the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and MESL.

West Africa’s total installed generation capacity could reach 43GW by 2027 from 31GW at end-2021, according to African Energy Live Data’s latest analysis, with thermal, hydropower and other renewable projects lining up. But many of these capacity additions are planned for Nigeria, where results may be patchy, as it is already hard to dispatch power from existing plants to an inadequate grid.

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)’s impact development arm the Fund for Export Development in Africa (Feda) has concluded the purchase of 5% of Lagos-based electricity generator Geregu Power. The deal is the latest example of how the Cairo-based trade bank has morphed from being a staid institution devoted to trade finance in Africa to a much more punchy outfit.

Cautious hopes have been dashed that a wave of interest from younger generation and independent-minded urban voters would prompt a sea change in Nigerian politics as the favourite Bola Tinubu, representing the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner in the 24 February presidential election with 37% of the official vote.