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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has named Olayemi Cardoso to head the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Cardoso was Lagos state’s economic planning and budget commissioner from 1999 until 2005, when Tinubu was governor. He is the latest member of that team to be appointed to high office. Cardaso fills the vacancy left by Godwin Emefiele’s suspension and arrest in June, as the ex-governor was closely linked to disastrous policies enacted by outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

Washington has added to its support for the Lobito Corridor by backing a new spur to north-western Zambia. With Brussels now also on board, western efforts to counter Chinese influence over critical minerals are gathering pace.

All of Kenyan President William Ruto’s personal energy, facility with words, public charm and ruthless cultivation of influential allies was on show at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, with a very hands-on performance as host of the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) on 4-6 September.

Climate change – closely linked to the intractable issues of poverty and inequality – is an issue preoccupying policy-makers around the world, but its impacts are particularly acute across swathes of Africa. But while calls for swifter action to unlock larger amounts of financing were paramount at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS), held in Nairobi on 4-6 September, it was also apparent that views differ widely on how to address the challenge.

Sorely-needed investments in the power, mining and energy sectors have been hampered by the putsch in July. With the government heavily dependent on foreign funding, Niamey’s new prime minister will likely struggle to balance the books as sanctions bite, writes Marc Howard.

The prospect of military intervention by other countries in the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to reverse Niger’s July coup seems to be receding. The bloc’s commissioner for political affairs, peace and security Abdel-Fatau Musah said on 6 September it had set no deadline for military action and was emphasising diplomacy.

Initial projections from the African Union’s Continental Power System Master Plan show what an interconnected power market might look like, driven predominantly by renewable energy – but the plan also sets out in stark relief the vast gap between current levels of supply and what is needed for universal electricity access to help raise economies out of poverty, write John Hamilton and Jon Marks in Nairobi.

The abrupt end to the Bongo family’s decades-long rule seems to have caused barely a ripple among Gabon’s international and commercial partners – in contrast to the impact of the spate of coups d’état further north – as General Brice Oligui Nguema’s takeover is seen as an inside job that is generally supported across the population. While Gabon’s elite jockeys for position, the critical oil sector appears to have been largely unaffected – for now.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been sworn in for a second five-year term after an election widely condemned as flawed. The fallout could stifle efforts to put the economy back on track and undermine his plans to reengage with the world, writes Nicholas Makombe.

A $3bn emergency loan secured by Nigerian National Petroleum Company from Cairo-based Afreximbank has reinforced Nigeria’s tight relationship with one of the few multilateral lenders still willing to support oil and gas spending, and underlined Abuja’s urgent need for financial support to underwrite President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda.

After months of speculation that President Macky Sall would bid for a constitutionally-prohibited third term, his announcement in July that he wouldn’t run was greeted with relief. Yet continued political violence and a fear Sall may seek to install a proxy candidate underline wider governance concerns, not least over hydrocarbon revenues, writes Waly Dione Faye.

Namcor’s glitzy headquarters are an indication of its growing influence, following major offshore finds, but there are also signs of an increasingly bitter power struggle, with the suspension of the national oil company’s managing director and the arrest of its chair, writes Our Namibia Correspondent.

Ethiopia is set to join the ranks of Africa’s lithium exporters, with first production from the Kenticha resource slated for later this year. But doubts about this claim have been raised by a group of Abyssinian Metals shareholders, who are fighting a boardroom and courtroom battle to remove the Australian developer’s board.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan appointed Doto Mashaka Bitek as her energy minister, along with a promotion to deputy prime minister, in a 30 August cabinet reshuffle that moved January Makamba to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Co-operation.

China’s Kaishan Group is acquiring one of the three 35MW geothermal developments at Menengai from Symbion Power, while Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power has connected to the Kenya Power grid and Globeleq’s documentation will soon be finalised, a senior official said.