President Joe Biden of the United States has sent “warm wishes” to the government and people of Nigeria after President Bola Tinubu was sworn into office on Monday.

“My administration has worked to strengthen ties between the United States and Nigeria, and I look forward to continuing this work with President Tinubu to support economic growth, advance security, and promote respect for human rights,” Mr Biden said.”

“The people-to-people connections between our two countries run particularly deep, nurtured by a vibrant Nigerian Diaspora in the United States.”

Mr Biden is not known to have personally spoken to Mr Tinubu since he was declared Nigeria’s president-elect in February. Nigerians critical of the election that brought Mr Tinubu have closely followed the reaction of the United States government to the outcome of the disputed polls.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken telephoned with Mr Tinubu weeks ago, and Mr Biden sent a delegation led by U.S. transport secretary to attend Monday’s inauguration.

https://pluboard.com/2023/05/29/election-2023/i-look-forward-to-working-with-tinubu-biden/

President Bola Tinubu has announced the removal of petrol subsidy, setting the stage for increased petrol price in the country.

Mr Tinubu was inaugurated on Monday as Nigeria’s seventh democratically elected president, taking over from President Muhammadu Buhari whose eight-year administration left what many analysts consider to be a devastated economy, marked by high debt, inflation and unemployment.

Mr Buhari left without addressing the subsidy problem which costs the country trillions of naira annually. His government had pledged to fix the nation’s refineries to allow it remove fuel subsidy, but it faced a N3.3 trillion subsidy cost between January and June alone, a third of its total projected revenue for this year.

The removal of subsidy is bound to push the cost of petrol and transportation and living in general higher.

Fuel traders have warned that the price of petrol may rise to N750 a litre from the current official rate of less than N200, if subsidy is removed. More: https://pluboard.com/2023/05/29/economy/nigerians-to-pay-more-for-petrol-as-tinubu-says-subsidy-gone/

Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, has signed a controversial anti-gay legislation into law, despite widespread condemnation from rights activists and the international community.

The new law, while not criminalizing individuals based on their LGBTQ identity, introduces severe penalties for what it terms “aggravated homosexuality.”

– Key points to note

Under the legislation, those found guilty of “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes cases involving sexual relations with minors, individuals infected with HIV, and other vulnerable groups, could face the death penalty. Suspects convicted of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” could be imprisoned for up to 14 years.

https://pluboard.com/2023/05/29/africa/death-sentence-for-aggravated-homosexuality-under-new-uganda-law/