General News

In Guinea-Bissau, political tensions are rising as the country approaches the end of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló’s mandate in February 2025. The opposition insists that Embaló’s presidential term ends on February 27, while the president himself has stated that he plans to hold elections in November.

Domingos Simões Pereira, the leader of the opposition coalition PAI-TERRA Ranka and former president of the National Assembly, has warned that the country will enter a period of illegality starting on February 27. According to Pereira, from that date, Guinea-Bissau will be without any legitimate state institutions to guide its governance. He has highlighted the political crises of the past year, including the invasion and kidnapping of members of the Supreme Court and the National Assembly, the expiration of the National Election Commission’s mandate in 2022, and the overall breakdown of democratic institutions.

Pereira expressed deep concern about the country’s future, emphasizing that the lack of functioning sovereign institutions would leave the nation in a critical and legally ungovernable state. He stressed the urgency of finding a negotiated solution through a dialogue involving all political and social actors. Pereira called on President Embaló to engage in an “inclusive dialogue” with the country’s political leaders, as the country faces what he described as a risk of entering a period of crisis after February 27.

In a video posted on January 18, Pereira reminded the president that there were only 41 days left until the end of his term, urging for dialogue to avoid further instability.

Source: Radio France Internationale (RFI)

In Cape Verde, former Prime Minister Pedro Pires has dismissed as “unfounded” a request from Celso Ribeiro, leader of the parliamentary group of the MpD (Movement for Democracy), calling for the PAICV (African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde) to apologize for alleged abuses, arbitrary arrests, and torture during the country’s one-party regime.

Pires, who served as Prime Minister from 1975 to 1991, during the period of single-party rule, downplayed the demand for an apology, calling it politically motivated and lacking logic. Speaking at an event in Mindelo to commemorate Cape Verde’s National Heroes Day, Pires stated that such remarks were part of political gamesmanship aimed at gaining electoral advantage rather than contributing to historical understanding. He emphasized that he did not attach much importance to the issue.

Ribeiro’s call for an apology, made on January 13, came during celebrations marking 34 years of Cape Verde’s first free elections, citing specific instances of repression, arbitrary imprisonment, and deaths during the single-party era.

Source: Radio France Internationale (RFI)

Nigeria has been admitted as a partner country of the BRICS bloc, a coalition of emerging market economies formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The move marks a significant step in Nigeria’s growing global influence, aligning one of Africa’s largest economies with the bloc’s objectives of fostering South-South cooperation and reforming global governance.

BRICS, which now represents over half the world’s population and 45% of global GDP, added Nigeria as its ninth partner, alongside countries like Belarus, Bolivia, and Iran. While Nigeria’s partnership status, granted in October 2024, allows participation in BRICS meetings, it does not provide voting rights. Nigeria, as a major oil producer, strengthens BRICS’s economic clout and adds to the group’s push for alternatives to the US dollar in global trade.

In Niger, the Minister of Communication, Sidi Mohamed Raliou, reversed the suspension of the private TV channel Canal 3 and released its editor-in-chief, Seyni Amadou, who had been detained since Saturday. The suspension and Amadou’s detention were widely criticized by press freedom organizations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and local media groups.

The suspension, initially imposed on January 17, was a response to Canal 3’s airing of an annual performance ranking of government ministers. This ranking, which the channel had broadcast without issue in previous years, angered Minister Raliou, leading to the punitive measures. In addition to suspending the channel for a month, Raliou suspended Amadou for three months and had him placed in custody.

In response, RSF called for Amadou’s immediate release and condemned the suspensions as illegal. Local press organizations also described the sanctions as unjustified and defended the media’s right to criticize government actions.

A statement read on national television announced that the sanctions had been lifted. Amadou was released shortly after, with Canal 3’s director expressing relief. Ali Idrissa Zabeïrou Souley, the president of the Association of Independent Press Publishers, praised the government’s decision, noting that “wisdom had prevailed.”

Source: Radio France Internationale (RFI)