MUHAMMADU BUHARI

Nigerians are gearing up to choose a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, whose eight years in power have been blighted by economic decay, soaring unemployment, heightened insecurity and an exodus of the educated elite. The Feb. 25 vote in Africa’s most populous nation pits long-familiar politicians in their 70s against a challenger from a fringe opposition party who held a hefty lead in early polls. The election has sparked unprecedented interest among young Nigerians tired of being ruled b

Nigeria's president has marked the opening of a $1.5 billion, Chinese-funded deep seaport in the commercial hub of Lagos that authorities hope will help grow the West African nation’s ailing economy.

Police in Nigeria say that gunmen ambushed a former governor in the country’s southeastern Imo state and bombed one of the cars in his convoy, killing three police officers and one paramilitary officer

Nigerians have until the end of January to exchange their highest-value banknotes for freshly-issued bills. The aim is to bring an estimated 2.7 trillion naira ($6 billion) that circulates in informal channels into the regular banking system. But cash is the lifeblood of Africa’s biggest economy and there’s concern that the switchover could trigger the kind of chaos that broke out when India tried something similar in 2016.

Experts raised concerns over a new policy announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria that heavily limits withdrawals of money in a push for a cashless economy.

In a story published November 23, 2022, about new Nigerian currency notes, The Associated Press erroneously reported that 200 Nigerian naira amount to 5 U.S. cents.

More than 1.3 million people have been displaced and over 82,000 houses have been destroyed, officials said.

Officials in Nigeria say the death toll from this year’s flooding has now risen to 603

Officials in Nigeria say the death toll from this year's flooding has risen to 603.

Officials in southeastern Nigeria say that 76 people including many women and children are missing after a boat capsized in the region

Officials in southeastern Nigeria say that 76 people including many women and children are missing after a boat capsized in the region.

An emergency management official said the water level in the Niger River was "very high and too risky for a smooth search and rescue operation."

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is making a big bet to revive the West African nation’s economy and end its security woes with a record 20.5 trillion naira ($47.3 billion) proposed expenditure plan presented lawmakers in the capital city of Abuja on Friday

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is making a big bet to revive the West African nation’s economy and end its security woes with a record 20.5 trillion naira ($47.3 billion) proposed expenditure plan presented lawmakers in the capital city of Abuja on Friday.

Nigerians are celebrating the 62nd anniversary of their independence as presidential candidates wrangle for votes ahead of the country's general elections in February next year.

All 18 candidates in Nigeria's 2023 Presidential election have signed an accord committing to a peaceful election, as violence usually accompanies elections in Nigeria.

Presidential candidates in Nigeria have signed an accord committing to a peaceful campaign for the 2023 election

Mauritania’s foreign affairs minister has urged debt cancellation for African nations as a moment that the the continent is facing mounting food insecurity.

In speech after speech, world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly are spotlighting Russia’s war in Ukraine

In speech after speech, world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly are spotlighting Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Nigerian authorities say gunmen have killed 14 people in attacks targeting two communities in the country’s northern region

Nigeria’s president says the 18 candidates vying to become his successor will run in a “free and fair” election next year

A Nigerian official says that nearly 900 inmates escaped in a jailbreak in Abuja, the capital.

Four Chinese nationals were among people kidnapped on Wednesday in an attack in northcentral Nigeria that left “many security personnel” dead, authorities said on Thursday

Leaders of Commonwealth nations are meeting in Rwanda’s capital to tackle climate change, tropical diseases and other challenges deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A former governor of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, has been nominated to be the ruling party’s presidential candidate in next year’s presidential election

A former governor of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, has been nominated to be the ruling party’s presidential candidate in next year’s presidential election.

Dozens of people were feared killed and scores injured in the attack in southwestern Ondo State, where religious violence is rare. Most violence in Nigeria has taken place in the northeast, where Boko Haram has waged an Islamist insurgency for more than a decade, regularly attacking churches and kidnapping schoolchildren. Security was visibly tighter across Ondo State on Monday, witnesses told The Washington Post. While he doubted Boko Haram was responsible, he said it was worrying that other groups may be trying to use the same tactics to terrorize the country’s Christian community. “In saying this is not Boko Haram, we can’t say this does not have a religious connotation.”Wroughton reported from Cape Town, South Africa.

Lawmakers in southwestern Nigeria say more than 50 people are feared dead after gunmen opened fire and detonated explosives at a church.

Lawmakers in southwestern Nigeria say more than 50 people are feared dead after gunmen opened fire and detonated explosives at a church.

The head of the Methodist Church Nigeria has been abducted in southeast Nigeria, a region which has grappled with violent attacks and abductions in recent years, the police told The AP on Monday

Nigeria’s financial crimes agency has arrested the country’s accountant-general, accusing him of diverting government funds worth $192.4 million

Aid agencies are warning that acute malnutrition is on the rise in northeast Nigeria.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has lauded Nigerian authorities' efforts to reintegrate repentant Boko Haram militants, saying the initiative is “the best thing we can do for peace.”.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says dozens of people abducted from a passenger train near the nation’s capital in March are being used as “human shields” by their captors

The U.N. says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will head to West Africa on Saturday to join Muslims marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan and to highlight the impact of the Ukraine war on the African continent

Nigerian lawmakers have passed legislation to bar the payment of kidnap ransoms at a time when the West African nation is struggling to stem the rise of armed violence and kidnaps for ransom in its troubled northwest and central regions

Nigerian lawmakers have passed legislation to bar the payment of kidnap ransoms at a time when the West African nation is struggling to stem the rise of armed violence and kidnaps for ransom in its troubled northwest and central regions.

Remains of more than 100 workers and traders who died after an illegal refinery exploded in southeast Nigeria were buried on Tuesday in an official ceremony after an incident that shocked the region

A Nigerian oil official says as many as 100 people may have died in an explosion at an illegal oil refinery in southeastern Nigeria.

Nigerian police and witnesses say an attack by suspected Islamic extremist rebels has killed nine people in northeast Nigeria, one of several deadly attacks this week in the troubled region

Residents were mowed down as they tried to flee motorcycle-riding criminal gangs that laid waste to villages in the northern Plateau state.

Survivors and local authorities say an armed gang has killed more than 100 people in a remote part of northern Nigeria

Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says that he will run for president in next year’s election

Nigeria’s former Vice President Atiku Abubakar announced he will run for president in the 2023 election, promising to “rescue” Africa’s most populous country which he said has been “left behind” by the continent and the world

A prolonged fuel shortage in Nigeria, Africa’s top crude oil producer, has provoked growing frustration and many citizens are demanding government action

A prolonged fuel shortage in Nigeria, Africa’s top crude oil producer, has provoked growing frustration and many citizens are demanding government action.

The Biden administration’s competition with China for influence hasn't gotten off to a great start in Africa.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Africa next week as the Biden administration intensifies diplomatic efforts to resolve crises in Ethiopia and Sudan and seeks to boost counterterrorism cooperation.

The abductions in Abuja come as the nation faces a kidnapping wave.

Wole Soyinka, Nigeria’s Nobel-winning author, sees his country’s many problems — misgoverning politicians, systemic corruption, violent extremists, and kidnapping bandits — yet he does not despair.

Joshua Samuel painfully recalls the day, one year ago, that Nigerian soldiers opened fire in Lagos while he and thousands of others were protesting police brutality.

Nuclear disarmament might seem like a must-discuss topic in world leaders' annual speeches at the U.N. General Assembly, which has espoused that cause since its founding.

GettyABUJA, Nigeria— Dozens of employees working in the State House, where the offices of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo are located, were gathered in a room and forced to take an Oath of Secrecy earlier this week because the president’s top aides were “embarrassed” by The Daily Beast report revealing the reasons behind his demand for a nationwide Twitter ban, according to two officials.The government was open about the mass-oath-taking, billing it as a sta

The shooting down of a military jet shows how organised crime is becoming more daring by the day.

Armed kidnappers in Nigeria have released 28 of the more than 120 students who were abducted at the beginning of July from the Bethel Baptist High School in the northern town of Damishi.

Armed kidnappers in Nigeria have released 28 of the more than 120 students who were abducted at the beginning of July from the Bethel Baptist High School in the northern town of Damishi. The gunmen have reportedly demanded 500,000 Naira (about $1,200) for each student. Two other students escaped on July 20 when they were ordered to fetch firewood from a nearby forest.

The pilot survived by ejecting himself and hiding with local residents, says Nigeria's Air Force.

Almost every part of Nigeria is facing a security crisis - from kidnapping to extremist insurgencies.

Igbo separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu was largely ignored until his movement became an armed struggle.

Authorities say a Nigerian leading the movement for the secession of southeast Nigeria from the rest of the country has been arrested.

He fled in 2017 while on bail facing treason charges and was detained with the help of Interpol.

The social media platform is banned but Jack Dorsey remains a hugely popular figure in the country.

Speaking at the funeral of Sen. John Warner, President Biden called the five-term senator, who died at the age of 94, "a man of conscience, character and honor." Biden praised Warner for working across the political aisle "to see each other as fellow Americans, even when we disagree. From John's perspective, especially when we disagree."

Supporters see him a returning liberation hero, who revived a long-lost dream of African nationhood from his flat in faraway south London. Critics see him as a dangerous insurgent who belongs behind bars. Like him or loathe him, though few would disagree that Nnamdi Kanu has come a long way since his days running Radio Free Biafra from a council flat in Peckham. The 52-year-old, who leads the campaign to revive the former breakaway state of Biafra, was the catalyst for President Muhammadu Buhari

Nigeria suspended Twitter operations, days after the social media giant took down a post by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Many people are circumventing the ban, despite government threats to arrest and prosecute tweeters.

Trump praises Nigeria for banning Twitter

Users are trying to skirt the government's block on the social network, which began on Friday.

Millions of Nigerians were unable to access Twitter after the government enforced an indefinite suspension of the microblogging platform’s operations in Nigeria.

Millions of Nigerians were unable to access Twitter Saturday after the government enforced an indefinite suspension of the microblogging platform’s operations in Nigeria. The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria said in a statement that its members have suspended access to Twitter in compliance with a government directive to do so. The Nigeria government said Friday it was indefinitely suspending Twitter in Africa’s most populous nation, after the company deleted a controversial tweet President Muhammadu Buhari made about a secessionist movement.

Twitter's Public Policy team said Saturday they are "deeply concerned" by the suspension.

Twitter deleted Muhammadu Buhari's post on Wednesday, calling it abusive, after the president threatened suspected separatist militants in the southeast.

Nigeria’s government said Friday it was suspending Twitter indefinitely in Africa’s most populous nation, a day after the company deleted a controversial tweet President Muhammadu Buhari made about a secessionist movement. It was not immediately clear when the suspension would go into effect as users could still access Twitter late Friday, and many said they would simply use VPNs to maintain access to the platform. Information Minister Lai Mohammed said Friday that government officials took the step because the platform was being used “for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”

The government defends Muhammadu Buhari's tweet on how he will treat "misbehaving" people.

Twitter on Wednesday deleted a remark on Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's account for violating its rules, after he referred to the country's civil war in the context of recent unrest.

West African leaders have suspended Mali from their regional bloc over what they say amounted to a coup last week.

President Joe Biden has wrapped up his two-day climate summit, saying the climate crisis has created an opportunity to remake the global economy and produce millions of jobs in clean energy and technology.

Families in Nigeria waited anxiously on Sunday for news of their abducted daughters, the latest in a series of mass kidnappings of school students in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Mansur)JANGEBE – Families in Nigeria waited anxiously for news of their abducted daughters after more than 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped by gunmen from a government school in the country's north last week, the latest in a series of mass school kidnappings in the West African nation. Police and the military have begun joint operations to rescue the girls, said Mohammed Shehu, a police spokesman in Zamfara state. In December, more than 300 schoolboys from a secondary school in Kankara, in northwestern Nigeria, were taken and later released. The government says large groups of armed men in Zamfara state are known to kidnap for money and to press for the release of their members held in jail.

(AP Photo)LAGOS – Students, teachers and relatives abducted two weeks ago from a school in northern Nigeria have been freed. The students, teachers and family members were abducted Feb. 17 by gunmen from the Government Science College Kagara. Their release was announced a day after police said gunmen had abducted 317 girls from a boarding school elsewhere in northern Nigeria, in Zamfara state. “We will not succumb to blackmail by bandits and criminals who target innocent school students in the expectation of huge ransom payments,” he said. In December, 344 students were abducted from the Government Science Secondary School Kankara in Katsina State.

One of the students who was not kidnapped from a Government Girls Junior Secondary School following an attack by gunmen in Jangebe, Nigeria, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Gunmen abducted 317 girls from a boarding school in northern Nigeria on Friday, police said, the latest in a series of mass kidnappings of students in the West African nation. “We will not succumb to blackmail by bandits and criminals who target innocent school students in the expectation of huge ransom payments,” he said. AdFriday’s attack came less than two weeks after gunmen abducted 42 people, including 27 students, from the Government Science College Kagara in Niger State. In December, 344 students were abducted from the Government Science Secondary School Kankara in Katsina State.

It takes about 12 weeks to install a hospital oxygen plant and even less time to convert industrial oxygen manufacturing systems into a medical-grade network. AdIn Brazil’s Amazonas state, a pair of swindlers were caught reselling fire extinguishers painted to look like medical oxygen tanks. Only then did President Muhammadu Buhari release $17 million to set up 38 more oxygen plants and another $670,000 to repair plants at five hospitals. AdLeith Greenslade of the Every Breath Counts Coalition, which advocates for wider access to medical oxygen, said the looming shortages were apparent last spring. The main provider of medical oxygen to Brazil’s Amazonas state, White Martins, operated at half capacity before the pandemic.

Usman Garuba, one of the freed boys, described the horror of their six days walking through the forest and being beaten. Boko Haram, Nigeria's jihadist rebels, claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, but the government later said the abduction was carried out by bandit groups rampant in the northwest. Nigeria’s military and police forces, with the backing of local self-defense groups, are outgunned, outnumbered, underfunded and underpaid, he said. More than 800 security forces were killed in 2019, one of the deadliest years since Boko Haram’s establishment more than 10 years ago. It is really disturbing.”___AP journalists Lekan Oyekanmi in Katsina, Nigeria, and Sam Olukoya in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed.

Usman Mohammad Rabiu, a 13 year old student of Government Science Secondary School Kankara, his mother Asmau Hassan, and his siblings at their family house in Ketare, Nigeria, speaks to the Associated Press, Saturday Dec. 19, 2020. Nigeria's freed schoolboys have reunited with their joyful parents after being held captive for nearly a week by gunmen allied with jihadist rebels in the country's northwest. Relieved parents hugged their sons tightly on Saturday in Kankara, where more than 340 boys were abducted from the Government Science Secondary school on the night of Dec. 11. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)KANKARA – Nigeria's freed schoolboys have reunited with their joyful parents after being held captive for nearly a week by gunmen allied with jihadist rebels in the country’s northwest. “Fear gripped me when they said if they ever see us in school again, that they will kill us,” said freed Kankara student, Usman Mohammad Rabiu.

Shoes of the kidnapped students from Government Science Secondary School are seen inside their class room Kankara, Nigeria, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)KANKARA – More than 300 schoolboys abducted last week by armed men in northwest Nigeria have been released, a government official said Thursday. For more than 10 years, Boko Haram has engaged in a bloody campaign to introduce strict Islamic rule in Nigeria’s north. The video circulated widely on WhatsApp and first appeared on a Nigerian news site, HumAngle, that often reports on Boko Haram. In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls from a government boarding school in Chibok in northeastern Borno state.

Anxiety has overwhelmed many parents in Nigeria’s northern Kankara village who await word on their sons who are among the more than 330 kidnapped by extremists from a government boys’ school last week. Nigeria’s Boko Haram jihadist rebels have claimed responsibility for the abduction of the students from the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara. Across Nigeria, people are closely following the fate of the kidnapped boys and many criticize the government for the continuing extremist violence. For more than 10 years, Boko Haram has engaged in a bloody campaign to introduce strict Islamic rule. In February 2014, 59 boys were killed when Boko Haram attacked the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in Yobe State.

People gather inside the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Nigeria, Saturday Dec. 12, 2020. Nigerian police say that hundreds of students are missing after gunmen attacked the secondary school in the countrys northwestern Katsina state. (AP Photo/Abdullatif Yusuf)LAGOS – Anxiety is growing among the parents of hundreds of students who remain missing three days after gunmen attacked their school in Katsina State in northern Nigeria. More than 300 students are missing after the attack on the Government Science Secondary School, a boys' school in Kankara, on Friday night, Katsina governor Aminu Masari said. The most serious school attack took place in April 2014, when more than 270 schoolgirls were abducted from their dormitory at the Government Secondary School in Chibok in northeastern Borno State.

People attend a funeral for those killed by suspected Boko Haram militants in Zaabarmar, Nigeria, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Nigerian officials say suspected members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram have killed at least 40 rice farmers and fishermen while they were harvesting crops in northern Borno State. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola)MAIDGURI – Suspected members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram killed at least 40 rice farmers and fishermen in Nigeria as they were harvesting crops in the country's northern state of Borno, officials said. “I condemn the killing of our hardworking farmers by terrorists in Borno State. Boko Haram and a breakaway faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province, are both active in the region.

Nigeria's army has on Tuesday, Oct. 27 admitted its soldiers were deployed at the Lekki Toll Plaza in Lagos where live rounds were fired last week, killing several peaceful protesters prompting global outrage. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, file)LAGOS – Nigeria's army has admitted its soldiers were deployed at the Lekki Toll Plaza in Lagos where live rounds were fired last week, killing several peaceful protesters prompting global outrage. Many Nigerians question why the soldiers were deployed at the peaceful protest, in which thousands had gathered at the Lekki plaza. “Nigerian authorities still have many questions to answer: Who ordered the use of lethal force on peaceful protesters? On Oct. 20 the government imposed a curfew, ordering everyone to stay at home and that evening the shootings occurred at Lekki plaza.

Nigeria's president says 51 civilians have been killed in unrest following days of peaceful protests over police abuses, and he blames "hooliganism" for the violence while asserting that security forces have used "extreme restraint. The police order could further heighten tensions in Africa’s most populous country after its worst turmoil in years. Adamu, ordered colleagues to “dominate the public space” while announcing that enough is enough, a statement said. By not taking action against security forces, some Nigerians have warned, the president could inspire further abuses. We are part of the system, we are part of this governance.”___Bashir Adigun in Abuja, Nigeria contributed.

Police officers stop and search a bus carrying passengers around Lekki toll gate in Lagos Friday, Oct. 23, 2020. Soldiers remained in parts of Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, as a 24-hour curfew remained in place. If the protests have been hijacked, then Nigerian youth should not give up the struggle and instead should “go back and re-strategize,” said Seriki Muritala with the National Youth Parliament. Opulence and grinding poverty are in close contact in Lagos, a city of some 20 million, and the inequality sharpens Nigerians' grievances. After questioning by police, the mourners were allowed to continue, to go on and bury the dead.

“For you to do otherwise will amount to undermining national security and law and order," he said. “President Buhari during his speech refused to acknowledge those dead as a result of military attacked on Lekki protesters #EndSARS,” tweeted Usman Okai Austin. As looting gangs stormed through parts of Nigeria's largest city, spreading violence for a second day in Lagos. But on Tuesday night security forces fired without warning into crowds of thousands of protesters singing Nigeria's national anthem, killing 12, Amnesty said. "We welcome an immediate investigation into any use of excessive force by members of the security forces.

( AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)LAGOS – Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday that Nigeria's security forces fired upon two large gatherings of peaceful protesters Tuesday night, killing 12 people calling for an end to police brutality. The security forces opened fire without warning on the protesters Tuesday night at the Lekki toll plaza, Amnesty said in its report, citing eyewitnesses, video footage and hospital reports. “Opening fire on peaceful protesters is a blatant violation of people’s rights to life, dignity, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Some of those killed and injured at the toll plaza and in Alausa, another Lagos neighborhood, were taken away by the military, Amnesty alleged in the report. Amnesty's report backs up posts and images on social media that have shown widespread violence against protesters.

(UNTV via AP)TANZANIA – The Latest from the U.N. General Assembly (all times EDT):8:15 p.m. ___6:55 p.m.Argentine President Alberto Fernández is asking the world to think beyond creating a vaccine that will help end the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking Tuesday to the annual U.N. General Assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron decried the United Nations’ failure to vanquish the virus. ___11:50 a.m.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is the first world leader at the United Nations'' annual gathering to mention the Black Lives Matter movement. Trump is accusing China of not sharing timely information with the world on the new disease in a taped address to the virtually gathered United Nations General Assembly.

West African leaders on Friday urged Mali's junta to take no more than one year to hand over power to a civilian government, as regional heads of state held another virtual summit after initial negotiations with the military coup leaders failed. (AP Photo/Baba Ahmed)BAMAKO West African leaders on Friday urged Mali's junta to take no more than one year to hand over power to a civilian government, as regional heads of state held another virtual summit after initial negotiations with the military coup leaders failed. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who participated in the summit, urged the junta to heed the bloc's calls. Neighboring countries have shut their borders and other sanctions have been threatened in a bid to force the junta leaders to capitulate. Nigeria's president said Mali's ruling junta must immediately release all other senior government officials still being detained.

(AP Photo)BAMAKO Former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita returned home Thursday after being detained for 10 days by the ruling military junta that staged a coup last week, a family member said. It could be a signal that Malis ruling junta, which wants ECOWAS to lift sanctions, are trying to meet some of the bloc's demands. The ECOWAS negotiating team met with Keita during their visit to Malis capital last week. Malis junta has proposed staying in power for three years until Malis next election until 2023. On Thursday, Mali's military said four soldiers were killed and 12 others wounded in an ambush on an anti-poaching unit by insurgents in central Mali.

ABUJA, Nigeria - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has instructed the country's central bank to stop providing foreign currency for food imports, according to a statement from his spokesman. "The president ... said the foreign reserve will be conserved and utilized strictly for diversification of the economy, and not for encouraging more dependence on foreign food imports bills," reads the statement. Shehu also quoted Buhari as saying, "Don't give a cent to anybody to import food into the country." A focus on local food productionNigeria is currently Africa's largest producer of oil and relies on the sale of crude oil for about 90% of its foreign-exchange earnings. Banning food imports to save foreign exchange is not the way to build a sustainable economy," he added.

Four Turkish construction workers were seized by gunmen in a bar as they relaxed over drinks in a remote village in Nigeria's middle beltKWARA, Nigeria - Four Turkish construction workers were seized by gunmen in a bar as they relaxed over drinks in a remote village in Nigeria's middle belt, authorities told CNN. "They were relaxing at the bar when they were rounded up by a gang of six armed men and taken away," Okasanmi told CNN. Security operatives including Nigeria's special anti-kidnapping squad have been deployed in the search for the men, he said. Saturday's abduction comes more than a week after 10 Turkish nationals were abducted from their ship by armed men off the coast of Nigeria on July 15. The chairman of Nigeria's education board and his daughter were seized by armed men while traveling on the Kaduna-Abuja highway in May, but were later rescued by the police.

Africa's biggest economy has belatedly agreed to join a huge free trade agreement aimed at boosting manufacturing across the continent. NIAMEY, Niger - Africa's biggest economy has belatedly agreed to join a huge free trade agreement aimed at boosting manufacturing across the continent. Nigeria will sign the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) at a summit of the African Union that starts in Niger on July 7, the Nigerian presidency announced on its official Twitter account late on Tuesday. Our position is very simple, we support free trade as long as it is fair and conducted on an equitable basis," President Muhammadu Buhari said in the statement posted on Twitter. But after reviewing an impact assessment of the trade agreement in June, Buhari agreed to come on board.