New president, old problems for Nigeria

Abuja is still waiting for the Dangote refinery to solve the country’s expensive fuel subsidy problem

May is a critical month for Nigeria. The country will inaugurate President-elect Bola Tinubu, following a fiercely contested election and despite the two main opposition parties launching legal challenges to the result. And the huge Dangote refinery near Lagos might be poised to begin commissioning during the month, in a move that will have far-reaching consequences for Nigeria’s trade balance and budget, as well as the wider Atlantic basin’s downstream and freight sectors. Both the US and the UK congratulated Tinubu on his victory, but US ambassador Mary Beth Leonard said that “it is clear that the electoral process as a whole... failed to meet Nigerians’ expectations” and called upon the c