The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s headline inflation rate has dropped to 18.02 percent in September 2025. The latest rate is the lowest in three years, as June 2022 was the last time the country’s headline inflation was in the 18 per cent region, according to data from Nigeria’s central bank. The NBS said the current inflation rate, on a year-on-year basis, “was 14.68% lower than the rate recorded in September 2024 (32.70%).” However, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in September 2025 was 0.72%, which was 0.02% lower than the rate recorded in August 2025 (0.74%). The food inflation rate for September 2025 was 16.87 percent year-on-year, which is 20.9 percent lower than the rate recorded in September 2024 (37.77 percent). On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in September 2025 was -1.57%, down by 3.22% compared to August 2025 (1.65%),” the report said. Nigeria’s inflation rate has been slowing down since April this year, with the latest being the sixth consecutive decline.
Dele Alake, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, says the National Gold Purchase Programme (NGPP) will boost the country’s foreign reserves and strengthen the naira. Alake spoke on Wednesday at the Nigeria Gold Day celebration on the sidelines of the 10th edition of the Nigeria Mining Week, themed ‘Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance,’ in Abuja. The NGPP is a centralised offtake scheme supported by a decentralised aggregation and production network of artisanal and small-scale miners and cooperatives. The Minister said the programme will also curb gold smuggling and reposition the solid minerals sector for greater productivity and transparency. “The philosophy of that programme, how salutary it is, is that we use our local naira, not foreign exchange, to mop up gold, then sell it to the CBN,” he said. “The CBN, in turn, makes part of the payment in naira, but the gold kept in its vault becomes a foreign currency asset.”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Ghana’s Debt-to-GDP ratio will hit 59.1 percent by the end of 2025. The projection was captured in the October 2025 Fiscal Monitor Report released on the sidelines of the Annual IMF/World Bank Meetings in Washington, D.C. According to the report, the forecast is slightly lower than the 60 percent target set by the government for the same period. The IMF also projects the ratio to decline to 56.1 percent in 2026, 53.7 percent in 2027, and 51.3 percent in 2028. The estimates indicate that by 2028, Ghana will perform better than the 55 percent Debt-to-GDP ratio targeted under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Programme, which aims to restore debt sustainability. The Bank of Ghana’s Financial and Economic Data released in September showed that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio as of July 2025 stood at 44.9 percent, equivalent to GH¢628.8 billion.
Ivorian opposition leader and former Credit Suisse CEO, Tidjane Thiam, has launched legal proceedings in London against two ministers in President Alassane Ouattara’s government — Amadou Coulibaly, Minister of Communication, and Mamadou Touré, Minister of Youth. The lawsuit stems from alleged defamatory remarks made by the ministers during a public event at Chatham House on 25 September. Thiam, represented by London law firm Mishcon de Reya, sent a pre-action protocol letter on 10 October, accusing the ministers of making false statements that damaged his reputation. Coulibaly allegedly claimed Thiam was involved in a coup plot and lied to register on the electoral roll, while Touré reportedly described him as an “impostor” responsible for his own ineligibility to contest elections. The case highlights growing political tensions in Côte d’Ivoire ahead of the 2025 presidential election, in which Thiam’s candidacy has already been disqualified over nationality disputes.
Madagascar’s new military ruler, Michael Randrianirina, said on Wednesday he would soon be sworn in as the country’s president as the African Union suspended the island nation after a coup to oust President Andry Rajoelina. “We will be sworn in soon,” the army colonel told a press briefing on Wednesday, a day after the High Constitutional Court invited him to serve as president of the former French colony. “We took responsibility yesterday.” Two sources close to him earlier told Reuters he would be sworn in as president in the next day or two. A spokesperson for the African Union told Reuters on Wednesday that the bloc had suspended Madagascar with immediate effect following the coup, without sharing further details. At a bloc meeting earlier on Wednesday, African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said, “The rule of law must prevail over the rule of force. Our approach is grounded in law and dialogue.”
Credit: SBM Intelligence.
