West Africa in April 2026: the most important developments in politics
West Africa's politics in April 2026 were dominated by the presidential election in Benin. The vote was held on 12 April, four months after a foiled coup attempt, and Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, a former Deloitte executive, was widely expected to win. According to official results, he won with 94 percent of the vote, and the opposition candidate conceded defeat while counting continued in some areas.
In Nigeria, attention turned to Lagos and Ogun states. Adeola became the Ogun APC consensus candidate, while Hamzat held firm in Lagos and said he had started consultations with the Governor's Advisory Council on the future of the state. The Lagos state government defended its monthly sanitation exercise against criticism from the politician Rhodes-Vivour, and officials praised residents for their turnout at the first such exercise since 2016.
Elsewhere in the region, South Africa's top diplomat in Ghana was summoned after attacks on foreign nationals in the country. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Cape Verde's president exchanged congratulations on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and a French minister said France and Russia should not be compared in Africa.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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