OBLONG MEDIA GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE is where independent minds meet to dissect politics, society, power, and global affairs without fear or filters. This is not mainstream media.
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Nigeria’s former President, Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday addressed the global community in Geneva, Switzerland at a press conference hosted by the Geneva Press Club. Below is the full text of the speech focused on Security, Education and Development in Africa exclusively obtained by SIGNAL. Protocols Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, I thank you for coming to hear me speak on the twin issues of education and security. Though this event is billed as a press conference on a Better Security and Education for West Africa, for the sake of time, I will focus on my experience…
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James Faleke, the running mate to the late governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State, Abubakar Audu, said he would be declared the governor of the state before the end of the year. Faleke, who had been canvassing support to be declared Kogi governor, is currently at loggerheads with the leadership of the APC over the governorship seat of the state, following the sudden death of Audu on November 22, 2015. After Audu’s death and the declaration of the November 22, 2015 governorship election as inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission, Bello was picked as…
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January 13, 2016 Distinguished Senator Bukola Saraki, President of the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senate Chambers, Abuja. Honourable Yakubu Dogara, Speaker, House of Representatives, National Assembly Complex, Abuja. It is appropriate to begin this letter, which I am sending to all members of the Senate and the House of Representatives through both of you at this auspicious and critical time, with wishes of Happy New Year to you all. On a few occasions in the past, both in and out of office as the President of Nigeria, I have agonised on certain issues within the arms of government…
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What do you think of when you hear the name Colonel Gaddafi? Tyrant? Dictator? Terrorist? Well, a national citizen of Libya may disagree but we want you to decide. Ruling the country for for 41 years until his demise in October 2011, Muammar Gaddafi did some truly amazing things for his country and repeatedly tried to unite and empower the whole of Africa. So despite what you’ve heard on the radio, seen in the media or on the TV Gaddafi did some powerful things that were not very reminiscent of a vicious dictator. Here are ten things Gaddafi did for…
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Billionaire philanthropist David Rockefeller has undergone successfully his sixth heart transplant in 42 years at the venerable age of 99 years old. The heart transplant surgery, which lasted 6 hours and was done by a team of private surgeons at his principal residence, on the family estate in Pocantico Hills, New York, doesn’t seem to have tired the legendary business man known for his dynamism and cunningness. His first heart transplant occurred in 1976 after a dramatic car accident led him to suffer a heart attack. He was operated 24 hours later and up and jogging a…
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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has written the National Assembly accusing the lawmakers of corruption, impunity, greed and of repeatedly breaking the nation’s laws. In a letter dated January 13 and addressed to the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, the former president specifically accused the lawmakers of fixing and earning salaries and allowances far above what the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission approved for them. He also alleged that most of the 109 senators and 369 members of the House of Representatives were receiving constituency allowances without maintaining…
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Instead of giving Nigerians the change you championed, give them excuses. Blame Goodluck Jonathan for everything. In six years of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, the opposition told us again and again the man was “clueless.” It made sure the tag stuck to him like glue. But now we have a new sheriff in town, with the APC claiming to be better at everything than the PDP. While that might still be subject to debate, there is overwhelming evidence that in the cluelessness department, the PDP is certainly no match for the APC. Here is a compendium from the APC textbook of…
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Instead of giving Nigerians the change you championed, give them excuses. Blame Goodluck Jonathan for everything. In six years of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, the opposition told us again and again the man was “clueless.” It made sure the tag stuck to him like glue. But now we have a new sheriff in town, with the APC claiming to be better at everything than the PDP. While that might still be subject to debate, there is overwhelming evidence that in the cluelessness department, the PDP is certainly no match for the APC. Here is a compendium from the APC textbook of…
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A list containing the names of 21 former Nigerian officials and military officers with alleged sums of looted money in foreign banks have been disowned by officials of the World Bank in Washington D.C. For about a month now the list which mentions varying amounts of money the Nigerians have stashed away in several currencies including US dollars, British pounds, German Marks and Swiss Franc has resurfaced and circulated in diplomatic circles, among international financial operatives and several blogs on the internet. According to the list, World Bank is listed as the source with a reference mentioned in…
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Alhaji Abba Kyari Chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari Alhaji Abba Kyari, was spotted very briefly within the premises of the Supreme Court in Abuja. He drove in a black Toyota Landcruiser SUV and did not spend more than five minutes. PDP members from Gombe, Ebonyi and Rivers state who were present in the court premises for their judgemenrs who made attempts to take a picture of Kyari were blocked. It is very unusual for aides of the president to appear in the Supreme Court. A PDP official who spoke to correspondents said the party will protest the…
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The Goodluck Jonathan administration initiated high-speed trains were just completed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) and cost $849 million. The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Adeseyi Sijuwade, while addressing the media in Lagos, said The high-speed train service will open for service in March 2016. It is the double-track, standard gauge between Abuja and Kaduna that runs at 120Km and 150 Km an hour. Come March, travelers will be able to journey from Abuja to Kaduna (and vice-versa) in less than an hour. “Next month, we’ll be taking delivery of modern coaches to…
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The Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has charged the Federal Government to work against time and re-open the Halliburton and Siemens corruption scandals. Nigerians, the governor said, are waiting patiently and anxiously to see the trial of all those indicted in the scandal. This is the only way President Muhammadu Buhari can disabuse the minds of Nigerians that the current anti-corruption war in the country is being done in good faith and not selective. He urged the president to, without further delay, commence the trial and commend him for reassuring Nigerians that the case is still on. This,…
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The Supreme Court today upheld the victory of the governor of River State, Mr. Nyesom Wike. This judgement overruled the judgement of the Appeal Court which upheld the nullification of his election by the Election Petition Tribunal. The apex court in an unanimous judgment, restored the declaration of Wike as the valid winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Justice Kekere-Ekun who delivered the lead verdict, held that three separate appeals that were filed by Wike, PDP and INEC, were meritorious. Concurrent judgments of both the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and that of…
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Two suspected female suicide bombers detonated their bombs inside Chibok market in Chibok local government area of Borno state, leaving 8 people dead and over 30 others critically injured, a party chairman in Chibok, Lawan Pogu told a relation in Maiduguri. According to the report from Chibok on Wednesday, the Chibok market had since been shut down following the incident of the abduction of Chibok Schoolgirls where over 200 female students were whisked away by Boko Haram. ” The market was only open today, and the suicide bombers hit their target at exactly 12:54 pm. Eight people died at…
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*Oil theft more dangerous than price slide —Producers As oil prices continue on the downward slide, Nigerian oil firms may be producing at up to $5/barrel loss, as average production costs for independent and marginal field producers is between $30 and $35/barrel. Oil prices, yesterday, resumed their free fall, with Brent crude, similar to Nigeria’s sweet crude grade, falling 2.6 per cent to $31.34 a barrel following a 10 per cent rise on Friday, while U.S. oil shed 95 cents to $31.24. To compound the producers’ woes, a significant proportion of what is produced is lost to oil thieves and…
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Honorable Minister for Transport, Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi, we are really pleased with your continuous exceptional kind gestures towards the North, in spite of the attacks on your person and ideology from some sections of the country as a result of that. We first took cognizance of your extreme love for the North when you courageously supported the then Jega-led INEC creation of additional 30,000 polling units, at a time that Southern Leaders led by former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, Chief Edwin Clark, Senator Femi Okuronmu and Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, were strongly against it for favouring the North against…
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Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central Zone) has disclosed that over $200 billion was being stashed away in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, UAE, by corrupt Nigerians. Senator Shehu Sani said he was making the revelation from the point of strength as the chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Debts, as well as Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs. He said: “Corrupt Nigerians have stashed unbelievable amount of monies in Dubai alone in the name of estates acquisition, purchase of exotic houses and business partnership in the last 16 years. Some have stashed raw cash. This is why…
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THE PRESIDENCY, weekend, asked Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State, where ex-militants carried out a three-day bombing of crude oil and gas pipelines some weeks ago, to hand over to the security operatives, perpetrators of the bomb attack believed to be hiding in their areas. The presidency also urged the communities not to entertain fear of bombardment by security agencies, but to demonstrate patriotism by handing over suspects behind the recent bombing. The Presidential directive came through the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, yesterday, just as the…
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Since the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998, charges have been brought against three Nigerian presidents (Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and very recently, Muhammadu Buhari). On Friday, the 29th of January, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) will file a complaint at the ICC against President Muhammadu Buhari over Nnamdi Kanu’s imprisonment. Kanu, who was based in the United Kingdom is the leader of the Indigenous people of Biafra, a group that is agitating for the secession of south-eastern states from Nigeria. He was arrested by the Nigerian government on the 18th of October, 2015 and although…
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Ambassador Susan Rice was up until recently the American Ambassador to the United Nations. Her long-standing aspiration of becoming the Secretary of State for her country was dashed when the Republicans in the Senate started sharpening their knives in anticipation of her formal nomination for that position by President Barak Obama. Sensing that her nomination would not scale through the Senate and that she would not be confirmed as Secretary of State due to the role she played in the cover up of the Benghazi affair in which the American Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other…
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Recently the leadership of the National Assembly inaugurated separate special ad-hoc Committees to, again, review the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in their respective chambers. Expectedly, many have expressed misgiving concerning the proposal. In the face of harsh economic realities and social dislocation nationwide, according to them, should the National Assembly kick start another ‘wasteful jamboree’ in the name of altering the Constitution? In other words, how crucial is it to start another amendment process when the last efforts could not secure presidential assent in spite of the huge financial outlay? The last Assembly had done…
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Olubunmi Okogie, archbishop emeritus of the Catholic archdiocese of Lagos, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to lead by example “on all fronts or risk plunging Nigeria into a state of despondency”. In a statement issued on his behalf by Gabriel Osu, director of social communications of the diocese, Okogie asked the president to focus on policies that would uplift the masses. He condemned the flouting of court order by security agencies, saying the current government was heading towards “a one-man show”. Okoji alleged that many Nigerians now have the impression that “Buhari is fast transforming this nation into a…
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Staff of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and prosecution lawyer Barrister Adesina Raheem, were mobbed by supporters of former governor of Zamfara state, Ahmed Sani Yerima at the arraignment of the former governor at the High Court in Gasau on Thursday. The ICPC lawyer, Barr. Raheem who confirmed the incidence to The Guardian on telephone, said that the mob who were on protest against the arraignment of the former governor, moved to attack him and staff of the ICPC but for the intervention of men of the State Security Service and Mobile Police who…
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There have been reports about Nigeria joining the Saudi Arabia created Islamic Military Alliance Against Terrorism (ISMAT). Such a decision has serious implications for peace and security in our country and should not be taken without proper and transparent consultations and considerations. We recall the national stress triggered by the non-transparent way in which we joined the OIC so many years ago. The ISMAT question could have much more serious implications for Nigeria than the OIC. It is believed that Nigerian should not join ISMAT, created specifically under pressure to fight ISIS. The national interests of Saudi Arabia are…
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The malicious attempt by Lagos Lawyer, Femi Falana to mix Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala up in issues that have nothing to do with her in his letter to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a desperate joke by an integrity challenged charlatan (ICC). This misadventure shows that the so-called learned lawyer does not have any idea of what the mandate of the ICC is about. He has resorted to this action because his previous efforts to tarnish her name – through his discredited NGO, SERAP and petitions to the EFCC – failed because they were lacking in credibility. This latest…
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Former President Goodluck Jonathan will hold a world press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Guy Mettan, executive director of the Geneva Press Club, confirmed this in a statement, saying the event is part of activities lined up by circle of diplomats, in honour of Jonathan. The statement said the Nigerian leader would be hosted to a dinner at Intercontinental Hotel, Geneva, on the same day. Mettan said the two major issues that Jonathan will address are: security and civil peace in Nigeria and West Africa, in addition to improvement of health and education of children in the continent.…
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I remember when Former Kano Governor Kwankwaso physically snubbed (and very nearly shoved aside) President Jonathan on live TV. I was stunned. I never knew until that point that public officials paid with taxpayers’ money (read oil money in Nigeria) could humiliate the president in the full view of the public. No other president in Nigeria’s history has been given that kind of treatment. Then my mind went back to the day of President Yar’ Adua’s passing. I know exactly what I was doing on that day. I had seen an update about his demise on social media and…
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The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Audu Ogbeh, has blamed the poor run of Nigeria’s economy on the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) introduced by former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida. Mr Ogbe disclosed this during an exclusive interview with Channels Television in Otukpo, Benue State, at the flag off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Benue South Senatorial re-run election campaign for its candidate, Mr Daniel Onjeh. The Agric and Rural Development Minister, who blamed Nigeria’s over-reliance on crude oil, claimed that the Structural Adjustment Programme pointed Nigerians in the wrong direction. He advised Nigerian youths…
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The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has hinted that the Act which created the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, would be scrapped following allegations of corruption in the agency. Amaechi made this known in a meeting with the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, noting that NIMASA lacked equipments at the search and rescue unit for the monitoring of vessels’ movements as well as treatment of injured personnel. Mr Government Tompolo, a former commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, is believed to have wielded so much influence in the agency as the…
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Asks Senate to Review Law on NNPC, Customs, NIMASA, etc Spendings Telecoms Operators to Pay Communication Service Charges Oil Prices Could Fall Below $20/Barrel – Experts President May Find it Difficult to Implement 2016 Budget – Makarfi. As crude oil prices continue to crash on the international market, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has devised strategies to underline its resolve to look beyond oil revenue to implement the 2016 N6.04 trillion budget. The strategies derive their strength partly from big revenue generating government agencies like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Federal Inland…
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The Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently retool, refocus and aggressively lead by example on all fronts or risk plunging Nigeria into a state of despondency. In a statement released by the Director of Social Communications of the Diocese, Monsignor Gabriel Osu, Okogie accused the president of waging a shoddy corruption war and acting disdainfully towards the judicial authorities while millions of Nigerians were left to face unimaginable social problems. “He must retool, refocus and aggressively face the social, economic (fiscal and monetary) problems we have…
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President Muhammadu Buhari has called for compulsory inclusion of religious studies in the school curriculum in the country while presenting a speech at the end of Qur’an recitation held in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital. President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu, said that the call has become imperative considering its importance in inculcating moral-right behaviour in the life of people in the society. He explained that religious study in the school curriculum would inculcate good moral behaviour in the students and change the life for good. Adamu, who also cleared the…
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My friend, Paul, told me that Dr Reuben Abati is trying to get back to his default mode – a hardcore government critic. That he has started by writing on some kind of irrelevant things. Recently, Abati has written about pop artist Davido, a dead lion, a minister’s shoes and some other things Paul felt were irrelevant. Paul told me to watch out that in 3 years Dr Abati will resume his role of a critic. A very informed critic of course. I think what Paul was trying to say was that since Dr Abati does not have the moral…
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The minister for justice just anounced that judges found to be corrupt will be tried by this administration. This is probematic. Though this sentiment is much shared, it should not be left to the president and his administration to define “corruption,” or determine which judge is corrupt. For the avoidance of doubt the writ of this republic does not make the president the supreme authority of the land. The constitution is the governing authority of this republic, and the president is, as are all Nigerians, governed by the Constitution. It would amount to overreach for the president to break…
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The questions of the whereabouts of President Muhammadu Buhari’s think tank, and whether he indeed has one that is up and running were raised by two recent events. These are his December 30, 2015 media chat and the very recent visit of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde. The media chat unveiled a down-to-earth, articulate President, who is however, driven more by passion and candour than expertise or surefooted knowledge, regarding the complexities of public policy. As several commentators have observed, his confession of ignorance on the Central Bank Foreign Exchange Management Policy which has…
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DESPICABLE, abominable, horrible, detestable, repugnant, name it. But words are not enough to express the act that has caused agony for the people of Ubulu-Uku Kingdom in Aniocha South Local Government Area of the State. Their monarch, HRM Akaeze Edward Ofulue III, abducted 19 days ago at about 4.00 pm, on January 5, 2016, by suspected Fulani herdsmen, was discovered stone dead 15 days after the creepy incident. In Ubulu-Uku and other kingdoms, it is a taboo to kidnap a king, not to talk of killing him. Vigilante group members found his decomposing remains at the stomp of a…
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Former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) has questioned the federal government’s rights to put him on trial on the alleged mismanagement of funds meant for purchase of arms. He told an Abuja High Court Friday that government has no moral and legal rights now to prosecute him having been in contempt of three high courts that admitted him on bail but which were not obeyed. When the matter came up today (Friday), defense counsel, Joseph Daudu SAN brought an “unless application” challenging the disobedience of the Federal Government to the earlier bail granted Dasuki. Daudu submitted that…
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The Financial Times UK has described the economic policies of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration as the ‘height of foolishness’. The leading international business publication in an article by Steve Johnson, the deputy editor of the Financial Times, said the economic policies of the Buhari administration is doomed to fail because it is tailored after Venezuela’s exchange rate policy and China’s failed equity market strategy. The article faulted the circuit breaker on the Nigerian stock exchange which pauses trading for 30 minutes if stock prices fall 5 per cent and will cease for the day if it is triggered…
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This will open your eyes !!! Read to the end. Dr Stephen Mak treats terminally ill cancer patients by an “un-orthodox” way and many patients recovered. Before he used solar energy to clear the illnesses of his patients. He believes in natural healing in the body against illnesses. See his article below. Fruits and juices are one of the strategies to heal cancer. As of late, my success rate in curing cancer is about 80%. Cancer patients shouldn’t die. The cure for cancer is already found. It is whether you believe it or not. I am sorry for the…
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The identity of the son of a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), retired Justice Muhammadu Uwais, GCON, who has allegedly joined the terrorist group, Islamic State, (ISIS) in Syria has been revealed as Ibrahim. Ibrahim, 41, the third son of the respected retired jurist, studied at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State, where he majored in Business Administration, sources close to the family revealed Wednesday. Nigerian intelligence officers have debriefed Justice Uwais and members of the Uwais family. The Uwais family has also been receiving messages of solidarity from friends and prominent Nigerians on the development…
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Immediate-past President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, debunked allegations that his administration awarded contract for arms procurement to the tune of $2 billion. Jonathan, who spoke in Washington DC, on “Presidential elections and democratic consolidation in Africa: Case studies on Nigeria and Tanzania,” a conversational forum, co-hosted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), stated categorically that “I did not award any $2 billion contract for procurement of weapons.” Jonathan queried, “Where did the money come from? “I did not award a contract of $2billion for procurement of weapons,” reports Premium Times. At the…
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Nigeria will get 2.6 million dollars to improve its electricity generation from Global Environment Facilities (GEF), Managing Director of UNIDO Programme Development and Technical Cooperation Division, Philippe Scholtes, says. Scholtes made this known on Friday in Abuja when he visited the Minister of Science and Technolog17y, Mr Onu Ogbonnaya in the Office. According to him, the fund will be used to boost small scale hydro power to ensure electricity get to rural areas in the country. “We made the case; we obtained funding for 2.6 million dollars to help us demonstrate the small scale hydro power to powerhouse and factories…
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Since February 10, 2015 when I read the advertorial published in THISDAY titled: Brazen Looting of Lagos Treasury, 1999-2015 – which chronicled Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s massive wealth, I have been too shell-shocked to function effectively. I have been hard-pressed to understand, if true, how one man can acquire so much in one lifetime. I have struggled to match Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola’s public postures with the gravity of the allegations levelled against them. Can it really be true that Bola Ahmed Tinubu owns all the property listed in the advertorial? Is it true that Fashola also owns vast wealth…
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Owing to overly optimistic benchmark of the federal government and the low oil prices, Nigeria’s 2016 budget deficit has been raised from N2.2 trillion to N3 trillion. When the budget was presented to a joint session of the national assembly on December 22, the benchmark for the budget remained at an optimistic price of $38 per barrel, about $8 less than the market price at the time. With the current realities, the deficit gap will increase to N3 trillion ($15.1 billion), or three percent of gross domestic product, Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, has told Bloomberg. The budget will remain…
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Above is a screenshot of page six the APC Manifesto. During the election, General Muhammadu Buhari and the APC promised to #RestructureNigeria into #TrueFiscalFederalism if elected into office. Today, the General has become President and the opposition APC has become the ruling party. Yet, nobody is saying anything again about True Fiscal Federalism. The first promise on the APC eighteen page document is to restructure Nigeria. Read the except below. PMB said If you… elect me in 2015, my administration will: “Initiate action to amend the Nigerian Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties, and responsibilities to states…
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There are strong indications that the British Police authorities are in quandary over how to pursue the alleged money laundering offence against former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, as the investigators have failed to establish any wrongdoing by the former minister. Diezani Alison-Madueke had on Thursday January 21 appeared before an investigative hearing at the Charing Cross Police Station in London as part of the investigation into an alleged money laundering offence. However, she was again granted bail by the British Police authorities on the same condition given earlier and her case was adjourned to June 21, 2016.…
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PDP governors have asked the security and antigraft agents to be mindful of how they carry out instructions from the APC-led government as they will not be in power forever. In a statement sent of today by their coordinator Osaro Onaiwu, the governors from the main opposition party, condemned the handcuffing of its National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh to the Federal High Court yesterday and today. The statement in reads in part; “The only reasonable conclusion we have reached is that the anti-corruption agencies and other institutions of state have allowed themselves to be dictated to by a…
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Mohammed Bello Adoke: “Nobody will rubbish the judiciary again therefore if the supreme court nullifies Governor Nyesom Wike’s election, the judgement that upheld Governor Ambode’s election will be revisited.”
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Now talking about the 2.1 billion dollars arms deal, and the money being shared by some people in what has come to be known as Dasukigate, how do you feel about it? I believe that this is where the media should help inform Nigerians about what is really happening and not by sensationalizing the news. Is this the first time political party is helping another one to win election? It is political alliance, and this is how it is done in other parts of the world. These people – Olu Falae, Ladoja, and others got this money from their…
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The commercial and trade agreements signed between Nigeria and the UAE were considered by many on Mr. Buhari’s delegation as counter to Nigeria’s best economic interests. The most vocal dissenters, according to sources, were Mrs. Adeosun and Mr. Udoma, who counseled Mr. Buhari not to sign those agreements. Sources inside Nigeria’s Presidency have revealed that fierce disagreements over treaties signed between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) nearly led to the sacking of top ministers in President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. The sources disclosed that Minister of Trade and Investment, Udo Udoma, and Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, expressed…
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The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun has said that full implementation of 2016 budget will revive the slow pace economic recovery. She said that the budget has reduced the cost of governance and improve infrastructural development. She believes that the budget has addressed the challenges of Nigeria and provided enabling environment
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The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun says Nigeria’s present economic downturn could be an act of God to remind Nigeria on the need to implement and embrace radical change, particularly in the country’s current economic model. He made the disclosure when he received in audience, a 15-member delegation of an APC support group, Change Agents Foundation (CAF) led by its Director-General, Dr Felix Felix at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja. “I think God has a hand in the current economic predicament of the country. Imagine the sudden fall in the price of…
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A new study has found that oral sex increases the risk of having mouth and throat cancer by 22 times. This is just as it has been proven that cunnilingus (oral stimulation of the female vagina) poses a greater risk than fellatio (oral stimulation of the male penis), meaning that men are twice likely to contract oropharyngeal cancer than women. Oropharyngeal cancer is a disease in which malignant cells form in the tissue of oropharynx. The oropharynx is the middle part of the throat that includes the base of the tongue, the tonsils, the soft palate, and the walls…
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Investigation into the crude exchange deals of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has revealed that two trading firms, Trafigura and Duke Oil, lifted $24bn worth of crude oil out of the country before formal contracts were signed. While Duke Oil, a subsidiary of the NNPC, lifted 33.7 million metric tonnes of crude, Trafigura exported 12 mmt. The swap deals involved the exchange of crude oil for refined petroleum products in which the corporation gave out part of its 445,000 barrels daily share of crude oil to trading companies. The House of Representatives is investigating the controversial deals, covering…
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BREAKING: Court grants fresh N600m bail to Metuh A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Friday granted bail to the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, in the sum of N300m with two sureties in like sum. The total bail sum is N600m. Metuh is already on remand in Kuje Prison by an order of a Federal High Court in Abuja with respect to charges of money laundering involving N400m, part of money meant for procurement of arms, which he collected from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November…
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Africa’s richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote is synonymous with business and wealth. It is not uncommon that men of his status run for political office or openly veto their support for certain politicians… For the billionaire businessman who turns 59 in April 2016, politics has never been of interest to him. When asked about political ambition and race for Presidency in an interview sometime back, Dangote said, “I have a very simple life. Never, never. I don’t want to go beyond my life ambition … Most of the presidents, I’ve been giving them advice, whether they solicit it or…
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The appointment of Ebim Sementari as NDDC boss by President Muhammadu Buhari has continued to generate controversies, as questions are now being asked whether the rule of law or the president’s discretion should be the key in making appointments. JONATHAN NDA-ISAIAH writes. The Niger Delta region in recent years has been crying of marginalisationas indigenes of the region claim they have been neglected by successive governments. According to them, they are the goose that lays the golden egg as the mainstay of the country’s economy which is crude oil is from their region. In trying to rehabilitate and…
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ABUJA—Two of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates and Aliko Dangote, have committed $100 million, about N1.97 billion, to fighting malnutrition in Nigeria. A deal to that effect was signed by the duo on behalf of Bill & Melinda Gates and Dangote Foundation, respectively, in a new partnership aimed at improving the nutrition of children in the country’s North-East and North-West Regions. The programme will include community-based approaches and proven interventions linked to behavior change, fortification of staple foods with essential micronutrients; the community management of acute malnutrition and investments in local production of nutritious foods. A key…
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Richard Austin Quest CNN’s reporter, Richard Austin Quest, has disclosed on Thursday, that Nigeria’s former Finance Minister who served during the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan, is the best finance minister Nigeria ever had in history. In his own words as quoted, he said “Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was the best Finance Minister Nigeria ever had”.
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Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Felix Obuah, has urged ex-governor of the state, Hon Chibuike Amaechi and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the April 26, 2015 election, Mr. Dakuku Peterside to make out time for a facility tour of the new Rivers State under Governor Nyesom Wike. Obuah in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, said the facility tour will not only teach Amaechi and Peterside how to make judicious use of public funds for public interest but will also enable them re-master…
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President Muhammadu Buhari was on Thursday advised to reverse the appointment of Ibim Sementari (Rivers State) as the acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). President Buhari had in December 22 last year dissolved the board of NDDC headed by Mr. Dan Abia (Akwa Ibom State) and announced Semenitari as his replacement in acting capacity. The International Institute of Humanitarian and Environmental Law said Sementari’s appointment was against the rule of law. Briefing journalists in Abuja, the Registrar of the Institute, Cyprian Edward- Ekpo, noted that Sementari’s appointment contravened the NDDC act which provided that when a…
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A five-member screening committee set up by the All Progressive Congress has disqualified a former member of the House of Representatives, Uche Ekwunife, from contesting election into the vacant seat of the Anambra Central Senatorial District. The party selected Sharon Ikeazor, a former interim woman leader of the party, as its candidate in the election. The Court of Appeal, sitting in Enugu, had in December declared the seat vacant and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh election within 90 days. The court quashed the earlier ruling of the National Assembly Election Tribunal that Mrs. Ekwunife…
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In Nigeria’s ongoing war against corruption, President Muhammadu Buhari will not spare anyone who has a case to answer, and his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, would face justice if guilty, presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, has said. Mr. Adesina told PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, when he visited the newspaper’s office in Abuja, that Mr. Buhari has “no accord” to shield any corrupt person from prosecution. “There is no accord,” he said, “if the corruption fight needs to get there (making Mr. Jonathan face justice), it will get there.” Several top officials who served under Mr. Jonathan, as well as his political…
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Former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (retd), has dragged the Federal Government before ECOWAS Court in Abuja over his continued detention. He is also demanding payment of N500 million damages for alleged rights infringement. This is even as a Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday ordered the government to produce him by February 16. Dasuki is also urging the sub-regional court to order his release forthwith. In the suit filed by his lawyer, Robert Emukpoeruo, the former NSA is urging the court to declare among others, that his continued detention in defiance of orders for his…
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LAGOS—As the pressure on federal revenue mounts following steady decline in oil revenue, the Federal Government would be resorting to a Sukuk Bond for funding the widening budget deficit. Sukuk is a financial certificate, similar to the traditional government bond, but complies with Sharia, Islamic religious law. The Debt Management Office, DMO, and Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, are collaborating in an effort to issue the Nigerian sovereign Islamic bonds this year. Details of the expected revenue from the bond is not yet disclosed but officials said they expect significant bridging of the 2016 budget deficit which has exceeded the…
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As EFCC intensifies its investigations into the alleged stealing of $2.1 billion arms fund, former Chairman of PDP Adamu Muazu, former Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service Abdullahi Dikko Inde and four others may soon be declared wanted as they have all reportedly declined to honor invitations by the EFCC to answer questions in connection with the fraud. According to The Nation, the others are former PDP Kebbi State governorship candidate Gen. Bello Sarkin Yaki, a former top official in the Office of National Security Adviser, Col. Bello Fadile, former Special Assistant to eformer President Goodluck Jonathan on Domestic Affairs…
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Says Olu Falae Not Involved In $2.1b Arms Scandal. Founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Frederick Fasehun, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to soft pedal in his fight against corruption warning that the federal government may run into problem with the manner the anti-corruption war is being fought. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Daily Independent on Thursday, Fasehun, who condemned in strongest terms the handcuffing of the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, by the security agents said thatFasheun the way the Buhari administration is downgrading and embarrassing national leaders in…
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Explosions on a Nigerian Gas Company pipeline connected to the Escravos facility of Chevron Nigeria is costing the country $1.98 million daily in lost power and $400,000 in gas, Power Minister Babatunde Fashola said, adding repairs would cost another $600,000. Hundreds of people are fleeing the area and companies are evacuating workers for fear of a harsh military crackdown, community chieftain Elekute Macaulay told The Associated Press. Tompolo has denied involvement in the theft and the attacks, centered around his hometown of Gbaramatu. Residents said the military has launched a manhunt for Tompolo in the creeks and mangrove swamps…
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The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial District, Barr Sharon Ikeazor celebrating today with supporters at the party’s headquarters in Awka, Anambra state after being selected to represent the party in the forthcoming rerun election. The election looks like a battle between Victor Umeh of APGA and Barr Sharon Ikeazor of APC -following the disqualification of Senator Uche Ekwunife by the APC from contesting under the umbrella of the party.
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Former president Dr Goodluck Jonathan has been given the Diplomatic Circles Honour Award for upholding human rights in Africa making him the first president from the continent to receive the global accolade. Dr Jonathan, who will receive the honour in Geneva, Switzerland on January 21 2016 at the group’s annual dinner, will also deliver the keynote address at the event. Diplomatic Circle, a group of global diplomats have decided to honour Dr Jonathan for his role in Nigeria’s peaceful transition during the last elections. Earlier this year, a public policy organisation on African affairs, the Africa Political…
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By covering news, politics, current and social affairs, sports, entertainment, and vital events, OBLONG MEDIA aims to shape the dominant social and political picture of society. Beyond the media networks, independent news sources like OBLONG MEDIA have evolved to report on events which escape attention or underlie the major stories.
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I want to thank God for the effectiveness of the Nigerian media in propelling our democracy to where it is today. In recent times it is the Nigerian media that has proved to be the last hope of the common man, apologies to the collapsed justice system. The Buhari Osinbajo administration had proved in these past months to be a listening government as they have consistently hearkened to the hues and cries of the Nigerian people through the help of the indomitable media organizations in Nigeria. This is why most of us have resorted to go through the media…
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Fresh findings have revealed that Chibuike Amaechi, the immediate past governor of Rivers state and current minister of transport, allegedly acquired and diverted not less than N40 billion of the state funds into the presidential campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to SIGNAL, an online medium, the minister plunged the huge amount into the campaign which saw the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as president, emerging details are revealing. Sources informed Rivers State’s treasury was emptied into private concerns of the former governor as well as the APC presidential campaign. An inquiry had been set up in October…
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Rotimi Amaechi says one beneficiary collected N32bn and left the country Former Minister for Aviation , Princess Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi, now a Senator representing Anambra North senatorial zone and Chief Osita Chidioka, former FRSC Boss eyeing the senate for Anambra Central are in a mess over diversion of N300 Billion Aviation sector reforms. Chidioka loyalists are saying he has no idea about the money that it was during Princess Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi’s era that the money developed wings, but neither Oduah nor Chidioka has spoken as the current Minister Rotimi Amaechi indicted in Rivers by Nyesom Nwike leadership of siphoning several…
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The Police on Saturday said they have not executed the order to arrest former Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, because they had yet to be served the bench warrant issued against him by the court. The Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, said the Police would move against Tompolo once they got the court order. She said, “I understand that as of now, the Police have not received official order to arrest him.” Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos had ordered the arrest of the ex-militant leader for his failure to appear before…
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Federal Government has disclosed that its plan to massively improve railway infrastructure in the country would provide about 250,000 job opportunities. Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, who stated this during the weekend, also promised that the Ministry of Transportation under his leadership would work to raise transport sector’s contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 1.41 per cent. He explained that President Muhammadu Buhari’s plans for Nigerians, especially in the area of job creation can be actualised through the transport industry, which he said has the capacity to contribute more to the nation’s GDP.…
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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Wednesday, said it had shut two refineries in the southern city of Port Harcourt and Kaduna in the north because sabotage to crude pipelines. The plants were shut on Sunday because of “breaches” to the Bonny-Okrika supply line to Port Harcourt and the Escravos-Warri pipeline to Kaduna, the company said in an emailed statement. Nigeria’s minister of power Babatunde Fashola said on Tuesday the country was losing some $2.3 million (2.1 million euros) a day to attacks on gas facilities and lost electricity production. The military said separately it would no longer tolerate…
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Evidence emerging indicates that the former governor and Nigeria’s minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi may be in serious trouble soon following the recent release of a white paper detailing his indictment in corruption investigations against him by the Rivers state government under Barrister Nyesom Wike for the misappropriation of the sum of N96 billion naira ($400 million) during his tenure as governor. The document, the White Paper indicating Mr. Amaechi in a corruption investigation. exclusively obtained by REPORTS AFRIQUE also indicted Mr. Tonye Cole, managing director of Sahara Energy Plc, for questionably dealings with the Rivers…
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The Nigerian government has concluded plans to declare some top officials of the Goodluck Jonathan administration wanted, in connection with several ongoing corruption investigations. Security sources who are aware of the plans revealed that though other names are expected to be released in the future, the first list of wanted ex-officials and military officers, who anti-graft investigators believe fled the country to evade arrest and prosecution over corruption, has been compiled and would be released next week. Top on the list of those to be declared wanted is a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation,…
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Shell To Sack 10,000 Workers As its fortunes dwindled due to falling oil prices, Royal Dutch Shell Plc is to sack 10,000 people in an effort to bolster margins. Shell’s drive to improve competitive performance is delivering at the bottom line. Operating costs have reduced by $4 billion, or around 10 per cent in 2015, and the company expects Shell’s costs to fall again in 2016 by a further $3 billion. Synergies from the BG combination will be in addition to that. Together, these actions will include a reduction of some 10,000 staff and direct contractor positions in 2015-16…
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The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai has directed all officers of the Nigerian Army who have not declared their assets to do so immediately. He gave the directive, Wednesday, during a conference with Principal Staff Officers and Directors serving at the Army Headquarters. Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, the Acting Director Army Public Relations, who disclosed this in a statement noted that “the Chief of Army Staff has done so soon on his appointment as Commander, Multinational Joint Task Force in May 2015 and also on his appointment as Chief of Army Staff in July 2015.…
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The minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi has claimed that an unnamed foreign investor had duped the country of N32 billion and fled thereafter during the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan The N32bn was paid from the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), which indigenous ship owners last month tasked the Minister of transport Amaechi and Acting Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General Haruna Baba Jauro to speak on the issue. Amaechi, who spoke yesterday in Abuja when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, did not name the investor. The minister said “about N300…
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I suffered heartburn watching the presidential media chat. I missed the live transmission but decided to watch the chat on YouTube following a friend’s glowing review that President Muhammadu Buhari shone like a thousand stars. After watching excerpts, I fell numb with fear. I was traumatised and completely flabbergasted by his responses to questions. His lack of knowledge about his environment and events around the world in the past 30 years and his understanding of issues were frighteningly telling. His dictatorial visage was on full display as well as his ironclad contempt for the rule of law and the niceties…
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I have watched Emefiele struggle to keep the naira on its feet, but I can assure him that he is fighting a lost battle. I pity him. This is the wrongest time to be CBN governor. There are no easy answers to the currency crisis. An import-dependent country is a dollar-dependent country. Forex will only flow into the economy based on what we have to sell to the rest of the world. As at today, oil is our biggest product. And oil is $30. And $30 is not good enough. When crude oil averaged $80, official exchange rate was roughly…
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Various tax holidays and incentives granted by the Federal Government to multi-national oil and gas firms may have denied the country an estimated $3.3 billion in revenue. Shell, Total and ENI, which form part of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) consortium, benefited from the 10-year tax holiday. Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, Ojobo Atuluku, said at the launch of the global nongovernmental organisation’s report: “Leaking Revenue: How a big tax break to European gas companies has cost Nigeria billions,” in Abuja, yesterday, that the tax break dates back to 1999. According to her, the NLNG Act grants a 10-year…
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The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, said the Federal Government has cancelled then Nigerian Maritime Univeristy project proposed by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA. Amaechi, gave the hint in Abuja on Tuesday, when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, headed by Senator Ahmed Sani, to brief the senate panel on the activities of the agencies under his supervision. He said, “We are not going ahead with the university project proposed by NIMASA because we have an institution in Oron, we have Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria, and we have the Nigerian…
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President orders probe of sacked MD, Executive Directors A suppressed cold war or what may be described as a battle of supremacy is brewing among some members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), New Telegraph has learnt. With cleavages formed around them, the bickering involves the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engr. Babachir Lawal and the Transportation Minister, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi. The bone of contention, according to an impeccable Presidency source, is the duo’s subtle scheming to have control of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Though put under the Presidency by the Act establishing it,…
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Global oil markets could “drown in oversupply,” sending prices even lower as demand growth slows and Iran revives exports with the end of sanctions, according to the International Energy Agency. The IEA trimmed 2016 estimates for global oil demand as China’s economic expansion weakens and raised forecasts for supplies outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. While non-OPEC supply is set to drop 600,000 barrels a day in 2016, Iran’s comeback could fill that gap by the middle of the year. As a result, world markets may be left with a surplus of 1.5 million barrels a day in…
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