Nigeria News Archives

“We want a better package for the victims and all these legal issues will be thrashed out within a limited time.”

Nigeria's northern state of Kano has resumed settlement talks with Pfizer Inc over a 1996 drug test that Nigeria says caused the death of 11 children and left dozens more disabled, lawyers said on Tuesday. via Reuters UK

A main militant group behind a string of recent attacks in Nigeria's southern oil region said on Friday it has sabotaged another pipeline.

Nigeria's Supreme Court will on Tuesday begin hearing an appeal by the opposition against the victory of President Umaru Yar'Adua in 2007's elections, a senior court official said.

Nigerian senators are worried about the disappearance of the daughter of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who is facing corruption charges, a senior lawmaker said on Friday.

Nigeria's anti-graft agency said it tried on Tuesday to arrest senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, the daughter of the west African country's former president, at her Abuja home.

Following an eight-year stint as president of Nigeria and a 40-year career in politics and the military, Olusegun Obasanjo might have thought that after hand picking his successor he was in for a quiet ...

“Besides, we are pleading with the government to look into he plight of bakers to prevent the collapse of the industry”

Bakers in Nigeria plan an eight-day strike to protest high prices for flour and sugar. via UPI

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission yesterday advised Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, to surrender for arrest and prosecution in connection with the ... via Vanguard

“The strike affected operators whose interconnect depends solely on the Nitel carrier switches in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, with attendant loss of revenue and good will”

News By Remmy Nweke The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria has condemned the ongoing strike by the staff of national carrier Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd. via CIO

STAKEHOLDERS in the economic sector warned yesterday that if Nigeria must achieve the Vision 2020 target, there was the need for President Umaru Yar'Adua to effectively implement the nation's budget and ensure ... via AllAfrica.com

Nigerians in Britain say they are threatening to boycott British Airways unless it apologizes for ordering 136 economy passengers off a flight to Lagos. via RedOrbit

The Director-General of UNIDO, Mr. Kandeh Yumkella, says Nigeria is off the track in efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. via Vanguard

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change , arrived in Nigeria early Monday to confer with former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the crisis in the Southern African ... via Panapress

India and China have decided to help Nigeria build new refineries rather that continue to buy crude oil for export from the petroleum-rich West African nation.

Mr. Michael Abugo is the Chief Operating Officer of Spidcom Limited, a member of Rosaab International, registered in 2004 as an outdoor subsidiary of Rosaab Int'l. Abugo But in today's challenging environment, ... via Vanguard

DO telecom consumers in Nigeria have rights? With the rapid growth in the industry which is now ranked as the fastest growing in the world, several issues have come up for discussion including consumers rights, ... via AllAfrica.com

STRIKING workers of Nigeria Telecommunication Plc and its Mobile subsidiary, M-TEL, have vowed to continue their industrial action until the management of the parent company, Transnational Corporation, plc pays ... via Vanguard

THE House of Representatives has written to the Acting Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation , Engineer Abubakar Yar'Adua, and Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources ... via Vanguard

“Police were called to the BA75 service to Lagos on 27 March after a large number of passengers became disruptive. Many were removed. We take any threats against our crew or passengers very seriously and this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.”

More than 1,000 Nigerians have backed a call to boycott British Airways unless it apologises to 136 passengers who were ordered off a flight to Lagos after they complained about the forced deportation of a man ... via The Independent

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission and a special committee created by the Federal Government are to investigate the authority for the withdrawal of the sum of $480 million ... via AllAfrica.com

A film crew from Seattle that was arrested in Nigeria has been released to the U.S. Embassy, a spokeswoman for the film project said. via The Post Chronicle

“In Nigeria, we are talking with NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to seek ways of opening opportunities for Information Technology (IT) skill acquisition, distance learning and telemedicine”

Nigeria has received 8,000 PCs from Computer Aid International , a U.K.-based charity organization and provider of refurbished computers. via PC World

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole has regretted the inability of Nigerians, especially those from oil producing areas to benefit adequately from the massive investment in the country's gas ... via Vanguard

SPEAKER Werinipre Seibarugu of Bayelsa State was sworn in as acting governor yesterday in controversial circumstances after a faction of the state Assembly kicked that he was not the rightful person to occupy ... via Vanguard

NATIONAL Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria , has raised that the fake and dubious investors comprising mainly traders, importers and other parasitic anti-industry elements are ... via Vanguard

“A total of 36 vessels were boarded and one vessel hijacked. Seven crew members were taken hostage, six kidnapped, three killed and one missing presumed dead”

Thursday, April 17, 2008 KUALA LUMPUR: Acts of ocean piracy rose 20 percent in the first quarter of this year, with waters off Nigeria emerging as the worst pirate hotspot, a watchdog said on Wednesday. via The News

G OVERNOR Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State has become the latest state chief executive to be sacked by the Appeal Court. via Guardian Newspapers

A Romanian company is set to establish refineries in both Delta and Lagos states.

China and India have agreed to build oil refineries in Nigeria rather than buying crude from it for export, a Nigerian official said on Tuesday.

SOME think that the best way to make Abuja famous is through towers. The proposed 50-storey shopping mall falls squarely in line with the thinking that without tall buildings Abuja cannot be a modern city. via AllAfrica.com

“How not to handle the naira". The Central Bank's five commandments are as follows: "Do not store the naira indecently". The photo shows a young woman stuffing a wad of notes inside her bra. The bank instead bids "Neatly arrange your money in pouches”

In Nigeria, where officials are keen to clean up a reputation for massive corruption, authorities insist that humble citizens show more respect for the country's currency, the naira. via Raw Story

Chief Johnson Chukwu is the Managing Director/CEO Cowry Asset Management, a firm of Stock Brokers with head-quarters in Lagos. via Vanguard

The last one week has witnessed the throwing of brick-brats between the Executive and the National Assembly over the failure of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to assent to the 2008 Appropriation Act that was ... via Vanguard

“The only way she could retain her [status] was to obtain a child. When she appeared we all thought: 'How can someone acquire a baby just like that?' ”

Police fear trafficking for benefit fraud is on rise, but the CPS has been accused of being too timid to prosecute A Nigerian woman was yesterday found guilty of illegally bringing a baby into Britain in a case ... via Buzzle.com

A GROUP of foreign investors is said to be concluding plans to establish the first deep sea and first hub port in Lagos, Nigeria. via Guardian Newspapers

The Court of Appeal has upheld the appeal of Governor Saidu Usman Dakingari, affirming him as the governor of Kebbi State. via Nigerian Bloggers

A Nigerian court annulled the election of a state governor on Friday in the ninth such ruling since national polls a year ago that were deemed not credible by international observers. via XtraMSN Real Estate

“It is not only in Akwa Ibom state; as at today over 12 or 13 states have bought vehicles for their National Assembly members. I need the vehicle to take me round it is not for my wife to go to the market”

Senator Alloysius Etok yesterday absolved Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State of impropriety over allegations of misappropriation of N2.5 billion affirming that he followed due process in the purchase ... via AllAfrica.com

DAUGHTER of the immediate past President, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, declared yesterday that she was ready to face trial over the alleged N10 million given to the Senate Committee on Health by the Federal Ministry ... via Vanguard

“When the second test was conducted, Glo performed satisfactorily, prompting NCC to lift the ban”

IT Executive Development Series Nigeria lifts ban on mobile provider's promotion Glo Mobile can go ahead with draw for 60 cars, ranging from BMWs to Kias By: Remmy Nweke IDG News Service A LAGOS, NIGERIA - ... via ITWorld Canada

T HE House of Representatives Committee probing the Power project contracts in the last eight years has discovered that virtually no part of the N15.5 billion contracts awarded in Anambra State has been ... via Guardian Newspapers

“No sensitisation effort will be effective [on its own]”

Of the 50 million seedlings planted every year in the 11 northern Nigeria states worst effected by desertification, 37.5 million wither and die within two months, environmental officials say. via AllAfrica.com

THE Raw Material Research and Development Council said yesterday that no fewer than 10 agro-raw material companies were ready for diversification for Public Private Partnership co-cooperation. Among the ... via Vanguard

Senator Obasanjo-Bello must now hand herself in, the EFCC say The daughter of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has been charged with corruption in court, along with two former ministers. via BBC

NIGERIA National Filters Association, Delta zone has protested the employment of expatriate filters by the Chevron Nigeria Limited for its operations in the state when they are qualified indigenous filters, ... via Vanguard

“This must change. Iata is serious about delivering results that will raise the bar on aviation safety”

Ipsoa is a partnership to improve both safety and efficiency. Iata will provide access to the data, but the airlines must invest to ensure that their organisations can take advantage of the programme. via Sunday Times

But the name of the daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Iyabo, which was mentioned as having partaken in the graft, was missing on the list of the accused persons charged to court yesterday. via Vanguard

“Resist doing so because these products cannot meet global standards”

Concerned women executives in the Information and Communication Technology field are advocating involvement of more Nigerian women in the sector. via PC World

“We urge the DPR to come alive to its responsibility to the consuming public by ensuring that the product vessels are cleared expeditiously to avoid the seeming artificial scarcity and lengthy queues at the pumps.”

FRIDAY'S directive by President Umaru Yar'Adua to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation , the Department of Petroleum Resources and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria to take urgent steps to end the ... via AllAfrica.com

“For those who have retired between July and December 2007, we've paid close to N10 billion from that account out of the N59 billion the Federal Government has set aside.”

HE Federal Government contributed N59 billion for the payment of retirees from the Federal Civil Service between July 2004 and March 2008. via Vanguard

“The size and scale of the Lekki port when combined with its state of the art cargo handling and storage infrastructure will make it an ideal transshipment hub capable servicing the entire West African coast.”

The deepest port in Africa with a draft of 17 meters is to be constructed by Lagos Port LFTZ Enterprises along Atlantic coast at Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos by the first quarter of 2009, Mr. via AllAfrica.com

SHOCKING revelations have emerged after President Umaru Yar'Adua, last week, ordered the termination of the controversial sale of 80 per cent shares of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and the National Mining ... via AllAfrica.com

“Government intervened on a number of occasions to address some of these concerns, but for some reasons, these interventions were either not sustained or were unsustainable”

Mr Solomon Onafowokan, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry , weekend in Lagos urged government to effectively implement its strategies at reforming the ports. via AllAfrica.com

“No wonder Nigeria has been able to generate over $2.6 billion in licensing fees alone, excluding tax revenues”

Since the liberalisation of the telecom sector and the advent of GSM in Nigeria, Direct Foreign Investment of over $12 billion has flowed into the country, the Minister of State for Information and ... via Vanguard

“This is what has made the current shortage so bad”

With massive fuel shortages in the north of Nigeria since mid March, transport costs have doubled exacerbating food prices. via IRIN

FIVE workers of Express /Shebah Petroleum and Gas Company Limited, kidnapped by militant youths in Ilaje oil rich communities areas of Ondo State, have been released to the state government. via Vanguard

A six-count criminal complaint filed in Nigeria eight years ago charges Kase Lawal with joining in a plot to forge papers in the name of a local company, win offshore-drilling approvals and illegally pump and ... via The Modesto Bee

“Port's demonstration of its corporate social responsibility to those who risked their lives through evacuating the infamous toxic waste in Koko Port”

FOUR victims of the infamous Koko toxic waste dump recieved N39.7m compensation from the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Warri, for injuries, pain and frustration suffered during the evacuation of the toxic dump ... via AllAfrica.com

The Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro yesterday carried out his threat to either arrest or fish out police officers that falsify documents or impersonate during or after entry into the force by ordering ... via Vanguard

There was free for all fight in the Anambra State House of Assembly yesterday following the slashing of the State's 2008 budget from N84.2 billion to N57.2 billion by the committee on finance and appropriation. via AllAfrica.com

A House of Representatives committee has expressed shock at lack of work, and spending of $86 million on Bayelsa Independent Power Project . via AllAfrica.com

“People say why should I bother [to vote]?”

Violence was relatively low in the run-up to local elections on 29 March in Nigeria's oil-rich Rivers State but with evidence emerging of massive voting irregularities in favour of the ruling party, human ... via IRIN News

“My town, which is home to 625 people, is for Obama, my children and their spouses are pro-Obama. My grandchildren are also pro-Obama.”

Former President Jimmy Carter all but said Wednesday he plans to cast his superdelegate vote for Barack Obama. via CNN

“We also noted with utmost dissatisfaction and dismay the non-inclusion of the Glo network in the compensation deal for Glo subscribers by the Nigerian Communications Commission”

The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers , a non-governmental consumer group, is pressing the Nigerian Communications Commission to declare whether Glo Mobile will be forced to compensate ... via The Industry Standard

“Men are quick to complain about how they are exposed to sexual intimidation from women. They do not talk about indecent dressing among men.”

Short skirts are not the problem - hypocrisy and corruption are. M Y FRIEND Funmi Iyanda hosts a talk show on Nigerian TV in which she interviews state governors, actors and pastors. via The Age

“There are [no] regulatory agencies to keep the boats in check”

The drowning of 30 people on 1 April when a boat capsized on Lake Bagwai, 50 km west of Kano city, was one of dozens of recent boat accidents in northern Nigeria's Kano State which officials say have cost ... via AllAfrica.com

“The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government, ”

THE difficulties with living in today's Nigeria has little to do with the high cost of living, or even the higher cost of dying . via AllAfrica.com

“We cannot for now ascertain the number of deaths, though we gathered from survivors that not less than 40 people may have lost their lives in the accident”

AT least 40 members of a wedding party drowned in a river after the dug-out boat they were travelling in capsized in the northwestern Nigerian state of Kano, survivors and officials said. via AdelaideNow...

Nigerian police say a boat packed with wedding revelers taking a bride to her new husband capsized on a river and 26 passengers are confirmed dead. via Fox News

“By the end of 2008, there'll be fewer banks than there are today. The restructuring of the banking industry has been attracting funds from local and foreign investors, which have increased banks' ability to lend to customers.”

GOVERNOR of the Central Bank , Professor Chukwuma Soludo, will deliver the keynote address at the second Vanguard Annual Bankers' Award scheduled for the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos on April 18. via Vanguard