₦airaland Forum

High oil price, threat to Nigerian economy – Sanusi

•CBN to raise interest rate again
By Adeola Yusuf Senior Correspondent, Lagos (with agency report)

Brent crude for April delivery was up 86 cents to $115.65 per barrel (pb) at the weekend but the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned that the higher oil prices and government spending will worsen inflation.
Nigeria, Africa ’s top oil producer, relies on oil proceeds to service more than 90 per cent of its budget and CBN Governor Lamido Sanusi said high oil prices are making his job “more difficult.”
He signalled that he may raise interest rates for a second time this year.
Oil price above $100 pb is making the job of the CBN “more difficult” as Abuja increases subsidies on fuel imports, adding to inflation pressure, Sanusi said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
The CBN has kept interest rates low since 2009, while pumping N620 billion ($4 billion) into commercial banks to avoid a collapse of the industry.
Now, government spending is rising ahead of the April elections, banks are signing recapitalisation accords, and inflation accelerated to 12.1 per cent in January from 11.8 per cent a month earlier.
“We have had to have easy money because we had a banking system on the brink of collapse. We bailed out the banks and everybody knows you don’t tighten money when your banks are suffering a liquidity crisis.”
The CBN raised benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 6.5 per cent on January 25 to help bring inflation down below 10 per cent.
Rising government spending and an increase in liquidity as the CBN recapitalises commercial banks are “reasons for tightening” monetary policy, Sanusi said, adding that further rate increases will depend on the March inflation data.
Nigeria depends on fuel imports for more than 90 per cent of its domestic needs because of a lack of refining capacity.
Sanusi estimated in June last year that the subsidy on domestic fuel prices will cost N520 billion naira in 2010.
“Because we import a lot of our energy, we don’t get the full benefit of the higher oil price because it translates into higher prices for the petroleum products that we import.
“The government is subsidising those products, which then means you get an increase in government deficits and government spending. So my job gets more difficult managing those things.”
Crude oil has surged 51 per cent in the past six months, reaching as high as $116.30 pb at the weekend.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on February 17 that low interest rates helped to fuel inflation in Nigeria and the CBN may have to raise rates further to curb prices. Nigeria should also consider more flexibility in the exchange rate, rather than peg the Naira at about N150 to the Dollar, the IMF advised.
Sanusi said inflation is driven by “structural forces,” such as rising food prices, and the CBN cannot lift interest rates to curb that impact on inflation.
“We are more realistic about the limitations of monetary policy when inflation is driven by structural forces. We think we stand the risk of exaggerating the short-term impact of tightening. If you’ve got bad weather, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Oil prices rose at the weekend as Libyan Government and rebel forces dug in amid fierce fighting while protests restarted in Tripoli, raising investor fears of a protracted oil output cuts.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s regime stepped up its recruitment of mercenaries from other African countries, with an official in neighboring Mali saying that 200 to 300 men left for Libya in the last week.
On Friday, protesters renewed marches in Tripoli, calling for Gadhafi’s ouster. Last week, similar protests were met by a brutal crackdown.
United States President Barack Obama reiterated calls for Gadhafi, who has been in power for 41 years, to resign and leave the country.
Analysts said oil prices could stabilise if the political upheaval that has swept through North Africa and the Middle East does not spread to other crude-producing countries.
About one million barrels per day (bpd) of Libya’s 1.6 million capacities has been shut down because of the crisis.
“As long as it does not spread to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar or Saudi Arabia or worsen in Bahrain, Yemen or Iran, oil supplies from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait should be able to make up shortfalls in Libya ,” Cameron Hanover said in a report.

http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=29989

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS MOVES TO US

NIGERIA’s leading Presidential candidates and their backers are now extending their campaigns to some Western capitals hoping to drum up informal but significant international support as next month’s election draws closer, Empowered Newswire reports.

Specifically some of the candidates are consulting with international political PR firms, engaging the Nigerian Diaspora and knocking down the international profile of their opponents. Key in their international strategy, according to informed sources is the goal of favorable mention in top official circles in key western capitals and the international media.

In fact some of the presidential candidates have confirmed personal participation in next weekend’s March 12 Diaspora Presidential forum holding in New York organized by the Nigeria Peoples Parliament in the Diaspora.

Seen widely as the candidate to beat both at home and abroad, being the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign, according to insiders in his government is relying on the government’s established contacts with several official, business and individual contacts.



Many of such current and retired US, British officials are engaged formally with the federal government in one assignment or the other and have expressed informal support for the president’s election in their personal capacities.

For instance, Ambassador Howard F. Jeter, a former Ambassador of the United States to Nigeria, and who is still influential in US government circles is one of the key figures engaged by the campaigns of leading presidential candidates.

Jeter is working closely with the federal government currently on a few issues including helping to mobilise international investors from the US to invest in Nigeria’s power sector, an area of crucial importance to the Jonathan presidency.

Although is now a private consultant and an influential African-American, Jeter’s reach however also stretches to other political parties as he was is said to also be helpful to other presidential candidates on how to secure international support through the use of US and Europe-based political consultants.

Two other former US ambassadors Mr. John Campbell and Dr. Rene Robin Saunders are also said to be actively engaged in the run-up to the presidential election. But while Saunders is not directly linked with any of the presidential candidates as yet, she is said to be sympathetic to the Jonathan campaign. Saunders last month hosted a non-partisan forum on the Nigerian election in Washington DC trying to focus international attention on the election and the run-up activities to it including the party primaries and the voters’ registration.

Campbell however is believed to be opposed to the Jonathan presidency and he is identified as one of those clamoring in top US circles for a change of leadership in Nigeria. Unconfirmed sources said Campbell may be open to working with the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, General Mohamodu Buhari based on his perceived support for the retention of power in the North.

There is also the Corporate Council for Africa, CCA, an otherwise non-partisan business association comprising US-based business concerns with investments and interests in Africa. CCA is also said to be quietly supporting the Jonathan campaign in continuation of its tradition of backing the incumbent and the perceived leading presidential candidates in Nigeria and Africa.

CCA has a few linkages to the presidency including a Memorandum of Understanding signed with a quasi-governmental organization, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group. Through linkages such as this, CCA has managed over the years to build trust with top Nigerian government officials and sources said top leaders of the group, CCA, which includes US oil companies in Nigeria, are also privately backing the Jonathan-Sambo campaign.

A top federal government official conceded that many in the US official and business circles are happy with the Jonathan presidency and have expressed their support privately for his campaign.

Opposition parties are not left out. For example the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, presidential candidate, Nuhu Ribadu, who had built for himself a considerable international following while he was Chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is also said to be engaging international PR and campaign consultants with the active support of the CAN leader Chief Bola Tinubu.

But while Tinubu and the ACN is packaging a multi-million naira project to launch Ribadu’s presidential campaign image internationally, the former EFCC boss, according to sources is practically sustaining huge image losses internationally since he fell out with some of his colleagues in the Obasanjo presidency Economic Reform team.

For instance former Minister Nasir El Rufai, who has openly opposed Ribadu’s presidential aspiration on the platform of the ACN is said to have expressed his disappointment in Ribadu’s choice of party, because Ribadu as EFCC Chairman had informed the Obasanjo Reform team that Tinubu was corrupt while he was governor of Lagos State.

According to informed sources, Rufai who is well-connected in western capitals and who actually led some aspects of Yar’Adua’s international campaign in 2007, has now unleashed his international contacts and connections against Ribadu, and is now actively trumpeting the credentials of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC’s Buhari-Bakare ticket.

Although it is not yet known whether the CPC candidate has secured the services of an international consultant, Ribadu’s campaign operatives concede that Nasir’s contacts especially in the US have rubbished the ACN presidential candidate’s image so much requiring an urgent repair.

A knowledgeable source said the grudge between Ribadu and his former reform allies was that he did not inform them ahead that he was going to use the ACN platform. At least two leading members of the Reform team are said to be irretrievably opposed to any form of political alliance with Tinubu.

Another leading presidential candidate keen on the international scene is the ANPP Presidential candidate, Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau who has actually managed to secure a top interview with BBC’s Hard Talk and has confirmed participation in next week Nigeria’s Diaspora Presidential Forum in New York.

Meanwhile, the presidential forum set for next Saturday in New York, according to its organizers has already secured the participation of some leading presidential aspirants. Mr. Salisu Abdullahi, a Senior Special Assistant to Governor Shekarau confirmed that the ANPP presidential candidate will personally attend the forum in New York.

The forum is also expected to be streamed live on the internet and also recorded for TV and radio broadcast later in Nigeria.

http://www.compassnewspaper.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1680:-presidential-campaigns-move-to-us&catid=308:headlines&Itemid=600

Time2Think:
Examples? Try and convince us not to vote for GEJ.

Am not here to debate about Goodluck's candidacy. If it pleases you to vote for him then go ahead. Remember the way you lay your bed that is how you will sleep on it. Your tomorrow shall justify your today's actions. Do what is right!

I had always believed in Jonathan before he became president but with all his poor performances and misconduct that are beginning to come to light now he is nothing to write home about.

its obvious sbeezy8 and seanet02 are Ribadu's supporters, The truth is hard to swallow, Ribadu is going no where in the elections,

Opposition rallies ahead of Nigerian elections

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Opposition presidential candidate Nuhu Ribadu, a man who once went after Nigeria's top politicians as the oil-rich nation's anti-corruption czar, struggled Saturday to have someone listen to him.

"Listen to me! Give me five minutes!" the former police official shouted above a rowdy crowd in Lagos. "Give me your ears!"

The crowd quieted slightly for Ribadu, the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, but his face was missing from the posters and placards waved by supporters who crowded into Tafawa Balewa Square. The raucous rally Saturday showed his party's strength as the main opposition in Nigeria's coming April election, but raised questions about whether the former investigator loved internationally will receive the same attention back home.

Ribadu once served as the head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the main anti-graft agency in a nation where how billions of dollars in oil revenues gets spent remains hazy. He fled Nigeria in 2008 after being demoted, receiving death threats and surviving what his lawyer called a drive-by shooting. He returned last year and recently became the presidential aspirant of the Action Congress of Nigeria, which is the dominant political party in Lagos and southwest Nigeria.

The party, whose symbol remains the palm-frond brooms used to sweep away trash through the country, wants to overpower the ruling People's Democratic Party in the coming election.

"The broom revolution has come to Nigeria!" Ribadu cried out to the crowd.

He later criticized the ruling party, which has held power since Nigeria became a democracy more than a decade ago.

"They will give you lies, they will not bring you electricity," Ribadu said in a nation of 150 million where power remain scarce.

But the crowd seemed eager for another man to take the stage, Lagos state Gov. Babatunde Raji Fashola. Fashola won the popular support of Lagos with his beautification and busing projects in the megacity. The lawyer, who carries a stack of books in his Land Rover ranging from "Giving" by Bill Clinton to "Confessions of an Economic Hitman," remains heavily favored to win a second term as governor of Nigeria's megacity.

Fashola also derided the ruling party, saying its leaders were "desecrating the image and honor of our leaders."

"It's not just enough to win," Fashola said. The ruling party "must lose its deposit in the southwest."

The People's Democratic Party, helmed by President Goodluck Jonathan, remains the only force with the money and muscle to manipulate Nigeria's fraud-filled electoral system. While Jonathan and others have promised a free and fair election, both the opposition and his party have said they want to control the southwest - setting up what could be a violent election.

At Saturday's rally, violence also broke out as unemployed young men scuffled among themselves for campaign trinkets. A politician tossed out a handful of money during the singing of Nigeria's national anthem, setting off another struggle. An Associated Press photographer also suffered minor injuries after a security official used a stun gun on him.

As the rally ended, the crowd rushed after the politicians' black Land Rovers. A police officer fired a Kalashnikov rifle into the air and others used stun guns on the swarming crowds. Ribadu later rode out on top of one vehicle, throwing T-shirts that immediately started another fight.

A police officer in a flak jacket and helmet shrugged at the melee.

"Nigeria, election," he said, shaking his head and walking away. More gunshots echoed down the street.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/03/05/general-af-nigeria-election_8340409.html

Nigeria vote 'threatened by violence': observers

LAGOS — A recent upsurge in pre-vote violence in Nigeria poses a challenge to Nigeria's April elections, a team of foreign election observers said on Friday.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, holds presidential elections on April 9, a week after legislative polls on April 2, while governorship and state assembly polls will be on April 16.
"The manipulation of youth to perpetrate violence on behalf of political actors continues to be a significant threat to the integrity of the electoral process," the US-based International Republican Institute (IRI) said in a statement following a visit to Nigeria.
"For the benefit of the April elections, as well as the long term health of Nigerian democracy, it is recommended that those who engage in election-related violence in 2011 be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," it said.
"There should be no tolerance for those who engage in violence," it added.
A recent surge in violence, including bombings, political attacks and sectarian clashes, have left dozens dead in the country.
On Thursady, a blast near the venue of a ruling party election rally in central Nigeria killed three people and injured 28 others.
The April vote is expected to test Nigeria's ability to organise a credible vote after a series of deeply flawed polls in the past.
The IRI however noted with satisfaction the confidence of Nigerians in the integrity of chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commmission (INEC) Attahiru Jega, a former don, to organise credible polls next month.
"In every one of its (IRI) meetings, the delegation heard praise for the INEC chairman. It is clear that the Nigerian people have confidence in chairman Jega?s commitment to transparent, free and fair elections," said the IRI delegation, led by former Ghana's president John Kufuor.
"However, it is also critical that this confidence in the chairman?s integrity extends to the entire INEC structure,"

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iGRF9vcyB1Yv_rTl2CbMQ0oMlCsg?docId=CNG.0f69b85278e292f4cec1b79291e88739.6b1

BUHARI, IBB HOLD SECRET MEETING

General Muhammadu Buhari and General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), were in a secret meeting at the Hill Top home of the latter in Minna, yesterday.

General Buhari drove straight to IBB’s house at about 5:30 pm after addressing his supporters from the north central states at the zonal presidential rally held at Polo Field in Minna.

General Buhari on arrival at IBB’s house was warmly received by his host who led him straight to his inner living room where they both held a secret meeting without any of their aides.

They spent about an hour before emerging to say their late evening prayers.

Asked about his relationship with IBB, considering the speculation that there was still the age long animosity between them, Buhari said their relationship was “extremely cordial.”

Both former heads of state who were in high spirit did not speak on their meeting but General Babangida said “he (Buhari) is most qualified to be president of Nigeria,” saying that Buhari has been a governor, a minister and head of state which availed him enough experience to rule the country.

General Buhari later left Babangida’s home around 7:08 pm with his retinue out of the town with heavy traffic especially along the popular Mobil roundabout, Minna with youths in their hundreds chanting “change”.

LEADERSHIP observed that the visit was the first time Buhari would be visiting IBB in his residence since he has been coming to Minna for political reasons.

http://www.leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26396%3Abuhari-ibb-hold-secret-meeting&catid=51%3Acover-stories&Itemid=101

How come this growth is only reflected on papers and not in what people can see? Nigeria i hail thee,

Nigeria's GDP growth among world's best in 2010, says Aganga

Nigeria's economy fared better than those of most advanced economies of the world last year, with her gross domestic product (GDP) growing by 7.85 percent, compared to a global average of 3.9 percent, according to the World Economic Outlook. Minister of Finance, Segun Aganga said in his presentation at the Institute of Directors (IOD) in Lagos at the weekend that Nigeria's GDP growth rate is among the highest in the world, behind those of China and India.

While average GDP growth rate for Sub-Saharan Africa is put at 4.7 percent, the minister said the GDP of South Africa, the biggest economy on the continent, grew by a mere 2.7 percent.

"Nigeria's GDP growth rate was higher than those of the high income nations. The GDP growth rate for the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations averaged 2.7 percent; the Euro Area grew their GDP by 1.7 percent; that of the United States grew 2.8 percent, while the average for non-OECD nations 6.7 percent. The BRIC nations, made up of Brazil, Russia, India and China had GDP growth rates of 7.6 percent, 3.8 percent, 9.5 percent, and 10.0 percent respectively," he said.

According to Mr. Aganga, details of the country's macro-economic performance of the different sector of the economy showed that agriculture, wholesale and retail trade as well as manufacturing accounted for some of the highest contributions to the economy during the year. While the agricultural sector accounted for over 40.0 percent of the GDP during the year, wholesale and retail trade contributed about 24.3 percent, and manufacturing 18.7 percent.

He said that government is committed to diversifying the economic base away from oil and gas, the minister said available statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) identified nine major sectoral growth drivers of the nation's economy. These include telecommunications (34.47 percent); solid minerals (12.28 percent); building and construction (12.16 percent); hotels and restaurants (12.01 percent); wholesale and retail trade (11.22 percent); real estate (10.68 percent); business and other services (9.92 percent) agriculture (9.74 percent) and manufacturing (7.94 percent).

Global imbalances

On perspectives on global economic growth outlook, he noted that though global economic recovery is strengthening, there are downside risks mostly from global imbalances, with economic risks associated mostly with market concerns on European debt crisis, particularly low interest rates in high income countries leading to large, volatile flows to dynamic developing countries These risks, the minister pointed out, may result in destabilising movements in exchange rates, commodity and asset prices, while inflation in emerging markets is likely to constitute a risk to growth, leading possibly to monetary tightening in some countries.

To check the adverse effect of these risks of the economies, particularly those of the developing countries, Mr. Aganga called for credible plans to restore fiscal sustainability; adoption of fiscal measures to facilitate employment and long-term competitiveness; enforcement of re-regulation of the financial sector as well as ensure a consistent and coordinated response to the crisis.
Nigeria's economy fared better than those of most advanced economies of the world last year, with her gross domestic product (GDP) growing by 7.85 percent, compared to a global average of 3.9 percent, according to the World Economic Outlook. Minister of Finance, Segun Aganga said in his presentation at the Institute of Directors (IOD) in Lagos at the weekend that Nigeria's GDP growth rate is among the highest in the world, behind those of China and India.

While average GDP growth rate for Sub-Saharan Africa is put at 4.7 percent, the minister said the GDP of South Africa, the biggest economy on the continent, grew by a mere 2.7 percent.

"Nigeria's GDP growth rate was higher than those of the high income nations. The GDP growth rate for the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations averaged 2.7 percent; the Euro Area grew their GDP by 1.7 percent; that of the United States grew 2.8 percent, while the average for non-OECD nations 6.7 percent. The BRIC nations, made up of Brazil, Russia, India and China had GDP growth rates of 7.6 percent, 3.8 percent, 9.5 percent, and 10.0 percent respectively," he said.

According to Mr. Aganga, details of the country's macro-economic performance of the different sector of the economy showed that agriculture, wholesale and retail trade as well as manufacturing accounted for some of the highest contributions to the economy during the year. While the agricultural sector accounted for over 40.0 percent of the GDP during the year, wholesale and retail trade contributed about 24.3 percent, and manufacturing 18.7 percent.

He said that government is committed to diversifying the economic base away from oil and gas, the minister said available statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) identified nine major sectoral growth drivers of the nation's economy. These include telecommunications (34.47 percent); solid minerals (12.28 percent); building and construction (12.16 percent); hotels and restaurants (12.01 percent); wholesale and retail trade (11.22 percent); real estate (10.68 percent); business and other services (9.92 percent) agriculture (9.74 percent) and manufacturing (7.94 percent).

Global imbalances

On perspectives on global economic growth outlook, he noted that though global economic recovery is strengthening, there are downside risks mostly from global imbalances, with economic risks associated mostly with market concerns on European debt crisis, particularly low interest rates in high income countries leading to large, volatile flows to dynamic developing countries These risks, the minister pointed out, may result in destabilising movements in exchange rates, commodity and asset prices, while inflation in emerging markets is likely to constitute a risk to growth, leading possibly to monetary tightening in some countries.

To check the adverse effect of these risks of the economies, particularly those of the developing countries, Mr. Aganga called for credible plans to restore fiscal sustainability; adoption of fiscal measures to facilitate employment and long-term competitiveness; enforcement of re-regulation of the financial sector as well as ensure a consistent and coordinated response to the crisis.

Nigeria's economy fared better than those of most advanced economies of the world last year, with her gross domestic product (GDP) growing by 7.85 percent, compared to a global average of 3.9 percent, according to the World Economic Outlook. Minister of Finance, Segun Aganga said in his presentation at the Institute of Directors (IOD) in Lagos at the weekend that Nigeria's GDP growth rate is among the highest in the world, behind those of China and India.

While average GDP growth rate for Sub-Saharan Africa is put at 4.7 percent, the minister said the GDP of South Africa, the biggest economy on the continent, grew by a mere 2.7 percent.

"Nigeria's GDP growth rate was higher than those of the high income nations. The GDP growth rate for the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations averaged 2.7 percent; the Euro Area grew their GDP by 1.7 percent; that of the United States grew 2.8 percent, while the average for non-OECD nations 6.7 percent. The BRIC nations, made up of Brazil, Russia, India and China had GDP growth rates of 7.6 percent, 3.8 percent, 9.5 percent, and 10.0 percent respectively," he said.

According to Mr. Aganga, details of the country's macro-economic performance of the different sector of the economy showed that agriculture, wholesale and retail trade as well as manufacturing accounted for some of the highest contributions to the economy during the year. While the agricultural sector accounted for over 40.0 percent of the GDP during the year, wholesale and retail trade contributed about 24.3 percent, and manufacturing 18.7 percent.

He said that government is committed to diversifying the economic base away from oil and gas, the minister said available statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) identified nine major sectoral growth drivers of the nation's economy. These include telecommunications (34.47 percent); solid minerals (12.28 percent); building and construction (12.16 percent); hotels and restaurants (12.01 percent); wholesale and retail trade (11.22 percent); real estate (10.68 percent); business and other services (9.92 percent) agriculture (9.74 percent) and manufacturing (7.94 percent).

Global imbalances

On perspectives on global economic growth outlook, he noted that though global economic recovery is strengthening, there are downside risks mostly from global imbalances, with economic risks associated mostly with market concerns on European debt crisis, particularly low interest rates in high income countries leading to large, volatile flows to dynamic developing countries These risks, the minister pointed out, may result in destabilising movements in exchange rates, commodity and asset prices, while inflation in emerging markets is likely to constitute a risk to growth, leading possibly to monetary tightening in some countries.

To check the adverse effect of these risks of the economies, particularly those of the developing countries, Mr. Aganga called for credible plans to restore fiscal sustainability; adoption of fiscal measures to facilitate employment and long-term competitiveness; enforcement of re-regulation of the financial sector as well as ensure a consistent and coordinated response to the crisis.


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5680432-146/nigerias_gdp_growth_among_worlds_best.csp

FG - 1,500 Citizens Still Stranded in Libya

As the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Sunday morning flew 499 Nigerians hitherto trapped in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, to Abuja, another 1500 are still stranded in the crisis-ridden country awaiting the intervention of the Federal Government.
This comes as Nigeria has backed the United Nations Security Council's resolution imposing sanctions on the family and close associates of Libyan leader Moammar Ghadafi because it is "persuaded by the cries for help of the Libyan people".
NEMA said getting the evacuated Nigerians, who were the first batch to be flown back into the country, was made possible by the granting of diplomatic clearance to Nigeria early Saturday morning by the Libyan authorities.
The evacuees landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at about 1.25am aboard a Kabo chartered plane named Bangladesh Airline.
THISDAY could not ascertain Sunday night when the stranded 1500 Nigerians would be airlifted to Nigeria given the slow process of clearance by the Libyan immigration and the over-crowded Tripoli airport that they have found themselves.
But the chartered plane that brought back the evacuees has since returned to Libya. Another batch of 520 is being expected Monday morning.

NEMA Director General, Sani Sidi, who led the evacuation team to Libya, said the immigration process for departure was herculean because there were over 100,000 nationals of different countries trying to get out of the troubled country.
He said Nigeria and Kenya were the only African countries who were trying to get their citizens out.

"When we arrived, we had serious challenges because of various restrictions that were imposed by the Libyan government. We were inside the aircraft for about 11 hours, sitting down because we could not come down. So it is going to be a slow process," he said.
The returnees consisted of young men, women and infants. THISDAY gathered that over 90 per cent of them had no immigration papers; most were illegal immigrants. Some had planned to use Libya as a transit country through which they could sneak into Europe.
Meanwhile, 19 Nigerian prisoners serving various jail terms, with some on death row, were also released to the Federal Government.
The returnees were immediately taken to the Nigerian Army camp near the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport under heavy security, as the prisoners were expected to be handed over to Nigerian security officials.

One of the prisoners, who refused to give his name, told THISDAY that he had been wrongly jailed for the last seven years in Libya.
"Actually when I left Nigeria eight years ago, I wanted to go to Italy, not Libya. Then I saw that Libya was not a bad place, so I decided to stay there. I was working for one Arab in his farm and he did not pay me for a year. When I protested, he brought police and I was arrested and locked up. I have been in jail for the last seven years, so I am very happy to be back home," he said.

A statement by Head of Nigeria's Permanent Mission to the UN, Prof. Joy Ogwu, titled, "Nigeria - Explanation of Vote", noted that Nigeria supports "the package of sanctions in the resolution to the extent that their impact is targeted and does not exacerbate the burden upon Libyan civilians".
UN Security Council had last Saturday imposed sanctions on Ghadafi, his five children and 10 top associates over the ongoing violent repression of Libyans protesting against his 42-year-old authoritarian rule.
The sanctions, which came via Resolution 1970 and was unanimously adopted by the 15 council members, include complete arms embargo, freezing the assets of the Libyan leader, travel ban and referring the violent repression of civilian demonstrators to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Noting that it remained concerned about the escalating violence, the inflammatory rhetoric and the deplorable loss of life in the North African nation, Nigeria said it also took into consideration the letter received from the Permanent Representative of Libya, Ambassador Mohamed Shalgham, supporting the measures (sanctions) as were proposed.
Nigeria said it was satisfied that the resolution provides for the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian and human rights law.
It also noted that the African Union (AU), the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Arab League had condemned the disproportionate use of force against civilians in Libya.
"It was therefore fitting that the Security Council took decisive action on Saturday to address the crisis," the nation said.
Nigeria said the comprehensive sanctions would not only deter individuals from supporting the regime, but the terms of the resolution would also isolate those currently planning, coordinating and directing the atrocities.
Expressing its belief that the full implementation of these measures would swiftly and effectively address the ongoing crisis, Nigeria urged maximum cooperation from the international community to ensure the desired outcome.
The council's resolution has also been commended by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, who said: "The actions taken by the regime in Libya are clear cut violations of all norms governing international behaviour and serious transgressions of international human rights and humanitarian law."
Ki-moon however noted that "while the measure cannot, by itself, end the violence and the repression, it is a clear expression of the will of a united community of nations".
Protests began February 15 in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city. At least several other cities are now thought to be under opposition control, according to eyewitnesses.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201102280100.html

Nigeria police kill Islamist sect financier

KANO, Nigeria — Police said Sunday they had shot dead a man financing a radical Islamist sect in northern Nigeria and arrested another man suspected of supplying the group with arms.
The man financing the Bokom Haram sect, Alhaji Salisu Damaturu, was killed when a shootout broke out during a raid on one of the group's hideouts, Mohammed Jinjiri Abubakar, police commissioner for Borno State where the sect is based, told AFP.
He said Damaturu and another man had been fingered as financing the group by an arms dealer, Mohammed Zakaria, who was arrested in the town of Maiduguri on Saturday.
He said Zakaria admitted during interrogation to belonging to Bokom Haram and also to being the sect's arms supplier from the neighbouring countries of Chad and Cameroon.
"He fingered Alhaji Salisu Damaturu and Mohammed Goni as the group's financiers and also gave a description of the sect's enclave in the town," he said.
Abubakar said the police raided the hideout where they engaged some Islamists in a gun battle.
"Many sect members escaped through the fence but Damaturu was killed in the shootout," he said.
He said a cache of weapons was recovered from the hideout, including 12 rocket launchers, two pistols, one loaded AK-47 rifle, two detonating bomb cables and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition.
"At the moment no arrest was made but we have launched a manhunt for the fleeing sect members," Abubakar said.
Nigerian police have recovered arms and ammunition during recent raids on the hideouts of the sect in Maiduguri and nearby Yobe state.
The Boko Haram sect launched an uprising in 2009 put down by a brutal military assault that left hundreds dead.
The radical sect has been blamed for a series of attacks and hit-and-run shootings in northern Nigeria in recent months that have left dozens dead.
Police say some of the killings may have been politically related ahead of April elections.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gA0TolCb-LjCI5LRNo41EqZJTj0g?docId=CNG.dc0b72776bd407dd19a74091d753ba46.01

Nigerian sentenced for email lottery scam
2-man team notified people they won a lottery; ruse netted over $9.5 million.

Most Internet users have found them in their e-mail inboxes at one time: those messages giving the news that they've won or inherited millions of dollars from overseas.

Most people delete them. But sometimes, the federal government says, recipients fall victim to an Internet scam.

A man found guilty of authoring those e-mails, a Nigerian national, was sentenced Thursday in a federal court in Charlotte for being part of a two-man team that bilked at least 18 people in the United States, Australia and Europe of more than $9.5 million.

Ugochukwu Enwerem, better known as Joseph Smith to his victims, was sentenced to nine years in prison, the U.S. Justice Department announced. The other member of the team, Kent Okojie, previously was sentenced to six years in prison. The two men also were ordered to pay $9.4 million in restitution to their victims.

Enwerem, 39, and Okojie, 42, operated their scam from Amsterdam, the U.S. government says, and were arrested by Dutch and American officials in June 2007. They were extradited from the Netherlands to the United States and went on trial in Charlotte.

Okojie pleaded guilty in September 2009, and Enwerem was found guilty in a jury trial last March.

Laura Sweeney, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, said the case was heard in Charlotte because prosecutors said the two men conducted financial transactions with their victims through a Western Union computer server there.

Evidence at the trial laid out the way the two men conducted their scheme:

The men were accused of sending e-mails, telling individuals they had won a foreign lottery, inherited a large amount of money from a long-lost relative, or were eligible for money from some other source. When victims responded to the e-mails, the two men posed as bankers, lawyers and European government officials, asking the respondents to send money for things such as "anti-terrorism certificates," "EU bank clearances" and "anti-money laundering certificates."

The money was transferred through Western Union and other money services, the government said.

In the indictment, prosecutors said Okojie used the name "Paul Hamilton" and Enwerem went by "Joseph Smith" to victims.

Federal papers filed in the case spelled out how one victim, who lives in Bensalem, Pa., sent nearly $150,000 to the two men over 18 months from late 2005 to spring 2007. The victim, identified only as EG, wired the money in 10 different increments. According to the government, the victim had been told she had won about $6.2 million in the "National UK Lottery."

In one case, the government said, EG was asked to send $30,182.10 to a man in Spain to pay for a police report and an Anti-Terrorism Certificate. On another occasion, the government said, Okojie - posing as Paul Hamilton - convinced the woman to send $35,000 to pay European Union taxes.

"It is not the first case of this type that we have prosecuted," Sweeney said. She noted that it probably will not be the last, noting that the e-mail scams are not that uncommon.

Sweeney said the case was investigated by U.S. Postal inspectors, the U.S. Justice Department and police in Amsterdam and prosecuted by the Justice Department's Fraud Section.



Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/02/26/2091696/nigerian-sentenced-for-email-lottery.html#ixzz1F4psMVt2

SABMiller to Build $100 Million Brewery in Southe Eastern Nigerian City

SABMiller Plc, the world’s second- largest brewer by volume, plans to build a $100 million brewery in Nigeria’s southeastern city of Onitsha within two years, an official said.

“The timing is right to capitalize on our company’s growth potential by expanding our footprints in Nigeria,” Simon Hawad, the brewer’s strategy development director for Africa, told reporters today in Onitsha, about 600 kilometers (375 miles) east of the country’s economic capital, Lagos. “We’re therefore confident the benefits will be significant.”

Africa’s most populous country, with more than 140 million people, is potentially the continent’s largest consumer market. SABMiller, which has brewing or beverage interests in 32 African countries, entered the Nigerian market in 2009 with the purchase of controlling interests in Pabod Breweries, based in the southern oil hub of Port Harcourt.

The London-based company will compete in Africa’s second- biggest beer market with rivals including Diageo Plc, which has sold more Guinness in Nigeria than in the beer’s native Ireland since 2007, and Heineken BV, which controls Nigeria Breweries Plc, the country’s biggest brewer.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-25/sabmiller-to-build-100-million-brewery-in-southe-eastern-nigerian-city.html

Nigerian Army may recruit a number of ex-militants in the Niger Delta, who have already successfully undergone transformational training.

This indication was given Thursday in Abuja by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Onyeabo Azubuike Ihejirika, while reacting to a

request by the Presidential Amnesty Office to recruit a number of transformed Niger Delta ex-militants into the Army.

Ihejirika spoke in response to a request the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chief Executive Officer of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, had made during a courtesy call on the Chief of Army Staff in his Abuja Office.

Ihejirika said the request to have a number of the Niger Delta ex-combatants join the Army was not misplaced, adding that the Army could indeed tap from the vast experience of the transformed ex-militants in the area of professional diving and swimming and other amphibious activities.

The Federal Government has however declared that it was not owing allowances of any of the 26,358 Niger Delta ex-combatants enrolled in the Amnesty Programme.

A group, "Transformed Niger Delta Ex-Militant Forum", had claimed that the government was yet to pay, among others, housing allowance as well as monthly stipends of those who participated at the Transformational Training at Obubra Camp in Cross River State.

Reacting to the claims, Kuku, in a statement signed by Henry Ugbolue, Head, Media and Communication, Amnesty Office, affirmed that none of the 26, 358 Niger Delta ex-combatants enrolled in the Amnesty Programme was being owed.

The clarification came on a day, Kuku , at a pre- departure briefing at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, read the riot act to another batch of 42 ex-militants that flew out of the country to South Africa for vocational training, affirming that according to the code of conduct signed on departure, government will not pay the statutory stipend to any of them that misbehaves during the programme.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201102250594.html

Beyonce in hot water over latest photo shoot

They say it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white – but Beyonce has caused quite a stir by wearing blackface make-up in a recent photo shoot.

The singer darkened down her complexion to pay homage to Nigerian musician and humanitarian Fela Kuti – who has reportedly heavily influenced her fourth album – in French fashion magazine L’Officiel Paris.

Focused on the theme of “African rituals”, the photos show Beyonce donned in tribal-style clothing and accessories for the 90th anniversary of the glossy.

In the photos her face is distinctly black in contrast with the rest of her body, which has been left in her natural caramel skin tones.

The Crazy in Love star was reportedly inspired by Broadway musical "Fela", based on the icon's life and brave defiance against government corruption and of which her husband, Jay-Z, is a producer.

But the “African Queen” themed photos have come under fire in the blogging world, including from feminist blogger Jezebel.

“When you paint your face darker in order to look more "African," aren't you reducing an entire continent, full of different nations, tribes, cultures and histories, into one brown color?” wrote Jezebel.

“What makes someone black — or African, for that matter — is not her skin tone. The African diaspora reaches from Brazil to Haiti to the United Kingdom and Pakistan. It's one thing to feel moved by Fela Kuti, and quite another to treat blackness as a fashion accessory, like a pair of glittery heels you put on because it looks cool.”

Atlanta Post writer Charing Ball has also slammed the photos, saying: “While my adoration for Beyonce’s talent and work ethic are unparalleled, I’m not quite sure as to why she would agree to do a photo shoot that associates her with one of the most deeply rooted racist images in American history.”

L’Officiel Paris has defended the shoot, saying the Beyonce star was “paying homage to African queens” by replicating several African rituals in which paint is used on the face.

The use of blackface make-up on white models has become something of a trend in the fashion world.

French Vogue caused a racism uproar in 2009 when they ran a 14-page editorial featuring Dutch model Lara Stone in black make-up in their October issue. The issue was dedicated to “Supermodels” but did not feature any models with naturally black skin.

Rumours that Beyonce had actually contrastingly lightened her skin circulated earlier this month when she appeared with bleached blonde hair and what seemed to be a paler complexion.

In 2008 L’Oreal was also accused of digitally lightening her skin tone for one its commercials.

http://l.yimg.com/i/i/any/beyon42.jpg

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/fashion/beyonce-in-hot-water-over-latest-photo-shoot-blog-22-yahoo-lifestyles.html

Police officer shot dead in northeastern Nigeria
Nigerian police say members of a radical Muslim sect shot dead a senior police officer in the country's troubled northeast.

The Associated Press
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria —
Nigerian police say members of a radical Muslim sect shot dead a senior police officer in the country's troubled northeast.

The Borno State police chief said Thursday that two men on a motorbike killed an inspector Wednesday evening after following him to his home in the city of Maiduguri.

Mohammed Abubakar said the gunman and the rider escaped and that no arrests have been made.

The police blame a radical Muslim sect known as Boko Haram for a rash of motorcycle-mounted attacks which have left more than a dozen police officers and soldiers dead since July.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, has also attacked churches and engineered a massive prison break in recent months.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014318922_apafnigeriaviolence.html

Hawks: Okah's cell raided, contraband recovered

Cellphones, chargers, a map and papers with telephone numbers were seized in a raid on the prison cell of Nigerian terror accused Henry Okah, Pretoria News reported on Thursday.

Hawks spokesperson McIntosh Polela confirmed the search which occurred on Tuesday night, to the publication.

Alleged terror threats by Okah from his cell apparently sparked the raid, with Nigerian authorities alerting the South African government.

Okah was denied bail in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court late last year.

He faces charges of terrorism, relating to the October 1 twin car bombing in Abuja, Nigeria, which killed 12 people and injured 36.

Okah failed to convince the court that he was not the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, which claimed responsibility for the Independence Day bombings.

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-02-24-hawks-okahs-cell-raided-contraband-recovered/

Buhari/Bakare all the way, CONGRATULATIONS ON THEIR WINNING THE ELECTION,

Nigerian police kills 6 in radical sect hideout


The Associated Press
Monday, February 21, 2011; 12:12 PM
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria -- Police say they've killed six members of a radical Muslim sect after a man led them to their hideout in northeastern Nigeria.

The Borno State police chief said Monday that police were taken to a house believed to be a Boko Haram hideout in the city of Maiduguri.

Mohammed Abubakar said police killed six occupants of the house after an exchange of fire Sunday. He said arms, video cameras and a motorcycle were found in the house.

He said the man who took police there had confessed to being a Boko Haram member and to supplying arms from neighboring Chad and Cameroon.

Police accuse Boko Haram of a rash of motorcycle-mounted attacks that have left dozens dead since July.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/21/AR2011022102691.html[/b]

@sadyeek, it is the same GOODLUCK whose tenure has experienced so much unrest in the country that people want to VOTE for. Some ppl say give him time and he will perform. How long did it take Obama and even Cameron when they were elected to start implementing their policies? Or is it after 4yrs that GOODLUCK will start implementing his policies? He was very quick to buy new Presidential Jets but to address security issues in the country, he needs so much time so that when he is ready to address the security issues, the country would have torn apart, RUBBISH

@Yamtas335, are you by implication suggesting that issues like this should not be reported on the papers because we are safe if we dont know? I disagree. I only gave a reason why the papers may not have reported it and not to justify why its not being reported. Am sure you will tread carefully now that you know. is not a shame on your country that you hear what is happening in your backyard from Foreign Press? There is nothing classified in this. It is a crime and those involved should be punished.

@Yamtas335, That is Nigeria for you, Maybe the Newspapers may report it later but am sure they are very careful because of the tension it might create in the country especially in this Period of Election

Nigerian troops uncover weapons cache

KANO, Nigeria — Troops in an area of Nigeria hit by repeated attacks blamed on Islamists have killed three gunmen in a shootout and uncovered a cache of weapons in separate incidents, the military said Sunday.
Both the shootout and the discovery of the weapons, which included rocket-propelled grenades and explosives, occurred Saturday in northeastern Nigeria, where the Islamist sect known as Boko Haram is based.
"Three gunmen driving towards Maiduguri from the border town of Gamboru Ngala opened fire on a military patrol team which responded and a shootout followed in which all the three gunmen were killed," Brigadier-General Tanko Yusuf Gaya said.
Three Kalashnikov rifles were found on the gunmen, Gaya said.
He declined to say whether the gunmen were members of Boko Haram, saying an investigation would determine their identity.
Separately, a tip-off from residents led soldiers to locate a cache of weapons in a car in a village near where the shootout occurred, Gaya said.
The weapons included a machine gun, rocket-propelled grenades, Kalashnikov rifles, explosives, hand grenades and a large quantity of ammunition, the army chief said.
"We are yet to ascertain the source of the weapons, their destination or what they were intended for," Gaya said, adding he believed they had been abandoned because the suspects wanted to avoid being arrested.
The sect launched an uprising in 2009 put down by a brutal military assault that left hundreds dead.
It has been blamed for a series of attacks and hit-and-run shootings in northern Nigeria in recent months that have left dozens dead.
Police say some of the killings may have been politically related ahead of April elections.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iOyWpZnPrPPrsdTA0BzcuAS6Lt1A?docId=CNG.2fa97f53bfcdc1875eb8f281d95222b2.1021[/b]

@Devela, I never knew you are in love with THE CARPENTERS CHURCH LIKE MYSELF. MORE GRACE TO PASTOR CHARLES AND PASTOR NNKECHI ENE. THEY ARE MY FAVOURITE FOR NOW

Market violence in central Nigeria kills 3
BY AHMED SAKA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A police officer arguing with a merchant was stabbed to death in a market and at least two others were killed during the latest violence to hit a central Nigerian region beset by sectarian fighting, officials said Wednesday.

The violence in a small market in Jos erupted as Muslims observed the birthday anniversary of Islam's prophet Mohammed. Officials, though, said the fighting Tuesday was not related to the religious tensions in the region.

Authorities said an off-duty policeman was arguing with a man selling him chicken when the officer was stabbed in the stomach. Officials believe two other killings at the market were caused by hoodlums who took advantage of the commotion.

"The stabbing of the officer caused pandemonium," Brigadier Hassan Umaru, an army commander, said Wednesday, adding that seven others were wounded. "People were running in different directions."

Jos has been a flashpoint for a series of conflicts ever since 2001 riots killed more than 1,000 people. Muslim-Christian battles killed up to 700 people in 2004 and more than 300 residents died during a similar uprising in 2008. Human Rights Watch says at least 1,000 people were killed in Jos in 2010 and another 200 more have died since Dec. 24.

Nigeria, an oil-rich country of 150 million people, is almost evenly split between Muslims in the north and the predominantly Christian south. Jos is in the nation's "middle belt," where dozens of ethnic groups vie for control of fertile lands. The Jos violence, though fractured across religious lines, often has more to do with local politics, economics and rights to grazing lands.

http://www.salon.com/wires/world/2011/02/16/D9LDSAAO0_af_nigeria_violence/

I disagreee with people trying to put the blame on Corps members instead of INEC that has purchased ineffective machines. I as much as some corp memeber are not use to the machines, the problem still lies with machines themselves. come to think of it, didnt INEC train these ppl? Hw come they still blame them after training? We really have a long way to go in 9ja

I think is a question of maturity. One needs to be matured enough to be able to keep a wife so is not just about being finacially independent. this is the point i have been trying to ask from people? for how long does one needs to be matured? i mean u do not say a 20 year old girl needs to be matured before she gets married, why do u apply maturity alone to the guyz?

but why does our society think like the guy still needs to be matured eventhough he is financially ok?

it is traditionally believed in Nigeria that a girl of about 19yrs and above can marry at any time if her parents approves of it but the reverse is the case for the guyz. assuming a 26yrs old guy after a university education and is financially independent wats to get married, there will always be some advice from parents and sometimes friend like u re still till young:why dont u wait for a while before u get married? My question is if a girl can be married at that age why not a guy? i want ur opinion NL