₦airaland Forum

Freetech:
If Bagudu is a criminal because he worked with Abacha.


Why are you now supporting all round failure Obi who was a right hand man of Abacha at the Nigerian port. All the money stolen from Nigeria went through him

The worse is calling him a saint and Nigerian saviour.

A man who failed at school,
at governance. in Anambra and at business
His next UK closed down because he could not pay tax

AdaojoTheUrchin:
Atiku Bagudu, one of the most corrupt men in Africa, was appointed by Tinubu to handle finance budgets for Nigerians.

The US Targeted His Assets. Nigeria Made Him Budget Minister

Atiku Bagudu in talks with US DOJ over forfeiture complaint

Politician settled with the Nigerian government in 2003

Bagudu hasn’t been convicted of any crime but in an ongoing forfeiture lawsuit before a federal judge in Washington, the US Justice Department alleges he was part of a group headed by former military ruler Sani Abacha that “embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria.” The former governor and senator was sworn in on Monday as minister of budget and economic planning.

PRETORIA, August 17. /TASS/. The rebels in Niger have sent troops to the border with Benin and Nigeria, as they are facing an invasion by the forces of the Economic Community of West African States, the Maliactu news website reported, citing Niger’s National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, a body formed by the rebels.

Eyewitnesses say Niger’s troops are on the move in the town of Gaya near the border with Benin, according to the website. People welcome the soldiers. Troops are also being redeployed through the town of Konni, 400 kilometers from Niger’s capital Niamey.

The website said that the National Council is closely following news from Accra, the Ghanaian capital, where ECOWAS Chiefs of General Staff have convened to discuss the situation in Niger. In his opening remarks at the meeting, Abdel-Fatau Musah, who is the commissioner for peace and security at the group, said that ECOWAS member countries, except those that are ruled by the military and the nation of Cape Verde, are ready to send their units to be part of a rapid response force that could invade Niger.

Al Hadath reported Wednesday evening that ECOWAS had started to activate its rapid response force to restore constitutional order in Niger.

In late July, a group of military rebels in Niger announced the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum. They then established the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, headed by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, to run the country. Leaders of the ECOWAS countries slapped harsh sanctions on Niger and demanded that the mutinous soldier release Bazoum, or face the use of force.

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said upon returning from the ECOWAS summit in Abuja on August 10 that the leaders of the group’s member countries had agreed to start a military operation in Niger as soon as possible.

https://tass.com/world/1662017

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, has emphatically defended the regional body’s stance on military intervention in Niger.

In response to calls urging a revocation of the decision for military action, Musah described such appeals as unjustifiable.


Addressing the Extraordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff convened in Accra, Ambassador Musah underscored the gravity of the situation in Niger.

The meeting is aimed to strategically outline an intervention plan for Niger, pending approval from ECOWAS leaders.


Ambassador Musah affirmed that if ongoing diplomatic dialogues fail to yield results, the standby force is prepared to act decisively. He added that the regional body’s commitment to maintaining peace and stability within Niger remains unwavering.

Highlighting the paramount importance of democratic governance, Ambassador Musah emphasized that all available strategies will be harnessed to facilitate Niger’s return to its rightful democratic path.


“Let no one be in doubt that if everything fails, the valiant forces of West Africa, both the Military and Civilian components are ready to answer the call of duty. Your valiance has been demonstrated time and time again,” Ambassador Musah said.

He added that “by all means available constitutional order will be restored in the country.”

According to him, the commitment of ECOWAS reflects a dedication to upholding democratic norms and safeguarding the region’s political landscape.

Abdul-Fatau Musah also revealed the robust capabilities at ECOWAS’s disposal to address the situation.

He disclosed that the regional body possesses ample resources and capabilities to effectively address and counter the Niger junta’s disruption and work towards the restoration of democratic rule in the country.

https://citinewsroom.com/2023/08/weve-enough-military-resources-to-counter-nigers-junta-ecowas/

godofuck231:
The pilot was flying too low withing RPG range because light maching gun fire cant take down a russian mil 17 , if it wasn't flying too low then someone is trying to spike nigeria into a war with bandits who retreat into niger Republic for safety

Ibusho:
Naira furthered its gaining streak against the Dollar on Thursday as the parallel segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market continues to react to the $3 billion crude oil repayment loan secured by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) from Africa Import and Export Bank (AFREXIM) to stabilise the local currency.

Parallel market FX dealers were as at 9.52am on Thursday August 17 seen buying dollar at N835 while selling at N860, according to data by AbokiFX, an online platform that tracks the exchange rate on the parallel market.


Before the news of the AFREXIM loan deal broke on Wednesday, parallel market FX dealers were buying the green back at N880 while selling at N910.

Otega Ogra, senior special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Digital/New Media explained in a tweet what the $3billion Emergency Crude Repayment Loan from Afrexim is meant to achieve.

“What’s the benefit of this loan to Nigeria? The loan will assist NNPC Limited in settling taxes and royalties in advance. It will also equip the Federal Government with the necessary dollar liquidity to stabilise the Naira, with limited risk,” he said.

“Will this affect fuel prices? A strengthened Naira as a result of this initiative will lead to a reduction in fuel costs. This means that if the Naira appreciates in value, the cost of fuel will drop and further increases will be halted,” Ogra added.

Read also: Tinubu reverts to defending Naira with NNPC’s $3bn AFREXIM loan deal

“What about subsidies? Are they coming back? No. A stronger Naira will result in lower prices from the current level, making subsidies unnecessary. The deregulation policy remains unchanged,” the President’s aide said.

In their recent commentary, Damilare Ojo-led team of research analysts at Lagos-based Meristem said, “In our view, core inflation will remain elevated in the near term in light of the continued free-fall of the Naira. The outlook of the FX market is largely marked by uncertainty and volatility; as such, there is an urgent need for a unified strategy to address these challenges, involving enhancing FX liquidity, promoting export diversity, and fostering investors’ confidence through transparent policies.”

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported the headline inflation rate for July 2023 to have increased by 129 basis points (bps) to 24.08percent year-on-year (YoY) from 22.79percent YoY in June 2023.


The Meristem analysts noted that the July data also reflects the effect of the petroleum subsidy removal in May and the resultant increase in prices of human and merchandise transportation in the subsequent months.

Before receiving firepower from Afrexim Bank in Cairo to help fight speculators that have ambushed the FX market, the gap between official and the parallel market had widened by about N200 in the past week. It had reached N950/$ at the parallel market before this recent drop.

Tunde Delu, an economist explained that the loan is an attempt to bridge the FX supply gap.

“It is apparent that the short-term panacea/solution to the rising foreign exchange prices is to seek alternative supply avenues. One of the options open to the federal government is to seek such foreign loans directly or through its appointed agencies. The implication would be a positive effect on the supply of FX thereby pushing the price of FX down as the demand-supply gap shrinks,” Delu said.

“To simplify it in the nutshell, we need ‘quick cash’ to cover the demand for forex by all sectors and that has been sourced via the $3billion Crude oil Repayment Loan which enables NNPCL meet its payment obligations,” he added.

Omotayo Akorede Samuel, corporate finance lawyer said that the $3billion Emergency Crude Repayment Loan from Afrexim is standard practice.

“This is standard practice in the Oil and Gas industry Crude oil repayment financing has several benefits for oil companies.”

He said one of the primary benefits is that it allows companies to repay their debts without having to use their cash reserves.

“This can be particularly beneficial for companies that are experiencing financial difficulties or FX issues like Nigeria. Rather than go to the CBN for FX, this $3billion dollar will be used!

“Another benefit of crude oil repayment financing is that the repayment is tied to Crude Oil. Which means that the company can use its cash reserves for other purposes, such as investing in new projects. ‘Crude oil no Dey finish!!!’ You can pay your loan off in 6 months if you want,” Samuel said.

https://businessday.ng/markets/currency-watch/article/naira-gains-further-trades-at-860-on-parallel-market/

MadamExcellency:
May their souls rest in peace.

Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, made this known when he gave a breakdown of casualties in the ambush of troops in Niger State and an evacuation helicopter that crashed on August 14, 2023.

The breakdown was given at the biweekly briefing of the Defence Media Operations.

When asked about the cause of the helicopter crash, he restated that an investigation is still underway to determine the cause and urged citizens to be wary of propaganda by terrorists and remain patriotic.

Insurgents had ambushed troops in the Zungeru area of the state and some gallant troops of the Nigerian Army paid the supreme price.

Also, a Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed on Monday in the Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja has encouraged the troops of the Nigerian Army not to allow their morale dwindle but to defend Nigeria and recover the space currently occupied by terrorists and bandits in parts of the country.

The COAS stated this on Tuesday when he visited troops in Niger State following troops’ ambush by insurgents in the Zungeru general area of the state, in which some gallant troops of the Nigerian Army paid the supreme price.

Also, a Nigerian Air Force MI-171 Helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed on Monday in the Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

The COAS was at the Forward Operating Base Erena in the Shiroro area of the state, where he was briefed on the current security situation by the General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Maj Gen Bamidele Alabi.

Addressing the troops soon after the briefing, the COAS urged them to rally together and be more resolute in bringing the nation’s adversaries to their knees and restore sanity in troubled areas.

According to a statement by Army spokesman, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, the COAS maintained that the fight against insurgents and bandits is a just cause, in defence of Nigerians and the nation.

He said, “Protecting lives and defending your nation are the noblest service anyone can offer. You are therefore in the noble profession of arms and must not allow your morale to dwindle. We must defeat the adversaries of our people and take back every inch of space where they are hibernating in our land.”

Lt Gen Lagbaja assured the troops that he will do all within available resources to give Nigerian Army personnel and their families the best in terms of welfare.

He disclosed that this is topmost in the pillars of his Command Philosophy. He directed the immediate reinforcement of the troops with additional combat enablers to enhance their operational effectiveness.

Mynd44:
Funny.

As though the armies coming will walk in.

Without air defence Niger is finished

Tinubu Bans Asari Dokubo from Visiting him at the Presidential Villa.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declined visits from former Niger Delta militant leaders at the presidential villa in Abuja.

This includes Asari-Dokubo, a staunch supporter of Tinubu. It was gathered that Tinubu banned the visits because he was disturbed by public utterances and actions of Asari-Dokubo.

The UK will face ever greater food insecurity as long as greenhouse gas emissions continue heating the Earth’s atmosphere, analysts have said.

Around half the food consumed here is from abroad and a quarter of those imports are from the Mediterranean.

Droughts, heatwaves and wildfires have damaged harvests in southern Europe as have intense rainstorms and flash flooding – all increasingly extreme features of climate change.

Spain alone accounts for 7% of UK imports and it is the main source for some healthy staples such as oranges, lemons, grapes, sweet peppers and olive oil.

Last year, Spain experienced an extraordinarily hot summer bringing severe drought and the worst wildfire season in recent years.

Olive oil production suffered as a result with prices shooting up and until April this year it was the top product in pushing up food inflation in the UK, according to analysts from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

They say these weather extremes will continue to worsen as long as greenhouse gas emissions keep rising and, therefore, controlling them is the only way to ensure consumers are protected from future shocks.

Gareth Redmond-King, head of international programme at ECIU, said: “Even when we’re not experiencing extreme weather, we are not immune to its impacts in a globalised world.

“Shortages of salad and other vegetables in UK supermarkets in February this year caused by extremes in southern Spain and north Africa brought home to people just how vulnerable the UK is to the impacts of climate change on our food.”

In a new report called Climate Impacts on UK Food Imports, the ECIU said the UK cannot simply grow its way out of the crisis because to do so would create extra energy demand at a time when growers still rely on fossil fuels.

Last year, many UK growers experienced lower yields because of rising gas prices internationally and making more commodities reliant on that volatile market would only further threaten food security, the ECIU said.

It would also be difficult to grow Mediterranean food outdoors even with an increasingly warmer climate because short term weather patterns are becoming too unstable and it would also take years for new skills and infrastructure to emerge, the analysts added.

Polling commissioned by the climate-focused not-for-profit Round Our Way also suggests that 61% of Britons think the 2023 European heatwaves will negatively impact food prices in the UK and that politicians should be doing all they can to stop extreme weather getting worse.

Mr Redmond-King said: “It’s sobering to realise just how much we rely on food imports that come from parts of the world most at risk from the changing climate.

“This should be a wake-up call about the vulnerability of our food supply chains to climate change. We can’t simply grow our way out of the problem by producing many of these foods in the UK.

“The only sure-fire way to avoid even worse and more dangerous impacts is to keep global temperature rises to 1.5C, and the only way to do that is to cut our emissions to net zero.”

https://www.itv.com/news/2023-08-14/uk-faces-greater-food-insecurity-as-climate-crisis-deepens-say-analysts

rajiedreez:
You can't intimidate the judiciary. Nothing go happen

wis3:
Mandate thieves. Third position claiming first.😁
aggressive minority trying so hard to force their failure of a candidate on the majority

Moh227:




Mumu people

Next Ibo President might be 2075


.

Weathered:
I have never seen any set of people as disgustingly dumb as APC Agbado munchers.

Maybe being too close all the time to the national coffers recedes brain processing powers.

Illegitimate bastards calling an illegitimate election legitimate.

manikspears:
As if they can make the country better

There has only been one successful military government in the history of west Africa and it is that of ghana.

Throwback:
An illegitimate and treasonous APC regime and their drug lord leader want to undermine a legitimate national election ?

These Agabdo munching fools think we are still in the 1980s?

Which court will the illegitimate regime that has committed treason against the constitution of the country approach to change the people's verdict ??

flokii:
Twitter president on the beats.

MandelaPutin:
Now, the consequences of Tinubu's thoughtless decision to wage war on Niger Republic are enormous. If in event Tinubu backs off, Nigeria will appear militarily weaker than Niger Republic and that spells doom for us globally. By extension it means, if Niger's alliance with Russia makes Nigeria to cower and back off, then we're prone to attacks and image crises.
Tinubu hastily announced military action without consultation and today the world watches in wonderment what he intends to achieve and how he goes about it. Nigerians are largely against him. The north said no, the southeast and southsouth said no, the middlebelt said no. Only my southwest people support him. I'm confused.
However, Tinubu by virtue of his pronouncements and careless words, must fight Niger to redeem Nigeria's image or quit to make Nigeria look weak and prone to insults and attack. Wagners and his men waiting for the first move.

The EU reiterates its strong condemnation of the coup in Niger, which can only have negative impacts on the welfare and security of the Nigerian people as well as regional stability.

The European Union solemnly reiterates its call for a return to constitutional order, reminds its support for President Bazoum, and welcomes the decisions taken by the Heads of State of the CEDEAO during the Second Extraordinary Summit on the situation in Niger, this August 10, 2023, and in particular the will to continue to seek a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis, while taking note of the pending mobilization of the Force.

The EU fully supports the efforts made by the ECEAO and stands ready to support them, including through the introduction of a new regime of individual sanctions.

The EU again condemns the unlawful detention of President Bazoum and his family, and wishes to express its deep concern over the ongoing and worrying deterioration of their conditions of detention. The EU calls for their immediate and unconditional release again.

In the face of the crisis Niger is experiencing, the EU will continue to provide humanitarian aid and stand by the Nigerian people, in particular in their commitment to human rights.