Economy

Africa: Africans Deserve to Know Details of Deals their Leaders Sign with China
Africa, Economy, Nigeria

Africa: Africans Deserve to Know Details of Deals their Leaders Sign with China

China's footprints are all over the African continent, signing deals with many countries. However, the finer details of China-Africa loans are often kept secret. There are concerns that African countries are mortgaging their natural resources as collateral for the loans. The China-Africa deals ought to be transparent, and the public has the right to scrutinise the agreements. The news of China taking over Sri Lanka’s port and 15000 hectares of land on a 99 year lease recently raised questions and debate on the African continent about the kind of agreements African presidents are signing with China. The deal which has raised eyebrows was signed between two state firms, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and China Merchants Port Holdings. The South African parliament, led by the minority...
Opinion: Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s Response to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo
Economy, News, Nigeria

Opinion: Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s Response to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo

My attention has been drawn to a letter written to Premium Times in response to an essay on restructuring authored by me. Faced with an avalanche of public condemnation for his 360-degree turn on the concept of restructuring, it is understandable that the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has written to Premium Times to douse the tension his comments created. However, in doing so, the Vice President should not attempt to revise history by saying that he spoke against ‘geographic restructuring’. I have been in the forefront of the discourse on restructuring since the 1995 Abacha Constitutional Conference and to the best of my knowledge, there has not been any term like ‘geographic restructuring’. It is a strange concept, not only because it is not what the restructuring debate is...
Opinion: Chris Ngige Fights for Oppressive Multinational ExxonMobil Instead of Oppressed Nigerians Workers Femi Aribisala.
Economy, Justice, News, Nigeria

Opinion: Chris Ngige Fights for Oppressive Multinational ExxonMobil Instead of Oppressed Nigerians Workers Femi Aribisala.

The message Chris Ngige delivered to ExxonMobil loud and clear is that it does not have to be subject to Nigerian laws. It can operate here in Nigeria as a law unto itself. Last week, I complained that 860 Nigerian workers at ExxonMobil (Nigeria) are being treated like orphans in Nigeria; their home-country. They have fought this injustice with fortitude and resilience in the courts for 18 long years, during which 171 of them have died along the way (one more since last week). In court, ExxonMobil denied that the workers are its employees. It claimed instead that they are “SPY Police” in the attempt to circumvent its lawful commitments to them. The Nigerian workers, on the other hand, maintained they are directly employed by ExxonMobil and, therefore, should be treated as ExxonMobil ...
Opinion: Open Letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the State of the Nation – Timi Frank
Economy, News, Nigeria

Opinion: Open Letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the State of the Nation – Timi Frank

Dear Sir, I write this letter to you, Mr. President, with all sincerity and humility, as it is my very first letter to you since your emergence as President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of our great country, Nigeria. I would first of all like to use this opportunity to formally apologise to the immediate past President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for all the tantrums and mistreatment orchestrated by me against his person while he held sway at the helm of affairs of our great country. Indeed, I and many others may have misunderstood Jonathan’s silence for weakness and thus pushed harder to malign his person and portray him as a weak leader. Having achieved the Change Agenda, it is now crystal clear, that the change we had clamoured for is not the change w...
Opinion: ExxonMobil Should Not be Allowed to Show Contempt for the Supreme Court of Nigeria – Femi Aribisala
Economy, Environment, Judiciary, News, Nigeria

Opinion: ExxonMobil Should Not be Allowed to Show Contempt for the Supreme Court of Nigeria – Femi Aribisala

To Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Productivity. EXXONMOBIL Should Not be Allowed to Show Contempt for the Supreme Court of Nigeria!! The message must be sent to ExxonMobil loud and clear that, as long as it is operating within the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it must be subject to Nigerian laws. If you were to visit the Lagos headquarters of ExxonMobil (Nigeria) in Victoria Island, Lagos today, you would immediately notice that something strange is going on. You will find a number of people camped outside the building; sometimes chanting, sometimes dancing, sometimes shouting slogans. They are there 24/7; day and night. Surely, this is anomalous to the activities of an international oil company. You will also notice that there are placards hanging everywher...
Africa: Africa looks for something new out of Trump
Africa, Economy, Justice, Kenya, News, Nigeria, Security

Africa: Africa looks for something new out of Trump

Donald Trump will welcome Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta to the White House on Monday for what will be only the second one-on-one meeting the US president has held with an African leader since he took office last year. The first meeting, with Nigeria’s ailing 75-year-old Muhammadu Buhari in April, ended with the US president telling aides he never wanted to meet someone so lifeless again, according to three people familiar with the matter. Advocates of closer US-Africa ties hope his encounter with the younger, more urbane Mr Kenyatta, 56, will breathe fresh life into a relationship with a region that Washington is seen to have neglected as other countries, notably China, develop ever-closer trade and investment ties with the continent. Under Emmanuel Macron, France is also trying to reset...
Nigeria: Nigeria Air Unveiled in London
Aviation, Economy, News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Nigeria Air Unveiled in London

The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika today Wednesday the 18th of July unveiled the name and logo of the long awaited Nigerian carrier - Nigeria Air. This happened at the Farnborough International Airshow in London. Speaking at the event, the Minister noted that this was not a social service but a private sector driven initiative. According to him, the Federal Government will only own 5% of the new carrier. He said "This will be a National Carrier that is Private sector-led and driven. "It is a business, not a social service. The government will not be involved in running it or deciding who runs it. The investors will have full responsibility for this." He noted that though the announcement is coming later than initially planned, the Federal Government was committed t...
Nigeria: Miyetti Allah Thrives on Conflicts – Dr. Nura Alkali
Crime, Economy, Fulani Herdsmen, Human Rights, Justice, Nigeria, Security, Terrorism

Nigeria: Miyetti Allah Thrives on Conflicts – Dr. Nura Alkali

 Only the blind will insist on living a 17th century life in 2018. It is northern states that have land for cattle ranches Dr. Nura Alkali, the Chief Consultant Neurologist at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi (ATBUTH) and a Fulani man has been credited with the following statement on the Fulani Herdsmen crises. "How ironic that, today, it is the Fulani who lack leaders to guide them and pursue their interests through legal ways. Please, don't mention "Miyetti Allah", which is a cattle-breeders' association. I have never owned a cow in my life, and I don't intend to, meaning I have no business with Miyetti Allah. ("Mi Yetti Allah" means "I thank God" in Fulfulde. I'm referring to the group here, not the literal meaning). "Miyetti Allah claims to rep...
Breaking News: GTB To Pay Innoson’s N14Billion Judgment Debt Into An Interest Yielding Account – Supreme Court
Breaking News, Economy, Judiciary, News, Nigeria, Press Statement

Breaking News: GTB To Pay Innoson’s N14Billion Judgment Debt Into An Interest Yielding Account – Supreme Court

Today, 7th of June 2018, The Supreme Court struck out GTBank’s motion for stay of execution of the Enugu Court of Appeal Division’s order that GTBank pays over N6 Billion into an interest yielding account at the Court of Appeal. Innoson’s legal team which was led by Prof McCarthy Mbadugha ESQ told the Supreme Court that the Judgment debt which arose from excess and unlawful charges which GTB took from Innoson’s account now stood at over N14billion. The Supreme Court decision follows GTBanks motion for stay of execution at the Supreme Court when the Court of Appeal Enugu Division ruled on 9th Dec, 2014 that the appellant (GTB) is hereby ordered to pay the sum of Five Billion, Nine Hundred and thirty Six Million, One Hundred and Twenty Six Thousand, Two Hundred and Nineteen Naira, One K...
Nigeria: Government has Created Almost 9 Million Jobs – Garba Shehu
Agriculture, Economy, News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Government has Created Almost 9 Million Jobs – Garba Shehu

  Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Garba Shehu has once again given the Buhari led administration very high marks for performance. According to him, this administration has performed well with regards to fulfilling its campaign promises to Nigeria. He made this known while speaking on Channel Television program "Sunday Politics". Garba specifically mentioned Buhari's promise to create 3 million jobs yearly, saying “We have done as much as that if not more”. He claimed that the Agriculture sector and the N-Power scheme alone created about 6 million jobs. According to him, adding private sector jobs raises this number significantly. He said "If you follow what the Rice Growers Association of Nigeria are saying, in Agriculture alone...