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Opinion: Can Buhari Still Hold On Beyond 2019?
News, Nigeria

Opinion: Can Buhari Still Hold On Beyond 2019?

The battle for the Presidential power of Nigeria is on. There are the main front runners like President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as well as a number of ‘’lesser’’ power seekers in the race who are equally capable of causing a major upset. The race is on against the backdrop of some core issues in the polity. For instance, prospects for enduring electricity supply in the country are still not appearing very positive. With the current power situation, the obvious implication is that poverty and unemployment will continue to bit harder except government determines to take the bull by the horn. Electricity demand in Nigeria is estimated at 297,900MW by 2030, less than 12 years from this outgoing year. To meet that target, investors in the sector are expec...
Nigeria: South-East Endorsement of Atiku Carries No Weight – Buhari
News, Nigeria

Nigeria: South-East Endorsement of Atiku Carries No Weight – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buahri on Friday said that the endorsement of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, carried no weight as he was advised by well-meaning leaders from the South East to disregard the endorsement. President Buhari specifically said that the split within the Ohanaeze Igbo socio-cultural group over the reported endorsement of Abubakar, for the 2019 election did not surprise him. Speaking at a meeting with a select group of South-east leaders led by the National Chairman of the United Progressive Party, UPP, Chief Chekwas Okorie at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday, Buhari said that the moment the so-called resolution was announced, he got calls from well-meaning leaders from the region asking him to disregard it as it was wit...
Nigeria: As Buhari Engages Big Oil Firms On PIGB, Concerns Are Growing In Niger Delta
Economy, News, Nigeria, Security

Nigeria: As Buhari Engages Big Oil Firms On PIGB, Concerns Are Growing In Niger Delta

Ahead of the 2019 general elections coming up in a matter of weeks, there are disturbing concerns in the Niger Delta, Nigeria's main oil and gas basin, as the restive circles are considering to return to the creeks to halt continued oil production if Abuja fails to play ball. Before now, President Muhammadu Buhari's administration was said to be locked in a backstage consultation with oil industry operators in the country on the new Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) which the Legislative arm of the Federal Government passed and communicated to him for his signature. The outcome of the secret parley is not yet public. But, it will determine whether President Buhari will sign the bill into law. Presidential Villa insiders say there is a political mileage to be gained by the All...
As FAO Marks World Antibiotic Awareness Week, Farmers Tasked To Boost Farm Hygiene
Agriculture, News, Nigeria

As FAO Marks World Antibiotic Awareness Week, Farmers Tasked To Boost Farm Hygiene

Boosting farm hygiene is currently an added key task to farmers around the world. As the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), an agency of the United Nations is marking the World Antibiotic Awareness Week, farmers are being reminded that they are frontline defenders against antimicrobial resistance. They are being reminded that they have a vital role to play in stemming the spread of antimicrobial resistance among disease-causing pathogens, and can make a significant contribution simply by adopting good hygiene practices during their day-to-day farm operations. This is the message that the UN agency is stressing this week, as the international community marks World Antibiotic Awareness Week. The responsible use of antimicrobial medicines is not just an issue in the human healt...
Nigeria: Re-election Seeking Wike Sets Agenda 2068 For Rivers
News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Re-election Seeking Wike Sets Agenda 2068 For Rivers

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State is currently busy setting a seeming ambitious 50 years development agenda for the state. It is expected to flower in Year 2068. At the moment, Wike’s continued stay in power beyond 2019 is being challenged by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Transportation Minister, Chibuike Amaechi, his Ikwerre kinsman. Even if Wike wins his re-election bid on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and stay till 2023, his Agenda 2068 will still have outstanding 46 years to fully mature. Apparently not shaken, the PDP governor says the state government will set still out the development blueprint for the rapid growth of the big oil and gas state in the next 50 years. He was speaking while receiving the final report of the state’s Golden...
Nigeria: Akwa Ibom 2019 – Udom Sets For War With N671 Billion Arsenal
News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Akwa Ibom 2019 – Udom Sets For War With N671 Billion Arsenal

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, one of the big oil states in Southern Nigeria, has unveiled a N671 billion war chest for the 2019 polls tagged: Budget of Industralisation for Poverty Alleviation. While presenting the 2019 Budget to the state House of Assembly on Wednesday, the governor who is battling for a re-election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the budget proposal was prepared in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) – Accrual Template. ‘’It is a comprehensive IPSAS package that classifies transactions into Revenue, Expenditure, Asset and Liabilities. Thus, it aids effective and efficient financial analysis. We have christened the 2019 budget as the Budget of Industrialisation for Poverty Alleviation’’,...
Nigeria: Stop Trying to Deceive Nigerians – PDP to Osinbajo
Economy, News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Stop Trying to Deceive Nigerians – PDP to Osinbajo

The People's Democratic Party has advised Vice President Osinbajo to stop trying to deceive Nigerians manipulated figures. According to the PDP, this was simply an attempt at covering the woeful performance of the APC led government of President Buhari. The party rather admonished Osinbajo to show Nigerians this administration's score card rather than try to confuse them with bogus figures. In a statement, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party's spokesperson said "the Buhari administration, which crippled our once robust economy, pushed it into recession, turned our nation from a growing economy to a debtor country and world’s poverty capital. "Despite being busted, Osinbajo is labouring to deceive Nigerians by converting domestic borrowings in Naira, under the APC, to US dollars, so that ...
Nigeria: N211 million Worth of Gold Seized at the Airport by the EFCC
Economy, News, Nigeria, Security

Nigeria: N211 million Worth of Gold Seized at the Airport by the EFCC

Gold worth about N211 million was prevented from being transported out of the country illegally by the EFCC at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos State. Commenting on the issue, the acting head of EFCC's Media and Publicity, Mr Tony Orilade, said "following intelligence reports, the operatives on November 9, 2018, uncovered the gold weighing about 35kg just at the point of departure of a suspect currently in the EFCC’s custody." According to him, the gold was heading to Dubai when it was intercepted. He noted that the suspect was providing the agency with useful information that will help it get to the bottom of the syndicate behind the operation. He further added "It will be recalled that the EFCC also in March 2017, intercepted bags containing a total of N49 milli...
Nigeria: Wike Sees Key Appointments As Panacea For Niger Delta’s Unease
News, Nigeria, Security

Nigeria: Wike Sees Key Appointments As Panacea For Niger Delta’s Unease

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, one of the big oil and gas states in Southern Nigeria controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is currently pressing for a new approach at taming the frequent unease in the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s honey comb. For the governor who is locked in a reelection battle with the All Progressives Congress (APC) galvanized by former governor and Transportation Minister, Chibuike Amaechi, transnational corporations operating in the oil and gas region, should as a matter of policy, encourage their host communities with key appointments. Wike who was speaking in Port Harcourt, the state capital, when the Management of Nigerian Bottling Company called on him, said local content participation was key to harmony and sustained development. There has be...
Nigeria: Reliance On Imported Foreign Food Fuels Hunger, Says FAO
Africa, Agriculture, Economy, Nigeria

Nigeria: Reliance On Imported Foreign Food Fuels Hunger, Says FAO

Nigeria and all the other developing countries of the world will continue to experience hunger if they fail to shift from depending on imported foreign food. This is the underlying conclusion tumbling out of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) seminar on achieving a world of zero-hunger. Going by what the experts say, making hunger history, will greatly depend on local food systems. Indigenous food systems and indigenous traditional knowledge have survived hundreds and sometimes thousands of years, therefore they may have some of the answers we are looking for, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said on Friday. FAO, an agency of the United Nations, considers indigenous and tribal peoples as fundamental actors in the fight against poverty, hunger and all other form...