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Nigeria: We Won't Reduce Fuel Prices, Says FGHopes that the falling crude oil prices would lead to cheaper petroleum products in Nigeria have been dashed by the Federal Government.
Source : AllAfrica | 20-Nov-2008 06:33
Nigeria: Yar'Adua Presents Budget 2009 to Nat'l Assembly Next Week
The House of Representatives, yesterday, affirmed that the President, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua will next week, during a joint sitting of the two chambers of the National Assembly, present the 2009 Appropriation Bill.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 23:39
The New Buses - a Welcome Addition, But...
250 buses have been commissioned as part of a Fleet Renewal Project between the Government of Ghana and the private sector. (Please see story on business page). The buses are expected to promote an efficient and a safe transportation system that would enhance the capacity of doing business in Ghana and beyond.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 22:25
Guinea Bissau: Cholera Contained But Source Still Unknown
After more than six months of battling cholera in Guinea-Bissau the epidemic is now under control health officials say, though they admit they have not identified its root causes or put in place measures to prevent future outbreaks.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 21:36
Nigeria: Gov Chime And Enugu Journalists
THE frosty relations existing between the Enugu State governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime, and journalists in the state was not inevitable but avoidable. The tiff, reports say, arose from two botched attempts to honour the governor with an award which the journalists' union called Man-of-the-year, which a government spokesman claimed Chime did not want.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 21:14
Nigeria: N24 Billion NigComSat Damaged - DG
The broken down N24 billion ($200million) NigComSat - 1 flown into orbit about a year ago by China Great Wall Industry Incorporation (CGWIC) is irreparably damaged and has been safely de-orbited to its eternal resting place in the heavens, Managing Director (MD) of NigComSat - 1 Ltd, Prof. Ahmed Rufai has confirmed.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 21:14
Nigeria: FG May Scrap ICPC
THERE are Indications that the Presidency may merge the two anti-corruption agencies, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), to speed up the anti-graft war.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 21:14
CHRAJ Calls for Tolerance As Election Day Approaches
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice has called for tolerance as Election Day approaches. "Tolerance is respect and appreciation of the variety or diversity of views, ideas, cultures as well as forms of expression by individuals to relay whatever information they want to put within the public domain,".
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 21:01
Expert Calls for Relaxation of Share Buyback Procedure
An expert in the Nigerian financial market and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Anthony Idigbe has called on the regulatory authorities in the Nigerian capital market to relax the stringent conditions for share buyback for quoted companies if the policy is to achieve the required effect in the market.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 18:41
Senegal: Weighing the Benefits of Solar Stoves
Researchers have sold over 1,000 solar stoves to rural families in Senegal in a bid to prove that the ovens can improve child and maternal health and reduce household fuel consumption.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 18:34
GUINEA-BISSAU: Cholera contained but source still unknown
BISSAU Wednesday, November 19, 2008 (IRIN) - After more than six months of battling cholera in Guinea-Bissau the epidemic is now under control health officials say, though they admit they have not identified its root causes or put in place measures to prevent future outbreaks.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 18:20
SENEGAL: Weighing the benefits of solar stoves
THIES Wednesday, November 19, 2008 (IRIN) - Researchers have sold over 1,000 solar stoves to rural families in Senegal in a bid to prove that the ovens can improve child and maternal health and reduce household fuel consumption.
Source : irinnews.org | 19-Nov-2008 17:30
Nigeria: Rename Niger Delta Ministry, Ohakim Tells Yar'Adua
Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State has urged President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to re-brand the newly-created ministry that is to deal with the problems of the Niger Delta. Ohakim wants it designated as Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to avoid the possible narrow connotation inherent in calling it Niger Delta Ministry.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 17:19
N2.34 Billion Car Deal - Transparency Group Insists On Investigation
A group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives under the platform of Transparency Group, has called for an independent investigation into the allegations of fraud levelled against the leadership by a Lagos lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, in the purchase of 380 vehicles for committee oversight functions, even as it denied plots to destabilise the leadership of the House.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 17:19
Don't Politicise Ministerial Appointment
A group the Niger Delta Non-Violent Movement, has called on the federal government not to allow the current political arrangements of ministerial zoning to influence the nomination of ministers to the recently created Niger Delta Ministry, as the agitating groups in the region would only respect and honour a known Ijaw activist.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 17:19
AC Scribe, 16,000 Decamp to ANPP
About 16,000 supporters of the Action Congress (AC), in Bauchi State, led by the secretary, Alhaji Muhammad S. Wada, Administration Secretary, Ahmad Umar Ningi, and eight other executive officers have decamped to the ruling party, ANPP.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 17:19
Nigeria: NigComSat-1 Not a Loss to Country
Managing director of NigComSat, Mr Ahmed Rufai, yesterday confirmed to the House that the failure of the N40 billion project is not a loss to Nigeria as it was insured 100 per cent even as he disclosed that NigComSat-1, which was acquired with a loan of 200million dollars from China Exim Bank, cannot be recovered.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 17:19
Nigeria: N30 Billion Satellite Lost Forever - Nigcomsat DG
IT has now been confirmed that the disintegrating N29.95 billion ($256 million) NigComSat - 1 flown into orbit about a year ago by China Great Wall Industry Incorporation (CGWIC) is irreparably damaged and has been safely de-orbited to its eternal resting place in the heavens.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 16:00
BURKINA FASO: Finding new ways to feed HIV-positive people
OUAGADOUGOU Wednesday, November 19, 2008 (IRIN) - High food prices and cuts in food aid to HIV-positive people are forcing relief organisations in Burkina Faso to take another look at local foods to keep people healthy.
Source : irinnews.org | 19-Nov-2008 16:00
South Africa: Timbuktu Manuscripts Showcased in Johannesburg
One of Africa's greatest intellectual legacies, 40 Timbuktu manuscripts from Mali in west Africa, is to go on exhibition this week in Johannesburg.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 15:41
Nigeria: Energy Demand Will Hit $300 Billion By 2030
Director General, Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Mr. Abubakar Sambo, has said that the estimated undiscounted total investments of energy demand would hit $300 billion by the year 2030.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 15:35
Arms Sale - Six Soldiers Bag Life Sentences, Two Demoted
Six soldiers, among them a Major, were yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment by a General Court Martial (GCM) sitting at the Officer's Mess, One Division, Kaduna, for illegally dealing in arms.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 15:35
Nigeria: Govs Finally Agree to $45 Benchmark
A week after demanding that the 2009 budget should be benchmarked against $50 per barrel of crude oil, the governors of the 36 states yesterday agreed with the Federal Government's proposal of $45 per barrel.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 15:34
No Relief as Most Monrovians Go Without Toilets
With just one in 25 Liberians having access to a toilet, most use the nearest bush or beach, unwittingly committing what the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) calls "the riskiest sanitation practice".
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 15:09
GLOBAL: Juggling emergency aid and long-term development
NEW YORK Wednesday, November 19, 2008 (IRIN) - As the global recession bites, analysts are asking if emergencies such as natural disasters will continue to receive funding while development aid, which could save many more lives long-term, such as agricultural investment in Africa, is left to languish.
Source : irinnews.org | 19-Nov-2008 14:50
$100 Billion Yearly Aid a Drop in the Ocean - World Bank
The World Bank Group President, Robert Zoellick, has described the $100 billion yearly amount spent on overseas aid as a drop in the ocean.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 14:35
Nigeria: FG Targets 40 Billion Barrels Oil Reserves
The Federal Government has urged stake holders in the nation's oil and gas industry to discover more oil so as to enable Nigeria meet its 40billion barrels reserve target by the year 2010.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 13:51
LIBERIA: No relief as most Monrovians go without toilets
MONROVIA Wednesday, November 19, 2008 (IRIN) - With just one in 25 Liberians having access to a toilet, most use the nearest bush or beach, unwittingly committing what the UN Children?s Fund calls ?the riskiest sanitation practice?.
Source : IRIN | 19-Nov-2008 12:00
Nigeria: Global Workers Set Agenda for Oshiomhole
International Trade Union Confederation, an amalgam of workers in five continents, yesterday set agenda for Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and urged him to bring to bear the value of the trade union movement in his activities and policy pronouncements.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 11:50
Nigeria: Curbing Indiscriminate Siren Usage
Like many other privileges in this country, the use of sirens in times of emergency has been thoroughly abused. Such is the bastardization of this special facility that it now causes confusion, noise pollution and even accidents on our roads.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 11:50
Nigeria: Yuguda Returns to Class, Teaches Economics
Bauchi State Governor, Malam Isa Yuguda last Friday returned to the classroom as a voluntary teacher of secondary school students. An Economics graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, the Governor taught 'Production' in Economics to one of the SSS 3 classes at Government Girls Science College, Bauchi.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 11:50
Nigeria: Nitel May Not Get Core Investor in Feb 2009
Indications have emerged that the Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd (NITEL) may not get a core investor in February 2009 after all.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 11:50
Nigeria: N 2.3 Billion Car Saga - the Drama, Suspense Continue
Since Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, challenged the leadership of the House of Representatives under Hon. Demeji Bankole to explain its role in the approval given for the purchase of 380 Peugeot 407 cars for the oversight functions of the House committees, the House has not known peace.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 11:50
Nigeria: Election Chief Wants E-Voting for 2011
As reactions continue to trail the presidential elections in the United States of America, Nigeria has been urged to begin to educate citizens on the need to adopt the electronic voting method.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 11:20
Nigeria: Alleged Looting of Edo State Assets
There was a forlorn hope that Nigeria's political elite would learn a positive lesson from the Član with which Senator John McCain, the defeated Republican presidential candidate, gracefully conceded defeat on the fourth of November. Alas, despite the posturing about being elated with Barrack Obama's election as the 44th President of the United States of America, it is obvious that Nigeria's political elite have learnt nothing from that watershed election.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 10:28
Nigeria: EFCC to Prosecute Cadbury, Two Directors Over Fraud
Cadbury Nigeria Plc and two of its executive directors are to be probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over misstatements in the company's 2004-2005 annual report.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 09:37
Nigeria: RRS - Derailing From Mission
When the Lagos State government came up with the idea of setting up Rapid Response Squad (RRS) few years ago, it had one major objective to give the robbers terrorising the state the battle of their lives and free the state of terror. Former Governor Ahmed Bola Tinubu, who set it up, gave the unit the needed support even though there seemed to be no proportionate result. The excuse then was that perhaps they were still lacking in some equipment and logistics to match the criminals 'fire for fire'.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 09:37
Nigeria: New Shareholdings May Alter Nitel Privatisation
Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) shareholdings conceded to workers of NigComSat, Investment International London Limited (IILL) and NITEL from the government's share of 49 per cent may alter the plan to privatise the first national carrier.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 08:53
Nigeria: Soldiers Get Life In Jail for Dealing Arms to Oil Militatnts
On Tuesday, the General Court Martial (GCM) in Kaduna sentenced to life imprisonment Major Suleiman Alabi Akubo and five other soldiers for selling arms to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 08:52
Niger: Two Journalists Given Suspended Prison Sentences for "Defamation"
Reporters Without Borders has condemned three-month suspended prison sentences handed down for libel against the weekly "L'Evénement" journalists Moussa Aksar and Sani Aboubacar.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 08:25
Nigeria: Major, Five Others Get Life Jail for Arming Militants
AN Army Major and five other soldiers have been jailed for life for selling over 7,000 arms of various descriptions to the Niger Delta militants.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 06:56
Nigeria: Country Seeks $500 Million Loan to Build New Satellites
The management of NigComSat Limited has appealed to the House of Representatives Commi-ttee on Science and Technology to prevail on the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to approve the utilisation of $500 million (N59 billion) concessionary loan for the construction of NigComSat 2 and 3 advanced series.
Source : AllAfrica | 19-Nov-2008 06:55
Sierra Leone: Koroma Impressed by First Lady's Initiative
President Ernest Bai Koroma yesterday showered praises on his wife, First Lady Sia Nyama Koroma, for her sustained campaign to reduce the deaths of women due to child-bearing-related circumstances during the launch of a two-day seminar focusing on the role of traditional and religious leaders in maternal mortality reduction.
Source : AllAfrica | 18-Nov-2008 23:55
Sierra Leone: Makeni Rokel Bank Donates to 'Okada' Riders
Makeni branch of Rokel Commercial Bank (RCB) Friday donated ten helmets to commercial motorcycle 'okada' riders in the township.
Source : AllAfrica | 18-Nov-2008 23:55
Sierra Leone: SLRU, MACOSA to Hold SLAJ Presidential Debate
After a series of consultative meetings, the general memberships and executives of the Mass Communication Students Association (MACOSA) and the Sierra Leone Reporters' Union (SLRU) have agreed to come up with the first ever presidential debate in the history of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), according to a joint press release.
Source : AllAfrica | 18-Nov-2008 23:55
Sierra Leone: International Resources Distort National Health Agendas
Member of the board, council on health research for development, COHRED based in Switzerland Monday said the influence of international sources distorts national health agendas.
Source : AllAfrica | 18-Nov-2008 23:55