Tag: Nigeria

Nigeria loses over N60 trillion annually to oil theft, refining – Report

Aminu Imam

A research study supported by Shell Nigeria has revealed that Nigeria loses between N30 and N60 trillion annually due to oil theft, illegal refining and pipeline vandalism. The Head of the research team from the University of Port-Harcourt (UniPort), Professor of history, Ben Naanen, said 200,000 barrels of crude oil, or 14%, is stolen every day out of the 1.4m barrels per day (bpd) produced in Nigeria. He, however, said that other sources in recent times have put it at 30% or some 470,000 bpd. At the price of over…

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‘Forget about rigging in 2023 elections’, Buhari tells politicians

Aminu Imam

…Vows to resolutely defend Nigerians’ votes President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, in Abuja advised those planning to rig the 2023 general elections to perish the thought, vowing to use every legitimate means to protect the votes of Nigerians. According to an issued press statement to newsmen, the President declared at an Iftar dinner with members of the Diplomatic Corps, that “those planning to rig the forthcoming elections should think twice, because I intend to resolutely protect and defend the sacred will of the Nigerian people, to be expressed through the ballot…

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2023: Vote Credible Nigerians, Not Political Sentiments -Ramalan 

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan, the Former Caucus Chairman of the Kaduna State All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned Nigerians especially from the North against voting for political parties based on sentiments, rather focus on the characters of aspirants in the next 2023 general elections.“Vote for personality,” the APC chieftain advised, “and search for folks who you believe will do something wonderful for your State your Country your children tomorrow” he advised. Ramalan made the recommendation on Saturday to Airport Correspondents at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Airport, Abuja. Ramalan also bemoaned the country’s increasing…

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UN allocates $15m to address rising food insecurity in Nigeria

Aminu Imam

The United Nations (UN) has allocated 15 million dollars from the 100 million dollars earmarked to Africa and the Middle-East to address food insecurity as the spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine war threaten to push millions even closer to famine. The contribution from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which was announced on Thursday, would go towards relief projects in six African countries and Yemen. The countries are Nigeria, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and South Sudan. The CERF was established in 2005 to deliver urgently needed humanitarian assistance whenever and…

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World Bank warns Nigerians to expect tougher months ahead

Aminu Imam

The World Bank has predicted tougher months ahead as household real disposable incomes in Nigeria are expected to face an ‘exceptional squeeze’. The World Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, who disclosed this in Abuja, indicated that the Covid-19 crisis in the country exacerbated pre-existing structural distortions (including trade distortions, such as 2019’s border closure), which were already driving up prices and eroding purchasing power before the pandemic. This in turn explains the near-stagnation in household real disposable incomes that have preceded the exceptional squeeze expected this year,” Chaudhuri…

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Train attack: NRC confirms 14 more safe passengers on board

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has confirmed the safety of 14 more passengers on board the attacked Abuja-Kaduna train of March 28, bringing the total safe passengers to 186. The NRC’s Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, confirmed this in a statement he issued on Sunday. ”The statement is aimed at updating Nigerians on the on-going development regarding the clearing of the incident site (recovery of the rolling stock, repairs of the track) and status of Passengers that were on-board the AK9 train on Monday, March 28. ”Of the 362 validated passengers on board…

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‘4 out of ten Nigerians live below poverty line’ – World Bank

Aminu Imam

The World Bank has disclosed that four out of every 10 Nigerians currently live below the poverty line. The global financial institution, which disclosed this in its recent report titled: ‘A Better Future for All Nigerians: Nigeria Poverty Assessment 2022,’ said Nigeria currently needs long-term reforms to foster and sustain pro-poor growth and raise citizens out of poverty. It said Nigeria requires macroeconomic reforms including fiscal, trade, and exchange rate policy; policies to boost the productivity of farm and non-farm household enterprises among others. The report, which represents the culmination…

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OPEC: ‘Nigeria unable to meet output quota due to unwarranted oil theft’ – Emefiele

Aminu Imam

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has said the country is unable to meet its production quota due to unwarranted oil theft in the sector. Emefiele said this on Monday, at the end of the 284th monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja. After the MPC meeting, the committee concluded to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), otherwise known as the interest rate, at 11.5 percent with the asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR. The apex bank governor said one of the…

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World Happiness Index: Nigeria ranks 118 out of 146 countries

Aminu Imam

…Behind Libya, S’Africa, 15 other African countries Nigeria recorded the worst performance in the just-released United Nations (UN)’s 2022 World Happiness Report, ranking 118 out of 146 countries on the happiness index. The report, which was released yesterday, two days before the annual ‘International Day of Happiness‘, is issued annually by the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The report ranks nations based on factors such as personal sense of well-being, levels of GDP, life expectancy among others. The list, which is in its 10th year, assigns a score on a…

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‘Nigeria is a country, not a nation’, says Obasanjo

Aminu Imam

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that Nigeria is a country that is yet to be weaved into a nation. The former Head of State made the remark while speaking at the ‘2021/2022 School Debate Price Presentation’, organised by the Vision Africa Radio Umuahia, in Abia State. According to Obasanjo, Nigeria would not make any headway as a country until she grew into nationhood, saying, ”One of the things we need to achieve is nation-building; we have not built a nation yet. We have a country, but we need to…

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