President Muhammadu Buhari Disbands NNPC Board in Oil Industry Clean Up

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari disbanded the board of the state oil company on Friday in an attempt to clean out corruption in the industry. “There’s no way he could proceed with the same board in place,” Femi Adesina, a spokesman for Buhari, said by phone from the capital, Abuja. “He said he was going to clean up the oil industry.” Buhari’s All Progressives Congress said during the elections it would probably strip the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp of its regulatory powers and break up the company into more efficient, commercially driven units. Remember! Last year, former Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi was suspended by then President Goodluck Jonathan after he alleged the NNPC hadn’t turned over about $20 billion of oil revenue to the government, which earns two-thirds of its revenue from the commodity. We hope to hear more information sooner...

FG, UK firm sign $250m satellite deal

The Federal Government on Friday in Abuja signed a $250million joint venture/partnership agreement with a United Kingdom-based company, Menasat Gulf Group Plc., to provide Synthetic-Aperture Radar satellites in the country. When operational, the SAR satellite technology will be the first in Nigeria, while images generated from it will benefit, particularly, the oil and gas operators, farmers, ocean monitoring, tracking of oil pipelines and also assist the military. The Director-General of the National Space Research and Development Agency, Dr. Seidu Mohammed, while signing the contract, said the SAR technology was necessary for Nigeria because of the challenges the agency have had in acquiring images in, mostly, the southern part of the country. “We have always had this constraint that even though we are the national repository for satellite images, we are not able to provide completely all the required images in this country. In the light of that, we have specially taken this opportunity to satisfy the Nigerian market,” he said. According to the NSRDA DG, Nigeria will contribute its expertise as well as make a place available for the firm that will set up a ground-saving station and equipment to process and make the images available for Nigerians Read more here:

Nigerians Are Supreme To Political Party, Group Tells APC

Onitsha-based human rights group, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety), has urged All Progressives Congress (APC) to see Nigerians as supreme to the party and allow the National Assembly free hand to operate. In a statement by its Chairman, Board of Directors, Emeka Umeagbalasi; and Head of Campaign and Publicity, Uzochukwu, Oguejiofor-Nwonu, the group stated: “Though the people are the first among equals in the realm of the three sovereignties, but the Constitution is made the prime minister and chief executive officer and can only be removed by election or by a vote of no confidence (constitutional referendum or conference or major amendment)”. The group was reacting to the letter written to the National Assembly leadership by APC spelling out who should occupy which position in the assembly and urged the party to adhere to the Constitution of Nigeria and also allow the legislators their independence. It reminded APC that it was registered like any other political party by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and it should realise that its bylaw is totally submissive to the Constitution of Nigeria and its subsidiary legislations were administratively created by INEC. for more info, follow the below link:

Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan: Tide turned against Boko Haram

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has said the tide has "definitely turned" against militant Islamists as regional forces recapture territory. His comments came hours after Boko Haram militants were blamed for killing 27 people in bombings in two commercial centres in the north on Tuesday. Boko Haram had hit "soft targets" because of the setbacks it had suffered in battle, Mr Jonathan said. Regional forces have recaptured eight major towns in recent weeks. So Mr Jonathan's comments appear to have some credence, even if he made similar remarks last year, says the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja. The Nigerian military, backed by regional troops, is now taking the war to Boko Haram, rather than fleeing the battlefield, our correspondent adds. However, at least six major towns are still held by Boko Haram, he says. Many residents fear the militants will regroup and launch a new offensive to regain territory, he adds.

Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan: Tide turned against Boko Haram

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has said the tide has "definitely turned" against militant Islamists as regional forces recapture territory. His comments came hours after Boko Haram militants were blamed for killing 27 people in bombings in two commercial centres in the north on Tuesday. Boko Haram had hit "soft targets" because of the setbacks it had suffered in battle, Mr Jonathan said. Regional forces have recaptured eight major towns in recent weeks. So Mr Jonathan's comments appear to have some credence, even if he made similar remarks last year, says the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja. The Nigerian military, backed by regional troops, is now taking the war to Boko Haram, rather than fleeing the battlefield, our correspondent adds. However, at least six major towns are still held by Boko Haram, he says. Many residents fear the militants will regroup and launch a new offensive to regain territory, he adds.

Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan: Tide turned against Boko Haram

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has said the tide has "definitely turned" against militant Islamists as regional forces recapture territory. His comments came hours after Boko Haram militants were blamed for killing 27 people in bombings in two commercial centres in the north on Tuesday. Boko Haram had hit "soft targets" because of the setbacks it had suffered in battle, Mr Jonathan said. Regional forces have recaptured eight major towns in recent weeks. So Mr Jonathan's comments appear to have some credence, even if he made similar remarks last year, says the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja. The Nigerian military, backed by regional troops, is now taking the war to Boko Haram, rather than fleeing the battlefield, our correspondent adds. However, at least six major towns are still held by Boko Haram, he says. Many residents fear the militants will regroup and launch a new offensive to regain territory, he adds.

Young girl suicide bomber kills 4, injures 46 at northeastern Nigeria market

A girl suicide bomber as young as 10 blew herself up at a busy market in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum on Sunday, killing four others and seriously wounding 46 people, a witness and hospital records show. The girl, who appeared no more than 10 years old, got out of a tricycle taxi in front of the cell phone market and detonated her explosives on Potiskum's main market day, according to survivor Anazumi Saleh, who suffered injuries to his head. Officials have not immediately ascertained the girl's identification or her age from her remains. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing but the attack bears all the signs of similar bombings by Boko Haram and raises fears that Nigeria's home-grown Islamic extremists are using kidnap victims as bombers. It is unclear whether the girls and young women in many recent attacks have set off the explosions themselves, or whether the detonations are controlled remotely. We await further informatio from our currespondence.