Sabinews Daily Morning News Update for January 28, 2015
National News
Military deploys drones to battle Boko Haram
Some drones and other sophisticated equipment have been deployed in the Northeast to curtail Boko Haram’s insurgency, The Nation learnt yesterday.
It was also learnt that the military intensified air strikes on Boko Haram bases in Monguno to reclaim the town, which fell to the sect’s fighters last weekend. Read more
Boko Haram Bomb Maker Arrested by Security Forces
A man suspected of being behind the manufacture of explosives used in a series of Boko Haram suicide attacks has been arrested in the North-east, a senior police officer told AFP on Tuesday.
The man, identified only as Ba’na, was held in the Arikime area of Potiskum, after several weeks of surveillance, said the officer, who was involved in the Sunday arrest. Read more
Vandals invade police station, kill 2 cops, others in Lagos
Suspected pipeline vandals on Monday night, stormed the Owutu Police station in Lagos, killing four persons including two policemen and two civilians. They were said to have chased operatives of Nigerian Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC) into the police station at about 10 pm, killed the policemen on guard and carted away about four AK47 rifle from the dead policemen and escaped.
Sources told Daily Sun that trouble started in Oke Oko area of Ikorodu when NSCDC operatives on patrol clashed with the vandals who were operating that night along the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline within the area. Read more
We’ve Distributed 43m PVCs – INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday declared that 42,779,339 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have been distributed so far out of the 68million cards billed to be distributed to eligible voters.
It said that while 26million PVCs are yet to be collected, the percentage of collected PVCs is now 62.15 per cent. Read more
Scores Killed by Boko Haram in Renewed Attacks on Adamawa Villages
Scores of residents of Michika and Madagali villages have reportedly been killed by Boko Haram insurgents who launched series of attacks on about seven villages, local and security sources confirmed.
The towns fell into the hands of the insurgents last years but were recaptured by government troops. Read more
EU to Dedicate Two Extra Months to Scrutinise Post-election Petitions in Nigeria
Unlike its tradition, the European Union Election Observation Mission(EUEOM) to Nigeria on Tuesday said it would dedicate additional two months to monitor and scrutinise post-presidential election complaints and petitions in Nigeria, after the February 14 presidential election. Read more
APC Fundraising Portal: NCC to Sanction Service Provider for Breach of Regulations
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday stated that it would sanction the Value Added Service (VAS) provider for breach of the commission’s regulation and for its unprofessional conduct in misleading the All Progressives Congress (APC) to use its Short Code platform for political advertisement and fund mobilisation for campaign purposes.
It said the order instructing the network providers to shut down the portals of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that of APC was done without any ulterior motive. Read more
JUSUN gives condition for ending strike
The national leadership of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria has explained why its members in the federal courts have resumed work while their state counterparts remained on strike.
The union explained in its letter of “Resolution and directives in respect of the strike by the union” on Tuesday that the Federal Government had undertaken to meet its demand, unlike the 36 state governments. Read more
Don’t withhold our salary, health workers warn FG
President of the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy, Taiwo Adewumi, has warned the Federal Government not to withhold the salaries of the striking health workers, saying that such method would aggravate the situation.
Speaking at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, on Tuesday, Adewumi said that the workers were aware of the plan to frustrate their efforts to press home their demands. Read more
Nigeria to lose $7.6m to diabetes, others
The Federal Ministry of Health has said that Nigeria may lose $7.6m to the management of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases this year.
The focal person in the ministry, Dr. Bernard Bene, said this at the product launch of ‘Victoza,’ a drug used to manage diabetes, by Novo Nordisk, in Lagos. Read more
Ghana moves to ban Nigerian poultry over bird flu scare
Government is taking steps to temporarily ban the importation of poultry products from Nigeria into Ghana following a recent upsurge of bird flu in that country.
This according to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture will help prevent a possible outbreak of the disease in Ghana. Read more
Dangote: Nigeria to Become Largest Exporter of Urea in Africa by 2017
President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote yesterday said Nigeria will be the largest exporter of urea in Africa by 2017.
Dangote stated this at an interactive session between members of the organised private sector and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele on recent developments in the global oil prices and its effect on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market. Read more
Economy
CBN May Stop Forex Sales for Goods that Can Be Made in Nigeria
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is considering halting the sale of dollars for imported goods that are already manufactured in the country as it seeks to reduce pressure on the naira hit by a drop in oil prices.
“The only thing that will reduce pressure on our currency is by producing those things we are importing today,” CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele was quoted by Bloomberg during an interactive session with the private sector on Tuesday in Lagos. Read more
Finally, AMCON Transfers Mainstreet, Enterprise to Skye, Heritage Banks
The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) on Tuesday officially transferred the ownership of Mainstreet Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited to their new owners, Skye Bank Plc and Heritage Bank Limited, respectively.
At the divestment ceremony held in Lagos, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, warned against a reoccurrence of the factors which led to the takeover of the three bridged banks. Read more
CBN to axe banks involved in speculative forex demand
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday threatened to suspend banks that help in fueling speculative demand of foreign exchange, forex , just as it pledged to support the productive sectors of the economy in its resolve to diversifying and grow the economy.
The CBN said that Nigerians should not panic as the fiscal and monetary authorities are on top of the current crude oil price crisis. Read more
IMF Warns Nigeria, Others of Headwinds from China, US
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, has warned that African economies could be hurt by a slowdown in China’s economy and an imminent hike in United States interest rates.
Lagarde, speaking on Tuesday on a visit to Rwanda, said IMF’s global economic forecasts have been revised down over the past few months despite a huge fall in oil prices. Read more
Banks may cut dividend payout rate
Banks may again cut their dividend payout rate in the year as banks seek to manage credit risks and liquidity amid constraints orchestrated by the policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The latest update on the banking sector by the global finance and investment firm, Exotix, indicated that banks may cut dividend payout rate for the second consecutive year this year. Exotix has significant imprints in Africa. It coordinates its global operations through five major offices in London, New York, Lagos, Dubai and Nairobi. Read more
Oil and Gas
Total Completes Gas Pipeline to Alaoji Power Station
Total Exploration and Production (E&P) Nigeria on Tuesday announced that gas supply to the 1,074 megawatts (MW) capacity Alaoji National Integrated Power Plant (NIPP) is expected to be boosted with its completion of a section of its Northern Option Pipeline (NOPL) from kilometre (km) 38 at Obigbo to km 50 at Imo River.
Disclosing its completion of the pipeline, Total said in a statement in Abuja that the pipeline was now ready for gas inflow to the Alaoji NIPP along the Imo River in Abia State. Read more
World News
Australia asylum: Sea detention of Sri Lankans legal, court rules
Australia’s month-long detention of 157 asylum seekers at sea last year was legal, the High Court has found.
The court ruled the Sri Lankan group were not entitled to claim damages for false imprisonment. Read more
Venezuela confirms desertion of ex-agent from armed forces
A Venezuelan official confirmed on Tuesday that the former bodyguard of the head of congress has deserted from the socialist country’s armed forces amid reports the man is in the United States to testify against his former boss.
Two Spanish-language newspapers reported Monday that the chief bodyguard of National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello has gone to the United States with information implicating him as head of a drug cartel made up of political and military officials. Read more
Apple Achieves Largest Quarterly Profit Ever
Apple has reported quarterly profits of $18bn (£11.8bn) for the final three months of 2014 – the largest ever made by a public company.
The technology giant’s financial performance was driven by a new range of larger iPhones, with 74.5 million handsets sold between October and December. Read more
After decades of Russian dominance, Belarus begins to reclaim its language
Gallery Y is one of the very few alternative cafes in the Belarusian capital Minsk, and every Monday evening it is packed with around 200 people of all trades and ages. They sit on the floor or stand for three hours to participate in one of the most popular public events in the city – a Belarusian language class.
Belarus’ president, Alexander Lukashenko, who is widely criticised for his authoritarian rule, once said “nothing significant can be expressed” in Belarusian. He played a key role in stigmatising the language in favour of Russian, and in the years that followed, Belarusian became the language of the marginalised political opposition. Read more
Sony to axe 1,000 mobile phone jobs in UK, Sweden and China
Japan’s Sony Corp is planning to cut another 1,000 jobs in its smartphone division, which is suffering from the recent strong growth of iPhone maker Apple and low-cost Chinese manufacturers.
Media reports said Sony would cut 1,000 more jobs in its European and Chinese smartphone division, in addition to the 1,000 job cuts announced in October. The job cuts would primarily affect Sony’s operations in China, the UK and Sweden. Read more
Georgia Man Executed Despite ‘Disabled’ Claim
A man who killed a fellow inmate has been executed in Georgia despite claims by his lawyers that he was intellectually disabled.
Warren Lee Hill was put to death by injection of a single drug at the state prison in Jackson. Read more
Power
Nebo: Nigeria Needs 160,000MW to Satisfy Demand for Stable Power
The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, has said the country will need about 160,000 megawatts in order to reach the globally accepted standards and satisfy the demand for stable power supply for the 170 million Nigerians. Read more
Sports
Nigerians in Egypt to Cheer Dream Team at El Menzah
Members of the Nigerian community based in Tunis will turn up in large numbers at the Stade el Menzah today to cheer the U-23 National Team, Dream Team VI, in the second of their two international friendly matches against the U-23 National Team of Tunisia.
Giving this assurance in Tunis on Monday, the Ambassador of Nigeria to Tunisia, Dr. Joseph Apeh Omede, said the leaders of the Nigerian community had been duly contacted and have gone to work on mobilising the members to the venue. Read more
South Africa, Djibouti players hail Quadri
That he is the best player in the world does not matter to Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri and the Portugal-based star has been an inspiration to players across the continent at the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Senior Championships in Cairo.
Players from South Africa, Djibouti and Angola were all over the place trying to have a chat with the Nigerian, whom they described as their role model with his conduct on and off the table. Read more
Weightlifting coach lauds Lagos over Ibile Games 2015
Lagos State Weightlifting Association, LSWA, has commended the Lagos State Government for deeming it necessary to delve into Secondary Schools-based sports programmes which have been widely acclaimed as the bedrock of sports development in Nigeria. Read more
Pillars underrated Flying Eagles, admits Afelokhai
Coach and captain of Glo Premier League champions, Kano Pillars have admitted that they may have under-rated the Flying Eagles leading to the 2-1 defeat they suffered on Match Day 2 of the Glo League Super 6 tournament on Monday at the Abuja National Stadium.
Goalkeeper, Theophillus Afelokhai was the first to reach the conclusion during the post-match conference but vowed that the next match against the National U-23 Olympic team won’t be approached lightly. Read more
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