Sabinews Daily Morning News Update for December 11, 2014
National News
Jonathan Endorsed as Presidential Candidate of PDP, Mu’azu, National Chairman; Obasanjo absent
The Special National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in early hours of today, ratified President Goodluck Jonathan as the consensus presidential candidate of the party for the February 14, 2015 presidential election.
This came on the heels of a similar ratification last night by the delegates of the party of Adamu Mu’azu as the party’s national chairman, Wale Oladipo as the national secretary and Wole Adeyanju as the national auditor. Read more
‘INEC ’ll use electronic card readers in 2015 elections’
Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC’s) Chairman Prof Attahiru Jega has again assured the nation on plans to conduct credible elections next year.
He, however, urged all stakeholders, especially the politicians, to play the game according to the rules. Read more
NEMA Moves Medical Materials for Kano Mosque Blast Victims
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Wednesday said it had distributed medical consumables and drugs to nine hospitals in Kano to strengthen the treatment of victims of the recent multiple bomb blasts that occurred at the Kano Central Mosque, in the hospitals.
The items distributed include lysol solution, chromic sutures, chromic cat gut, vicryl, inj cetriazone, pentazocine, saline and metronidazole amongst others. Read more
Time Names Ebola Fighters as Its 2014 Person of the Year
“Anyone willing to treat Ebola victims ran the risk of becoming one,” Time magazine editor-in-chief Nancy Gibbs wrote in an editor’s note. “For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are Time’s 2014 Person of the Year.”
For the issue, the magazine published five covers featuring different Ebola fighters. Read more
Speeches: Govs, others root for Buhari
The third national convention and presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress went under way in the early hours of Thursday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
Five aspirants of the party, who include a former Head of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; a former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso, publisher of Leadership newspapers, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, and Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. Read more
12 Plateau gov aspirants reject result, petition PDP
Twelve out of the 16 aspirants that lost the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in Plateau State have petitioned the national secretariat of the party, rejecting the outcome of party election.
This is even as the PDP governorship aspirant in Bauchi State and former Minister of Health, Ali Muhammad Pate, has called on the national headquarters of the party to cancel the just concluded primaries election in the state and conduct a fresh one. Read more
How Works Ministry saved N11b for FG, by Onolememen
Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, has described project augmentation as the major corrupt practice that existed in the ministry where contractors connived with engineers to rip off the nation.
According to the minister, the unwholesome practice has since been nipped in the bud since the inception of this administration, thereby saving a whooping N11 billion for the Federal Government. Read more
Economy
Turkish businessmen identify investment areas in Nigeria
A group of investors from Turkey have disclosed their plan to invest massively in Nigeria’s textile, furniture, housing, construction, transport, telecoms, automotive, and agricultural sectors to boost the country’s economy.
Other areas of interest for the investors include health, jewelleries, fruit juice and industries, which they promised to establish before moving to construction business. Read more
LCCI opposes bill compelling listing of companies on NSE
Stakeholders in the Nigerian economy yesterday said that the proposed Private Companies Coversion and Listing Bill before the National Assembly is counter productive and unconstitutional.
This Bill seeks to provide for the private companies whose shareholders funds exceed N40bn or its annual turnover exceeds N80bn or its total assets exceed N80bn, to convert to public liability company and get its shares listed in the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, thereby promoting growth for both the company and the Nigerian capital market. Read more
Naira devaluation puts pressure on telcos
The declining fortunes of the national economy which has forced the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to devalue the naira by eight per cent is already taking its tolls on the operation of telcos in the country.
The value of the naira has been on a roller-coaster dive, exchanging more than 180 to $1 causing stress to businesses with import-dependent inputs. Read more
Former CIBN President: Delay in Budget Presentation, Passage Not Healthy for Economy
A former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, Wednesday said delay in the passage of federal budget was not healthy for the nation’s economic development.
Unegbu said this in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Read more
Equities Market Shed N338bn in Three Days
The Nigerian equities market maintained its negative trend yesterday as the market depreciated for the third consecutive day this week. The market has shed N338 billion in capitalisation in the last three days. Having resumed for the week with a decline, the bears have continued to consolidate their hold recording a decline of 0.34 per cent on Tuesday. However, the market booked a higher decline yesterday as with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index(ASI) declining by 2.2 per cent to close at 32,203.62 while market capitalisation shed N241 billion to close at N10.632 trillion. Thus, market has thus dipped by N338 billion in three days, bringing the year-to-date decline in ASI to 22.08 per cent. Read more
Forex Reserves Fall Lower to $35.95bn
Nigeria’s foreign reserves fell to $35.95 billion as at December 8, down 19.3 per cent from a year earlier as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stepped up its defense of the currency.
The reserves of Africa’s biggest economy and top oil producer, according to Reuters, fell from $44.53 billion in same period last year. Reserves stood at $37.98 billion a month ago, central bank data showed yesterday. Read more
Oil and Gas
Oando Increases Ebendo Production by 400%
Oando Plc’s exploration and production division, Oando Energy Resources (OER), has completed the 45,000bbls/d, 51km Umuginni pipeline located in south-eastern Nigeria. The pipeline provides an alternative evacuation route for crude oil produced from the Ebendo field through the Trans Forcados export pipeline, ensuring flow production from is maximised and further revenue streams generated.
Following the successful drilling of Ebendo wells 5, 6, and 7 over the last year, oil production capacity within OML 56 has increased to 7,140boepd gross for OER and Energia Limited, the operator of the asset. However, export had been restricted to 3,093 bopd via the Agip operated Kwale-Brass NAOC/JV infrastructure, in which OER currently has a 20per cent interest through the recent $1.5billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips Nigerian Oil & Gas Business. Read more
World News
Jihadi attacks killed more than 5,000 people in November, the vast majority of them Muslims
More than 5,000 people, mostly civilians and overwhelmingly Muslims, were killed in jihadi attacks in November, according to a new study documenting the toll of Islamist violence worldwide.
About 60% of these deaths were caused by the militant groups Islamic State and Boko Haram, suggesting a transformation in the nature of jihadi groups from terrorists to “more conventional forces that are fighting to gain or hold territory against state armies”, the report by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and the BBC, said. Read more
I’m ruling under duress Mugabe tells KK
This revelation comes amid mounting gaffes that the president, soon to turn 91, has been making.
A contact in Mugabe’s entourage told The Zimbabwean that he made the remark a month ago at the burial of former president Michael Sata in Zambia. Read more
Six Afghan soldiers killed in Kabul suicide bombing
At least six Afghan soldiers have been killed by a suicide bomber on the outskirts of the capital Kabul, police and officials say.
They said that the bomber was on foot and targeted a bus carrying the troops. Read more
Hong Kong authorities begin dismantling barricades at main protest site
Hong Kong authorities began dismantling barricades at the main pro-democracy protest site Thursday, in a final push to clear streets occupied by students and activists for more than two months.
The pro-democracy protests in the Chinese territory have represented one of the most serious challenges to the Communist Party’s authority a since the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. But even if the streets of Hong Kong are finally cleared Thursday, protesters said the struggle for democracy would continue. Read more
Putin Turns to India with Energy, Defense Offers
Russian President Vladimir Putin was holding talks with Indian leaders Thursday to strengthen trade and energy cooperation with Asia’s third-largest economy as Western sanctions threaten to push his country’s economy to the brink of a recession.
Putin’s discussions with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to focus us on deepening ties at a time when New Delhi is perceived to be drawing closer to the United States, especially in areas such as defense and investment. Read more
U.S. chokehold protesters stage ‘die-ins’, issue demands in NY
Students at medical schools around the United States staged “die-ins” to protest the chokehold death by police of an unarmed black man, and New York activists demanded the city take action after a grand jury declined to indict the officer involved.
Protests intensified last week after the grand jury decision not to charge a white New York City police officer in the July death of Eric Garner. The decision came roughly a week after a Missouri grand jury did not indict a white officer in the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown. Read more
Power
CBN Fund to Rescue Power Sector
The Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF) is a fund put in place by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with the Ministries of Petroleum Resources and Power and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to assist the Nigerian electricity supply industry, with a view to resolving its liquidity challenges. The facility became necessary as a result of the current challenges in the power reform process and its inability to achieve an appreciable increase in electricity supply. Industry experts have attributed the challenges to the unattractive pricing of domestic gas, as well as legacy debts that have inhibited investment in gas supply and infrastructure. Added to this, they claim, are the anomalies in the tariff regime, which, perceptibly, does not reflect the true cost of supplying electricity. There are also the difficulties across the value chain in addressing capacity issues, primarily due to a shortfall in revenue. Read more
Sports
Copa Lagos 2014: Nigeria names squad
Head coach of the Nigeria’s beach soccer team, nicknamed Super Sand Eagles, Coach Audu Adamu Ejor has announced his final squad of 10 players for the Copa Lagos 2014.
Coach Ejor as popularly called, picked seven familiar faces and three debutantes for the 4th edition of the Beach soccer competition taking place from Friday December 12-14 at the Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island, Lagos. Read more
Man City Applies for Work Permit for Iheanacho
English Premier League (EPL) champions Manchester City, has applied for a work permit for Nigeria youngster, Kelechi Iheanacho. Iheanacho who is yet to be capped at full international level by Nigeria has played at the Under-17 and Under-20 levels for Eaglets and the Flying Eagles. Now Man City is likely to use the special talent argument to get the Home Office to grant Iheanacho the right to ply his trade in the United Kingdom. Read more
UEFA Champions League: Liverpool Not Good Enough, Says Rodgers
Liverpool boss, Brendan Rodgers, admitted yesterday that his team has not been good enough after their Champions League exit on Tuesday night. The Reds dropped into the Europa League after drawing 1-1 with Basel at Anfield in a match they needed to win to progress. “We have to be better in our performance level,” said Rodgers. “We haven’t been good enough over the course of qualification. Read more
NFF Crisis: Amadu Denies Forging FIFA Letter
The General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Musa Amadu, last night challenged the Nigeria Police to prosecute him if they had any evidence that he was the author of the FIFA letter which accepted the ‘majority’ report of the NFF Elections Appeals’ Committee which validated the September 30 elective congress in Warri. Read more
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