Country Profile: Nigeria

Chris Akomas has resigned as the deputy governor of Abia State. Addressing a press conference in Umuahia today (Saturday July 31) Akomas said his letter of resignation was dated July 27 and that he took the action after consulting with his people and other stakeholders in the state. It is alleged however, that 21 members of the Abia State Houes of Assembly had levelled a six-count allegation of gross misconduct against Akomas.

It is said that a seven-man panel began sitting oin the matter, on July 29 behind closed doors and concluded questioning of three witnesses on July 30.

The panel which continued sitting on Saturday, could not proceed as the deputy governor insisted that it was impossible for him to present his 25 witnesses within one day, as directed by the panel, the News Agency of Nigeria reports . NAN reports that the.....

The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) says it has concluded plans to replace the moribund Vehicle Insurance Sticker (VISER) with a central data system.

The association’s chairman, Olusola Oladipo-Ajayi, said on Friday in Lagos that the aim was to take advantage of developments in Information Communication Technology (ICT). According to Oladipo-Ajayi, the central data for motor insurance will be such that the police can detect whether a certificate is genuine or fake.

``VISER is moribund and even the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is not interested in resuscitating it or controlling the central information system being planned by NIA. ``NAICOM interest is for NIA to find a way it can use technology to beat the parallel market because of the danger posed by fake insurance documents.

``The beauty of the central data system is that.....

Nigeria is close to agreeing a framework to make private power generation for the national grid commercially viable, potentially unlocking billions of dollars of investment and helping end chronic power shortages.

Finance Minister Olusegun Aganga said a presidential task force had met with independent power producers in the capital Abuja on Friday and had agreed to establish a new power purchase agreement within six weeks. The aim of the agreement is to guarantee that independent power producers (IPPs) will be able to sell power to a credit-worthy single off-taker, which will sell electricity on to distribution companies and in turn repay the IPPs. The current intermediary, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), is not regarded as a credit-worthy buyer of power partly because it is failing to collect its.....

Nigerian interbank rates eased slightly to 1.08 percent on average this week from 1.15 percent last week following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) release of 130 billion naira, traders said on Friday. Traders said the CBN allocated the intervention funds to several financial institutions for the refinancing and restructuring of the OPEC's member's manufacturing sector.

The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) dropped to 1.05 percent from 1.10 percent last week, up 5 basis points from the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate and 4.95 percentage points below the central bank's benchmark rate. The overnight and call money rates fell to 1.10 percent each from 1.15 percent and 1.20 percent respectively last week.

"The market was a bit quiet this week, except for the funding for foreign exchange and treasury bill purchases, which were not.....

The South-South Zone of the Nigerian Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture on Friday urged commercial banks to bridge the gap between deposit and lending rates. Billy Harry, the chambers’ President in the zone, said in Lagos that all commercial banks had reduced the interest rate on deposits.

He said the reduction was supposed to reflect in the lending rate as well, ``but we are concerned about the widening gap between deposit and lending rates''.

``The crash in the deposit rate has not been reflected in the lending rate. Deposit rate has collapsed to less than 5 per cent in virtually all the banks,’’ he noted. Harry explained that there were even situations where most of the banks were reluctant to pay interest on deposits. ``There is something inequitable about the situation. If banks have access to cheap funds, we expect that the cost of funds.....

All suspects arrested in connection with the unlawful importation of 450.400kg of cocaine which is valued at N4 billion will be prosecuted in Nigeria, Ahmadu Giade, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said.

Some Chinese citizens were arrested a thet TinCan Island Port last week by NDLEA official trafficking in illicit drugs. Those likely be arraigned soon include two Chinese business men Richard Wang, 62, an importer of textiles and shopping bags and Chiusen Fong, 54, a timber merchant as well as a Nigerian, Inua Mohammed, 56 who is a clearing agent. The NDLEA boss said the agency is not considering extradition for now and that the suspects will be charged to court in the country as soon as investigation was completed.

The clearing agent , Inua, said that he was contacted by Richard Wang to clear the said container and take it to Ibadan. “I am a clearing agent. Richard Wang came to me to clear a container. He told me the container contained cigarettes and gave me N3 million naira for the clearance. It was after my boys cleared it out of the port that NDLEA officers intercepted them” Inua stated.

Bharti Airtel, a leading emerging market telecom services provider, today announced the appointment of Andre Beyers as the Chief Marketing Officer for its Africa operations.

The company recently acquired the mobile services operations of Zain in 15 countries across Africa including Nigeria and is working towards introducing its brand'Airtel' in these markets shortly. Andre will report to Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) and Jt. MD, Bharti Airtel.

Commenting on the appointment Manoj Kohli said, "We are delighted to have Andre on board and believe that his experience will be immensely valuable and contribute to our vision of making Airtel the most loved brand in the daily lives of African people. It will be our endeavour to achieve leadership position in all our markets by

"This election process is a worthy example for the Nigerian political class." With these words, Joseph Boudurin Daudu, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) accepted victory as new president in a keenly contested Nigeria Bar Association general elections held in Ibadan, south-west of Nigeria, Thursday night.

Daudu won the election with a margin of 231 votes by polling 718 to beat his opponent, Joe Kyari Gadzama who had 487 votes.

The battle for the position, fought over many months and followed closely by the media, involved two highly respected members of the profession..

The new President of the bar, J.B. Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1980, and was appointed Notary Public in 1987 and .....

Following Senate’s outcry, last week, over the insolvency state of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) occasioned by debt and alleged mismanagement, Maevis Nigeria Ltd, the concessionaire in charge of airport operations’ automation, has said the agency (FAAN) was frustrating its efforts at carrying out its duties, especially, as it relates to recovery of debts.

Nigeria beat Colombia 1-0 thanks to an early goal to reach the final of the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Germany. The Falconets will play Germany in Sunday's final after the hosts beat South Korea 5-1 in today's other semi-final.

The U.S. has indicated interest in supporting Nigeria to develop its solid minerals resources to create wealth.

Musa Sada, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, said this on Thursday in Abuja at the inauguration of the committee on the review of the ``Draft Minerals and Mining Regulations''.

``In a demonstration of this support, the U.S. government is sending a delegation to Nigeria to give international input to the Draft Mining Regulations.

``I am delighted to inform you that I will be receiving the U.S. delegation in my office on Monday, Aug. 2, to make their contributions to the review of the Draft Regulations,'' Sada said.

The minister said that the committee would be guided by a four-point terms of reference

Nigeria's Finbank (FIRSTIN.LG) said on Thursday its pre-tax profit more than tripled to 2.36 billion naira ($16 million) in the first half of the year.

Gross earnings at Finbank, one of those rescued in a $4 billion sector-wide bailout last year, fell to 23.37 billion naira from 33.53 billion, the bank said in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Oludare Mayowa)

Barring any last minute change of mind and possible political interference, a Diaspora Nigerian will be announced any moment from now as the chief executive officer of newly established Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), BusinessDay can today reveal.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Lamido Sanusi, yesterday urged the Federal Government to increase electricity tariff to N22 from its present N7 kilowatt hour (kWh) price, saying it would attract investors and stabilise electricity supply in the country.

Nigeria’s crude oil exports are set to top 2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the third month running in September, trade sources said on Wednesday, as Africa’s largest energy producer improves output reliability.

The Artisanal Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN) has demanded N46.8 billion from Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) as compensation for the destruction of their fishing gears by oil spills.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has raised an alarm over the declining rate of Nigeria's crude oil reserves, saying it has dropped by 1.6 billion barrels (about 4.79 per cent) in just one year. The drop is due to declining exploration activities and full field studies by oil companies operating in the country.The companies now concentrate more on drilling and production rather than oil exploration that would boost reserves. DPR Director Wada Andrew Obaje made this known while briefing newsmen yesterday on activities of the Nigerian oil and gas sector in the second quarter.

Nigeria holds the eighth largest oil reserves in the world, having 37 billion barrels inclusive of condensate. A recent release by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) revealed that more than three-quarters of the world's proven oil reserves are located in OPEC member.....