Nigerian Islamist Boko Haram fighters have attacked the strategically important north-eastern city of Maiduguri, with dozens reported dead.
Earlier on Sunday they captured the north-eastern town of Monguno.
The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says that with the insurgents gaining ground, Maiduguri is increasingly at risk.
US Secretary of State John Kerry meanwhile has arrived in Nigeria to call for peaceful elections next month which need to set "a new standard".
The vote looks set to be the closest since the end of military rule 15 years ago.
Our correspondent says that Mr Kerry is in Nigeria to show solidarity in the fight against Boko Haram, which has increased its attacks in recent days.
People in Maiduguri woke up to the sound of explosions and heavy gunfire as Boko Haram launched a pre-dawn attack on this strategic city.
Ground troops, air strikes and local vigilantes managed to stop the jihadists from penetrating the city. Much of the fighting was around a barracks.
In a separate attack the town of Monguno was captured - the latest to be seized by the group.
With the insurgents gaining more and more territory Maiduguri is increasingly vulnerable. It is home to tens of thousands of people who have fled their homes because of the conflict.
Fierce fighting has been reported on the outskirts of Maiduguri. A curfew remains in place and dozens of militants and soldiers are reported to have been killed.
Human rights group Amnesty International has warned that hundreds of thousands of civilians are now "at grave risk''.
Militants also attacked Monguno, 140km (86 miles) north of Maiduguri. The army there was reported to have been overwhelmed, with houses set on fire.
A journalist in Maiduguri told the BBC that fleeing soldiers from Monguno were now arriving at the barracks in in Maiduguri.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language, launched guerrilla operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state.
Thousands of people have been killed throughout the insurgency, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria.
In his Lagos talks, Mr Kerry urged President Goodluck Jonathan and the main opposition's presidential candidate, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, not to condone violence during what is expected to be a tense election campaign,
"We are prepared to do more [to counter the Boko Haram threat] but our ability to do more will depend to some degree on the full measure of credibility, accountability, transparency and peacefulness of this election," Mr Kerry said.
BBC
Monday, January 26, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
Video - Nigeria reaching a landmark of 6 months without a single case of polio
Nigeria was earlier this week awarded 8.1 million US dollars in funding in a final push to eradicate polio. Africa's most populous nation has so far been polio-free for six months.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Nigeria will start producing anti-retroviral drugs
Dr Bilali Camara, UNAIDS Country Director, said on Thursday that four companies will commence production of anti-retroviral drugs in Nigeria.
Camara, who is also the UNAIDS Focal Point for ECOWAS, disclosed in an interview with newsmen in Abuja. He said the local production of anti-retroviral drugs would enable people access treatment at a cheaper rate. He added that it will also help those on life treatment, stressing that people live on treatment for 15 to 30 years.
“We have commenced negotiations with four pharmaceutical companies; the companies have been certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the general manufacturing practices,” he said. The official said WHO would assist to conduct the prequalification processes, “and as soon as that is concluded they will commence the production of the anti-retroviral drugs in Nigeria’’.
Camara said many West and Central African states would benefit from the production, because nobody is producing the drugs in this region. He added that beside Nigeria, seven million other people may need the drugs for treatment from West and Central Africa, which shows that there is good return of investment to the companies. In related development, Camara said UNAIDS would enter into partnership with telecommunication companies to ensure that basic information about HIV/AIDS was advertised.
He said this would assist to further increase access to treatment to 101 million people in Nigeria are targeted. “We want to give more people access to basic information on HIV/AIDS. We want our target to know how to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV where and how to get HIV/AIDS related services.So that in the next few years we have more people accessing the services which many result into many infants born HIV positive mothers and born infants without the disease,” he said.
Accoring to him, “if we do it correctly it will effect on the overall HIV transmission in the country’’. Camara said: “Things are going in the right direction, more people are on treatment, more people are accessing preventive measures and new infections are coming down. It is not as speedy as we want it but clearly things are on the right track.”
Vanguard
Camara, who is also the UNAIDS Focal Point for ECOWAS, disclosed in an interview with newsmen in Abuja. He said the local production of anti-retroviral drugs would enable people access treatment at a cheaper rate. He added that it will also help those on life treatment, stressing that people live on treatment for 15 to 30 years.
“We have commenced negotiations with four pharmaceutical companies; the companies have been certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the general manufacturing practices,” he said. The official said WHO would assist to conduct the prequalification processes, “and as soon as that is concluded they will commence the production of the anti-retroviral drugs in Nigeria’’.
Camara said many West and Central African states would benefit from the production, because nobody is producing the drugs in this region. He added that beside Nigeria, seven million other people may need the drugs for treatment from West and Central Africa, which shows that there is good return of investment to the companies. In related development, Camara said UNAIDS would enter into partnership with telecommunication companies to ensure that basic information about HIV/AIDS was advertised.
He said this would assist to further increase access to treatment to 101 million people in Nigeria are targeted. “We want to give more people access to basic information on HIV/AIDS. We want our target to know how to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV where and how to get HIV/AIDS related services.So that in the next few years we have more people accessing the services which many result into many infants born HIV positive mothers and born infants without the disease,” he said.
Accoring to him, “if we do it correctly it will effect on the overall HIV transmission in the country’’. Camara said: “Things are going in the right direction, more people are on treatment, more people are accessing preventive measures and new infections are coming down. It is not as speedy as we want it but clearly things are on the right track.”
Vanguard
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Nigeria pressured to reduce fuel prices further
Nigeria's government was under pressure Tuesday to cut petrol prices further, with unions saying people were being "short-changed" over the global crude price plunge.
The main opposition accused the government of "tokenism" before the February 14 elections, after Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke announced 10-naira (five US cent, 4.5 euro cent) reduction on Sunday.
A litre of fuel at the pump in Africa's most populous nation and top oil producer now costs 87 naira.
But the opposition and unions said the price of petrol as well as diesel and kerosene should be slashed further.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) said in a statement on Monday that the new price of petrol was "mere tokenism at a time the price of crude oil has crashed by about 60 percent".
Party spokesman Lai Mohammed said the government should immediately cut the price of petrol to 70 naira a litre and diesel and kerosene to no more than 90 naira.
Mohammed charged that state corruption was to blame for the size of Sunday's reduction, saying the government was unwilling to reduce the price further as it would hit its so-called "commissions".
The plunge in crude prices to below $50 a barrel has slashed the Nigerian government's revenue, forcing it to revise its 2015 budget forecast.
Africa's leading economy based on gross domestic product derives 70 percent of government revenue and 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings from crude sales.
Nigeria currently produces 1.75 million barrels of crude a day, according to OPEC, but imports most of its refined petroleum products, which the government subsidises to keep prices low.
A devaluation of the currency against the US dollar has also hiked the cost of imports, with a knock-on effect on the price of imported goods and services to consumers.
Peter Ozo-Eson, general-secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress workers' union, echoed calls for further reductions at the pump.
"If we consider all the variables in determining petrol prices, Nigerians are still being short-changed," he told AFP.
"The 10-naira drop is not enough. It should have been 30 percent or even more. If you check other oil-producing nations, you will notice that the drop is at least one-thirds."
AFP
Related story: Nigeria reduces fuel price
The main opposition accused the government of "tokenism" before the February 14 elections, after Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke announced 10-naira (five US cent, 4.5 euro cent) reduction on Sunday.
A litre of fuel at the pump in Africa's most populous nation and top oil producer now costs 87 naira.
But the opposition and unions said the price of petrol as well as diesel and kerosene should be slashed further.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) said in a statement on Monday that the new price of petrol was "mere tokenism at a time the price of crude oil has crashed by about 60 percent".
Party spokesman Lai Mohammed said the government should immediately cut the price of petrol to 70 naira a litre and diesel and kerosene to no more than 90 naira.
Mohammed charged that state corruption was to blame for the size of Sunday's reduction, saying the government was unwilling to reduce the price further as it would hit its so-called "commissions".
The plunge in crude prices to below $50 a barrel has slashed the Nigerian government's revenue, forcing it to revise its 2015 budget forecast.
Africa's leading economy based on gross domestic product derives 70 percent of government revenue and 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings from crude sales.
Nigeria currently produces 1.75 million barrels of crude a day, according to OPEC, but imports most of its refined petroleum products, which the government subsidises to keep prices low.
A devaluation of the currency against the US dollar has also hiked the cost of imports, with a knock-on effect on the price of imported goods and services to consumers.
Peter Ozo-Eson, general-secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress workers' union, echoed calls for further reductions at the pump.
"If we consider all the variables in determining petrol prices, Nigerians are still being short-changed," he told AFP.
"The 10-naira drop is not enough. It should have been 30 percent or even more. If you check other oil-producing nations, you will notice that the drop is at least one-thirds."
AFP
Related story: Nigeria reduces fuel price
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Naira falls to a new record low
Nigeria’s naira weakened to a record low a day before the central bank decides on interest and exchange rates and as Morgan Stanley and Renaissance Capital forecast further declines for the currency battered by low oil prices.
The naira fell 3 percent, the most in a week, to 190.45 against the dollar before paring losses to trade at 190.30 as of 12:03 p.m. in Lagos. It will probably drop to 220 by the end of 2015, according to Yvonne Mhango, a sub-Saharan Africa economist for Renaissance Capital.
“We see no respite over the short term,” Johannesburg-based Mhango said in a note to clients. The reversal of inflows and low foreign-exchange reserves imply “a sizable naira depreciation is coming,” she said.
Policy makers in Nigeria, which relies on crude for 90 percent of export earnings and 70 percent of revenue, have reacted to oil prices more than halving since June with spending cuts and an increase in interest rates to a record 13 percent. The naira has still depreciated 13 percent in the past three months, the most among 24 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
The currency may weaken beyond 200 per dollar in the interbank market this year, while the central bank may devalue the official rate in auctions by 5 percent to 10 percent, Johannesburg-based Morgan Stanley analysts Michael Kafe and Andrea Masia said in an e-mailed note.
The central bank will keep rates at 13 percent, according to nine out of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Morgan Stanley and Renaissance Capital predict a 100 basis points increase to 14 percent, while HSBC Plc estimates rates will rise to 13.5 percent.
Bloomberg
Related story: Naira falls to record low
The naira fell 3 percent, the most in a week, to 190.45 against the dollar before paring losses to trade at 190.30 as of 12:03 p.m. in Lagos. It will probably drop to 220 by the end of 2015, according to Yvonne Mhango, a sub-Saharan Africa economist for Renaissance Capital.
“We see no respite over the short term,” Johannesburg-based Mhango said in a note to clients. The reversal of inflows and low foreign-exchange reserves imply “a sizable naira depreciation is coming,” she said.
Policy makers in Nigeria, which relies on crude for 90 percent of export earnings and 70 percent of revenue, have reacted to oil prices more than halving since June with spending cuts and an increase in interest rates to a record 13 percent. The naira has still depreciated 13 percent in the past three months, the most among 24 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
The currency may weaken beyond 200 per dollar in the interbank market this year, while the central bank may devalue the official rate in auctions by 5 percent to 10 percent, Johannesburg-based Morgan Stanley analysts Michael Kafe and Andrea Masia said in an e-mailed note.
The central bank will keep rates at 13 percent, according to nine out of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Morgan Stanley and Renaissance Capital predict a 100 basis points increase to 14 percent, while HSBC Plc estimates rates will rise to 13.5 percent.
Bloomberg
Related story: Naira falls to record low
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