Nigerian troops have arrested a suspected financier of the extremist sect, Boko Haram, the army said Tuesday.
Mohammed Maina, who sells and supplies stimulants used by the insurgents, was arrested in Bama, Bama Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State, the army said.
“The suspect a native of Ngurosoye came from Shuari village in Bama LGA, he was arrested with the sum of One Million Naira cash and some items,” the army said in a statement by its spokesperson, Sani Usman, a colonel.
“Investigation revealed that Mohammed supplies them Kolanuts and other items especially stimulants. He further revealed that kolanuts is in high demand among the terrorists as it keeps them active at night.
“It is apparent also that he plies Maiduguri-Dikwa-Kulli axis where he gathers monetary and other materials contributions from Boko Haram sympathizers along that axis and send same to the terrorists camps,” the statement said.
Separately, the army said troops of 112 Battalion and Special Forces in Mafa and Dikwa raided a Boko Haram camp at Bulungwa Naibe in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State on Monday.
“During the operation, quite a number of the Boko Haram terrorists were killed and the following items were recovered; 1 Buffalo vehicle mounted with an Anti-Aircraft Gun, a Rocket Propelled Grenade, 2 Machine Guns and 1 Sub-machine Gun. Others include 5 AK-47 rifles, 1 Fabrique Nationale rifle and 2 Sewing Machines used for sewing uniforms by the terrorists,” the statement said.
Premium Times
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari releases 21 ministerial nominees
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari nominated four former state governors and the current head of the national oil company as ministers in his administration, according to a list presented to lawmakers in the capital, Abuja.
Senate President Bukola Saraki read aloud the 21 names who make up the first group of ministerial nominees proposed by Buhari, though the list, given to Saraki by the presidency last week, didn’t say which ministries the nominees are intended to head.
Among those nominated were Rotimi Amaechi, 50, who governed oil-producing Rivers state from 2007 until 2015 when his second term expired. A one-time ally of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Amaechi left the then-ruling People’s Democratic Party in 2013 to join the All Progressive Congress, which was in opposition at the time. He was a key member of Buhari’s campaign team, and last month traveled with the president to the United Nations General Assembly.
“The APC has always been a coalition of loose interests, and now he is in power Buhari clearly recognizes that the stability of his government is contingent on satisfying those interest groups,” said Manji Cheto, vice-president at consultancy Teneo Intelligence, speaking by phone from London. “Investors will by and large hold back on judgment given that some of the names are not well known. It isn’t a complete list, there will be a second round.”
Senate Screening
Buhari, 72, has drawn criticism from opposition figures and some analysts for moving slowly to name his cabinet following his victory over Jonathan in a March election that ushered in the first democratic handover of power in Africa’s biggest oil producer. The Senate, which must approve the nominees, will begin its screening process on Oct. 13, Saraki said.
Babatunde Fashola, 52, one of the few nominees who are household names in Nigeria, was governor of Lagos state, home to the country’s commercial capital, between 2007 and 2015. A lawyer by training, he is seen as a technocratic politician credited with reducing crime, improving infrastructure and implementing improvements in tax collection that reduced Lagos’ dependence on federally allocated oil revenue.
Of the other two ex-governors, Chris Ngige of southern state Anambra, also defected from the PDP, and Kayode Fayemi, 50, was governor of Ekiti State in western Nigeria from 2010 until 2014, when he was unseated by the PDP candidate. A former director of Abuja-based political think-tank the Centre for Democracy and Development, Fayemi was a member of Buhari’s transitional committee set up between the presidential election and inauguration.
With government finances challenged by the halving of oil prices in the past year, Buhari hasn’t laid out his plan to revive Nigeria’s economy or appointed a finance minister. In his Independence Day address on Oct. 1, he called for patience and said he will do more to cut waste and fight corruption.
Central Control
Another nominee, Emmanuel Kachikwu, was in August appointed group managing director of state oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. A former executive vice-chairman of ExxonMobil Africa, he was put in place by Buhari to eliminate corruption at the NNPC. In September, he said Nigeria would review some contracts with oil companies for deep offshore oil production to seek more favorable terms.
“One of the biggest complaints people have had about how the NNPC is run is that it’s both operator and regulator, and if Kachikwu is given a role at the oil ministry, it will entrench that structure and go even further toward centralizing control of the oil industry,” Teneo’s Cheto said.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was oil minister under Jonathan, was arrested in the U.K. on suspicion of bribery and money laundering offenses, an official in the Nigerian presidency said on Oct. 5.
Also on Buhari’s list of nominees were Lai Mohammed, a spokesman for the APC, and Kemi Adeosun, who has worked as finance commissioner for southwestern state Ogun.
Bloomberg
Senate President Bukola Saraki read aloud the 21 names who make up the first group of ministerial nominees proposed by Buhari, though the list, given to Saraki by the presidency last week, didn’t say which ministries the nominees are intended to head.
Among those nominated were Rotimi Amaechi, 50, who governed oil-producing Rivers state from 2007 until 2015 when his second term expired. A one-time ally of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Amaechi left the then-ruling People’s Democratic Party in 2013 to join the All Progressive Congress, which was in opposition at the time. He was a key member of Buhari’s campaign team, and last month traveled with the president to the United Nations General Assembly.
“The APC has always been a coalition of loose interests, and now he is in power Buhari clearly recognizes that the stability of his government is contingent on satisfying those interest groups,” said Manji Cheto, vice-president at consultancy Teneo Intelligence, speaking by phone from London. “Investors will by and large hold back on judgment given that some of the names are not well known. It isn’t a complete list, there will be a second round.”
Senate Screening
Buhari, 72, has drawn criticism from opposition figures and some analysts for moving slowly to name his cabinet following his victory over Jonathan in a March election that ushered in the first democratic handover of power in Africa’s biggest oil producer. The Senate, which must approve the nominees, will begin its screening process on Oct. 13, Saraki said.
Babatunde Fashola, 52, one of the few nominees who are household names in Nigeria, was governor of Lagos state, home to the country’s commercial capital, between 2007 and 2015. A lawyer by training, he is seen as a technocratic politician credited with reducing crime, improving infrastructure and implementing improvements in tax collection that reduced Lagos’ dependence on federally allocated oil revenue.
Of the other two ex-governors, Chris Ngige of southern state Anambra, also defected from the PDP, and Kayode Fayemi, 50, was governor of Ekiti State in western Nigeria from 2010 until 2014, when he was unseated by the PDP candidate. A former director of Abuja-based political think-tank the Centre for Democracy and Development, Fayemi was a member of Buhari’s transitional committee set up between the presidential election and inauguration.
With government finances challenged by the halving of oil prices in the past year, Buhari hasn’t laid out his plan to revive Nigeria’s economy or appointed a finance minister. In his Independence Day address on Oct. 1, he called for patience and said he will do more to cut waste and fight corruption.
Central Control
Another nominee, Emmanuel Kachikwu, was in August appointed group managing director of state oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. A former executive vice-chairman of ExxonMobil Africa, he was put in place by Buhari to eliminate corruption at the NNPC. In September, he said Nigeria would review some contracts with oil companies for deep offshore oil production to seek more favorable terms.
“One of the biggest complaints people have had about how the NNPC is run is that it’s both operator and regulator, and if Kachikwu is given a role at the oil ministry, it will entrench that structure and go even further toward centralizing control of the oil industry,” Teneo’s Cheto said.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was oil minister under Jonathan, was arrested in the U.K. on suspicion of bribery and money laundering offenses, an official in the Nigerian presidency said on Oct. 5.
Also on Buhari’s list of nominees were Lai Mohammed, a spokesman for the APC, and Kemi Adeosun, who has worked as finance commissioner for southwestern state Ogun.
Bloomberg
Monday, October 5, 2015
Video - Scores dead in bomb blast in Nigeria
A series of explosions on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital Abuja have killed at least 18 people, officials say.
The first two struck Kuje township: one by a suicide bomber near a police station, the other a bomb at a market.
Another bomb exploded at a bus stop in Nyanya.
No group has said it carried out the attacks yet but suspicion has fallen on Boko Haram Islamists, who targeted Nyanya last year.
The militants, who are fighting to carve out an Islamist state, has mostly focused their campaign on the north-east.
More than 40 people were injured in the blasts on Friday night, which security officials described as co-ordinated.
Explosives experts have been combing the scene for bomb fragments.
Police have also stepped up stop-and-search activities in Abuja following the blasts, AFP reported.
Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power vowing to eradicated Boko Haram, condemned the attack.
"My heart goes out to the families of the dead and injured in Abuja, and other parts of the country. Our will cannot be broken; evil will never triumph over good. We will be rid of this evil stalking our land," he tweeted.
Some 17,000 people are said to have been killed since Boko Haram began its insurgency in 2009.
This year, security forces have managed to reclaim most of the territory captured by Boko Haram fighters and freed a number of people kidnapped but militant attacks have intensified.
Video - Nigeria housing gap widens
A large portion of 170 M Nigerians cannot find decent, affordable housing. That chronic housing problem has left more than half of the country's population living in sprawling slums, and that's a problem the state has confronted with little success. Kelechi Emekalam, explains why.
Video - Nigeria's housing scarcity issue
Video - Housing shortage in Nigeria
Nigeria former oil minister Alison-Madueke arrested
“The government is aware of the arrest and is cooperating with the investigators in the U.K.,” Garba Shehu, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, said Monday by phone from the capital, Abuja.
Alison-Madueke, a former president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, served as Nigerian oil minister for five years until her party lost elections in March.
Five people were released on bail on Friday, the U.K.’s National Crime Agency said on its website, without identifying them. A spokeswoman at the agency declined on Monday to comment further. Calls to Alison-Madueke didn’t go through because her mobile phone was switched off.
Reuters reported the arrest earlier citing unidentified people.
Bloomberg
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