Thursday, October 29, 2015
Video - Nigeria Golden Eaglets beat Australia 6-0 in FIFA U-17 World Cup
The Nigerian Golden Eaglets beat their counterpart from Australia 6 0 thereby advancing to the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 quarter-finals.
They are to play Brazil who edged past New Zealand by one goal in Vina Del Mar.
The match which will be played on Sunday will be a battle between world’s number one in the U-17 category which is Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets and Brazil the number two.
Reigning FIFA U-17 World Cup champions Nigeria advanced to a quarter-final meeting against Brazil on the back of a hat-trick from the impressive Victor Osimhen, ending Australia’s run with a one-sided 6-0 victory in Vina Del Mar.
The tale of the first half was compacted into a three-minute period as Nigeria scored twice sandwiched either side of a gilt-edged opening for Australia.
It was 2-0 at the interval, and the game was still a contest until the final 17 minutes before Nigeria ran riot against an Australian side looking flat after surviving the ‘group of death’.
The Aussies started in pro-active fashion, but it was Funsho Ibrahim Bamgboye who hit the post with a rasping shot from the edge of the penalty area as Nigeria’s first effort narrowly failed to break the deadlock.
That moment came on 22 minutes as Osimhen showed just why he is the tournament’s leading goalscorer by bursting forward with pace and power on the left, before turning his defender and sliding the ball impressively inside the far post.
Australia could have drawn level immediately with Cameron Joice seeing his shot saved, while Lucas Derrick pushed the follow-up wide as a golden opportunity was spurned.
Almost immediately Nigeria were two in front as Funsho Bambgboye went to ground in the penalty area, and Kelechi Nwakali coolly slotted home the resultant penalty.
The two goals seemed to inspire the Nigerians who took a greater hold as the half wore on creating several half-openings around the Aussie goal.
Nigeria continued their powerful performance after the break, and although Australia dominated possession for periods, it was the Africans who ended the contest with a third.
Osimhen scored twice in the space of six minutes, the second with another laser-perfect drive into the top corner.
The deflated Aussies conceded to more goals in the dying minutes as firstly substitute Edidiong Michael Essien, and then Samuel Chukwueze, inflicted further pain as Nigeria stormed into the last-eight in confident fashion.
Vanguard
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Video - Electricity tariff in Nigeria increases by 40%
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has implemented the first phase of a multi-year tariff increase system by enforcing a 40% rise in the cost of using the state utility. Nigeria's power grid currently supplies just over 4800 Megawatts of electricity to an estimated population of 177 million people.
Nigerian military rescues 338 civilians captured by Boko Haram
Nigerian troops have rescued 338 people, mainly women and children, held by the Islamist group Boko Haram in their Sambisa forest stronghold in the country's north-east.
The soldiers killed 30 suspected jihadists and seized a cache of arms and ammunition, the military said, adding that 138 women and 192 children were among the survivors.
It is unclear whether any of the hostages rescued were part of the group of 276 schoolgirls kidnapped in Chibok last April.
Elsewhere in Nigeria, troops ambushed and killed four suspected Boko Haram operatives on a suicide bombing mission in the eastern state of Adamawa. The soldiers recovered two AK-47 rifles, mortar bombs, and other “unexploded ordinances”.
Nigerian army public relations director, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman told AllAfrica.com that "the successful clearance operations and ambushing of the terrorists has further degraded them and saved the lives of so many innocent victims of their suicide bombings".
The colonel also noted that the raid coincided with the Nigerian army chief Tukur Buratai’s visit to the armed forces’ Mubi headquarters.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power in May on a pledge to crush Boko Haram, has given his military commanders until the end of December to defeat the group, whose insurgency has killed at least 17,000 people and forced more than 2.5 million to flee their homes since 2009.
The Telegraph
The soldiers killed 30 suspected jihadists and seized a cache of arms and ammunition, the military said, adding that 138 women and 192 children were among the survivors.
It is unclear whether any of the hostages rescued were part of the group of 276 schoolgirls kidnapped in Chibok last April.
Elsewhere in Nigeria, troops ambushed and killed four suspected Boko Haram operatives on a suicide bombing mission in the eastern state of Adamawa. The soldiers recovered two AK-47 rifles, mortar bombs, and other “unexploded ordinances”.
Nigerian army public relations director, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman told AllAfrica.com that "the successful clearance operations and ambushing of the terrorists has further degraded them and saved the lives of so many innocent victims of their suicide bombings".
The colonel also noted that the raid coincided with the Nigerian army chief Tukur Buratai’s visit to the armed forces’ Mubi headquarters.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power in May on a pledge to crush Boko Haram, has given his military commanders until the end of December to defeat the group, whose insurgency has killed at least 17,000 people and forced more than 2.5 million to flee their homes since 2009.
The Telegraph
Nigeria fines South Africa phone company $5.2bn
Nigeria has imposed a record $5.2bn fine on a South African mobile phone company for failing to register users, raising concerns that regulations are being tightened to compensate for a budget shortfall.
The unprecedented fine has already caused a 16% drop in the share price of MTN, Africa’s largest mobile phone company, and threatens the firm’s future in Nigeria, its biggest and most profitable market.
There are fears that the fine, which came on the same day that regulators acted against another South African company, could deter foreign businesses from investing in Nigeria.
Nigerian regulators accused MTN of failing to deactivate unregistered sim cards in a timely manner, and argue that the fine is designed “to ensure that the wilful non-compliance ceases”.
Unregistered sim cards are seen as a major security threat by the Nigerian government, which is concerned that anonymous numbers facilitate terrorism and crime.
Yet the size of the fine, which works out to more than $1,000 for each of the 5.1 million unregistered cards, is seen as excessive. Last year Nigeria’s parliament recommended that Shell pay a $3.96bn fine for a major oil spill at its offshore Bonga oilfield that caused long-lasting environmental damage.
Analysts suggest that the fine could be a form of income generation for the government, which is struggling after the sharp decline in oil prices. If collected, the fine would represent nearly a quarter of the government’s $22.6bn annual budget for 2015.
“Nigeria’s fiscus is in serious trouble. Whatever way the Nigerian state can recoup lost revenues from oil, then so be it,” said Martyn Davies of market consultants Deloitte-Frontier Advisory. Davies warned that the government’s budget shortfall would make life more difficult for foreign companies already in Nigeria, and discourage others from investing. Already, he said, foreign companies are finding it harder to take money out of the country as regulators interpret the rules more strictly.
The fine has come as a shock to MTN’s shareholders, who know that Nigeria is the company’s largest and most profitable market. Significantly, the company’s Nigerian operating licence is up for renewal next year and there are fears that run-ins with the regulator could threaten this renewal.
MTN’s share price on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange has collapsed since the fine was imposed, with the company losing 16% of its value in just two days of trading. The company is also being investigated by the stock exchange over accusations that it failed to officially alert shareholders to the fine for more than seven hours after it first became public.
Beyond a public statement confirming the fine, MTN has not commented beyond saying that it hopes to reach a lower settlement. Failing that, analysts expect lengthy court proceedings or a dramatic exit from Nigeria.
“The fee is also totally unreasonable and if it did stick, I can’t see how MTN can remain in business. The average revenue per user is around $5 in Nigeria, but they were fined just over $1,000 per unregistered user,” said Stuart Lowman, business reporter for South African site biznews.com.
The fine came on the same day that another South African company got on the wrong side of Nigerian regulators. Stanbic IBTC, the Nigerian subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank, was ordered to withdraw and restate its 2013 and 2014 financial statements amid suspicion of “accounting irregularities and poor disclosures”. Stanbic denies any wrongdoing, but four directors – including the current chairman and CEO – have been suspended until the matter is resolved.
The problems encountered by two of South Africa’s most prominent companies in Nigeria has caused concern. “Both MTN and Standard Bank’s Nigerian operations were hammered on the same day, which may look like an SA-focussed clampdown,” said Lowman.
The two countries are fierce economic rivals, with Nigeria overtaking South Africa to become the largest economy on the continent last year. Yet South African companies are still far better represented in Nigeria than the reverse, which creates its own tensions.
“The perception of South African companies in Nigeria is not good, despite the good practices of many South African companies. The general state of relations is not positive, and this certainly can’t be helping things,” said Davies.
The Guardian
The unprecedented fine has already caused a 16% drop in the share price of MTN, Africa’s largest mobile phone company, and threatens the firm’s future in Nigeria, its biggest and most profitable market.
There are fears that the fine, which came on the same day that regulators acted against another South African company, could deter foreign businesses from investing in Nigeria.
Nigerian regulators accused MTN of failing to deactivate unregistered sim cards in a timely manner, and argue that the fine is designed “to ensure that the wilful non-compliance ceases”.
Unregistered sim cards are seen as a major security threat by the Nigerian government, which is concerned that anonymous numbers facilitate terrorism and crime.
Yet the size of the fine, which works out to more than $1,000 for each of the 5.1 million unregistered cards, is seen as excessive. Last year Nigeria’s parliament recommended that Shell pay a $3.96bn fine for a major oil spill at its offshore Bonga oilfield that caused long-lasting environmental damage.
Analysts suggest that the fine could be a form of income generation for the government, which is struggling after the sharp decline in oil prices. If collected, the fine would represent nearly a quarter of the government’s $22.6bn annual budget for 2015.
“Nigeria’s fiscus is in serious trouble. Whatever way the Nigerian state can recoup lost revenues from oil, then so be it,” said Martyn Davies of market consultants Deloitte-Frontier Advisory. Davies warned that the government’s budget shortfall would make life more difficult for foreign companies already in Nigeria, and discourage others from investing. Already, he said, foreign companies are finding it harder to take money out of the country as regulators interpret the rules more strictly.
The fine has come as a shock to MTN’s shareholders, who know that Nigeria is the company’s largest and most profitable market. Significantly, the company’s Nigerian operating licence is up for renewal next year and there are fears that run-ins with the regulator could threaten this renewal.
MTN’s share price on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange has collapsed since the fine was imposed, with the company losing 16% of its value in just two days of trading. The company is also being investigated by the stock exchange over accusations that it failed to officially alert shareholders to the fine for more than seven hours after it first became public.
Beyond a public statement confirming the fine, MTN has not commented beyond saying that it hopes to reach a lower settlement. Failing that, analysts expect lengthy court proceedings or a dramatic exit from Nigeria.
“The fee is also totally unreasonable and if it did stick, I can’t see how MTN can remain in business. The average revenue per user is around $5 in Nigeria, but they were fined just over $1,000 per unregistered user,” said Stuart Lowman, business reporter for South African site biznews.com.
The fine came on the same day that another South African company got on the wrong side of Nigerian regulators. Stanbic IBTC, the Nigerian subsidiary of South Africa’s Standard Bank, was ordered to withdraw and restate its 2013 and 2014 financial statements amid suspicion of “accounting irregularities and poor disclosures”. Stanbic denies any wrongdoing, but four directors – including the current chairman and CEO – have been suspended until the matter is resolved.
The problems encountered by two of South Africa’s most prominent companies in Nigeria has caused concern. “Both MTN and Standard Bank’s Nigerian operations were hammered on the same day, which may look like an SA-focussed clampdown,” said Lowman.
The two countries are fierce economic rivals, with Nigeria overtaking South Africa to become the largest economy on the continent last year. Yet South African companies are still far better represented in Nigeria than the reverse, which creates its own tensions.
“The perception of South African companies in Nigeria is not good, despite the good practices of many South African companies. The general state of relations is not positive, and this certainly can’t be helping things,” said Davies.
The Guardian
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Video - Boko Haram tunnels discovered in Borno State
Nigeria's military says it has uncovered tunnel hideouts used by militant group Boko Haram. From Abuja, CCTV's Kelechi Emekalam has the update.
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