A severe fuel crisis has hit Nigeria with long queues of angry motorists waiting for hours outside petrol stations in major cities to fill up.
Importers are accused of withholding petrol because of a payment dispute with the government, which they deny.
This is the biggest fuel shortage in Nigeria since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May.
Nigeria is Africa's main oil exporter but imports most of its petrol because it lacks the capacity to refine it.
The fuel is imported at a subsidised price under a scheme operated by the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Earlier this month, the government approved the payment of $2.1bn (£1.4bn) to the importers, or wholesale fuel sellers, to settle subsidy claims.
However, payment has been delayed because parliament has not yet approved it.
The BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja, says previous governments tended to pay the wholesale fuel sellers without parliamentary approval.
But it seems that President Buhari is trying to stick to the law by refusing to release such a large sum of money without parliamentary scrutiny, he says.
Mr Buhari took office partly on a pledge to curb corruption in the oil sector.
'Huge scam'
One motorist in the main northern city, Kano, told the BBC Hausa Service that he spent the night in his car while waiting in a queue to fill petrol.
"I have been here for more than 12 hours and I don't know if I will get the fuel at all," he said.
Another motorist said he was in the queue for about eight hours and "only people with connections were being allowed to buy the fuel".
The fuel subsidy scheme has become an enormous scam, our correspondent says.
The wholesalers often pretend to bring in a lot more oil than they do and pocket the money they get for the petrol that is not delivered, he says.
In May, the country was brought to a standstill when the importers went on strike following a row over payments with the outgoing government of President Goodluck Jonathan.
BBC
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Nigerian officials loot $2 billion dollar anti-terrorism fund
Thousands of Nigerians have died needlessly in terrorist attacks as officials looted more than $2-billion (U.S.) in funds intended for weapons to fight the insurgents, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari says.
In a statement late on Tuesday night, Mr. Buhari revealed details of “fictitious and phantom” military contracts of stunning scale and cynicism – including $1.7-billion allocated for four jets, 12 helicopters and unspecified amounts of bombs and ammunition. The equipment was never provided and the money disappeared, he said.
The stolen money has made it easier for Boko Haram to kill thousands of people while the Nigerian military lacked the weaponry to defeat it, the statement said.
Mr. Buhari ordered the arrest of all officials “complicit” in the “fraudulent acts,” including the former National Security Advisor, retired lieutenant-colonel Sambo Dasuki.
Boko Haram, a radical Islamist militia in northeastern Nigeria that has sworn allegiance to the so-called Islamic State movement, has now overtaken Islamic State to become the world’s deadliest terrorist organization, according to a new report.
The report by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a global think tank, said Boko Haram was responsible for 6,644 deaths last year, while Islamic State killed 6,073 people last year.
Nigerians have long complained of massive corruption in the Nigerian military and security agencies, and soldiers have often said that they lacked the equipment to fight Boko Haram, but the new investigation is the first to give details and name the alleged mastermind of the looting.
Mr. Buhari, who took office in May after defeating former president Goodluck Jonathan in an election, appointed a 13-person committee to audit Nigeria’s military spending over the past eight years. The committee began work on Aug. 31, but its interim report has already found “illicit and fraudulent financial transactions.”
The statement on Tuesday night said the Nigerian military was in “desperate need” of equipment and ammunition when the funds were stolen.
“Had the funds siphoned to these non-performing companies been properly used for the purpose they were meant for, thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been avoided,” said the statement, issued by Mr. Buhari’s spokesman, Femi Adesina, and later tweeted on Mr. Buhari’s official Twitter account.
“It is worrisome and disappointing that those entrusted with the security of this great nation were busy using proxies to siphon the national treasury, while innocent lives were wasted daily,” the statement said.
In addition to the phantom contracts for jets and helicopters, Mr. Dasuki ordered Nigeria’s central bank to transfer more than $130-million to foreign bank accounts “for unascertained purposes, without any contract documents to explain the transactions,” the statement said.
It said it was “disturbing” that the investigation also discovered that other contracts were awarded to companies that had consistently failed to deliver what they were required to supply in previous contracts.
Mr. Dasuki denied the allegations. Speaking to Nigerian media on Wednesday, he said he was “surprised” and “embarrassed” by the allegations.
Mr. Dasuki, one of the most powerful officials in the former Goodluck Jonathan government, has been under house arrest for the past week on accusations of money laundering and illegal arms possession.
The Globe and Mail
In a statement late on Tuesday night, Mr. Buhari revealed details of “fictitious and phantom” military contracts of stunning scale and cynicism – including $1.7-billion allocated for four jets, 12 helicopters and unspecified amounts of bombs and ammunition. The equipment was never provided and the money disappeared, he said.
The stolen money has made it easier for Boko Haram to kill thousands of people while the Nigerian military lacked the weaponry to defeat it, the statement said.
Mr. Buhari ordered the arrest of all officials “complicit” in the “fraudulent acts,” including the former National Security Advisor, retired lieutenant-colonel Sambo Dasuki.
Boko Haram, a radical Islamist militia in northeastern Nigeria that has sworn allegiance to the so-called Islamic State movement, has now overtaken Islamic State to become the world’s deadliest terrorist organization, according to a new report.
The report by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a global think tank, said Boko Haram was responsible for 6,644 deaths last year, while Islamic State killed 6,073 people last year.
Nigerians have long complained of massive corruption in the Nigerian military and security agencies, and soldiers have often said that they lacked the equipment to fight Boko Haram, but the new investigation is the first to give details and name the alleged mastermind of the looting.
Mr. Buhari, who took office in May after defeating former president Goodluck Jonathan in an election, appointed a 13-person committee to audit Nigeria’s military spending over the past eight years. The committee began work on Aug. 31, but its interim report has already found “illicit and fraudulent financial transactions.”
The statement on Tuesday night said the Nigerian military was in “desperate need” of equipment and ammunition when the funds were stolen.
“Had the funds siphoned to these non-performing companies been properly used for the purpose they were meant for, thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been avoided,” said the statement, issued by Mr. Buhari’s spokesman, Femi Adesina, and later tweeted on Mr. Buhari’s official Twitter account.
“It is worrisome and disappointing that those entrusted with the security of this great nation were busy using proxies to siphon the national treasury, while innocent lives were wasted daily,” the statement said.
In addition to the phantom contracts for jets and helicopters, Mr. Dasuki ordered Nigeria’s central bank to transfer more than $130-million to foreign bank accounts “for unascertained purposes, without any contract documents to explain the transactions,” the statement said.
It said it was “disturbing” that the investigation also discovered that other contracts were awarded to companies that had consistently failed to deliver what they were required to supply in previous contracts.
Mr. Dasuki denied the allegations. Speaking to Nigerian media on Wednesday, he said he was “surprised” and “embarrassed” by the allegations.
Mr. Dasuki, one of the most powerful officials in the former Goodluck Jonathan government, has been under house arrest for the past week on accusations of money laundering and illegal arms possession.
The Globe and Mail
Video - 32 dead in market explosion in Nigeria
More than 30 people have been killed in a suicide attack at a market in the northern Nigerian city of Yola, officials say.
The blast, heard across the city, struck a busy vegetable market where traders were closing up on Tuesday.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari visited Yola on Saturday, declaring that the Islamist militant movement Boko Haram was close to defeat.
Yola has twice been hit by deadly bomb attacks this year.
The city lies in the north-eastern state of Adamawa, one of the worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency.
More than 80 people have been taken to hospital, some with serious injuries, emergency workers say.
BBC
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Former Super Eagle and current head coach of Nigeria's U-23 football team Samon Siasia's mother kidnapped
News emerging this morning reveals that the mother of current head coach of Nigeria’s U-23 football team, Samson Siasia has been kidnapped. According to reports, gunmen stormed the family residence of the Siasia’s in the early hours of Tuesday morning at Odoni community of Sagama Local Council Area of Bayelsa State and forcefully whisked away Siasia’s mother on a motorcycle.
Bayelsa State Police Command spokesperson, ASP Ansinim Butswat, has confirmed the incident saying that the matter has been reported, but details were still sketchy.
Speaking to the media on the incident, a distraught Siasia has expressed his confusion at the occurrence of the event. Siasia said: “Right now I am confused, from the story I got, three men on motorbike stormed my parents’ house in my village Odoni in Bayelsa State, shot sporadically into the air before taking my old mother away on a bike.
“What do they expect from me? I don’t have money, I am right now on national duty, and need all the time to concentrate on this very important national task. So, I beg them to please release my mother so that I can concentrate on this task of qualifying the U-23 National Team for the men’s football event of the Rio Olympics.”
In a statement released on the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) website, NFF president, Amaju Pinnick has appealed to the kidnappers to release the 72 year old mother of the coach. “This is quite disturbing. We are just preparing for a crucial 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, and the U-23 boys are already in The Gambia for a pre-Cup of Nationstraining camp. Why this?
“All we can do is to appeal to the kidnappers to free Samson Siasia’s aged mother. Samson is on a critical national assignment presently and the last he needs is this kind of distraction,” Said Pinnick. As at the time of this report, it was revealed that the kidnappers are yet to demand ransom from the family.
Vanguard
Bayelsa State Police Command spokesperson, ASP Ansinim Butswat, has confirmed the incident saying that the matter has been reported, but details were still sketchy.
Speaking to the media on the incident, a distraught Siasia has expressed his confusion at the occurrence of the event. Siasia said: “Right now I am confused, from the story I got, three men on motorbike stormed my parents’ house in my village Odoni in Bayelsa State, shot sporadically into the air before taking my old mother away on a bike.
“What do they expect from me? I don’t have money, I am right now on national duty, and need all the time to concentrate on this very important national task. So, I beg them to please release my mother so that I can concentrate on this task of qualifying the U-23 National Team for the men’s football event of the Rio Olympics.”
In a statement released on the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) website, NFF president, Amaju Pinnick has appealed to the kidnappers to release the 72 year old mother of the coach. “This is quite disturbing. We are just preparing for a crucial 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, and the U-23 boys are already in The Gambia for a pre-Cup of Nationstraining camp. Why this?
“All we can do is to appeal to the kidnappers to free Samson Siasia’s aged mother. Samson is on a critical national assignment presently and the last he needs is this kind of distraction,” Said Pinnick. As at the time of this report, it was revealed that the kidnappers are yet to demand ransom from the family.
Vanguard
Video - Nigeria Super Eagles make light fun of Obi Mikel during penalty kicks practice
The Super Eagles tried their legs at penalty kicks ahead of their second leg, second round 2018 World Cup qualifier against Swaziland in Port Harcourt. Players involved in the shootout were Obafemi Martins, Elderson Echiejile, Efe Ambrose, Sylvester Igbonu, Moses Simon and John Obi Mikel against goalkeepers Carl Ikeme and Ikechukwu Ezenwa.
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