Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Video - Fishermen in Nigeria losing livelihood
For generations, fishing and river transportation have been the key economic drivers of the central Nigerian town of Lokoja.
But those sources of income are drying up fast.
Video - Nigeria to invest $25 million in development
Authorities in Nigeria are working towards decongesting major cities by completing half-built roads and bridges. But this has done little to ease the manic in the short term. Most commuters in Lagos have to leave their homes at the crack of dawn in order to get to work on time.
Nigeria bans use of its credit cards overseas
Nigeria's central bank has ordered commercial banks to stop customers from using their debit and credit cards abroad, a source has told the BBC.
One bank has emailed customers to this effect, stressing it is a "temporary measure".
Access to foreign online retailers will also be affected when the ban takes effect on 1 January 2016.
It is part of the government's effort to try to stem the flow of foreign exchange out of the country.
The unofficial value of the Nigerian currency, the naira, has plunged because of the fall in the oil price - its main export.
Africa's largest economy has spent billions of dollars propping up the currency since it fixed the exchange rate in February and tightened trading rules to curb speculation.
It is not clear how many people will be affected by the latest measure but the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja, says wealthy Nigerians travel abroad regularly and use their local cards for shopping and other transactions.
Some top-end shops in London have signs in Hausa to cater for the large number of Nigerian customers.
One of the banks, Standard Chartered, has emailed its customers notifying them of the ban.
n June, the central bank banned businesses from accessing hard currency to import about 40 items.
The list included Indian incense, plastic and rubber products, soap and even private jets.
The amount that Nigerians could spend on credit cards abroad has already been reduced by the banks.
BBC
One bank has emailed customers to this effect, stressing it is a "temporary measure".
Access to foreign online retailers will also be affected when the ban takes effect on 1 January 2016.
It is part of the government's effort to try to stem the flow of foreign exchange out of the country.
The unofficial value of the Nigerian currency, the naira, has plunged because of the fall in the oil price - its main export.
Africa's largest economy has spent billions of dollars propping up the currency since it fixed the exchange rate in February and tightened trading rules to curb speculation.
It is not clear how many people will be affected by the latest measure but the BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja, says wealthy Nigerians travel abroad regularly and use their local cards for shopping and other transactions.
Some top-end shops in London have signs in Hausa to cater for the large number of Nigerian customers.
One of the banks, Standard Chartered, has emailed its customers notifying them of the ban.
n June, the central bank banned businesses from accessing hard currency to import about 40 items.
The list included Indian incense, plastic and rubber products, soap and even private jets.
The amount that Nigerians could spend on credit cards abroad has already been reduced by the banks.
BBC
Nigeria to review mining licences
Nigeria will review all its mining licences as its wants to overhaul a largely unproductive sector dominated by artisan miners, the mining ministry said on Monday.
The West African nation wants to lower dependency on oil production as crude prices tumble and boost output of solid minerals that contribute only 0.34 percent to GDP, according to official data.
Africa's largest economy has some gold and iron deposits but little seismic data exists as the government has focused on oil exploration in the past decades.
To make a sector 80 percent dominated by artisan miners more efficient, mining minister Kayode Fayemi said all licences would be reviewed by March 1, according to a statement.
"We will work with stakeholders to review existing licenses and bring them up to date where there are issues," he said in the statement, his first policy comments since taking office last month. "The period from today to 1st March 2016 should be considered an amnesty period to allow regularisation of papers."
He said Nigeria had 44 known minerals including gold, iron ore, bitumen, zinc, tin and coal but authorities needed to get better data before deciding on a policy focus.
Nigeria has attracted few foreign investors to the mining sector due to a lack of roads, corruption and weak regulation.
Reuters
The West African nation wants to lower dependency on oil production as crude prices tumble and boost output of solid minerals that contribute only 0.34 percent to GDP, according to official data.
Africa's largest economy has some gold and iron deposits but little seismic data exists as the government has focused on oil exploration in the past decades.
To make a sector 80 percent dominated by artisan miners more efficient, mining minister Kayode Fayemi said all licences would be reviewed by March 1, according to a statement.
"We will work with stakeholders to review existing licenses and bring them up to date where there are issues," he said in the statement, his first policy comments since taking office last month. "The period from today to 1st March 2016 should be considered an amnesty period to allow regularisation of papers."
He said Nigeria had 44 known minerals including gold, iron ore, bitumen, zinc, tin and coal but authorities needed to get better data before deciding on a policy focus.
Nigeria has attracted few foreign investors to the mining sector due to a lack of roads, corruption and weak regulation.
Reuters
Friday, December 18, 2015
Video - Shi'ite muslims in Nigeria claim military attacked due to protest
Nigerian activists are accusing the government of massacring hundreds of Shia Muslims in Zaria, a city in Nigeria's north, over the course of three days from Sunday through Tuesday. The alleged catalyst was a Saturday protest by the radical Shia group Islamic Movement. It devolved into conflict after a Nigerian general's car was hit by a projectile. The Nigerian government interpreted this as an assassination attempt and launched an offensive targeting the group.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)