Leaders of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have expressed commitment to a “stable oil market” and a “rebound of oil price.”
At a bilateral meeting between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia in Riyadh hosted by the ruler King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz, the two leaders accepted the fact that their two economies are tied to oil and that all cannot be well with both countries when the world oil market is unstable.
They therefore committed themselves to doing all that is possible to stabilize the market and rebound the oil price.
The two leaders did not expatiate on modalities they plan to adopt in raising oil price.
The two leaders, who engaged in extensive discussions on regional and global issues, also agreed that terrorism posed a common threat to their states and would require close cooperation to prevail over the threats.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who was making his first pronouncement on the invitation to join the coalition of Islamic states against terror spearheaded by the Saudis, congratulated the Kingdom on its formation.
“Even if we are not a part of it, we support you. I must thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the recent creation of a coalition to address the menace of international terrorism. Nigeria will support your efforts in keeping peace and stopping the spread of terror in your region. This is in consonance with our own commitment and on-going efforts in seeking to stamp out Boko Haram terrorists from the West African sub-region and Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC),” the President said.
Speaking on global terror generally, President Buhari said that “international terrorism made a statement by attacking one of the advanced countries by carrying out an attack on Paris in which 130 were killed. Now we have to come together to find a common solution to the problem of terrorism.”
He thanked the Saudi government for its continuing support to Nigeria in the fight against terrorism.
Turning to the menace that Libya has turned into, President Buhari regretted that the late Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi recruited, trained and armed citizens of many states in the Sahel region.
With his fall, these mercenaries have returned to their countries, “doing nothing but to shoot and kill.”
He cited Burkina Faso and Mali as the main victims but expressed happiness that the countries neighboring the Lake Chad have tightened their ranks to finish off the Boko Haram threat.
“Luckily, we have cultivated our neighbors. We are now working together against Boko Haram,otherwise the problem would have become worse.”
He and King Salman hoped that the Libyan factions will soon see reason to reunite and fully restore their own country so as to save the world from further terrorism spin-offs from that country.
The leaders also focused on trade between their states and agreed to give fresh impetus to the joint commission previously established in order to boost commercial and other activities to unify their peoples.
In his remarks, King Salman commended the progress made by Nigeria in combating terrorism and promised to give further support and assistance.
He welcomed the support of the Nigerian government for the new anti-terrorism coalition and implored the President to consider its full membership.
King Salman pledged his full support and cooperation to Nigeria under its present leadership and directed all agencies of his government to follow up on the discussions.
“I now instruct my team to go and sit down with your relevant agencies to push forward cooperation between our states,” the King said.
Premium Times
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
President Muhammadu Buhari to punish those responsible for altering 2016 Nigeria Budget
“The culprits will not go unpunished,” Buhari told an audience of Nigerians in Riyadh late Tuesday, according to a statement from his office. “Our Minister of Budget and National Planning did a great job with his team. The minister became almost half his size during the time, working night and day to get the budget ready, only for some people to pad it.”
Buhari has set out a record 6.1 trillion naira ($30.6 billion) budget this year to help revive an economy reeling from the impact of the low price of oil, which was the source of about two-thirds of government revenue in 2014. Groups, such as Lagos-based pro-transparency organization BudgIT, highlighted “suspicious and wasteful” allocations in the spending plan which have sparked public outrage.
The budget controversy began last month when lawmakers alleged that the original document presented by Buhari on Dec. 22 had been substituted. The president said in a Jan. 19 letter to lawmakers that the original document contained errors. The government was the first to detect initial errors in the budget and Buhari wrote to lawmakers to correct them and welcomed further criticisms, Garba Shehu, his spokesman, said on Feb. 11.
Buhari fired the director-general of the budget office, Yahaya Gusau, on Feb. 15, replacing him with former banker Tijjani Abdullahi. Nigeria’s Parliament is set to pass the budget no later than the second week of March, Abdulmumin Jibrin, chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriation, said last week in the capital, Abuja.
Bloomberg
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Video - Nigeria supports Russia and Saudi Arabia in freezing oil production
Nigeria has backed Saudi Arabia and Russia in freezing oil production while giving Iran and Iraq a way out to regain some of their lost market share due to sanctions and war. According to the Petroleum ministry, oil production will be 2.2 million barrels a day this month, unchanged from January. But production may increase in future to meet local demand. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar agreed last week to keep production at January levels, as long as others follow suit. This is in an effort to revive prices from a 12-year low. Iran's production has however slumped since international sanctions were imposed on its exports, and Iraq is seeking to rebuild following years of war and under-investment.
Barcelona to set up football academy in Nigeria
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Monday welcomed the decision of Barcelona FC of Spain to establish its first football academy in Africa in the state.
Mr. Ambode, who spoke at the Lagos House, Alausa, while receiving the senior management staff of the football club, said he was delighted with the development.
He said it was in synchrony with his administration’s philosophy for sports development.
Mr. Ambode also pledged maximum support of the government in ensuring the successful take-off of the project.
He described the development as a historic moment for the state, saying it was indeed a thing of joy coming at a time when the government was still basking in the euphoria of the successful hosting of an international marathon.
Mr. Ambode said the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon was a major pointer to how Lagos could actualise its dream of improving the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the state using sports as a major instrument.
“This visit by FC Barcelona is coming at a point where I believe strongly that we have nothing else to say than to say we are committed to this partnership because we know it will give us the first FCBEscola in Africa.
“I was made to understand that this is the first of its kind in Africa and so, Lagos is priding itself as a major receptor of the next academy to be established in Africa,’’ he said.
The governor, who restated the importance of sports to integration and development, said sports were the future of service to create a platform for youth employment and youth engagement in Lagos.
Mr. Ambode also pledged the full support of the government to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in hosting the first ever Beach Soccer African Nations Cup in Lagos between Dec. 10 and 23, 2016.
Earlier, Pau Vilanovai Vila-Abadal, Director of Business and Member of FC Barcelona Management Board, who led the team, thanked Mr. Ambode for the support given to them so far in actualising the project.
He said FC Barcelona decided to establish its Academy in Lagos due to the impressive population of the state, and the opportunity to share the philosophy of the team with the state.
On his part, Oscar Grau, Worldwide Director of Barcelona Academy, said it was indeed a big honour for the club to establish its academy in Lagos as many of the big names in the team started from such academy.
He said players like Messi, Iniesta, Sergio Busquet, Pique, among others, all started from such an academy.
The club has a unique methodology of instilling great virtues in footballers apart from football skills and education.
He added that through the academy the club also aimed to raise excellent players for Nigeria and that the core values of the club included efforts, team work, humility and respect.
Also speaking, NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, congratulated Mr. Ambode over the hosting of the Lagos International Marathon, saying it was one of the most successful tournaments in the world.
He pledged the support of the federation to ensure the success of the academy, especially in terms of facilitating the necessary approvals needed for expeditious take off of the project.
He added that Lagos, under Mr. Ambode and his predecessors, had always been a major destination for sports.
Mr. Pinnick said that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had just approved the hosting of the first ever Beach Soccer African Nations Cup in Lagos in December.
“The tournament is a major qualifier for the World Cup and eight best beach soccer teams in Africa will converge on Lagos for the tournament,’’ Pinnick said.
Premium Times
Mr. Ambode, who spoke at the Lagos House, Alausa, while receiving the senior management staff of the football club, said he was delighted with the development.
He said it was in synchrony with his administration’s philosophy for sports development.
Mr. Ambode also pledged maximum support of the government in ensuring the successful take-off of the project.
He described the development as a historic moment for the state, saying it was indeed a thing of joy coming at a time when the government was still basking in the euphoria of the successful hosting of an international marathon.
Mr. Ambode said the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon was a major pointer to how Lagos could actualise its dream of improving the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the state using sports as a major instrument.
“This visit by FC Barcelona is coming at a point where I believe strongly that we have nothing else to say than to say we are committed to this partnership because we know it will give us the first FCBEscola in Africa.
“I was made to understand that this is the first of its kind in Africa and so, Lagos is priding itself as a major receptor of the next academy to be established in Africa,’’ he said.
The governor, who restated the importance of sports to integration and development, said sports were the future of service to create a platform for youth employment and youth engagement in Lagos.
Mr. Ambode also pledged the full support of the government to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in hosting the first ever Beach Soccer African Nations Cup in Lagos between Dec. 10 and 23, 2016.
Earlier, Pau Vilanovai Vila-Abadal, Director of Business and Member of FC Barcelona Management Board, who led the team, thanked Mr. Ambode for the support given to them so far in actualising the project.
He said FC Barcelona decided to establish its Academy in Lagos due to the impressive population of the state, and the opportunity to share the philosophy of the team with the state.
On his part, Oscar Grau, Worldwide Director of Barcelona Academy, said it was indeed a big honour for the club to establish its academy in Lagos as many of the big names in the team started from such academy.
He said players like Messi, Iniesta, Sergio Busquet, Pique, among others, all started from such an academy.
The club has a unique methodology of instilling great virtues in footballers apart from football skills and education.
He added that through the academy the club also aimed to raise excellent players for Nigeria and that the core values of the club included efforts, team work, humility and respect.
Also speaking, NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, congratulated Mr. Ambode over the hosting of the Lagos International Marathon, saying it was one of the most successful tournaments in the world.
He pledged the support of the federation to ensure the success of the academy, especially in terms of facilitating the necessary approvals needed for expeditious take off of the project.
He added that Lagos, under Mr. Ambode and his predecessors, had always been a major destination for sports.
Mr. Pinnick said that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had just approved the hosting of the first ever Beach Soccer African Nations Cup in Lagos in December.
“The tournament is a major qualifier for the World Cup and eight best beach soccer teams in Africa will converge on Lagos for the tournament,’’ Pinnick said.
Premium Times
Nigeria to train unemployed youths of Niger Delta
Nigeria plans to train as many as 10,000 youths a year for skilled work in the Delta region to try to stop them attacking and stealing oil from pipelines, the minister for the Niger Delta, Usani Uguru Usani, said on Monday.
Attacks on oil and gas facilities have become more frequent since authorities issued an arrest warrant for a popular former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo - Tompolo - who had led gangs of "boys" fighting for a bigger share of oil revenues.
To help address those grievances, the government plans to build nine vocational centers, Usani told Reuters.
"Between 5,000 and 10,000 will be trained yearly," he said.
The first centers would train young people in leather goods manufacturing, mobile phone assembly and e-commerce. Some would also find work at a new processing plant for cassava, part of the government's plan to boost the agricultural sector, he said.
He gave no launch date for the centers.
Buhari was elected in 2015 on an anti-corruption ticket and promised to end Nigeria's dependency on oil by attracting investment for sectors such as farming and infrastructure.
But slumping oil prices have forced him to seek loans from the World Bank, China and international capital markets to meet those promises.
He has also extended a 2009 amnesty, brought in by his predecessor, under which some 30,000 former militants were to be retrained. Widespread corruption saw the funds disappearing or ending up as cash benefits for the "boys", critics say.
Usani said authorities were doing their best to boost security in the Delta but that the task was difficult because the swampy terrain meant that the pipelines were hard to access.
"The terrain on which the (oil) flows are running is challenging and may not always be attack proof," he said. "(But) ... effective action has been taken."
He also told Reuters that the government was planning to build roads and hospitals in the Delta, where previous projects have not made it beyond the drawing board, but he said the scope was unclear due to uncertainty over the budget.
Buhari was forced to withdraw his 2016 draft budget because ministers could not agree on revised public spending plans.
Reuters
Attacks on oil and gas facilities have become more frequent since authorities issued an arrest warrant for a popular former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo - Tompolo - who had led gangs of "boys" fighting for a bigger share of oil revenues.
To help address those grievances, the government plans to build nine vocational centers, Usani told Reuters.
"Between 5,000 and 10,000 will be trained yearly," he said.
The first centers would train young people in leather goods manufacturing, mobile phone assembly and e-commerce. Some would also find work at a new processing plant for cassava, part of the government's plan to boost the agricultural sector, he said.
He gave no launch date for the centers.
Buhari was elected in 2015 on an anti-corruption ticket and promised to end Nigeria's dependency on oil by attracting investment for sectors such as farming and infrastructure.
But slumping oil prices have forced him to seek loans from the World Bank, China and international capital markets to meet those promises.
He has also extended a 2009 amnesty, brought in by his predecessor, under which some 30,000 former militants were to be retrained. Widespread corruption saw the funds disappearing or ending up as cash benefits for the "boys", critics say.
Usani said authorities were doing their best to boost security in the Delta but that the task was difficult because the swampy terrain meant that the pipelines were hard to access.
"The terrain on which the (oil) flows are running is challenging and may not always be attack proof," he said. "(But) ... effective action has been taken."
He also told Reuters that the government was planning to build roads and hospitals in the Delta, where previous projects have not made it beyond the drawing board, but he said the scope was unclear due to uncertainty over the budget.
Buhari was forced to withdraw his 2016 draft budget because ministers could not agree on revised public spending plans.
Reuters
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