Nigeria's government says it is looking to increase electricity generation to 12,000 Megawatts in the shortest time possible. Inadequate power is a major stumbling block in the government's attempts to win foreign investors, and though 12,000 Megawatts is far less than what Nigeria needs, the government says it will be the first phase of continued investment towards the improvement of electricity services.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Video - Nigeria increases electricity generation to 12,000 megawatts
Nigeria's government says it is looking to increase electricity generation to 12,000 Megawatts in the shortest time possible. Inadequate power is a major stumbling block in the government's attempts to win foreign investors, and though 12,000 Megawatts is far less than what Nigeria needs, the government says it will be the first phase of continued investment towards the improvement of electricity services.
Boko Haram drugged woman for suicide bomb attack
A Nigerian woman has described being kidnapped and drugged by suspected Boko Haram jihadists who planned to use her as a suicide bomber at a market.
Khadija Ibrahim, 30, told reporters she had been waiting for a bus to hospital in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri when she was seized by two men in a car who had offered her a lift.
While drugged, the mother of three was stripped and a suicide belt attached, she is quoted as saying.
She managed to flee her abductors.
Ms Ibrahim said after getting into the car, she fell unconscious when something was placed over her nose.
But she woke up, apparently without her captors realising, to hear one of them whispering to her that she was "going to do God's work".
The kidnappers told her she was being taken to the city of Kano to attack the Kantin Kwari textile market.
But when the car engine overheated, both kidnappers were distracted - one was examining the engine while the other went to look for water.
Ms Ibrahim then managed to flee and a man in the Hotoro neighbourhood of Kano took her to the police.
She was also brought before the Kano state governor, Umar Ganduje, who told the media: "If this woman had not regained consciousness the story would have been different by now."
The woman is now in "safe custody....undergoing post-traumatic rehabilitation," Kano police spokesman Magaji Musa Majiya told the BBC's Hausa service.
Police are trying to track down the vehicle in an attempt to find a second kidnapped girl, thought to be about 15 years old, he added.
The other woman in the car with her may also have been drugged, Ms Ibrahim suggested.
Boko Haram has staged numerous attacks using young women in the past year.
Khadija Ibrahim, 30, told reporters she had been waiting for a bus to hospital in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri when she was seized by two men in a car who had offered her a lift.
While drugged, the mother of three was stripped and a suicide belt attached, she is quoted as saying.
She managed to flee her abductors.
Ms Ibrahim said after getting into the car, she fell unconscious when something was placed over her nose.
But she woke up, apparently without her captors realising, to hear one of them whispering to her that she was "going to do God's work".
The kidnappers told her she was being taken to the city of Kano to attack the Kantin Kwari textile market.
But when the car engine overheated, both kidnappers were distracted - one was examining the engine while the other went to look for water.
Ms Ibrahim then managed to flee and a man in the Hotoro neighbourhood of Kano took her to the police.
She was also brought before the Kano state governor, Umar Ganduje, who told the media: "If this woman had not regained consciousness the story would have been different by now."
The woman is now in "safe custody....undergoing post-traumatic rehabilitation," Kano police spokesman Magaji Musa Majiya told the BBC's Hausa service.
Police are trying to track down the vehicle in an attempt to find a second kidnapped girl, thought to be about 15 years old, he added.
The other woman in the car with her may also have been drugged, Ms Ibrahim suggested.
Boko Haram has staged numerous attacks using young women in the past year.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Video - Nigeria's GDP contracts by 0.36% in first quarter of 2016
Nigeria's gross domestic product contracted by 0.36 percent in the first quarter of the year, as the worst crisis to grip Africa's biggest economy in decades continues to deepen. The contraction compares with growth of 2.11 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 3.96 percent in the same period last year, heightening expectations that the central bank will take action when its Monetary Policy Committee meets next week.
Nigeria labour union calls off strike
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the umbrella body for union workers, has suspended its three-day general strike.
The strike was called to protest the 70 percent increase in the price of petrol by the federal government.
Nigeria’s oil dependent economy is facing recession following the drop in oil prices in the international market, which has left little or no choice for President Muhammadu Buhari to raise the price of petrol.
Nigeria, which is the seventh oil producer in the world, subsidises petrol for its citizens.
When that subsidy was removed, Nigeria's main labour union protested by calling for a nationwide strike, which many people have described as largely ineffective in most parts of the country.
So, after three days of sporadic protest across the country, union leader Ayuba Wabba said they're suspending the industrial action to resume negotiations with government.
“Congress will resume negotiations with government on the twin issues of the hike in electricity tariff and an increase in the pump price of petroleum products,” he said, adding that the union “remains committed to genuine dialogue.”
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)'s action had little impact nationwide.
A second union, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), had also planned to take part in the strike but abandoned its plans in response to the court ruling.
A wave of strikes the last time Nigeria tried to cut fuel subsidies, in 2012, ensured that authorities eventually reinstated some of the subsidies.
A fall in oil prices has eaten into the foreign reserves of Nigeria, which relies on crude sales for around 70 percent of national income. The central bank has adopted a fixed exchange rate in an attempt to prevent further depletion of its reserves.
Last week, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said President Muhammadu Buhari had been “left with no choice” but to raise petrol prices.
Despite being a major oil producer, Nigeria has to import nearly all of its fuel as its refineries are largely out of action after years of neglect and mismanagement.
At the same time, Nigeria’s President on Friday said he ordered a heightened military presence in the restive Niger Delta region to deal with a resurgence of attacks on oil and gas facilities, a day after yet another pipeline explosion.
British Foreign Minster Philip Hammond warned on Saturday military action would not end a wave of attacks in the southern swamps because it did not address rising anger among residents over poverty despite sitting on much of Nigeria's oil wealth.
The rise in attacks in the Delta in the last few weeks has driven Nigerian oil output to a more than 20-year low, worsening a drain on public finances.
A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has claimed responsibility for several sophisticated attacks.
The strike was called to protest the 70 percent increase in the price of petrol by the federal government.
Nigeria’s oil dependent economy is facing recession following the drop in oil prices in the international market, which has left little or no choice for President Muhammadu Buhari to raise the price of petrol.
Nigeria, which is the seventh oil producer in the world, subsidises petrol for its citizens.
When that subsidy was removed, Nigeria's main labour union protested by calling for a nationwide strike, which many people have described as largely ineffective in most parts of the country.
So, after three days of sporadic protest across the country, union leader Ayuba Wabba said they're suspending the industrial action to resume negotiations with government.
“Congress will resume negotiations with government on the twin issues of the hike in electricity tariff and an increase in the pump price of petroleum products,” he said, adding that the union “remains committed to genuine dialogue.”
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)'s action had little impact nationwide.
A second union, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), had also planned to take part in the strike but abandoned its plans in response to the court ruling.
A wave of strikes the last time Nigeria tried to cut fuel subsidies, in 2012, ensured that authorities eventually reinstated some of the subsidies.
A fall in oil prices has eaten into the foreign reserves of Nigeria, which relies on crude sales for around 70 percent of national income. The central bank has adopted a fixed exchange rate in an attempt to prevent further depletion of its reserves.
Last week, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said President Muhammadu Buhari had been “left with no choice” but to raise petrol prices.
Despite being a major oil producer, Nigeria has to import nearly all of its fuel as its refineries are largely out of action after years of neglect and mismanagement.
At the same time, Nigeria’s President on Friday said he ordered a heightened military presence in the restive Niger Delta region to deal with a resurgence of attacks on oil and gas facilities, a day after yet another pipeline explosion.
British Foreign Minster Philip Hammond warned on Saturday military action would not end a wave of attacks in the southern swamps because it did not address rising anger among residents over poverty despite sitting on much of Nigeria's oil wealth.
The rise in attacks in the Delta in the last few weeks has driven Nigerian oil output to a more than 20-year low, worsening a drain on public finances.
A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has claimed responsibility for several sophisticated attacks.
Unemployment worsens in Nigeria
Nigeria’s employment crisis worsened in the first quarter of 2016, with unemployment rate rising to 12.1 per cent, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, said on Friday.
The bureau said in its latest Unemployment Watch report that between December 2015 and March 2016, the population of unemployed Nigerians increased by 518,000 to over 1.45 million.
Economically active or working age population, the NBS said, increased from 105.02 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 106 million by the end of March 2016.
However, actual population of people willing, able and actively looking for work increased by 1.99 per cent, from 76.9 million in fourth quarter of 2015 to 78.4 million in the first quarter of 2016.
The report said failure of government to meet its target of creating a minimum of 1.5 million jobs required for the period to keep the unemployment rate constant at 10.4 per cent before the end of December 2015 worsened the unemployment situation.
The rate as at June end 2015 was 8.2 per cent and 9.9 per cent by September ending 2015.
The NBS said its computations were based on the International Labour Organization, ILO definition, which described unemployment as the population of persons aged 15–64 who, during the reference period, were available for work, actively seeking for work, but were unable to find work.
Consequently, the NBS said the unemployed Nigerian population were those who were actively looking for work, but could either not find work, absolutely nothing at all for at least 20 hours, or did something but not for up to 20 hours in a week during the reference period.
Indications were that additional 1.53 million economically active persons joined the labour force between January 1 and March 31, 2016.
Equally, the report said the number of Nigerians in the economically active population, who chose not to actively look for work, declined from 28.06 million in December 2015 to 27.5 million by end of March, 2016.
Within the same period, the NBS said total number people in full time employment, or those who were doing any form of work for at least 40 hours, decreased by 528,148 persons or 0.97 per cent.
On the other hand, the report said the number of underemployed, or those compelled by circumstances to do largely menial jobs not commensurate with their qualifications or not fully engaged for at least 20 hours during the period, increased by 607,613 persons.
The report said underemployment rate increased by 18.7 per cent (14.41 million) in the last quarter of 2015 to 19.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 (15.02 million persons).
The NBS said women population in the labour force continued to be affected more by the country’s unemployment and underemployment crisis when compared with their men counterparts.
While 14 per cent of women in the labour force age bracket were unemployed in the first quarter of 2016, another 22.2 per cent were underemployed during the same period.
Equally, the report said youth unemployment grew from 14.46 per cent in the last quarter of 2015 to 16.39 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.
The bureau said in its latest Unemployment Watch report that between December 2015 and March 2016, the population of unemployed Nigerians increased by 518,000 to over 1.45 million.
Economically active or working age population, the NBS said, increased from 105.02 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 106 million by the end of March 2016.
However, actual population of people willing, able and actively looking for work increased by 1.99 per cent, from 76.9 million in fourth quarter of 2015 to 78.4 million in the first quarter of 2016.
The report said failure of government to meet its target of creating a minimum of 1.5 million jobs required for the period to keep the unemployment rate constant at 10.4 per cent before the end of December 2015 worsened the unemployment situation.
The rate as at June end 2015 was 8.2 per cent and 9.9 per cent by September ending 2015.
The NBS said its computations were based on the International Labour Organization, ILO definition, which described unemployment as the population of persons aged 15–64 who, during the reference period, were available for work, actively seeking for work, but were unable to find work.
Consequently, the NBS said the unemployed Nigerian population were those who were actively looking for work, but could either not find work, absolutely nothing at all for at least 20 hours, or did something but not for up to 20 hours in a week during the reference period.
Indications were that additional 1.53 million economically active persons joined the labour force between January 1 and March 31, 2016.
Equally, the report said the number of Nigerians in the economically active population, who chose not to actively look for work, declined from 28.06 million in December 2015 to 27.5 million by end of March, 2016.
Within the same period, the NBS said total number people in full time employment, or those who were doing any form of work for at least 40 hours, decreased by 528,148 persons or 0.97 per cent.
On the other hand, the report said the number of underemployed, or those compelled by circumstances to do largely menial jobs not commensurate with their qualifications or not fully engaged for at least 20 hours during the period, increased by 607,613 persons.
The report said underemployment rate increased by 18.7 per cent (14.41 million) in the last quarter of 2015 to 19.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 (15.02 million persons).
The NBS said women population in the labour force continued to be affected more by the country’s unemployment and underemployment crisis when compared with their men counterparts.
While 14 per cent of women in the labour force age bracket were unemployed in the first quarter of 2016, another 22.2 per cent were underemployed during the same period.
Equally, the report said youth unemployment grew from 14.46 per cent in the last quarter of 2015 to 16.39 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.
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