Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Video - Nigeria has the highest number of sickle cell disease cases in the world
The World Health Organization estimates Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has the highest burden of sickle cell disease worldwide. Reports indicate more than 40 million people currently live with the sickle cell gene.
Video - Civil servants in Nigeria shut down Ministry of Finance
It appears that the Nigerian government has a lot more than stabilizing the Naira to deal with. For two days now, Nigeria's finance ministry has been shut down as ministry employees demand payment of allowances.
Former Super Eagles captain Joseph Yobo to play in Nigerian league
The LMC, through its official twitter handle, said Yobo had been signed on as League Ambassador and would soon be assigned to one of the four clubs already bidding for his services.
“Joseph Yobo to play last 12 #NPFL games this season as League Ambassador signed on by the LMC,” one of the tweets from the custodians of the Nigeria League read.
The LMC listed four teams; Akwa Utd, FC Ifeanyiubah, Kano Pillars and Wikki Tourists as those bidding to land the former Super Eagles defender.
The LMC assured that Yobo will soon be assigned to a club under the NPFL Elite Players Scheme which Sani Kaita benefited from two seasons ago.
Yobo started his football career on the home front almost two decades ago with Michelin FC in Port Harcourt.
He went on to feature for teams in Belgium, France, England and Turkey.
His stint with Premier League side, Everton, where he was the first signing made by David Moyes, was one of the highpoints of his club career.
The NPFL Elite Players Scheme was introduced by the LMC since 2014 season to inject Nigerian players with specified national team caps as part of strategies to rekindle greater following for the domestic league as well as attract sponsors to the clubs.
Only Enyimba, which signed on ex-Eagles defender, Sani Keita, has so far explored the scheme.
The Naira is sinking after currency float
After the first day of trading following a currency float, the value of Nigeria’s naira dipped by 31%, selling at 288.85 naira as markets closed on Monday (June 20). It was the first day in recent history the naira was traded openly with its value decided by market forces in line with the Central Bank’s new flexible policy. The apex bank also says it has cleared a backlog of foreign exchange demand of around $4 billion.
The naira had previously been officially pegged between 197 and 199 per dollar as the government instituted strict currency controls in a bid to protect its foreign reserves following depleted earnings caused by the falling price of oil, the country’s main resource.
The plunge in the value of the naira in reflection of market realities validates the long-term calls for the devaluation of the currency before the country’s government finally budged last week.
In truth, for most everyday Nigerians and small to medium-sized businesses the naira is only just coming in line with its value on parallel markets, where it has traded between 300 naira to 350 naira per dollar for several months. Nigeria, which depends on oil sales for much of its foreign currency, has seen the naira hit by the global downturn in oil prices. Only a limited number of large banks and traders had access to foreign currency at the 197-199 naira rate. This often created arbitrage opportunities in the banking system.
As has been the case over the past year, the naira still has two different prices. While the interbank value of the currency weakened following the float, its value on the parallel market—which served as a primary source of foreign exchange in the last few months—was quoted up to 10% stronger. Over time, the Central Bank is counting on its new policy and increased availability of foreign exchange to result in a convergence of both values of the naira. Describing the first day of the float as a “robust take-off” of its new policy, the apex bank hopes investor confidence, previously frayed, will return to the country’s economy which shrank in the first quarter of the year.
The bank’s optimistic outlook will likely not be shared by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote whose fortune fell by $3.7 billion following the take-off of the new currency float.
The naira had previously been officially pegged between 197 and 199 per dollar as the government instituted strict currency controls in a bid to protect its foreign reserves following depleted earnings caused by the falling price of oil, the country’s main resource.
The plunge in the value of the naira in reflection of market realities validates the long-term calls for the devaluation of the currency before the country’s government finally budged last week.
In truth, for most everyday Nigerians and small to medium-sized businesses the naira is only just coming in line with its value on parallel markets, where it has traded between 300 naira to 350 naira per dollar for several months. Nigeria, which depends on oil sales for much of its foreign currency, has seen the naira hit by the global downturn in oil prices. Only a limited number of large banks and traders had access to foreign currency at the 197-199 naira rate. This often created arbitrage opportunities in the banking system.
As has been the case over the past year, the naira still has two different prices. While the interbank value of the currency weakened following the float, its value on the parallel market—which served as a primary source of foreign exchange in the last few months—was quoted up to 10% stronger. Over time, the Central Bank is counting on its new policy and increased availability of foreign exchange to result in a convergence of both values of the naira. Describing the first day of the float as a “robust take-off” of its new policy, the apex bank hopes investor confidence, previously frayed, will return to the country’s economy which shrank in the first quarter of the year.
The bank’s optimistic outlook will likely not be shared by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote whose fortune fell by $3.7 billion following the take-off of the new currency float.
First lady of Nigeria calls opposition governor a 'mad dog'
The wife of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has become embroiled in a spat with an opposition governor over corruption allegations.
The spat began after the governor of Nigeria’s Ekiti state, Peter Ayodele Fayose, accused Aisha Buhari of involvement in a bribery scandal involving former U.S. Congressman William J. Jefferson. In 2009, Jefferson was found guilty of 11 counts of corruption and was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment. The court found that he took around $500,000 in bribes and an account in the name of Aisha Buhari in Nigeria was cited in the sentencing memorandum as one of the accounts from which transfers to Jefferson were made.
The Nigerian presidency has dismissed Fayose’s allegations, with presidential spokesman Garba Shehu characterizing them as those of a man “childishly obsessed with the desire to grab the headlines and insulting people at will because of his incurably boorish instincts.” Shehu said that the president’s wife had no connection to the Jefferson case and challenged Fayose to provide evidence to the contrary.
The former head of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, told Nigeria’s Premium Times that the Aisha Buhari cited in the memorandum is not the same woman as the current president’s wife. Fayose made the allegations after the EFCC froze one of his personal accounts.
A tweet was sent from Aisha Buhari’s verified Twitter account on Tuesday evening apparently responding to Fayose’s allegations, Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper reported . “Enough is enough Fayose. A mad dog that isn’t chained. I refuse to keep quiet,” the tweet said. It was subsequently deleted and the Nigerian government has not made any public statement on the affair nor confirmed whether the tweet was sent by the First Lady.
Fayose is a member of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which was ousted from government when Buhari defeated former President Goodluck Jonathan in an election in March 2015. The PDP has accused the Buhari administration of focusing its anti-corruption crackdown on members of the opposition and not dealing with allegations of graft within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Aisha Buhari married the now-president in 1989 and the couple have five children. The First Lady oversees the Future Assured initiative, which aims to reduce the country’s maternal and infant mortality rates.
The spat began after the governor of Nigeria’s Ekiti state, Peter Ayodele Fayose, accused Aisha Buhari of involvement in a bribery scandal involving former U.S. Congressman William J. Jefferson. In 2009, Jefferson was found guilty of 11 counts of corruption and was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment. The court found that he took around $500,000 in bribes and an account in the name of Aisha Buhari in Nigeria was cited in the sentencing memorandum as one of the accounts from which transfers to Jefferson were made.
The Nigerian presidency has dismissed Fayose’s allegations, with presidential spokesman Garba Shehu characterizing them as those of a man “childishly obsessed with the desire to grab the headlines and insulting people at will because of his incurably boorish instincts.” Shehu said that the president’s wife had no connection to the Jefferson case and challenged Fayose to provide evidence to the contrary.
The former head of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, told Nigeria’s Premium Times that the Aisha Buhari cited in the memorandum is not the same woman as the current president’s wife. Fayose made the allegations after the EFCC froze one of his personal accounts.
A tweet was sent from Aisha Buhari’s verified Twitter account on Tuesday evening apparently responding to Fayose’s allegations, Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper reported . “Enough is enough Fayose. A mad dog that isn’t chained. I refuse to keep quiet,” the tweet said. It was subsequently deleted and the Nigerian government has not made any public statement on the affair nor confirmed whether the tweet was sent by the First Lady.
Fayose is a member of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which was ousted from government when Buhari defeated former President Goodluck Jonathan in an election in March 2015. The PDP has accused the Buhari administration of focusing its anti-corruption crackdown on members of the opposition and not dealing with allegations of graft within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Aisha Buhari married the now-president in 1989 and the couple have five children. The First Lady oversees the Future Assured initiative, which aims to reduce the country’s maternal and infant mortality rates.
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