Sports minister apologizes for Nigeria olympic travel chaos

Nigeria's sports minister apologized to the Olympic men's soccer team and took responsibility Monday for the travel chaos that resulted in players arriving on the same day as their first game in Rio de Janeiro.

The team was delayed last week in Atlanta, with one official saying it was because they tried to buy plane tickets to Rio de Janeiro at the last minute and then found a charter plane was too small to carry the entire delegation.

They eventually all made it onto a chartered Delta Air Lines jet, arriving in the northern Brazilian city of Manaus about six hours before their first game at the Olympics against Japan on Thursday. Despite the issues, Nigeria won that game 5-4, and then beat Sweden 1-0 on Sunday to become the first team into the quarterfinals.

Sports minister Solomon Dalung took responsibility for what he called the "unfortunate incident" and said in a statement that he went into the team's dressing room after the Sweden game to apologize to players. He didn't give details on how the mess-up occurred.

"I want to assure you that we appreciate your efforts, and I want to say that it's when a man faces challenges that his true ability is tested," Dalung said. "I am sure we all have learnt our lessons and will take the lessons to heart going forward."

Delta said a "communications mix-up" had grounded an earlier flight the team was meant to take, but there were reports that the problem was because the Nigerian government hadn't paid for the original charter.

Nigeria's soccer team is regularly beset by problems, often involving money.

A dispute over bonus payments for players at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil led to them refusing to attend a training session and almost caused the Nigerian team to go on strike midway through the tournament. The team also arrived late for the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil — a World Cup warmup tournament — after problems over player payments.

Nigeria and Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel recently denied reports that he gave $30,000 of his own money to some of his teammates on the Olympic team as an incentive.

NBC

Militants kill 3 soldiers in Bayelsa state, Nigeria

Militants have killed three soldiers in Nigeria's southern Bayelsa state, in the latest violence in the restive oil region, the army said Tuesday.

Gunmen attacked an artillery unit at Nembe Jetty Monday morning, the army said in a statement.

"During the incident, three soldiers lost their lives," it said, adding that a manhunt has been launched.

Local media said the militants, who had been disguised as mourners to deceive the soldiers, also made off with gunboats and other military hardware as well as ammunition.

Residents of the area were said to be fleeing over fears of a reprisal attack by the military.

Since the start of the year, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) militant group has claimed a string of devastating attacks on oil pipelines and facilities in the volatile region.

Oil majors including Shell, Exxon, Chevron, Eni and the state-run oil group NNPC have been targeted.

The attacks have reduced Nigeria's output by a third, hammering government revenue at a time of global low oil prices.

The Avengers claim to seek a fairer share of Nigeria's oil wealth for residents of the region as well as self-determination and political autonomy. They have rejected a government truce.

Daily Star

Nigeria looks abroad for over $1 billion budget funding

According to the debt management office (DMO), the country is seeking two lead managers and a financial adviser to organise the issuance of $1 billion (N315 billion) of Eurobonds in 2015.

This is coming a few weeks after Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, informed Nigerians that the country would be borrowing from foreign sources in the third quarter of 2016.

“We have been borrowing largely from the domestic market because we needed to get the exchange rate sorted out to enable us to borrow from the international market. The international borrowings will begin to come in Q3,” Adeosun said in July.

The issuance of the bond is part of a $4.5 billion Nigeria global medium-term issuance programme, which is to run through 2018.

“The move will enable Nigeria to have the flexibility of quickly taking advantage of favourable market conditions in the international capital market to raise funds if and only when the need arises,” Bloomberg quoted the statement to have read.

The government is reported as seeking to appoint two international banks as joint lead managers and a local lender as financial adviser for the whole program.

With bids expected to be submitted by midday on September 19, the Eurobond sales would be the first since July 2013.

Nigeria is aiming at spending its way through one of the worst economic crisis in about three decades, with gross domestic product (GDP) projected in negative territories.

Nigeria’s GDP shrunk by 0.36 percent in the first quarter of 2016, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Nigeria is expected to borrow about $10 billion to fund the 2016 budget deficit, around N3 trillion.

The Cable

Video - Boko Haram leader Shekau dismisses reports of his replacement in the group

Boko Haram's shadowy leader Abubakar Shekau has appeared in a new video shrugging off an apparent split in the hard-line jihadist group. Last week, Shekau said in an audio message that he was still the head of Boko Haram despite his purported replacement by former Boko Haram spokesman, Sheikh Abu Musab al-Barnawi. Shekau ridiculed suggestions that he was dead, and looked more composed and energetic than in previous appearances.

Video - German Gernot Rohr set to become new Nigeria manager

Nigeria's national soccer federation has finally found a technical advisor to the national team, the Super Eagles. After French coach Paul Le Guen turned down their offer, the NFF says ex-Burkina Faso coach Gernot Rohr is the new man for the job.