Nigeria’s President Buhari has vowed to crack down on groups responsible for attacks on oil pipelines, which have contributed to a fuel shortage in the country.
Buhari made the comments during a state visit to China on Wednesday, where he has been meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to secure support for infrastructure projects. The Nigerian president said he was aware that the country’s national grid had collapsed several times in recent weeks and threatened the “vandals and saboteurs” responsible for blowing up pipelines and oil facilities. “We will deal with them the way we dealt with Boko Haram,” said Buhari, according to a statement from the Nigerian Presidency.
The Nigerian military has regained much of the territory previously held by Boko Haram as part of a sustained offensive beginning in 2015. Buhari claimed that the armed group—which is affiliated to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS)—controlled 14 local government areas when he came to office in May 2015 but these had all now been liberated and Boko Haram’s fighting capacity had been “significantly degraded.”
There has been an uptick in attacks on oil pipelines in 2016. Three people were killed when militants blew up a pipeline, owned by Italian company ENI in the Niger Delta, Reuters reported. Two of the four refineries owned by the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) were temporarily closed in January, due to attacks, which Nigerian power minister Babtunde Fashola said were costing the country $2.4 million per day at the time. One of the refineries was reopened in March.
The Niger Delta region was plagued by militant groups such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) during the mid-2000s, who kidnapped oil workers and blew up pipelines in protest at what they saw as the unfair distribution of wealth. At its peak, the militancy cut oil production to 800,000 barrels per day, less than a third of the maximum 2.5 million barrels per day. Buhari has extended a multi-million dollar amnesty program—which involves the payment of monthly subsidies to ex-militants—but has ended the practice of giving militants generous contracts for pipeline protection.
The recent attacks have resulted in massive queues gathering outside gas stations as desperate Nigerians attempt to buy fuel for their vehicles. Nigeria’s petroleum minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu was recently summoned to appear before the Senate to explain how the ministry was working to solve the shortage.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Video - Boko Haram release video showing some of the kidnapped schoolgirls still alive
A video released by Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram appears to show some of the schoolgirls kidnapped two years ago from the town of Chibok.
The video, apparently filmed in December, was sent to the Nigerian government and shows 15 girls in black robes identifying themselves as pupils abducted from the school.
Some of those filmed have been identified by their parents.
It is the first footage of the girls to be seen since May 2014.
The kidnapping of the 276 girls triggered the global social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls, involving US first lady Michelle Obama and a host of celebrities.
But despite their efforts, most of the girls are still missing.
Meanwhile, hundreds of parents are holding a march in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to demand the government does more to find their daughters.
The BBC's Martin Patience in Abuja says they blame the previous government for doing nothing when the abduction took place and now the current administration for failing to devote enough resources to the search.
Boko Haram militants attacked the government boarding school in Borno state on 14 April 2014, seizing the girls who had gone there to take exams.
Shortly afterwards they released a video of them and demanded a prisoner exchange.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Video - China to strengthen cooperation with Nigeria
President Xi Jinping has met with the visiting Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari in Beijing. The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in various fields including infrastructure, agriculture, energy and trade.
China offers Nigeria $6 billion loan for infrastructure
China has offered Nigeria a loan worth $6 billion to fund infrastructure projects, the Nigerian foreign minister said on Tuesday.
The announcement came as both countries signed a currency swap deal to boost trade. Nigeria has been in talks with China on an infrastructure loan for months.
Nigeria is Africa's largest economy and its top oil producer. But its public finances have suffered as the price of crude oil dropped around the world.
Although President Muhammadu Buhari wants to triple capital spending in 2016, he also needs to plug a projected deficit of $11.1 billion.
"It is a credit that is on the table as soon as we identify the projects," Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama told reporters after Buhari met Chinese President Xi Jinping. "It won't need an agreement to be signed. It is just to identify the projects and we access it."
There was no immediate comment from China.
Lin Songtian, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry's African affairs department, had earlier said Nigeria would be able to benefit from a $55 billion package for Africa, which mostly consists of concessional grants or export lines.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) , the world's biggest lender, and Nigeria's central bank also signed a deal on yuan transactions.
"It means that the renminbi (yuan) is free to flow among different banks in Nigeria, and the renminbi has been included in the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria," Lin said.
Nigeria had said it was looking at panda bonds - yuan-denominated bonds sold by overseas entities on the mainland - to fund the deficit, saying they that would be cheaper than Eurobonds.
TRADE
Nigeria's central bank has said it plans to diversify its foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar by switching some into yuan. It converted up to a tenth of its reserves into yuan five years ago.
Lin said a framework on currency swaps has been agreed with Nigeria, making it easier to settle trade deals in yuan. China has signed similar swap agreements with countries ranging from Kazakhstan to Argentina to promote wider use of its yuan.
Beijing also signed agreements to develop infrastructure in Nigeria, part of a drive to deepen its ties with Africa.
ICBC agreed a $2 billion loan to Dangote, the company owned by Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, to fund two cement plants it plans, he told Reuters.
China's Xi told Buhari there was huge potential for economic cooperation in areas like oil refining and mining, according to Xinhua, China's official news agency.
In a speech to business leaders, Buhari said both countries wanted to work together in agriculture, fishing and the manufacturing of cars, construction materials and textiles.
The announcement came as both countries signed a currency swap deal to boost trade. Nigeria has been in talks with China on an infrastructure loan for months.
Nigeria is Africa's largest economy and its top oil producer. But its public finances have suffered as the price of crude oil dropped around the world.
Although President Muhammadu Buhari wants to triple capital spending in 2016, he also needs to plug a projected deficit of $11.1 billion.
"It is a credit that is on the table as soon as we identify the projects," Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama told reporters after Buhari met Chinese President Xi Jinping. "It won't need an agreement to be signed. It is just to identify the projects and we access it."
There was no immediate comment from China.
Lin Songtian, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry's African affairs department, had earlier said Nigeria would be able to benefit from a $55 billion package for Africa, which mostly consists of concessional grants or export lines.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) , the world's biggest lender, and Nigeria's central bank also signed a deal on yuan transactions.
"It means that the renminbi (yuan) is free to flow among different banks in Nigeria, and the renminbi has been included in the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria," Lin said.
Nigeria had said it was looking at panda bonds - yuan-denominated bonds sold by overseas entities on the mainland - to fund the deficit, saying they that would be cheaper than Eurobonds.
TRADE
Nigeria's central bank has said it plans to diversify its foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar by switching some into yuan. It converted up to a tenth of its reserves into yuan five years ago.
Lin said a framework on currency swaps has been agreed with Nigeria, making it easier to settle trade deals in yuan. China has signed similar swap agreements with countries ranging from Kazakhstan to Argentina to promote wider use of its yuan.
Beijing also signed agreements to develop infrastructure in Nigeria, part of a drive to deepen its ties with Africa.
ICBC agreed a $2 billion loan to Dangote, the company owned by Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, to fund two cement plants it plans, he told Reuters.
China's Xi told Buhari there was huge potential for economic cooperation in areas like oil refining and mining, according to Xinhua, China's official news agency.
In a speech to business leaders, Buhari said both countries wanted to work together in agriculture, fishing and the manufacturing of cars, construction materials and textiles.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Video - President Muhammadu Buhari visits China
Nigeria's president, Muhammadu Buhari is on a five-day state visit to China, which began on Monday. He's expected to conclude negotiations over a 2 billion US dollar low-interest loan with the Chinese government. The money will help Nigeria fund its infrastructure projects, as well as finance a deficit on its 3 trillion Naira, or 15 billion US dollar, budget. Activities will be held to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. The visit is an important one for Nigeria. Our Lagos correspondent Deji Badmus told us about Nigeria's economic situation, and how working with China can benefit the West African nation. Earlier we spoke to CCTV's Su Yuting in Beijing for more on President Buhari's schedule during this state visit.
Related story: China wants to buy more oil from Nigeria
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