State officials in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria want the government to loosen its grip on the energy sector to spur development, leaders said. Militant activity, political turmoil and concerns over the distribution of government funding for the … read more
Nigerian Information Minister, Professor Dora Akunyili, has dropped another bombshell, saying she was fed up with the lies’ told by some presidential aides about the health of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, according to local media reports. She also says the … read more
Ministers are in a “big dilemma” as they appear set to apply what one of them called “political euthanasia” of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who is believed to be gravely ill. By the provision of Section 144 of the 1999 … read more
Seventeen Nigerian security officers are reported to have been arrested in the country’s north in connection with a series of extra-judicial killings caught on video obtained by Al Jazeera earlier this month. The footage shows officers killing unarmed men, who … read more
The big power play since Wednesday’s sudden but surprise return to Nigeria of ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua captured newspaper headlines this week. Nigerians woke up Wednesday to the breaking story of the ailing president virtually “smuggled” into the country on … read more
ACTING President Goodluck Jonathan is set to swing into action this week with the exercise of full presidential powers. According to Aso Rock sources, he will embark on sweeping changes in the area of security lapses noticed in recent times, … read more
Nigeria’s information minister has come out strongly against those backing the ill president and says they are trying to benefit from the political crisis. President Umaru Yar’Adua returned to Nigeria early on Wednesday after a lengthy hospitalisation in Saudi Arabia … read more
Months of turmoil over Nigeria’s leadership have exposed the gulf between its reform-minded professional class and a political elite accused of being utterly self-serving and indifferent to its image abroad. Africa’s most populous country has taken huge strides in the … read more
FIVE governors of the South-South states yesterday pledged their support to Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, as he steers the affairs of the nation. The governors, however, lamented the exploitation of President Musa Yar’Adua’s ill-health by some individuals and groups for … read more
The United States said Friday it backed Nigeria’s acting president Goodluck Jonathan and voiced concern that ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua’s return from abroad might be a reckless bid by his advisers to advance their own interests. Yar’Adua’s return Wednesday threw … read more