Cheat Sheet Week 13 2009

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Monday 23 March 2009

Government asks unions to stall strike:

FG asked PENGASSAN and NUPENG to stall their planned 3-day strike over the insecurity in the Niger Delta.

Ruling party and opposition in verbal war:

The PDP and AC were engaged in verbal jabs over alleged plots to destabilise the government of President Yar’dua and to assassinate the opposition leader, former Lagos State governor Bola Tinubu.

Obasanjo’s volte face on probe readiness:

Last week national dailies were filled with former President OBJ’s readiness to account for any alleged financial impropriety during his 8-year 2-term leadership.

Indian businessmen wanted over fraud:

The EFCC, by Farida Waziri, said the Vaswani Brothers were declared wanted for allegedly defrauding the country of N3 bilion in unpaid taxes.

Military’s joint exercise starts today:

The 8-day JOPEX, code-named Operation OLOGUN META involving Army, Navy and Air force started today around Ori Oke Iwamema, Igbokoda, Okitipupa and coastal area of Ondo State.

FM leads delegation for talks on Nigerian-US relations:

Regional security and Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa would top the agenda as Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe lead a government delegation for bilateral talks on Monday.

Nigeria has more men than women:

According to the recently-released government gazette on the 2006 population census males outnumber females in Nigeria.

Tuesday 24 March 2009

Expat kidnapped in Lagos:

OOL sources said a Lebanese national was kidnapped Monday around 17.40 hrs from a construction site on Mbadiwe Azikwe, Victoria Island. Gunmen snatched two men, but one managed to escape.

Three from MV Seal Tide still held:

Contrary to earlier statements by the Ukrainian Embassy of the hostages release, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry now reported that pirates demanded a ransom of UAH 2 million for the men taken from this vessel on 14 March off the coast of Bakassi.

Unions to announce strike decision – 09:00hrs Local Time:

“We expect to sign an agreement with the government any moment from now,” Peter Akpatason, president of NUPENG said by phone today.

Related: Oil workers stormed National Assembly – Approx. 200 protestors, members of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, protested Monday in front of the National Assembly.

Appeals court upholds Ohakim’s election :

The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt has upheld Ikedi Ohakim’s election as the governor of Imo state which was challenged by Senator Ifeanyi Ararume of the PDP.

Maximum lending, deposit interest rates fixed:

Charles Soludo, CBN, said banks had agreed to put a ceiling on deposit and lending rates in a bid to curb rises brought about by the global financial economic meltdown.

Wednesday 25 March 2009

Unions postpone strike:

NUPENG and PENGASSAN suspended plans for a 3 day strike and were expected to sign an accord with FG officials outlining the FG’s commitment to resolve the growing security problems in the Niger Delta.

Parties unite to form one single opposition:

19 opposition parties agreed to unite to compete against the PDP and President Yar’Adua in the 2011 elections

Meningitis Kills 78 in Kano:

Kano State Ministry of Health yesterday said that 78 people had been killed by meningitis in the state within the period of four months.

China to replace satellite for free:

The China Daily today said that China had promised to replace the telecom satellite NIGCOMSAT-1, made and launched in China, free of charge after it had failed after about 18 months in orbit.

Four-storey building collapses in Lagos:

A four-storey residential building in the Idi-Araba neighbourhood, Lagos, collapsed yesterday, killing at least two people.

Spending cuts due to falling oil prices:

The Finance Ministry said on Tuesday: “In order to cope with the declining oil revenue, the government is cutting spending on non-essential items to economise our scarce resources,”

Thursday 26 March 2009

Gunmen attack Police Commissioner’s convoy:

The Delta State Police Commissioner Wednesday escaped injury when his convoy was attacked by armed men along Benin-Warri Road, killing at least 6 of guards.

SEC probes allegations against Dangote:

The national Securities and Exchange Commission said it was investigating allegations of share price manipulation made by Nova Finance and Securities Ltd. and companies owned by Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

Death toll in building collapse rises to 11:

The death toll from the collapse of a four-storey building in Ida Araba neighbourhood, Lagos had risen to 11 at Wednesday night.

Politics behind scrapped Korea oil deal:

lawyer: The cancellation earlier this year of oil exploration rights awarded to a South Korean state energy company, was politically motivated, a lawyer for the firm has said.

YRD’s White House visit hopes dashed?

According to an online news source, President Yar’Adua is unlikely to meet with President Barack Obama any time soon.

Friday 27 March 2009

Nigeria rivals Somalia for ship attacks:

IMB divisional director Michael Howlett warned that as pirate attacks on vessels off the Nigerian coast are going unreported they could exceed those occurring off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden.

Time to arm crews?

The audience at the Connecticut Maritime Association’s session on war risk and piracy was told that Nigeria, in particular, had seen a marked increase in violence and that armed crew might be the next unavoidable step to combat this change.

WHO: Meningitis death toll reaches 960:

The WHO said today that the death toll from the outbreak of meningitis in Nigeria has risen to 960 people out of more than 17,000 people infected since Jan. 1, 2009.

Stock Exchange suspends brokerage:

Nigeria’s stock exchange suspended Nova Finance and Securities Ltd. from trading on the bourse amid an investigation into alleged share price manipulation.

Mass demolition looms in Lagos:

The state government ordered all local government chairmen to inspect all buildings in their domain and mark defective ones for demolition.

Time running out for electoral reform:

Time is running out for Nigeria to implement electoral reforms if it is to avoid a repeat at 2011 national elections of flawed polls that caused a long period of political uncertainty two years ago..

Hostage Watch:

HELD:  Today marks day 201 in captivity for Matthew McGuire and Robin Hughes abducted from the HD Blue Ocean on on 9 Sept. 2008.

Also held: A 45 year old Lebanese man taken from a construction site in the Victoria Island area, Lagos on 23.03.09

Also held: Three foreign workers on the vessel, MV Seal Tide, attacked by pirates offshore from Bakassi on 14.03.09

Also held: A Lebanese national, employed by Elite Construction Company, taken on 04.03.09 in Bayelsa state.

Also held: A Lebanese national, taken from the construction company site, Ondo state, 11.02.09 .

 

This Chief’s Briefs Cheat Sheet was compiled for your review by OOL Member: homealonemum

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