Harlem Desir
~ French MEP to make history after becoming first black man to lead the Socialists in Europe
France’s ruling Socialists have nominated Harlem Desir as its new leader – the first black party political leader in Europe. The 52-year-old has never been a minister or member of the national parliament.
He is seen as a safe choice but was fined and given an 18-month suspended jail term in 1998 for taking an illicit payment from an organisation that provided immigrants with professional training.
MTN donates to Baby Taiwo Lawal
~ MTN donates N500, 000 for shot baby’s treatment
Mobile telecommunications company, MTN, has paid for the N500,000 needed for treatment of the one-year-old baby Taiwo Lawal, who was shot by armed robbers in the Gbagada area of Lagos on Sunday.
Fuel scarcity in Nigeria
~Fuel scarcity persists in Lagos as marketers shun importation
THE lingering fuel crisis may persist as marketers have refused to improve on importation of refined petroleum products into the country. Investigations by Nigerian Tribune, on Thursday, revealed that importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, has been declining while many of the storage terminals at the Apapa Jetty remained empty and some storage tanks with products were not fully utilised.
China loans Nigeria $1.1 billion
~ Nigeria’s new loans from China
China is offering Nigeria $1.1 billion in loans to help the West African nation build airport terminals, a light rail line for its capital city and communication system improvements, the country’s Finance Ministry said Wednesday. The loans reflect the deepening economic ties between oil-rich Nigeria and China, which already is involved in building major road and railway projects in the nation. However, similar deals with China have fallen apart amid corruption allegations. Chinese diplomatic officials in Nigeria could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.
Controversial film – The Innocence of Muslims
~ ‘The Innocence of Muslims’ – Tension mounts in Kaduna, Jos (Nigeria)
There was tension in many cities in the North on Thursday as security agents made efforts to prevent outbreak of protests over an amateur film said to be offensive to Muslims.
~ US warns citizens in Nigeria after Libya attack
“The U.S. Mission in Nigeria strongly urges U.S. citizens in Nigeria to consider their personal security and to keep personal safety in the forefront of their planning,” the embassy warned in an emergency message on Wednesday September 12.
The attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, suspected to be carried out by Al Qaeda elements, followed protests against a controversial movie about Prophet Mohammed made by an Isreali-American, Sam Bacile, living in California.
Nigerians’ summer shopping spree
~ Nigeria’s shoppers rival Russia and the Middle East for West End spending
“If you want cheap products, Chinese-made have taken over in Nigeria, and you can’t always vouch for quality.”
Thousands of Nigerians agree. Visitors from the west African nation are the UK’s fourth biggest foreign spenders, ringing up an average £500 in each shop where they make purchases – four times what the average UK shopper spends.
Holidaying or visiting relatives abroad is increasingly open to millions of middle class Nigerians, with the number of visitors to the UK increasing by more than 50% to 142,000 a year in the decade ending 2011, according to the Office for National Statistics. In a country projected to become Africa’s biggest economy next year, and the world’s fifth most populous by 2050, businesses at home and abroad are cashing in. In Debenhams’ Oxford Street branch, signs in Hausa, one of the official Nigerian languages in the country’s largely impoverished north, direct shoppers to items on sale. This year, the shop said that Nigerian customers were its biggest overseas spenders
Defence Expert – Governor Kayode Fayemi
~ I will continue to ask for state police says Ekiti Governor Kayode Fayemi
‘’My position on state police has not changed. I do not see any evidence on the other side that changed my position and I am not talking as a politician. When I talk about state police, I am talking as a security expert which is my own area and I am not playing politics with it.
“I have a Ph.D in this area and I know what obtains everywhere in the world. It is the norm all over the world, anywhere you have a federal system you always have police system at every level of the federation. You can name it, you can do your own research, it’s so in the United States, in Australia, in Canada, in India.”
Kourtney Kardashian and baby Penelope
