Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria coach Samson Siasia said on Friday that he will support players boycotting Saturday’s football quarter-final against Denmark over unpaid allowances. “We have only been paid allowances for 11 days. There is no match bonus. What about all the months we have been training in …
Read More »Nigeria halts film village plans after Muslim clerics’ protest
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria has shelved a plan to build a $10 million film village outside the mainly Muslim northern city of Kano, bowing to virulent opposition from radical Muslim clerics. The decision deals a blow to a booming industry, developers said, as the centre was to generate …
Read More »No hawking. No trading. Lagos bans street selling
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Every morning, Mama Biliki prepares small bags of popcorn outside her ramshackle house in Ajegunle, one of Lagos’ poorest neighbourhoods, to sell by the roadside for 50 naira each. On a good day, she reckons she can earn about 5,000 naira ($16, 15 euros) hawking …
Read More »FIFA president hopes Africa gets two more World Cup slots
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Monday he hopes Africa gets two more spots at the World Cup if his proposal for the tournament to be expanded to 40 teams goes through. There are presently 32 finalists for the World Cup with Africa represented by …
Read More »Nigeria hails major step towards polio-free Africa
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria on Sunday celebrated two years without a new case of polio, in a major stride towards Africa being declared free of the devastating disease. If no new case is reported by July 2017, Nigeria will be certified free of the virus, which mainly affects …
Read More »Nigeria ‘talking to’ oil rebels: Buhari
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Thursday Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said the government was in talks with oil rebels whose attacks have hit production, as the head of the state-run energy firm laid bare damage to the sector. Buhari said in a statement that “his administration is talking …
Read More »Five things about Nigerian star Ahmed Musa
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Five things about Nigerian international Ahmed Musa after English Premier League champions Leicester City signed him from CSKA Moscow for a club record fee of £16.6 million ($22 million, 20 million euros) on Friday: Congratulations to Ahmed Musa on his move to English …
Read More »Brent oil falls below $50 as Nigeria ups production
Singapore, Singapore | AFP | Oil prices retreated in Asia Tuesday, with Brent easing below $50 on news of increased production from Nigeria following the repair of infrastructure damaged in militant attacks. Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, pumped an average 1.53 million barrels a day …
Read More »Nigeria to stop defending naira
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria signalled Wednesday it will ease currency controls, opening the door to a plunge in the value of the naira, after the restrictions were blamed for stifling the economy. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele said in a televised speech from Abuja that …
Read More »MTN to pay $1.7 bn Nigeria telecoms fine
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African telecoms giant MTN said Friday it would pay a $1.7 billion fine to the Nigerian government in a “full and final settlement” over its failure to disconnect unregistered mobile phone users. The Johannesburg-based company said in a statement that “MTN Nigeria has …
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