Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Thousands of passengers across Africa have been left stranded after Nigeria’s largest airline said Tuesday it had suspended operations and might remain grounded for several days. Arik Air attributed the “temporary disruption” to “pending approval of aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal… a challenge due …
Read More »Buhari vows to lead Nigeria out of recession
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday pledged to reverse the country’s economic slump as his government also tackles endemic corruption and the security threat from Boko Haram Islamists. Recession was officially confirmed in Africa’s most populous nation last month, after a second successive quarter of …
Read More »Now or never for Lagos tourism sector
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Traffic jams may clog the city and the beaches look like garbage dumps, but for the Lagos state government developing tourism is now a do or die matter. Nigeria has survived almost exclusively on oil revenues for decades, but the plunge in crude prices …
Read More »Nigerians deny Honduras bronze, Neymar lifts Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Nigeria claimed men’s football bronze at the Rio Olympics with an entertaining 3-2 win over Honduras in Belo Horizonte on Saturday to deny the Central Americans their first ever Olympic medal. Two goals from Roma striker Sadiq Umar and namesake Aminu Umar’s fine …
Read More »Kerry to travel to East Africa, the Gulf on counterterrorism tour
Washington, United States | AFP | US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel next week to Kenya, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia on a three-nation tour focused on counterterrorism, the State Department said Thursday. The top US diplomat arrives in Nairobi on Monday for talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta …
Read More »Nigerian shambles, coach Siasia backs quarter-final boycott
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 …
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