Sahara Reporters: Latest and Current Articles & News [March ‘11 Diet]

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                 By Adetokunbo Mumuni           The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN) and the Central Bank of Nigeria have asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to reject the Okigbo panel report as “the report is not admissible in law because it has not yet been published in a gazette and no white paper has been issued on the report.”

Source: Babangida's $12.4 billion Oil Windfall Loot: AGF, CBN Tell Court To Reject Okigbo report

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                                                                   By SaharaReporters, New York           “Our Priority is to tackle Poverty in Nigeria” – Ribadu

The presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has promised the establishment of six specialist hospitals in each of the country’s geo-political zones and building a million houses per year if elected president in April. He said the personnel needed to man these hospitals and do the construction jobs were available in abundance in the country and he would only create the environment to make them thrive.

Source: Photonews: Ribadu Campaigning

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                 From Mariam Aleshinloye-Agboola, Jos           For years, Professor Pat Utomi has advocated for a change in a system he was convinced was decaying. Today, he is exasperated at a nation and its leaders unperturbed by the US prediction that Nigeria may cease to be one in a few years.

Source: Sun News Interview: Let's Crash This Democracy •Nigeria Is Dying –Pat Utomi

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                 By SaharaReporters, New York           The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta issued a statement tonight claiming that the movement plans elaborate attacks against oil installations in the Niger Delta region as well as the federal capital territory and Nigeria's commercial nerve center, Lagos.

Source: MEND Says It Plans To Attack Oil Installations; Targets Abuja And Lagos

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                 whataboutusnigeria.org           Last year Ngozi Okonjo Iweala uttered a fact that sent a shudder through the youth population of Nigeria. She let the youth know that they comprised a whopping 70% of Nigeria's population. Seventy percent?? How could this be? The schools were dilapidated, the youth unemployed, and none of the leaders looked like they'd been a youth in decades.

Source: The Youth: Can Presidential Candidates Afford To Ignore The New Political Force In Town

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              In the heat of preparations for the forth coming general election, the Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria has warned the police against the continued use of the security agencies to intimidate and muzzle opposition parties all over the country. The party says that by its continued intimidation and harassment of members of the opposition parties in various parts of the country, the PDP is sowing the seeds of widespread resistance that will certainly lead to unsavory public reactions.

Source: Lagos ACN Decries PDP's Continued Muzzling Of Opposition

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                 Wikileaks           Wikileaks cable released to Lagos-based 234next newspaper describes former minister of foreign affairs as an opportunist and an "AGIP" (Any Government In Power) to describe his penchant for serving any regime in position of power. In 2010 SaharaReporters confronted Ojo Maduekwe at a United Nations press conference, this encounter raised the issue of Maduekwe's AGIP status. The encounter got Mr. Maduekwe upset and later got him fired from his job. Mr. Maduekwe now works for the re-election of Goodluck Jonathan as a campaign manager.

Source: Wikileaks Cable Describes Ojo Maduekwe As An Opportunist

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                 By SaharaReporters, New York           Chief Segun Oni, the Governor of Ekiti State who was removed by the Isa-Salami-led Election Appeal Tribunal last year to pave way for Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria to replace him, today filed an Appeal at the new Court of Appeal in Ado  Ekiti  seeking an order to set that judgement aside.

Source: Ekiti Governorship: Former Governor Oni Files Appeal Against His Removal, Seeks Re-trial of Election Case

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   By Ozioma Unegbu           Nigeria’s growing unemployment is one of a major concern to many analysts and economists as the figures increasingly suggest dwindling potentials. Official figures from the Bureau of statistics puts this figure at about 20% (about 30million), but this figure still did not include about 40million other Nigerian youths captured in World Bank statistics in 2009.

Source: Resolving Nigeria's Unemployment Problem

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                 By Mohamed Keita/CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator           "For security reasons, the government of Cameroon requests the suspension of the Twitter sms integration on the network," announced a March 8 tweet by Bouba Kaélé, marketing manager of the Cameroon unit of South Africa-based telecommunications provider MTN. The announcement has since disappeared from Kaélé's Twitter feed, but was memorialized by a handful of Twitter users who retweeted the comment and the Cameroonian daily Le Jour, which printed a story.

Source: Fearing Egypt-style Revolt, Cameroon Bars Twitter Service