IMF Staff Completes 2018 Article IV Mission to Nigeria

IMF Staff Completes 2018 Article IV Mission to Nigeria

WASHINGTON, 22 December 2017 / PRN Africa / -- An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team led by Amine Mati visited Nigeria during December 6-20, 2017 to conduct the 2018 Article IV consultation. Following the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Mati, Senior Resident Representative and Mission Chief for Nigeria at the IMF, issued the following statement:

“Overall growth is slowly picking up but recovery remains challenging. Economic activity expanded by 1.4 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2017—the second consecutive quarter of positive growth after five quarters of recession—driven by recovering oil production and agriculture. However, growth in the non-oil-non-agricultural sector (representing about 65 percent of the economy), contracted in the first three quarters of 2017 relative to the same period last year. Difficulties in accessing financing and high inflation continued to weigh on companies' performance and consumer demand. Headline inflation declined to 15.9 percent by end-November, from 18½ percent at end-2016, but remains sticky despite tight liquidity conditions.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2018

We wish you a beautiful Merry Christmas and prosperous Happy New Year 2018.

See "JESUS Christ, The Priceless Gift of God "
Click here to read the message.

Great News - Speaker Paul Ryan



Great News - Speaker Paul Ryan

Christmas is coming early for the American people.

Republicans made a promise to you that, if elected, we would pass historic tax reform, and put America back in the lead again. Today, Congress kept that promise by passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That means that a typical family of four making $73,000 will get a tax cut of $2,059 next year.

Big things like this cannot happen without an enormous team effort, and I want to thank President Trump and his administration for their help in getting historic tax reform across the finish line.

UK Minister for Africa Condemns Attack On Aid Convoy in Nigeria

UK Minister for Africa Condemns Attack On Aid Convoy in Nigeria

LONDON, 19 December 2017 / PRN Africa / --

Minister for Africa Rory Stewart gave a statement on the attack in Borno State, Nigeria on 16 December 2017.

Minister for Africa, Rory Stewart said:

“I condemn the attack on Saturday against a humanitarian convoy in Borno State, in which four people lost their lives. The UK continues to support the United Nations and humanitarian partners as they deliver essential food supplies to people affected by the current conflict – food that was lost in this attack.

“We call on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and refrain from launching attacks against civilians or humanitarian operations. Life-saving assistance has been provided to 5 million people in the north east of Nigeria, this vital work to help people most in need must not be hampered.”

SOURCE UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office

BUTHAINA Muhammad Mansour al-Raimi of Yemen is Our Hero of the Year

BUTHAINA Muhammad Mansour al-Raimi of Yemen is the most unforgettable face of 2017; an amazing symbol of human courage, faith and hope in human conflict. She has inspired us not to give up no matter the tragedies of life in a turbulent world. 
She is Our Hero of the Year.
She is the bravest child in the world.

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor of Nigerians Report Online and @247 Nigeria. https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima.

The following report is by Karem Alzerii.

The five-year-old was at home with her parents and her five siblings when an air strike destroyed their apartment building in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, on August 25.

(The caption said: “The child survived with the blessings of God, to be a symbol of the loss of Saudi aggression against Yemen.”) 

Rescuers hauled her from the rubble, and she’s been in hospital ever since.

She suffered a fractured skull and serious bruises to her entire body, including her face.

Shortly after the attack, local news photographer Karem Alzerii came to visit her in the hospital and take her picture.

Both of her eyes were swollen shut, but she forced one open so she could see the stranger trying to ask questions.

It’s a tiny gesture, but it’s made her a symbol of the violence tearing her country apart, and now the world is taking notice.

Nigerian High Court Grants Aiteo’s Benedict Peters Global Judgment in Rem - Declares Earnings as Legitimate

PRESS RELEASE

Nigerian High Court Grants Aiteo’s Benedict Peters Global Judgment in Rem - Declares Earnings as Legitimate

There was no evidence to support the suggestion that any aspect of his business showed any criminal conduct and as such, the allegations were baseless

LAGOS, Nigeria, December 19, 2017/ -- The High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria has declared that earnings and assets accruing to Oil magnate and Aiteo Energy (www.AiteoGroup.com) boss, Benedict Peters were acquired legally through legitimate sources. This follows a similar ruling squashing multiple money laundering charges and bribery of election officials indictment against Mr. Peters.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: 2018 iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival

8th IREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival, 22nd-25th March 2018.

The iREPRESENT (iREP) International Documentary Film Festival is committed to developing and promoting the practice of documentary filmmaking in Africa. Founded in Lagos Nigeria in 2010 by Femi Odugbemi, Makin Soyinka and Jahman Anikulapo the I-Represent international documentary film festival has made progress making a case for rebuilding a vibrant documentary cinema culture in Nigeria. Over the past 7years IREP has screened over 250 films from across the world partnering with other documentary film festivals such as the Dok.fest in Munich Germany and the WADF out of the University Missouri in St.Louis Missouri and the New York University's African Studies department. We have vigorously advocated documentary cinema as an important art form and as a powerful tool for empowering new voices and new perspectives on the issues of our political and cultural history and our development agenda within the framework of our ambitions for development, constitutional liberties, human rights, social justice and democracy. That is why iREP chose from inception to frame its intervention on the theme "Africa in self-conversation."

Africa, Now is A Time for Action - Kofi Annan

PRESS RELEASE

“Now is a time for action” affirms Kofi Annan in final Africa Progress Panel report

The report presents a bold agenda for African progress, to be taken forward by leaders on the continent and abroad to accelerate Africa’s transformation in the coming decades

GENEVA, Switzerland, December 18, 2017/ -- By 2050 more than one in four people on our planet will be African. Bold action is needed now to ensure that all of them have a fair chance of leading healthy, prosperous and fulfilling lives, urges the newest and final report from Kofi Annan’s Africa Progress Panel (APP) (www.AfricaProgressPanel.org).

The report, “Making Progress Towards Attaining the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa”, (http://APO.af/xtXMF1) draws from the insights cultivated over the APP’s decade of work (2007-2017), outlining the key opportunities and challenges Africa faces as it strives to realize the Sustainable Development Goals, and create long-term equitable and sustainable prosperity.

The APP’s final report is primarily a call to action. It presents a bold agenda for African progress, to be taken forward by leaders on the continent and abroad to accelerate Africa’s transformation in the coming decades.

Nigeria - Signs of Economic Recovery for West Africa as Nigeria Exits Recession

President Muhammadu Buhari at the 48th ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government ordinary summit in Abuja.

Nigeria - Signs of Economic Recovery for West Africa as Nigeria Exits Recession


PRESS RELEASE

Top five business risks for West Africa

Signs of economic recovery for West Africa as Nigeria exits recession – Militancy and political uncertainty remain key risks for businesses in 2018

LAGOS, Nigeria, December 18, 2017/ -- As Nigeria exits the recession of 2017, investor sentiment across West Africa is likely to experience uplift in 2018. Still, political uncertainty ahead of Nigeria’s 2019 presidential elections and on-going security concerns are among the key risks for businesses operating in the region, says specialist global risk consultancy Control Risks (www.ControlRisks.com) in their annual political and security risk forecast ‘RiskMap’.

Control Risks’ Senior Partner for West Africa Tom Griffin comments:

“2017 has been a tough and turbulent year for businesses in the region, however with Nigeria exiting recession, and foreign exchange shortages easing, we see a strong improvement in investor sentiment emerging. Another major engine of growth will be Cote d’Ivoire, where economic expansion is projected at around 7% next year. There will be only a handful of elections in the region in 2018, meaning continuity will largely prevail with policy decisions having the biggest impact on the business environment.”

NOLLYWOOD: A Film Industry Without A Film Catalogue

The Nigerian film industry, including #Nollywood and #Kannywood does not have a film catalogue.
As I have stated before in my articles published by @indiewire that Nigeria has a peculiar film industry, because it does not have any film market.

Every world class film festival has a film catalogue. This not the film festival brochure. A film catalogue of all the selected films and other films to be given to film commissioners and film distributors.
I am yet to see any film festival in Nigeria exploring the opportunities of the business platforms of film festivals like the Berlinale, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Durban and others of world class standards.