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Nigeria will revert to paper banknotes in a policy switch that bucks a trend around the world for tougher polymer-based currency. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) signed a deal in 2006 with Australia's Securency International to print more-circulated lower units of the naira in polymer, while higher denominations were kept in paper form. But six years later - and after allegations the manufacturer bribed foreign officials to secure contracts, including in Nigeria - the CBN said it was being forced to reverse the policy. "Polymer has been on a test run since 2007. This explains why we did not go the whole hog by printing all the notes in polymer," CBN spokesman Ugochukwu Okoroafor told AFP. "We only used polymer for N5, N10, N20 and N50, while N100, N200, N500 and N1000 are in paper form. "We soon discovered that the (polymer) notes easily fade out because of our peculiar hot climate in Nigeria ... making them look tattered when ...

Two-dozen US and European banks have been targeted by the Shylock Trojan. Shylock avoids detection as it injects itself into legitimate processes. Twenty-four banks across Europe and the US have recently been targeted by Shylock – aka Capshaw – financial   malware  that has actively been going after bank accounts since 2011. The countries with the highest number of infections are the UK, Italy, Denmark and Turkey. Sachin Deodhar and Chris Mannon, researchers from Zscaler's ThreatLabZ, have  reported  this upswing in activity, but say they are currently unable to identify the initial infection vector. "We can tell that it is more than likely arriving as part of an exploit kit honing in on  vulnerable  versions of Java. The reason we suspect this is that the user-agent for every single transaction that has come through our Behavioral Analysis solution has been: Mozilla/4.0 (Windows XP 5.1) Java/1.6.0_07." Shylock avoids detection as it inject...

President Goodluck Jonathan has commiserated with the family of Honourable Inuwa Sule Udi, the Deputy Speaker of the Jigawa State House of Assembly, who was involved in a car accident while on his way home from Kano. Describing the death of the lawmaker as ‘very painful and untimely’ President Jonathan also condoled with the Jigawa State House Speaker, members of the Assembly and the government and people of Jigawa State, saying that Honourable Inuwa Sule Udi’s legislative experience would be solely missed, not just Jigawa state alone but the nation as whole, while still expressing his shock at the death of the lawmaker who has been in the Jigawa State House of Assembly as a third-term member. President Jonathan ended by praying that God Almighty would console members of the Udi family and grant the soul of the departed lawmaker peaceful rest.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Wednesday faulted the statement credited to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, that the union demanded for N92bn, describing the claim as false. ASUU said it never demanded such amount as earned allowances in the 2009 agreement it reached with the Federal Government. Okonjo-Iweala had on Wednesday in Minna, said the Federal Government couldn’t meet the N92bn allowances as demanded by ASUU. The university lecturers, in a statement by the University of Ibadan branch chairman, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye, described the amount mentioned by the minister as “a the imagination of the minister.” Ajiboye explained that the earned allowances, the union and the governemnt calculated in the 2009 agreement, amounted to N87b, which covered allowances for three and half years for the lecturers in the nation’s universities. He said, the N87bn was a compromise made by ASUU to scale down from N127bn. He added that the N87bn was computed ...

Lagos state governor Babatunde Fashola has given Orji Kalu 14 days grace to pay up his land use charge, after the business man claimed that his Ikoyi home has been sealed off following a threat to sue the Lagos state government over an unrelated matter. The Lagos state government was alerted on the misleading claim by Kalu in quick action stated that Kalu’s property in Park View Estate, Ikoyi was seized pursuant to Section 40 of the Revenue Administration Law of Lagos State for failure to pay the statutory annual land use charge despite three separate notices delivered to the said property. In a statement released by the Aderemi Ibirogba, the Hon. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, state government expects that all residents of the Lagos are expected to follow the law and process and one of it is to discharge such responsibilities to the state, but on the part of Kalu, he has failed to do that. Governor was alerted by the agency after sealing off Kalu’s Ikoyi home on Tu...

Hopes of quick resolution of the present face-off between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities were dashed some minutes ago as the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the government has no resources to meet the union demands. Foreclosing possible truce to the five-week old industrial action that has paralysed academic activities in the nation’s ivory towers, Okonjo-Iwela said the striking university lecturers were asking for #92 billion in extra allowances, maintaining that government lack means of picking the bill. Speaking in Minna at the annual National Council on Finance and Economic Development meeting, the minister said that ASUU demand was coming at a time government was making efforts at reducing the structure of public expenditures. The theme of the meeting is: “Restructuring Nigeria’s Finances.” She said, “At present ASUU wants the government to pay N92 billion in extra allowances when resources are not there and when ...

Amnesty International has insisted that the Lagos state government must stop its forceful eviction of some selected residents of Lagos by demolishing their buildings. It is estimated that close to 9,000 residents of Badia East lost their homes or livelihoods. However senior officials in the Lagos state government had claimed that the area was a rubbish dump. New evidence from satellite images reveals the true extent of a forced eviction in Badia East, Lagos – one of Africa’s two megacities. The pictures, taken before and after demolitions carried out by the Lagos state government on 23 February 2013, clearly show that a densely populated area containing concrete houses and other structures was razed to the ground. A new report by Amnesty International and the Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) looks at the impact of the demolitions and documents the failings of the Lagos state government. According to Oluwatosin Popoola who is Amnesty International’s Nigeria resea...

A cocktail of options on how to bridge Nigeria’s infrastructure financing gap yesterday resulted in a senior government minister, Shamsudeen Usman, minister, national planning, saying “Nigeria needs about $2.9 trillion in the next 30 years to execute its integrated infrastructure master plan.” Usman told the audience on the first day of ongoing roundtable by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that going by the national integrated infrastructure master plan, “the nation needs an average of $25 billion annual spend between 2014 and 2043.” About 35 percent to 40 percent stock of Nigeria’s infrastructure remain below the international benchmark of 70 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012, meaning that Nigeria needs to up its infrastructure stock to at least 70 percent in the next 30 years. According to Usman, the integrated infrastructure master plan comes out of government’s realisation that when it creates the enabling environment, the private sector will thrive...

L-R: Asphalt Supervisor, Julius Berger Plc, Mr. Hartlied Harald; President Goodluck Jonathan; and Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, during the inauguration of the reconstruction of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, at Sagamu, Ogun State... on Friday President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday inaugurated the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, with a pledge that the N167bn project would be completed in 48 months. He inaugurated the project as thousands of road users were grounded for about three hours on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Abeokuta-Ore-Benin Expressway. The road users were prevented from accessing the Sagamu interchange until the ceremony ended around 12.15pm and the President left in a helicopter. The reconstruction of the 35-year-old road is being handled by Messrs Julius Berger Plc and Reynolds Construction Company Ltd. While the former takes charge of work from the interchange at Sagamu to Lagos, the latter will take care of the portion from the interchange t...

Odilim Basil Enwegbara Not visiting Nigeria by the United States President, Barack Obama, during his visit to Africa would not have become a matter of serious debate had it not been that the country was earlier on the list, but later suddenly dropped without any plausible reasons. The reason why it shouldn’t have is because in international diplomacy, decisions about places or countries national leaders visit or do not visit are simply the prerogative those nations, and they do not owe anyone or any nation explanations for their decisions. Underlining the very important fact that even though Obama is the US president, given that his official oversea trips are never a jamboree but as the chief corporate officer of the US, such are always conducted to maximise national interest, it is hard for the president to simply go to any country without either the immediate and expectant strategic US national interests being the reason. For example, his first and only African visit in his fir...

Officers of the Ondo State Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service on Friday paraded 147 persons from Niger Republic and Chad, who illegally came to the state without valid travelling documents. The Comptroller of NIS in the state, Mr. Adesola Sessi, told journalists in Akure that the illegal immigrants were picked up by his men at the Sabo and Shasha areas of the state capital. He explained that the people will be repatriated to their countries of origin immediately because they were constituting a great security risk, especially when it was discovered that they had no means of livelihood. He said two of them attacked and injured some immigration officers while trying to resist arrest on Thursday. Sessi said the illegal immigrants had been living in the state for a very long time and that it took his men diligent surveillance to fish them out of their hideouts.

Yesterday, a tanker conveying kerosene had an accident at Oshodi , on the Oshodi-Apapa expressway. In no time, residents swooped on the tanker scooping it's content to the dismay of motorists and security agents..... Do have your say Stealing kerosene from a tanker after an accident, is this poverty, greed or madness?

President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the constitution of a Presidential Committee to "constructively engage key members of Boko Haram and define a comprehensive and workable framework for resolving the crisis of insecurity in the country." Announcing the setting up of the committee, a statement by Dr Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity stated that the committee's terms of reference will include: -Developing a framework for the granting of amnesty -Setting up of a framework through which disarmament could take place within a 60-day time frame -Development of a comprehensive victims' support programme -Development of mechanisms to address the underlying causes of insurgencies that will help to prevent future occurrences. The committee is made up of the following Nigerians: Committee on dialogue and peaceful resolution of security challenges in the north 1.Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Special Duties - Chairman 2....

The world's largest building has opened in China capable of fitting 20 Sydney Opera Houses - or three Pentagons - inside. The New Century Global Center in Chengdu, Sichuan province, is a staggering 19million sq.ft. and contains shopping centres, a Mediterranean village, a water park, an ice-skating rink, and multiple hotels. However, visitors to the glass panelled building need not worry about the weather as the giant complex will have its own artificial sun.Wow, this place is worth visiting. Continue to read more   The building is 500 metres long, 400 metres wide and 100 metres high, reports said. According to Chinese officials, the New Century Global Center is the largest freestanding building in the world, and took three years to complete. 'This is an ocean city built by man,' Chinese guide Liu Xun told AFP.    He added that the artificial sun built inside the building will provide light and heat 24 hours a day for shoppers exploring the around 400,000 sq....

My Fellow GTBank Customer, Webpay Online Payment Security is now the safet online payment system in Nigeria. Thank you for choosing Guaranty Trust Bank plc. To further ensure the safety and integrity of your domestic online payments, GTBank has introduced a second level authentication process to confirm Webpay transactions on Nigerian websites through the use of the GTBank Token device or the One-Time Password (OTP) . This service will be effected from today, Monday, 1st of July, 2013. what is the GTBank token device? The GTBank Token Device is a security device that ensures a fast, secure and convenient way for 3rd party transfers via our Internet banking platforms and to make online purchases of goods and services. What is a one-time password A One-Time Password (OTP) is a code securely generated by the Bank and sent to customers who do not have a GTBank Token Device to confirm their online transactions. This One-Time Password is sent via SMS to the phone number regi...

  ShopRite was officially opened yesterday after the long time it took to furnish the place ! So Ibadan City finally got it’s first international shopping mall – Shop Rite – and guess what, the whole town was there for shopping today!  So yall should start going shopping and don’t forget to get things for me too

Nigeria’s commercial capital, LAGOS, is on the verge of joining the country’s oil-producing states with the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in the coastal state. Yesterday, Afren Plc and its partner, Lekoil Limited, announced significant oil discovery offshore Dahomey Basin in Lagos, according to the London Stock Exchange. In separate announcements, the partners said they discovered a significant light oil accumulation based on the results of drilling and wire line logs from a high impact Ogo-1 well, located on the Oil Prospecting Licence, OPL 310 offshore Nigeria. Afren is optimistic that the discovery is likely to be significantly higher than the anticipated 78 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), which encourages search to further high potential zones. The discovery is subject to the authentication of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which is expected in two weeks. If certified and the partners produce the first barrel of oil, Lagos will...

THE Senate has rejected the proposed UK visa policy that seeks to compel visitors from some countries including Nigeria to deposit 3,000 ponds bond before its immigration authority at entry point, saying it would not accept Nigeria in the list. The upper legislative chamber threatened that it would push for the same treatment on the UK citizens in Nigeria or those seeking entry into the country by the time Nigeria is officially notified of the new development.

Visitors from Nigeria and other "high risk" countries in Asia and Africa will be forced to pay a £3,000 cash bond before they can enter United Kingdom. From November, a pilot scheme will target visitors from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Ghana who will have to pay the UK government a form of cash guarantee or deposit to deter immigration abuse. They will forfeit the £3,000 if they overstay in Britain and fail to return to their home countries by the time their visa has expired. The controversial move by the UK home secretary, Theresa May, to introduce the Australian-style system reflects her determination to show that the Conservatives are serious about cutting immigration in the UK. Ms May said: "This is the next step in making sure our immigration system is more selective, bringing down net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands, while still welcoming the brightest and the best to Britain." She added: "...

Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) says a total of 218 Chinese nationals and 51 Nigeriens have been repatriated from the country as at June 18. Francis Palmdeti, the Head, Public Affairs of GIS said in Accra on Wednesday said that the repatriation was part of the government’s efforts to stamp out illegal mining activities in the country. The Chinese Ambassador, Gong Jianzhong on Tuesday called on the government to release the number of its nationals repatriated. Palmdeti said the repatriations were conducted with the collaboration and support of the respective embassies. “For the Nigeriens, their Embassy provided a bus which conveyed them to Niamey while the Chinese were assisted in some cases with the procurement of tickets by their Embassy,‘’ he said. The GIS spokesman said the immigration service has good working relationship with the foreign missions in the country. “We are advising that foreigners residing in the country should be properly registered with their respective emba...