It seems like Sahara Reporters is down. The site shows 403 error
Forbidden
You don’t have permission to access / on this server.
Recently, the media outfit has been under severe DDOS attacks from enemies of its corruption reporting. Maybe, the Nigerian government should make SR a national critical infrastructure and protect it.
Update: They have just infested SaharaReporters with malware as of Jan 11 2017 11am Abuja time.
The full statement:
Our attention has been drawn to news reports published mostly by online media which suggested through innuendo, rather than factual evidence, that former President Goodluck Jonathan received kickbacks in the $1.3bn OPL 245 oil block deal involving oil giants ENI and Royal Dutch Shell.
With regards to the publication, we wish to make it clear that former President Jonathan was not accused, indicted or charged for corruptly collecting any monies as kickbacks or bribes from ENI by the Italian authorities or any other law enforcement body the world over.
In the first place, we have to categorically state that the negotiations and transactions for the oil block deal predate the Presidency of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan which began on 6th May 2010 and ended on 29th May 2015.
It may interest those promoting this false narrative to know that all the documents relating to the transactions, issues and decisions of the Federal Government on the Malabo issue, during the Jonathan administration, are in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation/Minister of Justice.
As President of Nigeria, there is no doubt that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan met with executives of all the oil majors operating in Nigeria and urged them to, amongst other things, support the growth of the Nigerian oil industry by ramping up their investments and comply with the Local Content Act that he promoted and signed into law.
We however wish to state, for emphasis, that at no time did the former President hold private meetings with representatives of ENI to discuss pecuniary issues. All the meetings and discussions former President
Jonathan had with ENI, other IOCs and some indigenous operators were conducted officially, and in the presence of relevant Nigerian Government officials and were done in the best interest of the country.
We make bold to point out that the former President never sent any Abubakar Aliyu, as the innuendoes in the false report suggest, to ENI, the IOCs or any indigenous operator to seek favour or collect any gratification on his behalf.
We will like to point out for the umpteenth time that whether in office or out of office, former President Jonathan does not own any bank account, aircraft or real estate outside Nigeria. Anyone with contrary information is challenged to publicly publish same.
As the President who signed the Freedom of Information Act into law, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan lifted the veil on governance and encouraged transparency knowing that evil breeds in secrecy. It is the opinion of the former President that journalists and media houses should take advantage of this law in their investigative journalism, rather than rely on hearsay.
We hope that these clarifications will help guide future reports which should be factual.
Ikechukwu Eze
Media Adviser to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan
(President 2010-2015)
Things happen – you nominate somebody for a job he may not even be interested!
The Senate has rejected the nomination of American-based professor, Akintunde Akinwande, as the head of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Mr. Akinwande was rejected for his failure to attend confirmation hearing.
The decision was announced Tuesday.
According to developing news from Techpoint, it seems Efritin is shutting down operations.
This is not really news as most e-commerce companies in Nigeria are just bleeding cash with no viable business model in the midst of heavy recession which has affected people’s purchasing capacities.
Efritin is not closing shop because of competition. Rather, it went bankrupt because Nigeria is not ready for e-commerce. Even Konga has lost more money than it made. Jumia is a shadow of itself. The problem cannot be fixed by marketing. This is a structural problem – without logistics and postal system, e-commerce, in Nigeria, has no long-term competitiveness capacity in a place where every street has a “shop”.
Until the Nigerian government invests in infrastructure like postal systems and transportation networks, few companies will come out of e-commerce profitably.
Le
QG Africa Hotel LP, a Mauritius based investment fund managed by Quantum Global Investments Africa Management Ltd., has announced the acquisition of the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra from Kingdom Holding Company (KHC). The transaction closed on 28 December 2016.
Quantum Global’s Group CEO, Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, commented: “The acquisition of the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra, one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most successful hotels, is a great testament to the strength of our Hotel Fund and its growing portfolio. The hospitality industry across Africa is an indicator of the vitality and attractiveness of key locations across the continent and we look to further take advantage of those opportunities and generate value added returns for our investors.”
Complementing Quantum Global’s already significant African investment portfolio, the value proposition of this transaction is underpinned by its status as one of the largest hotel and mixed use properties in West Africa, occupying an exceptional position in both business and touristic segments of the African hospitality market.
Note: The title of this post has been updated for accuracy.