SEED Awards application is now open. This is from a newsletter sent by the organization:

We are pleased to announce that SEED has launched the 2017 SWITCH Africa Green (SAG)-SEED Awards for innovative eco-inclusive start-up enterprises that aim to generate environmental, social and economic benefits at the local level.

This year, we are looking for applications for 15 SAG – SEED Awards for enterprises in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. The Awards are supported by the SWITCH-Africa Green project, which is implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with the assistance of the European Union. The SAG-SEED Awards in South Africa will be co-financed by the Government of Flanders.

Candidates can apply from 10 January 2017 until 08 March 2017, 23:59 Central African Time (CAT).

For detailed information please refer to the SEED homepage.

The SEED Awards for start-up enterprises with a proof of concept, are not the only programme we offer! The SEED Starter supports teams with entrepreneurial ideas to set up their business. Until 19 January motivated teams from Burkina Faso can apply. The SEED Replicator supports entrepreneurial individuals to replicate existing business models in their community. Workshops in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Mauritius and South Africa are coming up soon! We’ll keep you updated for your country.

The SEED Team would also be pleased to see you again at the 2017 SEED South Africa Symposium on 19-20 April 2017 in Pretoria, South Africa, or our other regional symposia planned for the second half of 2017 in Ghana and Uganda.

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.