Newspaper of the Year
Jonathan, PDP face protest votes threat NEWS Page 6
•Anger in S/south, S/east
News Fayemi clears air on Ekiti’s debt P7 Sports Eagles: Martins, Uche to return P41 Business NBS scores economy low in Q3 P33
•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper
VOL. 9, NO. 3007 MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2014
•www.thenationonlineng.net
TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH
N150.00
•INSIDE: NIGERIA’S DIRECT INVESTMENTS HIT $67B P4 ‘GOWON TRULY COMMITTED’ P5
•From left: Former Head of StateGeneral Yakubu Gowon, his wife Victoria, Vice President Namadi Sambo, celebrator’s daughter and former PHOTO AKIN OLADOKUN Vice President Alex Ekweme cutting Gen. Gowon’s 80th birthday cake in Abuja...at the weekend.
Nigeria puts pressure on Ghana to probe oil theft
N
IGERIA is demanding a probe into the activities of a company, which it believes is involved in laundering stolen crude to Europe. Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a US-based newspaper which levelled the allegations, said Saltpond Offshore Producing Company (SOPC) is suspected of being used to tranship and
•U.S. dumps Nigeria’s crude smuggle stolen Nigerian crude to Europe and that Washington is probing the company as part of a broader inquiry into how Nigerian oil gets stolen and laundered. Sources within the intelligence community in Ghana told a local publication The Finder, that Nigeria is not happy that Ghana has not ordered official investigations
into the accusation when it was published. Consequently, investigative bodies in Nigeria have officially written to their Ghanaian counterparts to investigate the allegations levelled against Saltpond Offshore Producing Company. The US for the first time failed to import a single barrel of crude oil from Nigeria
•Ololade receiving the award from Ms Natland...at the weekend
Why The Nation man Ololade won, by CNN
in July 2014. This troubling scenario, according to industry watchers, would not augur well for the Nigerian economy, which is highly dependent on revenue from oil. Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude exporter, depends largely on crude proceeds to service over 85% of its budget. Nigeria used to be the fifth largest exporter of crude oil to
HE Nation’s serial award-winning Assistant Editor Olatunji Ololade emerged at the weekend winner of the Health and Medical Category of the CNN African Journalist of the Year. Ololade received the award from the Managing Director of MSD South Africa, Kaja Natland in Arusha, Tanzania. He won the award for his story titled: “This marriage will kill me - Tragedy of Nigeria’s child brides”. The judges praised Ololade for his excellent writing and attention to details. This is what the judges said about his winning entry:
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T
Chibok girls: Anxiety over Fed Govt, Boko Haram deal
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WHEN WILL THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15 BE FREED?
Parents, community, activists, others doubt deal Talks today in Chad
My heart tells me to keep my fingers crossed If the ceasefire was real, it will be a good omen and be prayerful, but my head tells me to just for the nation...But we should be wary of false wave it away. —Chibok community leader ceasefire. —Rights activist Shehu Sani
D
OUBTS swept through the Chibok community yesterday over the ceasefire and imminent release of the abducted schoolgirls announced by the government at the weekend. Some parents of the girls in captivity, the Bringbackthegirls campaigners,
From Yusuf Alli, Grace Obike, Abuja and Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna
Borno State Senator Ahmed Zannah, rights activist Shehu Sani, among others, have at best expressed cautious optimism. Doubts over the ceasefire were strengthened by the weekend’s at-
tacks believed to be by the sect in Borno State. Many were killed. Going by the terms of the said agreement, the meeting will continue today in Chad after which some of the leaders of the sect in detention will be swapped for the Chibok girls, this week.
One of the elders of the Abuja Chibok community, Dr. Dauda Iliya questioned the truthfulness of the truce because of the weekend’s attacks. Iliya, a representative of the Abuja Chibok community, said he would like
to believe the truce but his head told him Continued on page 4
•SPORTS P23 •JOBS P35 •CEO P37 •MOTORING P39 •POLITICS P43 •FOREIGN P59