PRESIDENT BUHARI FELICITATES WITH CHINA ON ITS NEW YEAR

Before he proceeded on a short vacation last week, President Muhammadu Buhari had felicitated with China on its Lunar New Year, which begins on January 28. Here is the text of the message:


Message from President Muhammadu Buhari for the Chinese Lunar New Year

The Year of Rooster for the celebration of the Chinese Community in Nigeria and all over the world will commence on 28 January this year. As you spend the next days sharing time with families and friends, on behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I want to express my warmest greetings to you on celebrating the Spring Festival, also known as Chinese Lunar New Year.

PRESS RELEASE: Minister wants Chinese TV, Cinemas to show Nigerian films

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has urged the Chinese authorities to facilitate the showing of Nigerian films on television and in cinemas across the Asian country as part of efforts to strengthen the relations between the two countries.

The Minister made the call in Beijing on Tuesday when he paid a courtesy visit to the Chinese Vice Minister of State for Radio, Television and Film, Mr. Wu Shangzhi, in his office.

He also called for the immediate implementation of the co-production agreement signed between Nigeria and China, and the sharing of experience in combatting piracy of movies.

PRESS RELEASE: Nigerian media, most vibrant in Africa – Minister

Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has described the Nigerian media as one of the most vibrant in Africa and indeed across the world, while assuring that the government will not do anything to stifle press freedom.

Speaking at the 3rd Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, the Minister said the Nigerian media did not achieve its vibrancy by accident, saying apart from the fact that it derives its powers to function directly from the nation’s Constitution, the Nigerian media has come a long way.

BUHARI IN CHINA: BOKO HARAM TREATMENT FOR PIPELINE VANDALS - BUHARI WARNS

President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Beijing warned vandals and saboteurs blowing up oil and gas installations in Nigeria to desist immediately or face the same drastic action being taken against Boko Haram by the Armed Forces.

Speaking at a meeting with members of the Nigerian Community in China, President Buhari also reaffirmed his total commitment to winning the war against corruption, saying that corruption was an arch-enemy of the nation which has destroyed the lives of many Nigerians.


"I ask for your support to make our vision of stamping out corruption a reality in the shortest possible time. Whoever is caught will not be spared.

BUHARI IN CHINA: SEE WHAT ORDER AND DISCIPLINE DID TO CHINA

Like a troubador traversing the land, we set forth at dawn, leaving Beijing for Shanghai, China's economic nerve center. It was 8 a.m when we headed for the airport, meaning time was 1 a.m in Nigeria. Every honest Nigerian (except those on essential duties) was supposed to be in bed, drifting from one dream to the other, also like a troubador.

By 8.50 a.m, Air Force 001 took off, piercing into the azure sky. But not before we had done a quick trip review, as the pilot and the crew got ready. It was President Muhammadu Buhari who looked out through the window of the plane, shook his head, and declared:"Did you notice the level of discipline in this city? Did you notice the cleanliness and order? Did you see anybody throwing litter, or garbage anywhere? And did you see their security agents, how smart and dutiful they were?"

PMB In China: Visits China Aerospace Science Technology Corporation Centre in Beijing (PHOTOS)

President Muhahammadu Buhari visited the China Aerospace Science Technology Corporation Centre in Beijing, China.

Chinese Loan: Nigeria Offered $6bn, Agrees Currency Swap to Shore up Naira

China has offered Nigeria a $6 billion loan to fund infrastructure projects, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyema, said yesterday in Beijing the Chinese capital.

“It is a credit that is on the table as soon as we identify the projects,” he told reporters travelling with President Muhammadu Buhari to China.

President Buhari meets Xi Jinping of China

“It won’t need an agreement to be signed; it is just to identify the projects and we access it,” he said.

The confirmation by Onyema coincided with an agreement reached between Nigeria and China yesterday on a currency swap deal, as it looks for ways to shore up the naira and fund a record budget deficit, possibly by issuing yuan-denominated bonds in China, reported Reuters.

Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades as sinking oil prices eat into its foreign reserves and the naira weakens against other currencies.

Nigeria has been for months looking for sources to help plug a projected 2016 deficit of N2.2 trillion ($11.1 billion) as Buhari plans to triple capital spending in the 2016 fiscal year.

According to Reuters, during Buhari’s visit to Beijing, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), the world’s biggest lender, and Nigeria’s central bank signed a deal on yuan transactions.
“It means that the renminbi (yuan) is free to flow among different banks in Nigeria, and the renminbi has been included in the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria,” Lin Songtian, Director General of the African Affairs Department of China’s foreign ministry, told reporters.

PMB In China: Official Opening Ceremony of the China-Nigeria Business Forum (PHOTOS)

President Muhammadu Buhari speaking at the Official Opening Ceremony of the China-Nigeria Business Forum in Beijing.

U-23 Championship Qualifiers: Congo must fall says Samson Siaisa

Head Coach of the U-23 National Team, Samson Siasia, has expressed confidence that his team will overcome their Congolese counterparts in Sunday’s African U-23 Championship final round, first leg qualifier at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt on Sunday.


Siasia, who led the Under-23 team to runner-up position at the Men’s Football Tournament of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, said this in a chat with the media at the Hotel Presidential abode of the team. “I am very confident that Nigerians who will troop out en masse to see our match on Sunday will see one of the best displays ever by the Dream Team.

Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Crashed into Indan Ocean: Malaysia Authority Tells the Families of passengers

Families of passengers of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have been informed that the plane ended its journey in the Indian Ocean, effectively ending their hopes of a miraculous survival.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak gave the information in a televised press conference at 15:00 CET.

Malaysia MH370: Australian Satellite Spots Possible Plane Debris; U.S. Plane 'Not Getting Any Evidence' of Debris

A United State Navy aircraft searching for surface objects traced by an Australian satellite has “not confirmed” any sighting of debris so far, a senior official said early Thursday. The P-8 Poseidon plane is “on station” in the area of the Indian Ocean and will continue to search, Navy Lieutenant David Levy told NBC News.

The sophisticated anti-submarine aircraft can scan an area of up to 10,000 square miles.

Malaysia Missing Jet Was Diverted, Open Criminal Inquiry - Officials

The search for Malaysia Flight 370 turned into a criminal investigation on Saturday, after the country declared that the plane had been deliberately diverted and then flown for as long as seven hours toward an unknown point far from its scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Malaysian PM Najib Razak said on Saturday afternoon that he would seek the help of governments across a large swath of Asia in the search for the plane, which has been missing for a week and had 239 people on board.

Malaysian authorities has released a map showing that the last satellite signal received from the plane, sent from a point somewhere along one of two arcs spanning large distances across Asia.

Missing Plane: Names of passengers on boards released

Malaysia Airlines holds a press conference at CITIC Hotel Beijing

Names of the passengers on board the airline has been released. Next of  kin of all the passengers on board might have been contacted .

A very long oil slick of 12-mile spotted between Malaysia and Vietnam on Saturday afternoon is thought to be the first sign that a missing Malaysia Airlines flight went down in the waters between southernmost Vietnam and northern Malaysia, Vietnam’s director of civil aviation has hinted.