EIGHT persons, including a pregnant woman and a naval rating, were yesterday burnt to death after a 33,000 litre tanker loaded with product suspected to be diesel, exploded at Orile Iganmu, in Lagos.

Former Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River escaped arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Tuesday by the whiskers, courtesy of the timely intervention of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo signed each bid document for oil blocs twice, as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as Minister of Petroleum Resources, the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee probing the activities of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), its subsidiaries and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) heard in Abuja yesterday.

Information picked up by The Chronicle, from last Wednesday's meeting organised by the staff of the Ghana Telecom (GT), has revealed that the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Mr. Dickson Oduro-Nyaning, religiously defended the Vodafone deal, which has generated a lot of debate, both in Parliament and the public domain. Mr. Oduro reportedly told the workers that if the Vodafone ...

Private sector business executives have identified access to financing as the major challenge to doing business in Ghana, according to results of the Executive Opinion Survey 2008 - Ghana.

Delta State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has said majority of the people of Niger Delta believe in continuous dialogue despite the cancellation of Niger Delta summit by the Federal Government.

GCB opens Sampa branch

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has directed Finance Minister, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, to release the sum of N57 billion as part of the N115 billion meant for power projects to the Ministry of Power within a week, just as it was revealed that power generation in the country has dropped below 2,500 megawatts.

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries yesterday discovered that the whereabouts of the sum of $210 million paid by Shell Petroleum to the Federal Government as signature bonus for the allocation of an oil block (OPL 245) was yet to be traced.

Nigerian health workers – comprising of doctors, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, nurses and midwives – in all public hospitals have indicated their intention to embark on an indefinite strike from next Wednesday. They are asking for, among other things, their monetisation arrears for two years before October 1, 2005, when the policy was implemented in the health ministry. They want ...

The Labour Party in Edo yesterday criticised the Federal Government for not resolving the issues involved in the ongoing nationwide strike by teachers.

FEDERAL Government and the Lagos State government yesterday maintained sealed lips over the sixteen petroleum tank farms in the state barred from use of the bays to take delivery of imported petroleum products owing to the traffic jam caused by articulated tankers which load from their depots.

Mystery now surrounds the whereabouts of the sum of $210million paid by two oil companies for oil blocks in the 2003 bid round carried out by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) as officials of the department were yesterday unable to account for it in the ongoing investigation by the House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee into the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum ...

DEADLINES are a waste if appropriate landmarks are not placed to check progress on the journey. Nigeria 's vaunted ambition to be among the top 20 economies in the world by 2020 is an irredeemable mirage.

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar'Adua has ordered the immediate release of N59 billion being part of the N115 billion 2008 budget for the Ministry of Energy to enable it address the epileptic power supply in the country.

Members of the Textile Manufacturer Association of Nigeria yesterday told Daily Trust that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is responsible for the delay in the disbursement of the N70 billion textile revival fund.

Nigeria spends a staggering $3billion annually due to heavy importation of three major staples from abroad.

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Chief Farida Waziri, has set up a committee to look into money laundering cases involving former governors.

The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the award of oil blocks by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) yesterday queried the discrepancies in the record of payments for oil blocks under the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has said the delay in the Doha talks is adversely affecting economic advancement of countries in Sub- Saharan Africa, including Nigeria.

In a bid to bolster power generation in the country, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has directed the Minister of Finance, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, to release, within the next week, N59 billion being the balance of appropriation to the power sector in this year's budget.

About two years after he presided over the affairs of the Oyo state government, for eleven months, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which has been investigating charges of corruption, stealing and abuse of office leveled against Gov Christopher Alao-Akala has released an interim report which has found the sitting governor wanting for allegedly stealing the sum of N1 billion of ...

Standard Chartered Bank in its strategic move to support Nigeria's Oil and Gas sector has struck a deal with 8 other Nigerian banks to provide $220m bank debt financing priced at Libor +275 bps for the National Nigerian Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Mobil Producing Nigeria's NGL II project.

Access Bank Sierra Leone limited Thursday commenced operations in the country with the commissioning of its corporate head office on Siaka Stevens Street in Freetown.

The core investor in NICON Insurance and the Nigeria-Re, Bar. Jimoh Ibrahim and the federal government have re-injected N25 billion into the two companies as required by the agreement which ended the face-off between the two parties.