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NIGERIA yesterday took a more pragmatic step towards generating power from nuclear energy as it officially unveiled a 10-year strategic plan of action. Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Finance Remi Babalola, said yesterday that the Federal Government had released in full the capital budget for this year to all its ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) since October ending. This is coming as Nigeria was certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as having met the first requirement set by the agency for countries wishing to generate power from nuclear energy. Nigeria is now ready to undertake the significant work necessary to prepare for ordering its first nuclear power plant.

NIGERIA yesterday took a more pragmatic step towards generating power from nuclear energy as it officially unveiled a 10-year strategic plan of action. Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Finance Remi Babalola, said yesterday that the Federal Government had released in full the capital budget for this year to all its ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) since October ending. This is coming as Nigeria was certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as having met the first requirement set by the agency for countries wishing to generate power from nuclear energy. Nigeria is now ready to undertake the significant work necessary to prepare for ordering its first nuclear power plant.

A protest by the United States government has forced Nigeria to cancel a nuclear pact it entered into with the Iranian government last week. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ojo Maduekwe disclosed this in Abuja while briefing newsmen after a meeting with a U.S. government delegation. An Iranian trade delegation had announced last week that an agreement for Iran to share peaceful nuclear technology had been reached with Nigeria.

The Nigeria Atomic Energy Agency on Friday received a draft legal framework which would guide the implementation of the nation's nuclear power programme. The existing legal framework was signed into law in 1976, although Nigeria only initiated efforts to utilise nuclear resources to generate electricity in 2006.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has commended Nigeria's preparation for the deployment of Nuclear power in the country. A communiqué at the end of the two day review workshop and expert mission to support the introduction of the nuclear power in Nigeria, quoted an IAEA official as saying although "the programme requires some technical thinking and work, we have very strong feeling that Nigeria is moving in a good direction."

Russia and Nigeria signed an accord on nuclear energy, allowing the countries to work together on mining uranium, building and testing atomic power plants and sharing knowledge. The agreement may also help Nigeria develop nuclear energy research and generation, Rosatom Corp., the Russian state-run nuclear holding company, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

Russia is ready to invest billions of dollars in Nigeria, President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday as Moscow flagged up its bid to challenge Chinese and Western influence across Africa. In a first visit by a Kremlin leader to the west African energy powerhouse, the two countries signed a raft of agreements with Russian gas giant Gazprom unveiling plans to link vast reserves in Nigeria to Europe via a Trans-Saharan pipeline. "The basis for such work for years to come has been put in place today," Medvedev told reporters after talks with President Umaru Yar'Adua in Abuja. "The prospects are very good," the Kremlin chief said. Russian potential investment in Nigerian energy sector could be worth "billions of dollars."

THE federal government has frowned at illegal trans-shipment of nuclear materials in and out of the country, just as it unveiled plans to checkmate the menace by installing radiation monitoring facilities across national boarders. The Presidential Adviser on Petroleum Matters, Emmanuel Egbogah, who disclosed this at the official commissioning of the first Radiation Portal Monitor in Nigeria, at the export wing of Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, over the weekend, said, although Nigeria has a nascent nuclear power programme, it has a matured, robust and rapidly growing peaceful nuclear non-power application. Egbogah however noted the federal government would no longer tolerate illegal and mishandle of radioactive materials in the country, as serious sanctions await defaulters.

Stakeholders, including a representative of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ian Facer, yesterday urged greater coordination among those involved in Nigeria's quest to achieve its dream of generating power through nuclear energy. A communique issued at the close of the three-day review workshop/expert mission to support introduction of nuclear power in Nigeria, said this is beside the need for improvement in communication with all stakeholders and training of the needed manpower.

DIRECTOR general ofthe Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), Babatunde Shamshideen Elegba, has disclosed that the only obstacle hindering the installation of nuclear plant in Nigeria is fear of its security and safety.

The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) and the United State Embassy in Abuja are collaborating to search for nuclear and radioactive substances scattered in the country. US Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Renee Sanders yesterday donated nuclear radiation detection equipment to the Nigerian government worth $100,000 (about N1.1billion) to search for the sources.

Nigeria's drive to develop electricity from nuclear sources would be managed substantially by local professionals, the Federal Government said on Tuesday. Speaking in an interview with our correspondent on the sidelines of the review workshop/expert mission on the National Nuclear Power Programme by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Director General, Nigeria Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Erapamo Osaisai, explained that government was committed to making it a Nigerian programme.

Nigeria is committed to implementing international nuclear safeguards and safety regime in the process of generating electricity from nuclear power plants. This was disclosed by the Director-General, Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Prof. Shamsideen Elegba, at a training course for lawyers on nuclear safety and radiological protection in Lagos on Monday.

An Iranian trade delegation announced an agreement Thursday for Iran to share peaceful nuclear technology with Nigeria, to help Africa's biggest oil producer bolster its woeful electricity-generation capacity. Officials of both countries stressed that the agreement involves only the peaceful uses of atomic energy.

There is every reason to believe that the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) is committed to its mandate of steering the national effort towards the introduction of nuclear power for electricity generation in the country. To this end, it has embarked upon manpower training and capacity building for sustainable nuclear power.

The world most powerful nations, the G8, have expressed concerns over Nigeria's ability to acquire nuclear technology. They are said to be uncomfortable with that nuclear move despite Nigeria's position that the nuclear power generation is purely meant for electricity supply. Speaking to 'This Day' at the end of a week long safety nuclear energy training programme, Shamsedeen Elegba, Director-General of the Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NNRA) confirmed that the G8 had expressed wories over Nigeria's readiness to acquire nuclear energy.

Professor Georg Erdmann, an Energy Economist from Germany, has advised the Nigerian government to play down the issue of nuclear power until 2020. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja, Erdmann said with the country's current installed capacity of only 6,000 megawatts of electricity, nuclear power was not feasible.

Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) yesterday in Abuja said it had evacuated three high-risk radioactive sources from the country. Director-general, Prof. Shamsideen Elegba, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the evacuation was carried out in conjunction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

TO achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of cutting poverty by half in 2015, all sources of energy, including nuclear power, must come to play in meeting the electricity generation requirement of Nigeria. The Director General of Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Mr. S. Elegba, who made this assertion in Lagos recently, ascribed it to the projection that the national electricity demand would be above 50,000 Mega Watts (50GigaWatts) by the year 2020.

KANO, Nigeria (AFP) - Radioactive materials in abandoned mining fields in central Nigeria's Plateau state pose a serious health hazard to two million people, officials said Saturday. "Around two million people now live and farm close to the mines, which means they are all at risk from the harmful effects of the radioactive emissions from the mining fields," Plateau environment commissioner Nankim Bagudu told AFP.

Nigeria's Plateau State wants $100bn (£50bn) in compensation from the UK and Europe for environmental damage caused, it says, by mining in colonial times.