The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has urged Nigeria to spearhead Africa’s push for a restructured global order, describing the country as well-placed to lead the continent toward greater global influence. Guterres commended the reform agenda of President Bola Tinubu and Nigeria’s stabilisation efforts within the Sahel and the Economic Community of West African States, despite ongoing domestic security pressures. He made the remarks on Friday during a high-level bilateral meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima on the margins of the 39th summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa. ALSO READ AU Summit 2026: Shettima departs Abuja…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The African Development Bank Group has approved a $200 million loan to scale up climate-smart and technology-driven farming in Nigeria. The financing, disclosed in a statement by the Bank, will support the second phase of the Federal Government’s National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP), aimed at strengthening food security, raising productivity, and improving agricultural value chains. Structured as sector budget support, the loan will expand farmers’ access to quality inputs, modern technologies, and data-driven agricultural practices nationwide. It builds on earlier interventions under the African Emergency Food Production Facility and is expected to run for four years beginning March 2026. According…
Nigeria has urged African countries to strengthen domestic health systems and shift from reliance on foreign aid toward self-sufficiency, as part of a broader push for health security sovereignty across the continent. Vice President Kashim Shettima made the call on Friday at a high-level side event titled “Building Africa’s Health Security Sovereignty,” held on the margins of the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Representing President Bola Tinubu, Shettima said Nigeria was ready to work with other member states to translate health sovereignty into measurable outcomes.…
Elon Musk’s financial team is exploring a major refinancing plan to ease nearly $18 billion in debt piled up from his Twitter acquisition and xAI expansion, just weeks after the blockbuster SpaceX-xAI merger created the world’s most valuable private company. The merger, finalized on February 2, blended SpaceX’s rocket and Starlink satellite prowess with xAI’s Grok AI chatbot in an all-stock deal valuing the new entity at $1.25 trillion. X (formerly Twitter), acquired by Musk in 2022 and merged into xAI in March 2025 at $45 billion including debt, forms a key part of the stack. The Debt StackThe burden…
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has clinched the chairmanship of the Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), drawing commendation from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Kyari was unanimously elected on Tuesday to head the 49th Governing Council of IFAD — the organisation’s highest decision-making body responsible for setting policy direction and approving programmes and budgets. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President described the minister’s emergence as a vote of confidence in his leadership and the reforms underway in Nigeria’s agriculture sector. Tinubu…
Anthropologist Hassan Ali Ghazaly, founder of the Afromedia Initiative for Pan-African Journalism and Media, has congratulated Gohar Nabil on his appointment as Egypt’s Minister of Youth and Sports following a presidential decree and his swearing-in. In a statement, Ghazaly, on behalf of the Afromedia team, expressed appreciation for the confidence placed in Nabil, noting that the next phase requires renewed vision and effective policies to empower young people, support sporting talent, and position sports as a tool for development in line with Egypt’s state strategy and New Republic vision. He underscored the need to strengthen Egyptian-African cooperation in media, youth,…
Terrorists have kidnapped 15 travellers along the Utonkon–Okpoga Road in Benue State, killing one person in the attack. The incident occurred around 7:00 p.m. on Monday, targeting a commercial bus traveling through the Utonkon axis in Ado Local Government Area. The vehicle was en route from Iheijwo market in Oju Local Government Area to destinations in South West Nigeria when it was intercepted by the attackers. A youth leader in Utonkon district, Jude Onwe, told Channels Television that the gunmen stopped the bus and forced the passengers into the bush. “They collected the passengers’ phones to prevent them from contacting…
Kenya Airways has announced its role as the official airline partner for the 2026 Magical Kenya Open, reinforcing a collaboration aimed at promoting sports tourism and positioning Kenya as a global golfing destination. The announcement was made on Tuesday at the Magical Kenya Open Partnership Launch held at Karen Country Club, where the airline highlighted the strategic importance of the partnership in connecting international players and officials to the DP World Tour event. The airline said the sponsorship reflects a broader alliance between national sporting institutions and the aviation sector to elevate the profile of the tournament, which has evolved…
Nigeria produces about 2.1 million metric tonnes of onions annually, maintaining its position as Africa’s second-largest producer after Egypt, the National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NOPPMAN) has said. The association’s National President, Aliyu Isah, disclosed this in an interview in Abuja on Tuesday, estimating the value of the country’s annual onion output at about N1.17 trillion. He said Nigerian onions are exported across West and Central Africa and into some European markets, describing the crop as a key contributor to rural livelihoods and the agricultural economy. Isah credited government interventions — including improved seeds, fertiliser and…
The United States has signed into law a $5.88 billion bipartisan spending package to strengthen the global fight against HIV, according to a press release from UNAIDS highlighting Washington’s continued commitment to the response. The funding supports bilateral HIV programmes, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and UNAIDS, reinforcing US leadership in efforts to meet global HIV targets. UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said the allocation would provide life-saving support for millions in partner countries while keeping programmes efficient, data-driven and results-oriented. “US President Donald Trump signed the consolidated spending package into law on 3 February 2026,…