Nigeria is set to inaugurate its maiden nationwide cloves farming initiative in the 2026 wet season, with more than 74,000 farmers expected to participate across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The Cloves Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria announced the development at the end of the North-West Farmers Training of Trainers Workshop held at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Speaking at the event, the association’s National Coordinator, Abdullahi Shuaibu, said at least 2,000 farmers would be selected from each state and the FCT to participate in the pilot phase. He explained…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The naira closed the trading week weaker at the official foreign exchange market, settling at N1,421.9 per dollar, as domestic supply constraints continued to outweigh the impact of a softer U.S. dollar globally. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) show that the local currency recorded marginal losses during the week, despite a period of global dollar weakness. The performance underscores persistent distortions in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, with pressure evident across both the official and parallel segments. At the official market, the naira experienced mild but sustained depreciation amid thin FX liquidity. Although the currency avoided sharp swings,…
Researchers have uncovered 2.6-million-year-old hominin remains in Ethiopia’s Afar region, marking the first confirmed discovery of the genus Paranthropus in that part of the country. Fana Media Corporation (FMC), a partner of TV BRICS, reported that the fossil was excavated at the Mille–Logya site, a key paleoanthropological location in Afar. Experts say the find fills a long-standing gap in the region’s fossil record and provides new insight into the evolutionary history of early humans. Ethiopia, widely regarded as the “Land of Origins,” has produced hominin fossils and stone tools dating back nearly six million years, offering one of the most…
Kenya Airways has recorded a major milestone in sustainable aviation, winning three top honours at The Aviation Challenge 2025 and reinforcing its position as a continental leader in green flight operations. The national carrier secured the awards for Most Impactful Solution – Catering, Game Changer of the Year, and Special Recognition for Collaboration with KLM, marking the fourth consecutive year it has been recognised at the global sustainability challenge. Speaking on the achievement, Acting Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, George Kamal, said the honours reflected the airline’s long-term commitment to embedding sustainability into its operations. “This recognition shows…
The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that one million people in Northeast Nigeria could lose emergency food and nutrition assistance unless new funding is secured within weeks. In a statement, the UN agency said Nigeria is facing one of its worst hunger crises in recent times, with millions at risk during the upcoming lean season. “If WFP cannot continue supporting displaced populations in camps, they will leave the sites in a desperate attempt to survive. They will try to migrate, or they may join insurgent groups to feed themselves and their families,” said David Stevenson, WFP’s Nigeria Country Director.…
The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), has formally matriculated 6,821 newly admitted undergraduate and postgraduate students for the 2025/2026 academic session. The ceremony on January 22, 2026, brought together 6,000 undergraduates and 821 postgraduates, who took the matriculation oath, officially joining the university community. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Adenike Oladiji said admission was highly competitive. “Out of over 20,000 applicants, only about 6,000 undergraduates were admitted. Almost half of those who aspired to join FUTA were screened out,” she noted, urging students to appreciate their opportunity. ALSO READ NBTE to allow polytechnics award ND, B.Tech degrees She warned against misconduct, highlighting…
The European Union (EU) has announced that Nigeria and other African countries will receive €557 million from its 2026 humanitarian aid budget. The disclosure was made on Wednesday in a statement issued in Abuja by the Press Officer of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Modestus Chukwulaka. According to the statement, the funding targets West and Central Africa, with particular focus on North-West Nigeria, as part of the bloc’s initial €1.9 billion humanitarian aid allocation for 2026. The EU said the decision comes at a time when about 239 million people worldwide require humanitarian assistance, while major international…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says Nigerian banks have agreed to reduce fraud response times to under 30 minutes to improve recovery outcomes and limit systemic risk. The Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Philip Ikeazor, disclosed this at the 2026 Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) Technical Kick-Off Session in Lagos, where he was represented by Ibrahim Hassan. Ikeazor said while legacy crimes such as ATM card cloning have been largely neutralised, newer threats, including online fraud, social engineering, SIM-swap abuse, insider compromise and authorised push payment (APP) scams, now dominate. He said NeFF has coordinated industry-wide responses through mandatory…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says credit availability improved across key lending segments in the fourth quarter of 2025, even as lenders recorded higher default rates on loans to households and businesses. The apex bank disclosed this in its Q4 2025 Credit Conditions Survey, noting that overall lending conditions showed mixed outcomes, with banks cautiously expanding access to credit despite rising repayment risks. According to the CBN, credit trends during the quarter reflected both opportunities and challenges for borrowers and lenders, underscoring the complexity of Nigeria’s financial landscape. The survey showed that households faced higher borrowing costs, while corporate…
African scientific leaders from eight countries have called for urgent, Africa-led reforms to strengthen health research and development (R&D) systems amid major disruptions in global health funding that threaten access to healthcare across the continent. The call was made by 14 Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellows from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, in a commentary published on January 15, 2025, in Nature Health. The Fellows outlined practical, locally grounded actions to unlock Africa’s health research potential and build more resilient R&D ecosystems. They warned that while national and regional policies have attempted to address long-standing…