As Southern Africa marks ten years since adopting the landmark SADC Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage, civil society groups and researchers are calling for an urgent overhaul of regional child protection strategies. Speaking at the SADC People’s Summit 2026, ecofeminist scholar and researcher Dr. Melania Chiponda warned that legal reforms alone are no longer enough to protect young girls against the compounding threats of climate shocks and rapid mining expansion. The call, championed by global feminist network Shine Collab, advocates for a new regional framework linking child marriage prevention directly to climate justice and extractive industry accountability. While the…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
Nigerian banks increased lending to the agriculture sector to ₦3.86 trillion in March 2026, even as credit to oil and gas fell by ₦335 billion in the first quarter, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) latest Quarterly Statistical Bulletin. The shift underscores a changing credit landscape in which agriculture is gaining ground while some traditional heavyweights, particularly oil and gas and manufacturing, see their share of bank financing shrink. Sectoral credit trends in Q1 2026 CBN data shows a steady month-on-month rise in agricultural credit during the first three months of 2026: January: ₦3.71 trillion February: ₦3.81 trillion…
The United Nations says a ransom payment of about $50 million made in late 2025 to secure the release of a hostage in Mali helped finance an Al-Qaeda-linked offensive in the country and strengthened the militant network across West Africa. A UN monitoring report said the money was channeled mainly to Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, an Al-Qaeda affiliate operating in the Sahel. It said the funds were then distributed to other parts of the Al-Qaeda network, including its core leadership and affiliates in the region. The report said the ransom was large enough to materially support the group’s…
The new Sokoto State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Bashir Muhammad Achida, has pledged to build on existing reforms and introduce new strategies to accelerate the implementation of Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto’s 9-Point SMART Innovative Agenda. Dr. Achida made the commitment during a briefing with the State Technical Working Committee on the 9-Point Agenda, held at the Ministry’s conference room in Sokoto. The meeting served as a formal handover and strategic review session with the immediate past Commissioner and former Chairman of the Committee, Dr. Abubakar Mohammed Zayyana. Focus on completion and data-driven planningDr. Zayyana, who recently resigned…
Dangote Petroleum Refinery could become one of the most influential companies on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) if it proceeds with an initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation close to the $40 billion implied by a recent private placement. According to EBC Financial Group, in a statement emailed to ASHENEWS on Thursday, such a valuation would put the refinery’s value at about N54.63 trillion, based on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market rate of N1,365.6856 per dollar as of August 7, 2026. The figure represents a significant share of Nigeria’s equity market. Companies listed on the NGX…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed serious concern over a recent executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at an overhaul of the nation’s childhood immunization schedule, warning that political influence should not supersede decades of established medical science. The new White House directive, titled the Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations, seeks to cut the number of routinely recommended childhood immunizations from 18 down to 11. Additionally, the policy advocates separating the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three individual shots given across separate doctor visits, alongside measures aimed at expanding parental choice and state…
With food systems facing mounting pressures from climate change, population growth and changing consumer demands, the participation of a new generation of entrepreneurs and innovators will be critical to building more productive, resilient and inclusive agrifood economies.
Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that every child is registered at birth and recognised by law as the country joins the rest of Africa to commemorate Africa Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Day 2026. Observed under the theme, “New CRVS Decade (2026–2036): Consolidating the Gains of the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (APAI-CRVS) and Securing the Future of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Africa through Integration, Decentralization and Digitalization,” this year’s commemoration highlights the critical role of legal identity in protecting children’s rights and strengthening national development. Birth registration is…
Africa’s greatest economic challenge may not be a shortage of natural resources, talent or opportunities, but the fragmentation of its 54 national economies. Across the continent, countries often compete independently for investment, markets and global influence, even when their combined strengths could create powerful cross-border industries capable of competing on a global scale. Rather than expecting every African country to develop all the capabilities required for economic transformation, the continent could pursue a deliberate strategy of connecting the strongest assets of different markets into integrated production systems. Nigeria, for instance, has a vast consumer market and significant energy resources. Ghana…
The National Association of Mango Producers, Processors and Marketers of Nigeria (NAMPPMAN) has said that Nigeria produces about one million metric tonnes of mangoes annually, placing the country 11th among the world’s leading producers. The association disclosed this in Abuja during the inauguration of its newly elected national executives, where stakeholders called for greater investment in production, processing and marketing to unlock the economic potential of the mango industry. According to NAMPPMAN’s outgoing National President, Abdulkadir Nasir, the country’s current output is generated from about 120,000 hectares of mango orchards. He said Nigeria could more than quintuple its production to…