The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has approved a $50-million Trade Finance Unfunded Risk Participation Agreement (RPA) facility between the AfDB and the Standard Chartered Bank. A statement issued by the bank on Tuesday, said the agreement was signed on September 8. According to the bank, the agreement is expected to boost intra-African trade, promote regional integration, and contribute to the reduction of the trade finance gap in Africa. This is in line with the implementation goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA). The statement said Stefan Nalletamby, AfDB’s Director for Financial Sector…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) has established 116 hectares of Woodlot in Borno as part of measures to contain deforestation. NEWMAP is a World Bank assisted project aimed at addressing the gully erosion crisis in Southeastern Nigeria and land degradation in Northern Nigeria on a multi-dimensional scale. This project was born out of the request for assistance made by then President Goodluck Jonathan to the World Bank in 2010. Mr Bukar Goba, Head of the Borno office of Monitoring and Evaluation of the project, made this known in an interview in Maiduguri on Wednesday. Goba said that…
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly Worldwide, has asked Southeast governors to stop what they describe as conspiracy of silence and end the sit-at-home order issued by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). A statement by the Director General, Strategic Planning and Implementations, Tony Obizoba on Wednesday said “the security situation in the South East of Nigeria, occasioned by the activities of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its Eastern Security Network (ESN), is becoming a thing that must no longer be condoned, especially with the way the group appears to be having upper hand over constituted authorities without the governors…
The Kaduna Police Command has confirmed the abduction of the Emir of Bungudu, Zamfara state, Hassan Attahiru, and an unspecified number of commuters, along the Kaduna – Abuja highway. The Command’s spokesperson, ASP Mohammed Jalige confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Tuesday, in Kaduna. “Today, Sept 14, at about 3.10 pm, the Kaduna Police Command received a tragic report of an attack and kidnapping incident around Dutse village along the Kaduna-Abuja road. “An unspecified number of people were suspected to have been kidnapped, while two others sustained varying degrees of injuries and are currently receiving medical treatment. “Equally,…
President Muhammadu Buhari says N300 billion has been disbursed to farmers while 1.6 million poor and vulnerable households are currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer programme. The president revealed this while virtually declaring open the 14th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday. According to him, some of the various initiatives embarked upon to boost agricultural trade in Nigeria include the Anchor Borrowers Programme. He stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria had made more than N300 billion available to over 3.1 million smallholder farmers of 21 different commodities. He…
Despite making up more than half of the population in the North and Nigeria generally, young people (ages 18-35) often find themselves marginalized from mainstream politics and decision making. In Kaduna, among other northern states, young men and women struggle to gain the respect of public officials and are seen as lacking the skills and experience to engage in political activity to lead positive change in their communities. This exclusion, combined with limited educational and economic opportunities, have left young people both idle and frustrated with the status quo. The Mr LA Foundation founded and funded by Lawal Adamu Usman,…
Nigeria senior men’s volleyball team on Tuesday clinched the seventh position at the 2021 African Seniors Nations Championship in Kigali, Rwanda. Nigeria defeated RD Congo 3-0 in the 7th to 8th classification match. They beat their opponents RD Congo in all the three set in their games; 25-10 in the first, 25-20 in the second and 25-22 in the third set, to show their supremacy in the game. Nigeria did not participate in the last edition in 2019 in Tunisia. Nigeria team finished 13th position in the previous edition in 2017 in Egypt. The 2021 African Seniors Nations Championship which…
The Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, says the defence cooperation between Nigeria and Russia is a win-win deal and rule out procurement of obsolete equipment. The minister stated this while briefing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence on Tuesday. The minister, according to a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Muhammad Abdulkadri, briefed the committee on the Military Technical Cooperation Agreement. He said that the agreement was between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Russian Federation. He said that the performance of the previous technical agreement between 2001 and 2006 before its expiration was…
The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) on Tuesday launched its 2018-2019 West Africa Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (WENDU) Report aimed at effectively tackling illicit drug use and trafficking in the sub-region. The report, launched virtually by the ECOWAS Commission in conjunction with other stakeholders will serve as a guide to member states on how to effectively tackle illicit drug use and trafficking. The report contains statistics and trends of illicit drug supply and drug use in the sub-region and will help member states in developing programmes, policies, and advocacy. These programmes, policies, and advocacy will in turn…
The federal government of Nigeria on Tuesday announced an increment of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) research grants to universities and other tertiary institutions to N8.5 billion, up from the N7.5 billion it doled out in 2020. The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, who announced the increment while declaring open the first National Conference on Research, Training and Development in Zaria, noted that in 2019, the grants totalled N5 billion. The conference, under the theme: “Research, Training and Development in Nigeria’s educational system in the 21st century: challenges and way forward” was organized by the Institute of Education, Ahmadu…