Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, has disclosed that state governments in Nigeria that signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Bank and the federal government for the $750 million performances/ results-based NG-CARES COVID-19 relief program bank-rolled by the bank, were still waiting for its implementation. He disclosed this when he received the World Bank team led by Mr Aderibigbe Adewale that visited him in his office on Thursday. The NG-CARES program outlines the proposed results’ operations to support the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, for their efforts in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA) says it will conduct ‘Exercise Pre-Camp Highland’ for army cadets of 68 Regular Course from June 21 to June 25 in Kaduna State. The spokesperson of the Academy, Major Bashir Jajira, announced this in a statement on Friday in Kaduna. According to Jajira, the exercise will be conducted at the general area of Kachia – Gadan Naji – Ungwan Gambo and Maro in the state. He said that the exercise was one of the series of final field training exercises, prepared for the cadets’ prelude to camp highland. “The exercise is designed for the cadets to practice…
Dr. Patrick Obinna, a haematologist based in Abuja, has suggested that Nigerians with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), who are below 16 years old, should be eligible for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination. Obina in an interview on Friday, in Abuja said that SCD patients were vulnerable to severe COVID-19. SCD is a collective name for a set of inherited chronic conditions. It covers a spectrum, from milder to severe forms of SCD but with support, people with SCD can have a good quality of life. SCD is associated with episodes of severe pain called sickle cell painful crises. The expert said…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed the arrival of sensitive materials for the by-election for the Sabon Gari Constituency seat in the Kaduna State House of Assembly. The seat occupied by Aminu Shagali, a former Speaker of the assembly, was declared vacant in April, after he was alleged to have absconded from activities of the assembly for more than 360 days. The Acting Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mr Awwal Mashi, gave the confirmation during an interview in Kaduna on Friday. “By sensitive materials, we are talking about the ballot papers and all the necessary forms…
African countries have acquired around 59.9 million COVID-19 vaccines so far, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The Africa CDC, the specialised healthcare agency of the African Union, said around 0.79 per cent of Africa’s population has received a full vaccine regimen. Five countries, namely Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa have acquired and administered the most doses of the vaccines to their respective populations. As of Thursday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa had reached 5,108,890, with 136,030 deaths and 4,558,435 recoveries, according to the agency. South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia,…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Nigeria says the Nigerian economy has started to gradually recover from the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms Jesmin Rahman, team lead of the IMF mission to Nigeria who led staff virtual meetings with Nigerian authorities, said this in a statement on Friday in Washington D. C. The meeting, which held from June 1 to 8, was to discuss recent economic, financial developments and outlook of the country. Rahman commended the Federal Government’ measures to contain the transmission of Covid-19 in Nigeria, including the ongoing vaccination programme under the COVAX initiative. She…
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, says innovative measures to address debt are required to help the world’s more than 100 middle-income countries expand their economies and exit the COVID-19 pandemic. Guterres told the General Assembly on Thursday at UN headquarters in New York while addressing a high-level meeting on these countries. According to him, middle-income countries account for more than half of the UN’s 193 Member States, underlining the need for financing to help them recover in the wake of the global crisis. He said middle-income countries should have their debts suspended till 2022 to cope with the social and economic…
The Police Command in Ekiti on Thursday said it has arrested a 65-year-old man, Durodola Ogundele, for allegedly having canal knowledge of his stepmother. A statement by the command’s Spokesperson, Mr Sunday Abutu, in Ado-Ekiti, said Ogundele was apprehended by the Ido-Osi Divisional Headquarters of the command on Wednesday at in Ido-Osi, after committing the act. Abutu said the suspect had on June 15 allegedly had canal knowledge of his 85-year-old stepmother in her room. He explained that Ogundele is a son to the victim’s late husband. According to him, the suspect on the fateful day entered the victim’s room…
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has reiterated its commitment to support the federal government‘s efforts to ensure food sufficiency. FAO Country Representative, Fred Kafeero, said this at the 44th meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD) in Abuja on Thursday. He said that the theme of the meeting, which is “Nigeria’s Agriculture and Food Security in the face of COVID-19, Floods and Insecurity,” was timely. Kafeero, however, said that the theme was a call for action to cushion the knock-on effects of these shocks and threats on the livelihoods of a large section of the population,…
The federal government has entered into partnership with Brazil to drive its Agriculture Mechanisation Programme and ensure food sufficiency. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Nanono, disclosed this at the 44th meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development in Abuja on Thursday. Nanono said that the partnership had yielded an Agricultural Mechanisation loan to the tune of €995m. “Agricultural productivity can only improve through mechanisation of production activities. “In our effort to improve the agricultural production profile of the country, we have entered into a partnership with the government of Brazil through one of their…