FC Barcelona captain Lionel Messi reported for training on Monday for the first time since requesting to leave the club in September. Messi had failed to turn up to the club’s tests for COVID-19 eight days ago and been absent from all subsequent sessions ahead of the new campaign after giving the club an official notice that he wished to leave. But the club’s all-time top scorer finally appeared at the Joan Gamper training ground ahead of an evening session, his first under new coach Ronald Koeman, after taking a test for the novel coronavirus at his home on Sunday.…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Naira on Monday gained N5 to close at N435 to the dollar at the parallel market in Lagos. The Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N575 and N515, respectively. At the Bureau De Change window, the Naira traded at N386 to the dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N575 and N515, respectively. Trading at the investor’s window saw the Naira exchanging at N386 as investors transacted a total of 45.22 million dollars. The Naira, however, closed at 379 to the dollar at the official CBN window. Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, the President, Association of Bureau…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline Project was not inflated to the tune of $1.527 billion, as alleged in an online media outfit. The corporation disclosed this in a statement signed by its spokesman, Dr Kennie Obateru, in Abuja on Monday. He described the accusation as false, baseless and unfounded. Obateru noted that the NNPC was considering instituting legal actions against the medium and her collaborators. He added that the corporation brought the accusation to the attention of the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) which rejected the speculative analysis of the online medium as…
An aircraft with registration number ET-AUC, operated by Ethiopia Airlines and conveying 120 passengers and 13 crew members from Addis Ababa, arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 1:32 pm on Monday. Reports in Abuja said the flight is the first to be recorded at the airport since it was shut down in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. Speaking with newsmen after the flight arrived, Capt. Rabio Yadudu, the Director-General of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), described the feat as a huge breakthrough in the aviation industry in the country. The director-general recalled that the Federal Government…
Nigeria is to benefit from 7.2 million pound research support funded by the UK government for 20 new research projects, to help address the impact of COVID-19 in vulnerable communities. The support, which aimed at delivering healthcare access for patients in Nigeria, would also deliver mass vaccination capacity in Bangladesh and protective equipment for refugees in Jordan. The UK in the new programme, announced on Sept. 5, would be partnering with leading research institutions to address some of the research and technological challenges of the benefiting countries, especially as it relates to COVID-19. Some of the projects announced are: “King’s…
The African Development Bank (AfDB) says its partnership with African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) is to promote policies aimed at ensuring food security in the continent. Mrs Wambui Gichuri, AfDB’s Acting Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja. Gichuri said the partnership had become imperative because of the need to prioritise policy support in the light of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “As COVID-19 causes disruptions across Africa, we must prioritise policy support, especially for small and medium enterprises that produce, process and market 60 per cent of food consumed on…
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) opened trading for the week on Monday, with a loss of 0.09 per cent, ending five days consecutive bullish trend. Specifically, the All-Share Index lost 23.41 points or 0.09 per cent to close at 25,582.23 compared with 25,605.64 recorded on Friday. Accordingly, the Month-to-Date gain moderated to 1.0 per cent while Year-to-Date loss increased to -4.7 per cent. Also, the market capitalisation dropped N13 billion to close at N13.345 trillion from N13.358 trillion achieved on Friday. The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Guaranty Trust Bank,…
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) -assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) has earmarked over N2 billion to support farmers in Ebonyi during this year’s farming season, an official has said. The state Programme Coordinator of IFAD-VCDP, Mr Sunday Ituma, in Abakiliki on Monday, said that the intervention was being sponsored in collaboration with the Federal Government. He said the objective was to stimulate the economy through the provision of agro-inputs to more than 3,000 farmers in the state. “This intervention, which is through our annual marching grant scheme, will enable us to provide agro-chemicals, fertilizers, improved seeds for…
The Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS), at its 57th Summit in Niger Republic on Monday, elected President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana as its new Chairman. The Ghana Ministry of Information announced through its Twitter handle that “President @NAkufoAddo has just been elected as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), at the ongoing 57th ECOWAS Summit, which is being held in Niamey, capital of Niger.” In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President Muhammadu Buhari also warned ECOWAS leaders against elongating their tenure in office…
The African Development Bank returns as a top-tier partner of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) – Africa’s largest agriculture conference – to be held online for the first time from 8-11 September 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tenth annual AGRF will be headlined by African Heads of State and Government, and will bring together delegates from governments, civil society, the private sector and research communities. AGRF 2020 is hosted by the Government of Rwanda and the AGRF Partners Group, organized under the theme: