Authorities in Saudi Arabia have confirmed the sighting of the crescent moon marking the commencement of Ramadan, signalling the start of fasting for Muslims in the kingdom. The crescent was observed on Tuesday following official monitoring exercises conducted at designated observation points, including Hawtat Sudair and Tumair in Al-Majma’ah Governorate. The confirmation means Wednesday, February 18, 2026, will be observed as the first day of the holy month, with Ramadan 1447 beginning from Tuesday night. Observers had earlier indicated favourable atmospheric conditions for the exercise, noting that sunset timing and visibility supported crescent detection before the announcement formally confirmed entry…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
A group of eminent Nigerians has raised strong objections to the presence of foreign military forces on Nigerian soil, warning that any such arrangement must strictly comply with constitutional provisions and uphold the country’s sovereignty. In a jointly signed statement titled “No to foreign forces in our land: Defend our sovereignty,” Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, political scientist Jibrin Ibrahim, Dr Abubakar Siddique Mohammed, Dr Dauda Garuba, Prof Massaud Omar, Prof Mohammed Kuna, Eng YZ Ya’u, and Dr Usman Bugaje, invoked Nigeria’s historical resistance to foreign military domination and cautioned against what they described as a troubling pattern of opaque…
The Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) has approved ₦140 billion as budgetary allocation for the Commission’s 2026 fiscal year. Chairman of the Committee, Titus Zam, disclosed this following the committee’s budget defence session at the National Assembly of Nigeria on Monday, saying the funding is aimed at accelerating development across the North Central region. He explained that the approved funds would be deployed to critical infrastructure, security interventions, agricultural development, and humanitarian support programmes targeted at addressing the challenges confronting states in the zone. Zam reiterated the committee’s commitment to transparency and accountability in the utilisation…
Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, has welcomed the decision of the African Union to approve Nigeria’s permanent membership on the Board of the African Monetary Institute (AMI). The decision was reached at the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa during the February 2026 Summit, following earlier adoption by the AU Executive Council at its 48th Ordinary Session. The AMI — established under the AU’s financial institutions agenda — serves as a precursor to the planned African Central Bank, which will be headquartered in Abuja. Cardoso said hosting the…
The American Chemical Society (ACS) Nigeria International Chemical Sciences Chapter has called for the adoption of green chemistry and sustainable practices as strategic pathways to accelerate national development and innovation. The Society made the call during its 11th Annual Symposium held at the International Conference Centre of the University of Ibadan in Ibadan, Oyo State. The gathering, themed “Emerging Technologies in Chemistry for Sustainable Development,” brought together academics, industry experts, policymakers, and researchers from across the globe to examine the role of chemistry in advancing sustainable growth. According to the Society, participants collectively underscored the critical role of chemistry in…
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has urged Nigeria to spearhead Africa’s push for a restructured global order, describing the country as well-placed to lead the continent toward greater global influence. Guterres commended the reform agenda of President Bola Tinubu and Nigeria’s stabilisation efforts within the Sahel and the Economic Community of West African States, despite ongoing domestic security pressures. He made the remarks on Friday during a high-level bilateral meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima on the margins of the 39th summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa. ALSO READ AU Summit 2026: Shettima departs Abuja…
The African Development Bank Group has approved a $200 million loan to scale up climate-smart and technology-driven farming in Nigeria. The financing, disclosed in a statement by the Bank, will support the second phase of the Federal Government’s National Agricultural Growth Scheme–Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP), aimed at strengthening food security, raising productivity, and improving agricultural value chains. Structured as sector budget support, the loan will expand farmers’ access to quality inputs, modern technologies, and data-driven agricultural practices nationwide. It builds on earlier interventions under the African Emergency Food Production Facility and is expected to run for four years beginning March 2026. According…
Nigeria has urged African countries to strengthen domestic health systems and shift from reliance on foreign aid toward self-sufficiency, as part of a broader push for health security sovereignty across the continent. Vice President Kashim Shettima made the call on Friday at a high-level side event titled “Building Africa’s Health Security Sovereignty,” held on the margins of the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Representing President Bola Tinubu, Shettima said Nigeria was ready to work with other member states to translate health sovereignty into measurable outcomes.…
Elon Musk’s financial team is exploring a major refinancing plan to ease nearly $18 billion in debt piled up from his Twitter acquisition and xAI expansion, just weeks after the blockbuster SpaceX-xAI merger created the world’s most valuable private company. The merger, finalized on February 2, blended SpaceX’s rocket and Starlink satellite prowess with xAI’s Grok AI chatbot in an all-stock deal valuing the new entity at $1.25 trillion. X (formerly Twitter), acquired by Musk in 2022 and merged into xAI in March 2025 at $45 billion including debt, forms a key part of the stack. The Debt StackThe burden…
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has clinched the chairmanship of the Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), drawing commendation from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Kyari was unanimously elected on Tuesday to head the 49th Governing Council of IFAD — the organisation’s highest decision-making body responsible for setting policy direction and approving programmes and budgets. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President described the minister’s emergence as a vote of confidence in his leadership and the reforms underway in Nigeria’s agriculture sector. Tinubu…