Lack of Leadership or a Curse: The Plight of the Gbagyi People Across Five Nigerian States The Gbagyi people, an ethnic group found primarily in Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kaduna, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria, face a complex and multifaceted challenge that has stunted their collective growth and development. With over 6 million people spread across more than 30 local government areas in these regions, the Gbagyi people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria. Yet, despite their numbers, they have struggled to establish a unified identity and leadership. This lack of cohesion raises a crucial…
Author: Abdoulaye Kay
Hundreds of thousands of residents in parts of Japan are being urged to evacuate as Typhoon Ampil approaches the east coast near the capital, Tokyo. The powerful storm has caused some homes to lose power and disrupted travel on Friday. Typhoon Ampil, currently located 121 nautical miles southeast of Yokosuka, Greater Tokyo, has intensified into a severe storm, equivalent in strength to a Category 4 hurricane. It is generating winds up to 212 kilometers per hour (131 mph) while moving north at a speed of 18 kph (11 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). Over the past…
The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has distributed a total of N1.358 trillion among the Federal Government, States, and Local Government Councils (LGCs) for the month of July. This was disclosed in a communiqué issued after the FAAC meeting held in August in Abuja. According to the communiqué, the total distributable fund of N1.358 trillion comprised several revenue streams, including statutory revenue of N161.593 billion, Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N582.307 billion, and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N18.818 billion. Additionally, the total distributable revenue included Exchange Difference revenue of N581.710 billion and Solid Mineral revenue of…
A Nigerian legal luminary, Afe Babalola, has strongly criticized the Federal Government’s approach to palliative distribution, describing it as a deliberate attempt to reduce Nigerians to beggars. Babalola, who is the founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, made these remarks during a visit from the Prestige Sisters League, who were on a thank-you tour of the university. During his address, Babalola expressed concern about the current state of the nation, particularly the widespread hunger affecting many Nigerians. He emphasized that those who are voicing their concerns about hunger are doing so out of genuine desperation. “Those…
The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has stressed why the law on smoking should be enforced, also reiterating that every video and film must be reviewed and classified by the board before being released to the public. NFVCB Executive Director, Shaibu Husseini stated this during an address on morality and ethics in film production at the Lagos International Film and Cinema Convention (LIFACC). The event, held on Thursday at EbonyLife Place, Victoria Island, Lagos, was attended by notable industry figures such as Joke Silva, Alibaba, Keppy Ekpeyong, Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Ogbonna Onwumere, and others. In his address to producers,…
Bavarian Nordic has no plans to sell or manufacture its vaccine directly to African countries, the company’s Vice President of Investor Relations told Health Policy Watch on Thursday, stating that donations from wealthy nations will likely be the primary source of supplies. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) announcement of a global mpox health emergency may have served as a wake-up call regarding the ‘perfect storm’ of mpox virus transmission brewing in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a dozen other neighboring countries in central and southern Africa. Contrary to the situation in 2022-23, there is now ample production capacity…
A significant portion of Africans believe their governments are not fully prepared to handle future public health emergencies like COVID-19, according to recent Afrobarometer surveys. Only 51% of Africans feel their governments are “somewhat” or “very” prepared for such crises, underscoring widespread concern about readiness for future pandemics. Health-related issues rank as the second-most important problem that Africans want their governments to address, just behind unemployment. With the World Health Organization (WHO) recently declaring mpox a global public health emergency of international concern, the urgency for better preparedness has grown even stronger. Key findings from the Afrobarometer survey reveal that…
According to the PID, the loan will focus on three major result areas, with the improvement of recruitment, deployment, and performance management of sector workers being a key component.
The Federal Government has disclosed how it would recover some seized presidential jets. The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi through his spokesperson, Kamarudeen Ogundele in a statement on Thursday, that legal and diplomatic efforts were ongoing to recover the jets. The AGF described as inappropriate, court orders against three presidential aircraft undergoing routine maintenance in France. He said that the Federal Government became aware of the interim attachment of the aircraft on Wednesday, August 14, 2024. The said temporary attachment, according to the statement, was made under ex parte orders issued by the Judicial Court of Paris at…
Several shops were affected as a fire ravaged a seven-storey building in Lagos early on Friday. The incident occurred on Sanni Adewale Street in the Lagos Island Local Government Area of the state. Confirming the incident, the Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, stated that firefighters from the Ebute Elefun, Sari, and Lekki 1 stations were dispatched immediately after receiving a distress call. They arrived at the scene at 5:33 a.m. Adeseye reported that the fire, which started around 5:17 a.m., caused panic in the area as residents scrambled for safety. Emergency officials managed to…