The continental footprint of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) may soon extend deeper into North Africa, following formal interest from Algeria. The development reflects the awards’ growing influence as a unifying platform for Africa’s music industry and a driver of cross-regional creative collaboration. The development followed a meeting in Abidjan between Algeria’s Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, His Excellency Mohamed Abdelaziz Bouguetaia, and the 9th AFRIMA Best African DJ winner, DJ Moh Green. The award-winning DJ, accompanied by AFRIMA Associate Producer Victoria Nkong, presented his AFRIMA trophy to the ambassador during the visit. Algeria’s expression of interest comes shortly after…
Author: Abdoulaye Kay
The Federal Government has approved the release of ₦48 billion to 12 selected universities to strengthen engineering education and infrastructure across the country. Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the intervention on Monday during the inauguration of the Implementation Committee on Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Special High-Impact Intervention Projects in Abuja. Under the initiative, each beneficiary institution will receive ₦4 billion to upgrade existing engineering facilities or construct new workshops and laboratories where required. The universities selected for the intervention are: Alausa explained that the high-impact projects are designed to reposition engineering faculties to meet modern standards, enhance…
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has inducted 330 graduate engineers as part of its ongoing drive to strengthen local content and build a high-performance technical workforce. The engineers, drawn from leading tertiary institutions across Nigeria, were formally admitted into the refinery’s technical cadre during a ceremony held at the company’s sprawling complex. The induction marks a significant step in the refinery’s capacity-building strategy, aimed at expanding Nigeria’s engineering talent pool and sustaining operational excellence across its integrated energy infrastructure. Chief Executive Officer of the refinery, David Bird, described the event as a strategic milestone in developing homegrown expertise to…
President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has unveiled plans to expand into steel production, electricity generation and port development as part of a broader strategy to accelerate industrialisation across Africa. Dangote, whose conglomerate spans cement, sugar, salt, fertiliser and petrochemicals, said his long-term vision is to deepen Africa’s manufacturing base beyond oil refining and position the continent as a global industrial force. His latest flagship project, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, is now operational, producing about 650,000 barrels of refined products daily. He said output is expected to double within the next three years as expansion plans progress.…
Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves rose sharply to $34.80 billion at the end of 2025, reflecting a significant strengthening of the country’s external liquidity position, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, has disclosed. In a statement issued on Monday, the apex bank said net reserves increased from $23.11 billion at the end of 2024 to $34.80 billion by December 2025 — an $11.69 billion rise within one year. The figure also marks a substantial rebound from $3.99 billion recorded at the end of 2023, signalling what the CBN described as a marked improvement in reserve quality over…
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has reassured Nigerians that ongoing military cooperation with the United States does not in any way threaten the country’s sovereignty, stressing that the partnership is strictly focused on strengthening Nigeria’s counter-terrorism and anti-insurgency operations. Military authorities said on Friday that the support from the U.S. government is advisory and capacity-building in scope, with no financial implications for the Federal Government. The clarification follows the recent announcement by the DHQ of the arrival of about 100 U.S. military personnel and related equipment on February 17 to support Nigeria’s anti-terror operations. In an earlier statement, the Director of…
Several American warplanes crashed in Kuwait on Monday morning, but their crew survived, Kuwait’s defence ministry said, as Iran pressed on with a third day of strikes in the Gulf. “Several US warplanes crashed this morning. Confirming that all crew members survived,” a defence ministry spokesman said in a statement, adding that the cause was under investigation. “Authorities immediately initiated search and rescue operations, evacuating the crews and transporting them to a hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. He noted that their condition is stable,” the statement added. Black smoke rose from the US embassy in Kuwait on Monday, an…
Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4.07 per cent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, marking one of the strongest quarterly performances in a decade, the Federal Ministry of Finance has said. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, welcomed the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), describing the growth as a sign of strengthening macroeconomic stability and the impact of ongoing economic reforms. According to the NBS figures, the 4.07 per cent growth recorded in Q4 2025 represents the second time in ten years—excluding the immediate post-COVID-19…
CISLAC has reiterated that its push for increased taxation on tobacco products is aimed at reducing tobacco-related health risks and supporting public health financing in Nigeria. Executive Director of CISLAC and Head of , Auwal Rafsanjani, made the clarification while speaking on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Personality Interview Series on Sunday in Abuja. Rafsanjani said the core objective of the advocacy was to save lives and lessen the growing health burden linked to tobacco consumption in the country. According to him, tobacco use remains a major contributor to severe health conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other life-threatening…
The Foreign Minister of Iran, Abbas Araghchi has warned regional governments against allowing their territories or facilities to be used for military actions against Iran, declaring that Tehran will deploy “all defensive and military capabilities” to safeguard its sovereignty. In a series of phone conversations with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq , Araghchi said Iran would act under its “inherent right to legitimate self-defence” in response to what he described as aggression by the United States and Israel. According Iran Times in its X handle, the Iranian minister stressed that international law…