British pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on Wednesday signed a product transfer agreement for malaria vaccine with Bharat Biotech (BBIL) of India to boost its access in Africa. Thomas Breuer, the Chief Medical Officer of GSK Vaccines disclosed this in a statement in Nairobi. The agreement will facilitate seamless transfer of manufacturing of the protein part of the malaria vaccine from GSK to BBIL and boost action on the leading killer of African children and pregnant mothers. “With a child dying from malaria every two minutes, helping secure the long-term future of the only vaccine available by working with an established…
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The Federal Government has scheduled the induction course for career and non-career ambassadors-designate and their spouses to hold between Feb. 8 and Feb. 10. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Gabriel Aduda, said this in a statement by the ministry’s spokesperson, Mr Ferdinand Nwonye, on Wednesday in Abuja. Aduda said that the induction course was tailored to prepare the appointed envoys for effective representation in their respective missions and countries of accreditation. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the induction course for career and non-career ambassadors-designate and their spouses has been scheduled for Feb. 8…
The President of MTN Group, Mr Ralph Mupita Wednesday in Johannesburg, said that he was proud to announce on behalf of the company the donation of US$25million to support the African Union COVID-19 vaccination programme. The donation according to Mupita will help secure up to seven million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for health workers across the continent. This he said will contribute to the vaccination initiative of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). “The devastating impact of COVID-19 has been unprecedented and profound, therefore, Public and private partnerships are needed if we are to succeed in…
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Value Added Tax (VAT) increased by N29.98 billion from N424.71 billion generated in third quarter to N454.69 billion in fourth quarter, 2020 (Q4 2020). The NBS said this in its “Sectoral Distribution of Value Added Tax (Q4 2020)” obtained from its website on Wednesday in Abuja. The bureau said that the figure represents 7.06 per cent increase Quarter-on-Quarter and 47.39 per cent increase Year-on-Year from the N308.48 billion generated in Q4 2019. The report said that professional services generated the highest amount of VAT with N42.38 billion generated and closely followed by other…
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday in Abuja approved N995million for road rehabilitation and procurement of an information and communication device that would enhance highway management system for roads across the country. Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this to State House Correspondents at the end of the Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. He stated that N203 million of the amount would be expended on the procurement of an information and communication device while the remaining N792 million was meant for rehabilitation of roads in Zamfara. “The Ministry of Works and Housing presented two…
The Commissioner for Health in Sokoto State, Dr Ali Inname, says four persons have died and 56 hospitalised as result of the outbreak of diarrhea, occasioned by water contamination in Sokoto, the state capital. The incident occurred at Helele in Sokoto North local government area of Sokoto metropolis. Inname said on Wednesday, attributed the incident to the drinking of contaminated water by people in the affected settlement, adding, however, that state government had contained the spread of the disease. He said that the survivors had been placed on treatment at Helele and Kofar Rini Primary Healthcare Centres as well as…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday met behind closed doors with the new service chiefs at the Presidential Villa. The service chiefs, who were appointed on Tuesday, arrived at the villa in their old official vehicles at about 4.00p.m. The new service chiefs – Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff; Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Adm. Awwal Zubairu Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff and AVM Isiaka Amao, Chief of Air Staff – may be decorated with their ranks by the president at the meeting. The service chiefs replaced former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin; former…
Six persons on Wednesday lost their lives in a ghastly accident which occurred within the Ajaokuta Steel Complex in Kogi. Eyewitnesses told newsmen in Lokoja that three people died on the spot while three others died later in an hospital. A female victim of the accident said to be in a critical condition was later transferred to the Federal Medical Centre , Lokoja. Also confirming the accident, Kogi Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Solomon Agure said that 10 people were involved. He said that three of them died on the spot while six were critically…
Locusts have remained a major threat to the Horn to Africa due to favourable weather conditions, Keith Cressman, a senior locust forecasting officer at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nation (FAO) said. In a statement issued in Nairobi on Wednesday, Cressman observed that while plenty of efforts have been made in the past year to fight the locusts, the current weather in the region favours the insects. “We have not seen a break in the weather pattern. We had a cyclone in December. “Cyclones normally don’t occur in the region during the period, but this is the…
Speaker of House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila says the lawmakers plan to pass Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by April. Gbajabiamila made the announcement while speaking at a public hearing on the Bill, organised by the House ad hoc Committee on PIB on Wednesday in Abuja. He said that the oil industry had been performing below expectations due to the absence of national legislation. According to him, it is disappointing and frankly difficult to explain how successive governments have failed to deliver on the reform. “This public hearing allows all stakeholders to contribute to the Bill for an Act to provide…