The African Development Bank (AfDB) says it is ready to help Nigeria return to the electronic wallet system of input distribution to farmers to boost agricultural production. Its President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina said this at a meeting with newsmen ahead of the Bank’s 2022 Annual Meetings in Accra, Ghana on Monday. The e-wallet system was introduced by Adesina, while he was the Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria. The system allowed the government to register about 14.5 million farmers and reached them directly with inputs, notably seeds and fertilisers, via electronic coupons on their mobile phones. He said the Bank would…
Author: Newsdesk
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman said a one-year-old boy was raped by Russian soldiers then died. She said her office gets new reports of sexual violence by Russian soldiers every day. These include cases where minors are raped, she said. A one-year-old boy died after being raped by two Russian soldiers, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights said on Thursday. The accusation is one of the most horrific from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but is not unique. Denisova Liudmyla Leontiivna said in the statement that it gets reports of sexual violence against Ukrainians every day, including against children. Leontiivna did…
Iran will avenge the killing of a colonel of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), President Ebrahim Raisi pledged on Monday ahead of a trip to Oman, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported. Raisi accused “imperialist powers” of being behind the assassination, which was carried out on Sunday in a neighbourhood in the south-east of the Iranian capital. The term is used in Iran as a reference to Israel and the United States. The victim, Hassan Sayad Khodayari, was reportedly a member of the Quds Force, one of the five branches of the IRGC active in Syria. His attackers fired…
An Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court on Monday, sentenced a dismissed policeman, Mohammed Alidu, to life imprisonment for defiling a nine-year-old school girl in a barrack Justice Abiola Soladoye, in her judgment, held that Alidu was a disgrace to the police because he failed to uphold law and order and went about frolicking with an underage girl. Soladoye held that the prosecution had convincingly proved the charge of defilement against the convict beyond any reasonable doubt. She said the survivors’ evidence was fully corroborated by the medical evidence. “The evidence of the survivor is the most credible evidence in identifying the…
The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele on Monday, withdrew the suit he filed against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation over his presidential ambition. Emefiele, through his counsel, S.T. Maliki, told Justice Ahmed Mohammed that a notice of discontinuance had been filed and served on the defendants in the matter. The development occurred shortly after the matter was called. Maliki, who held the brief of Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, said though the matter was scheduled for mention, they had Emefiele’s instruction to withdraw the suit. “Pursuant to the instruction of…
The newly appointed overseer of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Anamekwe Nwabuoku, has a heavy corruption dossier and is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Economic Confidential can authoritatively report. Nwabuoku was on Sunday appointed to oversee the office in the absence of the suspended AGF, Ahmed Idris, who has been in EFCC custody for over a week while undergoing investigation for fraud to the tune of N80 billion. According to a statement by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Nwabuoku will oversee the affairs of the office during…
A former Managing Director of First Bank PLC, Dr Dauda Lawal Dare has declared to contest the governorship seat in Zamfara under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He made the declaration at a rally organized in his honour in Gusau on Sunday. At the rally that ended around 8pm, Dare said he is on a rescue mission to save Zamfara state from the prevailing challenges that had hindered its development. He affirmed that he would give priority attention to security, quality education, healthcare, human capital development in order to stand the state out of its current predicament.…
Egypt is to complete the construction of a $50 million vaccines storage facility in July for the storage of about 150 million doses of COVID-19 and other vaccines annually. The Chairman of Egypt’s Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA), Dr Heba Wali, made the announcement in Cairo on Monday. Wali gave this indication when she hosted 27 top journalists from 22 African countries, currently in Egypt on the invitation of the Egyptian government. She said that the facility is being built as part of an initiative by the Egyptian government to make the country the hub of vaccines…
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) has given reasons why some concerned members of the institution’s Senate, rejected the appointment of Prof. Adenike Temidayo Oladiji as the eighth substantive vice chancellor of the university. A statement by Prof. P. A. Aborisade and Prof. M. B. Oyun made available to newsmen on Sunday, alleged that the selection process of the vice chancellor lacked transparency. According to them, the appointment was against Act No 11 of 1993) as amended (2003) concerning the processes of the selection of a vice-chancellor. “Section 3 (b) states:…
Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal and a presidential aspirant on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called for unity and oneness in the party as it prepares for the 2023 general elections. Tambuwal gave the advice on Saturday in Abakaliki while addressing party faithful, delegates and his supporters during a consultative visit to Ebonyi. The aspirant noted that the party needed unity at every level of leadership, especially at both state and national levels, in order to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming general elections. “By the grace of God, come May 29,…