The Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG has announced a shift in its planned security summit earlier fixed for Abuja on 20 and 21 December, citing ember festivities as reason. Announcing the shift, Spokesperson Abdul-Azeez Suleiman said the summit designed to come up with workable suggestions to the security challenges facing the region, would now hold on 5th and 6th January to make allowance for the Christmas and New Year festivities. Suleiman said the shift has become inevitable as Christian brothers and sisters who are equally stakeholders in the affairs of the region would be occupied during that period. Additionally, he…
Author: Newsdesk
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted 64,000 pump action gun cartridges and a new pump action gun at a store located at Success Line, Marine modern market, Onitsha, Awka North local government area of Anambra state. A statement by the spokesperson of the agency, Femi Babafemi on Friday, said the discovery led to the arrest of an arms dealer, 34-year-old Donatus Igwebudu. According to the statement, acting on credible intelligence on drugs and arms deal in the location, the operatives, supported by soldiers, stormed the store on Wednesday 15th December 2021 and moved the arms…
The World Bank has approved a $700 million credit from its International Development Association (IDA) for the Nigeria Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project. It said this in a statement issued in Washington on Thursday. According to it, the project will increase the implementation of sustainable landscape management practices in northern Nigeria and strengthen the country’s long-term enabling environment for integrated climate-resilient landscape management. It said that the productivity of major crops in Nigeria had been steadily declining over the past two decades, due partly to climate change, forcing an expansion of the area under agriculture and increased imports…
By Abujah Racheal The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged African leaders to create legal frameworks that would be periodically reviewed and monitored to achieve a new Public Health Order. Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Assistant Director General, WHO, said this, while speaking on the topic, “The Case for a New Public Health Order” at the ongoing first virtual International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2021) on Wednesday. The African Union (AU) and the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) organised CPHIA 2021, with over 10,000 participants from 140 countries around the world. According to Iheakweazu, in creating a…
A researcher, Prof. Polycarp Okafor, has said metabolism of cassava cyanide does not play any significant role in chronic diseases such as goiter or goitre with cretinism, Konzo, Tropical Chronic Panctreatitis (TCP) and diabetes. Okafor, a Professor of Biochemical Toxicology, said this at the 52nd inaugural lecture at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), on Wednesday. Okafor said some reported chronic cassava cyanide diseases were based on circumstantial evidence. He admitted that the cassava cyanide toxicity with the associated chronic diseases should be a major concern for populations using the staple food, but added that he had overwhelming…
The Federal Ministry of Health has partnered with the World Health Organisation to strengthen stakeholders’ capacity to halt impact of electronic waste exposure on child and public health in Nigeria. This was the thrust of the ongoing National Stakeholders’ Workshop on Prevention of Impact of Electronic Waste on Child Health in Abuja on Wednesday. The Minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, called for more political commitment from stakeholders towards reversing this trend, saying the country had enough laws and policies to curb the negative impact of electronic waste management. Ehanire, represented by Dr Shuaibu Bonji, Director, Climate Change and Environmental Health, said…
Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Osun Command, has confirmed the death of seven persons in a motor accident that occurred on Ilesa-Osu expressway on Wednesday. The FRSC Sector Commander in the state, Mr Paul Okpe, in a statement made available to newsmen in Osogbo, said that a bus carrying some passengers from Zamfara lost control at about 3.45 a.m, around Osu area. “A white Toyota Hiace bus loss control and ran under a billboard, leading to the death of seven persons, four of whom were burnt beyond recognition,” he said. Okpe, who stated that the bus was carrying two motorcycles…
The Senate has approved the sum of N633.39 billion as budget for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the 2022 fiscal year. The approval followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Communications on Wednesday during plenary. Chairperson of the Committee, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu (APC-Lagos), in her presentation, said out of the approved sum, N86,242,952 was for Recurrent Expenditure; N30,336,144 for Capital Expenditure, N42,445,864 for Special Projects; N466,868,323 was transferred to federal government while N7,500,000 as Transfer to Universal Service Provision Fund. She explained that the Commission’s Revenue of N633.3 billion consisted of Annual Licensing Fees (N1.5 billion);…
Nigerian government and French Development Agency have reiterated commitment to strengthening their cooperation to promote climate action and the low carbon economic development in the country. The commitment was made when the new Country-Director of the agency, Mr Xavier Muron, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for the Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, in Abuja. Muron said the visit was to discuss the agency`s strategies and priorities for climate action in Nigeria, based on the just concluded COP-26 and the commitment of Nigeria in this regard. He also said the meeting was intended to provide an opportunity to…
The Senate on Wednesday approved the sum of $5,803,364,553.50 and a grant component of $10 million under the 2018-2020 External Borrowing (Rolling) plan. The approval followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts during plenary on Wednesday. Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Clifford Ordia, in his presentation, said the $2,300,000,000 would be sourced from the World Bank, $2,300,000,000 from the German Consortium, $90,000,000 from the Islamic Development Bank, $276,981,586.50 from the Bank of China, and $50,000,000 from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). He recalled that President Buhari in a communication dated May…