The African ministers of finance have said that health reforms are key to Africa’s economic recovery. This is contained in a statement from the Communications Department of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) on Friday. The ministers said this during a roundtable on “the Future of Health and Economic Resiliency” at the just-concluded ECA Conference of Ministers (CoM2022) in Dakar, Senegal. The ministers, who spoke on the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, said Africa should realise the importance of investing in strong health systems and pharmaceutical companies that could produce medicines locally. Amadou Hott, the Senegal Minister of…
Author: Newsdesk
A Coalition of Concerned Women in Leadership (CCWL) has embarked on a rally, advocating for implementation of 35 per cent affirmative action for women contesting for elective positions in 2023. The National President of CCWL, Mrs Uduak Oludemi, made the call at a rally held at the Lagos State House of Assembly in Lagos on Friday. The coalition under the auspices of Voice of Widows Foundation also went to the Lagos All Progressives Congress (APC) secretariat and Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu residence. Out of the 109 senators in the National Assembly, only nine are women and only 27 out of…
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)’s Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) on Friday distributed fertilizer and other farm inputs to 447 poor rural rice and cassava farmers in Taraba. Dr Fatima Aliyu, the Acting National Programme Coordinator (NPC) of VCDP, while distributing the items in Jalingo, explained that it was made possible through IFAD’s COVID-19 Rural Poor Stimulus Facility grant. According to him, the facility grant to VCDP, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, is meant to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on poor rural farmers. Represented by Mr Musa Dalang, Aliyu said the grant is meant for farmers…
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government joined Canada’s closest intelligence allies in banning Huawei Technologies Co. from fifth-generation wireless networks. The Chinese state-championed telecommunications firm poses a threat to Canada’s national security, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Thursday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. ZTE Corp. equipment will also be prohibited. Firms that already have Huawei or ZTE gear installed will have to remove it by the end of 2027, Champagne’s department said in a statement. Trudeau’s government had delayed the decision for more than three years, as relations between Canada and China deteriorated, and a ban would almost certainly stoke…
The federal government has commenced the payment of minimum wage arrears, which it owed lecturers under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and Academic Staff Union of UNIVERSITIES (ASUU) as part of efforts to end ongoing strikes by the unions. The National President of ASUP, Dr. Anderson Ezeibe, and the Chairman, ASUU FUTMinna, Dr. Gbolahan Bolarin, confirmed this in separate interviews with newmen on Thursday. Confirming the payment on Thursday, Ezeibe, however said that was just the beginning. “The government has started responding. They just started paying the salary/minimum wage arrears, the one they have refused…
By Fadhlillah Abdallah Sokoto government has lifted the curfew imposed on the state following the killing of a female student of Shehu Shagari College of Education Sokoto, Deborah Samuel. This is contained in a statement by the state Commissioner for Information, Isah Bajini Galadanci and made available to newsmen on Friday. I the statement, the state governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal acted on the powers conferred on him by the constitution, the Public Order Act and Sokoto State Peace Preservation Law. “Acting on enabling powers under section 176 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, section 1, 2…
In Entebbe, Uganda, a major breakthrough occurred with the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka traditional leaders signing a peace accord reiterating their commitment to achieving lasting peace in Abyei Area. In a four-point communique, which was signed at the end of the three-day Joint Traditional Leader’ Peace Conference. by the Ngok Dinka Paramount Chief, Bulabek Deng Kuol and the leader of the Misseriya delegation, El Sadig Hireka Izzral Din on Thursday, the leaders pledged to support the initiatives at government level towards resolving the Abyei issue. At the event facilitated by the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), were…
Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, says his plan is to declare National Security Emergency on inauguration day and revamp the economy if elected president in 2023. Hayatu-Deen, a former Managing Director of the now-defunct FSB International Bank, made the pledge when he led his team to woo Lagos PDP national delegates on Thursday in Ikeja. The foremost economist, banker and former Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, who noted that most challenges facing the nation had economic root, promised to fix Nigeria’s economy with strategic programmes if elected. “I will deal with National security issues…
A coalition of environment-focused Civil Society Organisations on Thursday berated the European Union (EU) for seeking to build alternative gas pipelines as alternative to Russian gas. The organisations noted that the boycott of Russian gas is an opportunity to fast track the switch to renewable energy sources rather than building new gas pipelines. The positions of the coalition are contained in a statement issued on their behalf by the Media and Communication Lead at Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Miss Kome Odhomor. They argued that the plan announced on Wednesday by the EU President did not address the challenges…
The former Zamfara state governor, Abdul’aziz Yari has said that the recent reconciliation between him and Gov Bello Muhammad was not based on their personal gain but for the interest of the state. Yari made the statement on Thursday at his residence in Talata Mafara town, Talata-Mafara local government area while receiving members of the state Executive Council who paid him a courtesy visit. Yari commended Muhammad for his efforts in ensuring the success of the reconciliation drive and development of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. Members of the State Executive Council, including commissioners and special advisers,…