The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the promotion of 2,339 staff members under its 2025 Senior Staff Promotion exercise. INEC disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by its Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, noting that the decision was taken at the commission’s meeting held on Feb. 26. According to Eta-Messi, 45 deputy directors on Grade Level (GL) 16 were elevated to directors on GL 17. Of these, 18 will remain in active service, while 27 are due for retirement shortly after their promotion. She added that 91 assistant directors on…
Author: Newsdesk
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has raised concern over increasing Lassa fever cases across 18 states and 67 Local Government Areas (LGAs). The agency attributed the sustained transmission and rising fatalities to operational gaps at the state level, urging urgent action to strengthen outbreak response and control measures. Director-General of NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. He said that Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo and Benue accounted for more than 80 per cent of confirmed cases recorded during the 2026 peak transmission season. Idris described as particularly worrisome the growing…
The Kaduna State Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure has commenced a three-day training on sustainable community Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) promotion to strengthen service delivery across the state. Ashenews gathered through NAN reports that the workshop, held in Zaria, was organised in collaboration with Amorah Hydrogen Links Ltd and the Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH) Programme. Speaking at the opening on Tuesday, the Commissioner for Public Works and Infrastructure, Mr Ibrahim Hamza, said the training was designed to position Kaduna State for effective SURWASH implementation. He was represented by the Director of Water…
Farmers’ groups Saai, Free State Agriculture, and Sakeliga have approached the Pretoria High Court with an urgent request to stop the government’s restrictions on FMD vaccine measures, pending a full review of the Minister’s decisions. Saai and its co-applicants intend to have the Minister’s decisions and conduct relating to the FMD vaccine formally reviewed and set aside on the grounds that they are unlawful, irrational, and unconstitutional. Pending these review proceedings, urgent interim protection is sought from the court to prevent further and irreparable harm. At the heart of the dispute is that the Minister is currently applying measures that…
National Geographic Society and PepsiCo have announced five new grants to fund on-farm research aimed at accelerating regenerative agriculture in Ethiopia, supporting science-based solutions that strengthen soil health, improve climate resilience and increase productivity across key food crops. The funded projects will focus on evidence-to-practice innovations across a range of food systems in Ethiopia, including wheat, maize (corn), potato and soy, alongside other global crop research. While coffee systems were among the topics in some research proposals, the broader aim of the funding is to strengthen regenerative practices for multiple staple and high-value crops threatened by climate change and extreme…
President Bola Tinubu has nominated the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms chairman, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, as the minister of state for finance, replacing Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite. This was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy) on March 3, 2026. According to the statement, Uzoka-Anite will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration. According to Onanuga, President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. The presidency described Oyedele…
QatarEnergy has announced a decision to stop downstream production just a day after it announced a halt to liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. The energy firm announced the update on Tuesday in a post on its official verified X handle. The development follows the continued escalation of the Middle East crisis as the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran intensifies. The company said the stoppage of production will affect several products, including urea, polymers, and methanol. “Further to the decision by QatarEnergy to stop production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and associated products, QatarEnergy is stopping the production of some downstream products…
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has alerted Nigerians to a Notice of Concern issued by the World Health Organization’s Prequalification Service on four NAFDAC-registered diagnostic kits manufactured by Meril Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd in India. This was disclosed in a public notice published on the agency’s website. The Notice of Concern followed significant violations observed during a WHO Prequalification audit of Meril Diagnostics’ manufacturing facility. According to NAFDAC, the WHO audit found that the company was not operating in line with WHO requirements and applicable quality standards, raising concerns about the quality and safety of the affected medical devices. The affected products,…
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc has announced the appointment of Mrs. Marie Namias as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the company. The announcement was made in a notice issued to the bank’s shareholders, the Nigerian Exchange Limited, and the general public on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, and signed by Company Secretary, Erhi Obebeduo. The approval for this appointment has been granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In the official statement, GTCO highlighted Mrs. Namias’ extensive background in banking and strategy, stating she brings over 25 years of experience in retail banking, corporate banking, digital banking, and strategy consulting. “Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc…
The Nigerian Dental Association (NDA) has urged greater responsibility in the use of social media, cautioning the public against relying on oral health information circulated by unauthorized individuals. The President of the NDA, Dr. Emedom Elias, issued the call in a statement co-signed by the Association’s Secretary-General, Dr. Franklin Abhulimen, and the Chairman of its Ethics and Disciplinary Committee, Dr. Victor Nwabudike, on Tuesday in Abuja. According to the Association, the warning became necessary following recurring cases of unverified claims, outright falsehoods, and misleading oral health information circulated online by self-acclaimed dental practitioners. “Just recently, someone who identified himself as…