Canada has announced more than $30 million in new support for initiatives in Nigeria and across West Africa. The Secretary of State for International Development, Mr. Randeep Sarai, made the announcement at a reception organised in his honour by the Canadian Deputy High Commission on Friday night in Lagos. Sarai said the initiatives would strengthen health systems, expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs and small businesses, advance climate resilience, deepen governance cooperation, and improve digital resilience and access to justice. “Together, they will help build more inclusive and resilient institutions and economies across the region,” he said. He also announced that…
Author: Newsdesk
Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has dissociated himself from alleged statements and materials circulating online that link him to support for banditry in Nigeria. In a press statement issued in Kaduna on Saturday, Gumi described the reports as fake, manipulated, and doctored by individuals and groups pursuing ethnic and sectional interests. He said some of his media interviews, public lectures, and comments on insecurity have been deliberately misrepresented by certain internet content creators seeking sensational headlines and online traffic. “I hereby state unequivocally that any video clip, written statement, or message attributed to me — whether directly or by innuendo — suggesting…
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Lagos State says it has completed the screening of aspirants seeking to contest elective positions on the party’s platform for the 2027 general elections. The Chairman of the APM Lagos State Screening Committee, Mr. Abiodun Abari, disclosed this in an interview with reporters on Saturday in Lagos after the exercise. Abari said the five-man committee screened the party’s consensus governorship aspirant, Prince Laja Adeoye, along with other aspirants for various positions. According to him, the committee screened three senatorial aspirants, 24 House of Representatives aspirants, and 40 Lagos State House of Assembly aspirants. He…
The National Average Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) per adult per day stood at N1,513 as of February, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said. The NBS disclosed this in its CoHD report for February 2026, released in Abuja. According to the bureau, the CoHD increased by 3.76 per cent from N1,458 recorded in January 2026. The NBS described the CoHD as the least expensive combination of locally available food items that meets globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines. It serves as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets. “This is a lower bound (or floor)…
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Katsina State has cautioned staff and corps members against immoral conduct, urging them to uphold discipline and the ideals of the scheme. NYSC State Coordinator Mr. Okor Evans gave the warning on Friday in Katsina during a road walk to mark the scheme’s 53rd anniversary. He commended the staff for their dedication, hard work, and ethical conduct, describing them as dynamic and committed to the objectives of the scheme. Evans urged them to remain loyal to the organisation’s vision, noting that the NYSC has remained at the forefront of campaigns against social vices…
The UN is rushing emergency personnel, funding, and supplies into eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to combat a rapidly growing Ebola outbreak in conflict-ravaged provinces. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday raised the national risk assessment for DRC to “very high”, while the global risk remains “low”. So far, 82 cases and seven deaths have been confirmed in DRC, but WHO says the true scale of the outbreak is likely much larger. The global health body has reported nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. On Friday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher announced the allocation…
The United Nations has warned that about 35 million Nigerians are at risk of acute hunger between June and August. The UN Humanitarian Country Team said Nigeria is facing a deepening hunger crisis, with millions at risk as the lean season approaches. “Nearly one in seven people — that is, 35 million Nigerians — are likely to face acute food insecurity during this year’s lean season, which runs from June to August,” the UN said. READ ALSO: UN boosts Ebola response in eastern DRC The latest report ranks Nigeria among the world’s largest hunger crises, with the burden falling overwhelmingly…
The Kaduna State Team Lead of the Nigerian Learning Passport (NLP), Philip Mamman, has disclosed that over 2.2 million users have enrolled on the online learning platform across Nigeria. This forms part of efforts to bridge the country’s learning poverty gap. Mamman stated this on the sidelines of this year’s National Children’s Day celebration at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna. Speaking on the impact of the initiative, which is supported by UNICEF in partnership with the Global Partnership for Education and hosted by the Federal Ministry of Education, Mamman said the NLP is an online learning platform designed…
The Federal Government has intensified calls for enhanced cross-border cooperation among ECOWAS member states to combat transnational crime, terrorism, and other security challenges threatening regional stability. The Director-General of the National Boundary Commission (NBC), Adamu Adaji, made the call during the annual stakeholders’ meeting on ECOWAS Cross-Border Cooperation held in Abuja. Adaji, who was represented by Dr Farouk Tarfa, Head of Cross-Border Cooperation at the NBC, noted that Nigeria was the first country in the sub-region to establish the ECOWAS Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) programme. He emphasised the need for member states to strengthen collaboration to tackle terrorism, transnational crimes, and…
Wife of Anambra State Governor, Dr Nonye Soludo, says home gardening offers a practical solution to healthy living, food sufficiency, and economic support for households, especially amid rising food costs. Soludo made this known in a statement on Friday in Awka while announcing plans to distribute 5,000 packs of hybrid, non-genetically modified (non-GMO) seeds to residents. She said the initiative aims to encourage household gardening and subsistence farming during the rainy season. READ ALSO: Herders abandon cattle after farm invasion in Abia “The initiative is to support individuals interested in cultivating home gardens and boosting food production across the state,”…