COVID-19 Pandemic
Nigerian government to inject over N600 billion into agriculture for food security – minister
The Federal Government is set to inject over N600 billion as stimulus response into the agriculture sector. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, made this known in a statement signed by the Director of Information of the ministry, Mr Theodore Ogaziechi, on Sunday in Abuja. The minister according to the statement, made this known while on a tour of Dangote Fertiliser Plant and other fertiliser companies in Lagos State. Nanono said the stimulus package would target small scale farmers, to ensure food security and sustainability. He explained that the package would target farmers nationwide and expected to begin with an initial 2.4 million farmers. He noted that to avoid the abuse of government funds and good intentions, the support would be in form of inputs and no...
How Cyberattacks Mirror the Rate of COVID-19 Infections
Sourced from Getty Images. The number of cyberattacks on frontline healthcare responders have surged at the same time as the global COVID-19 pandemic, trending upwards almost entirely in line with case numbers. By March 2020, phishing emails had spiked by over 600% since February, as cyber-criminals looked to capitalise on the fear and uncertainty generated by the virus. One-third of these attacks used impersonation of a known brand as a tactic to steal money and data or to deploy a virus or ransomware. When comparing the number of phishing attacks and COVID-19 infections globally between January and March of this year, the rate of growth in phishing attacks correlates almost perfectly with the rate of increase in infections. While these attacks have been seen mostly by healthcare institut...
Brazil court fires Rio governor over corruption
Brazil’s High Court of Justice removed Rio de Janeiro Governor Wilson Witzel from office Friday, as police raided his official residence in a probe into accusations he stole emergency funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The raids also targeted the far-right governor’s wife and inner circle. Among those arrested was Pastor Everaldo, an evangelical preacher and leader of Witzel’s Christian Social Party. Helicopters circled over the stately governor’s residence, Laranjeiras Palace, starting at dawn as federal police executed a sweeping series of search and seizure orders and arrest warrants. The court ruling suspends Witzel, 52, from office for at least 180 days as authorities investigate claims he took a reported 274.2 million reals ($50 million) in kickbacks. “This criminal organizatio...
Afreximbank approves $400 million facility to improve agriculture in Africa
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Africa’s foremost multilateral trade finance institution, has approved a $400-million revolving global credit facility agreement for the Export Trading Group (ETG), one of the largest and fastest-growing integrated agricultural conglomerates in Africa. The agreement will enable ETG to keep playing its vital role in the agri-foods supply chain of efficiently connecting African farmers to markets, as well as expanding access to key inputs to boost agricultural productivity in a continent with tremendous but yet unrealized potential. According to Afreximbank’s estimates, Africa spent over $90 billion on food imports in 2019, even though it possesses up to 60 percent of the world’s remaining arable land. Moreover, the Food and Agriculture Organizat...
Central bank, bankers’ committee to support airlines, media with special facilities
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’ Committee have unanimously agreed to extend special facilities to Nigerian-registered airlines and the media industry in the country to enable them adequately address the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CBN Director Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday. Okorafor said the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, announced this while addressing the Bank Chief Executives at the bi-monthly virtual meeting of the Bankers’ Committee on Tuesday. Emefiele urged the banks to do all within their powers to support airlines in the country, noting that such support was critical to helping the industry recover from the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, the ape...
NFF committee sanctions NPFL 2019/20 final table
Football Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has endorsed the final table of the Nigeria Professional Football League for the 2019/2020 season as prepared and released by the League Management Company. At its virtual meeting, held at the instance of the President of NFF, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, to deliberate on all the issues arising from the forced ending to the season by the COVID-19, the agreement reached by all stakeholders to use the Points-Per-Game (PPG) to determine the final table and the subsequent petition by Rivers United FC, the Committee unanimously recommended that the NFF Executive Committee endorse the LMC decision and the Final Table for the 2019/2020 season in line with the NFF Statutes. It also charged the LMC to work out its calendar to ensure that very minim...
Nigerian government borrowed food from ECOWAS – ministry
Federal Minister of Power, Works and Housing The Nigerian Government has disclosed that it borrowed over 5,000 metric tonnes of grain from ECOWAS to feed citizens. This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Baba-Shehuri, on Monday. He stated this while receiving the 3,999 tonnes of cereals donated to Nigeria by ECOWAS. According to Shehuri, “The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria loaned 5,000MT of assorted grains from ECOWAS Stock which was agreed to be paid back on grain for grain basis. “Modalities had been put in place to replace the ECOWAS Stock before the advent of COVID-19 Pandemic. That notwithstanding, I can assure you that the stock will be replaced in due course.” He said to tackle the food crisis in the West African Sub...
Lawmaker distributes laptops, Ipads to 200 beneficiaries in Kwara
Mr Tunji Ajuloopin, lawmaker representing Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency, has distributed laptops and Ipads to 200 participants of his digital training programme in Omu-Aran, Kwara. Presenting the gadgets and certificates to the participants on Sunday, Ajuloopin said the beneficiaries were chosen from the four local councils in the federal constituency. The lawmaker said that the aim of the programme was to check the high rate of unemployment in the country. According to him, in this age of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), we recognise the role of digital knowledge as a major driver of our economy and very critical to our future as a nation. “Sequel to this, we see the need to leverage on digital knowledge to curb the recurring menace of unemployment in our...
Why Organisations Need to Strengthen their Cyber Defences
At the start of 2020, very few people would have predicted the events that unfolded. The COVID-19 global pandemic caused unprecedented changes to all of our lives and has reshaped our entire working culture. From the accelerated pace of digital transformation and move to the cloud to the increased use of collaboration tools, cybercriminals looked to take advantage of these rapid and widespread changes for their own purposes. This week, Experian – a consumer credit reporting company, says it has experienced a breach of data which has exposed some personal information of as many as 24 million South Africans, and 793, 749 business entities, to a suspected fraudster. This is one of the many criminal cyber-attacks, exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to target organizations and individuals across ...
Lyon return empty-handed with prospect of losing key players
Had Olympique Lyonnais’ Memphis Depay and Karl Toko Ekambi found the back of the net in the opening 16 minutes against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, the Champions League may have had its first ever all-French final. Instead, Paris St Germain will now face the German champions while Lyon return home empty-handed and without the opportunity of righting those wrongs next season after they failed to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition. Ligue 1 was the only top-flight league from the ‘Big Five’ to prematurely end its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Lyon in seventh place on a points-per-game basis — thereby missing out on the Europa League as well. The 3-0 scoreline flatters Bayern as Lyon had their chances but playing in only their second semi-final on the big stage, their ...
Edo guber: Betsy Obaseki expresses concern over desperation of candidates
Wife of Edo state governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, has expressed concern over what she called “deception, desperation and the total lack of self respect displayed by some politicians who are willing to do anything to gain power and have made themselves a laughing stock among the people.” She stated this on Tuesday in Benin, during an interactive session with wives of Enigies (Dukes in Benin Kingdom), over the September 19 gubernatorial election in the state. Mrs. Obaseki said she expected governorship candidates “to campaign and sell their manifesto, rather than tell lies and employ the services of thugs to unleash violence on the people, all because they have nothing to offer.” She charged the women “to judge as mothers whether it is in the best interest of the people to mortgage the future ...
NIMASA assures dockworkers of improved welfare
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has assured stakeholders of its commitment to the protection of the rights and welfare of dockworkers as guaranteed in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Decent Work Agenda. The Agency’s Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Victor Ochei, gave the assurance in Lagos during a meeting of the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC). The meeting discussed a revised minimum wage and improved living standard for dockworkers through the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) initiative endorsed by NIMASA and NJIC in 2018. Ochei stated, “Dockworkers are integral to efficient and effective stevedoring operation and the NJIC has remained resolute in ensuring harmonious working relationships through the ...
