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IMF, World Bank advocate flexible fiscal support, debt relief
Against the backdrop of a pandemic impacted global and national economies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have urged fiscal authorities to execute flexible and supportive fiscal policies to support economic recovery and cushion the long-term impact of the pandemic. In a paper that was titled: ‘Tailoring Government Support’, IMF staff said until the pandemic is brought under control, fiscal policy will have to remain flexible and supportive. It advised governments to prioritize certain policy measures that include targeted support to vulnerable households, investment in health system and more focused support to viable firms, warning that if the pandemic persists, widespread corporate insolvencies could result, destroying millions of jobs, particularly in contact-intens...
Yinka Odumakin: Premature departure of a bright star – Senator Tinubu
Like millions of Nigerians, I received with profound shock the news of the death early this morning of Mr. Yinka Odumakin, spokesman of Afenifere, committed fighter for democracy, dedicated civil society activist, courageous and outspoken defender of whatever ideals and principles he believed in and a patriotic citizen in every sense of the word. Ever since his student days, Odumakin had been fearless and unrelenting in speaking up in promoting the cause of justice and what he perceived as the best interest of the citizens of Nigeria. He participated actively at the forefront in the various students and youth struggles against successive military dictatorships in the 1980s and 1990s. In the process, he was arrested, harassed and even detained several times. Yet, he never allowed himself to...
Namibian president caught in new fishing corruption allegations
Informante The president of Namibia has been implicated in new allegations of corruption involving the country’s lucrative fishing industry by an investigation released by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and The Namibian newspaper. According to a lawyer who allegedly arranged the deal, President Hage Geingob instructed his close associates to embezzle millions of dollars from a state-run fishing enterprise in order to bribe electors at the 2017 congress of the ruling SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) party, reports the new investigation released on Friday. The lawyer, who is not named by the OCCRP, claims that Hage Geingob – elected as President of Namibia in 2014 and re-elected in 2019 – allegedly asked James Hatuikulipi, then chairman of the sta...
Plateau governor installs four traditional rulers
Plateau State governor, Simon Bako Lalong, says traditional rulers need to play a greater role in enhancing the security of their domains and the entire nation. Governor Lalong stated this while installing two second class chiefs in Wase local government area of Plateau State. The monarchs are Chief Lot Nden, Ponzhi Kadarko Chiefdom and Alhaji Muhammad Asi, Aku-Jukun of Mavo Chiefdom. While presenting the staff of office to the two traditional rulers after they took the oath of allegiance, Governor Lalong said the restoration of the two chiefdoms was in fulfilment of his campaign promise and the desire to meet the yearnings of the people in the spirit of equity and justice. He says any community leader or traditional ruler who is unable to assist security agencies towards arresting crimina...
Nigerian government urged to dialogue with Sunday Igboho
A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has advised the Federal Government to dialogue with the Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Igboho, instead of plotting to arrest or harm him, a situation, he said, portends danger to national stability. Fani-Kayode, in a post on his social media pages on Friday, which he also sent to newsmen, said arresting, detaining or killing Igboho will be the “biggest mistake” that the Federal Government can make. He added that the activist has not broken any law of the nation and that he represents the thoughts and aspirations of over 70 million Yoruba people as he is seen as a hero by the same people. “I will say this just once. The biggest threat to the peace and stability of Nigeria today is the plan by some hardliners in the Federal Government to ...
ECWA: Terrorists tactically taking over Northern Nigeria
The Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) has raised the alarm, saying terrorist groups are tactically expanding their activities and making incursions into other parts of the North. Addressing a press conference in Jos on Wednesday on the insecurity ravaging the country, ECWA President, Dr. Stephen Panya, said “Boko Haram and ISWAP have destroyed tens of thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of Nigerians and many Christians and Christian communities have been deliberately targeted and destroyed. “It is clear that these terrorist groups are gradually but tactically expanding their activities and making incursions into other parts of the north and even beyond, and the apparent lack of unity in the fight against these terrorist groups, and the inability of government to deal...
Sudan and rebel group sign agreement on separation of religion and state
The Sudanese government and a major rebel group from its southern Nuba Mountains on Sunday signed a document which paves the way for a final peace agreement by guaranteeing freedom of worship to all while separating religion and the state. The signing is viewed as a crucial step in efforts by the power-sharing government headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to reach accords with rebel groups across the country and end decades of conflicts that left millions displaced and hundreds of thousands dead. Last year Sudan signed a peace agreement with many groups, including from the Western region of Darfur. But a key faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, did not join in last year’s agreement because it stuck to its demand that Sudan dispens...
MTN donates 300,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to Nigeria
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 said it received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from MTN Nigeria. Speaking at the National briefing, the Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha said: “Yesterday, Sunday, March 21, 2021, the PTF received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from MTN Nigeria. “This is acknowledged with thanks as we encourage other partners to contribute towards the fight against COVID-19.” Recall that the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, had said that the first part of the 1.4 million doses promised to be donated to Nigeria would be delivered by end of February, while the remaining balance would be delivered by end of March, 2021. Mustapha also said: “The disclosure that Nigerian...
Nigerian government distributes N20,000 each to 2,900 women in Benue
The Federal Government has disbursed N20,000 each to 2,900 women in Benue to improve their living standards. Mrs Sadiya Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, said this on Saturday in Makurdi during the inauguration of the grant for rural women project. Farouq, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Bashir Alkali, said that a cash of N20,000 would also be disbursed to about 125,000 poor women across the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory. “Our target in Benue is to disburse the grant to about 2,900 beneficiaries across all local government councils. “The grant is expected to increase income and productive assets of target beneficiaries. “It is our hope that the beneficiaries of this programme will make ...
CBN donates relief items to IDPs in Borno
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Maiduguri branch, on Monday donated relief items worth Millions of Naira to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the State. Presenting the Items, Alhaji Lawan Tijjani Kanuriyana, the CBN Maiduguri Branch Controller, said that the gesture is to support displaced families at this critical time of needs. Kanuriyana said that that the items which included 300 bags of rice, 151 cartons of Indomie, 20 cartons of maggi, 31 cartons of tomatoes, 151 cartons of spaghetti, 150 bags of semovita, 20 cartons of vegetable oil and 11 cartons of salts would be given to the IDPs. Responding, Hajiya Yabawa Kolo, the Director General of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), lauded the bank for the donation, noting that it would go a long way to providing succor to ...
2,700 Akwa Ibom women benefit from federal government’s special grant
The minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has advised Nigerian women not to regard the N20, 000 special grant given to the rural woman by the federal government as the fabled national cake. She has rather charged the beneficiaries to judiciously use the grant to improve their living standard by utilizing it as seed capital do boost their trades and businesses for greater income. Speaking through Bashir Nura Alkali, the permanent secretary of the ministry, at the flag off of the Grant for Rural Women Project and the symbolic disbursement of the grant to 2700 women of Akwa Ibom state, in Uyo, on Thursday, Farouq explained that the Grant for Rural Women Programme was introduced in 2020 to sustain the social inclusion agenda of Presid...
Amnesty worried about frequent school abductions in Nigeria
Human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, says it is concerned that frequent abductions in Nigerian schools is a danger to the education of millions of children. Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, said on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 that attacks on schools and abductions of children are war crimes that should not be tolerated. Her comments were made in the wake of the abduction of 27 students of the Government Science College, Kagara in Niger State on Wednesday during an attack that left one student shot to death. Three staff members and 12 members of their families were also abducted at the school located in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger. Ojigho sounded a note of warning that Nigerian authorities must act immediately to prevent attacks on schools, and prote...