Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

The World Bank has said the growth rate of Sub-Saharan Africa would slow by 3.6 per cent in 2023 as funding tied up to aid and private finance shrink. In a press briefing, the IMF’s African Department Director, Abebe Aemro Selassie, disclosed this on Friday. According to Selassie, if no measure is taken, funding shortage may force counties to reduce fiscal resources earmarked for education, health, infrastructure and other critical development affecting the Sub-Saharan region. The IMF leader called on Countries in the region to gear up reforms needed to strengthen their economies’ resilience. He said the acceleration of domestic…

The 2023 Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi has said nobody can force him out of Nigeria. Obi spoke at Onitsha Holiday Resort in Anambra State while responding to calls for him to leave Nigeria. A former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode had challenged Obi to leave Nigeria and never come back. Fani-Kayode made the call in response to Obi’s outcry that he was under pressure to leave the country. On Wednesday, the LP flag bearer in the last election accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, and some government agencies of trying to divert the country’s attention from the infractions…

The United Nations Children’s Fund says over 6,800 children living in the North-East have been subjected to grave violations of their rights. In a press release on Friday, UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, lamented the brutal consequences of conflict on children nine years after 276 schoolgirls were abducted in Chibok and 96 girls still in captivity. She noted the impact of the conflict on education is alarming with repercussions likely to affect generations, stressing its “devastating reality” She added that the recent abduction of 80 children in Zamfara State reinforces the urgent need for action to protect children in…

Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) is preparing to use drones for attacks in the Lake Chad Basin, according to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). In an attempt to strike undetected, the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will fly improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to targeted locations in Nigeria and neighbouring countries. The ISS noted that the Nigerian military had inflicted losses on Boko Haram factions, Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) and ISWAP, forcing the latter to re-strategize. The research, comprising analysis of propaganda materials and interviews with former combatants and associates, shows an elaborate use of communication technology. This includes…

Mike Igini, the former Akwa Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has claimed that the United Kingdom, UK, introduced Nigeria to election rigging. Igini stated this while fielding questions about the conduct of the just concluded 2023 general elections on Arise Television’s Morning Show program on Friday. He lamented how politicians manipulated the electoral process, urging the judiciary to stop the political rascalities. He said, ”What I want Nigerians to know is that whatever we make of this country, that is what it will become. It is clearly in our hands because, in…

Bayern Munich have left Sadio Mane out of their squad for Saturday’s league match against Hoffenheim amid reports he punched team-mate Leroy Sane. Reports in Germany alleged Mane hit Sane in the face following Tuesday’s 3-0 Champions League defeat by Manchester City at Etihad Stadium. The pair reportedly had to be separated by team-mates after the altercation. Bayern said Senegal forward Mane has been dropped because of “misconduct” and confirmed he will also be fined. Sadio Mane, 31, will not be included in the FC Bayern squad for this Saturday’s home match against 1899 Hoffenheim,” said Bayern in a statement on Thursday.…

Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity has commenced counting down to the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure. President Buhari, who was elected in 2015, is expected to handover to the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29 2023, a few weeks from now. Excited by the development, Adesina in an article titled, “THE FINAL GALLOP HOME”, anticipated returning home to rest after serving the country for eight years. According to him, some of his colleagues in the presidency, including himself, had never served in any government before and had no plans to…

The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday said that President-elect, Bola Tinubu, is resting in Europe ahead of his inauguration on May 29. Mr. Felix Morka, APC National Publicity Secretary, stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme. According to Morka, Tinubu will swing to action immediately after he returns from Europe. When asked about the whereabouts of Tinubu, Morka said, “He [Tinubu] is probably in Europe. He’s fine. After the elections and all of the energy expended, he just decided to take a moment of rest. “Once he returns and he’s inaugurated on May 29, there will be no…

Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, on Thursday, passed into law the Bill to provide for a Map for the State and other matters connected therewith. The new law, which is cited as the Akwa Ibom State Map Establishment Law 2023, was passed during the plenary and is expected to take effect from April 13, 2023. This followed a report of the Joint Committee on Lands and Housing, Boundary and Conflict Resolution and Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, presented by its Chairman, Sir Udo Kierian Akpan (Oruk Anam). According to the report, the Bill sponsored by Hon. David Lawrence (Eket)…

Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has warned the Federal Government not to contemplate the removal of the subsidy on petrol without local refining capacity, in view of its socio-economic implications on businesses and ordinary Nigerians. This is contained in a communiqué  by NUPENG leaders at the end of the Union’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Lagos, which deliberated on the state of the nation, especially after the conduct of the 2023 general elections and the increasing statements from Nigerians on the intention of the Federal Government to end the Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, subsidy regime, among…

A former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adamu Garba asserted that the APC-led federal government facilitated the release of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi from his detention cell in the United Kingdom recently. Peter Obi was last Friday, reportedly detained for hours at London’s Heathrow Airport, over alleged impersonation. The former Anambra State governor was later released after he was interrogated by UK immigration officials. Garba on Thursday claimed his release was facilitated by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission headed by Abike Dabiri. In a tweet, he wrote: “Here is how the…

President Muhammadu Buhari performed the Umrah rituals amid tight security, at the Grand Mosque in Makkah early Thursday. In a terse statement on Thursday by Garba Shehu, Senior special assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Buhari was received by several officials, including a delegation from the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and Nigerian Embassy staff. A day earlier, President Buhari had also visited and prayed at the Prophet’s Mosque in the second Holy City of Madina. Buhari arrived in the Kingdom on an eight-day official visit on Tuesday.