Shortage
Africa on cusp of the third wave of coronavirus facing a vaccine shortage
Africa is heading into a third wave of coronavirus infections as the least-inoculated continent faces a shortage of vaccines. African nations reported 94,000 new cases in the week through June 6, a 26% increase. South Africa announced the most new cases, followed by Tunisia, Africa Centres for Disease Control & Prevention Director John Nkengasong said in an online briefing Thursday. “Fourteen or so of our member states are now heading toward the third wave, and aggressively so,” he said. “It really highlights the need for us to roll out vaccines at speed and at scale.” Only 2.8% of Africa’s population is inoculated, compared with a global average of 14.5%, according to Africa CDC and Bloomberg Economics data. The program has slowed because of interruptions to supply from India, where m...
Minister: Diaspora voting to start soon
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, has assured Nigerians abroad that Diaspora voting may be realised soon. He said Nigerians abroad are part of the county and as such should be allowed to exercise their franchise. The minister disclosed that the Independent National Electoral Commission and the National Assembly were currently working to make this materialise. Dada spoke during the Diaspora Quarterly lecture series of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission which was monitored online by our correspondent on Saturday. The minister expressed the hope that participating in elections by Nigerians in Diaspora would soon be a reality as done in other climes. He said, “NIDCOM is working closely with relevant committees of the National Assembly and relevant stakeholders, particu...
Zamfara governor: We rescued 2000 kidnapped victims through dialogue
The Zamfara State Governor, Bello Mohammad Matawalle, says his administration has secured the release of over 2000 kidnapped victims. He said this was achieved through dialogue and peace process initiated in the state. He said since he assumed office, over 62 bandits have accepted and embraced peace. The Governor, through his newly appointed Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Ibrahim Magaji Dosera, disclosed this at a news briefing in Kaduna on Friday. He said the repentant bandits are also helping in campaigning and convincing those who are yet to accept the dialogue and reconciliation process to do so. “They (repentant bandits) are also helping in the identification of the leaders of the recalcitrant bandits, including their camps and location for dialogue and reconciliation. Since the...
Electricity customers fault DisCos move to phase out obsolete meters
Electricity consumer groups on Thursday faulted directive by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to power Distribution Companies (DisCos) to replace obsolete meters under their networks. The groups in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, urged the DisCos to focus on issuing meters to unmetered customers under the ongoing National Mass Metering Programme of the Federal Government. Adeola Samuel-Ilori, the National Coordinator, All Nigeria Electricity Consumers Forum, said the directive by NERC was not a priority for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. “The DisCos have a history of not complying with NERC’S directive and giving them power to take away customers meters under the guise of being obsolete is not the right way to go. “This will only lead to more customers b...
NIHORT trains 25 tomato farmers in Niger to reduce post-harvest losses, unemployment
The National Institute of Horticultural Research (NIHORT), Ibadan, Oyo State, has commenced a 2-day training for unemployed youths and women, on value addition for tomato farmers. The training is taking place at the headquarters of The National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi, in Niger state. Speaking at the opening ceremony on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Institute, Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Abdullahi-Garba (rtd), said that the training was organized to build the capacity of the people. He described tomato as an important economic and food security crop consumed around the world. “Tomato is undoubtedly one of the most important vegetables grown in Nigeria and the commodity is capable of impacting positively on Nigeria’s agricultural economic development. “The ...
Rising crime in Lagos due to damage to police assets – LSSTF chief
The Executive Secretary/CEO Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Mr Abdurrazaq Balogun, has blamed the rising crime across Lagos in the past weeks to the damage done to police assets and the number of lethal weapons in the possession of non-state actors. Balogun disclosed this during the 14th Town Hall Meeting on security, organised by the LSSTF, with the theme, “Lagos security: Resilience in the face of adversity,” held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island. Balogun noted that an estimated 80 per cent of the operational vehicles used by the police in the last 13 years were donations from the LSSTF. Balogun observed that there was a decline in donations to the fund, which has been dismal compared to what it had received in the previous years, a challenge he attributed to the outbreak of...
Naira weakens to lowest in three years
The Naira yesterday weakened to the lowest in over three years in the parallel market due to increased demand for dollars amid foreign-currency shortages. The local currency depreciated to N495 to a dollar yesterday, lowest since February 23, 2017, widening the gap with the official rate of N379.5 to over 30 per cent. The currency traded in the interbank market at 389.74 as of 4:54p.m. in Lagos. Agency reports quoted traders as alleging a groundswell of diversion of dollars, a development which heightened scarcity of the green back in the parallel market this week. There is a diversion of inflows away from official channels to the parallel market due to the gap in rates, Murega Mungai, trading desk manager for Aza Finance said in a note Thursday. The market spread has created arbitrage opp...
