Wednesday
44,000 people missing in Nigeria, Ethiopia, other parts of Africa
Getty Images The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has revealed that about 44,000 people are registered as missing across the African continent, with nearly half of them being children. Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Cameroon make up 82 percent of ICRC’s missing caseload in Africa, the ICRC disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday. “As August 30 marks the International Day of the Disappeared, nearly 44,000 people across Africa are registered as missing with the ICRC at a time when restrictions put in place to curb Covid-19 create new challenges in searching for missing people,” the statement read. According to the ICRC, about 45 percent of the cases were children. “This caseload is a drop in the ocean to the...
Afreximbank clinches African Banker’s Debt Deal of the Year award
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has been announced the winner of the Debt Deal of the Year Award at the 14th Annual African Banker Awards 2020. The awards, which held virtually on Wednesday, recognized institutions and individuals driving growth and development in Africa and creating new economic opportunities for citizens and communities across the continent. The Debt Deal of the Year Award was granted to Afreximbank for a EUR 1 billion syndicated senior loan facility arranged with Credit Suisse for Nigeria’s Bank of Industry. The funds have supported the Bank of Industry’s (BoI) work expanding, diversifying and modernizing Nigeria’s industrial sector. Having originally been sized at EUR 750 million, the debt raising was successfully upsized to EUR 1 billion through a general...
Nigeria records lowest daily virus cases in three months
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 221 new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak in the country. The NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle on Wednesday. Newsmen report that the 221 new cases was the lowest number of cases recorded in the country in about three months. It recalls that on Aug. 4, Nigeria reported 288 COVID-19 new cases and 290 one week later, while another low figure of 252 was recorded on Aug. 25. NCDC said that there were more persons who died of COVID-19 related complications in the country in the last 24 hours with the national death toll rising to 1,010. The NCDC said that the number of recovery crossed the 40,000 mark after 317 more people were treated and discharged from isolation centres across the country. The agenc...
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...
Governor Abdulrazaq: EFCC stopped withdrawal of N4 billion from Kwara government account on eve of handover
Kwara State Governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, on Wednesday praised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for helping to stop withdrawal and sharing of the sum of N4 billion by officials of his predecessor at the eve of handover of government in 2019. The Governor said this while expressed his support to the anti graft agency when the Ilorin zonal head of the EFCC Oseni Kazeem Oluwasina, paid him a courtesy bisit. The Governor noted that the EFCC has offered enormous support to the Kwara State Government in tackling graft and stabilising the government and any hand of fellowship offered to the Commission would be a gesture in the right direction. ”It is a good thing you are here, I thank you for the service you rendered for the Kwara State, humanity and Nigeria as a who...
LASU Senate elects Prof. Wahab as new deputy vice-chancellor
The Senate of Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, has elected Prof. Elias Wahab as the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) of the university. Mr Ademola Adekoya, the institution’s Head of Centre for Information, Press and Public Relations, made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos. Adekoya said that the election took place through e-voting, Wahab defeating the other candidate for the position, Prof. Ayodeji Abari, by 88 to 43 votes. “The Senate members of the university started the e-voting election at 12.00a.m and ended by 3:30p.m, and the result was announced by Mr Olayinka Amuni, the Registrar of the university. “Wahab is a Professor of Sociology, and current Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences. He succeeded Prof. Olumuyiwa Noah, whose tenure ended on Aug. 24, 2020, after ser...
Senator Akpabio: FEC approves 8 field forensic auditors for NDDC
Determined to clean up the rot in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NCDC), the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs Wednesday got the approval for the appointment of eight Forensic Auditors who will work in the field in the Niger Delta region. This much was disclosed Wednesday in Abuja by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, while briefing State House Correspondents after the 13th virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at Council Chambers, State House, Abuja. According to the Minister, “Ministry of Niger Delta presented a memo to the Federal Executive Council and at the end of the deliberations, the memo was approved. The memo is basically the appointment of Field Forensic Auditors to undertake the forensic au...
Nigerian government inaugurates UNILAG special visitation panel
File Photo The Federal Government, Wednesday, inaugurated the Presidential Visitation Panel it set up last week to look into the crisis rocking the University of Lagos (UNILAG), following the earlier removal of its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, by the University’s governing council. Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who inaugurated the panel headed by Prof. Tukur Sa’ad, on behalf of President Muhammad Buhari, in his office, however, warned members against interference with the activities of the university management. But he urged “all stakeholders in the University of Lagos to fully cooperate with the panel and to allow it to work unhindered. “I am confident that, as members, you will bring to bear your expertise in university administration in the discharge of this ...
Plateau PDP congress date surprises chairmanship aspirant
File Photo Mr Bitrus Kaze, Plateau State Chairmanship aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has expressed surprise at what he called “the sudden decision of the party” to hold the state elective congress on Aug. 29. Newsmen report that the party’s acting spokesperson, Mr John Akans, had on Tuesday announced that the elective congress would hold on Saturday. But Kaze in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday in Jos described the decision as hasty, considering what called the numerous unresolved issues in the party, including the fact that “the state has taken a decision that the caretaker is not fit to be in office much less conduct a state congress.” He also cited the court cases and petitions by party members, “yet we saw a communication from Akan that a date for the election h...
Mali junta plans ‘transitional president’
Rebel troops who have taken power in Mali said on Thursday “a transitional president” would be appointed from either civilian or military ranks. “We are going to set in place a transitional council, with a transitional president who is going to be either military or civilian,” Junta spokesman Ismael Wague told TV channel France 24. “We are in contact with civil society, opposition parties, the majority, everyone, to try to set the transition in place.” Wague said, “It is going to be a transition which will be the shortest possible. You’re not talking about 2023, 2022. (We have) to complete this transition as quickly as possible, and then we go back to doing something different. “I can’t tell you when we are going to hand over power to civilians, because the transition has first to be put i...
Court ruling paves the way for Facebook to settle its facial recognition lawsuit
Facebook won preliminary approval late on Wednesday from a federal court for settlement of a lawsuit that claimed it illegally collected and stored biometric data of millions of users without their consent. The social media company had in July raised its settlement offer by $100 million to $650 million in relation to the lawsuit, in which Illinois users accused it of violating the U.S. state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act. The revised settlement agreement resolved the court’s concerns, leading to the preliminary approval of the class action settlement, Judge James Donato wrote in an order filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. “Preliminary approval of the amended stipulation of class action settlement, Dkt. No. 468, is granted, and a final approval h...
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 ...
