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*Mr. Peter Obi (Nigeria) Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, has expressed sadness over the non evacuation of about 4,000 Nigerians trapped in the ongoing hostilities in Sudan. Obi in a series of tweets on Sunday, said: “I'm sad and concerned by the reports that Nigerians trapped in Sudan have not been evacuated. While we understand the extreme challenges in Sudan, we deeply implore the Federal Government of Nigeria to expedite all efforts to rescue about 4000 Nigerians that are mostly students in Sudan to safety. “Moreover, as the Sudanese crisis in not a natural disaster that happened suddenly, it will be sad to lose any Nigerian to the conflict, especially now that we need all hands to create and sustain a new Nigeria. “Since it is the statutory responsibility of Federal Government of Nigeria to protect Nigerians at home in Nigeria and abroad, it is important that we attend to such issues with more deserving proactiveness and commitment as the life of ...

With global majors diversifying energy portfolios across Africa’s hydrocarbon-rich basins, vast opportunities continue to emerge for indigenous independent energy companies to accelerate the production and exploitation of the continent’s oil and gas resources for Gross Domestic Product growth. The African Energy Chamber (AEC), as the voice of the African energy sector, continues to expand its support for and collaboration with independent African energy firms to optimize the exploitation of the continent’s estimated 125.3 billion barrels of crude oil and 620 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves to make energy poverty history by 2030 and drive socioeconomic development. In this regard, the AEC is proud to announce that Nigerian oil service company Oando Energy Services will attend and participate at this year’s edition of the African Energy Week (AEW) conference and exhibition – Africa’s biggest event for the energy sector which will take place from October 18 - 21 in Cape Town ­– as...

*Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (Nigeria) Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party , PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has no plans to handover federal universities to states, if elected president in the 2023 general election, adding that education would  remain on concurrent list. Media Adviser to Atiku Abubakar , Paul Ibe , while reacting to statement credited to his principal that he would hand over federal universities to states, said: “ We have noticed with dismay the mischievous misinterpretation of what the Presidential candidate of the PDP and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, said at the plenary of the 62nd annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association as it relates to education and how to address the crisis in the sector. “ For the avoidance of doubt, Atiku did not say that he will handover Federal Universities to state governments if he is elected president come February next year. “ The report is false, untrue, unfounded and not a true reflectio...

A first cohort of 35 women entrepreneurs from nine African countries successfully completed the Ecobank , Ellevate Leadership Training Programme. T his is an innovative impact-driven programme, designed to equip women entrepreneurs with valuable leadership skills to be better empowered, and to equip them to empower their businesses and communities. The Ellevate Leadership Training Programme is designed by Ecobank’s Commercial Banking Business and delivered by the Ecobank Academy in partnership with the Global Business School Network , GBSN. Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Group Executive, Commercial Banking, said: “At Ecobank we are determined to grow and actualize the enormous potential of the female economy and help Africa’s female entrepreneurs succeed. Access to finance alone is not enough.   Accordingly, though Ecobank is a provider of sustainable financing, we continue to invest in making available an array of non-financial interventions to sustain and grow women-led businesse...

*President-elect of Kenya, William Ruto (Nigeria) President Muhammadu Buhari congratulates the President-elect of Kenya, William Ruto, on his victory in the General Elections on August 9, 2022. The President also commends the people of Kenya for the peaceful and transparent outcome of the elections, which once again demonstrates that the democratic process, values and principles remain the best way for the people to select their leaders and hold them accountable. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity to the president, Femi Adesina, in a statement, on Monday, said President Buhari says Nigeria values Kenya as a strategic partner in the fight against terrorism and violence extremism, buoyed by a long history of friendship, economic and trade ties, and effective collaboration through international organisations such as the African Union, the United Nations and the Commonwealth. While wishing Deputy President Ruto a successful inauguration and tenure in office, the ...

The African Development Bank, has appointed Mrs. Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, née Ndongo-Seh, as Acting Vice-President of its Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex, with effect from August 1, 2022. Akin-Olugbade, a Cameroonian national, is currently the Director General of the Business Development and Delivery Office for the West Africa Region of the Bank Group, where she works with the largest team of Country Managers in the institution. Her work involves engaging in the full complexity of the Bank’s lending and non-lending operations in middle- and low-income countries, including transition states, as well as innovative and complex cross-border operations. In often challenging and high-pressure environments, including in the Sahel region, she oversees the accelerated delivery of results on the $9 billion West Africa portfolio. Akin-Olugbade is a seasoned and results-oriented senior executive with close to 30 years of experience in delivering technical, str...

(Nigeria) Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has accused Senate Committee Chairman on Foreign Affairs, Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, from Bauchi State, of inciting violence against Ndi Igbo, even when he has refused to confront bandits and Book Haran insurgents. Senator Bulkachuwa had in his comment on a live programme said that South-East is home to criminals, rebels and deserve to be eliminated. A statement by IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, entitled, "Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa from Bauchi State should be arrested for his hate speech against Igbo people," said: "The attention of the global movement and family of IPOB, under the command and leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has been drawn to the hate speech by the Nigerian Senate Committee Chairman on Foreign Affairs, Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa from Bauchi State, against the Igbo race and Biafrans in general. "What else could be more inciting than such a reckless mindless, irresponsible, untamed and...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group, has approved an €87 million loan to implement the Support Program for the Generalization of Social Coverage in Morocco. The primary objective of this operation is to consolidate the foundations of a viable social protection program based on an integrated and inclusive approach. The program will contribute to extending social protection, particularly for early childhood, young people, and the self-employed. “Social protection is a major focus of our initiatives in Africa,” said Martha Phiri, the Bank’s Director for Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development. She added that the new program would protect and unlock people’s potential and improve the quality of human capital. Its second priority will be to respond to a growing demand for health services by reorganizing the supply of care and enhancing human capital. The new program will address the growing demand for health services by catalyzing new investments in heal...

(Nigeria) The African Development Bank and the Government of Cameroon have launched the Regional Programme to Strengthen the Mandates of Supreme Audit Institutions. The launch took place during a ceremony held in Yaoundé, Cameroon.  The Cameroonian Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Superior Audit, Ms Mbah Acha Rose Fomundam, presided over the meeting in her capacity as Chair of the Regional Training Council of Supreme Audit Institutions of Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa. The programme countries are Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Mali, Niger and Togo. A number of senior government officials took part in the event. These included the chair of the court of auditors of the Supreme Court of Chad, the inspector-general of Public Services for Mali and the representative of the first president of the court of auditors of Togo. The First President of the Court of Auditors of Niger attended the proceedings by videoconference, as did a representative of the Inter...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group, has  approved a €121 million loan to Senegal for implementation of an emergency agricultural programme that will benefit 850,000 small farmers, 35 percent of whom are women. "Senegal's dependence on the outside world for basic commodities and foodstuffs is a real bottleneck and poses a threat to the country's food sovereignty, which has been sharpened  by the war in Ukraine," said Mohamed Chérif, the Bank’s Country Manager for Senegal. "This operation is intended to mitigate exogenous financial, economic, social and climate shocks and to maintain the upward trend in cereal production seen in recent years, especially by focusing efforts on the availability of key inputs including seeds and fertilizers to producers," he added. This loan is the first approved under the African Development Bank’s $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility, an initiative to avert a looming food crisis exac...

Ecobank,  the leading Pan-African Banking Group, has been named ‘Best Trade Finance Bank in West Africa’ at the prestigious Global Trade Review’s Leaders in Trade awards. The award comes as recognition of Ecobank’s solutions for domestic and regional supply chain financing across key trade corridors as well as the bank’s arranger roles and participation in key soft commodities campaign financing across West Africa, notably covering cotton, cacao, soya beans and cashew nuts. Ecobank’s offerings are supplemented by our state-of-the-art E-trade module under the Omni Plus platform. Our products are positioned to support both our Corporate and Investment Banking and SME customers in leveraging on the African Continental Free Trade Area’s opportunities and growing intra-African trade. The judges also recognized Ecobank’s Trade Services solutions, which led the bank to commend significant market share on Letters of Credit across the continent, leveraging on its Paris-based affiliate, ...

*Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (Nigeria) Vice President Yemi Osinbajo,  has said Africa’s developmental aspirations can be actualized by deepening cooperation and collaboration with the rest of the world. But the imperative of Africa's economic sovereignty also exists as there are areas where public and private sector leaders must continue to strive for it. Prof. Osinbajo stated this today while speaking at the opening panel of the ongoing Africa CEO Forum holding in the Ivorian city of Abidjan. The panel was themed- "Economic Sovereignty: From Ambition to Action." The Vice President who had arrived Ivory Coast last night was welcomed at the Felix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport by the Prime Minister of Cote d’Ivoire, Mr. Patrick Achi. Other speakers at the opening panel were, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana; the Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation, Mr. Makhtar Diop; the Governor of the Kenyan Central Bank, Dr. Patrick Njoroge; the ...

(Nigeria) Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “enforce the judgment by the ECOWAS Court of Justice compelling your government to delete the offence of ‘insulting or stalking public officials online’ from the Cybercrime Act.” SERAP urged him to “urgently send an executive bill to the National Assembly to repeal the unlawful provisions, and reform all laws, which are inconsistent and incompatible with freedom of expression and media freedom.” The judgment, delivered by the court last week in Accra, Ghana followed the suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/09/19 brought by SERAP. SERAP also urged him to “direct Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to withdraw all pending charges of ‘insulting or stalking public officials online’ against activists, critics and journalists, and immediately ensure their release from unlawful detention.” SERAP urged him to ensure that “those who have faced ...

*Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (Nigeria) For Africa to achieve the desired level of attainment, issues such as poverty, socio-economic rights, environmental and sustainable development alongside concerns about democracy and unconstitutional changes of governments, have to be dealt with, says Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. He gave as Special Guest of Honour, Monday in his address at the opening of the 2022 Judicial Year of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in Arusha, Tanzania. He spoke on the theme: “The African Court and The Africa we want”. "The Africa we want is one that addresses, amongst others, humanity's most pressing concerns of eradication of poverty, hunger and disease; the sustenance of democracy and the rule of law; sustainable development, especially dealing with challenges of climate change and application of finite resources for economic growth and diversification; human security and peace,"  Prof. Osinbajo declared. He also commended ...

(Nigeria) President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has called on the Federal Government through its relevant agencies to penalise indigenous oil companies responsible for the devastation of host communities where they operate. Lawan made the call in his concluding remarks after the Senate considered a motion on “the extremely urgent need to stop the continuous crude oil and gas blow out spill at Santa Barbara well 1, OML 29 operated by AITEO Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited in Opu Nembe, Bayelsa State.” The motion was sponsored by Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo (Bayelsa East). The lawmaker,  while coming under order 42 and 52 of the Senate Rules, noted with concern the continuous gushing and spewing of oil and gas into the waterways and mangrove vegetation of Opu Nembe area of Bayelsa state, from a long sealed, non producing oil well 1, Santa Barbara OML 29 belonging to AITEO Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited. “Worried that even though sa...

*Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state (Nigeria) Lagos State deserves true healing after the disturbances that trailed last year’s protests against police brutality, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said on Tuesday. He said only sustenance of harmony can guarantee the realisation of aspirations of all residents. Sanwo-Olu spoke in live broadcast held at the State House, Alausa, on the State Government’s position on the recommendations of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry on EndSARS submitted a fortnight ago. The Governor said the State currently faced the hard choice of restoring harmony or doing itself a great harm, urging residents to join his administration in strengthening harmony and put the State on the path of peace. Sanwo-Olu asked residents to reject those fueling anarchy and suspicion, clinging to unsubstantiated belief that carried no weight of verifiable evidence, while choosing emotion over facts. His administration, he said, is ready to facilitate better communication between...

(Nigeria) The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Tuesday, said the Army and other security agencies were responsible for the destructions and arsons in South East. IPOB recall the army destructive and arson activities, particularly the one they carried out in Izombe, Oguta Local Government Area, Imo State. IPOB in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary Emma Powerful,  said: "It is rather the Nigeria military and their sister security agencies that are masterminding the ongoing secret genocide and mayhem in South East. “It is quite unfortunate that after committing these atrocities, these vampires cleverly point accusing fingers at IPOB, just to cover their flanks and deceive the gullible. And we dare to ask the if it was IPOB that attacked the Izombe community in Oguta Council area, destroyed their housing through arson, burned over fifteen vehicles and over thirty motor cycles in the community. “Nigeria Army is afraid of facing Boko Haram and other terrorists...

*Justice Mary Odili (Nigeria) The umbrella association of all registered political parties and political associations in the county, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, over the controversial and unwarranted invasion of the house of the second most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Mary Odili by security operatives. This is even as the CNPP congratulated the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the successful conduct of its national convention, urging other political parties to emulate the rancour-free convention and the emergence of the youngest national youth leader in any major political party in the country. In a statement by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, the CNPP wondered “why President Buhari is still keeping Malami as the Chief Law Officer of the federation despite several embarrassing co...

*Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (Nigeria) Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has said that in furtherance of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, which seeks  to promote economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection, governments in Africa must ensure that engaging the continent’s rapidly growing youth population through jobs and other opportunities remains its central priority. Osinbajo stated this on Monday at the virtual launch of the United Nations Global Compact Africa Strategy - an initiative of the United Nations to galvanize private sector participation in the actualization of the SDGs. He added that Africa’s private sector must also scale up its contribution to the continent’s economic and social transformation. The UN Global Compact Strategy is regarded as the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, and its new Africa Strategy is designed to promote corporate sustainability and expand responsible business practices across the continent in suppor...

*Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN (Nigeria) Amidst monumental challenges posed by climate change, particularly energy transition and related issues, the coming decade anchored on the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, offers great opportunities for Africa’s socio-economic transformation, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. Osinbajo stated this today in a message delivered at the closing of the 2021 Conference of African Insurance Practitioners, themed “Rebuilding Africa’s Economy: An Insurance Perspective.” Urging African insurance practitioners to leverage opportunities in the AfCFTA, the Vice President said “every smart economic grouping, whether governments or businesses, must be thinking, planning and strategizing for these new times. “The free trade agreement presents a major opportunity for African countries. By some estimates, if we get it right, we can bring several millions out of extreme poverty and raise the incomes of 68 million others who live ...