Late Sidi Ali: FG, others mourn veteran Journalist

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
SIDI ALI

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris has condoled with the family of the late journalist, prolific writer and politician, Alhaji Sidi Ali. Idris in a statement on Friday in Abuja said it was with profound sadness that he received the news of the passing of Ali. According to the Minister, Ali’s contributions to the field of journalism, literature, and politics have left an indelible mark on our country. He added that his demise would be deeply felt by all who had the privilege of knowing him.…

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Malaria: WHO says Benin, Liberia, Sierra Leone roll out vaccine

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
malaria AND MOSQUITOE

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the Republic of Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone have launched a large-scale rollout of the life-saving malaria vaccine targeting millions of children across the three West African nations. WHO said this in a statement as the world celebrates the 17th World Malaria Day with theme: “Advancing health equity, gender equality and human rights,”. The world health body said that the vaccine rollout, announced on World Malaria Day, seeks to further scale up vaccine deployment in the African region. “Today’s launch brings to eight the number of…

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Health Journalists get emergency hazard funds from network

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

The Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN)has announced the launch of an Emergency andHazard Fund      dedicated tosupporting the Association ofNigeria Health Journalists (ANHeJ). Dr Aminu Magashi, Coordinator of AHBN, made the announcement during a roundtable with ANHeJ’s executive council in Abuja. Magashi explained that the fund aims to provide financial assistance to journalists facing personal emergencies or hazards while reporting on health-related issues. Acknowledging the risks and challenges encountered by health journalists, particularly during health emergencies, he emphasised the critical role these journalists play in disseminating accurate information to the public. He outlined the fund’s purpose as offering financial…

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Minimum Wage, TUC President says May 1st announcement not feasible

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
Organised Labour

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) President, Festus Osifo, has said that the much-awaited new minimum wage may not be announced on May 1st. Osifo said this while speaking with newsmen on Friday in Abuja. ”The negotiation by the Tripartite Committee is still on-going. If you remember, the TUC earlier submitted N447, 000 as the new minimum wage but we have harmonised our figure with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). “It is now N615, 000. Regarding the when for the new minimum wage, the committee is still working. “So, certainly, May…

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Heatwave: Kano residents task on precautions

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

The Kano State Government has urged residents to adopt safety measures against the current heatwave being experienced in the state.The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran, said this in a statement in Kano. Labaran expressed concern over the excessive heat and urged residents to adopt health precautionary measures to protect themselves against negative consequences.“The excessive heat began since March this year, causing increase in malaria and mortalities. That was why the ministry embarked on investigations to unravel the cause.“Kano people are very much aware of the fact that these…

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Structural reform: Nigeria, 11 countries seek adequate, affordable financing

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
structured trade finance

Nigeria and 11 other members of the African Consultative Group (ACG) have called for adequate and affordable financing to ensure that structural reform agendas produce the desired result. The members made this known at the end of their meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C. The ACG comprises the Fund Governors of a subset of 12 African countries belonging to the African Caucus (African finance ministers and central bank governors) and Fund management. In a joint statement issued on Friday, at the end of the meeting by the…

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Gombe Council Polls: Police assure of security for Saturday’s exercise

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir
IGP Egbetokun

The police command in Gombe State, has assured of adequate security, ahead of Saturday’s local government councils poll. Mr Hayatu Usman, the State Commissioner of Police, stated this in an interview in Gombe on Friday. He said that adequate personnel had been made deployed to all the 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state to ensure that the election was hitch-free. He urged residents to participate massively in the election as they had nothing to worry about, as policemen had been deployed to give them the needed security cover.…

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​Fuel hits N1,000/litre, as scarcity bites harder in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna

Aminu Imam
Fuel scarcity

…’Cause of tightness resolved’ – NNPC Fuel scarcity is biting hard on Lagos Abuja Kaduna residents, as motorists are forced to buy the product for as high as N1, 100 per liter from black marketers. According to reports, many passengers going to work and their business premises were stranded following the scarcity of fuel across the State and very few commercial operators were providing services. Most filling stations were not dispensing fuel, and the few which had the product hiked the pump price to between N750 and N810 per litre.…

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Naira falls to 1,400/$ over renewed pressure on blackmarket

Aminu Imam
Naira dollar

A few days after the Federal a Allocation Committee (FAAC) to States, Federal Government’s  Ministries department and agencies (MDAs), the Naira yesterday fell to N1,400 against the US dollar on the black market, following renewed demand pressure in the foreign exchange (FX) market. With the current exchange rate, the naira has lost 19.64% in two weeks when compared to N1,125 per dollar quoted on April 12, 2023 on the parallel market, popularly called the black market. At the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the Naira depreciated to N1,308.52 per dollar on…

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MTN, Airtel, others move to increase call tariff

Aminu Imam
Telcos

Telecom operators in Nigeria, (telcos), notably MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9Mobile, have insisted on calls for an upward tariff review in a move to offset the soaring costs of operation and investment in the sector. This demand comes after 11 years of stability in tariffs, during which the industry has faced significant increases in operational costs and investments in network expansion and upgrades. The four telecommunications giants said they were the only ones that have not reviewed their prices which threaten the industry’s sustainability and possibly erodes investors’ confidence. They…

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