Tag: United Kingdom

Insecurity: UK deploys Naval patrol ship to Nigeria waters, N/Delta, Gulf of Guinea

Aminu Imam

Determined to checkmate the spate of criminality in Nigeria and the West African sub-region, the British Government, on Tuesday, deployed a naval patrol ship to Nigeria to assist the country in tackling maritime and other security challenges facing it. The Royal Navy patrol ship, known as HMS Trent, began its sail to the waters of the Gulf of Guinea as she headed for security patrols and a mission to support allies in West Africa. A statement from the Press and Public Affairs Office of the British High Commission,  signed by…

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Covid-19 vaccine certification: Lack of central vaccine database puts Nigeria on UK’s blacklist

Aminu Imam

Nigeria has for long been slow to provide a database that could help authenticate the vaccine cards of those vaccinated. The Federal Government’s failure to provide a single recognised vaccine database is the major reason the United Kingdom, (UK), has refused to approve Nigeria’s vaccine certificate,  Although the UK relaxed its Covid-19 vaccine policy for more than 50 countries, Nigeria is missing on the list. The UK government had said Nigeria is on the ‘amber’ list, which has restrictions for travellers to the UK irrespective of whether they have been…

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Covid-19: UK set Oct. 4 to reduce travel restrictions on Nigerians, others

Aminu Imam

The United Kingdom, (UK), has said it will on October 4, 2021, simplify rules for Nigerians and other international visitors to the United Kingdom. The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, who made the disclosure in an issued statement in Abuja yesterday, said, “As from 4th October, the current system will be simplified. There will be a single red list of countries and territories where stricter rules apply, and there will also be a “rest of the world” list, with simplified travel measures. The ‘rest of the world’ list…

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UK employs 353 Nigerian doctors in 100 days

Aminu Imam

At least 353 Nigerian doctors have been registered to work in the United Kingdom in the last 100 days. Checks on the website of the General Medical Council, the body which licenses and maintains the official register of medical practitioners in the UK, showed that the GMC licensed at least 353 Nigerian-trained doctors between June 10, 2021 and September 20, 2021. The statistics also showed that between July 24, 2020, and September 21, 2021, about 862 Nigeria-trained doctors were licensed in the UK despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, 8, 737…

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UK parliament rubbishes Nigeria, says bandits becoming more powerful

Aminu Imam

The United Kingdom, (UK), Parliament has said Nigerians under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration are at the mercy of non-State actors who unleash attacks on individuals and communities at will. Members of the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the parliament, Caroline Cox, Rowan Williams, David Alton, Mervyn Thomas and Ayo Adedoyin, expressed their fears in a protest letter to the UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab. The parliamentarians cited a recent event where bandits shot down a Nigerian Air Force fighter jet, as they expressed worry that the country was…

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Insecurity: ‘UK to support Nigerian Government restore peace to North-East’ – Foreign Office 

Aminu Imam

The United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, (FCDO), has expressed its readiness to work with other donor partners and the Government of Nigeria in helping to put appropriate policies in place and advance peace and security in the North-East. A representative of UK FCDO said this in Abuja at North-East Conflict Management and Stabilization (NECMS) Programme joint consortium learning event and press conference. This is even as the agency advised that effective peace solutions in Nigeria should involve all stakeholders particularly those affected by the conflict. The event was…

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President Buhari returns from London

Aminu Imam

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, returned from London. He arrived the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja. He had spent over two weeks for what his aides called a routine medical check-up. Just yesterday, the Minister for Information, Lai Mohammad, had declined to answer reporters’questions on the time of the president’s return. Recall that while Buhari was at the Abuja House in London, the place was stormed by protesters, led by an ex-aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan,Reno Omokri. However, a pro-Buhari protest was soon organised in the same venue. Details…

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Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, dies aged 99

Aminu Imam

The United Kingdom’s Buckingham Palace has announced the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip. The father of Prince Charles and grandfather of Prince Williams and Prince Harry died on Friday at Windsor Castle in England. He was aged 99. Before his death, he was hospitalised but later discharged. Over the years, he has suffered different ailments. In January, the Prince and the Queen received their first doses of coronavirus vaccine. A regular companion of the Queen at royal events, Prince Philip finally…

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Ibori loot: UK to return £4.2 million to Nigeria

Aminu Imam

The United Kingdom, (UK), has resolved to return £4.2 million, (about N2.2 billion) of assets stolen by former Delta Governor James Ibori. This was disclosed by the British High Commission to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, during a ceremony to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU), between Nigeria and the UK. Based on the agreement signed, the £4.2 million will be returned before the end of March this year. Ms. Laing, who noted that public officers drew off public funds from Nigeria to the UK, said the funds returned were recovered from…

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UK to cut aid to Nigeria by 58% – Report

Aminu Imam

The United Kingdom, (UK), is proposing a cut of its aid facility to Nigeria by 58 percent, an international media outfit, Open Democracy, has said. The report from the organisation disclosed on Friday that the cuts were “discussed by senior officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)” in February. The report says other countries to expect cuts in the UK aid facilities between 2021 and 2022 are: Libya 63 percent; Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo 60 percent; Sudan 60 percent, Lebanon 88 percent, and Western…

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