The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a loan facility of 1.2 billion dollars to finance the mechanisation of agriculture in the country. Mr. Sabo Nanono, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the virtual FEC meeting anchored from the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The virtual meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. The online FEC was in line with Nigeria...
The Police Command in Delta said on Wednesday that it had arrested nine suspected members of the outlawed group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and recovered 13 police service rifles from them. Parading the suspects in Asaba, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Hafiz Inuwa, alleged that the men who were arrested in April, were behind the numerous deadly attacks on policemen in Asaba and environs. Inuwa said that the command’s sustained investigation of the...
U.S. federal authorities on Wednesday warned that China-linked hackers were targeting U.S. research organisations to steal data on vaccines and treatments for the new coronavirus. The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said health care, pharmaceutical and research institutions working on a pandemic response should all be aware they were the prime targets of this activity. The agencies said that the institutions were to take the necessary steps to protect their systems. “China’s...
It was on the same day May 13, twenty years ago, the town of Ganye in the Adamawa State went agog as peoples from all walks of life within and outside the shores of the country converged to witness the epoch-making presentation of the staff of office to the paramount ruler of Chamba speaking nations, the Gangwari Ganye Alh. (Dr.) Umaru Adamu Sanda II. Prominent personalities top government officials, security chiefs, business moguls, district heads, illustrious sons and daughters were...
The social media giant, Twitter, had announced on Tuesday, its plans to let all its employees who wish to work from home to do so for the foreseeable future. It says this will also be allowed in the post-COVID-19 world. The company made this known in a statement on Tuesday. The company said that the past few months had seen its staff work remotely is proof that it can work. The statement read in part,...
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that 32 pipelines in the country malfunctioned or were vandalised in February 2020. In a statement, the Corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, explained that 22 pipeline breaches, eight weld failures and two pipeline ruptures occurred in the month under review. “Mosimi area accounted for 78 percent total cases, the Port Harcourt axis 16 percent and all other routes accounted for the...
The Federal Government on Tuesday urged the Northern Governors to suspend the interstate movement of Almajiri children. It added that the decision of the Northern Governor will frustrate the efforts of the FG to combat the pandemic. This was disclosed on Tuesday through the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, during the media briefing of the PTF. The SGF concern was as a...
ADDIS ABABA – As the coronavirus epidemic gains a foothold in Ethiopia, Habtamu Kehali’s skills in operating a ventilator may, for increasing numbers of patients, mean the difference between life and death. As the country’s only respiratory therapist, Kehali is rushing to train others to run the machines used to keep severely ill COVID-19 patients breathing. “We only have few patients who are under intensive (coronavirus) care but if the number is going to increase there is...
The African nation which became the basis for the Hollywood blockbuster Black Panther is in a miraculous position during the COVID-19 pandemic as the rest of the continent battles the virus. The Kingdom of Lesotho is a small country within the borders of South Africa, with a population of more than 2 million people. As the rest of Africa faces the prospect of the coronavirus pandemic getting worse before it gets any better, Lesotho has...
Unlike the victims of Ebola, the tragedies of coronavirus victims are demonstrated in numbers. Let us try a little thought experiment. Imagine, if you will, that rather than Europe and North America, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus pandemic was Africa, and the disease was killing many tens of thousands of people there. What images and storylines would be used to tell the story on TV screens and newspaper front pages in the West? Would they...
