AFRICA

Tanzanian President John Magufuli has died aged 61 from a heart condition, his vice president said in an address on state television Wednesday, after days of uncertainty over his health and whereabouts. “It is with deep regret that I inform you that today on the 17th of March, 2021 at 6 pm we lost our brave leader, the President of …

The prestigious US magazine, Global Finance, specializing in financial markets and investment banking, has named the African Development Bank (AfDB) as the “Best Multilateral Financial Institution in the world for 2021”. The award is a global recognition for the path breaking efforts of the African Development Bank as it transforms itself into a solutions bank for Africa, through a combination …

The widespread insecurity in Nigeria is scaring away prospective investors. Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, the Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, Harry van Djik, said the Nigerian government should address insecurity as this was a crucial factor that had been affecting investment in the country’s economy. Djik spoke during a visit to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo. …

It’s two years ago that the Canada-based Nigerian scholar and public intellectual Pius Adebola Adesanmi was killed in an air crash aged 47. He was one of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi that crashed shortly after take-off on 10 March 2019. He was en route Nairobi as a participant at the ECOSOCC …

The 11th edition of the Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East (POESAM) has been launched. PARIS, France, March 9, 2021/ — Tuesday 9 March 2021 marks the start of submissions to the 11th Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East. Until 4 June 2021, entrants will be able to submit their projects on …

A new travel document designed for a one-way travel to Nigeria only and which replaces the Emergency Travel Certificate issued to Nigerians to return home in emergency situations has been launched. “The Nigerian Temporary Passport (NTP) is a travel document designed for a one-way trip to Nigeria only,” Federal Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbeshola, said on Tuesday at the headquarters …

Twenty-five ambassadors newly appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday (5 March) received their letters of credence. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama who presented the letters to the diplomats cautioned them to be financially prudent in their countries of the mission. According to him, Nigeria’s resources are lean at the moment, hence the need for them to be …

“We the Yoruba diaspora living in Germany, had long been watching and monitoring with great concern, the onslaught on lives, properties and existence of our families in the whole of Yorubaland. The onslaught continued unabated with more killings, raping, maiming and destruction of livelihood of our people, perpetuated by Fulani herdsmen and bandits."

The Initiative for Youth Awareness on Migration, Immigration, Development and Reintegration (IYAMIDR), said the current situation in the country would likely drive many more Nigerians into irregular emigration. Mr Solomon Okoduwa, Executive Director of IYAMIDR, who is a former aide to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Illegal Migration, made this known in an interview with NAN in Benin …

Nigeria has received nearly four million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, courtesy of the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO. The United Nations (UN) in Nigeria made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday (2 March). According to the statement, Nigeria on Tuesday received 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the Serum …

Almost daily, citizens including school children are abducted for ransom in Nigeria. In the past two weeks alone, two high profile abductions of hundreds of school pupils have generated global media attention. The murderous Boko Haram insurgency also continues to ravage Nigeria’s north-eastern region. In the north west, bandits invade villages killing and maiming, and displacing the original inhabitants.  More …

GIZ and Orange launch an Orange Digital Center in Ethiopia, the 3rd in the Africa and Middle East region, to train young people in digital technology and boost their employability. Following launches in Tunisia and Senegal, Ethiopia will be home to the third Orange Digital Center in Africa and the Middle East ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, February 25, 2021/ — Today, …

The World Health Organization (WHO) has delivered its first Covid-19 doses to Ghana under a programme to ensure low-income countries do not wait for years to start inoculating their populations. Ghana became the first country to receive the vaccines through the COVAX program on Wednesday, a joint statement issued by UNICEF Ghana and WHO Ghana said. An aircraft carrying 600,000 …

In order to strengthen political dialogue and promote economic relations, Professor Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Togolese Abroad, held diplomatic talks on February 16, 2021 with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in St. Petersburg. According to reports, Professor Dussey’s visit was on the invitation by Moscow, and came on exactly one year after their …

A look into the ban on cryptocurrency in Nigeria by Ibrahim Moshood and Oneyka Cindy Ojogbo, Associate and Senior Associate respectively of the international law firm Centurion Law Group In a letter dated 5 February 2021[1], the Nigerian government through its apex bank – the Central Bank of Nigeria (“CBN”) – clamped down on cryptocurrencies in Nigeria. The letter specifically …

The global pandemic has accelerated the need for true digitisation as African customers demand a more seamless digital customer experience from their communications service providers (CSPs), writes Pikie Monaheng, CEO at Amdocs South Africa JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, February 17, 2021/ —  It’s no secret that CSPs need to transform their businesses to compete in the continent’s highly competitive communications landscape …

The security situation in Nigeria is worsening by the day as marauding bandits, camouflaging as herdsmen, roam across the country kidnapping for ransom, waylaying travellers, killing farmers and generally making the country unsafe. Added to the security troubles of the country is the possibility of inter-ethnic clashes flaring in different parts of the country caused by worsening inter-communal relationship. Members …

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the first vaccine for its COVAX program, aimed at ensuring equitable access to vaccines in Low- and middle-income countries. On Monday, the UN health agency issued emergency approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine, with deliveries expected to commence by March. The approval comes after a study in South Africa indicates that the AstraZeneca vaccine …

The World Trade Organisation has confirmed Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director-General. She is the first woman and the first African to lead the international trade body. According to a statement by the organisation on Monday, her term is scheduled to start on 1 March 2021. The term, which is renewable, will expire on 31 August 2025. …

The immediate past chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE), Hon Kenneth Gbandi, has called on the body to withdraw the award it once conferred on the current governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Bala Mohammed, if he does not deny a recent statement credited to him on security in Nigeria. Mohammed had last week said that herdsmen were …