Cholera cases have continued to be recorded in some states in Nigeria. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control Director-General, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, listed Bauchi, Plateau, Kano, Niger, Zamfara and Kaduna as some of the affected states. The Federal Capital Territory Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Aliyu, said 60 persons died of suspected cholera in six area councils, adding that suspected cases had risen to 698. In Plateau State, the disease has killed 21 people and infected 1,144 in two months as of Wednesday. The World Health Organisation described cholera as an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
A public health expert, Dr. Taiwo Obembe ha cautioned against excessive consumption of alcohol, noting that it increases the threshold of alcohol tolerance and risk of long-term health complications. According to Obembe, alcohol tolerance is the ability of persons to consume larger amounts of alcohol before feeling its effects. Obembe, who is a public health specialist at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, explained that regular consumption of huge volumes of alcohol usually increases tolerance level thus making the individual less tipsy or drunk. He explained further that drinking alcohol regularly makes the body get accustomed to it while…
After the two–day holiday to mark the Eid-el Kabir celebration, investors’ renewed appetite in some blue-chip firms, especially in Total and Cutix buoyed transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday, causing market capitalisation to increase by N330 billion. Specifically, at the close of trading yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 632.87 points, representing an increase of 1.67 per cent, to close at 38,585.52 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value rose by N330 billion, to close at N20.104 trillion. The improved performance was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are, Total Nigeria,…
IMF extends zero-interest loans to low income countries The World Bank Group, yesterday, announced its new Climate Change Action Plan that seeks to deliver record levels of climate finance to developing countries through a series of activities. Apart from funding, the Group will help affected countries to firm up incentives and taxes to support de-carbonisation efforts. The new plan is a follow-up to its first Climate Change Action Plan, which delivered over $83 billion in financing over five years, including a record $21.4 billion in 2020. The new move aims to reduce emissions, strengthen adaptation and align financial flows in…
Organisers of the 2021Propak West Africa conference are hoping that businesses and individuals scheduled to attend the conference will use it to tackle climate challenges. The conference, which holds from September 14 to 21, is the region’s largest packaging, printing, plastics and food processing exhibition. With the theme: “Propak Sustainability Conference: Being Responsible,” organisers note that with the much needed global effort to tackle climate change, the responsibility to promote opportunities and educate on ways to limit the industries impact on the environment is more prevalent than ever, especially as companies navigate their way out of the pandemic. The organiser…
The African telecommunications industry has recommended stepping up regional collaboration on radio spectrum management to make room for the expected growth in terrestrial and space services, and to ensure communities are connected across the continent. Regulators, industry experts and academia met virtually to discuss Africa’s future radio-frequency spectrum requirements in the context of revisions made to the Radio Regulations by the last World Radiocommunication Conference WRC-19 held in Sharm-el-Sheikh. Participants at the ITU Regional Radiocommunication Seminar for Africa (RRS-21-Africa) organised in collaboration with the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), reviewed updates to the Radio Regulations, the key international treaty governing radio…
To achieve stock market stability, investors have urged the government to promote national savings culture through incentives that would ensure improved patronage in the retail segment and increase investment in the market. Besides, they stressed the need for Federal Government to continue to moderate the rate it offers its debt instruments – Treasury bills and FGN bonds, so that portfolio investors will be compelled to look for alternative instruments with better returns such as the equities market. The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) foreign portfolio report confirms the growing apathy to local investment in the capital market. Despite investment opportunities in the…
Government’s failure to revive steel companies and equally develop indigenous petrochemical plants have stalled the local automotive development agenda, leading to loss of $10 billion yearly to large scale importation of fully-built motor vehicles and allied components used for local assembling. For instance, steel accounts for about 60 per cent of raw materials used in automobiles, while petrochemicals are used for plastics and foam used in vehicle interiors. Despite being an oil-producing nation, non-existent refining capacity continues to undermine the country’s capacity to provide feedstock for allied industries. In the alternative, local manufacturers are heavily dependent on imported spare parts,…
The Chief Medical Director, Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Dr Shedrack Offiah, said the management had sacked six doctors for abandoning their jobs after collecting their salaries. Offiah disclosed this on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria while showcasing steps taken to deter ABSUTH doctors who use government time to work in their private hospitals. He said he sacked the six doctors recently to discourage absentee staff members who do not work but collect salaries, adding that such were ghost workers and should be treated as such. He said that some doctors who had left the…
There were indications on Thursday that at least 13 states had stopped testing for COVID-19 despite the impending third wave of the disease propelled by the highly infectious Delta strain. Epidemiological data obtained from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control showed that since the first case of the Delta variant was reported on July 8, 2021, only about 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory had been sending reports to the NCDC. These came to the fore on Thursday as data from the NCDC showed that the COVID-19 tests reduced from 735,573 to 521,738 in three months amid warning by…
The Federal Government says it has commenced the payment of death benefits to deceased doctors and other health workers under the Group Life Insurance. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, said this at the end of a meeting between federal government representatives and the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors on Thursday in Abuja. Ngige described the meeting as fruitful and tendered evidence by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation to show that insurance companies have started paying up. According to him, the evidence corroborated what the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr.…
Projected to hit $53 trillion by 2025, the global Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) assets can provide leeway for most oil and gas projects in Nigeria, especially the private and public sector, to address inherent hindrances. Across the world, investors are now shifting attention to ESG, applying the non-financial factors as part of the key analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities. At a time when funding for fossil fuel investments is being withdrawn, most analysts see priority for ESG as an escape path to financing projects in the sector. A report published by Bloomberg had noted that…
The Senate Committee on Trade and Investment has called on the Federal Government to give out the Eleme-Onne Road in Rivers State to a private investor for reconstruction and management, considering that the road is a key transport artery for the nation’s economy. Speaking at the Oil and Gas Free Zone in Onne during an oversight visit, Chairman of the committee, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, decried the deplorable state of the road and said the lone access road to the oil and gas industrial hub in the Eleme-Onne axis of Rivers State needs to be urgently saved from total disrepair to…
Kaspersky, an Internet security firm said in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, its research identified the top malware families as ransomware, financial/banking trojans, and crypto-miner malware. When comparing the first quarter of 2021 (Q1) with second quarter of 2021 (Q2), Kaspersky saw a 24 per cent increase in ransomware in Q2 2021 in South Africa, as well as an increase of 14 per cent in crypto-miner malware. In Kenya and Nigeria, Kaspersky saw a large increase in financial/banking trojans in Q2 2021 when compared to the figures for Q1 2021 – a 59 per cent increase in Kenya and a…
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has assured the apex bank’s collaboration with the National Agriculture Land Development Authority (NALDA) to develop integrated farms across the country, provide affordable and accessible finance to farmers in rural communities in addition to providing jobs for the teeming population. Emefiele noted that NALDA, an integrated farm estate, is expected to serve as an agricultural hub for inhabitants with its wide range of facilities to support farming, processing and packaging plants, storage, clinics, residential area, school, training centres among other facilities. He spoke recently at the inauguration of the…
Despite the fresh concerns posed by the new wave of COVID-19 pandemic, air travellers have bemoaned frustration posed by various travel rules, testing requirements, and excessive test costs. The travellers, in a new survey conducted by the body of international airlines, showed a higher preference for, and confidence in mask-wearing protocols. This is coming amid anxiety that countries may begin to impose fresh border closure and lockdown to safeguard citizens from raging delta variant. The variant is now the dominant strain worldwide and surging rapidly, even in countries with high vaccination rates. For instance, new coronavirus infections in the United…
After many deliberations, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has finally begun the implementation of zero surcharges on imported commercial aircraft and spares parts used by local airlines. The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), yesterday, confirmed the removal of mandatory seven per cent charges that airlines have erstwhile paid. It was a hard-fought battle that dated back to 2016. Though the Ministry of Aviation had rallied against the charges as part of measures to support local airlines, the Ministry of Finance and NCS had continued to impose the charges on operators. The Guardian learned the matter reached its peak recently at…
Selling above $75 dollar per barrel earlier this week, Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude yesterday, dropped to $68 per barrel on the backdrop of rising inventory by the American Petroleum Institute (API). With a record $7 slide in less than two days, API had reported a build in crude oil inventories of 806,000 barrels for the week ending July 16, bringing the total 2021 crude draw to under 50 million barrels. This follows a recent agreement by the Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its alliance to boost production monthly by 400, 000 barrels per day. While Nigeria had set…
FMDQ Securities Exchange has admitted the listing of the NSP-SPV PowerCorp Plc ₦6.33 billion fixed rate series 2 senior unsecured green bonds under the ₦50.00 billion-bond issuance programme to its platform. According to the company, the proceeds from this issuance will be used to fund the development of the 15MW Pre-Phase 1 Solar Project and the transmission evacuation infrastructure for NSP PowerCorp Plc’s solar project, to further fuel the development of power in Nigeria. Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, North South Power Company Limited, Olubunmi Peters said the transaction reinforces the company’s belief and commitment towards promoting clean energy generation…
This year’s festival of the ram (as the Eid-el Kabir is otherwise called) for Muslims all over the world, should hopefully serve as a refresher for Nigerians, from series of bad occurrences that they have had to contend with in the last one year. At least, they have two days to play with as public holidays, even though they may turn out to be two dull days. For one, most families have been touched by one tragedy or the other from which they are still reeling. And two, there has been a sharp drop in standard and condition of living…