-
Lagos State Launches 100 High-Capacity Buses
The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has added 100 spacious, high-capacity buses to the newly launched First and Last Mile (FLM) Origin X-30 Bus Scheme. The scheme aims at easing public transportation within the metropolis while providing the needed transportation alternative much needed by the residents of the state. The scheme would also permanently…
-
Buhari Seeks Fresh N2.3Trillion Loan Amid Nigeria’s Staggering Debt
President Muhammadu Buhari has again implored the Senate to approve a N2.3 trillion loan to finance the 2021 budget deficit of N5.6 trillion. The request was read by Senate President Ahmad Lawan on the floor of the Senate at plenary on Tuesday. According to Buhari, the proposed loan would enable the Federal Government to fund…
-
Ranking Nigeria On The World’s List For Military Spending
On Monday, May 17, 2021, the Nigerian Defence Headquarters revealed that the military would require at least 2 billion dollars (about N826 billion) to tackle the worsening state of insecurity in the country. According to the Production, Defence Headquarters director, Air Vice Marshall M. A. Yakubu, the annual allocation of funds for the military was…
-
NIS Places Temporary Ban On Passport Capture And Issuance
The Nigerian Immigration Services has placed a temporary stoppage of passport application and issuance from May 18, 2021 to an unannounced date in June. According to the NIS, the ban is to clear a backlog of unprocessed and unclaimed booklets. The Comptroller General of the NIS, Muhammed Babandede, said the ban would restrict the NIS from receiving…
-
Naira Drops To Record Low On Official Market
The Nigeria naira has dropped to a record low on the official market, with lenders quoting it 7.7% weaker against the dollar, following a currency devaluation that was aimed at unifying multiple exchange rates. Prior to the naira’s decline, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued an indefinite extension to its “Naira4dollar” scheme for foreign remittances…
-
Tunisia Orders Lockdown Amid Surge In Covid-19 Cases
Tunisia has announced a partial lockdown from Sunday for the week-long Eid al-Fitr holidays, due to a surge in coronavirus infections that threatens to overwhelm the country’s healthcare system. Announcing the measure on Friday, Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said Tunisia was going through “the worst health crisis in its history”. Mosques, markets and non-essential businesses…
-
DRC Loses $4 Billion To Israeli Scam Contracts
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may have lost nearly $4 billion resulting from dubious oil and mining contracts signed with Israeli businessman Dan Gertler according to the CNPAV. The Comitato Nazionale Pendolari Alta Velocità (CNPAV), an anti-corruption coalition reported that an analysis of public data between 2003 and 2021 showed that the DRC had…
-
Sudan PM Reveals Plan To Clear $60Bn Foreign Debt
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has mapped out a plan that he hopes would help the country settle its staggering $60 billion foreign debt bill this year. The seasoned UN economist-turned-premier revealed plans to secure relief and deals at an upcoming Paris conference that could bring much-needed investment. Hamdok took office as the head of a…
-
UN Officials Accused Of Sexual Assault In DRC
A total of 22 women in the town of Butembo (an epicentre of the tenth Ebola outbreak) in the Democratic Republic of Congo have accused UN male aid workers of offering them jobs in exchange for sex. According to a survey in an investigation by The New humanitarian (TNH) and the Thomson Reuters Foundation, fourteen…
-
Seychelles Data To Be Reviewed After Reports Of Covid-19 Re-Infections
The World Health Organization (WHO) would be reviewing coronavirus data from Seychelles after the country revealed that more than a third of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week had received the recommended double dose of the vaccines. On Friday, the WHO approved the Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use. A decision that…