US Donates 10,000 Doses Of Vaccine for Small pox, Mpox
The government of the United States of America has donated 10,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to Nigeria for the prevention of Smallpox and Mpox in adults aged 18 years and older who are at risk of Mpox infection. Speaking during the official handover of the Mpox vaccine to Nigeria in Abuja, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Daju Kachollom, thanked the US government for the donation and stated that the Federal Government is committed to improving the well-being of Nigerians.
NERC Grants Six States Authority to regulate Electricity
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has given Six states the authority to regulate their electricity markets. In a statement by the Commission on X (Twitter), Enugu, Ekiti, Ondo, Imo, Oyo, and Edo States were authorised to regulate their electricity markets. NERC confirmed that these states have established their electricity regulatory agencies and will now oversee the electricity markets within their jurisdictions. In April, NERC announced that it had ceded the regulatory oversight of Enugu, Imo, Ekiti, and Ondo, which the state government owned with effect from May 1, 2024.
Health Implications Of Saccharine In Nigeria Baked Bread
The director general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr Mojisola Adeyeye, has refuted claims that she advised Nigerians to avoid bread baked and sold in the country due to the presence of the banned sweetener saccharine. In a statement yesterday, Dr Adeyeye confirmed that saccharine is indeed banned in bread production in Nigeria, in line with global health guidelines due to its potential health risks to consumers, but NAFDAC never issued any statement suggesting that Nigerian bread is unsafe for consumption. A supposed social media influencer had claimed that NAFDAC advised Nigerians to avoid locally baked bread because samples had failed laboratory tests due to the presence of saccharine, after Nigerian bakesturned to the banned sweetener as a substitute for sugar, which has become expensive due to inflation. She emphasized that NAFDAC, as a vigilant regulator, has been actively sanctioning bakers who violate this regulation while emphasizing that the social media influencer does not represent or speak on behalf of NAFDAC.
President Tinubu set to travel to China to perfect Rail Contracts, other MOUs
President Bola Tinubu is set to embark on a visit to China in first week of September, aiming to strengthen Nigeria’s economy and advance its strategic interests through a series of high-level meetings and engagements. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, who made this known during a press briefing at […]
18 and below cannot write JAMB
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has declared that candidates under 18 will no longer be permitted to take the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination beginning next year. Speaking during a televised interview, Mamman noted that the minimum required for admission is 18 years according to the country’s education policy, and the federal government only allowed underaged students to take the JAMB examination this year as a form of advance notice to parents for the changes that will take effect next year. Furthermore, the Minister announced that students who have not completed the required minimum number of 17 and a half years in school, will be exempted from participating in both the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams.
NBS Report Shows Growth in GDP
The Presidency says President Bola Tinubu is working to build a solid and resilient economy, as he welcomes the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which shows that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.19% in the second quarter of 2024, higher than the 2.51% recorded in the same period of 2023. The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, who made this known in a statement, reiterated the President’s appeal on “the need for Nigerians to retain their faith in the government and not to allow themselves to be swayed by naysayers intent in aborting and undermining the current reforms for their selfish ends.” Further speaking on the GDP report which is coming on the heels of declining food and headline inflation Statistics, Mr Onanuga stated that the NBS report further affirmed that the Nigerian economy is on the right trajectory and on the path to recovery, as the President said in his August 4, 2024 national broadcast, According to the NBS report, the growth rate in the second quarter of 2024 is higher than the 2.51% recorded in Q2 2023 and higher than the 2.98% growth in Q1 2024, largely driven by the service sector.
Remo Stars Football Club crash out African Champions League
Remo Stars Football Club of Ikenne on Sunday at Rabat in Morocco crashed out of the 2024/2025 African Champions League in the competition’s first preliminary round. The 2023/2024 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) runners-up crashed out after losing 2-3 aggregate to Moroccan side AS FAR Rabat, despite winning the first leg fixture on Aug. 18 in Ikenne 2-1. Remo Stars loss meant two of Nigeria’s representatives in club football on the continent have crashed out just one round into their respective competitions. On Saturday, El-Kanemi Warriors Football Club of Maiduguri had been eliminated from the African Confederation Cup competition’s first preliminary round after a 2-3 aggregate loss. Nigeria now has only one club each in the two continental competitions, that is Enyimba International FCof Aba, which had drawn bye in the opening round into the second preliminary round of the African Confederation Cup competition. Rangers International FC of Enugu had on Friday advanced into the second preliminary round of the African Champions League competition, after a 2-1 aggregate victory in the opening round.
Malawi’s Attempt In Monkey Pox Vaccination
Malawi has begun screening for mpox at all ports of entry in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus. The move comes just days after the first two suspected cases were registered in the country and are currently awaiting laboratory test results. While Malawi through Adrian Chikumbe, spokesperson for the Malawi Ministry of Health, says it is planning for a worst-case scenario, not everyone will be vaccinated against the virus. The decision to screen visitors to the country is part of a raft of preventative measures which includes an awareness campaign, especially through community health networks.
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Speaks Politics and Policies
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has stressed the urgent need for Nigeria to move beyond political infighting and inconsistent policies that have hindered the country’s development since independence. Speaking also at the Nigerian Bar Association Annual Conference, Iweala asserted that concrete collective efforts, rather than a blame game, were needed to move the nation forward. Iweala, who cautioned opposition politicians in Nigeria to desist from weaponising insecurity against the government in power, accused some politicians of instigating insecurity to make their opponents look bad and incompetent to govern. While saying that Nigerians were not alone in economic hardship, she said, Okonjo-Iweala further stated that Nigeria’s inability to sustain growth was largely due to a lack of policy consistency and political will, criticizing what she called: the “not-made-in-my-administration syndrome”, where successive governments fail to build on the successes of their predecessors, leading to economic stagnation.
Unprovoked Attack on Policemen by Shiite Group
A deadly clash between Policemen and members of the proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria, popularly known as the ‘Shiite’ group, have left two officers killed, three others unconscious in a hospital and three patrol vehicles set ablaze. The spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the unprovoked attack in a statement, although the Islamic movement, under the leadership of Sayyid Ibraheem Ya’qoub El-Zakzaky, claimed that many of their members had been shot dead by the police with several others arrested during the Arbaeen Symbolic Trek at Wuse District in Abuja. The police however noted that the situation is presently under control and normalcy has been restored.
