Cardoso emerges new Central Bank of Nigeria Governor

President Bola Tinubu has given his approval for the appointment of Dr. Olayemi Michael Cardoso as the new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for an original term of five years, pending evidence by the Nigerian Senate. This action aligns with Section 8(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, which grants the President of Nigeria the authority to elect the CBN Governor and four Deputy Governors, subject to Senate evidence. 

Dr. Olayemi Michael Cardoso 

Also, President Bola Tinubu has backed the nominations of four new Deputy Governors for the CBN for an original term of five, pending Senate confirmation. The appointees are: Mrs. Emem Nnana Usoro, Mr. Muhammad Sani Abdullahi Dattijo, Mr. Philip Ikeazor, and Dr. Bala M. Bello.

These appointments reflect President Tinubu's Renewed Hope docket, with the anticipation that these appointees will lead essential reforms at the CBN. These reforms aim to boost the trust of both Nigerians and transnational partners in the Nigerian economic restructuring for sustainable growth and development.

Simha Asuquo contributes from Lagos, Nigeria. 

Herders/Farmers Conflicts Commission inaugurated in Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu has given the green light to produce a special commission to perfect the livestock industry and find lasting solutions to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and growers in Nigeria.

This decision came after the submission of a report from the National Conference on Livestock Reforms and Conflict Mitigation in Nigeria, organized by Dr. Umar Abdullahi Ganduje, the former Governor of Kano State and Chairman of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC).

The President revealed that this commission will work closely with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to propose recommendations aimed at fostering peaceful concurrence between herdsmen and growers while ensuring the safety and profitable well-being of all Nigerians.

The President also stressed the implicit benefits of this action, like creating employment openings for veterinarians., supporting the private sector, furnishing education for herdsmen's children, establishing medical installations, and boosting Nigeria's dairy and leather diligence.

Dr. Umar Abdullahi Ganduje, the former Governor of Kano State

President Tinubu praised Ganduje for assembling a platoon of experts to address the long-standing issues between pastoralists and growers, and he commended the commission for their active work in examining the complex issues related to beast operation, land use, and security.

Ganduje, in his reflections, emphasized the significance of the commission's report, which he believed held the answers to the beast's problems. He stressed that enforcing the proffers would enhance productivity, ameliorate livelihoods, promote environmental conservation, reduce conflicts between growers and pastoralists, and drop the need for importing beast products like milk and beef.

A Trendy Comms report by Simha Asuquo

All Eyes On the Nigerian Judiciary

Today marks a pivotal moment in Nigeria's political landscape as the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) prepares to deliver its long-awaited judgment. The Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), along with their respective presidential candidates, have zealously petitioned the tribunal in their quest to nullify the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.

In a move to uphold transparency and openness, the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Umar Bangari, has announced that the judgment will be broadcast live. Bangari stated, "In a bid to promote transparency and openness, these judgments will be televised live by interested television stations for the public to follow." This decision emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the public is fully informed about this critical verdict.

It's worth noting that access to the court premises will be restricted to accredited individuals, including counsel and political representatives. For the general public, the best way to witness this historic moment is to tune in to their television sets.

In the February 25 election, President Tinubu secured a significant victory with 8,794,726 votes, surpassing Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, who garnered 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), who received 6,101,533 votes. However, discontent with the election outcome led five political parties, including the PDP, LP, Action Peoples Party (APP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and Action Alliance (AA), to file separate petitions before the tribunal, seeking to overturn Tinubu's triumph.

As the nation holds its collective breath, today's judgment will undoubtedly have far-reaching implications for the future of Nigerian politics, and it remains a momentous event that will be closely watched by citizens across the country.

COURT UPDATE:

In a significant ruling, the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPT) dismissed the Labor Party (LP) and Peter Obi's petition, which challenged the requirement of securing 25% of the vote to win the presidential election. The court emphasized that residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) do not have any special privileges, as claimed by the petitioners.

Additionally, the court rejected forensic analysis reports presented by LP's witnesses, citing that they were either created during the case or by biased parties. The European Union's report on the election was also rejected because it was not presented by an official of the organization.

The court declared the All Progressives Congress (APC)'s petition against Peter Obi's LP membership as incompetent, asserting that party membership is an internal matter. It raised concerns about the non-joinder of Atiku Abubakar, the second-place candidate, in the petition, as it deemed his inclusion necessary for an effective determination.

Furthermore, the court criticized LP's allegations of widespread irregularities, emphasizing the need for specific details and polling unit particulars when making such claims. It stated that generic allegations without specific evidence in a presidential election involving numerous polling units could not succeed.

As the court reconvened to deliver its judgment, members of the panel of justices and various political figures were present. Vice President Kashim Shettima and governors from different states were in attendance, representing the APC, PDP, and LP. Notable personalities like the Chief of Staff to the President, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, were also present, along with Aisha Yesufu and the Chairman of the Labor Party, Julius Abure.

Simha Asuquo contributes from Lagos, Nigeria

kidnapped schoolchildren in Nigeria exceeds 1,680 since the 2014 Chibok girls abduction

More than 1,680 schoolchildren have been kidnapped in Nigeria since the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno State, with fear of attacks stopping some children from ever attending school, said Save the Children.

In April 2014, the abduction from a school in Chibok made global headlines and sparked the #BringBackOurGirls movement and protests, which attracted public support from celebrities and public figures including Malala Yousafzai, Hillary Clinton, and then First Lady Michelle Obama. 

However new data analysis by Save the Children reveals that attacks on schools have been continuing out the spotlight and highlights the violence that schoolchildren and teachers face across Nigeria.

In addition to the abductions, over 180 schoolchildren were killed and nearly 90 injured in 70 attacks between April 2014 and December 2022, with an estimated 60 school staff kidnapped and 14 killed. Twenty-five school buildings were reportedly destroyed during that period.

Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Most of these attacks took place in North-West Nigeria (49 attacks), followed by North-Central Nigeria (11 attacks).  These attacks have long-lasting consequences for communities and for children’s access to education, often leading to the mass withdrawal of children from school and school closures. In Katsina state in the North-Western part of the country, nearly 100 schools remain closed due to insecurity, affecting the education of over 30,000 children. 

Famari Barro, Country Director at Save the Children Nigeria, said more needs to be done to prevent attacks but also to support children and their families in the aftermath. 

In 2015 Nigeria endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration, which seeks to ensure the continuity of safe education during armed conflict and outlines commitments to strengthen the protection of education from attack, but it remains largely unimplemented at the state and community levels. Rural community schools remain vulnerable to attacks. 

Save the Children has been working in Nigeria since 2001 and responding to the humanitarian crisis since 2014, providing food, clean water, nutrition and protection services, sexual and reproductive health care, and education to families across the region. 

Save the Children is also providing technical support to the government on policy changes and reforms, especially in critical sectors such as health, education, and social protection.  

In 2017, Save the Children launched Schools as Zones of Peace, a project which works with partners in Education in Emergencies Working Group (EIEWG) to support the implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration and its guidelines to ensure the protection of education from attack.

Source: APO Group

Africa Bar Association Confers Medal Of Merit In Leadership Award On President Akufo-Addo

The Africa Bar Association has, at its 2023 Annual Conference of the African Bar Association in Pretoria, South Africa, conferred a Medal of Merit in Leadership Award on the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The Award, according to the President of the Association, Hannibal Egbe Uwaifo, was conferred on President Akufo-Addo because he is “a pan Africanist, Anti-Corruption Crusader, a rare democratic leader in the field of good governance, a true African Statesman whose legacies present African leaders must emulate, and we are minded to say will stand the test of time.”

Thanking the African Bar Association for the award, the President stated that the legal profession has a rarefied position in African societies, and lawyers are assured of a special status.

“In all our countries, it must be a source of pride for us that lawyers were in the forefront of the fight for liberation from colonialism. Indeed, since independence, lawyers have moved seamlessly between politics and the legal profession,” he stated.

President Akufo-Addo

With Africa having been unable to translate all her abundant natural advantages into building successful states, the President told the gathering that the time is long overdue for Africa and Africans to define her own narrative.

“We must be defined by what we see in ourselves, and not what others choose to say about us. However, this cannot happen if we do not trade amongst ourselves. Africa accounts for only three percent (3%) of global trade, and intra-African trade is one of the lowest of any region globally,” he said.

The President continued, “This is largely due to the “colonial” economic model characterised by small individual economies, fragmented and disconnected regional markets, over-reliance on the production and export of primary commodities, and the presence of low productive capacities, which have been in existence for the last century.”

The emergence of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), in which trading began on 1st January 2021, and whose Secretariat Ghana is privileged to host, President Akufo-Addo noted, represents a historic opportunity for Africa to strengthen, immeasurably, intra-African trade as a powerful avenue for developing Africa’s vast economic and material potential. 

Describing the AfCFTA as a major gamechanger, the President indicated that “once fully realised, we can increase intra-Africa trade by thirty-five billion United States dollars (US$ 35 billion), and reduce external imports by ten billion United States dollars (US$ 10 billion) yearly.”

This, he explained, “will mean more opportunities for growth for our small businesses, and the potential to lift some thirty million (30 million) people out of extreme poverty. Additionally, a successful AfCFTA will mean that Africa’s industrial exports will be diversified, thus moving away from undue reliance on extractive commodities and foreign imports.”

He told the gathering that “the vision of our forebears who fought the liberation of our continent from colonialism and imperialism, the AfCFTA has set the stage for Africa’s industrialisation and transformation. What is required now is for our respective Governments and businesses to show bold leadership.”

source: APO 

Texas man slaughters neighbors

A man went next door with a rifle and began shooting his neighbors, killing an 8-year-old and four others inside a house near Houston, after the family asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep, authorities said Saturday.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities were still searching for 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza following the shooting in the town of Cleveland, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Houston. He said Oropeza used an AR-style rifle in the attack, which happened shortly before midnight Friday.

READ MORE HERE

Kenya Must be Exporting Rather than Importing Food - President Ruto

President William Ruto has said Kenya should be exporting rather than importing food. He said it is time bold, ambitious and progressive policy decisions were pursued to make the country produce more. The President insisted that Kenya has the potential to feed itself and sell the surplus to other countries. “We must turn agriculture into a commercial economic activity,” he said.

President William Ruto

The President explained that the Government was consolidating main trading blocs in Africa “so that we can give value to our farmers”. “We should allow our farmers to earn more from their sweat by exploiting new and lucrative markets for them,” he noted.

He made the remarks recently at State House in Nairobi during a consultative meeting with Governors, Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry and Development Partners. The meeting focused on the promotion of trade, strengthening of market linkages, and the establishment of aggregation centers and industrial parks in counties. “We have agreed to work together to promote investment and trade so as to stimulate our country’s economic growth.”

The President insisted that Kenya’s products are premium and much sought-after in the world. He added that land in regions such as Turkana, Mandera, Wajir, among other arid areas should not be lying idle. “Commercial irrigation will turn these regions into our food baskets. Water harvesting will, therefore, form the main part of our country’s transformation plans.”

Source: APO

U.S.-Africa Business Summit set for July 11-14 2023 in Gaborone, Botswana

During a recent visit to Gaborone, Botswana, Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) President and CEO Florizelle “Florie” Liser was honored to meet with H.E. Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana, who reiterated his Government’s commitment to successfully co-hosting the 15th U.S.-Africa Business Summit (USABS) in Botswana later this year.

Ms. Liser made the announcement with Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Hon. Mmusi Kgafela that the Summit will be held July 11-14 2023 in Gaborone.

President Masisi noted that key Cabinet officials who attended the meeting were ready to mobilize their ministries and work collaboratively with CCA and the private sector to organize a highly successful Summit.

Florie Liser with H.E. Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana

The U.S.-Africa Business Summit is the Corporate Council on Africa’s premier annual event, bringing together African heads of state, senior U.S. and African government officials, and top CEO’s and senior business executives from the U.S. and Africa spanning major business sectors that are critical to the continent’s development. These include infrastructure, ICT / digital, health, energy, mining, agriculture, consumer goods, finance, tourism and creative industries.

The 15th USABS theme “Enhancing Africa’s Value in Global Value Chains” highlights an issue that was heavily discussed during the U.S. - Africa Business Forum, hosted by President Joseph R. Biden on the second day of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC in December 2022. During the Forum, President Biden announced more than $55 billion in new U.S. government programs to support trade, investment and development in Africa along with more than $15 billion in new trade and investment deals made by private sector companies that were in attendance.

 CCA was proud to have co-organized the U.S.-Africa Business Forum which highlighted opportunities for greater collaboration between the U.S. and African private sector. This year’s CCA Summit will build on and advance those discussions, further deepening U.S.-Africa economic engagement and business ties.

 With a desire to keep the positive momentum going from the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit and Business Forum, Ms. Florie Liser stated that " the U.S.-Africa Business Summit is an important platform and opportunity to again bring together U.S. and African government and private sector leaders to grow U.S.-Africa trade, business, and mutually beneficial gains for the people and businesses of both the United States and Africa.”

Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry the Honorable Mmusi Kgafela said, “We look forward to working with our partners at the Corporate Council on Africa to herald a new era of two-way trade and investment between Africa and the United States. We welcome U.S. private sector businesses to drive investment and technology that can enhance Africa’s role in key global value chains, create jobs, and spur economic growth here in Botswana and across the continent.”

Click HERE for updates.

Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service now live in Nigeria

Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service, has gone live in Nigeria, making it the first African country to receive service. The company announced the development on its Twitter page on Monday. Isa Ali Pantami, Nigeria's minister of communications and digital economy, celebrated the milestone in a social-media post.

He tweeted: "We have made it again. @SpaceX thank you for hosting me in your Headquarters, USA in December 2022 to complete the logistics for the deployment."

Elon Musk

SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk, announced Starlink's plans to expand into Africa last year. In May, he said Starlink had been approved to provide broadband internet in Nigeria and Mozambique. Starlink operates in dozens of countries and has more than one million users. However, Musk said the service is losing money.

Musk said in October that Starlink was suffering from a lack of funds, in response to a Twitter user who referenced CNN's report about SpaceX asking the Pentagon to pay for the service in Ukraine. He later said SpaceX had withdrawn the request for funding over Starlink in Ukraine.

SpaceX has provided the country with thousands of Starlink dishes since Russia invaded in February. The billionaire said in October that only 10,630 out of 25,300 Starlink terminals in Ukraine were paying for service.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to Insider's request for further comment made outside normal working hours.

Source: Business Insider

Malawi experiencing worst cholera outbreak in two decades

Malawi is currently facing its worst cholera outbreak in two decades, with over 29,000 cases reported and more than 900 people dead. The Malawi Red Cross, in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and in-country partners—Danish Red Cross-led consortium and Swiss Red Cross—is scaling up its cholera response to assist over two million people.

Since the first recorded case in February 2022, cases have continued to spread, with all 29 districts affected. Cholera is now putting over 10 million people at risk, including more than five million children.

President Chakwera

“Malawi Red Cross Society is committed to continue supporting the Government of Malawi in responding to the cholera outbreak and other health emergencies. We are grateful to the IFRC and other Movement partners for continued finance and technical assistance to the MRCS Cholera response plan,” said McBain Kanongodza, Secretary General for the Malawi Red Cross Society.

According to the Malawi Ministry of Health’s cholera update on 22 January 2023, over 29,364 cases and 960 fatalities were reported, leaving the fatality rate at 3.27 per cent, which is considerably higher than the acceptable rate of less than 1 per cent set by WHO.

The Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) is already providing lifesaving treatment at the community level by administering Oral Rehydration Therapy. Volunteers ensure that water supplies are safe and that sanitation facilities are working. They also go door-to-door to raise awareness on preventing the disease from spreading. With the rainy season underway, it is crucial that people take precautions to protect themselves and their families.

“We have been monitoring the developments on the ground since the first cases, and we are deeply concerned that this outbreak has taken a foothold in every corner of Malawi. We need to support the joint efforts of the MOH and Malawi Red Cross in their response to this devastating situation. As the outbreak worsens, partnerships are crucial to ensure lives are saved,” said John Roche, Head of IFRC’s Delegation for Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The IFRC and its membership are launching an Emergency Appeal seeking 5.2 million Swiss francs, which will help the Malawi Red Cross reach a further 1,385,391 people in need of assistance. Malawi Red Cross and its partners with the IFRC aim to target 15 affected districts, with the core objectives being to prevent and control the spread of the outbreak, reduce morbidity and mortality due to cholera and improve the availability of safe water and sanitation facilities, through continued support to communities and district health offices.

Source: APO