Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was ready to hold pulbic online talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday or Monday.
Putin, said he was ready to discuss bilateral relations with the United States as well as other issues such as regional conflicts.
Putin said he will order his foreign ministry to prepare the talks, the day after Biden said he thought the Russian leader was a killer and already poor relations between Moscow and Washington sank to a new post-Cold War low.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Reconciliation and Strategy Committee has announced a breakthrough in its efforts to reconcile feuding factions in Ogun State.
The Senator Bukola Saraki-led panel of the Party said efforts to resolve the over ten years long political feud between a faction of the party loyal to the late Senator Buruji Kashamu and the other loyal to Ladi Adebutu have yielded fruits on Thursday.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary of the Committee, Linus Okorie.
Okorie said, “I am directed by the chairman of the PDP National Reconciliation and Strategy Committee, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to announce that today, the committee has successfully concluded the resolution of the decade-old crisis in the Ogun State Chapter of the PDP.
“This crisis that has lingered on for the past ten years between the groups led by late Buruji Kashamu and Honourable Ladi Adebutu with each of them instituting different court cases, obtaining injunctions and dissolving executive committees.
“These actions have combined to weaken the party in the state and made many people to believe that the differences would never be resolved. The crisis is, as a matter of fact, responsible for the loss of the PDP in the state during the past three general elections.
“Today, both parties have resolved to work together and withdraw all cases pending in the various courts. The parties also agree that PDP remains the best umbrella under which the unity and development of Nigeria can be achieved, sustained and guaranteed. They have all signed an agreement to that effect.”
He expressed the committee’s gratitude to party leaders and stakeholders in Ogun State for playing very key roles in assisting the panel achieve its objectives which led to the resolution of the crisis.
“We appreciate the magnanimity, maturity, patriotism and the give-and-take spirit displayed by both parties to the crisis as well as other leaders in the resolution of the issue. Now, PDP is set to re-establish itself as the party that will take control of Ogun State from 2023,” Okorie added.
The National Primary Health-care Development Agency, NPHCDA, on Thursday informed the National Economic Council, NEC, that the COVID-19 Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccines have been delivered to 35 states in the country.
The NEC in that vein urged Nigerians to participate in the vaccination process when it gets to their turn.
The NEC also welcomed the integration of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to support the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on vaccine accountability and transparency.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who chaired the meeting, commended the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for the smooth coordination of the nation-wide distribution of the vaccines.
State Governors, FCT Minister, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, other ministers, and heads of government agencies and parastatals, participated in the virtual meeting.
Making a presentation to the Council, the NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr Fiasal Shuaib, revealed that all States except Kogi have received their vaccines.
He noted that Kogi State was yet to receive due to the non-repair of their Cold-Chain Store coupled with the State’s concerns around the contradictory information about the vaccines.
“The vaccination application has been launched in most States’ Treatment Centres even against distractions and criticism of the FG’s efforts to ensure availability of vaccines in the nation. The roll-out of the vaccines across Healthcare Front-line Workers and other Health Support Staff was scheduled to commence by March 15, 2021, in some States, with the intention of wider coverage after the training of the States’ Health workers across board.”
To ensure accountability in the distribution of the vaccines, Dr Faisal informed NEC that “the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had been co-opted to support the PTF on vaccine accountability to ensure the safekeeping of the vaccines.”
He added that “there was a need for tight security around the Vaccines in the States to avoid being vandalized by hoodlums.”
He also assured that the second tranche of the Vaccines would be received in the country before the second dose of the Vaccines intake is concluded.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo receiving the vaccine jab in the capital Abuja
The Council also received an update from the National Economic Council (NEC) ad hoc committee interfacing with the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 to ease the lockdown of the economy by the Chairman of the Committee the Governor Delta State Dr Ifeanyi Okowa and the Director-General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu.
Broadband access
On the implementation of a broadband access in the country, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Ali Isa Pantami sought the support of NEC in the formulation and implementation of policies that will ease broadband penetration in Nigeria.
He said: “All States should support us by adhering to the N145 Right Of Way (ROW) charge per linear meter. The long-term benefits are far more than the initial fees being collected.
“We need a Point of Contact in each State as the interface on broadband and digital economy issues, and each State is also encouraged to have an institution or department to handle requests regarding broadband and the digital economy”
Highlighting some of the benefits derivable in increasing broadband access in the country, the minister noted that “the World Economic Forum predicts that over 60% of global GDP will be digitized by 2022 and that within the next decade, digital platforms will be used to create close to 70% of new value.”
Further highlighting the achievements in the ICT sector, the Minister disclosed that the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector recorded the highest growth rate of all the sectors of the Nigerian economy in both the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020) and the entire year 2020.
He said that this was based on the Q4 2020 Report on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The Nigerian Navy has released the list of candidates who were successful in the Direct Short Service Commission Course 28 Selection Board.
The Navy Spokesman, Commodore Suleiman Dahun said candidates who attended the Selection Board interview held at the Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ojo, Lagos State from 16 December 2020 to 4 January 2021 are to check their official website for the list of successful candidates and other detailed information.
He said successful candidates were to report for training at the Nigerian Naval College, Onne, Rivers State on Wednesday 24 March 2021 from 0800 (8am).
He adds that candidates who fail to report by 1800 (6pm) on Saturday 27 March 2021 will not be accepted for training.
The Presidency says six of the Super Tucano military war jets ordered by Nigeria would arrive the country in the next four months.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu disclosed this in a statement he issued on Thursday.
He said already, 14 pilots are being trained to man the aircrafts.
He said: “Six of the twelve Super Tucanos are on track to arrive in mid-July 2021. With the remaining six shortly after that. There are 14 Nigerian pilots currently training at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.
“The Super Tucanos came off the production line in Jacksonville Florida and are now being equipped and flight tested. Nigerian pilots and maintenance personnel are training on these planes. Currently, the construction is ongoing, which will house the aircraft.
“The Air-Ground-Integration school is the training hub on targeting and minimization of civilian casualties.
“At present, five Nigerian Super Tucanos are at Moody AFB in Georgia for pilot and maintainer training. The two companies released images of the sixth aircraft, which also will be flown to Moody, in a jungle camouflage scheme.
“The painted jungle scheme NAF A-29 now moves on to mission modification at Moody Air Force Base,” says SNC. “Following modification, before delivery, NAF pilots and maintenance personnel will further train in the aircraft.”
He adds that in November 2018, SNC was awarded a $329 million Foreign Military Sales contract from the US government to build 12 A-29s for the Nigerian air force and that the armed turboprops are intended for use against Boko Haram and the acclaimed Islamic State militants.
The Sub-national Ease of Doing Business Report has listed low power supply, multiplicity of taxes and poor road infrastructure as some of the challenges faced by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, in states across Nigeria.
The report was presented at Thursday’s virtual meeting of the National Economic Council, NEC, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Jumoke Oduwole, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting, said the challenges provide opportunities for her office and governors of states to resolve the issues in the findings.
“Businesses have said that electricity supply is low, the hours are low. Then, we will be working with the governors and federal agencies to look into areas like that.
“SMEs also talked about road infrastructure, they talked about regulatory challenges, paying of taxes, multiplicity of charges.
“So, we will be working with state’s internal revenue agencies to ensure that there is harmony.”
According to Dr. Oduwole, the report is a peer review document that would enable state governments to see how they are doing in comparison with other states in providing conducive business environment.
“So, the Ease of Doing Business Councils reports to the states’ executive councils and they implement the report just like PEBEC and FEC; so, the system is replicated across the country.
“We believe that as we continue to drill down into Nigeria, progressively making it easier to do business, our productivity will increase as we support our SMESs.
“We make sure that on competitiveness, we are working actively at it even as AFCFTA has gone into life and the journey of continuous improvement and institutionalisation of the reform agenda is top priority for the administration.
Security Oduwole said that the responses of businesses to questions bordering on security were positive.
“But that doesn’t mean that work shouldn’t be done; that got about six out of ten. So, there is still quite a bit of work and of course we know everything going on across the country.
“This is a business climate survey and we are speaking with SMEs and how it affects their business in particular,” she stated.
According to Oduwole, the survey was conducted across Nigeria by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC, which has been on nationwide tour, called iteration, since 2019, to meet and interview SMEs on their operations.
“So, we decided to carry out an empirical survey; it was carried out by KPMG.
“The methodology framework had earlier been approved by NEC as far back as 2018 and we have four home grown indicator areas on which the survey is based which are infrastructure and security; transparency and access to information; the regulatory environment and skills and labour readiness in each state and the Federal Capital Territory.”
Oduwole said that the the objective of the report was to provide a status report of state’s business climate and to provide a baseline on the business climate of each state.
He adds that it is also going to help states as they prepare for their sub-national World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking which is done once every four years.
The U.N. Security Council on Thursday condemned a fighting escalation in Yemen’s Marib, calling for the Houthis to end an offensive on the government’s last northern stronghold, and pushing for the government to allow fuel into Hodeidah port.
In a statement, the 15-member council also condemned cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia and said the escalation in Marib “threatens efforts to secure a political settlement when the international community is increasingly united to end the conflict.”
A Saudi Arabia led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran aligned Houthi group ousted the country’s government from the capital Sanaa. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system.
Since taking office in January, U.S. President Joe Biden has made Yemen a priority and appointed special envoy Tim Lenderking to help revive stalled U.N. efforts to end the conflict. Lenderking said that a ceasefire plan was before the Houthi leadership and urged them to respond.
The U.N. Security Council, which was briefed on Yemen on Tuesday, “stressed the need for de-escalation by all, including an immediate end to the Houthi escalation in Marib.”
U.N. Yemen mediator Martin Griffiths warned on Tuesday that the war in Yemen was “back in full force.” Both Griffiths and U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock also said that commercial fuel imports into Hodeidah port had been blocked since January and urged the government to allow deliveries.
The Security Council on Thursday “expressed concern over the dire economic and humanitarian situation, and emphasized the importance of facilitating humanitarian assistance as well as the movement of fuel ships into Hodeidah port.”
Nigeria has been ranked number one in Africa and sixth in the world on the Tuberculosis mobility index.
The Coordinator National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme, Dr. Chukwuma Anyaike made the disclosure while rolling out planned activities marking 2021 World TB day to be celebrated on March 24.
He explained that Nigeria accounts for 11% of the global gap between TB incidences and notified cases.
Menace of tuberculosis
Dr. Chukwuma noted that out of 440,000 estimated new TB cases in Nigeria in 2019, only 120,266 were notified to the national Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme with 27% treatment coverage.
He said “when you put all this with the number of people affected you know that there is a problem but the good thing about Tuberculosis is that it is curable. So there is hope if we do the right thing to arrest the menace of Tuberculosis in the country”.
He warned Nigerians not to take TB for granted as it is a deadly disease. “TB is not a respecter of any person whether rich or poor because it cuts across all strata of life but is more with those with reduced immunity or nutrition and terminal diseases”, he said.
Curtailing spread of TB Chukwuma identified the need for innovative approaches to TB, detecting new cases, arresting them through treatment and avoiding stigmatization as a strategy to curtailing the spread of Tuberculosis.
He urged government, NGO’s, health workers and other stakeholders to join efforts in changing the negative record and fighting the menace before 2022.
“All hand must be on deck if we must achieve the sustainable development goals and also join other countries in achieving the universal health coverage”, he added.
Killer disease
In her contributions, the Vice Chairman Stop TB Partnership Nigeria, Dr. Queen Ogbuji while highlighting activities to mark the World TB day in Nigeria, identified TB as number one infectious killer disease in the world and among the top ten causes of death worldwide.
She explained that one quarter of the world’s population is infected with TB adding that ten million people develop TB every year with approximately 1.1 million children and 860,000 people living with HIV are affected.
She added that three million people miss out of TB care and treatment.
Dr. Queen said “now more than ever we need redoubled efforts to raise awareness and ambitious commitments to mobilize the very needed resources to help achieve the UN high level mission target of ending TB by 2022.”
She identified awareness creation, addressing 70% domestic funding gap and facilitating inter-ministerial agency collaboration as priority focus.
Country representative of World Health Organization WHO, Dr. Walter Kazadi, TB team Leader USAID Nigeria, Dr. Temitayo Odusote and Executive Director KNCV TB foundation Nigeria, Dr. Bertrand Odume, re-affirmed commitments to collaborate with relevant organizations to end Tuberculosis in Nigeria.
The theme for the 2021 World TB day is ‘clock is ticking’ with a pidgin slogan: ‘cough fit be TB not Covid , check am ooo’.
U.S President Joe Biden is sending Senator Chris Coons to Ethiopia to meet with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and convey the president’s “grave concerns” over the humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region, where thousands have died following fighting.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said in a statement on Thursday that Coons ; a longtime Biden ally, would also consult with the African Union.
“Senator Coons will convey President Biden’s grave concerns about the humanitarian crisis and human rights abuses in the Tigray region and the risk of broader instability in the Horn of Africa,” Sullivan said.
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, this month described acts carried out in the region as ethnic cleansing, an allegation rejected by Ethiopia.
“The accusation is a completely unfounded and spurious verdict against the Ethiopian government,” Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said on March 13, reacting to the allegation of ethnic cleansing.
“Nothing during or after the end of the main law enforcement operation in Tigray can be identified or defined by any standards as a targeted, intentional ethnic cleansing against anyone in the region,” it said. “The Ethiopian government vehemently opposes such accusations.”
Coons, who is expected to depart on Thursday, said that he looked forward to engaging with Abiy and conveying Biden’s concern.
“The United States is gravely concerned by the deteriorating situation in the Tigray, which threatens the peace and stability of the Horn of Africa region,” Coons said.
Ethiopia’s federal army ousted the former regional ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), from the capital Mekelle in November, after what it said was a surprise assault on its forces in the region bordering Eritrea.
The government has said that most fighting has ceased but has acknowledged there are still isolated incidents of shooting.
Ethiopia and Eritrea have denied the involvement of Eritrean troops in the fighting alongside Ethiopian forces, although dozens of witnesses, diplomats and an Ethiopian general have reported their presence.
Thousands of people have died following the fighting, hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes and there are shortages of food, water and medicine in Tigray, a region of more than 5 million people.
Family members, friends and fellow broadcasters have gathered in Lagos for a requiem Mass held for the late Ben Egbuna, the pioneer Executive Director of News of Voice of Nigeria, VON and a former Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN.
Dozens of mourners also paid tributes to the late veteran Broadcaster at the Mass held in Catholic Church of the Transfiguration, Victoria Garden City in Lekki, Lagos State.
Some of them spoke to Voice of Nigeria on what they remember and miss most about the late veteran broadcaster.
A retired Director of News of Voice of Nigeria, Mr Frank Ilogu said; “We had a very good working relationship.
“He is somebody who is highly disciplined and he never believed in cutting corners. We shall really miss him.”
Mr. Egbuna was described as one of the most accomplished broadcasters Nigeria ever had.
Many remember him as a thorough-bred broadcast journalist with an uncompromising disposition to the ethics and standards of the profession.
“He doesn’t go out of his way to say you are doing a good job, except you are really doing it,” a Senior Officer in VON, Mrs Monica Nwabuze stated.
Mrs Nwabueze said; ”I will really miss him. He made me a better person because he was a perfectionist. He wants you to be your best and he keeps pushing you until you are refined.”
“He lived a life of integrity,” Chike Wumem, a close friend and associate told VON at the end of the requiem held in Lagos.
”I was a co-author of a book with him. I miss him a lot,” he added.
The late Ben Egbuna was among the staff of the External Service of the then National Broadcasting Corporation, now the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, who pioneered what is known today as the Voice of Nigeria, the nation’s external broadcasting station.
The ace broadcaster was also a former President, African Union of Broadcasting (AUB).
Mr. Ben Egbuna, died in Lagos on 28th of January, 2021 at the age of 71.
