On a sensizibilation mission on land ownership and rights in the Kayes region, in the South Western part of Mali, the minister of public domains and land affairs, Mohamed Ali Bathily, recalled how important it is to respect land legislation in order to tackle land conflicts. The official in fact blamed local authorities of contributing to the sustaining of the phenomenon. “Administrators,...

The Bank of Industry (BoI) on Wednesday announced that it has donated more than N13billion ($41.6million) to 232 enterprises owned by women in the country. This aims to help women contribute their quotas to Nigeria’s socio-economic development. The Group Head of Gender Business at BoI, Adebisi Ajayi, disclosed this during the bank’s celebration of International Women’s Day, in Lagos....

Nigeria loses about $1.5billion in productivity to maternal mortality annually, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has revealed. “The country will be saving 1.5 billion dollars yearly by investing in maternal health. Investing in maternal health is a smart investment; if you put one dollar in maternal health, it will yield 120 dollars. So, it is where the government should put...

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the awarding of a contract worth $470million for the Greater Abuja Water Supply Project. The project aims to provide potable water supply to the greater part of the city. “This project, which is being funded by the China EXIM Bank, is to provide water to what we call loops 1, 2, 5 and 6. The overall plan for Abuja has 10 loops of which...

The World Bank under the Global Financing Facility (GFF) has issued a $40 million grant to improve Primary Health Care (PHC) system in the North East of Nigeria. This was disclosed by the Director of the Health Planning, Research and Statistics department of the Ministry of Health, Akin Oyemakinde, at the initial interactive forum between Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the...

The Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) has said that the country might turn to solar to generate more of its power. According to the Executive Secretary of REAN, Godwin Aigbokhan, Senators in Abuja are expected to make a decision on the allocation of $30 million to solar projects in the 2017 budget, this month. This, he said, will be used to fund off-grid solar projects,...

The Government of Sokoto state in partnership with the World Bank is committing N9billion ($28.8 million) to renovate the collapsed Lugu Dam and revive the Wurno Irrigation Scheme in the state. Out of the $28.8 million, the state will be committing $4.2million while the World Bank will provide the remaining $24.6million. “The people here who are mostly farmers have been...

The Federal Government of Nigeria plans to conclude negotiations with China regarding the Lagos-Calabar rail project worth $11.117 billion in June 2017, Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, revealed. “The federal government has already provided its portion of funding for the Lagos-Calabar route and expects that negotiations with the foreign component of the funding will be finalized within...

The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has approved the takeover of Etisalat, Nigeria’s fourth largest telecoms operator, by local banks over non-payment of debt. The telecom firm in 2015, obtained a loan facility worth N541.8billion ($1.7billion) from a consortium of banks which includes Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank and Zenith Bank. Etisalat was to use the facility to finance a...

Nigeria has unveiled the much-awaited Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) that will help it tackle its current economic crisis and achieve sustained diversification. The medium-term plan for 2017-2020 released on Tuesday by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma (photo), targets job creation, improved foreign exchange inflow, 10 GW of power generation, stable...