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FG denies renaming Murtala Mohammed Expressway

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FG denies renaming Murtala Mohammed Expressway

The Federal Government on Monday dismissed information that the Abuja Murtala Mohammed Expressway had been renamed Wole Soyinka Way.

The FG, in a statement signed by the media aide to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Rabiu Ibrahim, clarified that the renaming of the expressway was never considered by the current administration.

The confusion stems from a recent event on June 4, 2024, when President Bola Tinubu inaugurated a new road in the Federal Capital Territory.

The new road, designated as Arterial Road N20, stretches from Katampe to Jahi, connecting the Outer Northern Expressway (also known as Murtala Mohammed Expressway) to the Northern Parkway (Ahmadu Bello Way).

During the inauguration, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike proposed that the new road be named after Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, a suggestion that Tinubu approved.

Consequently, it is the Arterial Road N20 that now bears Soyinka’s name, not the Murtala Mohammed Expressway.

“We have noted the rumours being circulated that the Murtala Mohammed Express Way in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has been renamed as Wole Soyinka Way. The renaming of the Murtala Mohammed Expressway Way has never been contemplated by this administration.

“For the record, on June 4, 2024, President Bola Tinubu inaugurated a new road in the FCT codenamed Arterial Road N20 (from Katampe to Jahi), which links the existing Outer Northern Expressway (also known as Murtala Mohammed Expressway) to the Northern Parkway (also called Ahmadu Bello Way).

“During the inauguration of the N20 (which is a new road), FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, proposed to the President that the road be named after Prof Wole Soyinka, and the President agreed”, the statement read in part.

The government emphasised that the Murtala Mohammed Expressway remains unchanged, continuing to honour the legacy of the former Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed.

“Therefore, the Arterial Road N20 is named after Prof Soyinka. The Murtala Mohammed Expressway remains unchanged and continues to bear the name of our esteemed former Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed,” Ibrahim stressed.

Citizens were urged to disregard any misinformation suggesting otherwise, as such reports are false and unfounded.

“We urge all citizens to disregard any misinformation regarding renaming the Murtala Mohammed Expressway. The report is entirely false and only exists in the imagination of its purveyors”, the statement added.

Nigeria makes history, wins Chovken World Championship bronze

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Nigeria makes history, wins Chovken World Championship bronze

The Nigeria team has won Bronze at the 2024 Chovken World Championship held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa, patron of NSK Polo team and Resort, disclosed this in a statement by Joesef Karim, Media Assistant to Vice President, African Region, International Chovken Federation on Monday in Abuja.

Kangiwa, who is also the Chairman, African Region of the International Chovken Federation, said that Nigeria drew 1-1 with Uzbekistan to win Bronze on points from previous matches.

Kangiwa, the President of the Nigeria Polo Federation, said Nigeria’s team emerged as the third-best team at the just concluded Chovken World Championship.

“This is the first time Nigeria participated in any global Chovken, an ancient equestrian sport similar to Polo.

”Team Nigeria’s build-up to the finals, Nigeria beat Germany 5-0; beat Poland 4-1; and lost against Morocco 4-1,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the World Chovken Championship was held from June 10 to 16.

NAN  reports that  Turkey, Malta, Kuwait, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Poland, Germany, and Nigeria, including the host Azerbaijan participated in the championship.

The ancient sport of Chovken is a team sport similar to the more popular Polo. It is played by horse riders with sticks competing to hit a small ball into a goal post.

A  match consists of two halves, each last for  15 minutes of effective playtime.

The team Nigeria players include  Yusuf Bello, Shehu Kangiwa, Mukhtar Adhama and Abdulmalik Badamasi and they were led by Kangiwa.

NAN

Over $1bn pledged to boost vaccine production in Africa

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Over $1bn pledged to boost vaccine production in Africa

More than one billion dollars will be pledged towards ramping up vaccine production in Africa at a summit held in Paris later this week, France said on Monday.

A “new mechanism to accelerate the financing of vaccine production on the African continent” will be launched during the summit on Thursday, which will be attended by several African leaders, together with the heads of the World Health Organization and the Gavi vaccine alliance, the French president’s office said.

The amount committed by donors — which include the European Commission, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea and the United States — “will exceed a billion dollars”, the presidential Elysee Palace said.

Around three-quarters of this sum will come from Europe, it added.

The goal is to boost the ability of manufacturers in Africa to produce their own vaccines, giving the continent more sovereignty to address the many health crises it faces.

The money will also go towards setting up an African medicines agency similar to the European Medicines Agency, the French presidency said.
The Covid-19 pandemic shone a light on the unequal global distribution of vaccines.

The wealthy nations where most big pharmaceutical firms are based hoarded the majority of doses, while Africa was left well behind.
Switzerland, for example, destroyed more COVID-19 vaccine doses than it ever administered.

Several areas in Africa are currently enduring cholera outbreaks — as well as shortages of vaccine doses.

“Specific announcements will be made during this forum to respond to this vaccine shortage,” the French presidency said.

Malaria will also be discussed at the Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation on Thursday, it added.

Gavi, one of the leaders behind the Covax global programme which distributed Covid jabs to poorer countries, is hoping donors at the summit will provide funding for its vaccination projects from 2026 to 2030.

French President Emmanuel Macron will welcome several leaders of African nations including those of Botswana, Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal, the Elysee Palace said.

Macron will also meet African Union Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat to talk about “the crises that are still shaking the continent”, particularly in Sudan and the African Great Lakes region, it added.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to speak at the summit via videoconference.

AFP

AU condemns rebel ‘massacres’ in DR Congo

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AU condemns rebel ‘massacres’ in DR Congo

The African Union on Monday condemned “massacres” in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo that killed 150 people in June.

African Union Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat said he had learned with “dismay of the increasing massacres of innocent civilians” by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), in Beni and Lubero in North Kivu province.

“The Chairman of the Commission strongly condemns these attacks, which have claimed the lives of 150 people since the beginning of June,” the statement said.

Mahamat encouraged “Congolese authorities, in collaboration with the countries of the region, to intensify their efforts to curb the spread of the terrorist threat in the Great Lakes region”.

He also reiterated the African Union’s “ongoing commitment to the countries of the Great Lakes region in their fight against terrorism”.
The attacks are attributed to the ADF, which originated in neighbouring Uganda.

The group has operated in eastern DR Congo for decades and in 2019 it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, which portrays the ADF as its central African branch.

Since the end of 2021, the Congolese and Ugandan armies have conducted joint operations against the ADF in North Kivu and neighbouring Ituri province, but have so far failed to stop the deadly attacks on civilians.

The east of the country has been plagued by violence from armed groups for decades.

AFP.

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Germany veteran Neuer to consider future after Euro 2024

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Germany veteran Neuer to consider future after Euro 2024

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said on Monday he will make a call on his future after Euro 2024, the 2014 World Cup winner’s eighth major tournament.

The 38-year-old said he “could not yet reveal” whether this would be his last dance in German colours, adding “I’ll turn my mind to it after the tournament.”

Neuer returned to action for Bayern Munich in October after almost a year out of the game with a broken leg, during which he lost the Germany captaincy to Barcelona’s Ilkay Gundogan.

Neuer returned and was restored as Germany’s No.1 by coach Julian Nagelsmann, despite a series of errors at club and international level in the lead-up to the hosts’ Euro 2024 opener against Scotland.

The veteran made errors in Germany’s pre-tournament friendlies against Ukraine and Greece and also committed a cardinal error for Bayern Munich in their Champions League semi-final loss to Real Madrid in May.

While Neuer’s status alongside German greats like Oliver Kahn and Sepp Maier is secure, the errors led to growing calls to replace him — particularly with Barcelona’s Marc-Andre Ter Stegen waiting in the wings.

Just days out from the tournament opener against Scotland, a survey of 80,000 readers of the German tabloid Bild found 72 per cent wanted Ter Stegen to take over from Neuer.

“I didn’t read anything about it,” Neuer said, adding “The focus for me was on the first game against Scotland and the upcoming matches.”

Neuer was not tested in the 5-1 win over Scotland on Friday, where Germany’s only goal conceded came off the head of Antonio Rudiger.

“I’ve actually always done it in such a way that I go into the analysis with those responsible here and we discuss everything, look at the pictures and then evaluate everything.

“That’s why I haven’t given much thought to this debate. Of course, the relationship of trust between our team and the players is important.”

AFP

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Nigeria must prevent spread in schools—UNICEF

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Nigeria must prevent spread in schools—UNICEF

Following the outbreak of cholera in Lagos and some states, the United Nations Children’s Fund has called for extensive measures to protect school children.

The UN organisation also called for concerted efforts to prevent disruption in the academic calendar over the spread of the disease.

The Chief of UNICEF Lagos Field Office, Celine Lafoucrier, who made the call on Monday in a statement, said that the cholera outbreaks critically affected children and the young population.

According to Lafoucriere, these vulnerable groups face substantial health risks particularly children and young adults attending schools.

She noted that children were prone to severe dehydration and high mortality rate.

“There is, therefore, an urgent need for good sanitation, hygiene practices, improved access to clean water, regular handwashing with soap and clean water in order to combat the outbreak in schools,” she said.

Lafoucrier, however, solicited for adequate awareness across the country to sensitise the populace on cholera outbreaks and preventive measures as part of efforts to address the issue.

NAN.

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Assembly candidates seek Tinubu’s intervention

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Assembly candidates seek Tinubu’s intervention

The 24 All Progressives Congress candidates in the 2023 Abia State House of Assembly election have called on President Bola Tinubu to wade into the crisis and put an end to the factionalisation of the party in the state.

This came as the only elected APC lawmaker in the State House of Assembly, Mr Anderson Akaliro led the other candidates on a reconciliation mission to Abuja on Monday.

In a communique tagged “Abia APC crisis peace initiative,” issued on Monday, Akaliro called on the national leadership of the party to, as a matter of urgency, convene a meeting and invite all leaders and stakeholders of the party to seek an end to the impasse.

The meeting, he said, should include the South East zonal caucus, Abuja-based party gladiators, key stakeholders, the 2023 APC candidates to the Abia House of Assembly, Federal House of Representatives and Senate.

“With all sitting at a round table to get the commitment of the leaders and interest groups to a peace accord,” the communique read partly.

The communique further read in part, “We are calling on President Tinubu, the APC national leadership and the National Assembly members from Abia State and all individual factions to come together so that the factions within the ranks and files of the party would be dissolved into one indivisible unit.

“We are aware of the forthcoming congress, and we employ the party leadership to commit to ensuring that all interest groups are duly represented in the state, local government areas, and ward party positions.”

This, according to him, will be a prelude to a free and fair party primaries in 2026.

“We want peace in the Abia APC because there are multiple factions, which is why we lost the election.

“24 of us contested for the State Assembly election and 23 lost; the factions contributed to our loss. We only have one person as an APC member who won the election,” he lamented.

While describing the interface as fruitful, he added, “A few people who are benefitting from the crisis tactically avoided the meeting of the reconciliation team in Abuja.”

According to him, “The facade of unity is but a veil over the fissures that have led to our collective losses in political contests, and it is time for introspection and action. The potential within our ranks is immense, with leaders of influence and respect. It is our firm belief that through reconciliation and unity, the APC in Abia State will emerge stronger and victorious in future electoral endeavours.”

Akaliro called on the party to take advantage of the influx of new members into the party to forge a common front that would enable APC in the state to wage war against its common enemy and prepare grounds for victory in future elections.

The meeting was held at the Abuja residence of prominent party chieftain, Hon Dike Uche.

IMF seek stronger social safety net to ‘broaden’ gains from AI

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IMF seek stronger social safety net to ‘broaden’ gains from AI

Fiscal policy has a “major role to play” in broadening the financial gains from generative AI technology and preventing a spike in wealth inequality, the IMF said Monday.

Left unchecked, generative artificial intelligence threatens to amplify job losses among white-collar professions, International Monetary Fund staff wrote in a new paper.

The technology forms the core of chatbots including Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s Gemini, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

To mitigate the negative effects of generative AI, governments should consider putting in place new measures to raise additional revenue and support people who lose their jobs, the IMF said.

“Fiscal policy has a major role to play in supporting a more equal distribution of gains and opportunities from generative AI,” IMF staff wrote in a blog post published to accompany the new paper.

“But this will require significant upgrades to social protection and tax systems around the world,” they continued, arguing in favour of more generous unemployment insurance and investment in sector-based training to prepare workers for “the jobs of the AI age.”

The IMF staff came out against the idea of implementing a special tax on AI products, which some academics have called for, arguing that it could end up hampering productivity growth.

Instead, corporate tax breaks that encourage the “rapid displacement of human jobs” should be reconsidered, and taxes on capital income should be strengthened to help “offset rising wealth inequality,” they added.

AFP

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Sickle cell survivor advocates mandatory testing for intending couple

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Sickle cell survivor advocates mandatory testing for intending couple

A sickle cell anaemia survivor, Onor Tawo has urged the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to make premarital genotype counselling and testing compulsory in Nigeria during marriage registration processes.

Over 40 million Nigerians are carriers of the sickle cell gene and an estimated 150,000 babies are born every year with sickle cell anaemia, according to a report by Sickle Cell Disorder Registry Nigeria.

The report added that sadly, an estimated 100,000 of these babies do not live to celebrate their fifth birthday.

However, in a letter on Monday addressed to the minister, Tawo who lost her brother to the disease, stated that mandating genotype counselling and testing for all intending couples during the marriage registration process would
prevent the birth of children predisposed to sickle cell Disease.

She added that it would also help to curb the economic strain on families and the nation’s healthcare.

The letter partly reads, “There is an urgent need to empower couples with vital information, enable them to make informed decisions and potentially prevent the birth of children predisposed to Sickle Cell Disease. Mandating genotype counselling and testing for all intending couples during the marriage registration process will not only educate couples about their genotypes but also alleviate the economic strain on families and the healthcare system.”

“I lost my younger brother to Sickle Cell anemia. In his memory, I started the Okares Sickle Cell Foundation to promote awareness of the prevention and management of sickle cell disorders. In the course of our work, we found that a lot of young adults do not know their genotypes, genetic counselling is not emphasised before marriage, and even our secondary schools do not understand what sickle cell is, despite learning genetics as a topic in Biology.

“The government’s response to SCD remains insufficient despite the urgent need for better prevention, treatment, and care. Hospitals are inadequately equipped, and the National Health Insurance Scheme fails to provide necessary coverage, leaving many vulnerable. Legislative efforts to address SCD are often criticised for legal inconsistencies and ineffectiveness. Our nation cannot remain passive in this overwhelming burden; we must act decisively to combat sickle cell disorders”

Yusuf gifts 100 Saudi Riyals each to 3,121 Kano pilgrims

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Yusuf gifts 100 Saudi Riyals each to 3,121 Kano pilgrims

The Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has donated 100 Saudi Riyals to each of the 3,121 pilgrims from Kano State as a Sallah gift.

The Deputy Governor, who is the State Amirul Hajj, Aminu Gwarzo, announced the gesture during his visit to the Kano Pilgrims’ Camp at Mina in Saudi Arabia.

The head of the media team for Kano State Pilgrims and also the Deputy Governor’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Shuaibu, disclosed this in a statement circulated to newsmen in Kano on Monday.

According to him, the governor’s generosity didn’t stop there, noting that each pilgrim had previously received N500,000 to complete their Hajj 2024 fare payment and an additional N150,000 to supplement their pocket money, totalling 500 US dollars.

He revealed that in another display of generosity, Alhaji Mijinyawa, CEO of Sahad Stores, also gifted 50 Saudi Riyals to each Kano pilgrim as a Sallah gift.

The deputy governor encouraged pilgrims to offer earnest prayers for themselves, their loved ones, and the progress and development of Kano State and Nigeria at large.

In a relative development, according to Shuaibu, the deputy governor also visited all the 44 local government areas’ tents in Mina.

He was accompanied by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Yusuf Falgore, members of the State House of Assembly, Head of Service, Abdullahi Musa, Chairman of the Pilgrims Board, Alhaji Yusuf Lawal, Director General of the Pilgrim’s Board, Alhaji Lamin Danbappa and Deputy Commandant General of Hisbah Board, Women Wing, Dr. Khadija Sulaiman among others.

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