President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the House of Representatives for approval to borrow $4 billion and €710 million loans to fund the 2021 budget. He also sought the approval of grant components of $125 million. The President, in a letter read by the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, during plenary on Wednesday, said the loan request is an addendum to the 2018-2021 Federal Government External Borrowing Rolling Plan. The President said the need to borrow more funds was to meet emerging needs of some critical projects.
“The projects listed in the addendum to the 2018-2021 Federal Government External Borrowing Rolling Plan are to be financed through sovereign loans from the World Bank, French Development Agency, China Exim Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Credit Suisse Group and Standard Chartered/China Export and Credit (SINOSURE), in the total sum of $4,054,476,863 plus Euro 710,000,000 and grant component of $125,000,000.00,” the letter read. The National Assembly in July approved approved $8,325,526,537 and €490 million loan requests by President Muhammadu Buhari.
A financial consultant, Oni Olajide, has lamented the disappearance of his son, Oluwanifemi, on the premises of Caleb University, in the Imota area of Lagos State.
Oluwanifemi, an undergraduate studying Computer Science in the institution, suddenly sent disturbing messages to his elder sister, Stella, on a messaging App that some suspected cultists wanted him dead.
The 21-year-old was said to have cautioned Stella against disclosing the information to their parents.
It was learnt that Oluwanifemi, who finished his examination on Friday, August 13, 2021, requested some money from his father to visit his mother in Ibadan.
The aggrieved father told news correspondent that that was the last time he heard from his son, adding that Oluwanifemi never acknowledged receiving the money.
Oni said, “He requested money for transportation on Monday, August 16, 2021, and I sent N5,000 to him. But I did not see any debit alert since it’s my ATM card he is using. I became worried and called a staff member of the school to check on him and the worker told me that the boy had left for Ibadan to see his mum.
“But I did my findings and discovered that he never arrived in Ibadan or signed out of the school. We are of the opinion that he was abducted by the cultists he told his sister about..
“The school has just been trying to put itself in a clean shape despite being 100 percent culpable about my son’s disappearance.
“The reason my child did not go to a state university was because of cultism. I took him to Caleb University after accessing that CCTV was installed everywhere. But I am surprised that after my son went missing, they refused to give us access to the CCTV footage.”
The 51-year-old explained that he advised the school authorities to paste Oluwanifemi’s pictures around the school premises, but they refused.
He added, “The school said they found my son’s box with another student, one Nathaniel. The police invited Nathaniel on four occasions, but he refused the invitations. I told them to use their influence to get him to honour the invitation, but they did nothing.
“If the Chief Security Officer of the school calls Nathaniel, he will pick the phone, but if the CSO hands the phone over to the Imota Divisional Police Officer to speak to Nathaniel, he will cut the call.
“My son has been missing for a month; how will he sneak out without carrying his ATM card, phone, money and box found with Nathaniel? What will he use in feeding when he gets out? Nathaniel is claiming that the school is framing him; when the school was asked to bring security guards on duty when my son went missing to write a statement at the station, it brought guards that were not on duty on the day of the incident.”
The case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, for further investigation.
When contacted, Both the Dean of Student Affairs, Dr Tayo Olorunlana and the varsity Public Relations Officer, Dr Elvis Otobo declined comment.
The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, said Caleb University had been frustrating investigation into the case.
He said, “To the best of my knowledge, only the parents have reported to the police, but the school authorities have not written any official complaint to the police, stating the circumstances and the preliminary investigation it conducted so the police can take it up from there.
“If that happens, we will have access to the university to ask questions. The school is the one frustrating our investigation because he got missing on the school premises. We have started an investigation, but we have yet to conclude as we have not been granted access to the scene of crime.”
The Duke of Sussex turned 37 on September 15 and woke up to a number of social media messages from his royal family in the United Kingdom. Harry’s father and step-mother, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said on social media: “Wishing the Duke of Sussex a very happy birthday today” along with a cake emoji. The words were accompanied by a series of photos of Harry with his father over the years.
Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, sent him a similar message in addition to using a balloon emoji. The photos selected for the post highlighted Harry’s charitable work and also feature his wife, Meghan Markle.
Harry’s older brother, Prince William, and sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, penned a simple note that said, “Happy birthday Prince Harry!” with another balloon emoji.
Harry is also celebrating another huge honor on his birthday: being named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.
He and Markle were featured on the cover of the iconic magazine.
A California sheriff said he will not enforce any vaccine mandate on employees of his department, citing the government having “no authority to mandate your health choices.”
“Over the past couple of weeks, the idea of forced vaccination has caused much concern across the entire country,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a statement released Monday. “I will not enforce the vaccine mandate on Sheriff’s Department employees.” “The government has no ability and no authority to mandate your health choices,” he said. “As your sheriff, I have an obligation to guard your liberty and freedom.”
Bianco added that he was inspired to release the statement after he conducted a podcast on forced vaccinations, and said a local newspaper would use “cherry picked” comments from “supposed” health officials “in an attempt to paint me and the Sheriff’s department in a negative light.” “This is nothing but sensationalism trying to gain readership and further divide us as Americans.”
Bianco has been vocal during the pandemic on the government’s involvement restricting people to their homes during lockdowns and refused to enforce Gov. Gavin Newsom’s coronavirus stay-at-home order last year. “These closures and stay-at-home orders are flat-out ridiculous,” Bianco said at the time. “The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department will not be blackmailed, bullied or used as muscle against Riverside County residents in the enforcement of the governor’s order,” he added.
He also slammed the state’s liberal governor as “hypocritical,” citing the controversial photos of Newsom last fall dining in a swanky restaurant maskless and surrounded by people from outside of his own household.
Bianco’s comments come after members of the Los Angeles Police Department filed a federal lawsuit over the weekend to overturn the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. While a professor in California also recently filed a lawsuit against the University of California school system’s Board of Regents and president over a coronavirus vaccine mandate, which he argued he does not need because of his natural immunity against the virus.
Though calcium is easily and abundantly available in several food items, many still don’t meet the recommended requirements.
It’s well-known that calcium helps build and maintain the density of bones. But this mineral plays a role more diverse than that. It plays a pivotal role in muscle contraction, regulates blood pressure, improves nerve transmission, and prevents blood clotting. For adults, the daily intake should be 1,000 mg. But if you are aged above 50, you need 1,200 mg. Those aged 4–18 should have 1,300 mg per day. Though calcium is easily and abundantly available in many food items, a large number of people still don’t meet the recommended daily dose, especially those who don’t consume meat and related products.
Here are 5 plant-based sources of calcium
Spinach
Spinach is one of the biggest sources of calcium and iron. It offers about 100 mg of calcium per 100 grams. If you take one cup of cooked spinach, you get around 250 mg of this vital mineral. Remember, however, that spinach also contains oxalate and it may interfere with the absorption of calcium. Boiling spinach reduces up to 90 per cent of oxalate content. You can include spinach to your diet in several ways – as salad, make juice or add in curries. You can also prepare raita using spinach. Click here for a few mouth-watering recipes that are spinach-centered.
Broccoli
Every 100 grams of broccoli provides 50 mg of calcium. The calcium in broccoli is readily absorbed by the body when compared to calcium supplied by milk. Touted as a “superfood”, broccoli also provides vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate to regulate cell growth and reproduction. This green vegetable also offers antioxidants and fibre and helps reduce inflammation.
Orange
Eat the oranges throughout the day. Each one of them has 60mg of calcium. They also supply vitamin C to boost the immune system and destroy free radicals that damage cells damage. Prepare a smoothie or extract juice, oranges are versatile.
Figs
They are a great source of fiber. They also contain minerals, supply multi-vitamins like A, B1, B2, calcium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, sodium, potassium, and chlorine. Just two medium-sized figs contain over 50 mg of calcium. Here are 6 delicious ways to add figs to your diet.
Soybeans
Soybeans are low in saturated fat and high in protein, vitamin C, and folate. A great source of calcium, you can add 100 grams of soybeans in your daily diet. There are various ways to do that. Soybeans also have iron, magnesium, protein, and selenium. Soya is also the only vegetarian food that contains all eight essential amino acids. You can use soy flour, tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soybean oil, or soy chunks.
These foods and more are great source of Calcium which you can add to your diet and enjoy from time to time.
President Muhammadu Buhari says N300 billion has been disbursed to farmers while 1.6 million poor and vulnerable households are currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer programme.
The president revealed this while virtually declaring open the 14th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, some of the various initiatives embarked upon to boost agricultural trade in Nigeria include the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
He stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria had made more than N300 billion available to over 3.1 million smallholder farmers of 21 different commodities.
He said the commodities included Rice, Wheat, Maize, Cotton, Cassava, Poultry, Soybeans, Groundnut, Fish, cultivating over 3.8 million hectares of farmland.
“It is on record that 80% of rice consumed in Nigeria is now produced locally,’’ he said.
He added that the National Social Register of poor and vulnerable Nigerians had 32.6 million persons from seven million poor and vulnerable households identified, imploring bankers to play a stronger role in improving livelihoods.
“From this number, 1.6 million poor and vulnerable households, comprising more than eight million individuals are currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer program, which pays a bi-monthly stipend of N10, 000 per household,’’ he said.
President Buhari said the National Social Investment Programme was biggest in Sub-Sahara Africa and one of the largest in the world.
To further strengthen recovery and enable more Nigerians, President Buhari said, last year, he approved the establishment of InfraCo Plc, a world-class infrastructure development vehicle, wholly focused on Nigeria, with combined debt and equity take-off capital of N15 trillion.
He said the company was being managed by an independent infrastructure Fund Manager.
“The Solar Power Naija project was launched in April 2021 with the aim of delivering five million off-grid solar connections to Nigerian households.
“In May 2021, the Rural Electrification Agency announced the planned deployment of solar-powered grids to 200 Primary Health Centres and 104 Unity Schools nationwide.
“Under the Family Homes Fund Limited, Social Housing programme incorporated by the Federal Government of Nigeria, more than two thousand hectares of land with title documents have been issued by 24 states with the capacity to accommodate about 65,000 new homes.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria is providing a N200 Billion financing facility, with a guarantee by the Federal Government,’’ he said.
“I salute the Institute and the entire banking and finance industry for the commitment towards charting a practical path for economic recovery and transformation of our country, Nigeria, and by extension Africa as epitomized by the theme of your conference.
“I commend the financial services industry for its interventions and contributions towards the promotion of financial inclusion and literacy in our country.
“And more importantly, the roles played by the banks in fostering economic growth of the country.
“I am confident that the speakers that have been carefully selected to contribute to conference will share insights that will help individuals, businesses and governments at all levels make necessary adjustments and take the right steps towards our collective resolve to position Nigeria as one of the top economies in the world,’’ he added.
The president said a report from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew 5.01 per cent in the second quarter of 2021; the strongest rise since the fourth quarter of 2014.
“This is cheery news and an indication that the efforts of this administration at repositioning the economy is paying off,’’ he said.
He urged the bankers and financial institutions to leverage on the abundant business opportunities to grow the economy.
President Buhari implored financial institutions to play stronger role in making sure the Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises were fit for purpose, with support in full implementation of “Agreement”.
“Indeed financial intermediary could not be any more relevant than at a time like this.
“We need you, the banks to drive value creation by developing new technologies, scaling payment infrastructure to serve the diversified economies expected to benefit from this Agreement,’’ he noted.
He said technological innovation was also important in the modern business terrain, noting that most transactions now take place online given the advent of the “Internet of Things”.
The president stressed that as the nation continues to progress towards the next frontiers of digitization, it must harness all opportunities while being mindful of the inherent risks.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola has directed the immediate emergency repairs on sections of roads where failure had occurred due to flooding caused by heavy rainfall in five States across the country.
According to a statement by the Director of Press & Public Relations of the Ministry, Mrs Boade Akinola, the Minister gave the directive at a briefing in Abuja.
The roads for repairs include: Ibadan – Ife road; Gombe – Bauchi road; Gombe – Darazo; Bauchi – Ningi, Bida – Lambata, and Tsamiya bridge in Jigawa State.
He also assured of continuous attention to other roads with similar problems.
Stating that the Federal Government is committed to infrastructure development and will respond promptly to complaints from citizens, Fashola however appealed to commuters to be patient with the government as the excessive rains being witnessed has a negative effect on road construction and rehabilitation.
Aerial view of Mae Moh Coal Power Plant with smoke and toxic air from chimney. Factory industry. Electricity tower in energy or pollution environment concept. Lampang City, Thailand
Coal displaced wind power as Germany’s most important energy source in the first half of 2021, with a debate over climate change measures raging ahead of elections in September.
This is according to calculations carried out by the Federal Statistical Office released on Monday, September 13, 2021 that 56 per cent of the 258.9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity.
It said the electricity generated in Germany came from conventional sources such as coal, natural gas or nuclear energy in this period.
This was 20.9 per cent more than the same six-month period in 2020.
By contrast, the share of renewable energies such as wind, solar energy and biogas fell by 11.7 per cent to 44 per cent compared to the January-June period last year.
The lack of consistent wind in spring was the main reason for the decrease, the statistics office said.
The share of wind energy fell by 21 per cent.
The gap was filled primarily by electricity generated by coal-fired power plants.
After coal and wind power, natural gas was the third most important energy source for electricity production in the first half of the year, with a share of 14.4 per cent, just ahead of nuclear energy at 12.4 per cent.
Under current legislation, Germany is supposed to completely abandon coal power by 2038 at the latest.
Nuclear is also being phased out by 2022.
Climate activists and the Green party are calling for an earlier phase-out of coal in order to achieve a faster reduction in greenhouse gases.
The government has anchored Germany’s path to climate neutrality by the middle of the century in the Climate Protection Act.
According to this law, emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 are to be reduced by 65 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and by at least 88 per cent by 2040.
By 2045, Europe’s largest economy is to achieve climate neutrality in other words, only emit as much greenhouse gas as can be recaptured.
A key challenge for the next government would be how to implement measures to meet these legislative targets, for example, how to greatly expand the area of land available for wind farms without generating too much opposition from the public.
The Conservator-General, National Park Service (NPS), Dr. Ibrahim Goni, has solicited the partnership of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) towards safeguarding the nation’s forest reserve.
Goni made the call when the management staff of NPS paid a courtesy visit to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, in Abuja.
According to a statement by Maj-Gen Benjamin Sawyer, Director, Defence Information, Goni said NPS was established for the purpose of protecting and conserving the biodiversity in the designated areas identified as national parks, game reserves and forest reserves.
The conservator-general commended the military for the support far, adding that there was need to sustain the existing collaboration towards tackling the current security challenges facing the nation.
He said that the collaborative arrangement would be on combat training of NPS personnel and logistic support in order to boost the agency’s mandate of securing the forest reserves.
According to him, “these forest reserves and national parks which are approximately 1,129 square metres have become hideouts for bandits and terrorists”.
Responding, the CDS, Gen. Irabor, who was represented by the Chief of Defence Policy and Planning, AVM Dahiru Sanda, reiterated the commitment of the military to collaborate with the NPS.
Irabor described the service as a key agency in the nation’s security architecture.
He called on all stakeholders to support the organisation towards ensuring that the forests were well protected against criminal elements
The CDS charged NPS on the need to dominate the nation’s forests in terms of intelligence gathering and information sharing with the military and other security agencies so as to checkmate every form of terror and other crimes.
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says the state is raising money for the Lagos State Green Bond Market Development Programme.
Sanwo-Olu said the bond was geared at building a greater, circular, climate-resilient and prosperous state.
The governor made the remark on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, when he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FMDQ Group and Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa), as implementing partners, at Lagos House, Marina.
According to the governor, “Green Bond Framework Development Programme”, is a crucial first step toward creating a viable financing option for future green and sustainability projects.
Sanwo-Olu noted that Green Bonds could assist in unlocking sustainable investment opportunities in Lagos State, opening the door to advance adoption of innovative new technologies, financing of projects that provided green jobs, and promote economic and climate resiliency.
He lamented that climate change affected everyone, but it was expected to hit developing countries the hardest, especially low-lying states such as Lagos.
He, however, noted that despite its devastating effects, climate change was being increasingly viewed as a gateway to new business opportunities, opening many profitable ways for investors to help protect the planet.
He added that one of such ways was through Green Bonds.
“Lagos State is particularly mindful of the effects of climate change and as such, has shown and continues to show its commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
“To achieve these lofty goals however, funding is required, far in excess of what the state can currently generate and very urgently.
“The financial sector will therefore, need to play a vital role in accelerating the local market’s ability to provide the required support, by expanding to green lending as an alternative source of funding for financing eligible green projects and assets in Lagos state.
“I commend and thank our partners, the Financial Centre for Sustainability, FMDQ Group and FSD Africa, funded by the UK Government, who are supporting this development programme.
“This Green Bond Framework Development Programme is a crucial first step toward creating a viable financing option for future green and sustainability projects.
“There is no doubt that Green Bonds can assist in unlocking sustainable investment opportunities in Lagos state, opening the door to advance adoption of innovative new technologies, financing of projects that provide green jobs, and promote economic and climate resiliency.
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