Guinea’s ruling military came under diplomatic pressure on Friday as the African Union suspended the country over last weekend’s coup and West African envoys arrived to mediate in the crisis.
Regional bloc ECOWAS had already suspended Guinea after special forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya seized power on Sunday and arrested president Alpha Conde.
On Friday, the African Union (AU) followed suit, tweeting that it had decided to suspend the Republic of Guinea from all AU activities and decision-making bodies.
Mediators from ECOWAS — the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States — also landed in the capital Conakry on Friday
ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou is part of the delegation, as are the Nigerian, Ghanaian, Burkinabe and Togolese foreign ministers.
Coup leader Doumbouya met the envoys at a hotel in Conakry on Friday afternoon. The delegation, which is also due to meet Conde, is set to Guinea leave the same evening.
Increasing pressure on Guinea comes amid rising fears of democratic backsliding across West Africa, where strongmen are an increasingly familiar sight.
Guinea’s putsch has drawn parallels with its neighbour Mali, which has suffered two coups since August last year led by Colonel Assimi Goita, who was also a special forces commander.
Meanwhile Guinea’s putschists have formed a junta named the CNRD, which has dissolved the government and the constitution.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Prof. Yusuf A. Ahmed as the substantive Chairman/CEO of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission(NAEC) with effect from September, 2021.
Prof. Ahmed was presented with his letter of appointment by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office,OSGF.
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Yola, Adamawa State in 1970, Prof. Ahmed holds a B.Tech (Physics), MSc and PhD (Nuclear Physics) with specialization in Nuclear Instrumentation and Spectrometry.
He has received trainings from various international laboratories on Reactor Physics, Nuclear Data, Nuclear Safety, Radioisotopes Production, Waste Management, Decommissioning and Radio Analytical Techniques.
He started his career in nuclear science and technology in year 2000 at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria as part of the academic staff team of the Nigeria Research Reactor-1(NIRR-1) at the Center for Energy Research and Training (CERT).
He rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Nuclear Physics in 2017 and Director and Head of Laboratories of the Center (2015-2019).
He has served in various national and international committees on nuclear safety and security.
Until his present appointment, he was the Director (Special Duties) of the Commission, Secretary of AFRA-IAEA Program Management Committee, Steering Committee Member of the International Working Group on Advancing Insider Threat Mitigation and Member of the Joint Working Group of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification.
Prof. Ahmed is an Associate Member of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy, Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Technologist in Engineering, Fellow of the Institute of Human and Natural Resources and Member of the Nigerian Institute of Physics.
The Executive Secretary, Kwara State Health Insurance Care, Dr Olubunmi Jetawo-Winter says about 60,000 people have been enrolled into the agency in the last 12 months.
Dr Jetawo-Winter disclosed this in Ilorin, the State capital during an interview with newsmen.
According to her, while ”21,000 of the enrolees were captured under the basic healthcare provision fund, 24,000 got boarded through formal and informal sectors categorization among others as stipulated in the guidelines of the agency.”
She explained that the massive enrolment commenced from last year September when Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq launched the access to health care for 10,000 indigenes.
The Executive Secretary further stated that the numbers were distributed across the 16 local government areas of the state with a view to enabling the people have a sense of belonging.
She recalled that though the law establishing the agency was effective from 2017 but could not begin a full fledged operation due to lack of funding.
Dr Jetawo-Winter stated that the present administration had encouraged the agency with requisite funding since it came on board, stressing that the turnout for enrolment was quite commendable.
She said her agency had started employing political structure of office holders at the state and federal levels to reach out to the people for additional enrolment and coverage.
Dr Jetawo-Winter further stated that the agency has been able to mop up a lot of people both in the informal sector, the formal/private sector.
Dr Jetawo-Winter disclosed that the agency also has community participation like Igbaja community came and paid for so many people in their constituency to access care as well as Abdulmajeed Foundation in Offa.
Answering another question, she added that agency was going through the political structure particularly those at the National and State House of Assembly to get them onboard their constituencies.
The Giza Governorate will be the focus of a solid waste management and energy recovery initiative.
Giza Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is in the center of the country, situated on the west bank of the Nile River opposite Cairo. Its capital is the city of Giza.
The project will be implemented by ReNergy Group Partners, a renewable energy provider based in Coimbatore, India.
The company will recover heat from the incineration of waste to generate electricity.
These activities will be carried out at a plant located in the municipality of Abu Rawach.
The Egyptian Ministry of Local Development will allocate land in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding signed on September 9th, 2021 between the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, the Giza Governorate and the alliance of the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production and ReNergy Group Partners.
The project will recover approximately 1,200 tonnes of solid waste per day.
The Giza Governorate will supply the waste. This project “will contribute to the elimination of large amounts of waste, especially in this governorate where it is difficult to provide land to create treatment and recycling plants,” explains Mahmoud Sharawi, the Egyptian Minister of Local Development.
The ministry will monitor all stages of the project, from implementation to commercial operation of the plant, which will be connected to Egypt’s national electricity grid.
The solid waste-to-energy project launched in Giza is the first step in a larger programme.
The initiative will lead to the signing of partnerships with eight private Egyptian companies specialising in the energy recovery of solid waste.
Through this programme, the Egyptian government aims to reduce solid and sanitary waste pollution by 50% by 2030, also through the gradual adoption of the circular economy.
Plans are underway in Kano state, Nigeria to produce 150 MW of electricity from waste.
This was announced by Capegate Investment Limited, a Nigerian-based company that specializes in Biotechnology and Waste management, approximately three months after it signed a 20-year public-private partnership with the Kano State Government and took over waste management in the state.
Speaking on the aforementioned plans, Bello Abba Yakasai, the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) said that next year, they will generate 10 megawatts of electricity and in the next five years, depending on how the typology of waste changes, will yield to 150 megawatts for Kano and Jigawa.
According to the Capegate Investment COO, the plan to produce 150 MW of electricity from waste in Kano is a part of a larger plan where the company intends to establish three major industries.
“One of the industries is what we call a transfer station. This is where all the wastes including plastic, metals, and aluminium among others, will be sorted.
The sorted out waste will be recycled or transformed into other products. High-density plastic (HDP) and tires would be converted into burnable oil, while low-density plastic would be converted into shopping bags, water bottles, and other relevant products.”
“The next phase is the diversification industry. In here we will be converting biodegradable waste to produce gas and create steel, which in turn, would be processed into turbines to produce electricity.
Under this phase/industry, we hope to facilitate the generation of at least 10 megawatts of electricity before the end of next year (2022),” explained Mr. Yakasai.
In the third industry food waste and bio-waste would be turned into organic fertilizer, which is safer health-wise on crops and human consumption.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has cautioned Nigeria on the increasing risks of data breach through the mobile applications, apps, especially Health apps downloaded on phones.
This has become more worrisome as current research has revealed that large numbers of mobile health applications are found to encourage data theft, thereby infringing on your privacy.
The Head of Cooperate Affairs, NITDA, Mrs.Hadiza Umar in a statement said the mobile Health applications, mostly available on android platforms and downloaded through google play store, handle increasingly sensitive data over unsecured Internet communications and third-party servers.
According to Umar, these sensitive data collected pose security threats to users as most of these apps do not only access data, but also share accessed data with third parties.
NITDA therefore urges the general public to take the following precautions to prevent privacy and security risks, while using mobile health applications:
“Users should avoid downloading apps from third party source.
“Users should examine apps before they download them, to understand the level of information the app requests for. This can be done by evaluating reviews by other app users.
“Users should read apps permissions before and after installation to protect themselves from data exploitation.
“Ensure apps available for download in Nigeria should have privacy policy that is Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR)-compliant.
“Users can customize the settings, which will potentially restrict the amount of information disclosed to the apps.
“Users must consider downloading apps that offer better privacy protection. Prohibit accessing data over unsecured Wi-Fi network or hotspot.
“In addition ,Install firewalls and anti-virus to protect against virus/malware-base attacks and malicious application
Natural gas won’t count as clean energy under a House Democratic plan that would eventually rid the electric grid of carbon and is part of the $3.5 trillion tax-and-spending package moving through Congress.
The proposal by a House panel would provide $150 billion to help spur electric providers to add more clean energy through a system of payments and penalties for electric suppliers.
The funding, included in the budget package and scheduled to be voted on by the House Energy and Commerce Committee next week, is designed to help meet the the White House’s signature climate goals of decarbonizing the electric grid by 2035.
Republicans are expected to oppose the spending.
The legislation, which will eventually be incorporated into the Democrats’ massive budget measure also includes tens of billions of dollars in funding for electric vehicles, the power grid, and energy efficiency, among other items.
Under the plan, natural gas would be excluded because only electricity with a carbon intensity of less than than 0.10 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt-hour will count, according to a summary provided by the committee.
That drew praise from environmental groups who oppose the power source because of concerns about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and associated emissions of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas.
“We’re grateful the House is moving to keep dirty gas from getting support under the Build Back Better Act,” said Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Energy Justice program. “The Senate should follow suit on this bold step toward making our energy system truly renewable and ensuring a safe climate and vibrant future for our communities.”
Under the program, electricity suppliers would be eligible for a grant if they increase the amount of clean electricity supplied to customers by 4% compared to the previous year, according to the summary.
The grant will total $150 for each megawatt-hour of clean electricity above 1.5% the previous year’s total, the committee said.
Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr Sarki Auwalu, says energy, security and transition to cleaner forms of energy remain top priorities of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
Muhammadu Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari
Auwalu made the assertion at the hybrid Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Research and Development Fair in Bayelsa State, Nigeria’s South-south.
The fair has “Collaboration in Research and Development of the Energy Sector” as its theme.
Auwalu said that the president had inaugurated the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre in Lagos with the objectives of safety, cost efficiency and value addition, to guarantee energy security for Nigeria.
He said: “As you are aware, energy security and the transition to cleaner forms of energy is a priority for the Buhari administration.
“To deepen gas penetration across the Nation, the year 2020-2030 has been declared the Decade of Gas to drive the Gas Expansion Programme, increase LPG penetration, Gas to Power, Gas Based Industries, Gas to People, Auto Gas etc.
“These are to serve as enablers for energy security, jobs creation, poverty eradication, a healthy environment, development of facilities in the gas sector, thereby creating opportunities for collaboration and revenue generation for government.
“The Nigerian Gas Transportation Network Code (NGTNC) provides the contractual framework for gas transportation.
“The National Gas Expansion Programme is aimed at stimulating domestic gas supply and demand, as well as oil to gas substitution as transition fuel.”
According to him, the recently enacted Petroleum Industry Act, among other things, provides a framework for gas aggregation and penalties for gas flaring.
“Let me reassure you that the Nigeria oil and gas industry is on the path to affordable and reliable energy for all Nigerians, as well as transitioning to cleaner energy in line with the net-zero emissions global target.
“I am, therefore, confident that gas is the future for Nigeria,” Auwalu said.
He noted that the global oil and gas industry needed to remain efficient and innovative in responding to the emergence of cheaper renewables to sustain the relevance of hydrocarbon resources to the global energy mix. remain top priorities of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
President Muhammadu Buhari
Auwalu made the assertion at the hybrid Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Research and Development Fair on Thursday, September 9, 2021 in Bayelsa State.
The fair has “Collaboration in Research and Development of the Energy Sector” as its theme.
Auwalu said that the president had inaugurated the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre in Lagos with the objectives of safety, cost efficiency and value addition, to guarantee energy security for Nigeria.
He said: “As you are aware, energy security and the transition to cleaner forms of energy is a priority for the Buhari administration.
“To deepen gas penetration across the Nation, the year 2020-2030 has been declared the Decade of Gas to drive the Gas Expansion Programme, increase LPG penetration, Gas to Power, Gas Based Industries, Gas to People, Auto Gas etc.
“These are to serve as enablers for energy security, jobs creation, poverty eradication, a healthy environment, development of facilities in the gas sector, thereby creating opportunities for collaboration and revenue generation for government.
“The Nigerian Gas Transportation Network Code (NGTNC) provides the contractual framework for gas transportation.
“The National Gas Expansion Programme is aimed at stimulating domestic gas supply and demand, as well as oil to gas substitution as transition fuel.”
According to him, the recently enacted Petroleum Industry Act, among other things, provides a framework for gas aggregation and penalties for gas flaring.
“Let me reassure you that the Nigeria oil and gas industry is on the path to affordable and reliable energy for all Nigerians, as well as transitioning to cleaner energy in line with the net-zero emissions global target.
“I am, therefore, confident that gas is the future for Nigeria,” Auwalu said.
He noted that the global oil and gas industry needed to remain efficient and innovative in responding to the emergence of cheaper renewables to sustain the relevance of hydrocarbon resources to the global energy mix.
A single mom of two working multiple jobs in Tennessee is braiding children’s hair for free in an effort to help other parents who otherwise couldn’t afford the expensive services of a stylist at a salon.
Brittany Starks has been living paycheck to paycheck and was even grappling with how to afford new school supplies and clothes for her own kids as recently as last month.
Despite that, Starks posted on social media asking if there were any struggling single parents that needed their child’s hair braided.
“I thought I was only going to get five to seven kids but I had 35,” Starks said in an interview.
The Aug. 4 post got so much attention that Starks found herself working every night for two weeks straight into the early hours of the morning. Starks said she usually gets off from work around 5 p.m. to start braiding and most nights she wouldn’t end until midnight or 1 a.m.
And the requests keep coming. In fact, Starks had to call in extra support just to handle the inquiries. They even have people reaching out from areas outside of Tennessee, Starks said.
Starks’ idea to take on such a big task came after a family friend gave her book bags filled with school supplies and even new clothes for her 9-year-old daughter, Ceniyah, and her 7-year-old son, Cayden, so they’d be prepared for school.
She was beyond grateful for the help and in turn wanted to give that same feeling of relief to other struggling parents.
“The parents’ stories are very similar to mine,” she said. “Being homeless, struggling with depression, and just struggling being a single parent.”
In 2013, Starks was homeless, living in the streets of Indianapolis, Indiana, when she was pregnant with her second child. In 2017, she found herself in a similar situation after her daughter, who had autism, asthma and sleep apnea, became very ill. She was later diagnosed with scarlet fever.
Starks stayed home with her in order to give her the care she needed and as a result, she eventually lost her job and home – again.
In 2018, Starks eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to get some support from family that lived in the area.
And even though she continued to struggle herself, she found a passion for helping others. Starks said putting her focus on helping others helped her forget about her own issues – even if it was just temporarily.
“I’ve seen how much the community appreciated what I was doing and how much of a need it is,” she said.
She plans to keep up the effort once a month for children all over Nashville. .
“Doing this makes me happy,” she said. “The smile on the children’s faces are priceless. It brings me so much joy to know I made a difference in their life.”
The Kano State Government says it has begun planting one million tree seedlings to address the menace of climate change in the state.
Kano State Commissioner for Environment, Dr Kabiru Getso
The State’s Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim-Getso, made the disclosure at a press briefing on the 2021 tree planting campaign at the ministry’s conference room in Kano, the state capital.
The theme of this year tree-planting campaign, is “Mitigating climate change effects and achieving beautification in Kano state”.
The State Government planted two million tree seedlings in 2020 to control flood and desert encroachment.
According to him, last year, Kano State experienced extreme heat with maximum temperature of about 44 degrees celsius which attributed to inadequate trees thereby having an adverse effect on the environment.
“This will checkmate menace of indiscriminate feeling of tress, climate change, soil erosion, land degradation as well as enhance productivity of agricultural land and decrease the rare of desertification process.
“The campaign will last two weeks and has been divided into two phases.
“The first phase of the exercise will cover Bayero University Kano to Kabuga Road, Zaria Road and State Road while the second phase will be launched by the Governor of Kano State, Dr.Abdullahi Ganduje, at Yusuf Maitama Sule University main campus where 1,200 seedlings will be planted.
“The seedlings would be planted, shared across communities, state major roads, institutions such as churches, schools, hospitals, and mosques, among others,” he said.
He further explained that the “2021 tree planting campaign like the previous one of 2020 is designed to sensitive stakeholders on the importance of tree planting in the general environment.
He added that the effort is in fulfilment of the pledge of federal government and 36 Nigerian Governors to plant 25 million tree to mitigate climate change.
“Some of the benefits of planting tress include: supply of oxygen, improve air quality by absorbing pollutant gases, slows water evaporation and to prevent water pollution, and provision of food, medicine through various fruits, among others.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
According to him, the recently enacted Petroleum Industry Act, among other things, provides a framework for gas aggregation and penalties for gas flaring.
