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Customs intercept 553 parcels of Indian hemp at Seme border

Mustapha USMAN
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Customs intercept 553 parcels of Indian hemp at Seme border

THE Seme Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted 553 parcels of cannabis sativa worth N10 million.

The Command in a statement by the Customs Area Controller of Seme Customs, Dera Nnadi on Friday, April 22, disclosed that four suspects were arrested in connection with the development.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nnadi said officers of the Command, while on routine patrol along the Abidjan – Lagos Corridor, at about 4:03 pm on April 21, intercepted a Ford Bus with registration number, EPE 622 YC at Gbatrome, Badagry.

Following a search on the bus, seven large sacks containing 553 parcels of cannabis sativa, also known as Indian hemp, were discovered.

He explained that four male occupants of the vehicle – two civilians and two members of an unnamed security agency – conveying the contraband items were arrested.

According to Nnadi, the contraband narcotics and the vehicles used in conveying them were taken to the station at Seme and detained pending further investigations.

“Also taken to the station are the four male suspects who have volunteered statements.”

Nnadi noted that the two members of the unnamed security agency were handed over to their organisation for further necessary action.

Preliminary investigation following the questioning of the suspects revealed that the Indian hemp was destined for Kaduna State.

Meanwhile, Nnadi condemned the nefarious activities of some members of the society who have no consideration for the damaging effects of hard drugs, which contribute to crime in the country.

He urged members of the society who traversed the Seme corridor to take advantage of the trade facilitation effort of the Nigeria Customs Service and engage in legitimate business.

He also advised all officers and men of the Command and sister border agencies along the corridor to remain vigilant and alert during the Sallah celebration as smugglers may take advantage of the public holidays to engage in snuggling and other criminal activities.

67 million children missed out on vaccinations globally in 3 years

Mustapha USMAN
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67 million children missed out on vaccinations globally in 3 years

THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that 67 million children missed out on vaccinations across different countries of the world between 2019 and 2021.

UNICEF Nigeria Health Manager Dr. Dorothy Ochola-Odongo, disclosed this during a news conference held on the State of the World Children report, in Abuja.

According to her, the State of the World Report stated that vaccine confidence is volatile and time specific, warning that a total of 67 million children missed out on vaccinations between 2019 and 2021, with vaccination coverage levels decreasing in 112 countries.

“In 2022, for example, the number of measles cases was more than double the total in the previous year.

“Of the 67 million children who missed out on routine vaccination between 2019 and 2022, 48 million did not receive a single routine vaccine, also known as “zero-dose”.

“As of the end of 2021, India and Nigeria (both countries with very large birth cohorts) had the largest numbers of zero-dose children, with Nigeria having two million ‘zero-dose’ children.”

Ochola-Orongo further promised to work with Community Health Influencers, Promoters and Services (CHIPS) agents to increase awareness on routine immunisation in Nigeria.

She said it is important to have CHIPS agents participate fully in the social mobilisation activities, to inspire confidence in parents and caregivers in the communities.

“We have to make sure that we inspire confidence in parents and caregivers within the communities for them to be able to accept the vaccine.

“What we are doing within this area is working with a network of voluntary community mobilisers in the states that are most affected.

“These volunteer community organisers, who are selected by the communities, are good listeners and communicators and can convince the public about the importance of making their children vaccinated.

“They are trusted and we are investing a lot on this so that you can gain that confidence in the community,” she said.

Speaking on vaccine storage, she noted that it is very critical that they are stored in the right place and in the right quality.

According to her, the whole chain system is expected to be expanded so that there would be enough space to be able to store the vaccines as close near to the population as possible.

She also stressed that UNICEF is in partnership with GAVI to expand the cold chain stores in Lagos, Abuja and Kano.

“So, we need refrigerators, which may not necessarily be powered only by electricity because we know the electricity gaps in this country.”

Ochola-Odongo also highlighted the impact of misinformation, disinformation, and information disseminated with malicious intent on the effectiveness of immunisation.

“Building the capacity of relevant stakeholders, such as healthcare workers and the media, through training and the provision of access to useful infodemic management resources has proven to be an effective approach.

“Engaging communities through identified trusted sources of information is an effective approach, as it helps to build trust through timely communication that is specific to the local context,” she explained.

United Nation annual report on Children’s Health

Also, the United Nations on Wednesday, April 19 in its annual report on the state of children’s health, disclosed that 67 million children partially or fully missed routine vaccines globally between 2019 and 2021 because of lockdowns and health care disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“More than a decade of hard-earned gains in routine childhood immunization have been eroded,” a report by UN’s children’s agency, UNICEF, said, adding that getting back on track “will be challenging”.

Of the 67 million children whose vaccinations were “severely disrupted,” 48 million missed out on routine vaccines entirely, UNICEF said, flagging concerns about potential polio and measles outbreaks.

The report stressed that Africa and South Asia were particularly hard hit with low vaccination coverage during that period. 

The percentage of children vaccinated worldwide slipped 5 points to 81 per cent – a low not seen since 2008 as a result of decline in vaccine coverage among children in 112 countries

“Worryingly, the backsliding during the pandemic came at the end of a decade when, in broad terms, growth in childhood immunization had stagnated,” the report said.

Meanwhile, in April 5, 2023, The ICIR reported how Kano state recorded high vaccination coverage for Coronavirus.

The report explained how Islamic clerics  helped to drive high vaccination in the state. COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Kano had initially suffered a setback due to an ugly experience with a failed Pfizer vaccine trial in the state and a deluge of misinformation.

Data in the report shows that Kano has vaccinated 100 per cent of its targeted residents.

Why we can’t evacuate Nigerians trapped in Sudan — FG

Beloved JOHN
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Why we can’t evacuate Nigerians trapped in Sudan — FG

THE Federal Government will not be able to evacuate Nigerians trapped in Sudan due to the risks involved in flight operations in the country.

Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) Chairperson, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday, April 21.

According to her, the Commission, in collaboration with the Nigerian Mission in Sudan and the National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA), made arrangements for the evacuation of Nigerians trapped in the country.

However, it is risky for any flight to operate whilst the war is ongoing, she explained.

The ICIR earlier reported that non-adherence to calls for ceasefire by the warring parties — the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – had made it difficult for the Federal Government to evacuate Nigerians in Sudan.

Dabiri-Erewa stated that aircrafts parked at the airport in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, were burnt on Thursday morning.

“Nigerian Mission in Sudan and NEMA have put in place arrangements to evacuate Nigerian students and other Nigerian citizens stranded in Sudan. The tense situation makes it gravely risky and impossible for any flight at this point. Aircrafts parked at the airport in the country were burnt yesterday morning,” she said in a statement signed by Gabriel Odu of the Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit of NIDCOM, on Friday.

She also noted that there are efforts by humanitarian groups to get food, water and medicals across to people affected by the conflict.

Dabiri-Erewa urged the “fighting parties to consider the Juba Peace Agreement enunciated by Intergovernmental Authority on Development, as fundamental mechanism for the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the country”.

Nigeria and Sudan have had a close relationship since 1960. About 10,000 Nigerian students are studying in the country, and thousands of other Nigerians are engaged in businesses in the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said more than 400 people have been killed and over 3,500 others hurt due to the civil unrest in Sudan.

The United Nations public health agency also disclosed at least 11 attacks on health facilities had been recorded in the country since the war broke out. 

At a press briefing in Geneva on Friday, April 21, the WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said: “413 have died and 3,551 people have been injured that we know of.”

“The war has not only affected the people who have been injured during this terrible fighting but the people who needed treatment before. It is also taking a devastating toll on the country’s children,” she added.

Also speaking on the crisis in Sudan, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said at least nine children have been killed and more than 50 wounded.

He warned that the fighting has put the lives of Sudanese children suffering from malnutrition at risk.

“Sudan already has one of the highest rates of malnutrition among children in the world,” Elder told reporters. “And now critical life-saving care for an estimated 50,000 severely acutely malnourished children has been disrupted. This is life threatening.”

Among those affected by the conflict are hundreds of Nigerians, including students, living in the country. The students have appealed to the Federal Government to evacuate them.

However, the refusal of the two sides to embrace calls for ceasefire has made it difficult to evacuate Nigerians trapped in Sudan.

Two men are at the heart of the clashes: Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

The duo have been allies until recently. They had worked together to topple the ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and played a pivotal role in the military coup in 2021.

However, the tension began during negotiations to integrate the RSF into the country’s military as part of plans to restore civilian rule. The clash between the duo and their loyalists is considered a struggle for dominance in Sudan.

Confusion as Health ministry hints at 50% increase on tobacco tax

Harrison EDEH
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Confusion as Health ministry hints at 50% increase on tobacco tax

CONFUSION is the word now on a possible hike in tobacco tax after a hint by the ministry of Health of implementation of a planned 50 per cent increase of the tax.

Some industry experts would rather ignore the Health ministry’s disclosure, arguing that the ministry of Finance, and not Health, is the government body empowered by the relevant Act to announce such fiscal policy issues.

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The Head of the Tobacco Control Unit, Non-communicable Disease Division, Federal Ministry of Health, Mangai Malau, had mentioned the planned tax increase on Tuesday April 18 at the National Tobacco Control Budget Advocates Meeting in Abuja.

Malau said jacking up tobacco tax was part of government’s effort to control smoking.

The Health ministry’s top official, in his paper, ‘Overview of Tobacco Control Funding/Budgeting in Nigeria: Why Tobacco Control Budgeting and Funding?’, said that funding for the control must come mostly from taxation, but added the need for relevant stakeholders to apply tax measures rightly if they would properly address the issue.

He stated, “In effectively controlling tobacco and tobacco products in Nigeria, funding is a critical component. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recognises this and clearly stipulates it in Article 26.

“It states that parties shall provide financial support in respect of its national activities intended to achieve the objective of the Convention, in accordance with its national plans, priorities and programmes.”

Some industry stakeholders, arguing that the government must find a balance between enhanced revenue generation and dissuading addicted tobacco Nigerians, said a 50 per cent tax rise could discourage local tobacco producers and fuel smuggling. This, they maintained, could be counter-productive and rob the government of the expected revenue.

The ministry of Finance has not officially given its position on the 50 per cent tax hike, but the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) had, after a visit to the ministry of Finance on April 5, said in an official statement issued by its director-general, Segun Kadir, that the tax hike on tobacco had been postponed.

Kadir actually applauded what he called the Federal government’s decision to halt the proposed increase in excise duty on alcohol, non-alcoholic beverages and tobacco, a position that would seem contrary to Malau’s statement.

MAN warned in the statement that a new tax imposed on carbonated drinks and others would be counter-productive, and that government should devise other means of generating revenue rather than stifling the productive sector, which is already gasping for breath.

A former director-general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and now executive director of the Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Muda Yusuf, wondered how the policy statement on increase in tax on tobacco was coming from the ministry of Finance and not Health.

“There is an original schedule of increase on this with the Federal Ministry of Finance, which has not been officially announced. Policy statements like this should come from the Finance Ministry, not Health,” Yusuf told The ICIR.

According to him, the yet-to-be released fiscal policy document for 2023 that would give further policy direction on excise duty on tobacco and carbonated drinks from the ministry of Finance was not yet out.

“This is where there is a concern. We would have to wait for the fiscal policy document from the Finance ministry, which would give direction on a policy statement like this,” Yusuf said.

A development economist, Celestine Okeke, also called on the government to create balance between enhanced revenue generation and proper health advocacy on tobacco.

“In as much as the government is looking intensely for revenue, there must be proper lessons on how other economies have done it so we could learn,” Okeke said.

Malau pointed out that funding is a major provision of the National Tobacco Control Act, adding that Section 8 of the Act provides for the Tobacco Control Fund, which shall be used to fund tobacco control activities programmes and projects.

“Tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smokers is a leading cause of mortality, morbidity, disability, and impoverishment in the world,” he said.

He stressed that smoking is the greatest risk factor for non-communicable diseases like hypertension, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

“Accordingly, tobacco causes more than eight million deaths annually around the world, with more than seven million of those deaths as a result of direct tobacco use.

“And there are about 1.2 million resulting from non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. Also, there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke, and even a brief exposure can be harmful to one’s health,” he added.

The Nigerian government, concerned about the threat from tobacco usage, signed the World Health Organisation Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2004, which it ratified in 2005.

In 2015, the National Tobacco Control Act was enacted and its Regulations were passed in 2019.

I will leave for Niger Republic if they disturb me in Daura – Buhari

Vincent Ufuoma
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I will leave for Niger Republic if they disturb me in Daura – Buhari

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said he would leave for neighbouring Niger Republic after handing over as President if he is not able to get enough rest in Daura, his home town in Katsina State.

Buhari said this while addressing guests who came to celebrate with him on the occasion of the Sallah Day in at the State House on Friday, April 21.

Buhari, in a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, stated that he can’t wait to retire to Daura, far away from Abuja, in order to get some respite after years of work.

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“I can’t wait to go home to Daura,” he said.

“If they make any noise to disturb me in Daura, I will leave for the Niger Republic.”

“I deliberately arranged to be as far away as possible. I got what I wanted and will quietly retire to my hometown,” he added.

The President said he remains grateful to Nigerians who voted him in 2015 and 2019 without any monetary incentive, with some trooping to campaign rallies in different states just to catch a glimpse of him.

He told his audience that his journey was not all smooth, and he was incarcerated for three years after the coup that ousted him from power in August 1984.

Buhari noted that he contested elections three times in 2003, 2007 and 2011 without success.

He said the flaunting of ethnic and religious cards in elections was “rubbish” as the presiding justices at the Supreme Court that squashed his cases in previous elections he contested before 2015, were Northern Muslims from Zaria in Kaduna State, Niger, and Jigawa states.

He highlighted the strengths of democracy as a system of government, particularly in providing opportunity to participate and fostering a sense of belonging among citizens.

“God gave me an incredible opportunity to serve the country. We are all humans; if I have hurt some people along the line of my service to the country, I ask that they pardon me. All those that I have hurt, I ask that they pardon me.

“I think it is a good coincidence for me to say goodbye to you, and thank you for tolerating me for almost eight years,” the President said.

The ICIR reported that Niger Republic has been the  centrepiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy under the Buhari’s administration in the last seven years.

Checks by The ICIR show that the neighbouring West African country has received more attention from the Nigerian government and enjoyed a more special, closer relationship with Nigeria than other African countries under Buhari.

Nigeria under Buhari embarked on a $2 billion railway that runs from Kano State to Maradi in Niger Republic. Maradi, the second-largest city in Niger Republic, is regarded as the centre of the country’s developing oil industry. Buhari performed the ground-breaking ceremony of the new rail line on February 9, 2021.

In 2020, Nigerians were shocked after the Nigerian government, through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government of Niger Republic for the importation of petroleum products from that country, a country that only joined the league of oil-producing countries in 2012.

The action was criticised by some Nigerians, particularly oil and gas industry stakeholders, who questioned the sincerity of Buhari’s roadmap on local refining, which involves introducing modular refineries in Nigeria.

Apart from other interventions, including agreeing in principle to cooperate on building an oil pipeline and refinery with Niger Republic in 2018, the Buhari administration again came under intense criticism last year after it approved the purchase and donation of vehicles worth N1.4 billion to Niger Republic.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, told journalists that the donation was to help Niger Republic address its security concerns.

She said such donations by Nigeria to its neighbours were common.

Reacting to Nigerians who had expressed shock and displeasure over the action, Ahmed said it is the President’s prerogative to take such decisions after a careful assessment of the situation.

Foreign affairs experts, who analysed Nigeria’s relationship with Niger Republic in separate interviews with The ICIR in 2021, suggested that although the country have had cordial relations with neighbouring countries, personal motives may have informed Buhari’s emphasis on Niger Republic.

A former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Bola Akinterinwa, told The ICIR that Buhari has a ‘personal relationship’ with Niger Republic but he did not explain the nature of the relationship to Nigerians.

“Buhari has relationship with them (Niger Republic) but I don’t think that is why he may be giving priority there. If Buhari is trying to give priority to Niger Republic it may be because of his own personal affiliation to them, you can’t rule that one out,” he said.

Forgive me my sins, Buhari begs Nigerians

Marcus FATUNMOLE
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0
Forgive me my sins, Buhari begs Nigerians

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has pleaded for forgiveness from Nigerians as he rounds off his tenure in office.

The President begged for forgiveness in a Sallah message he delivered on Friday, April 21, while hosting some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who paid him a visit at his residence in the Presidential Villa, in Abuja.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Muhammed Bello, led the visitors.

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Buhari said he accepted all the complaints and criticisms directed at him in good faith because they were part of the leadership attributes he asked from God.

“God gave me an incredible opportunity to serve the country. We are all humans. If I have hurt some people along the line of my service to the country, I ask that they pardon me.

“All those that I have hurt, I ask that they pardon me,” the President said during the visit of the FCT residents, according to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

Buhari thanked Nigerians for the honour given him to serve the nation for two terms (2015-2023) as an elected President.

Though he did not name anyone he offended, The ICIR reports that the President’s administration brought sorrow and suffering to Nigerians.

In December 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) redesigned the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.

Many Nigerians took their old notes to the banks, hoping to exchange them for new ones.

For many weeks, people in the country could not get the new notes, which were very scarce in circulation.

In one of its many reports on the hardship the policy brought to Nigerians, The ICIR reported how Nigerians went nude, fought in banks and engaged in other habits that counted as offences when things were normal.

It took a Supreme Court ruling before the CBN released the old notes back into circulation to ease the acute pains faced by the citizens.

The CBN obeyed the Supreme Court ruling ten days after the court gave its judgement.

Buhari authorised the naira redesign policy initiated by the CBN.

Another issue which brought hardship to Nigerians under the President was a series of strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The ICIR reported how ASUU members went on strike for 600 days under Buhari since he became President in 2015. – the longest under any president in the country.

Inflation has reached its highest under the President, causing prices of foods and other basic needs to soar beyond the reach of the poor.

Under the President’s watch, thousands of Nigerian6 have been killed by insurgents. Several children have been orphaned by insurgency, banditry, inter/intra communal conflicts, farmers-herders feuds and related crises.

In 2021 alone, out of the President’s eight years in office, over 10,000 people reportedly died in the country due to insecurity.

Thousands of people are being killed in Kaduna and Benue states by non-state actors, with the Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom accusing the President of complacency.

While the government has succeeded in building massive infrastructures, confronting and neutralizing criminals through its security forces, many Nigerians believe it could do more, especially in tackling corruption, which remains rife.

On the economy, local and foreign companies in Nigeria have folded up, and many Nigerians have lost their means of livelihood. In 2022, The ICIR reported how giant industries were silently disappearing under Buhari’s watch.

The ICIR reports that these challenges, and much more, were inherited by Buhari, who rose to power on his vow to tackle them. But the crises remain as he leaves office in less than 40 days.

“With less than 37 days left in office, the President recounted his leadership roles in the country for more than forty years, serving variously as a military officer, military governor, minister, and Head of State, and returning as a democratically elected President in 2015,” the statement released by Adesina on Friday said.

Buhari recounted how he was incarcerated for three years after the coup that ousted him from power in August 1984 and contested elections three times, 2003, 2007 and 2011, without success.

“I dared the politicians and ended up at the Supreme Court three times. They laughed at me, and I responded, ‘God dey’. God sent technology to my rescue with Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC). The fraudulent people became unemployed,” the President was quoted as saying.

He frowned at the flaunting of ethnic and religious cards in elections, as witnessed in the 2023 general elections.

The President reiterated the need for the nation to strengthen its democracy because of its immense gains.

“I have been counting the years. Democracy is good. Otherwise, how can someone come from one end of the country to rule for eight years? My home town, Daura, is about eight kilometres to the Niger Republic.

“When the Minister of Interior wanted to shut down petrol stations ten kilometres from the border, there was a fuel station close to my house, and I pleaded if he could allow it to keep operating,” he added.

The President said he decided to retire to Daura to get some respite after years of work.

“I can’t wait to go home to Daura. If they make any noise to disturb me in Daura, I will leave for the Niger Republic. I deliberately arranged to be as far away as possible. I got what I wanted and will quietly retire to my home town. In spite of technology, it will not be easy to get to Daura,” he said.

Nigeria’s off-grid market programme impacting rural economy – NOMAP

Harrison EDEH
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0
Nigeria’s off-grid market programme impacting rural economy – NOMAP

THE Nigeria Off-grid Market Acceleration Programme (NOMAP) says its solar home system projects are creating opportunities and supporting the growth and development of the rural economy.

NOMAP, at a stakeholder meeting with government policymakers, development finance institutions, and donor partners on April 13 in Abuja, praised the five-year project in the off-grid electricity market and highlighted the progress made in closing the gap in the market.

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The theme of the meeting was,  ‘Productive Use of Energy: Beyond Mini-grid Viability.’

The NOMAP project, founded in 2018, was designed as a major neutral market-building entity focused on accelerating off-grid energy access in Nigeria.

A report sighted by The ICIR at the event revealed that mini-grid in Nigeria continues to struggle with capacity utilisation and commercial viability constraints.

“Incidentally, most mini-grids operate in agrarian communities where post-harvest losses are significantly high because of limited options for storage and processing. Post-harvest losses currently cost the country N3.5 trillion (USD 8 billion) annually,” NOMAP said.

It further noted that while efforts were being made to stimulate demand for electricity in communities powered by mini-grids, developers were beginning to identify opportunities where electricity can be used for value addition, especially in the agro value chain.

NOMAP disclosed in the report that it was prioritising interventions that would lead to increased income and improved livelihoods for rural energy users.

“Our energy for growth approach supports productive use of energy,” the report noted.

It informed that it would soon be implementing interventions that would improve the policy environment for off-grid solutions at the sub-national level to scale the delivery of off-grid solutions.

 

Over 400 killed, 3,500 wounded in Sudan — WHO

Beloved JOHN
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0
Over 400 killed, 3,500 wounded in Sudan — WHO

MORE than 400 people have been killed and over 3,500 others hurt due to the civil unrest in Sudan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The United Nations public health agency also disclosed at least 11 attacks on health facilities had been recorded in the country since the war broke out. 

At a press briefing in Geneva on Friday, April 21, the WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said: “413 have died and 3,551 people have been injured that we know of.”

“The war has not only affected the people who have been injured during this terrible fighting but the people who needed treatment before.

“It is also taking a devastating toll on the country’s children,” she added.

Also speaking on the crisis in Sudan, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said at least nine children have been killed and more than 50 wounded.

He warned that the fighting has put the lives of Sudanese children suffering from malnutrition at risk.

“Sudan already has one of the highest rates of malnutrition among children in the world,” Elder told reporters. “And now critical life-saving care for an estimated 50,000 severely acutely malnourished children has been disrupted. This is life threatening.”

Elder said the children with the most critical cases of malnutrition in the country are being fed with tubes because that is the only way they can be fed.

He said, “When the bombing or shelling begins outside the hospital and where medical staff need to flee, then what?”

“We need forces to immediately cease hostilities and for all parties to respect their international obligations to protect children from harm.

“As long as fighting continues, children will continue to pay the price.

“The fighting means many families are trapped, with little or no access to electricity, terrified of running out of food, water and medicine.”

Two men are at the heart of the clashes: Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

The duo have been allies until recently. They had worked together to topple the ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and played a pivotal role in the military coup in 2021.

However, the tension began during negotiations to integrate the RSF into the country’s military as part of plans to restore civilian rule. The clash between the duo and their loyalists is considered a struggle for dominance in Sudan.

Among those affected by the conflict are hundreds of Nigerians, including students, living in the country. The students have appealed to the Federal Government to evacuate them.

However, the refusal of the two sides to embrace calls for ceasefire has made it difficult to evacuate Nigerians trapped in Sudan.

UK: Dowden named new deputy PM after Raab’s resignation

Oghenekevwe UCHECHUKWU
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UK: Dowden named new deputy PM after Raab’s resignation

OLIVER Dowden has been named Britain’s new Deputy Prime Minister following the resignation of Dominic Raab, who was found guilty of bullying staff during his time in government.

An independent probe by Adam Tolley KC upheld two of eight complaints levelled against Raab after finding he engaged in an ‘abuse or misuse of power’ that ‘undermines or humiliates’ while serving as foreign secretary, Brexit secretary and justice secretary.

Findings from the probe revealed that Raab’s conduct in the department had a ‘significant adverse effect’ on one colleague, but it cleared him of shouting or swearing at staff or raising his arms in a threatening manner as some of the complaints made about him had alleged.

It also revealed some of the complainants had never even met him, but were supporting colleagues and suggested staff had been upset by Raab’s ‘inquisitorial, direct, impatient and fastidious’ style, which included criticising their work to their face and interrupting them in meetings.

The former deputy prime minister had previously committed to resigning if the report indicted him.

“Whilst I feel duty-bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me,” he wrote in a resignation letter.

“I also believe that its two adverse findings are flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government.”

Raab accused civil servants of not being able to handle the high standards, pace and challenge that he brought. Some of his allies also branded the bullying claims against him ‘snowflake central’.

Government whip Joy Morrissey, tweeted: “Sadly, we now live in a country where the definition of bullying includes telling someone to do their job, where the slightest upset or annoyance is indulged with endless reports and inquiries”.

Meanwhile, former prisons minister Alex Chalk, has also been named the new Justice Secretary.

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