SA News

Public health advocates from 12 African countries have converged on Lagos for a five-day training programme aimed at strengthening the continent's capacity to monitor and counter tobacco industry interference in public health policies. The training, organised by the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM), is being hosted in Nigeria for the first time and has attracted participants from Kenya, Nigeria, Benin, Botswana, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal and Zimbabwe. Speaking at the opening of the programme, ATIM Director and Head of the School of Health Systems and Public Health at the University of Pretoria, Prof. Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, said tobacco industry interference remains a major obstacle to effective tobacco control across Africa. He said the course was designed to equip advocates with the skills needed to proactively monitor, document and counter industry tactics through evidence-based research and ...

Governor Umo Bassey Eno ‎ By Lucy Daniel ‎ ‎ For decades, crude oil sustained Nigeria's economy, funding infrastructure and government programmes. But fluctuating global oil prices and the reality that petroleum is a finite resource have underscored an important truth: the future belongs to economies that can feed themselves. Agriculture is no longer just a rural occupation; it is fast becoming the new oil of the 21st century. ‎This vision is reflected in the Agricultural Revolution pillar of Governor Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, PhD's ARISE Agenda. His administration's distribution of agro-inputs to schools and support for farmers is more than a government programme. It is a strategic investment in food security, economic diversification, job creation and shared prosperity. ‎The distribution of cassava cuttings, hybrid maize seeds, improved coconut seedlings, pepper, pumpkin, tomato and okra seeds, alongside fertilizers, to 164 public secondary schools and 30 primary schools, a...

By Tunde Rahman When the 2023 presidential election results were announced, many analysts and commentators gave a largely unanimous verdict regarding the voting pattern in the South-east. The region had voted almost entirely along the ethnic line. The figures told part of the story: Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party swept the zone with over 1.8 million votes. In comparison, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress recorded just about 127,000 votes across the five South-east states. Three years into the President Tinubu administration, that electoral map is already being redrawn - not by rhetoric, but by landmark projects, appointments in strategic positions and deliberate political engagement. The South-east has historically complained of federal neglect, specifically in relation to federal presence. President Tinubu has moved to close that gap with visible infrastructure projects.  The federal projects, completed or ongoing in the zone, are now too numerous for one to l...

By Seye Oladejo,  Lagos APC Chieftain One of the recurring criticisms against successive governments in Nigeria has been the inability of millions of hardworking young people to access affordable financing for their businesses. Across the country, countless brilliant business ideas have remained on the drawing board, not because of a lack of talent or determination, but because conventional financial institutions have erected nearly insurmountable barriers in the form of collateral requirements, guarantors, and prohibitively expensive lending conditions. The launch of the YOUTHCRED for Entrepreneurs Initiative by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is therefore much more than another government programme. It is a strategic intervention that addresses several socio-economic challenges simultaneously. It is, indeed, an initiative that kills several birds with one stone. The programme’s design reflects a deep understanding of the realities facing Nigeria’s youth. By making ...

The Nigeria Police Force has commenced disciplinary proceedings against four officers captured in a viral video allegedly displaying unprofessional conduct and making derogatory ethnic remarks during a stop-and-search operation on the Lagos-Benin Expressway. The Force in a statement by its spokesman, CSP Ani Iniedu, said the officers, comprising one Assistant Superintendent of Police and three Inspectors, have been identified and taken into custody pending an orderly room trial. Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, directed the Commissioner of Police in Ondo State to carry out a comprehensive and transparent investigation to determine the level of involvement of each officer and recommend appropriate disciplinary measures. According to the Police, the conduct seen in the video does not reflect the values and professional standards of the Nigeria Police Force. The Force stressed that ethnic profiling and disrespect towards any citizen would not be tolerated, warning that o...

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has stressed that responsible handling of personal data is central to its anti-corruption mandate, saying public confidence depends on the Commission's ability to protect sensitive information. ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), stated this while declaring open a one-day sensitisation and awareness programme on data protection and privacy for officers and staff at the Commission's headquarters in Abuja. Represented by the Director of Legal Services, Henry Emore, the chairman said the Commission handles large volumes of personal information relating to petitioners, suspects, witnesses, complainants, employees, contractors and members of the public in the course of its investigations. He noted that every personal record in the Commission's custody represents an individual's dignity, privacy and trust, making it imperative for officers to process and safeguard such information lawfully a...