NEWS
Solar Cells, game changer for nation’s alternative power sources – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari, in the course of the week, directed the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to produce more solar cells to boost the alternative power sources in the country.
Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Haruna made this known to State House correspondents after briefing the president on the activities of the Agency on Friday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the president gave the directive when the Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, updated him on the activities of the Agency on Friday in Abuja.
President Buhari is the Chairman of NASENI.
According to Haruna, the president also directed the implementation of modular irrigation project and the production of more farm implements, to boost agricultural activities.
President Buhari also received a delegation of SUN Africa LLC, USA, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Aug. 4.
Speaking at the event, Buhari expressed the hope that the rapid integration of solar power into the country’s energy mix woujd lead to an increase in electricity access to underserved and unserved communities.
According to him, the Federal Government has embarked on several reforms aimed at revitalizing Nigeria’s energy sector aimed at improving energy access to communities across the country.
He commended the interest of the U.S. developer to invest in Nigeria’s power sector.
He pledged that the Federal Government would remain committed to collaborating with the private sector in improving energy access, creating jobs and industrial development.
The president highlighted some of the reforms embarked upon by this administration to address Nigeria’s energy needs.
Earlier in the week, the president received Letters of Credence of Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. James Christoff and Ambassador of Mexico to Nigeria, Juan Oritz, on Tuesday in Abuja.
At the event, Buhari commended collective efforts of nations towards tackling security challenges across the globe, and within Nigeria, urging more collaboration to check terrorism, banditry and insurgency.
The Nigerian leader told the diplomats that successes in taming insecurity had been recorded through collaboration across borders, and more could be achieved.
President Buhari, on Aug. 3, administered the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Office on three new Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Civil Service.
NAN reports that the Permanent Secretaries include Lydia Jafiya from Adamawa; Udom Okokon Ekenam from Akwa Ibom and Farouk Yabo from Sokoto State.
The president performed the ceremony shortly before the commencement of the weekly virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), at the Council Chambers of the presidential villa, Abuja.
The FEC meeting approved 2.59 billion dollars for the development of Badagry Deep Seaport in Lagos State.
The council also approved N2.6 billion for the procurement of utility vehicles and gadgets for security agencies operating in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The APC National Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu presented the newly appointed Director-General of the party’s Presidential Campaign Organisation, Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau to President Buhari.
The presentation was made at the State House Abuja on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the chairman also introduced the party’s presidential campaign spokesperson, Mr Festus Keyamo to the president.
Adamu was accompanied by the presidential candidate of the APC, Sen. Bola Tinubu, alongside the vice presidential candidate of the party, Sen. Kashim Shettima.
The president also congratulated two of his aides, Sarki Abba and Amb. Lawal Kazaure, on being conferred with the highest civilian national honours of Niger Republic.
Abba is the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Household and Domestic Matters while Kazaure is the State Chief of Protocol.
Also during the week under review, President Buhari joined the entertainment industry, particularly artistes and musicians, in commiserating with ace instrumentalist, singer and song writer, Bongos Ikwue, who lost his wife, Josephine Ifeyinwa, 73.
He also joined family, friends and associates in mourning the death of former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mustapha Balogun.
President Buhari had sent condolences to family, friends and associates of Prof. Akin Mabogunje, who passed on at 90.
Buhari declared that Mabogunje’s “departure will be greatly felt by the nation, especially the academia”.
President Buhari also condoled with former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, over the demise of his elder sister, Mrs Maryamu Dimka, who died on Wednesday.
Maryamu was the wife of Late Commissioner of Police, Mr S.K. Dimka, and survived by children including Mrs Elizabeth Rimdans, one time Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra and Bauchi State.
The President of the African School of Governance, Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu has admonished state actors against resorting to brutal force in the bid to muscle out separatist agitators.
In the aftermath of Mazi Simon Ekpa, the Finland based Biafran nationalist agitator being caught in legal web and the Nigerian government moving swiftly to seek his repatriation, the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned that ‘We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.’
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The political economist, while expressing his hope in Nigeria, made it clear that “hope is not a strategy”.
He bared his mind in a series of posts on his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X on Friday.
Moghalu wrote, “Despite sustained contemporary difficulties, I am hopeful about Nigeria. But hope is not a strategy. We need to improve state capacity for effective governance.
“We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.
“We must learn to be honest with ourselves and address the root causes of our problems. Why ignore them, when the problem is actually quite solvable? The problem with continuing with this approach is that when the danger crystallizes, those who thought they were benefiting from
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
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