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UK gives $13.7 million to FAO’s emergency operations to help food producers in conflict-affected country
ROME – The Government of the United Kingdom has released $13.7 million in emergency funding to FAO to help conflict-affected families in South Sudan restore their agriculture-based livelihoods and stave off an increasingly alarming food security situation.
“Some seven million people are facing the risk of hunger, including nearly one million people who have fled their homes as a result of the fighting and the fear it generates. It’s not only people who are being displaced. Over ten million head of livestock have been taken away from their usual grazing routes,” says Sue Lautze, who heads FAO’s team in South Sudan.
The support for FAO’s work from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) comes at a critical time.
“We are working under intense deadlines” says Lautze. “We have an extremely tight window in which to deliver seeds and other vitally-needed inputs to farmers. It’s already starting to rain in some areas. Once the rain comes, it is too late to plant and vast areas become inaccessible.”
DFID’s GBP 8.3 million ($13.7 million) grant will ensure that FAO is able to reach households in time so that they can get seeds in the ground during the current planting season.
FAO has appealed for $77 million to assist about 2.3 million people with immediate support designed to help them plant rapidly-maturing vegetables and staple crops, as well as to catch fish and contain livestock diseases.
FAO’s support is built around a two-pronged approach that helps vulnerable households in conflict-affected areas begin to rebuild their shattered livelihoods, while also providing support to farmers in non-conflict-affected areas. FAO can work with those farmers to increase the supply of food in the coming months, to help mitigate the impact of the looming food crisis.
“We have an important window of opportunity to help millions of people in South Sudan, but we have no time to lose in this increasingly alarming situation,” Lautze said.
“Funding from generous partners like the United Kingdom helps FAO to support people in setting up farming and marketing operations wherever they are, keeping their livestock fed and vaccinated, and getting equipment to catch fish.”
FAO is putting together a range of different emergency livelihood kits, in the range of $30 each. One kit can provide either six months of staple crops for one family, a year’s worth of diversified and nutrient-rich vegetables, animal health services for 80 families for one month, or enough fish to feed 20 families a day.
In less affected parts of the country, the success of the main planting season will be critical for medium-term food security in the country. In Western Equatoria, which has had the highest production rates in the country over the past five years, farmers have not been directly affected by the conflict and have already started preparing their fields.
Farmers are concerned that the crisis has disrupted input supply chains, markets and development initiatives throughout the country. FAO aims to help them gain access to quality seeds, tools, training and other support needed to ensure reasonable production in 2014. This is important for ensuring food availability later this year, particularly given the country’s current cereal production deficit of 400 000 tonnes.
FAO directly supports farmers through its seed-multiplication programmes, through which producers in less affected states produce seeds for humanitarian operations in conflict-affected areas in eastern states.
Millions at risk
Of the seven million people considered to be at risk of some level of food insecurity, some 3.7 million people were estimated to be facing acute or emergency levels of food insecurity in February. UN agencies and non-governmental organizations together have called for $1.27 billion to meet urgent humanitarian needs in the first half of 2014.
FAO has mobilized more than $6 million to date and is in discussion with a variety of donors for another $25 million, but available funding falls far short of what is needed to get help to families.
“Time is of the essence given that most of the roads in the most affected states will be flooded during the rainy season,” Lautze added. “We will need to consider switching from delivering by road to delivering by air. This is both more expensive and less effective, but we must do everything we can to help in this time of need.”
The Labour Party has commended former President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat in the 2015 presidential election, saying his decision demonstrated that political power was not worth the blood of Nigerians.
The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, made the statement on Tuesday in Bauchi State while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue.
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The event, organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, was themed, “Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and the Judiciary Save African Democracy?”
Usman said Nigeria’s democracy survived the tensions surrounding the 2015 election because Jonathan chose to put the national interest above his desire to remain in office.
She said, “Nigeria’s democracy survived the doomsday predictions of bookmakers in 2015 because of President Jonathan’s concession of defeat in that year’s election, even before the final votes were tallied.”
According to her, Jonathan’s approach to politics was exceptional, particularly because he had consistently maintained that neither his election nor remaining in power was worth the blood of any Nigerian.
Usman stated, “Such a principled approach to politics had never before been witnessed on the Nigerian political horizon. Jonathan, from the inception of his presidency, consistently maintained that neither his election nor remaining in power was worth the blood of any Nigerian.”
She added that Jonathan demonstrated the sincerity of his position when the 2015 election tested his commitment to the principle.
The Labour Party chairman urged politicians preparing for the 2027 general elections to emulate Jonathan’s non-violent approach to politics, respect democratic rules and place national interest above personal ambitions.
She also questioned whether politicians seeking the presidency in 2027 would be prepared to make similar sacrifices for national unity, particularly amid inflammatory rhetoric from some political camps.
Usman further recalled the saying attributed to Warren Buffett that someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
She argued that Nigerians are able to practise democracy today partly because Jonathan made sacrifices at a critical moment.
On the Labour Party’s preparations for the 2027 elections, Usman described the party as the most structured opposition political party in Nigeria.
She said the Labour Party’s relationship with the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress had strengthened its political structure nationwide.
Usman claimed that the party remained the only opposition party with a realistic presence across Nigeria’s 186,000 polling units.
She said, “With the combined strength of the NLC and the TUC, both of which are constitutional members of the party, no Nigerian political party is better positioned to show the APC government the exit door than the Labour Party.”
The democracy dialogue attracted several political leaders and dignitaries, including former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Others included former Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang, APC Deputy National Chairman, South, Dr Ben Nwoye, and the Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu.
The dialogue provided a platform for discussions on strengthening democratic institutions, the role of political parties and the judiciary, and preventing democratic reversals across Africa.
Nigeria has recorded another major achievement on the international stage as the Mountain Top Chorale of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) emerged champion of the 2026 World Choir Games in Helsingborg, Sweden.
The Nigerian choir clinched the gold medal in the Spiritual Category (C14), scoring an impressive 87.38 points in the competition conducted by Oluwasegun Okedunmola.
The feat was celebrated by the General Overseer of MFM, Daniel Olukoya, who described the victory as a major moment of pride for Nigeria and the ministry.
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In a Monday Facebook post, Olukoya wrote, “A CHAMPION’S SOUND! GOLD FOR MOUNTAIN TOP CHORALE!”
According to him, the choir secured two major honours at the 2026 competition, including the gold medal in the Spiritual Category and the overall championship in the Champions Competition.
He said the achievement went beyond music, describing it as a demonstration of “discipline, excellence, dedication, teamwork and the power of using our gifts to glorify God.”
Olukoya also commended the choristers, conductor, leadership of the choir and everyone whose sacrifices and commitment contributed to the success.
The World Choir Games, organised by Interkultur, is regarded as the world’s largest international choir competition. The 2026 edition is being held in Helsingborg from August 6 to 16.
The host organisation said about 8,500 singers from more than 40 countries are participating, with more than 160 choirs taking part in the competition, concerts and other activities.
The 2026 edition is also the first time the World Choir Games are being held in Sweden.
Mountain Top Chorale’s victory places the Nigerian choir among the top performers at the global choral event and further highlights Nigeria’s presence in international gospel and choral music.
Celebrating the achievement, Olukoya said, “From Nigeria to the world, Mountain Top Chorale has raised the banner high.”
He concluded his message by congratulating the choir and giving glory to God for the historic achievement.
Former presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resign over what he described as “failure in governance,” drawing comparisons with political accountability in other democracies following the resignation announcement of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
In a statement posted on his official X account on Monday, Obi said he had followed Starmer’s resignation speech and reflected on what he described as the importance of leadership responsibility in democratic governance.
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“As a keen observer of global politics, my primary interest lies in examining what successful nations do right and the structural factors that cause others to lag or struggle with governance and development,” Obi said.
He noted that Starmer’s decision followed growing public dissatisfaction over economic challenges, rising cost of living, and unmet campaign promises in the United Kingdom.
Obi then drew parallels with Nigeria, recalling that before the 2015 general elections, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had repeatedly called on then-President Goodluck Jonathan to resign over insecurity.
“During the Chibok school kidnapping incident, he demanded the immediate resignation of President Jonathan, arguing that the government had failed in its most fundamental duty of protecting lives,” Obi stated.
He also referenced campaign promises made by Tinubu during the 2023 elections, including commitments to improve electricity supply, tackle corruption, and enhance the welfare of Nigerians.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made several promises, including improved electricity supply. He also challenged the electorate not to vote for him for a second term if he failed to deliver on those commitments,” Obi said.
According to him, conditions in the country have since deteriorated, with persistent power shortages, worsening insecurity, and deepening economic hardship.
“At present, however, these conditions have worsened. Electricity supply remains unreliable, insecurity has intensified in many areas, including kidnappings, and economic hardship has deepened rather than eased,” he added.
Obi further argued that other sectors, including infrastructure, transportation, and anti-corruption efforts, had also suffered setbacks, insisting that Nigeria is currently in “the worst possible condition.”
The opposition figure therefore called on President Tinubu to step down, saying such a move would promote accountability in public office.
“I, therefore, join Nigerians of goodwill in calling for the resignation of the President over monumental failure in governance,” Obi said.
He added that resignation would help foster “a political culture rooted in accountability and responsibility” and reinforce the idea that “public office is a sacred trust, not an entitlement,” stressing the need for what he called “a New Nigeria that is possible.”
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