Ministers from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic plan to proceed with the establishment of a confederation, the Malian foreign ministry said on Thursday. This was as the three countries deepened ties via an alliance that threatened broader West African integration. All three were founding members of the regional bloc in 1975 but had been suspended following military coups that overthrew elected civilian governments. The procedures will “allow our alliance and the confederation to function efficiently and to the great joy” of the three countries’ populations, his Niger counterpart General Salifou Modi said. The juntas have all severed long-standing military ties with former colonial ruler France, dealing a blow to France’s influence in the Sahel and complicating international efforts to fight the militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

The PUNCH Media Foundation in collaboration with the U.S. Consulate, Lagos, will train some selected media cartoonists in editorial cartooning. An award-winning American editorial cartoonist, Barbara Brandon-Croft, is the primary facilitator of the workshop. Other resource persons are Tayo Fatunla, Ed Keazor, Abigail Ogwezzy, Muyiwa Kayode, Dr Akin Onipede, Dr Ganiyu Akinloye Jimoh, and Ayodele Elegba. The workshop, according to a statement on Thursday, aims to elevate the craft of editorial cartoonists in media houses across Nigeria “to foster innovation and build a vibrant community of cartoonists contributing to informed public discourse and promoting national development through editorial cartooning.”The workshop will feature interactive workshops, engagement with experts, networking opportunities, and panel discussions. Media houses lined up to participate include The PUNCH, Daily Trust, New Telegraph, The Sun, Tribune, The Will, Premium Times, The Guardian, Vanguard, Business Day, Daily Watch, Blueprint, and Triumph.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has called for an audit of the accounts of the party amid allegations of corruption against the LP National Chairman, Julius Abure. This was as Abure, on Thursday, challenged the suspended National Treasurer of the party, Oluchi Opara, to provide concrete evidence to back her N3.5bn fraud allegation against him. An emotional Opara however lamented that she felt betrayed, even by the LP presidential candidate, who, she said, was aware of the alleged fraud. Wading in on Thursday, the LP presidential candidate, Obi, said he had met with the party’s National Working Committee and advised on an audit of the party’s accounts to get to the root of the matter. Abure said, “I have never stopped Oluchi Oparah from carrying out her duties, including receiving money and signing cheques.

However, in the establishment of Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, I came up with a proposal to the president of IMA, Judge Bola Ajibola, SAN, as the Secretary-General of IMA in January 2003 for the organisation of IMA Intellectual Summit. The meeting with him at his home at the University of Ibadan was fruitful, as he was gladdened by our achievements with the IMA Nursery/Primary School, IMA Model College, IMA Library and Audio-Visual Centre, IMA Multipurpose Hall, IMA Guest House, IMA Mosque, IMA Hospital, IMA Hostels, Imam’s Lodge and others. The guests were invited from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Federal College of Education (FCE), Osiele, Abeokuta, University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin and Lagos State University. Others were University of Lagos, Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife and Nasrul-Lahi-il Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), Lagos. He then challenged the Muslim intellectuals for the setting up of the Muslim university in Abeokuta, and to come up with one, name of the university without his name as depicted by Islam; two, academic brief; three, University Law and four, University Master Plan.

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The Yoruba nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has said to tackle the insecurity and poverty presently ravaging the country, patience and careful planning would be required. Igboho’s response came following a statement credited to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar, regarding the rising insecurity and poverty in the country. “This worrisome development has been one of the major causes of food insecurity and increase in prices of food items and commodities. We need to allow the incumbent administration to explore all measures being deployed to address inflation, foreign exchange issues, and exorbitant foodstuff prices, which will soon yield results. Also, the plan to set up National Commodity Board will checkmate escalating food inflation.”.

It has been stressed that the issue of effective faecal sludge management and disposal is not any body’s business but the business of everyone to promote healthy living in society. He said that management and proper disposal of faecal sludge needs a multisectoral approach if the set objectives of healthy and hygienic living must be achieved. He therefore assured that UNICEF will continue to give the required technical support in order to achieve the set objectives of faecal management and disposal across the state. The BASEPA DG stressed the importance of effective faecal sludge management and disposal in a healthy environment as it will reduce the rate of infectious diseases, especially cholera. He assured that all the relevant government agencies will collaborate, study the outcome of the workshop and come out with a comprehensive and workable plan and document on faecal sludge management and disposal.

The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, on Thursday, vowed to stop lifting petroleum products beginning next week Monday due to the high cost of operations. NARTO members have repeatedly raised concern over the high cost of diesel required to power their trucks for the transportation of petroleum products across the country. Othman said NARTO members had been operating at a loss and it was no longer sustainable for them to endure the losses. The government pays an agreed sum to transporters of petroleum products as bridging claims to ensure equality in the pump prices of these products across states, though this has not been the case. NARTO is the umbrella body of all commercial transport owners and operators in Nigeria that are engaged in the business of moving goods, passengers and petroleum products from one place to another throughout the country and in the West African sub-region.

The House Representatives on Thursday called for collaboration between Nigeria and Ireland in areas of education, technology, agriculture and renewable energy. Chairman of Nigeria-Ireland Parliamentary Friendship Committee, Hon Paul Nnamchi, gave the charge in Abuja while receiving the Irish Ambassador, Mr. Peter Ryan. Nnamchi stated the parliamentary friendship is committed to identifying areas of mutual interest for collaboration between the two countries, especially concerning economic development, trade, investment, and technology transfer. And I can’t tell you how grateful we are on behalf of Team Ireland here in Nigeria. “How grateful we are for your initiative in this and we look forward to making many successes for both of our people together.”

On Sunday, Nigeria’s senior football team, the Super Eagles, lost to the Elephants of Ivory Coast in the finals of the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. As it concerns AFCON 2023, the preponderance of pre-event analysis suggested that the Nigerian team was ill-prepared for the championship. Things, however, changed after the team struggled to win its first match against host Ivory Coast! The testimony of those who watched these matches without prejudice is that chance, more than any outstanding performance, drove the team’s successes during AFCON 2023. We forgot that football is a team game, and that one tree cannot make a forest.

I don’t think the founding fathers of this country wanted a single party structure. I don’t think a single political party or tribe or group can pocket this country for long. They went to London under different slogans, proposals and prayers but none of them wanted a single party structure. Mbile(Cameroun People’s Party), Mr. P.A. The People’s Redemption Party headed by Alhaji Aminu Kano and the National Party of Nigeria, NPN, with Alhaji Shehu Shagari as the Presidential Candidate were later launched.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has issued tenders to sell two fuel cargoes for export, the first from the newly commissioned refinery, trading sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Nigerians have been eagerly looking forward to the release of products from the $20bn Dangote refinery after it was inaugurated in May last year by former President Muhammadu Buhari. It stated that the development came almost a month after the refinery began the production of petroleum products at the expansive facility. On January 12, 2024, Dangote refinery announced that it had commenced the production of Automotive Gas Oil, popularly called diesel, and aviation fuel or JetA1. Sources told Reuters last week that the refinery was preparing to deliver its first fuel cargoes to the domestic market within weeks.

“Most democracies in the world today are making efforts to regulate social media, and the National Assembly has been considering regulating social media for a long time. However, the recent call to regulate social media by the federal government of Nigeria was met with mixed feelings. Much as social media has enhanced information sharing and ostensibly access to and freedom of information, we have also witnessed gross and unacceptable abuse of the freedom and opportunities provided by social media. “It is, therefore, disheartening that Femi Gbajabiamila is now seeking to regulate social media to protect himself from criticism! “There are existing remedies available to anyone who has been subjected to social media harassment or defamation.

Nigerian table tennis legend, Segun Toriola, will lead Team Nigeria to the 2024 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan, South Korea, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. The WTTC tournament, which also serves as a qualifying tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, holds from February 16 to 25. According to a statement from the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, Toriola was picked to replace former national coach Nosiru Sule based on his wealth of experience and his cordial relationship with most of the top players in the national team. At the Busan 2024 WTTC tourney, the Nigerian men’s team will face Japan, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic and Madagascar in Group 8. In the women’s category, the Nigerian team was drawn against Germany, Slovakia, Poland and Mexico.

“It gave direction to field crews so that they could work without coming back to seek direction. Navigating a Murky PastIn the 1950s, the concrete dock was built atop the timber dock. “We had a crane hold the pile so that we could pull up the punch inside," says Wood. The new prestressed concrete piles are 30 in. “A huge concern was how to get all the debris out of there to make room for new piles,” Wood says.