Africa Business News

Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege says all parts of the current constitution cannot be altered as many would have it modified. Senator Omo-Agege urged all those agitating for a new constitution to mount pressure on their representatives at the National Assembly.Constitution amendment and review has been an issue of debate in Nigeria for quite a while with many calling for the total repealing of the present charter.The Deputy Senate President says a bill needs to be put forward to effect an amendment of Section 9, however, noted that it is very difficult to muster the vote needed for a revision of the section that could give the power needed to have the present constitution repealed.The lawmaker assured Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari is interested in the constitutional review process and will assent to any bill that emanates from it.

Governor Yahaya Bello says Nigeria needs a credible and patriotic leader to fix the myriads of challenges besetting the nation.Governor Bello says the position of president should not be determined by zoning but by sincerity and competence.The Kogi governor was of the opinion that the security challenges the country faces at the moment are mostly politically engineered.He says fairness, justice, and equity will play a great role in restoring lasting peace in Nigeria.Bello argued that competence should be the requirement for electing the next president and not his ethnicity or religion.

The Federal Government says the unpredictability of vaccine supply as a result of global shortage remains a huge challenge.The Minister of Health, Doctor Osagie Ehanire says Nigeria is looking to get a donation of the COVID-19 vaccine from the Covax facility and other countries that no longer have a need for their oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.He further explained that the local production of the COVID-19 vaccine is not yet feasible owing to the high cost of conducting clinical trials that run into millions of dollars.Doctor Ehanire highlighted that the country has begun putting strategies in place towards potentially becoming a vaccine production hub in Africa.

President Muhammadu Buhari called for global support to develop the resources in the Niger Basin area – home to over 160 million people who depend on the river as a means of sustenance.The President believes the Niger River, commonly called Djoliba in Guinea and Mali, offers enormous development opportunities in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, fish farming, hydropower, hydraulics and navigation.President Buhari commended technical and financial partners, including the African Development Bank, Global Environment Fund, and German Financial Cooperation, to identify with the authority's vision and projects.He urged them to continue to support efforts at developing the Niger Basin in the fight against pollution and the degradation of ecosystems to manage its resources sustainably and equitably.

Military authorities have dispelled the rumour of mass compulsory retirement of senior military officers, following the appointment of the new Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya.The Acting Director of Defence Media Operation, Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko, faulted the claim at a press conference on Thursday at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, the nation’s capital.The military spokesman also highlighted some of the feats recorded by troops in the course of various operations in parts of the country.He says there is no gainsaying that the military and the security agencies are committed to ensuring peace returns to the country.

The World Health Organization approved the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use — the second Chinese jab to receive the WHO’s green light.The UN health agency signed off on the two-dose vaccine, which is already being deployed in several countries around the world.WHO says the move gives countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing”.WHO’s listing paves the way for countries worldwide to quickly approve and import a vaccine for distribution, especially those states without an international-standard regulator of their own.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has vowed to defeat the criminals who shot and wounded a former army commander, killing his daughter and driver.An army spokeswoman described it as an assassination attempt on Gen Katumba Wamala and said security forces were investigating a number of phone calls that may provide leads.The attack on the current government minister of works and transport, who has also headed Uganda's police force, is not the first high-profile shooting.

Mali has been suspended from the African Union following last week's military coup.The AU in a statement called for a return to the civilian government saying it would not hesitate to impose sanctions and other punitive measures unless troops were urgently ordered to return to barracks.Leaders of the West African bloc Ecowas also suspended Mali's membership, calling on the military government to adhere to an 18-month transition period towards presidential elections next February.Colonel Assimi Goita, who led the coup, was appointed transitional president by the country's constitutional court four days ago.

President Muhammadu Buhari suggested his administration has no third term agenda and will do its best to ensure elections hold across the country despite increasing violence.The President made the comment after receiving the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu and other electoral commissioners at the State House in Abuja.INEC chief, Professor Yakubu says INEC facilities across the country have recently come under attack.In the last four weeks, 11 offices of the commission have been either set ablaze or vandalized.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has faulted the 1999 Constitution, calling for an amendment by the National Assembly.Gbajabiamila says the National Assembly could only achieve the task after getting the inputs and support of the citizens.He says the 1999 Constitution is the product of a hurried national compromise that they entered into two decades ago in order to ensure that the military returned to the barracks.Gbajabiamila says though the current exercise is not the first of its kind, it might be the most important one in the nation’s recent history as the decisions to be made would have far-reaching consequences for the future of Nigeria.