The Federal Government is concerned about Nigeria’s security challenges and doing all it can to restore peace in every part of the country.Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, called on the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations as a stakeholder on national issues, to speak out against those fanning the embers of disunity and discord in Nigeria.Mohammed welcomed the NIPR’s offer to make available its platform for a national engagement on national unity, peace and security, saying it falls into the template of the town hall meetings on topical issues which have been institutionalised by the Federal Government.

State governors have called for the devolution of powers to states to tackle the disturbing trend of insecurity in the country.The governors stressed the need to take action to advance the conversation on what they described as the worsening security situation and collapsing economy of the nation.President Muhammadu Buhari was urged to send an executive bill to the National Assembly.The bill was to amend the Constitution to devolve more powers to the states concerning security arrangements culminating in some form of state policing and the general security architecture.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the immediate past governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed. Sources at the anti-graft agency say that the former governor is being questioned by a crack team of operatives at the EFCC headquarters in the Jabi area of Abuja.Sources revealed that his arrest was in connection with how funds to the tune of about N9 billion were allegedly diverted from the coffers of the Kwara State government.A spokesman for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed that the former governor responded to the commission’s invitation.

The head of Ethiopia's electoral board says elections which were due to take place on 5 June will have to be postponed owing to logistical issues.The board has yet to formalise the decision or set a new date - but it is likely to be a delay of several weeks.Birtukan Mideksa says there were still challenges with voter registration, training of electoral staff and ballot papers.The election was initially due to have taken place last year but was postponed because of coronavirus.

The United States has condemned the blocking of aid by military forces operating in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.A statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia to ensure aid is allowed to reach the millions who need it.The UN World Food Programme says 5.2 million people are in need of food assistance in Tigray and there were many credible reports of armed forces attacking civilians including gender-based violence.He added that the conduct of the Eritrean military and troops from the Amhara region had been particularly egregious.

Seven members of the Sudan military have been arrested and will be prosecuted in connection with the killing of two demonstrators in the capital, Khartoum, last week.The head of the interim sovereign council running the country, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, ordered an investigation into Tuesday’s deaths that happened outside the army headquarters in Khartoum.The seven soldiers are due to be prosecuted however many people in Sudan are angry that there has still not been any justice for a far bigger atrocity that happened almost two years ago.

South Africa health minister says the country will launch phase two of its vaccine rollout on Monday with the aim of inoculating five million citizens aged over 60 by the end of June.Zweli Mkhize says this is provided that the supply of vaccines flows as anticipated. By the end of June, they expect to have received 4.5 million doses of Pfizer and 2 million doses from Johnson & Johnson.Mkhize says that more than 325,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine would arrive at midnight on Sunday, bringing the total of Pfizer doses up to 975,780.The health minister says the country was still awaiting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be released by the United States Food and Drug Administration after its administration was paused and then restarted two weeks later due to concerns over blood clots.

The authorities in South Sudan reported that Twelve civilians have been killed by members of a militia in the oil-rich Abyei region.South Sudan in an official statement accused neighbouring Sudan of assisting the Misseriya militia in the attack early on Sunday.The Sudanese government has not commented.The Abyei region has long been claimed by both countries and has seen frequent clashes between people from the Dinka ethnic group and the Arab Misseriya militia.The UN recently said relations between the two communities were tense and described the area as both volatile and unpredictable.

Algeria Presidency says the country will reopen air and land borders on June 1, but strict measures will be imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.President Abdelmadjid Tebboune says only five flights a day from and to Algerian airports will be allowed with full adherence to strict precautions.He added that more details would be announced in a week.Algeria closed borders and suspended all flights in March 2020 when the number of COVID-19 infections started to increase, but domestic flights resumed in December last year.The North African country has so far recorded 125,311 coronavirus cases, including 3,374 deaths.

Senator Rochas Okorocha says that Nigeria loses billions of dollars from cattle business, urging the Federal Government to invest in the business.He noted that if the cattle business is being tapped well, it could create one million jobs for Nigerians.Okorocha advised that the nation’s challenges should not be politicised.He also commended the 17 southern governors for meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital to discuss sensitive issues that concern their region, describing the meeting as the first in the nation’s history.