Newscast - Africa

The federal government has declared that Nigeria is becoming a fast destination for mining investments courtesy of the National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, says that the country is attracting attention from both local and foreign investors while the financial sector has also begun to support activities in the mining sector.
He called for corporate companies to join the sector to reduce the activities of artisanal and small-scale miners.
He explained that the summit was to explore ways of funding the mining sector and asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to do more to support the sector in terms of funding.

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo says the federal government made a strident effort to improve the health of Nigerians, including committing over N80 billion to equip health institutions across the country.
Osinbajo says the federal government had also set up a special fund under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund to help address the high cost of healthcare for the poor.
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire says the government was determined to revitalise facilities and services at the various healthcare centres at designated communities.
He proposed that subnational governments should consider supporting the federal government’s one per cent of consolidated federal revenue to Basic Health Care Provision Fund with equal matching grants for their own states and for Local Government Areas, respectively.

Nigeria's Government has disclosed that the Second Niger Bridge linking Anambra and Delta states, scheduled for completion in February 2022, is now 91 per cent completed.
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, says the 206-billion-naira project has directly employed 1,486 people, while 8,110 indirect jobs have equally been created.
The Works and Housing Minister pegged major projects under the Presidential Infrastructure Development fund including the 375km Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway estimated at N797 billion; the 11.59km Second Niger Bridge at N206 billion and the 127km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at N310 billion, at N1.3 trillion.

The World Health Organization has warned that authorities in several European countries have lifted coronavirus restrictions too brutally as they are witnessing a rise in cases likely caused by a more transmissible COVID-19 strain.
WHO Europe director Hans Kluge says to be optimistic, but vigilant about the pandemic’s development in Europe, adding that cases were on the rise in 18 out of 53 states in the region.
The WHO database shows the number of new COVID-19 cases in Europe fell sharply after a peak at the end of January but has been on the rise again since early March.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN International that Russia would only use nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict if it were facing an existential threat.
Peskov says they have a concept of domestic security, and it’s public.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby called Moscow’s rhetoric on the potential use of nuclear weapons dangerous.
Kirby stressed that Pentagon officials haven’t seen anything that would lead them to conclude that they need to change their strategic deterrent posture.

The African Development Bank Group says East African member states are expected to benefit from at least $8.77 billion worth of investments out of $32.8 billion drawn at the Africa Investment Forum.
The President of the African Development Bank Group Akinwumi A. Adesina, says that there is a lot of political support and goodwill for the project.
Adesina says It is expected to support 75 per cent of the trade in the West African region, reduce transport cost by 48 per cent, increase inter-and intra-regional trade volume by 15 to 25 percent, and impact the lives of over 500 million people.

Kenyan Central Bank says Digital lenders will now be barred from accessing customers' contact lists in the course of debt collection under new CBK regulations.
The Central Bank of Kenya has in the past raised concerns about the abuse of the personal data of borrowers by digital lenders.
The apex bank in turn called on lawmakers to fast-track legislation to provide for the regulation of digital lenders.
The regulations seek to address concerns raised by the public given the recent significant growth of digital lending, particularly through mobile phones.

The Central Bank of Ghana has raised its base interest rate to 17%, the highest since President Nana Akufo-Addo came to power in 2017.
The central bank says the hike is part of measures to stabilise Ghana’s ailing economy.
The governor of the central bank, Ernest Addison has already warned that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine may further affect Ghana’s economy.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has projected that the Nigerian economy will grow by 3.24 per cent in 2022, in spite of rising inflationary challenges occasioned by global socio-economic events.
Mr Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor, says the International Monetary Fund also projected the economy to grow at 2.7 per cent, while the Federal Government projected a 4.21 per cent growth.
Emefiele, however, says the MPC was concerned about the impact the global increase in petroleum and other products was having on the Nigerian economy.
He urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to take urgent steps to ensure adequate supply of petroleum products.

President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the $2.5 billion Dangote fertiliser plant yesterday in Lagos, with an assurance that the country was poised to end its massive dependence on imported agricultural products soon.
Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, stressed that the fertiliser plant was well-timed considering recent developments on the global scene.
The president declared that the plant would further advance his administration’s drive towards self-sufficiency in food production in the country.
He says the country also stands to gain extensively in foreign exchange earnings from the fertiliser factory.