Newscast - Africa

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunimbe Mamora has hinted that the federal government was in talks with relevant stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria was considered as a vaccine manufacturing hub.
He also called international partners who donate vaccines to Nigeria to give ample notice before delivery to enable the government to plan its deployment across the country in order to avoid wastage.
He explained that at the moment that there is a plan to establish manufacturing hubs in Africa and already there are some countries that are being considered as candidates for such hubs.

The World Health Organization says Ten African countries account for 46% of Omicron cases reported globally.
It says the majority of these countries are within southern Africa, where scientists are being extra-vigilant for other cases and are analysing samples to check for changes to the virus.
The WHO says hospitalisation rates and severe cases remain low in South Africa, local data shows.
The WHO added that no coronavirus deaths have been linked to the Omicron variant and travel bans won't stop the virus from circulating.

Tanzania’s authorities plan to lift bans and suspensions on media organisations that had been barred from operating.
Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Constitution and Legal Affairs, Amon Mpanju, says the government has been holding talks with media owners and the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition.
Mr Mpanju in a statement says they were all looking at revising some law provisions to ensure that we set free all banned media outlets.
He added that President Samia Suluhu Hassan had ordered the ministry to resolve press freedom challenges in the country.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced that preparations towards the Lagos peace walk planned for December 2021 be put on hold.
The governor says he is constrained to stand down all preparations for the Walk for Peace so as not to endanger the life of any Lagosian amid the outbreak of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
He says the suspension of the Peace Walk was necessary due to an unseen enemy called COVID-19 which began to ravage the world and indeed our nation.
He added that as the Incident Commander in the quest to protect the lives of Lagos residents they must subject themselves to the dictates of science.

The United States has announced the donation of 2.5 million Pfizer vaccine doses to Nigeria.
The U.S Embassy in a statement says the vaccine doses arrived in Abuja this week and were received by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and taken to cold storage in preparation for distribution.
The statement added that the vaccines in the next few weeks will be available across major locations for vaccination in the country.
The COVID-19 related health assistance according to the U.S Embassy includes a 40-bed mobile field hospital, ventilators, and related training for 88 hospitals, personal protective equipment, technical assistance for vaccine readiness, risk communication, and demand generation for vaccines.

The Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Mr Niyi Adebayo, says Nigeria’s slip in a ranking of top investment destinations in Africa was due to insecurity.
President Muhammadu Buhari had boasted that Nigeria was Africa’s most attractive investment destination.
A report by Rand Merchant Bank however placed Nigeria in the 14th position on investment attractive nations in Africa.
Mr. Adebayo says the Federal Government is making every effort to resolve the security problems so that they will go back to the position of being the preferred destination.

President Muhammadu Buhari sacked the management of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company following a prolonged internal power tussle among the owners of the company which affected the welfare of the staff of the distribution company.
Media Aide to the Minister of State, Power, Ofem Uket in a statement announced that a new interim governing board had been appointed to oversee the day-to-day operations of the electricity distribution company.
The statement indicated that the sack of the management team was conveyed by the presidency to the federal ministry of power, stressing that the new development takes immediate effect.
It stated that the Minister of Power, Aliyu Abubakar and Agba, had earlier intervened through dialogue with the ministry of labour, Bureau of Public Enterprises, and the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, to resolve and call off the 14 hours strike action.

The Securities and Exchange Commission says that it was engaging relevant stakeholders in a bid to resolve issues of identity management which would assist in solving the rising unclaimed dividends in the capital market as well as other issues.
The Director-General of the SEC, Lamido Yuguda, explained that part of the problems of unclaimed dividends had to do with identity management, saying the Commission was engaging the registrars and increasing investors’ education to stem the trend.
Yuguda says the Commission has set up an identity management committee to harmonise various databases of investors and facilitate data accuracy in the market.

A US digital infrastructure company, Equinix announced its expansion into Africa through its intended acquisition of MainOne, a leading West African data centre and connectivity solutions provider, with a presence in Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.
A statement from the company says the acquisition is expected to close in Q1 of 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions including the requisite regulatory approvals
The deal is expected to be worth up to $320m.
President and CEO, Equinix, Charles Meyers, says the acquisition of MainOne will represent a critical point of entry for Platform Equinix into the expansive and rapidly growing African market.

The Lagos State Government has raised alarm over the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state with its positivity rate at six per cent.
Governor Babajide says the state had begun to experience the beginnings of a fourth wave of the pandemic.
He says the current positivity rate is against the positivity rate of 0.1 per cent recorded as of mid-November and analyses revealed that the fourth wave is a result of non-adherence to the laid down protocols.
He asked residents to support the government in its effort to manage the fourth wave of the pandemic, especially during the festive season.
Governor Sanwo-Olu noted the review of Nigeria’s travel protocol by the Presidential Steering Committee, saying the state government would ensure total enforcement.