Newscast - Africa

The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, disclosed that the 20 per cent equity taken by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in his much-awaited refinery will not be paid in a single cash transaction.
He noted that while a third of the $2.7 billion deal would be paid in cash, the second would be through crude sales and the third would be through profits made by the corporation.
He noted that there are a lot of misconceptions around the planned 20 per cent equity holding by the national oil company, explaining that the deal also involves all the products to be churned out by the $19 billion facilities, including petrochemicals.
He pointed out that the project currently employs 29,000 Nigerians and 11, 000 foreigners with plans to ramp up the number to 57,000 in the coming months.

The Federal Government is considering taking some measures against people who refuse to get vaccinated.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, explained that the Federal Government may apply the basic rule of law” against such people because they will be endangering the lives of other people.
Shuaib noted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is making frantic efforts in making the vaccines more accessible to all Nigerians.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo has explained that the nation’s economy is coming back strongly with foreign investors making a commitment to invest in the country.
The Minister says Nigeria is open for business and our investment climate is continually improving. The year 2020 was challenging for all economies but Nigeria is coming back strong.
He added that the Federal Government recognised the importance of attracting and retaining patient investment into the economy.
He says this accounted for his Ministry’s commitment to the strategic relationship that exists with the Chamber and to continue working with the leadership towards our collective objectives of attracting more investments to the nation’s economy.

Niger State Governor Abubakar Bello has suspended the operation of cattle markets across the state.
The Secretary to the State Government, Ahmed Matane, says that it was part of measures to address security challenges in the state.
The statement added that any vehicle carrying cattle into the state must show a way-bill and evidence of the origin where the cattle were purchased and their destination.
It also noted that the state government had banned the sale of petroleum products in jerry cans or any other containers at filling stations.

Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has signed the anti-grazing bill into law.
The governor signed the bill on Tuesday after it was earlier passed by the State House of Assembly.
The governor says the signage of the bill is in line with the resolution of the Southern Governors’ Forum at its last meeting in Lagos where September 1 was set as the deadline for Governors in Southern Nigeria to sign the Anti-Open Grazing Bill into law.
He says it is a very laudable development aimed at stemming needless instances of skirmishes, conflicts as well as infractions on the enviably peaceful disposition of the good people of Ondo State.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed all banks in the country to publish the names and Bank Verification Number of defaulters of its forex policy.
The defaulters of the policy are those using fake visas and cancelling air tickets after purchase of Personal Travel Allowance and Business Travel Allowance.
The Director of the Banking Supervision Department, says Haruna Mustafa explained that this practice will affect the integrity and stability of the forex market.
He says the CBN has received and noted with concern reports of sharp practises by some unscrupulous customers to circumvent the new CBN policy on the sale of forex for overseas personal and business travel.

The Pentagon has announced that the number of hate crimes in the United States rose last year to the highest level in more than a decade, driven by a rise in assaults targeting Black victims and victims of Asian descent.
The 2020 data submitted to the FBI by more than 15,000 law enforcement agencies across the country, identified 7,759 hate crimes in 2020, a 6 per cent increase over 2019 and the highest tally since 2008.
The FBI data showed the number of offences targeting Black people rose to 2,755 from 1,930 and incidents against Asians jumped to 274 from 158.

The Pentagon has announced that the final US military flight has left the Afghan capital officially ending the United States’s 20-year war in Afghanistan after a chaotic evacuation effort.
General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, says that the US evacuated 79,000 people from Kabul, including 6,000 American citizens, since August 14, a day before the Taliban took control of the city.
He says the withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation but also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after September 11, 2001.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution requiring the Taliban to honour their commitment to let people freely leave Afghanistan, but the measure did not cite a safe zone mentioned by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The resolution was passed with 13 votes in favour and no objections while China and Russia abstained.
The resolution says the council expects the Taliban to allow a safe, secure, and orderly departure from Afghanistan of Afghans and all foreign nationals.
The Security Council expects that the Taliban will adhere to these and all other commitments.

The European Union on Monday recommended that its member states reimpose travel restrictions on US tourists over rising covid infections in the country.
The European Council says it was taking six territories off its list of locations exempted from restrictions on non-essential travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
The EU says Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia and the United States of America were removed from the list.
The EU says it is without prejudice to the possibility for member states to lift the temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU for fully vaccinated travellers.