Headline

AfDB Proffers Solution to Overcome COVID-19 in Africa

Published

6 years ago

April 22, 2020

Eric

The African Development Bank Group says accelerated global health and economic effort are the actions needed to be able to overcome the coronavirus pandemic in the continent.

President of the group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said this on Wednesday during a global Corporate Council on Africa via webinar, according to a statement by the bank’s Communications and External Relations Department.

The corporate council on Africa is a leading U.S. business association that promotes business and investment between the U.S. and Africa.

He said that “one death is one too many” just as “our collective humanity is at stake”.

Adesina, therefore, urged U.S. and African government officials as well as corporate executives to forge new and sustainable partnerships that would endure beyond the pandemic.

While urging participants to be their brother’s and sister’s keepers, the AfDB president said there was a compelling need to pay attention to underlying global inequalities, and the impact on rich and poor countries.

Adesina highlighted the bank’s recent issuance of a record-breaking three billion dollars “Fight COVID-19” bond, which he described as the largest-ever U.S. dollar-denominated social bond.

He said the bond was oversubscribed at 4.6 billion dollars and was listed on the London Stock Exchange.

According to him, the bank also inaugurated a 10 billion dollars COVID-19 Response Facility to assist African governments and businesses.

“The bank’s response package includes 5.5 billion dollars earmarked for African governments, 3.1 billion dollars for countries that fall under the bank’s Concessionary African Development Fund, and 1.4 billion dollars for the private sector,” he said.

Answering questions about Africa’s health care system, Adesina said the region needed to do more than double spending in the sector.

He said the acute shortage of facilities and pharmaceutical companies in the continent should offer development and investment opportunities.

According to him, while China is home to 7,000 pharmaceutical companies, and India 11,000, Africa as a whole, by contrast, has only 375, even though its population is roughly equal to half of the combined population of both China and India.

Adesina, therefore, called on multilateral institutions to align and step up their collective efforts with regard to Africa’s debt, manage their ratings, and work together with rating agencies.

He said that although COVID-19 infection rates across Africa were relatively low compared with the rest of the world, there was yet a compelling need to improve on healthcare infrastructure in the continent.

He added that with an eye on the present crisis and beyond, there was a need for urgent, new, and resilient partnerships that would help leave no one behind.

Meanwhile, Florie Liser, President/CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa has lauded AfDB’s proactive leadership role in responding to the crisis in Africa.

According to Liser, the coronavirus pandemic is threatening to erase Africa’s unprecedented growth and economic gains over the past decade.

(NAN)

Headline

Mike Adenuga, Emmanuel Macron Hold High-Powered Meeting in Paris

Published

25 minutes ago

December 18, 2025

Eric

Accomplished billionaire businessman and Commander of the French Légion d’Honneur, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., GCON, CdrLH, has held a private meeting with the French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The two powerful citizens of the world held the meeting on Wednesday at the historic Élysée Palace in Paris.

The high-level engagement underscores the longstanding relationship between Dr. Adenuga and the French Republic, as well as his continued relevance in global business and diplomatic circles.

A respected industrialist and philanthropist, Adenuga has been widely acknowledged for his contributions to economic development, telecommunications, energy, and humanitarian causes across Africa and beyond.

The meeting adds to Dr. Adenuga’s growing profile as a bridge between African enterprise and international leadership.

Headline

Free at Last: Burkina Faso Releases 11 Nigerian Soldiers, Aircraft

Published

47 minutes ago

December 18, 2025

Eric

Burkina Faso has released Nigerian soldiers who were detained after their aircraft made a forced landing in the Sahelian country earlier this month, Nigerian officials said.

The release followed a diplomatic intervention by President Bola Tinubu, who dispatched a high-level delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, to meet Burkina Faso’s Military Leader, Ibrahim Traoré, on Wednesday.

In a statement, Alkasim Abdulkadir, Tuggar’s spokesperson, said both sides resolved the matter amicably and secured the release of the Nigerian Air Force pilots and crew.

The soldiers had been held for nearly two weeks after the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) described the aircraft’s landing as an “unfriendly act” carried out in defiance of international law.

The Nigerian Air Force, however, said the crew encountered a technical issue that required a precautionary landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, the nearest available airfield. It said the landing complied with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols.

Headline

Corruption Allegations: NMDPRA Boss Farouk Ahmed Meets Tinubu, Resigns

Published

14 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Eric

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, has resigned following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu amid corruption allegations.

Tinubu, on Wednesday, summoned Ahmed to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, following allegations of economic sabotage and corruption.

Also caught in the web of resignation was the CEO of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, according to a statement on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy.

Tinubu was said to have nominated successors to the senate for approval.

“Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve the nominations of two new chief executives for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC),” the statement reads.

“The requests followed the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed of the NMDPRA and Gbenga Komolafe of the NUPRC.

“Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Buhari to lead the two regulatory agencies created by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

“To fill these positions, President Tinubu has written to the Senate, requesting expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA.”

Onanuga said the two nominees are seasoned professionals in the oil and gas industry.