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  Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally written to the Senate, seeking approval for a $516.3 million foreign syndicated loan to support the construction of the Sokoto–Badagry highway. In a communication read by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday, President Tinubu requested a resolution in line with Sections 16 and 21 of the Debt Management Office (Establishment) Act, 2011, to enable the Federal Government to secure the financing for Sections 1, Phase 1A, and 1B of the project. The loan facility is to be arranged through Deutsche Bank AG. President Tinubu explained that the superhighway project is a flagship initiative under his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, designed to enhance national connectivity, reduce travel time, and improve the movement of goods across key economic corridors. The proposed 1,000-kilometre road will link Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states, connecting Illela to Badagry. He noted that the financ...

  Health  authorities in Cross River State have debunked claims of 10 new cases of COVID-19, affirming that only one person has been diagnosed with the disease in the state. The  Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Henry Ayuk, made the clarification on Thursday during an interview with the newsmen. “I  want to use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that the information that has gone around that 10 more cases have been identified in Cross River is not correct; we have only one case,” Ayuk said. Ayuk said the misinformation likely arose from reports that 10 contacts had been identified, which may have been interpreted as confirmed cases by the media. His comment came after a fresh case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Cross River after years of the pandemic that has led to the death of millions worldwide. The virus was confirmed in a Chinese man who arrived in Nigeria from China on March 17 and flew to Calabar for his work before he tested positive for the viru...

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo has appointed Matthew Hassan Kukah as the chancellor of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University. The  Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Christine Aburime, made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday. “The Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has appointed Most Rev. Dr Matthew Hassan Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, as the Chancellor of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra State,” the statement read in part. The state government, however, said the appointment is aimed at ‘strengthening the university’s leadership and expanding its global partnerships while promoting integrity and strong values among students.’ Kukah’s academic background spans several institutions, including St Augustine Major Seminary; University of Ibadan, where he obtained a diploma in religious studies; Pontifical Urban University; University of Bradford; and SOAS University of London, where he earned a doct...

  The Abia State Government has flagged off the State Accelerated Basic Education Programme, aimed at running the six-year primary school curriculum in three years. The Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, stated this at a media briefing after this week’s State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Alex Otti in Umuahia, the state capital. He said: “We happen to be one of the states running this programme for those who missed out in their early years and did not have the opportunity to obtain their first school leaving certificate.” Kanu said the programme is being handled by the State Agency for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, and urged residents of the state who are interested to key into it. He also said the results of the oral interview for Batch Two of candidates for the teachers’ recruitment exercise, who were shortlisted after a Computer-Based Test, were being compiled. The commissioner further announced that over 7,280 candidates scored above 40 pe...

  One of  the popular faces in skits – the laughing boy, whose real name is Albert Ofosu Nketia, popularly known as Funny Albert, a Ghanaian, is said to have purchased a new house for his mother. ‎In a grass-to-grace story, the mother, Rosina, gave an account of how they struggled to live and how Albert’s schooling was affected. ‎ ‎Now the story has changed, thanks to the Internet. He is currently around 10 years old. He was 7 when the video first went viral in 2023. ‎ ‎Funny Albert’s mother says, “Before my son went viral, we used to stay in a poor public house, where it was difficult for us to eat or even pay our rent. ‎ ‎”Most days my son and his siblings don’t go to school, because we are owing school fees. Things used to be very difficult for us, but today, just 1 laughing video has changed our lives. ‎ ‎”From staying in an uncompleted building to now being a house owner, all thanks to my son Albert.” ‎ ‎Funny Albert, is a young Ghanaian boy who became a global internet s...

  The  Cross River State Government said it has identified and isolated 10 persons who interacted with a Chinese national who reimported COVID-19 into Nigeria. State epidemiologist, Dr. Inyang Ekpenyong, disclosed that the individuals were traced through contact tracing after interacting with the index case and have since been placed under movement restriction. “We’ve restricted their movements to their homes, so that they do not spread the symptoms to other persons,” Ekpenyong said, noting that the contacts were under close monitoring by health officials. She added that surveillance teams had visited the expatriate’s workplace in Akamkpa to track possible exposure and prevent further transmission. The affected Chinese national is currently receiving treatment at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), where authorities said he was responding positively. Ekpenyong reminded residents that COVID-19, despite first emerging about six years ago, has not been eradicated,...