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20 Years After, Africa Rejects Green Revolution Despite $1bn Investment

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja African countries have rejected the Green Revolution programme twenty years after it was formed, despite the over $1 billion invested to end hunger, increase crop yields and reduce post-harvest losses. The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, AGRA, was founded in 2006 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation with the goal to catalyse a farming revolution in Africa. A breakdown of the investment revealed that the Gates Foundation donated a $200 million grant, while the Mastercard Foundation with a $350 million five-year donation restricted the support to promoting youth employment, which was not part of the core Green Revolution strategy. AGRA also secured a $105 million grant from the Green Climate Fund, GCF, for a program to reduce post-harvest crop losses as a form of climate adaptation and mitigation. To commemorate the anniversary, Alliance for Food Sovereignty Africa, AFSA, in collaboration with an independent ...
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FCCPC Indicts Dangote, BUA, Others Over Exorbitant Cement Prices

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has indicted Dangote Group, BUA Group and other manufacturers over the exorbitant prices of cement across the country.  This was even as the commission revealed that cements are cheaper in other African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Togo compared to Nigeria.  The indictment followed the results of findings from an industry-wide investigation conducted by the FCCPC, suggesting possible manipulation of prices of cement in the Nigerian market.  Specifically conducted by the Anticompetitive Practices Department of the Commission, the three-month cross-border study was in response to complaints over the high cost of cement.  The study examined factors including limestone availability, population, production capacity, consumption and retail prices. But the FCCPC Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu said on Tuesday in Abuja t...
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NUJ, Chevron Want Journalists To Adopt Emerging Technologies

 BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja The Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, and Chevron Nigeria Limited have encouraged journalists to adopt emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, AI, in reporting factual stories while shaping public opinion. This played out when Chevron Nigeria Limited in collaboration with the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, chapter of NUJ organised the 2026 Chevron Media Capacity Building Programme for Energy Correspondents with the theme: “Strengthening Energy Journalism Through Knowledge, Data Accuracy and Artificial Intelligence.” The training, which centered on data accuracy and the use of Artificial Intelligence, AI, in energy reporting was held in Abuja. Chairman of the NUJ FCT Council, Grace Ike sought a new approach to energy journalism, urging journalists to move beyond event-driven coverage and embrace data, accuracy, context and emerging technologies. Ike noted that such an approach would deepen public understanding of Nigeria’s rapidly evo...
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FMBN Moves To Ease Housing Finance With National Mortgage Registry

 BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja L:R- Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Engr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, and Managing Director/Chief Executive of FMBN, Shehu Usman Osidi during the Stakeholders Validation Workshop on the National Housing Data Programme in Abuja. The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN, has restrategised on the safest ways to ease difficulties associated with housing finance by establishing the National Mortgage Registry, expected to deepen transparency and strengthen regulation in the built environment. Director/Chief Executive of FMBN, Shehu Usman Osidi who stated this during the Stakeholders Validation Workshop on the National Housing Data Programme in Abuja, informed that the Registry has reached a major milestone and is ready for deployment. The National Mortgage Registry, which has been approved by the National Council on Housing and domiciled within FMBN, is be...
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FG Disowns Viral Message Requesting N50, 000 From New Staff

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja Taiwo Oyedele The Federal Ministry of Finance has disowned a viral and fraudulent message sent to newly recruited staff, directing them to pay a non-refundable administrative fee of ₦50,000 as a condition for resumption of duty. This was even as the Ministry described the message as the handiwork of scammers seeking to exploit unsuspecting applicants through false claims made in the name of the Federal Ministry of Finance. The message, titled "Administrative Update and Compliance Notice for Newly Recruited Staff," falsely claimed that the Human Resource Management Department directed newly recruited staff to pay an administrative fee before assuming duty. To this end, the Ministry stated categorically that no such directive was issued and that the message did not originate from any office or official of the Federal Ministry of Finance. The Ministry clarified that recruitment into the Federal Ministry of Finance is conducted strictly in accord...
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NCC Join Forces With REA To Protect Underserved Communities

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC has joined forces with the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, to develop renewable energy projects that support connectivity expansion in underserved communities. Both agencies pledged to deploy energy and telecom infrastructure, just as the Memorandum of Understanding, would create a framework for joint planning, infrastructure sharing and data exchange. The partnership followed the high operating costs faced by telecom operators especially from dependence on diesel‑powered generators to keep base stations running in areas with unreliable electricity supply. Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Aminu Maida disclosed this at NCC–REA Stakeholder Workshop in Abuja, with the theme: “Unlocking the Energy–Telecoms Nexus for Scalable Digital Infrastructure in Nigeria”. Under the agreement, the REA will provide geospatial data on existing and planned electrification projects, while the NCC will share information on broad...
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FG To Empower 5,000 Nigerians On Meter Installation

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja Joseph Tegbe The Federal Government has mapped out plans to empower 5,000 young Nigerians as certified meter installation technicians, under President Bola Tinubu’s Presidential Metering Initiative. Tagged: ‘Power Force Programme’, the project, which is domiciled in the Ministry of Power, will address one of the power sector’s most persistent structural challenges: the metering gap, and the consequent liquidity deficit. Flagging off the training programme in Abuja, Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe noted that investment and service delivery decline given the absence of accurate measurement of electricity consumption. The first cohort of trainees are the pioneers of the Federal Government’s-trained smart metering workforce. Tegbe said: “Where consumption cannot be accurately measured, revenue cannot be reliably collected, and where revenue is uncertain, investment declines and service delivery suffer. “Meters do not install themselves. Behind every succes...
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