Author: Opalim Lifted

The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Adebowale Adedokun, has urged civil society organisations (CSOs) to monitor public projects from procurement planning and contract award to implementation and service delivery to prevent waste and ensure value for money. Adedokun made the call at a BPP-CSO engagement in Abuja, where he stressed that procurement monitoring should go beyond verifying whether contracts were properly awarded to assessing whether projects deliver their intended benefits to Nigerians. “We should not monitor procurement only by asking ‘was the contract awarded correctly?’” he said. “We should also ask, ‘did the contract deliver what Nigerians…

At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, have died and 84 remain missing after an overcrowded boat carrying 305 people sank off Djibouti while heading towards Yemen, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said. The boat, carrying mostly Ethiopian nationals, capsized north of the Djiboutian town of Obock overnight between October 8 and 9, according to an IOM statement reported by AFP. “Survivors told me that the boat started to sink backwards as soon as they got in it,” Alexandre Coissac, the IOM chief of mission in Djibouti, told AFP. “This is a devastating loss of life,” he said,…

Flash floods in central Nepal have swept away about 45 houses, damaged bridges and hydropower projects, and left at least five people missing, officials said on Sunday. The flooding struck Gorkha district after a landslide blocked a river before the accumulated water burst through, triggering a powerful surge through nearby communities. National disaster agency chief Dharam Raj Uprety told AFP that the incident followed a dry landslide that obstructed the river. Videos circulating online showed a dark, debris-filled river rushing through the hilly area. Nepal Floods Damage Bridges and Hydropower Projects The floods swept away approximately 45 houses and damaged…

Nigeria’s minimum wage debate is facing renewed scrutiny as rising living costs, widespread informal employment and growing poverty raise questions about whether the national wage policy adequately protects workers. With labour unions insisting that the N70,000 minimum wage falls far below a living wage, fresh data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) show that households earning below N70,000 have the highest perception of inflation, at 68.4 per cent. Although Nigeria’s inflation rate has fallen to 15.4 per cent, less than half its peak in 2024, the CBN said low-income households still consider prices excessively high. Respondents identified energy costs,…

Former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has urged African governments to enforce 18 years as the minimum legal age of marriage to protect girls from child marriage and safeguard their educational opportunities. Ezekwesili, founder of Human Capital Africa, also called on traditional and religious leaders to support efforts to end the practice, warning that early marriage threatens girls’ education and Nigeria’s human capital development. In a statement on Sunday to mark the International Day of the Girl Child, she called for stronger legal protections, increased domestic funding and improved accountability measures to tackle child marriage. “A girl who learns is…

Eleven people have been killed and 27 others injured after a coach overturned following a collision with a truck in western Turkey on Sunday, authorities said. The crash occurred near the entrance to a motorway linking Bursa and the coastal city of Izmir, according to the governor’s office in the Manisa district. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene following the accident, Turkey’s Interior Minister, Mustafa Ciftci, said in a post on X. “We are closely following the situation, in coordination with all the institutions concerned,” Ciftci said. Photographs published by Turkish news agency DHA showed the coach lying across…

A customer has sued First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Ltd for N5 billion over the alleged unauthorised disclosure of a company’s bank statement to a third party, accusing the bank of breaching its duty of confidentiality and exposing sensitive financial and personal information. In a Writ of Summons filed by the claimants’ counsel, Oluchi Vivian Uche, Esq., Okueyelegbe Sylvanus Maliki, Esq., and others, the claimants are seeking redress over the alleged breach of account confidentiality. The suit was instituted by First Tirad Global Resources Ltd and its majority shareholder before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine could organise elections if Russia agrees to a 60-day total ceasefire, rejecting US President Donald Trump’s call for the country to choose a new leader. Zelensky made the statement during a televised interview with ABC News on Sunday, a day after Trump criticised him over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. “First of all, with all respect to President Trump, it’s up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader,” Zelensky said. He added that he had conveyed his position to Trump’s team, saying Russia must agree to…

US President Donald Trump has called on Ukraine to “get a new leader”, escalating tensions with President Volodymyr Zelensky following Kyiv’s criticism of Washington’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel exports. Trump made the remarks on Saturday after defending an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow more Russian diesel onto global markets amid rising fuel prices ahead of next month’s US midterm elections. The US president accused Zelensky of obstructing efforts to reach a peace deal with Moscow and ignoring his instructions to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries. Ukraine and its European allies, however, warned that…

Manchester City’s first game since being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial regulations ended in victory as they outclassed Liverpool at Anfield. Enzo Maresca’s side restored their three-point lead at the top of the table in emphatic fashion – but there remains the sense that this is a season in limbo as City await their punishment, with the potential for Premier League expulsion, relegation or record points deductions. Liverpool fans made their feelings known before and during the game with constant “cheat” jibes, but City, who have appealed against the verdict of an independent commission, responded with a measured…