Author: Opalim Lifted

Shubham Chaudhuri, the World Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, has announced intentions to work with the National Identity Management Commission to enable the smooth implementation and registration of digital national IDs for all Nigerians. The ambitious goal is to deliver a digital national ID to at least 148 million people of working age by the middle of 2024, representing a huge step towards inclusion and accessibility. On Friday, Chaudhuri announced this during a dinner hosted by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in Abuja. He also underlined the organisation’s commitment to ending poverty, enhancing lives, and providing jobs for…

George Osborne disclosed that around 2,000 antiquities are suspected to have been taken from the British Museum, although recovery of some of them has begun. The ex-chancellor acknowledged that the museum’s image had been damaged but stated that “it is a mess that we will clean up.” A top specialist said that in plundered antiquities, the number of things stolen from the museum is “mind-boggling.” A museum employee suspected of participation has been fired. And, on Friday, it was reported that Hartwig Fischer, the museum’s director, will resign immediately after admitting that a 2021 probe was mismanaged. The museum, one…

President Vladimir Putin has ordered that all Wagner and other Russian private military contractors swear an oath of loyalty to the Russian state. The regulation applies to anyone in Ukraine who is involved in military activity, such as supporting the army or serving in territorial defence forces. He signed the directive on Friday, and it went into force immediately. It comes only two days after Wagner officials were feared dead in a jet accident. Separately, on Saturday, a far-right subgroup of Wagner known as Rusich announced the suspension of military activities in Ukraine. Rusich accused Russia’s foreign ministry in a…

A fire aboard a train carriage in India killed nine people after a gas canister used by passengers to make beverages burst, authorities disclosed. The fire, which happened in the southern city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu state, wounded nine people. When the cylinder blew up early Saturday, the carriage was transporting more than 50 pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh and was parked at the station. Survivors had to burst down doors to escape the flaming waggon, eyewitnesses said. The coach involved in Saturday’s tragedy had arrived earlier in the day from Uttar Pradesh. Lagos gas explosion leaves four in horrible…

The Police Command in Kano said on Saturday it confiscated 820 cartons of suspected fake and expired drugs at Malam Kato Market in Fage Local Government Area of the state. In a statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Abdullahi Kiyawa, in Kano, the drugs were recovered from two warehouses at the market. He listed the drugs to include 514 cartons of eemistxmin/emstifer syrup, 219 cartons of 5mg Lisinopril tablets, 7 cartons of 5mg Amlodipine tablets, 87 cartons of 50mg Atenol, and 40 cartons of Frusemide injection. Police inspector shot dead in Rivers Kiyawa said the drugs were evacuated…

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) arrested no fewer than 40 suspected illegal coal miners in Enugu, the commandant, Mr. Muhammed Dada, said. Addressing newsmen on Friday in Enugu, Dada said that during the operation, items recovered included pumping machines, diggers, head-pans, shovels, and four Hanvan G7 trucks without registration numbers. Others are a Toyota Hilux van with registration number MUS 513 HU, two heavy-duty batteries, a substantial amount of coal, and a motorcycle. Dada said that the operation took place on Thursday, Aug. 24, at the base of Ugwuonyeama Hill in Enugu. The commandant described the act…

Arsenal were held to a 2-2 home draw by 10-man Fulham after a sloppy start in the Premier League on Saturday, denying Mikel Arteta’s side provisional top spot in the table. Andreas Pereira pounced on a sloppy back ball from Bukayo Saka in 57 seconds, and the midfielder spotted goal keeper Aaron Ramsdale far off his line before firing from 30 yards out to silence the home fans. After an hour, Gunners got a penalty for a foul on Fabio Vieira, and Saka redeemed himself with a confident spot kick in the pouring rain. Two minutes later, Arsenal made it…

Kenya’s transport minister apologized to the country late Friday night after a massive power outage left travellers stranded at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the dark. The electrical distribution firm Kenya Power (KPLC.NR) stated in a statement that power went out in various sections of the nation around 9.45 p.m. on Friday, attributing the outage to “a system disturbance leading to the loss of bulk power supply.” Images of stranded travellers sitting in the dark at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) quickly went viral on social media. The airport’s operator, Kenya Airports Authority, stated that one of the facility’s standby…

At least 10 multinational companies have exited Nigeria in recent years, the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) has disclosed. MAN also revealed that more multinationals will leave the country as the cost of operating in Nigeria has increased geometrically. Chronicle NG reports that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Procter & Gamble, Surest Foam Limited, Mufex, Framan Industries, Moak Industries, Deli Foods, Stone Industries, MZM Continental, and Nipol Industries are 10 companies that have shut operations. Despite presenting international businesses with the largest market on the continent, Nigeria still suffered from worrying economic slowdown decisions, which were often provoked by the rising cost of…

Francis Meshioye, President of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN), has stated that if an electricity spike is adopted, more multinational corporations will leave Nigeria. Despite offering multinational businesses the largest market on the continent, Nigeria had serious economic downturn decisions that were frequently triggered by growing company costs, epileptic power supplies, and insufficient infrastructure support, among other factors. “With justification, the chamber is concerned that if the trend continues, the nation’s economic growth potential will not be realized,” Almona added. GlaxoSmithKline’s decision reflects negatively on the country’s low standing on ease of doing business indicators, something the chamber has…