APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The directive by state governments to the residents living around flood plains and erosion spots to vacate these danger zones before it is too late dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Punch reports that state governments have directed the residents living around flood plains and erosion spots to vacate these danger zones before it is too late
The advisory is coming against the backdrop of the heavy rainfall predicted for July in some states even as the Federal Government also sounded a warning to the citizens living near natural waterways, flood plains, and erosion spots.
In a statement on Wednesday, the National Emergency Management Agency warned that 14 states and 31 communities might witness heavy rainfall that could lead to flooding from July 4 to July 8.
The Territorial Coordinator, NEMA, Lagos Territorial Office, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye Farinloye, urged relevant stakeholders within the states concerned to take precautionary measures to forestall the loss of lives and property.
Farinloye thanked the Flood Early Warning System Central Hub of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Abuja, for sharing the information.
The newspaper says that total investments into the telecommunication sector rose to $75.6bn as of the end of 2021, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, has said.
According to him, this comprises foreign direct investment and local investment as of 2021. He stated this at an interactive session with stakeholders in the communications media ecosystem, in Lagos on Wednesday.
He also revealed that 5G subscriptions have grown to over 60,000 subscriptions in many cities across 12 states of the federation.
He explained that in 2018, investment profile in the sector stood at $68bn, then increased to $70.5bn in 2019, and $72bn in 2020. He noted that at the end of 2021, the figure rose to $75.56bn. he noted that investment in the telecoms sector is computed from two sources: the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the financial data obtained from service providers by the commission.
Danbatta said the sector’s investment profile has recorded tremendous growth from its initial investment profile of $500m as of 2001.
Commenting on the sector’s contribution to GDP in 2022 and 2023, he said, “In the first quarter, the sector contributed 12.94 per cent equivalent to N2.25tn while the second quarter witnessed an all-time high GDP contribution by the telecom sector to the nation’s economy, standing at 15 per cent and valued at N2.59tn.
“The sector’s contribution to GDP in the third was 12.85 per cent and in the fourth quarter, it grew to 13.55 per cent, which are valued at N2.44tn and N2.85tn respectively.
The Punch also reports that power consumers, on Wednesday, kicked against the export of about N23.13bn worth of electricity from Nigeria to some neighbouring countries in 2022 despite the widespread darkness witnessed in many Nigerian communities.
The latest data on the remittances by international customers, obtained from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in Abuja, showed that Nigeria continued its export of electricity to the Republics of Benin and Niger, as well as some special categories of consumers.
It was observed that the total value of exported electricity from Nigeria in 2022 was $50.98m (N23.5bn, at the official exchange rate of N461/$ as of last year). But the international customers remitted $32.69m, an equivalent of N15.1bn.
This implies that they failed to remit a total of $18.29m or N8.4bn during the period, while the special customers also did not remit N792.6m in the same period, according to figures obtained from the power sector regulator.
Although some officials at NERC and other agencies in the power sector provided explanations as to why Nigeria was exporting power despite its poor supply in-country, electricity consumers kicked against the move.
A World Bank report puts the total number of Nigerians that are not connected to the national electricity grid at about 90 million, out of about 220 million Nigerians. This is about the highest in the world.
The Guardian says that despite having highest burden of the disease, Nigeria will not benefit from 18 million doses of first-ever malaria vaccine allocated to 12 African countries for 2023–2025 by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to latest figures from the WHO, in 2021, for instance, around 247 million cases of malaria were reported and about 619,000 people died.
Four African countries accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths worldwide: Nigeria (31.3 per cent), Democratic Republic of Congo (12.6 per cent), Tanzania (4.1 per cent) and Niger (3.9 per cent).
Instead, the beneficiaries are Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP) countries: Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, who will receive doses to continue vaccinations in pilot areas.
Allocations were also made for new introductions in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in a statement, yesterday, said the distributions were determined through application of principles outlined in the framework for allocation of limited malaria vaccine supply, which prioritises areas of highest need, where the risk of illness and death among children are highest.
Meanwhile, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) had, on July 18, 2023, said it was set to begin clinical trial of malaria vaccine nationwide.
Gavi added: “Since 2019, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have been delivering malaria vaccine through the MVIP, coordinated by WHO and funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and Unitaid.
“The RTS,S/AS01 vaccine has been administered to more than 1.7 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, since 2019, and has been shown to be safe and effective, resulting in substantial reduction in severe malaria and a fall in child deaths. At least, 28 African countries have expressed interest in receiving the malaria vaccine.”
The newspaper reports that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has urged G20 nations to end the export restrictions on food, feed and fertilisers, which are compromising the predictable flow of food through international markets and contributing to price volatility.
The call contained the WTO Trade Monitoring Report on G20 trade measures.
At a time when food affordability remains a major global concern, especially for developing nations, she said this is giving the global trade body a huge source of concern.
Recall that G20 economies introduced substantially more trade-facilitating than trade-restrictive measures on goods between mid-October 2022 and mid-May 2023.
The report released on Tuesday shows that the war in Ukraine, COVID-19 after-effects, extreme weather and high food and energy prices continue to cause uncertainty in global trade.
“It is welcome that G20 economies have been taking more steps to facilitate imports, underscoring how trade is a tool to push back against inflationary pressures. I call on them to show leadership by continuing to reduce the number and trade coverage of export restrictions, particularly on food, feed and fertilizers, to help dampen the price volatility that makes life harder for people around the world. G20 economies must continue to show restraint in implementing trade-restrictive measures and exercise leadership in supporting open and mutually beneficial trade,” she said.
The report is set against a backdrop of pronounced weakening of merchandise trade, which slumped during the fourth quarter of 2022 and appears to have remained below trend in the first quarter of 2023.
GIK/APA
Nigerian press spotlights disaster warning, evacuation orders by government, others
