Category Nigeria News

Under the direction of Governor Abba Yusuf, the state government has reiterated its zero-tolerance policy to protect the distribution, theft, and illegal sale of multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) and ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) that mothers and children receive free of across the state.

The Alive &amp, Thrive Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) Project was officially concluded by the Kano State Commissioner for Health, Abubakar Labaran, during a press conference.

Labaran expressed deep concern over reports that dangerous food items that are meant to save the lives of vulnerable children and women are being sold at supermarkets and pharmacies.

“We have credible information that some of our own employees are directing MMS and RUTF to be sold in markets and drug stores in collaboration with outsiders,” according to credible information. These products are not for sale, the Commissioner told the press, “let me make this very clear.”

The Kano State Government provides them for free in order to combat malnourishment, stunting, and anemia in our communities, in collaboration with UNICEF. Any health worker who is found guilty of stealing or discharging these items will be immediately detained and prosecuted. I’ve already contacted security agencies to request immediate response if such practices are discovered.

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The commissioner made note of the state’s 59.1% child stunt rate, which is currently 59% among those under five, and that the Kano State government has committed more than $1 billion to the distribution and procurement of MMS in the state’s 44 Local Government Areas.

The government is heavily investing in our children’s futures. He claimed that anyone who undermines these efforts is stealing the future of our next generation as well as supplements.

The Commissioner praised FHI360 for its four years of pioneering work with the Kano State government through the Alive &amp, Thrive project, which has made significant improvements to public health.

The commissioner noted that “thanks to the efforts of FHI360 and our local teams, we have seen a decrease in child stunting from 58 percent to 40 percent in just three years” and that the rate of anemia among women of reproductive age has decreased.

“Over 8, 000 healthcare professionals have received training, and more than one million women have received MMS,” according to Kano State’s distribution of 50, 000 infant and young child feeding materials.

The Kano State Government provides assurance to the public that the project is moving forward and that it will continue with existing structures to support the progress made and further enhance nutrition outcomes.

The National Economic Council (NEC) meeting was presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima at Abuja’s Presidential Villa on Thursday.

The Governor of Kwara State AbdulRahman AbdulRazak, the governor of Kwara State, and the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, are present.

Hope Uzodimma, the governor of Imo State and the Progressive Governors’ Forum, were also present.

Governors of the Rivers State Sole Administrator, Jigawa, Lagos, Anambra, Gombe, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue, and Ondo states are also present, along with the governors of Zamfara, Jigawa, Lagos, Anambra, Lagos, Gombe, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Ondo.

The Council stated at the conclusion of the meeting that Nigeria had a Type-2 Polio virus case reduction of 42 cases as of August 2025 compared to 78 cases in 2024.

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However, Sokoto State is still in high risk, according to Inuwa Yahaya, the governor of Gombe State and the head of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, who briefed State House Correspondents shortly after the meeting.

“We kept the Council informed of our accomplishments and progress today.” The committee was primarily established to stop the spread of the newly developed virus two, which is more prevalent in the states of the North West, particularly Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara. Additionally, Gombe experienced a case in 2024.

The progress made so far indicates that the number of cases that are on the decline is projected to be in the 33rd week of August, down from 78 cases in 2024. It has now decreased to 42 cases.

Gombe hasn’t had any cases at all this year, despite the fact that the states of Kano and Katsina have seen 85% and 84% reductions, respectively.

No official who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari has the moral right to criticize the administration of President Bola Tinubu over security issues, according to Kebbi State governor Nasir Idris, pointing out that the challenges were inherited.

The governor made this statement on Wednesday during a special prayer held at the Government House in Birnin Kebbi to mark the 34th anniversary of Kebbi State’s founding.

Governor Idris noted that the current administration had been in charge of security issues before it, noting that the federal government has always been quick to intervene when his state is in crisis.

I contacted the Chief of Defence Staff and requested federal assistance when security concerns arose in southern Kebbi. He claimed that the CDS had distributed 10 armoured personnel carriers across the affected areas as a response.

The governor also criticized some Kebbi-based politicians in Abuja for politicizing the government’s security efforts.

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“Someone who had a significant opportunity during the Buhari administration, when the situation in Kebbi worsened, is now in Abuja, accusing the current administration of not doing enough, even claiming that over 200 people have died. What did he do when given the chance? ” Idris, the governor, inquired.

He continued, “We will not tolerate playing politics with security.”

Governor Idris added that he would continue to give security agencies money to keep the state safe. He noted that some governors have stopped carrying out their security operations, allowing insecurity to spread to other states because of the high cost of supporting them.

The Executive Director of Estate Services at the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Ezekiel Nya-Etok, has blamed land grabbers for the deplorable state of FESTAC Town and other satellite estates.

Nya-Etok, who spoke in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily&nbsp, programme on Thursday, acknowledged the frustration of residents but stressed that the FHA was “doing everything possible to restore the glory of housing estates across the country”.

“We feel the pain and frustration of FESTAC residents”, he said, warning against the purchase of uncharted land. “Do not buy unallocated land from ‘ omo onile ‘]Land grabbers]”.

However, a FESTAC resident, Valentine Uduebor, who also appeared on the programme, faulted the FHA for neglecting the community, insisting there was no federal presence in the estate.

“The state of FESTAC is unacceptable. It is an embarrassment to say FESTAC was once the beauty of Nigeria. Today, it is worse than Ajegunle”, Uduebor lamented.

He alleged that estate parks and public utilities had “been sold off by the FHA”, worsening the infrastructure challenges in the area.

Uduebor appealed to President Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to work with local governments and residents to restore sanity to FESTAC.

Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, will take part in a massive military parade in China the following week to commemorate World War II’s 80th anniversary, both nations announced on Thursday.

The parade, which will feature Xi Jinping inspecting troops in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, will also feature some 26 leaders, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the 1930s and 1940s, a protracted conflict between China and imperial Japan, which led to the Japanese’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which resulted in the killing of millions of Chinese people.

In recent years, Beijing’s Communist Party has held a number of eminently significant events to honor its wartime resistance and pledge that China will never be brought to its knees again.

Ground troops will march in formation during the September 3 parade, along with armoured columns, aerial echelons, and other high-tech fighting equipment.

China has hailed the parade as a demonstration of regional unity.

Hong Lei, Beijing’s assistant foreign affairs minister, made Kim’s announcement at a press conference on Thursday morning.

According to Hong, “The Chinese people will join forces with the people of all nations to steadfastly defend the victories of World War II.”

The current global environment is characterized by intertwined turbulence and changes, with a growing global peace deficit, he continued.

Kim will be a guest at “Comrade Xi Jinping’s invitation,” according to Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency, which also made the announcement.

“Cannot Be Bullied,” p.

North Korea’s most important ally, which was formed during the Korean War’s bloodshed in the 1950s.

Beijing has historically supported the nation, which is still subject to stringent international sanctions.

Kim’s upcoming trip to Beijing is intended to demonstrate “the strength” of relations between the two nations, according to Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.

According to Chong, the visit would show that “the United States cannot force them to submit.”

According to Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, “somerumors have been made that (North Korea) has recently gotten closer to Moscow’s orbit at the expense of Beijing.”

“I think Kim’s visit underscores the fact that this relationship is still going strong,” Loh told AFP.

He continued, “It will also demonstrate China’s influence and pull” more strongly.

‘Traditional Friendship’&nbsp ,

Beijing’s “firm position” is “developing the traditional friendship” between the two nations, according to Assistant Foreign Minister Hong.

China and North Korea “could continue to strengthen their cooperation and exchanges and cooperate closely in promoting regional harmony, stability, and ensuring international fairness and justice,” he continued.

The North Korean leader skipped Beijing’s 2015 parade to make a trip to China in January 2019 to meet with Xi.

In April of last year, China’s third-highest official Zhao Leji traveled to North Korea in celebration of their 75-year diplomatic partnership.

Before China closed its borders during the Covid-19 pandemic, the isolated nuclear power used to host the majority of foreign visitors and business travelers.

Hollywood royalty showed up for Italy’s glitzy film showcase on Wednesday, when a sizable lineup of star-studded movies will compete with protests from Gaza to win public support.

The 82nd edition of the longest-running festival features top directors Jim Jarmusch and Kathryn Bigelow all starring on the sandy Lido across the Venice lagoon, including George Clooney and Julia Roberts, two of the biggest names at the event.

The opening ceremony on Wednesday night featured German director Werner Herzog receiving a Lifetime Achievement award for his canon of more than 70 films, which was Francis Ford Coppola bestowing with the film.

Herzog’s most recent documentary, “Ghost Elephants,” about a lost herd in Angola, will be shown on Thursday. He claimed he always looked for the “sublime” in his movies.

The first major in-competition film made on Wednesday was Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia,” which centers on an Italian president who is battling doubts over whether to pass a bill allowing euthanasia.

According to Sorrentino, “being based on doubt and then allowing that doubt to develop into a decision is something that is becoming more and more uncommon.”

The secondary Orizzonti section was inaugurated by the movie “Mother,” which depicts Mother Teresa as a sometimes ruthless figure who struggles to reconcile her views on motherhood and abortion.

Clooney, who was seen leaving a water taxi in Venice with his wife Amal on Tuesday, was the subject of a quick turn for attention.

He will appear in the premiere of the Oscar-winning comedy “Jay Kelly” on Netflix on Thursday, where he plays a prominent Hollywood actor who struggles to identify.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement announcements are also available.

The sci-fi comedy “Bugonia” from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, in which Emma Stone is portrayed as a pharmaceutical executive kidnapped by aliens, is premiering on the same night.

Roberts will make his first appearance in the Italian film “After the Hunt” from Italy’s Luca Guadagnino on Friday.

Winners of the festival’s prestigious Golden Bear top prize frequently advance to Oscar-winning films like “Nomadland” or “Joker” in the past.

Pro-Palestinian protest 

World events predominated their day one press conference, despite the festival and Alexander Payne, the jury president for this year’s “Sideways,” being eager to concentrate on the list of films that would make their world premieres in 11 days.

In front of the festival’s main building, protesters chanted “Free Palestine,” while a group of Italian film professionals urged attendees to directly condemn Israel’s invasion and siege of Gaza.

Selected local political and human rights organizations have called for a protest on Saturday in Venice to condemn Israel and the Gaza war.

Director Alberto Barbera addressed reporters, stating that the festival had already declared “huge sadness and suffering in regard to what is happening in Gaza and Palestine.” However, he forbade actors from returning invitations to Israel-friendly actors.

Hundreds of movie stars signed a petition at the Cannes film festival in May to express their disgust with Israel’s nearly two-year bombardment of Gaza.

The Voice of Hind Rajab, a film about the war that was chosen for the festival’s main competition, is based on the tragic death of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces last year.

‘Frankenstein’

The Venice premieres of Oscar Isaac’s Oscar Isaac-starring big-budget remake of “Frankenstein” and Idris Elba’s political thriller “A House of Dynamite” are just two examples of the flurry of new ones.

In one of the most creative casting decisions, British actor Jude Law will play Vladimir Putin in Olivier Assayas’ “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” while actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will play mixed martial arts champion Mark Kerr in the highly acclaimed “The Smashing Machine” from Benny Safdie.