Author: Amina Mohammed

President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has denied nursing an ambition to run for president in 2027. This follows a recent interview on Arise TV, where he was questioned about his political future after his tenure at the AfDB. Responding to the question, Adesina said: “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including in my own country, Nigeria.” The outgoing AfDB Presidents’ remarks generated widespread interpretations that he was subtly declaring interest in the 2027 presidential race. However, Adesina while addressing the issue in a Post X on Thursday, said what…

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has signed a $6 million agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) office of development affairs to support African entrepreneurs. In a statement on Wednesday, Moyo Awotile, TEF head of marketing and corporate communications, said the partnership, signed at the world governments summit, also involves Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, an affiliate of Erth Zayed. She said the empowerment initiative includes business training, mentorship, access to professional networks, and a non-refundable $5,000 seed capital for 1,000 additional African entrepreneurs. “The agreement signed, at the World Governments Summit, by TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, and the Director General of…

Nigeria’s most prestigious music award show, The Headies, has announced its highly anticipated 17th edition of the awards, marking a return after a year’s hiatus. The list released on Wednesday features an array of both local and international artists who have been recognised for their contribution to the music scene in the past year. According to the organisers, this edition will take place on April 5, 2025 in Lagos, Nigeria after criiticisms from several quarters over the event holding in the US Hip Hop artiste Tochukwu Ojogwu, aka Odumodu Blvck, dominated the nominations on the list with a total of…

United States Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth stated on Wednesday that the war between Ukraine and Russia “must end,” but emphasised that Ukraine’s membership in NATO was not a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Speaking before the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels, Hegseth also outlined a shift in US priorities, stating that the country would no longer focus on European and Ukrainian security. Instead, he said the Trump administration would focus on securing the US borders and deterring conflict with China. According to CNN, Hegseth made it clear that any security guarantees for Ukraine should involve European…

The All Progressives Congress on Wednesday opened its defence by presenting four witnesses before the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja. The witnesses, who served as local government collation agents, admitted under cross-examination that there were incidents of over-voting during the September 21, 2024, governorship election. The Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, are challenging the election results in which the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the APC candidate, Monday Okpebholo, as the winner. Aggrieved by the declaration, the PDP and Ighodalo filed a petition against INEC, Okpebholo, and the APC as 1st, 2nd,…

Music Icon, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as 2Baba, has stirred fresh controversy after deleting a love-filled post about the Deputy Majority Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly. Natasha Irobosa Osawaru. 2Baba on Wednesday shared a video on Instagram professing his love for Natasha and expressing his desire to marry her. However, he quickly took down the post after it gained widespread attention. In the video, he said, “Yes, I love her. She’s amazing, she’s cool. I want to marry her.” He also clarified that he and his ex-wife, Annie Macaulay Idibia, remain on good terms despite their split,…

Officials from Algeria, Nigeria and Niger signed new contracts Tuesday aimed at accelerating the development of a vast natural gas pipeline toward Europe, the Algerian press agency APS reported. The Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP), announced in 2009, would transport billions of cubic metres of gas 4,128 kilometres (2,565 miles) from Nigeria in West Africa through Niger and on to Algeria. From there it could be pumped through the undersea Mediterranean pipeline Transmed to Italy, or loaded onto liquefied natural gas tankers for export. At a meeting of ministers for the project in Algiers, the three countries signed contracts on “an…

The British government on Wednesday said it was toughening immigration rules to make it almost impossible for undocumented migrants who arrive on small boats to later receive citizenship. Under new guidance migrants arriving by sea, or hidden in the back of vehicles will normally be refused citizenship. “This guidance further strengthens measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused,” a Home Office spokesperson said. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government is under pressure to reduce migration after Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party won roughly…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to swap land in negotiations with Russia, which freed at least one American prisoner in what US President Donald Trump described Tuesday as a goodwill gesture on ending the war. Zelensky has in the past refused to cede any territory after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But in an interview with The Guardian published Tuesday, he said Kyiv was ready for serious talks ahead of a Friday meeting at the Munich Security Conference with US Vice President JD Vance — a vocal critic of US military support to Ukraine. “We…

The authorities of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State, have commenced an investigation into a scuffle involving a lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts of the institution and a student over a filmed social media content. A spokesman of the school, Njelita Louis, said the management of the institution led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ikechebelu, would impose the appropriate sanction on any of the parties found culpable. In viral videos, a third-year student in the Department of History and International Studies, Goddy Precious, was seen around the corridors dancing before her phone, capturing a TikTok moment…