Africa Business Radio

The Director-General, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Mr Folorunsho Coker has stressed the need for stakeholders in the tourism industry to collaborate in order to drive the growth of the sector.Coker says the time had come for actors in the tourism and hospitality industry to stop competing with one another and embrace collaboration to move the industry forward.He says stakeholders should collaborate rather than compete adding that the sector was the worst hit since the advent of the coronavirus.He says the COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique opportunity for advancement by accelerating the deployment of disruptive technologies to make work and living easier.

The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending says with the release of N232 million to Gbagolo Integrated Farms Limited and TOAJ Nigeria Limited, it had so far disbursed over N128 billion for agriculture and agribusiness activities in the country since it was established about 10 years ago. Managing Director of NIRSAL Plc, Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed, says the huge investment translates to the creation of jobs, driving the growth of rural economies, and positively impacting Nigerian lives.Abdulhameed says the N232 million for Gbagolo Integrated Farms Limited and TOAJ Nigeria Limited, for investment in poultry production and cocoa export value chains in Cross River State, were sourced from Union Bank and Sterling Bank Plc.

The Nigerian Government has condemned what it describes as an apparent coup d’état in the Republic of Guinea.A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Esther Sunsuwa says the takeover of power by the military is in clear violation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.It says the Government of Nigeria strongly condemns and rejects any unconstitutional change of government and therefore calls on those behind this coup to restore constitutional order without delay and protect all lives and property.Incumbent President Alpha Conde who has been in office since December 2010, was said to have been arrested by the soldiers.

The federal government has expressed its readiness to withdraw the suit it instituted at the National Industrial Court against the striking Resident Doctors if the doctors return to their duty post.It also insisted on implementing the ‘no work, no pay policy against the striking doctors, saying it is a global practice which is also captured in Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act under the International Labour Organisation.The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige says the 12-point demands of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors have been met. He, however, noted that the government would not be arm-twisted by the striking doctors not to follow the global standard.

The Supreme Court of the United States has refused to block a Texas law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.The judges voted early on Thursday to deny an emergency appeal from abortion providers and others that sought to block enforcement of the law.The law prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually about six weeks and before most women know they are pregnant. The Supreme Court said its ruling does not make any conclusions on the constitutionality of the Texas law and allows legal challenges to the legislation to move forward.

The Taliban was expected to form a government as early as Friday as it faces domestic and international pressure to rule Afghanistan with greater tolerance, especially on women’s rights.Two Taliban sources told the AFP news agency that the announcement of a new administration could be made after Friday afternoon prayers as the group shift gears to governing the country while also trying to deflect an armed challenge from rebels in the Panjshir Valley region.The United Nations says it had restarted humanitarian flights to parts of the country, linking the Pakistani capital Islamabad with Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan and Kandahar in the south.

Western Union Co says it is resuming money-transfer services to Afghanistan after suspending its operations in the Central Asian country two weeks ago as the Taliban advanced on Kabul.the company says starting September 2, 2021, Western Union will be resuming its money transfer services into Afghanistan, enabling customers from 200 countries and territories to once again send money to their loved ones in the country.The company also said it would offer a two-week, $0 transfer fee for all money transfers into Afghanistan from September 3 to 17.

The United Kingdom has announced new Myanmar sanctions, saying it was targeting a key business associate of the military government for providing arms and financial support following a coup earlier this year.The UK’s foreign ministry says it would impose an asset freeze on conglomerate Htoo Group of Companies and its founder Tay Za, adding that the tycoon was involved in arms deals on behalf of the military.It also said Htoo contributed funds to Rohingya clearance operations in 2017.The UK has previously imposed sanctions on individuals and entities in Myanmar following the February coup.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has announced that he will not run in a ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership race later this month, setting the stage for his replacement after just one year in office.He says running in the race and handling coronavirus countermeasures would have required an enormous amount of energy.Suga’s support ratings sink below 30 per cent as the nation struggles with its worst wave of COVID-19 infections, ahead of a general election this year.Toshihiro Nikai, the LDP’s secretary-general says President Suga wants to focus his efforts on anti-coronavirus measures and will not run in the leadership election.

Yonhap news agency reported that South Korea is in the final stages of developing a surface-to-surface ballistic missile as powerful as a tactical nuclear warhead as the country unveiled budget proposals aimed at bolstering its defences against North Korea.They report that the new weapon can carry a warhead of up to three tonnes with a flight range of 350 to 400 km.The report says it can also reach all areas of North Korea if fired from around the inter-Korean border.The project went ahead after the full lifting of US-imposed restrictions on missile development.

The United Nations says a blockade on aid routes to Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray is bringing millions to the brink of famine.A senior UN official says food supplies ran out two weeks ago.He says 170 aid trucks were stranded outside Tigray and that none of the vehicles had been allowed to enter the region for the past 12 days.The Ethiopian government denies it is blocking aid and says the vehicles are on their way to the region.The US government's humanitarian agency says Tigrayan fighters have looted its warehouses in neighbouring Amhara region.

The European Union will return millions of Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses made in South Africa to the continent.African Union’s special envoy Strive Masiyiwa told reporters that all the vaccines being produced in Africa will stay in Africa and be distributed to Africa.It follows criticism that vaccines were being shipped away from a continent that has the lowest vaccination rates in the world.Less than 3% of the continent’s population has been vaccinated.

The federal government will from September 9, 2021, commence the nationwide verification of all civil servants recruited by the Federal Civil Service Commission from 2013 to 2020.The Director of Recruitment and Appointment, Federal Civil Service Commission, Ibrahim Anjugu, stated this in a circular dated August 27, 2021.The circular added that the mandatory verification exercise would hold across the six geopolitical political zones of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory.The commission threatened that any officer who fails to turn up for the verification exercise would have his or her salary automatically stopped.

Former Inspector-General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro has advised the federal government to be two steps ahead of criminals in its resolve to address the rising security challenges facing the country.He also advised the government at the centre to adequately equip and train the nation’s security agencies in line with international standards.Okiro says the security problem is nationwide and not limited to any particular sector or organisation.He says the federal government really has to look into the security agencies and put them at par with what is happening in the outside world.

The federal government says that it will partner with journalists and the mass media in the campaign to eliminate and prevent child labour in the country.The government says there was a need to create more awareness of the dangers of child labour, and the efforts to prevent and eliminate this hydra-headed monster are now more imperative than ever.The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Yerima Tarfa, says that Nigeria is working on achieving a significant milestone in the elimination of Child Labour practices.He added that child labour and other forms of modern slavery are issues of grave concern in the global arena on account of their dire consequences, and the persistence of those consequences through generations of families.

The Enugu State House of Assembly has passed the anti-open grazing bill into law.The law was passed after the acceptance of the report of the public hearing by the joint committee of the House.Speaker of the assembly, Hon Edward Ubosi, thanked its sponsors, noting that the people of the state have been clamouring for the law for a long time.He expressed optimism that the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi would not waste time in accenting to the law, especially giving its relevance to the people.Ubosi insisted that the law was not intended to witch-hunt anybody or group but for the good of the people of the state and others that live in the state.

The Federal Government says it allocated N6trn to the Niger Delta Development Commission between 2001 and 2019. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami says It is on record that between 2001 and 2019, the Federal Government allocated the total sum of approximately N6 trillion to the Niger Delta Development Commission.He says the figure is an indication that the Federal Government has allocated a good amount of funds to the development of Nigeria’s oil-bearing region.He, however, expressed concern over uncompleted and some unverified projects in the Niger Delta despite the allocations.

Qatar’s foreign minister has warned that isolating the Taliban could lead to further instability and urged countries to engage with the movement to address security and socioeconomic concerns in Afghanistan.Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani says they believe that without engagement they cannot reach real progress on the security front or on the socioeconomic front adding that recognising the Taliban as the government was not a priority.The Qatari foreign minister also warned against any rise of terrorism after the US withdrawal and called for an inclusive government.

The United Kingdom has opened talks with the Taliban to secure safe passage out of Afghanistan for its citizens and Afghans who have worked for the British government.Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s special representative for Afghan transition, Simon Gass, flew to Doha, Qatar, to meet Taliban representatives.Gass is meeting with senior Taliban representatives to underline the importance of safe passage out of Afghanistan for British nationals, and those Afghans who have worked with us over the past twenty years.

President Joe Biden says exit from Afghanistan was the best decision for America.He spoke after the United Nations warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, underscoring the daunting challenges that the victorious Taliban face as they transform from insurgent group to governing power.Biden argued that the only choice in Afghanistan was leaving or escalating.He says no nation has ever done anything like it in all of history; only the United States had the capacity and the will and the ability to do it.