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264 Million in Nigeria, Others Malnourished – IMF

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The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a 20 per cent increase in the number of undernourished persons in Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries to 264 million in 2020.

The Deputy Managing Director, IMF, Antoinette Sayeh, made the disclosure in Washington during a conversation on ‘Supporting Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa amid the COVID-19 Pandemic and Climate Change.

A statement on the Fund’s website quoted Sayeh as saying, “The Sub-Saharan Africa has made substantial economic and social progress over the past two decades. Yet, the region is facing difficult challenges, including vulnerability to climate change .

“Indeed, we have seen a marked increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, which are driving the desertification of the Sahel, for example, and threatening growth, employment opportunities and food security. Climate change  can also act as a multiplier for conflict and fragility in the region.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has also disrupted production, imports and supply chains of food, resulting in volatile and rising food prices. And that, along with falling incomes from the pandemic, has led to an increase in the number of undernourished in the region by 20 per cent in one year to reach 264 million in 2020.

She added, “It is also deeply worrisome that the global recovery that is now taking hold is driven by only a few countries that have had greater access to vaccines and resources, leaving others, especially low-income countries, at greater risk of falling behind. In this context, safeguarding food security is clearly a daunting challenge for sub-Saharan Africa.”

According to Sayeh, due to the low vaccination rate in the region (2.5 per cent), COVID‑19 will continue to claim more lives in the region.

She said there was a need to safeguard food security and increase the efficiency of public expenditure by gradually phasing out agricultural subsidies.

The IMF deputy managing director added that these subsidies would come at a high fiscal cost, adding that “across 10 sub-Saharan African countries we have data on, the cost ranged from nine per cent to 45 per cent of public agricultural spending (or some 1.5 per cent of the GDP on average) in 2014.

“Country experiences from the region, however, suggest that the contribution of agricultural subsidies to improving food security and reducing poverty has only been weak. Policymakers should channel the savings resulting from subsidy reforms toward strengthening social protection through cash transfers,” she said.

“The additional resources could also be invested in climate-resilient infrastructure, such as irrigation systems and storage facilities that would help weather recurring droughts and floods. Reforms to safeguard food security must also include facilitating fair competition, trade integration, and enabling digitalisation – all of which will be critical to attract much needed private sector investment,” she was added.

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“80% Of Buildings In Lekki Have No Approval” – Lagos State Commissioner For Physical Planning & Urban Development Reveals

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The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, has stated that 80 per cent of buildings in Ibeju Lekki have no approval.

Olumide disclosed this while speaking to newsmen recently.

In his words; “Just last week Thursday and Friday, myself and the team were in the Ibeju Lekki and Epe axis and you would agree with me that anybody passing through that corridor would see a lot of estates marked. We went there, and I can tell you that from what we saw, over 80 per cent of them do not have approval.

The procedure to get approval is first to get the planning information, as to what those areas have been zoned for. In this case, what we have is agricultural land, and people now go to their families to buy agricultural land. Of course, those lands would be sold because those families do not know the use such land would be put to.

The next thing to do is the fence permit. If you missed the earlier information on not knowing the area zoning, at the point of getting the fence permit, you would be able to detect what the area is zoned for. After that, the layout permits a large expense of land follows.”’

Olumide noted that a layout permit cannot be obtained if it is not zoned for the purpose it was designed for or for the purpose it was being requested.

“So, you can see all these layers, but people still go ahead to start advertising. Some have even gone to the extent of displaying the sizes they want to sell. Imagine someone in the diaspora who wants to send money without any knowledge. Then, no approval is eventually gotten. Even if they pass the assignment and the survey to them, we would not grant the individual permit, because that area is not zoned for that purpose’’ Olumide said

This partly explains why some of the houses are being turn down currently in the state.

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Lady Dies After Friends Pushed Her Into Boiling Pot Of Fresh Pepper In Delta State

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A Nigerian man identified as Israel Joe, has revealed how his friend, Roseline, died after she was pushed into a boiling pot of fresh pepper and tomatoes by her two female friends in Sapele, Delta State.

Joe stated that Roseline, a caterer, went on a trip with her friends to Sapele for a catering job where the bitter ordeal occured.

She tragically passed away on Saturday, April 13 after spending two weeks at the hospital in a very horrible state.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Joe said that before her untimely death, Roseline confided in him about two of her friends who were treating her coldly.
And he has vowed to bring them to justice.

This is such a heartbreaking event.

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IPOB Declares May 30th As Sit-at-home Day Across The Southern East States To Honour Biafran Fallen Heroes

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The Indigenous People of Biafra has declared May 30, 2024, as a sit-at-home day across the South-East to celebrate Biafran soldiers.

The pro-Biafran group said that day is set aside annually to celebrate the men and women who died in the Biafran war between 1967 and 1970 and beyond and even until now.

This was made known in a press statement by the group’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, on Thursday, adding that every Biafran in the South-East is expected to sit at home and reflect on the war.

He cautioned South-East residents to avoid loitering about on this day, adding that those who intend to travel to and fro Biafra land must do so before the evening of May 29.

The IPOB statement also directed that all the residents of “Biafra Land” are to stay indoors from 6 am to 6 pm on May 30, 2024.

He also called on christians and traditionalists to pray to Chukwu okike abiama for the fallen heroes, And also for the independence of Biafra from Nigeria.

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