US Ambassador to Nigeria James Entwistle revealed this yesterday in Abuja during a courtesy call on the Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), in his office.
Entwistle said his country had concluded plans to send a team to Nigeria by January, as part of efforts to end all forms of insecurity in Nigeria and the world at large.
“We are ready to partner with you on security. As you know the Security Governance Initiative (SGI), we will be having a team here in January in this regard. It is an attempt to approach the need to reform democracy in order to improve security performance. This project will be done with the Nigerian government,” and assured the minister of total support to combat insecurity.
In a similar development, Nigeria and Israel have agreed to engage in a partnership that will put an end to the incidents of insurgency and terrorism and challenges of internal security threatening the country’s stability and corporate existence.
This was revealed yesterday when the Ambassador of Israel, Uriel Palti paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) in Abuja.
Palti, who said the major challenge of dealing with the country’s internal security lies within the jurisdiction of the Interior ministry, said, “The fight against terrorism is an issue affecting four other countries in the West African sub-region including Nigeria. It is an issue affecting the world as a whole. We look forward to partnering with you for mutual interests in the future.”
Responding, the minister of Interior who expressed gratitude to the US ambassador, assuring that the Nigerian government will partner with the US to ensure fruitful implementation of the project said, “We want to assure you that we will fulfill our own part of the partnership and we are confident that you will fulfill your own part also.”
Speaking earlier, Ambassador Palti, who said he had been mandated by the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu to do everything possible to strengthen relations between Israel and Nigeria in areas of bilateral interests, added, “we have the experience and we will work with you. We will collaborate with you in the areas of counter-terrorism and strengthening of your internal security.”
Source:www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/12/u-s-terrorism-experts-arrive-in-nigeria-jan-2016/
Wednesday, 2 December 2015
British terror suspect Jermaine Grant jailed in Kenya
A British man accused of plotting terror attacks on the Kenyan coast has been jailed for nine years in Mombasa.
Jermaine Grant, from London, was jailed for nine charges related to trying to illegally obtain Kenyan citizenship.
He faces separate charges of "conspiring to improvise an explosive device" and a trial in Mombasa is ongoing. He denies the terror charges.
Grant was arrested in 2011 when batteries and chemicals were discovered in his apartment in Mombasa.
UK police - who have provided forensic assistance to Kenyan authorities - allege they were "precursors for making highly volatile explosive substances".
Samantha Lewthwaite, known as the "White Widow" and wanted in connection with the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005, is also suspected of being involved in the alleged plot.
She escaped arrest in Kenya in 2011 and has been missing since then.
The sentencing of Grant comes after Mombasa High Court judge Martin Muya overturned an earlier acquittal on the Kenyan citizenship charges.
He sentenced him to one year in prison for each of the charges.
Source:www.bbc.com/news/uk-34982045
Jermaine Grant, from London, was jailed for nine charges related to trying to illegally obtain Kenyan citizenship.
He faces separate charges of "conspiring to improvise an explosive device" and a trial in Mombasa is ongoing. He denies the terror charges.
Grant was arrested in 2011 when batteries and chemicals were discovered in his apartment in Mombasa.
UK police - who have provided forensic assistance to Kenyan authorities - allege they were "precursors for making highly volatile explosive substances".
Samantha Lewthwaite, known as the "White Widow" and wanted in connection with the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005, is also suspected of being involved in the alleged plot.
She escaped arrest in Kenya in 2011 and has been missing since then.
The sentencing of Grant comes after Mombasa High Court judge Martin Muya overturned an earlier acquittal on the Kenyan citizenship charges.
He sentenced him to one year in prison for each of the charges.
Source:www.bbc.com/news/uk-34982045
Anti-ageing drug could see humans live to 120
Scientists believe common diabetes drug metformin could hold secret of long life and want to start groundbreaking human trial in 2016
THE world’s first anti-ageing drug will be tested on humans next year in trials which could see diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s consigned to distant memory.
According to Wikipedia, Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. It is the commonest cause of premature senility.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disease of the nervous system marked by tremor, muscular rigidity, and slow, imprecise movement, chiefly affecting middle-aged and elderly people.
Scientists now believe that it is possible to actually stop people growing old as quickly and help them live in good health well into their 110s and 120s.
Although it might seem like science fiction, researchers have already proven that the diabetes drug metformin extends the life of animals, and the Food and Drug Administration in the United States (US) has now given the go ahead for a trial to see if the same effects can be replicated in humans.
If successful it will mean that a person in their 70s would be as biologically healthy as a 50 year old. It could usher in a new era of ‘geroscience’ where doctors would no longer fight individual conditions like cancer, diabetes and dementia, but instead treat the underlying mechanism – ageing.
Scottish ageing expert Professor Gordon Lithgow of the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing in California, is one of the study advisors.
“If you target an ageing process and you slow down ageing then you slow down all the diseases and pathology of ageing as well,” he said “That’s revolutionary. That’s never happened before.
“I have been doing research into ageing for 25 years and the idea that we would be talking about a clinical trial in humans for an anti-ageing drug would have been though inconceivable.
“But there is every reason to believe it’s possible. The future is taking the biology that we’ve now developed and applying it to humans. 20 years ago ageing was a biological mystery. Now we are starting to understand what is going on.”
Ageing is not an inevitable part of life because all cells contain a Deoxy ribonucleic Acid (DNA)/genetic material blueprint, which could keep a body functioning correctly forever. Some marine creatures do not age at all.
However over our lifetime billions of cell divisions must occur to keep our bodies functioning correctly and the more times cells divide the more errors creep into the process. As cell problems grow, the body can no longer repaid damage. In the case of cancer, cells no longer have the ability to get rid of mutations, and tumours grow. In Alzheimer’s the brain stops clearing out sticky plaques, and dementia develops.
Scientists think the best candidate for an anti-ageing drug is metformin, the world’s most widely used diabetes drug which costs just 10p a day. Metformin increases the number of oxygen molecules released into a cell, which appears to boost robustness and longevity.
When Belgian researchers tested metformin on the tiny roundworm C. elegans the worms not only aged slower, but they also stayed healthier longer. They did not slow down or develop wrinkles. Mice treated with metformin increased their lifespan by nearly 40 per cent and their bones were also stronger. Last year Cardiff University found that when patients with diabetes were given the drug metformin they in fact lived longer than others without the condition, even though they should have died eight years earlier on average.
The new clinical trial called Targeting Aging with Metformin, or TAME, is scheduled to begin in the US next winter. Scientists from a range of institutions are currently raising funds and recruiting 3,000 70 to 80 year olds who have, or are risk of, cancer, heart disease and dementia. They are hoping to show that drug slows the ageing process and stops disease.
Outlining the new study on the National Geographic documentary Breakthrough: The Age of Ageing, Dr Jay Olshansky, of the University of Illinois Chicago, said: “If we can slow ageing in humans, even by just a little bit it would be monumental. People could be older, and feel young.
“Enough advancements in ageing science have been made to lead us to believe it’s plausible, it’s possible, it’s been done for other species and there is every reason to believe it could be done in us.
“This would be the most important medical intervention in the modern era, an ability to slow ageing.”
A baby girl born today is now expected to life to an average age of 82.8 years and a boy to 78.8 years, according to the Office for National Statistics. But if the results seen in animals are reproduced in humans, lifespan could increase by nearly 50 per cent.
Professor Lithgow believes that, in the future, young people may be given a type of ageing ‘vaccine’ to slow down ageing.
Source:www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/12/anti-ageing-drug-could-see-humans-live-to-120/
THE world’s first anti-ageing drug will be tested on humans next year in trials which could see diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s consigned to distant memory.
According to Wikipedia, Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. It is the commonest cause of premature senility.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disease of the nervous system marked by tremor, muscular rigidity, and slow, imprecise movement, chiefly affecting middle-aged and elderly people.
Scientists now believe that it is possible to actually stop people growing old as quickly and help them live in good health well into their 110s and 120s.
Although it might seem like science fiction, researchers have already proven that the diabetes drug metformin extends the life of animals, and the Food and Drug Administration in the United States (US) has now given the go ahead for a trial to see if the same effects can be replicated in humans.
If successful it will mean that a person in their 70s would be as biologically healthy as a 50 year old. It could usher in a new era of ‘geroscience’ where doctors would no longer fight individual conditions like cancer, diabetes and dementia, but instead treat the underlying mechanism – ageing.
Scottish ageing expert Professor Gordon Lithgow of the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing in California, is one of the study advisors.
“If you target an ageing process and you slow down ageing then you slow down all the diseases and pathology of ageing as well,” he said “That’s revolutionary. That’s never happened before.
“I have been doing research into ageing for 25 years and the idea that we would be talking about a clinical trial in humans for an anti-ageing drug would have been though inconceivable.
“But there is every reason to believe it’s possible. The future is taking the biology that we’ve now developed and applying it to humans. 20 years ago ageing was a biological mystery. Now we are starting to understand what is going on.”
Ageing is not an inevitable part of life because all cells contain a Deoxy ribonucleic Acid (DNA)/genetic material blueprint, which could keep a body functioning correctly forever. Some marine creatures do not age at all.
However over our lifetime billions of cell divisions must occur to keep our bodies functioning correctly and the more times cells divide the more errors creep into the process. As cell problems grow, the body can no longer repaid damage. In the case of cancer, cells no longer have the ability to get rid of mutations, and tumours grow. In Alzheimer’s the brain stops clearing out sticky plaques, and dementia develops.
Scientists think the best candidate for an anti-ageing drug is metformin, the world’s most widely used diabetes drug which costs just 10p a day. Metformin increases the number of oxygen molecules released into a cell, which appears to boost robustness and longevity.
When Belgian researchers tested metformin on the tiny roundworm C. elegans the worms not only aged slower, but they also stayed healthier longer. They did not slow down or develop wrinkles. Mice treated with metformin increased their lifespan by nearly 40 per cent and their bones were also stronger. Last year Cardiff University found that when patients with diabetes were given the drug metformin they in fact lived longer than others without the condition, even though they should have died eight years earlier on average.
The new clinical trial called Targeting Aging with Metformin, or TAME, is scheduled to begin in the US next winter. Scientists from a range of institutions are currently raising funds and recruiting 3,000 70 to 80 year olds who have, or are risk of, cancer, heart disease and dementia. They are hoping to show that drug slows the ageing process and stops disease.
Outlining the new study on the National Geographic documentary Breakthrough: The Age of Ageing, Dr Jay Olshansky, of the University of Illinois Chicago, said: “If we can slow ageing in humans, even by just a little bit it would be monumental. People could be older, and feel young.
“Enough advancements in ageing science have been made to lead us to believe it’s plausible, it’s possible, it’s been done for other species and there is every reason to believe it could be done in us.
“This would be the most important medical intervention in the modern era, an ability to slow ageing.”
A baby girl born today is now expected to life to an average age of 82.8 years and a boy to 78.8 years, according to the Office for National Statistics. But if the results seen in animals are reproduced in humans, lifespan could increase by nearly 50 per cent.
Professor Lithgow believes that, in the future, young people may be given a type of ageing ‘vaccine’ to slow down ageing.
Source:www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/12/anti-ageing-drug-could-see-humans-live-to-120/
Nnamdi Kanu’s case stalls over death of magistrate’s father
The hearing of the case involving the Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu was on Tuesday stalled due to the death of the magistrate’s father.
The court registrar, Salisu Yunusa said the magistrate’s father died on Thursday, November 26, adding that no date has been fixed for the hearing and ruling on the case.
On the protests regarding why the court could not sit over the case, Yunusa said, “Of course, the protesters complaining are not part of the case, besides, are the counsels complaining?”
“Did any of the counsels complain to you,” Yunusa asked.
DAILY POST recalls that the Director of Radio Biafra was on October 18, arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, upon his arrival into Nigeria from the United Kingdom.
Though Kanu had being granted bail by a Wuse 2 Magistrate Court, he is still in the custody of the DSS.
Dim Udebuani, one of the counsels to Kanu in his reaction commiserated with the bereaved magistrate on the death of his father, but described the continued incarceration of Kanu by the DSS as demonic.
“It is a matter that speaks for itself; we have just being told that your lordship, Honourable Shuaibu Usman lost his father,” Udebuani said.
Source :dailypost.ng/2015/12/02/nnamdi-kanus-case-stalls-over-death-of-magistrates-father/
The court registrar, Salisu Yunusa said the magistrate’s father died on Thursday, November 26, adding that no date has been fixed for the hearing and ruling on the case.
On the protests regarding why the court could not sit over the case, Yunusa said, “Of course, the protesters complaining are not part of the case, besides, are the counsels complaining?”
“Did any of the counsels complain to you,” Yunusa asked.
DAILY POST recalls that the Director of Radio Biafra was on October 18, arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, upon his arrival into Nigeria from the United Kingdom.
Though Kanu had being granted bail by a Wuse 2 Magistrate Court, he is still in the custody of the DSS.
Dim Udebuani, one of the counsels to Kanu in his reaction commiserated with the bereaved magistrate on the death of his father, but described the continued incarceration of Kanu by the DSS as demonic.
“It is a matter that speaks for itself; we have just being told that your lordship, Honourable Shuaibu Usman lost his father,” Udebuani said.
Source :dailypost.ng/2015/12/02/nnamdi-kanus-case-stalls-over-death-of-magistrates-father/
Transparency report: Africa’s business tycoons highly corrupt
Business executives are the most corrupt group in Africa after police officers, a new survey indicates.
This is the first time its annual survey ranked businessmen as highly corrupt, Transparency International said.
Abuses of power increase poverty and deprive people of basic needs, the anti-corruption watchdog warned.
Poor people were hardest hit as they were almost twice as likely to pay a bribe compared with the more affluent.
More than people 43,000 were interviewed in 28 states in sub-Saharan Africa for the People and Corruption: African Survey 2015.
Here are some of the other interesting findings from the report done by Transparency International together with the Afrobarometer research group:
1) 75 million estimated to have paid a bribe
Corruption rose in Africa over the past year, with about 75 million of people paying bribes over the last year, the survey said.
The majority of those surveyed – 58% – said that corruption had increased over the past year.
Some of these were to escape punishment by the police or courts, but many people were forced to pay “to get access to the basic services that they desperately need”, it said.
2) Liberia perceived to be most corrupt
Liberia has by far the highest rate of bribery of the countries surveyed, with 69% of people who used public services saying the had paid bribes in the past year.
This was followed by Cameroon, Nigeria and Sierra Leone which were found to have high bribery rates of between 41% and 48%.
In East Africa, Uganda fared worse than Kenya (38% to 37%), while Zimbabwe (22%) and Zambia (17%) were the most corrupt in southern Africa.
3) Only 1% of people in Botswana and Mauritius paid a bribe
Botswana, Mauritius and Cape Verde, where 2% of people were forced to pay bribes, had the lowest bribery rates in sub-Saharan Africa.
This was on a par with low bribery rate countries on other continents, such as in Europe or the US, Transparency International says.
4) 35% afraid to report corruption
Only about one in 10 people who paid a bribe actually reported it last year. The top reasons given for people failing to do so was fear of the consequences (35%) and that it would not make a difference (14%).
There was therefore a need to focus on “protecting those who report corruption, making existing reporting mechanisms more effective, and awareness raising about how and where to report”, Transparency International said.
5 ) Religious leaders least corrupt
Those surveyed regarded religious leaders and traditional leaders to be the least corrupt, although 15% still saw the clergy as corrupt and 21% for the latter.
Government officials and tax officials rank as the third and fourth most corrupt groups – 38% and 37% respectively.
Judges and magistrates also ranked badly with 34% viewing them as corrupt, compared with the 33% ranking for parliamentarians and the 31% for the offices of presidents.
Out of six key public services, people who come into contact with the police and the courts were the most likely to have paid a bribe, the survey showed.
Source: newtelegraphonline.com/transparency-report-africas-business-tycoons-highly-corrupt/
This is the first time its annual survey ranked businessmen as highly corrupt, Transparency International said.
Abuses of power increase poverty and deprive people of basic needs, the anti-corruption watchdog warned.
Poor people were hardest hit as they were almost twice as likely to pay a bribe compared with the more affluent.
More than people 43,000 were interviewed in 28 states in sub-Saharan Africa for the People and Corruption: African Survey 2015.
Here are some of the other interesting findings from the report done by Transparency International together with the Afrobarometer research group:
1) 75 million estimated to have paid a bribe
Corruption rose in Africa over the past year, with about 75 million of people paying bribes over the last year, the survey said.
The majority of those surveyed – 58% – said that corruption had increased over the past year.
Some of these were to escape punishment by the police or courts, but many people were forced to pay “to get access to the basic services that they desperately need”, it said.
2) Liberia perceived to be most corrupt
Liberia has by far the highest rate of bribery of the countries surveyed, with 69% of people who used public services saying the had paid bribes in the past year.
This was followed by Cameroon, Nigeria and Sierra Leone which were found to have high bribery rates of between 41% and 48%.
In East Africa, Uganda fared worse than Kenya (38% to 37%), while Zimbabwe (22%) and Zambia (17%) were the most corrupt in southern Africa.
3) Only 1% of people in Botswana and Mauritius paid a bribe
Botswana, Mauritius and Cape Verde, where 2% of people were forced to pay bribes, had the lowest bribery rates in sub-Saharan Africa.
This was on a par with low bribery rate countries on other continents, such as in Europe or the US, Transparency International says.
4) 35% afraid to report corruption
Only about one in 10 people who paid a bribe actually reported it last year. The top reasons given for people failing to do so was fear of the consequences (35%) and that it would not make a difference (14%).
There was therefore a need to focus on “protecting those who report corruption, making existing reporting mechanisms more effective, and awareness raising about how and where to report”, Transparency International said.
5 ) Religious leaders least corrupt
Those surveyed regarded religious leaders and traditional leaders to be the least corrupt, although 15% still saw the clergy as corrupt and 21% for the latter.
Government officials and tax officials rank as the third and fourth most corrupt groups – 38% and 37% respectively.
Judges and magistrates also ranked badly with 34% viewing them as corrupt, compared with the 33% ranking for parliamentarians and the 31% for the offices of presidents.
Out of six key public services, people who come into contact with the police and the courts were the most likely to have paid a bribe, the survey showed.
Source: newtelegraphonline.com/transparency-report-africas-business-tycoons-highly-corrupt/
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Osinbajo seeks synergy among MSMEs, donor agencies
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has blamed lack of synergy among the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for their inability to access the numerous funding opportunities available to them.
He has therefore suggested an effective monitoring and evaluation mechanism for MSME funds to address the existing gaps to enable the economy to grow.
Osinbajo who made the suggestion at the 2015 National MSMEs Summit with the theme, “Entrepreneurship for National Development: The Place of MSMEs in the Economy Under the Change Agenda,” in Abuja said, ”we need a very effective monitoring and evaluation strategy so that we can address where exactly the gaps and the shortfalls are.
“But today, it is evident that the programmes are there; it is evident that the resources are there; it is also evident that the entrepreneurs are there; those who want to get engaged are there. But we need to make that very important link between the two.”
He said it was either there was no connection or that it was difficult for the entrepreneurs to access them. The Vice President observed that the reasons for the difficulty was because officials were not actually required to account for every person that was receiving the fund.
“I think it is very important, going forward, that all those in the public sector should sit together and work out a way by which we will be able to actually measure all the deliverables in this sector.
“For instance, we know we are supposed to fund a certain number of people. Who are these people? Can we verify them? How much are they getting? In what ways are their performances measurable?, and how do we measure their performances?”
Osinbajo said that effective coordination among agencies was needed to remove the overlaps and streamline all the different interventions in order to avoid wastages.
According to him, efforts would be made to improve the ease of doing business index, which makes Nigeria one of the worst places for doing business. He said it required a determination on the part of the people to ensure a cleanup of the environment and making things to work.
Osinbajo said it was the determination of the Buhari administration to give every Nigerian the fair chance to do business by making it easy to get business permits following due process.
He said the summit should not end at mere talking but acting to promote the Nigerian spirit in growing business despite the economic challenges in the country.
In an address, the Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, said the summit was aimed at removing all the bottlenecks to investment.
She said Nigeria was blessed with no fewer than 44 solid minerals in sufficient quantity, adding that there was need to harness them to stem the tide of poverty and joblessness bedevilling the youth population.
“One of the most critical challenges confronting the nation is how to ensure that the strong micro-economic performances translate to improvement in the living standards of our citizens. This is why the development of the MSMEs is imperative in view of dwindling oil revenue.
“This is a sub sector that has the potential to create jobs, reduce poverty, grow the middle class and shift the paradigm of wealth in the country,” she said.
She said the sector contributed about 70 per cent to the national economy but was faced with numerous challenges such as access to finance, markets and information, inadequate infrastructure, high cost of doing business, and lack of business development skills.
She promised that the administration would pay the relevant attention to the sector for economic growth via proper policy focus and harmonization of fragmented MMSEs initiatives as well as constant dialogue with entrepreneurs.
The Director-General, SME Development Agency of Nigeria, Alhaji Bature Masari, advocated the establishment of an MMSE bank to position the enterprises for empowerment and job creation.
Masari said that the reality caused by dwindling oil revenue called for diversification of the economy which could be propelled by the MMSE operators.
He said that statistics showed that in 2010, there were 17.3 million MSMEs employing about 32.4 million and contributing 46 percent to the GDP.
He, however, said that in another survey in 2014, MSMEs grew to 32 million employing 59 million, representing 84.2 per cent of the labour force, contributing 48 per cent to GDP and 7.2 per cent of export.
Masari added that about 99.8 percent of the 32 million of the MMSEs were micro enterprises and that deliberate efforts should be made to support the sector.
Source sunnewsonline.com/new/osinbajo-seeks-synergy-among-msmes-donor-agencies/
He has therefore suggested an effective monitoring and evaluation mechanism for MSME funds to address the existing gaps to enable the economy to grow.
Osinbajo who made the suggestion at the 2015 National MSMEs Summit with the theme, “Entrepreneurship for National Development: The Place of MSMEs in the Economy Under the Change Agenda,” in Abuja said, ”we need a very effective monitoring and evaluation strategy so that we can address where exactly the gaps and the shortfalls are.
“But today, it is evident that the programmes are there; it is evident that the resources are there; it is also evident that the entrepreneurs are there; those who want to get engaged are there. But we need to make that very important link between the two.”
He said it was either there was no connection or that it was difficult for the entrepreneurs to access them. The Vice President observed that the reasons for the difficulty was because officials were not actually required to account for every person that was receiving the fund.
“I think it is very important, going forward, that all those in the public sector should sit together and work out a way by which we will be able to actually measure all the deliverables in this sector.
“For instance, we know we are supposed to fund a certain number of people. Who are these people? Can we verify them? How much are they getting? In what ways are their performances measurable?, and how do we measure their performances?”
Osinbajo said that effective coordination among agencies was needed to remove the overlaps and streamline all the different interventions in order to avoid wastages.
According to him, efforts would be made to improve the ease of doing business index, which makes Nigeria one of the worst places for doing business. He said it required a determination on the part of the people to ensure a cleanup of the environment and making things to work.
Osinbajo said it was the determination of the Buhari administration to give every Nigerian the fair chance to do business by making it easy to get business permits following due process.
He said the summit should not end at mere talking but acting to promote the Nigerian spirit in growing business despite the economic challenges in the country.
In an address, the Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, said the summit was aimed at removing all the bottlenecks to investment.
She said Nigeria was blessed with no fewer than 44 solid minerals in sufficient quantity, adding that there was need to harness them to stem the tide of poverty and joblessness bedevilling the youth population.
“One of the most critical challenges confronting the nation is how to ensure that the strong micro-economic performances translate to improvement in the living standards of our citizens. This is why the development of the MSMEs is imperative in view of dwindling oil revenue.
“This is a sub sector that has the potential to create jobs, reduce poverty, grow the middle class and shift the paradigm of wealth in the country,” she said.
She said the sector contributed about 70 per cent to the national economy but was faced with numerous challenges such as access to finance, markets and information, inadequate infrastructure, high cost of doing business, and lack of business development skills.
She promised that the administration would pay the relevant attention to the sector for economic growth via proper policy focus and harmonization of fragmented MMSEs initiatives as well as constant dialogue with entrepreneurs.
The Director-General, SME Development Agency of Nigeria, Alhaji Bature Masari, advocated the establishment of an MMSE bank to position the enterprises for empowerment and job creation.
Masari said that the reality caused by dwindling oil revenue called for diversification of the economy which could be propelled by the MMSE operators.
He said that statistics showed that in 2010, there were 17.3 million MSMEs employing about 32.4 million and contributing 46 percent to the GDP.
He, however, said that in another survey in 2014, MSMEs grew to 32 million employing 59 million, representing 84.2 per cent of the labour force, contributing 48 per cent to GDP and 7.2 per cent of export.
Masari added that about 99.8 percent of the 32 million of the MMSEs were micro enterprises and that deliberate efforts should be made to support the sector.
Source sunnewsonline.com/new/osinbajo-seeks-synergy-among-msmes-donor-agencies/
Up to 3000 IS fighters in Libya
The Islamic State group has between 2000 and 3000 fighters in Libya and has demonstrated its intention to control more territory in the strategically located North African country.
But it's only one player among multiple warring factions, United Nations experts said in a report on Tuesday.
The experts monitoring UN sanctions against al-Qaeda and spinoff groups said in the report to the UN Security Council that the Islamic State group is benefiting from its "appeal" and notoriety in Iraq and Syria and poses "an evident short and long-term threat in Libya".
The group's central command views Libya "as the 'best' opportunity to expand its so-called caliphate" from Syria and Iraq, the experts said.
The 24-page report cautioned, however, that the group "faces strong resistance from the population, as well as difficulties in building and maintaining local alliances" - and stressed that its threat "needs to be realistically assessed."
Nonetheless, the experts said there is concern at the spread of the Islamic State group in Libya, given the country's strategic location on the Mediterranean Sea and its use as a transit point in North Africa.
More territory would not only enable IS and al-Qaeda-linked groups to further influence ongoing conflicts in North Africa and the Sahel but give the extremists a new hub outside the Middle East, they said.
Eight independent experts were appointed by the Secretary-General to write the report, with expertise in counter-terrorism, financing of terrorism, arms embargoes, travel bans and related legal issues.
Oil-rich Libya slid into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. It is divided between an elected parliament and government based in the eastern port city of Tobruk and an Islamist militia-backed government in the capital Tripoli - with militants from IS and al-Qaeda also exploiting the chaos.
The United Nations has been pressing the rival governments to form a national unity government, so far unsuccessfully.
Several UN member states told the experts "that in total (IS) has no more than 2000-3000 fighters in Libya", with about 1500 now in Sirte, the report said.
Originally published as Up to 3000 IS fighters in Libya
Source :www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/up-to-3000-is-fighters-in-libya/news-story/218e4c59da16f326d9d8650e876d50a3
But it's only one player among multiple warring factions, United Nations experts said in a report on Tuesday.
The experts monitoring UN sanctions against al-Qaeda and spinoff groups said in the report to the UN Security Council that the Islamic State group is benefiting from its "appeal" and notoriety in Iraq and Syria and poses "an evident short and long-term threat in Libya".
The group's central command views Libya "as the 'best' opportunity to expand its so-called caliphate" from Syria and Iraq, the experts said.
The 24-page report cautioned, however, that the group "faces strong resistance from the population, as well as difficulties in building and maintaining local alliances" - and stressed that its threat "needs to be realistically assessed."
Nonetheless, the experts said there is concern at the spread of the Islamic State group in Libya, given the country's strategic location on the Mediterranean Sea and its use as a transit point in North Africa.
More territory would not only enable IS and al-Qaeda-linked groups to further influence ongoing conflicts in North Africa and the Sahel but give the extremists a new hub outside the Middle East, they said.
Eight independent experts were appointed by the Secretary-General to write the report, with expertise in counter-terrorism, financing of terrorism, arms embargoes, travel bans and related legal issues.
Oil-rich Libya slid into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. It is divided between an elected parliament and government based in the eastern port city of Tobruk and an Islamist militia-backed government in the capital Tripoli - with militants from IS and al-Qaeda also exploiting the chaos.
The United Nations has been pressing the rival governments to form a national unity government, so far unsuccessfully.
Several UN member states told the experts "that in total (IS) has no more than 2000-3000 fighters in Libya", with about 1500 now in Sirte, the report said.
Originally published as Up to 3000 IS fighters in Libya
Source :www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/up-to-3000-is-fighters-in-libya/news-story/218e4c59da16f326d9d8650e876d50a3
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