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Nigeria Ratifies International Coffee Organisation Membership

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coffee and tea

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has ratified Nigeria’s membership at the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) 12 years after it signed the agreement.

This was part of the three major policy decisions taken at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.

Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Adeniyi Adebayo, revealed that the council ratified Nigeria’s membership of the global coffee group.

According to him, the ratification gives Nigeria a full membership status at the organisation, although it signed the agreement in 2008.

“We signed the international coffee agreement in 2008 and until now (October 21), Nigeria had not ratified this agreement and the result of not having ratified, gave us only an observer status in the organisation and unfortunately, there are a lot of things that come with full membership that the country had been missing on,” he said.

The Minister said the ratification will now afford the country the opportunity to benefit more from the organisation and be actively involved in creating policies on French press coffee trade worldwide.

“The benefits that will come to the country include the allocation of coffee development project, access to consultative fora on coffee sector finance, where our farmers will have access to funds to improve farm yields and boost coffee production in Nigeria,’’ he said.

According to the Minister, Nigeria has a lot of coffee growers in the six geo-political zones of the country with over a million farmers involved.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Environment, Mr Muhammad Mahmood, said also at the meeting, the council looked into how plastic waste management can boost the nation’s economy.

“Three months ago, we presented a memo on solid waste management. Plastic, being one of the compositions of total waste, has a significant place in the total waste regime because of its non-biodegradable nature and we have plastics littered all over the place, causing an environmental hazard to both humans and animals.

“What this policy seeks to do is to seize the opportunity of our paradigm shift from linear to a circular economy. The standard procedure in the past was, you produce, you use and dispose and we just realised that we cannot continue to do that as plastic has lent itself to recycling or reuse.

“Therefore, what this policy intends to achieve is to capitalise on that property of it being reused,” the Minister explained.

Mr Mahmood maintained that already, the Ministry of Environment has built some plastic recycling plants across the country, which will serve as a pilot scheme.

According to him, the private sector will have the opportunity to dominate the recycling plants, saying that plastic waste is the second form of waste the country needs to deal with.

He, however, stated that plastic could be recycled to produce blocks, new plastics and palettes for the production of interlocks and many more uses.

The Minister of Health, Mr Osagie Ehanire, on his part, said the council approved a bill on the establishment of a National Council for Traditional and Alternative Medicine and complementary medicine practice in Nigeria.

According to the Minister, the bill seeks to take traditional and complementary medicine out of obscurity and institutionalise it.

Mr Ehanire noted that the emergence of Coronavirus had renewed the call for home-grown solutions to public health diseases as well as to find the value in traditional medicines.

“It will also provide the opportunity for the possibility of training, setting up institutions and also being able to research further, in collaboration with the Institute of Pharmaceutical Research of Nigeria, to actually dig out the values that are in our traditional medicine, where they can be used,” he added.

The Minister said the proposed law, when approved, will also help to protect the intellectual property of traditional medicine practitioners in the country.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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NDLEA Arrests Engineer For Concealing Illicit Drugs In Pressure Machines

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Egwu Phillip Inya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a suspected drug trafficker, Mr Egwu Phillip Inya, a building engineer, while attempting to take delivery of illicit consignments concealed in pressure machines imported from South Africa.

According to a statement by the NDLEA spokesperson, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, the 42-year-old Egwu was arrested on Monday, December 2, 2024, at Okeyson Motor Park in Enugu when he showed up to collect three units of pressure machines inside which were hidden parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 7.40 kilograms.

Mr Babafemi stated that the consignments had arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos import shed on November 29, 2024.

“Following credible intelligence, officers of the MMIA Strategic Command of the Agency had monitored the shipment pass through clearing processes up to a logistics company’s warehouse outside the airport where it was to be collected by the consignee.

“The importer however changed the point of collection to Enugu at the last minute. As a result, NDLEA operatives in a follow-up operation in Enugu arrested Egwu when he showed up to collect the consignments.

“No fewer than 511,000 pills of tramadol were recovered from a Siena vehicle at Hildi, Askira Uba way in Adamawa state by NDLEA operatives on patrol along the road in the early hours of Friday 6th December.

“The occupants of the vehicle had made a detour upon sighting the NDLEA team and, after a distance, abandoned the vehicle with the consignments after noticing the operatives were on their trail,” the statement said.

It also added that in Ekiti State, two suspects, Mr Olanrewaju Alale, 48, and Mr Babatunde Kayode Ijadahun, 55, were arrested along Ise- Emure road in a J5 bus marked EPE 958 XJ while transporting 108 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1, 323 kilograms to Owo, Ondo state from where they claimed the consignment will be moved to the North for distribution.

It further read, “Another suspect, Adekunle Yusuf, 33, was nabbed by NDLEA operatives with 704 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance, concealed in white sacks on Friday 6th December at Idere road, Igboora, Oyo state.

“In Lagos, a grandmother, 65-year-old Ramata Bola Adeyemo was on Friday 6th December arrested by NDLEA operatives at 62 Odunfa Street, Lagos Island, where 20.6 litres of codeine-based syrup was recovered from her. Also arrested in Lagos was Alhaji Lawan Manga who was picked up at Ogundana Street, Ikeja on Thursday, December 5 while 4.7kg cannabis and 1.3kg tramadol were recovered from him.

“With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization lectures to schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities among others in the past week. These include WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Progressive Secondary School, Ado Awaye, Oyo state; Muslim Grammar School, Ede, Osun state; Government Girls College, Maiduguri, Borno state; Community Secondary School, Ogale, Rivers state; Santa Maria Secondary School, Igogoro, Enugu state; and Chiranci Upper Basic Junior Secondary School, Bichi, Kano state while Lagos State command of NDLEA organised WADA enlightenment lecture for leaders and members of NURTW, Orile Agege, Lagos, among others.

The chief executive of NDLEA, Mr Buba Marwa, stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.

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Aigbovbioise Aig-Imoukhuede for Africa Financial Summit in Morocco

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Aigbovbioise Aig-Imoukhuede

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The chief executive of Coronation Asset Management, Mr Aigbovbioise Aig-Imoukhuede, will speak at the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) fixed for Monday, December 9 to Tuesday 10, 2024, in Casablanca, Morocco.

Mr Aig-Imoukhuede, who is also the President of the Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), will participate as a distinguished speaker on a strategic panel titled Connecting the Dots Between Investors and Issuers with AI and Fintech, with the session to be moderated by Senior Director at McKinsey and Company, Anass Bensrhir.

He will be joined by the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Nigeria), Mr Emomotimi John Agama; and the Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority in Egypt, Mr Mohamed Farid Saleh.

The panel will delve into critical topics such as cultivating a digital investment culture to attract investors and issuers, scaling digital investment products through traditional banking channels, and fostering strong collaboration between fintech innovators and regulators.

Mr Aig-Imoukhuede will share insights on how Coronation is developing digital infrastructure and frameworks to enable wealth creation at all levels—individual, organisational, and public sector—while influencing economic growth across the continent.

“At Coronation, we believe that wealth creation should be accessible to all, and technology is the key to making this a reality.

“Through AI and fintech, we aim to bridge the gap between investors and issuers, laying the foundation for a thriving financial ecosystem across Africa. The discussions at AFIS will be instrumental in driving this transformation,” he stated.

Mr Aig-Imoukhuede is a seasoned leader in the financial sector, with extensive experience in wealth management, investment strategy, and policy advocacy.

His leadership at Coronation Asset Management highlights his expertise in driving innovative investment strategies, advancing wealth management solutions, and fostering sustainable growth across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem and the broader African market.

Coronation’s participation at AFIS reflects its commitment to redefining financial services through innovation and partnerships.

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How to Stop Recycling of Criminals, Ex-Convicts—Onabulo

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CRAN Recycling of Criminals

By Emmanuel Udom

The president of the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN), Mr Olalekan Onabulo, has explained how the various justice systems could work to stop the recycling of criminals and ex-convicts in the country.

Speaking in his welcome address at the CRAN Public Lecture/Award ceremony held at Sheba Event Centre in Ikeja, Lagos, Mr Onabulo said that there is no denying the fact that the pursuit of justice and security is a shared responsibility that demands collective efforts and collaborations.

He further explained that since recidivism, which is the recycling of criminals and ex-convicts is a hydra-headed monster, which has become a significant source of concern for security agents in the country.

Security operatives are in most cases ambushed, killed or maimed by criminals earlier arrested, investigated and prosecuted who returned to a life of criminalities after their convictions.

According to the CRAN leader, these criminals are emboldened and unrepentant and may want to take their pounds of flesh from security operatives to carry out their professional duties.

Speaking on Justice System Administration and Security in Nigeria: Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions, Mr Onabulo said all hands must be on deck to address the issue as the whole process seems to have failed and must be redeemed by all and sundry.

”The security operatives, the judiciary and indeed all Nigerians must collaborate and work together to create a safer, just, and equitable society for all,” he stated.

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