Headline

Tinubu Forms Economic Coordination Council, Names Dangote, Elumelu As Members [See full list]

Published

1 year ago

March 27, 2024

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, announced the establishment of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, PECC, and the creation of the Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce, EET, comprising public and private sector economic policy experts across board.

This was made public via a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale in Abuja.

According to the presidential spokesman, the establishment of the economic team is a strategic move to bolster the nation’s economic governance frameworks and ensure robust and coordinated economic planning and implementation.

The Presidential Economic Coordination Council, PECC, comprises distinguished leaders and key government officials, including: President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – Chairman of the PECC, Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – Vice-Chairman of the PECC / NEC Chairman, President of the Nigerian Senate and the Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

Others are Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.

Also members are the Minister of Labour and Employment, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Minister of Power, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Minister of State, Gas Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Works.

The statement revealed that the PECC will also comprise key members of the organized private sector, with the following members joining for a period not exceeding one year, subject to the President’s directive: Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr. Tony Elumelu, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, Ms. Amina Maina, Mr. Begun Ajayi-Kadir, Mrs. Funke Okpeke, Dr. Doyin Salami, Mr. Patrick Okigbo, Mr. Kola Adesina, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Mr. Chidi Ajaere, Mr. Abdulkadir Aliu and Mr. Rasheed Sarumi.

Furthermore, in his determination to address immediate economic challenges and ensure the streamlined execution of economic strategies, President Bola Tinubu has established the Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce (EET) with a mandate to formulate and implement a consolidated emergency economic plan.

The taskforce, chaired by Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, comprises key government officials and industry leaders in furtherance of the President’s collaborative approach toward achieving economic resilience and growth.

“The EET is now mandated to submit a comprehensive plan of economic interventions for 2024 to the PECC, covering the next six (6) months, for immediate implementation within two weeks of its inauguration”, the statement said.

The EET will meet twice weekly and is composed of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance (Chairman of the EET), Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Minister of Power, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, and Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare

Others are the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, National Security Adviser, Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Governor of Anambra State, Governor of Ogun State and the Governor of Niger State Other members are, the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, GCEO, NNPC Limited, Director-General, Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Dr. Bismarck Rewane, Economist and Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa, Economist.

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

5 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

6 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

Headline

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

6 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP