Sequel to an invitation to serve as Keynote Speaker at the University of Massachusetts-Boston’s 6th Africa Day, co-organized by UMASS-Boston, West Africa Research Association (WARA) and West Africa Research Centre (WARC) of Boston University, the ECOWAS Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Ambassador Kinza Jawara-Njai delivered the Keynote address of the 2024 Academic Conference of UMASS Boston’s John W. McCormark Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at its Campus in Boston on Friday, 19th April 2024.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved an increase of between 25% and 35% in salary Increase for Civil Servants on the remaining six Consolidated Salary Structures. The Head of Press, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Emmanuel Njoku, who made the announcement in a statement noted that the increase takes effect from 1st January 2024.

The Federal Government (FG) has declared that Wednesday, May 1, 2024 would be a public holiday to mark this year’s Workers’ Day celebration. This was made known on Tuesday in a press statement signed by Aishetu Ndayako, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior on behalf of Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior.

Yobe State government said 85 persons have died from Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the state while 2,510 have recovered from the disease between January 2023 to April 2024. The Commissioner for Health in the State, Dr Lawan Gana while addressing journalists in Damaturu also refuted the purported social media report on the alleged deaths of 200 persons in Potiskum and Nangere local government areas of the state.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has stated that the alleged Nido infant milk formula, which is said to contain excess sugar or honey, is not registered in Nigeria, is not known to the agency, and is not in circulation. This comes after an investigative documentary aired on Al-Jazeera, an international cable network, which accused Nestle of adding excessive sugar to its NIDO Infant Formula and selling it to poorer countries like Africa.

Three Sub-Saharan nations, namely Benin, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, have launched a significant program for malaria prevention in Africa. The program is a large-scale rollout of a life-saving malaria vaccine that aims to target millions of children. The vaccine's launch is announced on Tuesday 25th April 2024 in commemoration of World Malaria Day, and it seeks further to scale up vaccine deployment in the African region. Over 30 countries in the African region have shown interest in the vaccine, and several of them are scheduled to roll it out in the next year with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The Federal Government has reviewed upward the Maximum Deposit Insurance Coverage for banks operating within the country. In a recent briefing with journalists, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation Managing Director, Bello Hassan disclosed the new coverage benchmarks.

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) has started May on a positive note, with the All-Share Index rising by 0.55% and gaining 537.15 points to close at 98,762.78 points. Market capitalization also rose to N55.85 trillion, up from N55.55 trillion recorded on April 30th, 2024, giving investors a gain of N300 billion. It's great to see the market sentiment turning positive again after a month in which the market fell by 6.06% and stocks lost N3.57 trillion in value. The Group has also appointed Messrs. Chinelo Emeh as acting chief financial officer.

The Federal Government (FG) has announced new guidelines regarding the issuance of licence to gas companies, following the aftermath of the recent gas explosion in Abeokuta, Ogun State which reportedly claimed a life and burnt some vehicles. This development was made known on Thursday by the Minister of Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo where he was received by Ogun state governor, Dapo Abiodun during the minister’s condolence visit to the state.

Meta has now surpassed three (3) billion daily active users across its apps, showing a 7% increase year-over-year. The biggest surge was seen in Instagram's "Threads", which has now reached over 150 million monthly active users, up from 130 million in February.

Microsoft Corp. and The Coca-Cola Company on Tuesday announced a five-year strategic partnership to align Coca-Cola’s core technology strategy systemwide; enable the adoption of leading-edge technology; and foster innovation and productivity globally.

Meta has expanded its AI service, Meta AI, to 12 countries that include Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Canada, Australia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and others. Meta is the company managing Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Meta Llama 3, Meta AI is smarter, faster and more fun. With Meta Llama 3 technology at its core, Meta AI empowers users to accomplish tasks, acquire knowledge, foster creativity, and forge connections with ease. 

 Brentford, an English Premier League club, has signed Nigerian U20 defender Benjamin Fredrick to a four-year contract. Fredrick is a product of Simoiben Football Club, Moses Simon’s academy, in Kaduna State. 

The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has signed up the former Super Eagles winger, Finidi George as the Head Coach of the senior national football team, Super Eagles.

British media has revealed that Liverpool football club has finalised an agreement with Feyenoord yesterday that Arne Slot shall succeed Jurgen Klopp as manager. According to the Press Association a severance package has been prepared for the 45-year-old, who by his contract had two more years left but has now accepted the deal. The BBC disclosed that the deal is worth up to £9.4 million (10.9 million euros). Slot had said Thursday that he was “confident” of landing the Anfield job. 

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has stated that media freedoms, freedom of expression and access to public information are crucial to democracy.

In defiance to a court order, MultiChoice Nigeria Limited has increased the subscription rates for its DStv and GOtv bouquets, ignoring an interim order from the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) in Abuja. On Monday, the CCPT issued a clear injunction restraining MultiChoice Nigeria from adjusting its subscription prices, which were set to rise on May 1.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and a well-known socialite and businessman, Pascal Okechukwu (Cubana Chief Priest), have reached a settlement outside the court regarding the charge of Naira abuse. The charge was previously brought against him by the anti-graft agency at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, announced on Monday that he will not be resigning amidst a corruption investigation into his wife's affairs, Begoña Gomez. In a TV address from his official compound in Madrid, the PM stated that he would continue as the head of the Spanish government with more force, if possible. This announcement came days after he canceled his public duties to "reflect" on whether to continue in his job, following a Spanish court opening a probe against his wife.

The death toll from heavy floods and landslides in Tanzania has risen to 155 persons. The prime minister Kassim Majaliwa cautioned that the rains might continue into May, and urged families to vacate flood-prone areas. He added that the El Nino climate pattern has worsened ongoing rainy seasons and about 200,000 people and over 51,000 households were already affected by the disaster. El Nino is a Natural occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat worldwide, as well as drought and heavy rains. The devastating effects of the downpour were "primarily due to environmental degradation", Majaliwa said. He also blamed deforestation, unsustainable farming practices such as "slash and burn" agriculture, and unregulated livestock grazing.

On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates experienced strong thunderstorms that resulted in the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the country in just a few hours. As a result, some parts of the country's main highways and Dubai's international airport were flooded. According to the state-run news agency WAM, this unprecedented weather event surpassed any other documented since data collection began in 1949, before the discovery of crude oil when the region was still part of the Trucial States, a British protectorate.