NAIJAFEED

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Video - Nigeria struggling to manage mounting electronic waste

Global e-waste is growing five times faster than recycling, with Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, being a major contributor. Experts say Nigeria's government needs to put measures in place to encourage proper disposal of e-waste and more recycling.

CGTN

Video - Port Harcourt and Dangote refineries expected to help meet local consumption needs

Nigeria's state-owned Port Harcourt refinery is finally back up and running. It is hoped that, along with recent launch of the privately-owned Dangote refinery, Nigeria will soon be able to supply the petrol products needed domestically while positioning Nigeria as a petroleum product exporter.

CGTN

Video - Activists in Nigeria call for more efforts to secure employment for people with disabilities

Advocates for equal rights in Nigeria want President Bola Tinubu to ensure a five percent employment quota in government jobs for persons with disabilities is implemented. They also want the government to embark on skill acquisition programmes for people with disabilities to allow them to become self-reliant.

CGTN

Chinese company buys Nigerian cement manufacturer

Swiss building materials manufacturer Holcim will sell its stake in Nigerian cement company Lafarge Africa to Huaxin, a Chinese company, it said.

Holcim said the $1 billion deal is expected to be completed in 2025.

It holds an 84% stake in Lafarge Africa but is divesting as part of a broader move to focus on core growth markets. It sold businesses in Tanzania and Uganda last year.

Lafarge Africa is one of Nigeria’s largest cement companies with four plants that have a combined output of 10.5 million tonnes per year. The company’s profit after taxes fell 4.7% last year despite a 9% increase in net sales. Its sale is the latest instance of a Nigerian company whose foreign parent has divested from it, following Diageo’s sale of Guinness Nigeria in June to Singaporean group Tolaram.

By Alexander Onukwue, Semafor

More than 50 dead and dozens missing after Nigeria boat sinks

At least 54 bodies have now been recovered from Nigeria’s River Niger after a boat, that may have been carrying more than 200 passengers, capsized in the early hours of Friday, the authorities say.

Twenty-four of those on board were rescued, some of whom are still in hospital, but dozens of others may be missing.

Divers are still searching the waters but hope is fading on the possibility of finding more survivors.

This is just the latest in a long series of boat accidents on the country’s inland waterways. Despite safety recommendations being made, rules are rarely followed and few are held accountable.

The boat was travelling from Kogi state, central Nigeria, to a weekly market in neighbouring Niger state when it went down.

Market traders and farm labourers were thought to have been among the passengers.

The cause of the accident is not yet known but there are indications that many of the travellers may not have been wearing life jackets as required.

Getting accurate details about who exactly had boarded the boat is difficult because there was no record keeping, the local official in charge told the BBC.

“The problem is that there’s no passenger manifest and because of the time the accident occurred, giving an accurate account of persons, survivors and those missing, is very difficult,” Justin Uche, who is head of the Kogi state office of the National Emergency Management Agency said.

Meanwhile Kogi state’s governor Usman Ododo ordered all hospitals where survivors are receiving treatment to ensure that they get adequate care including food.

He also urged stricter enforcement of safety regulations to ensure that such incidents are avoided in future.

This is the third time a passenger boat has gone down in Nigeria in the last 60 days.

Last month, a wooden dugout canoe, packed with nearly 300 passengers, overturned and sank in the middle of the River Niger killing nearly 200 people.

Just last week, five people died when two boats collided in southern Nigeria’s Delta state.

By Chris Ewokor, BBC