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VP Shettima Departs Belem For Abuja After Successful COP 30 Engagements

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VP Shettima Departs Belem For Abuja After Successful COP 30 Engagements

  • As Nigeria reaffirms resolve to champion climate change solutions in Africa

By: Our Reporter

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has departed Belem, Brazil, for Abuja after a successful diplomatic engagement in the South American country where he represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 30th Session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 30).

This is just as Nigeria has reaffirmed its determination to continue to use its influence to lead the way in seeking solutions to climate change matters in Africa and beyond.

The Conference convened by Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in collaboration with the United Nations and other global partners, was held from November 6 to 7 in the city of Belém, capital of the state of Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon.

During the international engagement, Vice President Shettima joined other world leaders, development partners and business executives at the Leaders’ Climate Summit – COP30, where he delivered a speech on Nigeria’s effort in addressing climate change, saying the nation’s renewed climate agenda represents “not just an aspiration, but a solemn national commitment to preserve the planet for future generations.”

VP Shettima also represented President Tinubu at a high-level thematic session titled, “Climate and Nature: Forests and Oceans,” on the margins of COP 30, where he delivered Nigeria’s bold statement.

Delivering the statement titled, “The Rational Soul of Nature,” he called on global partners “to recognise the economic value of nature and to channel significant finance towards protecting and restoring it through predictable, equitable, and accessible funding mechanisms.”

The Nigerian Vice President also took part in the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Fund, and participated in a roundtable chaired by President Lula on Climate and Nature, as well as an Amazonian Cocktail for Heads of Delegation, hosted by the President of Brazil.

On the sidelines, Senator Shettima also held bilateral meetings focused on establishing and managing Nigeria’s participation in the carbon markets, enabling the nation to unlock between $2.5 billion and $3 billion annually in carbon finance over the next decade to help meet climate goals.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has affirmed its determination to continue to use its influence to lead the way in seeking solutions to climate change matters in Africa and beyond.

Special Adviser to the President on NEC and Climate Change, Rukaiya El-Rufai, who disclosed this in an interview with journalists, gave a recap of the Vice President’s participation in COP 30 held Belem, Brazil.

She said Nigeria will use its influence to mobilize finance for the country, as well as advocate the adaptation finance for African nations in order to collectively tackle the challenges of climate change.

“One thing that I know the whole world would look out for is Nigeria’s leadership in Africa. So we do have our influence in the regional ECOWAS and also at AU platforms to demonstrate that we are that big brother.

“So, we must galvanize all stakeholders, both in public and private sectors, to make sure we implement our National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and make it work for us,” she said.

The presidential aide added that Nigeria’s natural resources will also play a key role in mitigating the effects of climate change.

“The natural capital we have – don’t forget that we are an oil-producing nation and endowed with vast natural gas resources and renewables – we will also continue to use that to implement the NDCs in a way that works for us and addresses the sustainable development challenges that we are facing,” El-Rufai added.

On the passion of the Nigerian government for seeking solutions to climate change matters, El-Rufai said, “Nature and climate are the very home that makes our economy thrive and also gives us the stability to live good lives. So, we are dependent on nature.

“That is why how you consume and use the natural resources is important to ensuring sustainability of livelihoods, economies and everything. So, this why we need to live our lives responsibly and also leave a better future for generations to come.

“The government led by President Bola Tinubu is concentrating on resilience and ensuring that there is long term shared value creation. The government will continue to prioritize climate and nature as well as ensuring that we lead on the necessary climate policies,” the Special Adviser added.

Noting that many countries are yet to submit their NDCs to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), El-Rufai urged them to emulate Nigeria, just as she praised Nigeria for taking the lead.

“There are many countries that haven’t submitted their NDCs yet but Nigeria has. China and EU just submitted; so, you can see we are leading because we also have our Climate Change Act as well as our carbon market framework in place, and that is why the theme for COP 30 is apt: COP of Action and Implementation.

“This COP Presidency said they are not creating anything new; rather, let world leaders seat and operationalize NDCs and make sure all those climate-related finance pledges made at Baku that were brought down from $1.3 trillion to $300 billion come to a reality,” she stated.

VP Shettima Departs Belem For Abuja After Successful COP 30 Engagements

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Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval

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Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval

By Aisha Gambo

The Centre for Girls’ Education (CGE) has commended the Kaduna State Executive Council for approving the Kaduna State Life Skills Policy and the State Policy on Gender in Education (SPGE 2026–2030).

The Executive Director of the organisation, Habiba Mohammed, made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday in Kaduna.

She said the approval marked a transition from donor-supported, time-bound interventions to a sustainable, government-led framework for delivering life skills education and promoting gender equity in schools.

According to her, the Life Skills Policy will equip young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values required to succeed in education, employment and life, while the Gender in Education Policy providzbves a framework to promote equity, inclusion, participation, retention, completion and improved learning outcomes.

“The approval moves life skills and gender equity from the margins of the classroom into the core of Kaduna State’s education system,” she said.

Mohammed said CGE contributed to the development and validation of the policies through its system-strengthening project supported by Co-Impact, OASIS Initiative and the Malala Fund, in collaboration with the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) and the Kaduna State Ministry of Education.

She said the policies built on more than 18 years of the organisation’s Safe Space model, which independent evaluations showed had helped reduce child marriage, increase school enrolment and delay early marriage.

According to her, the AGILE programme in Kaduna has reached more than 127,319 girls and 6,250 boys between the ages of 14 and 18, while over 1,400 female and male teachers have been trained as mentors.

She added that institutionalising the model through public policy would ensure that life skills education became a permanent component of the state’s education system.

Mohammed said the policies would address barriers to school access, retention and completion, particularly for girls and other vulnerable learners.

She added that they would also institutionalise life skills as a co-curricular programme, strengthen evidence-based decision-making across the state’s 23 local government areas and guarantee continuity beyond donor-funded programmes.

The executive director commended Gov. Uba Sani for providing the leadership that made the policy approval possible.

She also appreciated the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo, the Kaduna State Ministry of Education, the AGILE State Project Implementation Unit, the World Bank and other stakeholders for their contributions to the process.

Mohammed reaffirmed CGE’s commitment to supporting the Kaduna State Government with technical assistance during the implementation phase, including teacher training, gender-responsive education sector budgeting and monitoring.

She said the ultimate goal was to ensure that every girl and boy in Kaduna State had the opportunity to learn, develop and thrive.

Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval

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Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base

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Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base

By: Zagazola Makama

Six fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were reportedly killed and seven others seriously wounded during a failed attack on a Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Logomani in Borno State, credible intelligence sources have disclosed.

The sources told Zagazola Makama that the terrorists launched the attack on the military position in the early hours of July 7 but suffered significant casualties after troops mounted a fierce resistance.

According to the intelligence assessment, the attackers had assembled at Garal before advancing on the military base.

Following the failed assault, surviving insurgents were reportedly seen regrouping at Chukun Gudu, where they buried six of their fighters killed during the encounter.

Among those reportedly buried was a senior fighter identified as Munzir, also known as Ba Alayi, who was said to be an indigene of Wulgo.

The development comes as troops of Operation HADIN KAI continue sustained clearance operations aimed at dismantling terrorist enclaves and disrupting insurgents’ logistics and mobility across the Lake Chad region.

Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base

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Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle

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Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle

By: Zagazola Makama

A cholera outbreak has reportedly claimed the lives of nine fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Timbuktu Triangle, a known terrorist stronghold in Borno State, intelligence sources have disclosed.

The sources told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the outbreak had spread through the group’s enclaves, highlighting deteriorating sanitary conditions and limited access to medical care within the insurgents’ camps.

According to the intelligence, two additional ISWAP fighters infected with the disease were allegedly executed by fellow terrorists after attempts to manage their condition at Kimba village proved unsuccessful.

The sources said the development pointed to the worsening health conditions within the terrorist hideouts, where sustained military pressure has disrupted logistics, including access to medicines and treatment facilities.

The sources added that commanders had also been urged to intensify efforts to intercept medical supplies and pharmaceuticals intended for terrorist camps in order to further degrade ISWAP’s treatment capability and operational resilience.

The reported outbreak comes amid sustained offensives by troops of Operation HADIN KAI, who continue to target terrorist enclaves and logistics networks across the Lake Chad region in a bid to degrade the insurgents’ fighting capacity.

Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle

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