National News

Cabo Verde Establishes Embassy in Nigeria

Published

4 years ago

November 20, 2021

News Net Global

Cabo Verde Establishes Embassy in Nigeria

By: Michael Mike, Abuja

Cabo Verde has established her Embassy in the country to strengthen diplomatic ties with Nigeria and be closer to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission which is headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

The Prime Minister of Cabo Verde, Dr. Ulisses Correia e Silva expressed the importance of having an embassy in Abuja during a visit to the ECOWAS Commission as part of activities marking his working visit to Nigeria.

He explained that the purpose of the mission is to inaugurate the new embassy of Cabo Verde in the country, present the first resident ambassador who will be representing Cabo Verde before the ECOWAS Commission as well as strengthen the relationship and cooperation of Cabo Verde with Nigeria, the ECOWAS Commission, and all member states in the organisation.

Welcoming the Prime Minister on behalf of the President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou and other commissioners, the Vice President Finda Koroma said the visit to the Commission showed the importance Cabo Verde placed on its membership of the regional body.

Koroma, while using the opportunity to congratulate Jose Maria Neves on his recent election as the President of the Republic of Cabo Verde, said “we are impressed by Cabo Verde’s exemplary democratic governance through the organisation of free and fair elections and the smooth transfer of power.”

She also appreciated the clear leadership the country has shown in human capital development despite being a small country of many islands.

She expressed the unflinching support of ECOWAS community institutions to the new government and good people of Cabo Verde.

At the meeting with the commissioners at the ECOWAS Commission, the Prime Minister expressed appreciation for being allowed to address them and explained the purpose of his mission to Nigeria.

He said he was in Nigeria to inaugurate the Embassy of Cabo Verde, made known as the First Resident Ambassador who will also represent the country before the ECOWAS Commission.

He noted that this will go a long way in strengthening relations of friendship and cooperation with Nigeria, the ECOWAS Commission and all member states of ECOWAS.

He said: “In other words, Cabo Verde intends to be more dynamic in its participation in the sub-region and consequently boost its Regional Integration.”

The Prime Minister said he is fully aware of what at this moment the Region is going through, noting that there remains a hard fight that still remains to be fought for the damages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the actions of economic recovery.

He said: “The pandemic is still present and demands from all of us more cooperation, more solidarity and more concerted action.

Also Read: Zulum doles out N500 million to IDPs returning to home

“For Cabo Verde, since its national independence, this is the greatest challenge to its economy.”

He lamented that: “In the process of Regional Integration, Cabo Verde is faced with several constraints, such as: insularity, its dispersion in islands that entails exorbitant costs of infrastructure and development, the demographic and territorial smallness, in addition to the various other vulnerabilities that create asymmetries and imbalances that make the integration of Cabo Verde extremely difficult. In fact, “Unequal does not integrate”.

He lamented that the drama and cost of Cabo Verde development, a country with 500,000 inhabitants is obliged to have 9 ports, airports, among others because the populations are dispersed throughout the nine islands, and the government is obliged to multiply everything, including services, by the number of inhabited islands.

He said instead of one port but because of the geography of the country, nine ports are needed and all this adds up to: (exiguity of natural resources as a basis for sustainability; the limitation in arable land, combined with the drought/water factor for food security and economy; the smallness of the market (physical and demographic) to attract private investment, the specialization and external dependence in tourism services, transport (whose impact was demonstrated with COVID-19); the atrocities of nature (volcanism, drought, floods etc).

He however said in the face of this integration difficulty, Cabo Verde wishes to make use of Article 3.2 paragraph k) of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty which recommends a balanced development of the sub-region and that attention be paid to the specific problems of each member state, especially the island and landlocked states, and Article 68, which pledges to grant, whenever necessary, to states facing economic and social difficulties, in particular the island and landlocked states, special treatment for the application of certain provisions of the Treaty and to grant them any other assistance they may require.

Cabo Verde Establishes Embassy in Nigeria

National News

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

By: Michael Mike

The DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr (Dr) Abisoye Coker-Odusote has approved the promotion of 523 Staff of the Commission.

The promotion, according to a statement on Saturday by the spokesperson of the Commission, Dr. Kayode Adegoke is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Adegoke said: “This is a statutory part of the performance reward system for Staff who sat and met the pre-requisite conditions as spelt out in the Public Service Rules (PSR) in the 2025 promotion exercise.

He disclosed that accordingly, two staff members were promoted to the Director’s cadre (GL 17), and eight staff members moved to the Deputy Director cadre (GL 16) and 35 staff staff members promoted to the Assistant Director cadre (GL 15).

He further disclosed that 35 staff were promoted to the level of Chief Identity Officers (GL 14), with 109 moving to Assistant Chief Identity Officers (GL 13).

Adegoke said 113 officers moved to the rank of Principal Identity Officer (GL 12), while 82 were promoted to Senior Identity Officer ranks (GL 10), and 130 to the rank of Identity Officer 1 ( GL 9).

The DG/CEO congratulated all the promoted staff and charged them to see the promotion as an opportunity to serve the country better. She reiterated zero tolerance for extortion and warned staff to desist from it.

Engr Coker-Odusote, furthermore, encouraged all staff members of the Commission to work harder in the coming year 2026 and ensure the successful implementation of the National Identification Number project. She reiterated her commitment to prioritise staff welfare and ensure the dignity of labour.

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

National News

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima has congratulated Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Senator Hope Uzodimma, on his 67th birthday, saying his exemplary and progressive leadership within the All Progressives Congress (APC), his state, and the nation at large is worthy of emulation.

He noted that as Chairman of the PGF, an umbrella body of Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Uzodimma has demonstrated exceptional capacity to unite and galvanise the party’s Governors towards achieving a collective vision for Nigeria’s development under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The Vice President on Saturday, described the age of 67 as an important milestone in the life of Uzodimma, noting that the special moment reflects how far the Governor has come, and sets the stage for what lies ahead.

Acknowledging how Uzodimma’s “exemplary leadership as Executive Governor of Imo State continues to inspire confidence and progress,” VP Shettima described the PGF Chairman as a committed servant of Nigeria.

“Your recent appointment by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, as Renewed Hope Ambassador is a well-deserved recognition of your unwavering dedication to the ideals of our administration and your proven ability to articulate and champion the transformative agenda of the Renewed Hope mandate across our nation,” the VP told the Governor.

This singular honour, Senator Shettima said, reflects President Tinubu’s confidence in Governor Uzodimma’s leadership and commitment to national progress.

He observed that the Imo State Governor’s strategic governance, infrastructural achievements, and dedication to the prosperity of his state exemplify the progressive leadership Nigeria needs at this crucial time.

The Vice President prayed the Almighty God to grant Governor Uzodimma continued wisdom, good health, and strength to sustain his “remarkable service to Imo State and Nigeria.”

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

National News

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy

Published

3 days ago

December 12, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy

By: Michael Mike

The Europe Union (EU) is investing an additional €45 million in Nigeria’s digital economy.

The package was signed by the Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela in Brussels.

A statement on Thursday by EU read: “At the EU-Nigeria Digital Open Day, which just took place in Brussels, a €45 million programme completing the EU Digital Economy Package for Nigeria was signed between Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela.

“This investment will further support the cooperation in digital sector between Nigeria and the European Union.”

The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, said: “Global Gateway is about delivering new opportunities, and the EU-Nigerian cooperation in the digital area has a very strong potential to do exactly that. Our approach to digitalisation is based on skills-transfer, open standards, data protection, privacy and security. This way, we make sure that technologies truly enrich human lives. The new package will take our efforts even further by supporting modern e-public services and investing in the skills that will prepare Nigeria’s youth for the digital future.”

The Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani added: The EU–Nigeria digital economy cooperation reflects our shared belief that digital transformation must provide a platform for growth in productivity driven by technology. As part of this, Project Bridge provides a commercially sustainable entry point for European investors and suppliers to participate in deploying an open-access fibre network at scale. Combined with our leadership in Artificial Intelligence, Digital Public Infrastructure and programmes such as 3 million Technical Talents, Nigeria offers European businesses a market where talent, demand and policy alignment converge to support long-term investment and expansion.”

The programme signed on Thursday includes a flagship Global Gateway support to the Project Bridge that aims to deploy 90 000 km of fibre-optic backbone across Nigeria. This project is the country’s most ambitious digital investment supported by loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank and African Development Bank.
The €45 million grant supports the preparation of this strategic project with technical assistance and equipment in three complementary ways: for the detailed fiber optic network design, for local skills development and for the supply chain deployment with the mobilisation of the EU private sector.

The EU programme will also contribute to modernise Nigeria’s public administration through secure, user-friendly digital services. it also involves targeted support for Nigeria’s nationwide digital-skills programme, helping train a new generation of technicians, engineers and IT specialists.

According to the statement, this is essential to create new jobs, because large-scale digital projects can only work if the local workforce can maintain, operate and innovate on these networks.

The objective of the EU-Nigeria Open Digital Day was to facilitate access to information for European investors and suppliers interested in participating in the Nigerian digital ecosystem. The focus was on the Project Bridge, presented as an opportunity for collaborations between the EU tech sector and Nigeria.

With this €1.7 billion flagship project is projected to extend Nigeria’s total fibre to 125 000 km (+70%), making it the third-longest terrestrial fibre-optic infrastructure in Africa, following Egypt and South Africa.

Digitalisation is a priority area for the EU-Nigeria partnership as reflected in the €820 million Digital Economy Package launched in 2022 under the EU Global Gateway strategy. The EU-Nigeria collaboration in this sector spans from connectivity to digital skills, entrepreneurship, service and governance with multiple projects.

Nigeria’s digital economy has potential to create jobs, foster economic growth and open greater democratic space in Africa. Nigeria hosts big companies, and Lagos offers digital and business ecosystem with incubators, access to finance and digital service platforms. It has the biggest e-commerce market in Africa with 87 platforms, employing some 2.9 million people.

It is also leading on the continent on digital and start-ups – of the 8 existing African unicorns, 6 are Nigerian, with impressively dynamic States (Lagos) eager to create an ecosystem that promotes innovation, youth and growth largely led by the digital sector.

Global Gateway is the EU’s positive offer to reduce the worldwide investment disparity and boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems.

The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, EU Member States, and European development finance institutions.

Together, they aim to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027, creating essential links rather than dependencies, and closing the global investment gap.

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy