National News
COP26: UK announces new funding for Africa climate challenges

COP26: UK announces new funding for Africa climate challenges
By: Michael Mike, Abuja
The United Kingdom has announced new funding to support African governments to roll-out critical adaptation projects so at-risk communities can adapt to the impact of extreme weather and changing climates.
COP26 President Alok Sharma announced the new UK support for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) – an initiative endorsed by African Union leaders and led by the African Development Bank, Global Centre on Adaptation and the Africa Adaptation Initiative, to back African-led plans to accelerate resilience-building across Africa.
A statement by UK High Commission in Nigeria said: “Yesterday’s announcements came on the second day of COP26, the two-week UN Climate Change Conference, where world leaders are meeting with the aim to agree how to tackle the urgent threat of global climate change.”
The statement also said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced that the UK is offering an ambitious new guarantee mechanism – the ‘Room to Run’ guarantee – to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
This, it said, is expected to unlock up to £1.45 billion ($2 billion) worth of new financing for projects across the continent, half of which will help countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The statement quoted UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, to have said: “More finance for African nations to develop and adapt to climate change is important as these countries find themselves on the frontline of impacts. It is a huge investment opportunity.
“By combining our cash with other donors and businesses, and working with partners such as the African Development Bank to direct funding into green projects, today we are delivering on our commitment to African-led climate adaptation.”
UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford, was quoted to have said: “For communities across Africa, the impact of climate change is being felt right now. From cyclones in Southern Africa to locusts in East Africa, changing weather patterns are already having catastrophic impacts for communities living across the continent, impacting lives and jobs. This is despite African nations being responsible for just 2-3% of global emissions.
“New support announced today will enable African countries to adapt to a changing climate and build resilience to the impacts of climate change. This is essential if communities and countries are to thrive in an uncertain future.”
The statement recalled that the UK is a long-standing supporter of Africa’s adaptation to climate change, with around half of the UK’s £2.7 billion ($3.7 billion) adaptation budget between 2016 and 2020 spent in Africa.
Speaking also, the UK’S Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, said: “Africa is already bearing the brunt of climate impacts as a consequence of dangerous climate chance. The need to scale up adaptation finance to protect the people and economies from the impact of climate change is clear.
“Climate action, building resilience and sustainable development are inextricably linked. Working with key partners such as the African Development Bank and others, this new suite of programmes will support African countries, including Nigeria, to adapt to the effects of climate change.”
According to the statement, the £143.5 million of programmes to support African countries to adapt to the impact of extreme weather and changing climate newly announced include: £20 million to the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), which is a $25 billion joint initiative endorsed by African Union leaders and led by the African Development Bank, Global Centre on Adaptation and the Africa Adaptation Initiative, to support African countries in designing and implementing transformational adaptation of their economies and post-COVID recovery development paths.
It also include £42 million of adaptation allocations under the new Africa Regional Climate and Nature Programme (ARCAN), which will include support to the World Bank to support cooperation on the management and development of shared water resources; to the Met Office’s WISER3 programme to improve the uptake of weather and climate information; and technical assistance to African partners to integrate climate considerations into policy making and access and utilise climate finance to benefit those most vulnerable.
At least £22 million of premium financing support to help African countries pay for drought insurance, delivering on the £120 million commitment made by the UK at Carbis Bay for premium financing and investments into the regional risk pools in Africa, Caribbean, South East Asia and Pacific.
£19.5 million for the Shock Response Programme in the Sahel, including support to the World Bank to strengthen government social protection systems in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger that improve people’s ability to cope when shocks occur; and support to the Centre for Disaster Protection to improve use of early warning systems and disaster risk financing.
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The UK has committed £40 million to the Climate Adaptation and Resilience research programme (CLARE) to support action-focused research to inform development in a changing climate in Africa. CLARE is jointly funded by the UK and Canada. It will generate new knowledge, practical tools and approaches to support those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and related natural hazards, such as floods, droughts and heatwaves.
In addition: A new ‘Room to Run’ guarantee to the African Development Bank (AfDB) is expected to unlock up to £1.45bn ($2bn) worth of new financing for projects across the continent, half of which will help countries adapt to the impacts of climate change. For example, this finance is expected to support the AfDB’s work on generating high-quality climate data to help countries plan for future impacts, building resilient infrastructure and helping farmers increase their resilience to drought. This will support the objectives of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme. The guarantee is subject to Parliamentary notification and final African Development Bank approval. We expect the guarantee to be live from early 2022, following final scrutiny processes and the signing of formal agreements.
·According to the World Bank, climate change could reduce GDP by 6% in many African countries by 2050, and up to 132 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030.
The UK has also doubled its international climate finance to £11.6 billion over five years – with a balance between adaptation and mitigation.
Adaptation, including increasing finance for adaptation, has been central to the UK’s COP26 Presidency – under the UK’s incoming presidency, finance providers have committed to ambitious increases which collectively amount to billions in additional finance for adaptation compared to 2020 levels.
COP26: UK announces new funding for Africa climate challenges
National News
Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony
By: Michael Mike
Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has called on Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress.
The advice was given by the Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, in his message on Eid-el-Kabir.
The Institute, while extending warm greetings to Nigerians, wished them a joyous and peaceful celebration, marked by love, compassion, and unity.
The Institute while noting that Sallah is a significant occasion in the Islamic calendar, symbolizing the values of sacrifice, gratitude, and community, emphasized that the spirit of Sallah should guide Nigerians in their interactions with one another, fostering a culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding.
The IPCR urged Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress, while
encouraging individuals to embrace the values of Sallah, including forgiveness, empathy, and kindness, in their daily lives.
According to IPCR, peace is critical to promoting national stability and cohesion.
The Institute also urged Nigerians to use this period of Sallah celebration to address conflicts and promote dialogue, which could help to build trust and understanding among Nigerians and also contribute to a more peaceful society.
It recognized that the country’s many ethnic and religious groups can work together to build a more harmonious society, celebrating their differences and promoting a culture of tolerance.
End
National News
Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing
By: Michael Mike
A community leader and the Waziri Mushere of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Chief Yohana Margif has expressed dismay over the incessant killing of innocent citizens of the community.
Margif made this known in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene to halt what he described as genocide against the people, which he said was being perpetrated by suspected herdsmen.
Margif also called on Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, and other security chiefs in the country, to rein in the alleged culprits.
He said: “I would like to draw the attention of the topmost leadership in Nigeria to the deteriorating dire security situation in Plateau, particularly in Mushere Chiefdom of Bokkos LGA.
“I urge President Tinubu to take immediate decisive action to halt these endless and senseless killings, protect lives and properties, and secure the future of the Mushere people, and other victims of obvious genocide against the people.
“Herdsmen are killing our innocent people, burning their homes, looting their foodstuff, property, livestock, and taking over their ancestral lands,” he said.
According to the Abuja-based real estate mogul, the attacks and attendant killings have intensified recently since the onset of this year’s farming season.
Margif further said that the people had been displaced from their villages and ancestral homes and were forced to become internally displaced persons in the country.
He emphasised that the situation required immediate intervention by all stakeholders in order to prevent further escalation and inflict an irredeemable harm by wiping out the entire community from the surface of the earth.
He lamented that: “Since President Tinubu’s administration began, Plateau State has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of violence and loss of lives.
“This is the current sad reality. Our people are constantly under the threat of the enemy’s bullets and can’t sleep with two eyes closed due to the perpetual unleashing of violence against them by external forces.
“Something urgent must be done to stem the tide of violence and end this war against the people in order not to
harm this administration’s reputation,” Margif said.
In the past couple of days, suspected herdsmen militia killed no fewer than 35 people in the localities of Hokk, Pangkap, Fokoldep, Kopmur, Margif, Horop, Mbor, Mushere and Kwahas localities in Mushere Chiefdom.
Chairman, Bokkos Community Peace Observers, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the killings to newsmen, said the victims included a 70-year-old Pastor of COCIN LCC Kwakas-Mushere, Mimang Lekyil, who was attacked and killed in the church.
He said that the pastor’s wife was also shot in the leg and was admitted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital for treatment, he said.
“Bokkos has never been this insecure, with the people being butchered as we are currently witnessing,” Lilian Madaki, from the Mushere community told journalists.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Emmanuel Adesina, also confirmed the incident in a statement saying security forces including police and military personnel, had been deployed in the affected communities.
Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing
National News
VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu
** Says Nigeria has lost an intellectual giant
By: Our Reporter
Vice President Kashim Shettima today led other Muslim faithful for the Jana’iza (funeral prayers) of the late elder statesman, renowned medical scholar and former Minister of Education and Petroleum, Prof. Jibril Aminu, at the National Mosque in Abuja.

Prof. Aminu, a one-time President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (OPEC), passed on in Abuja on Thursday after a prolonged illness.
The Vice President, who arrived at the National Mosque at 1:52 pm, commiserated with the family of the deceased and prayed Allah to comfort them and make Aljanna Firdaus the final abode of the late elder statesman.

Noting that the late Prof Aminu’s demise is a great loss to the nation, VP Shettima described the late surgeon, educationist and administrator as a man who saw it all, just as he said the deceased was an intellectual giant who can hardly be replaced.
“It is a very sad loss. Prof Jubril Aminu was the last of the great titans, an iconic figure who enormously contributed to the development of the nation.
“He was variously the Executive Secretary of NUC, Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and Honourable Minister of various ministries across the country and left his landmarks on the sands of time.
“He is irreplaceable. May Allah grant him Aljanatul Firdaus and give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. His loss is not just to the good people of Adamawa State but to the nation and Africa at large,” the Vice President prayed.

Born in Song, Adamawa in 1939, Prof. Aminu was a towering figure in Nigerian public life.
The late Consultant Cardiologist served the nation in different capacities, including as Federal Minister of Education and later Federal Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1989–1992), Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States (1999–2003), and Senator representing Adamawa Central (2003–2011).
He was also President of OPEC in 1991 and President of the OPEC Conference between 1991 and 1992 while he was Petroleum Minister.
Other mourners who joined the Vice President at the National Mosque in Abuja for the Jana’iza included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo; former Secretary to the Federal Government, Yayale Ahmed; former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako; former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje; former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai (rtd); former Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman; former Minister of State for Health, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, among many others.
VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu
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