The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said infrastructural projects all over the country justify the foreign debts by the present administration. According to the Minister, President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration met N18billion in 2015 appropriated for works, saying the government had to borrow to execute the projects.   According to the Minister, President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration met N18billion in 2015 appropriated for works, saying the government had to borrow to execute the projects. Fake news demoralising security agencies — Buhari Buhari warns MDA boards against interference, contract awards Fashola spoke on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the 28th National Council of Works meeting holding in Kano. He said, “Our first budget [in 2016] was over N250 billion up from the N18 billion we met in 2015, that was an increase of over a thousand percent, even though the price of crude oil was dropping, we did not raise taxes. “So, some of these monies had to be borrowed. So, when you hear those conversations about public debts, this is where the money went. Just remember that. And, every time, I ask people who say don’t borrow, I am not suggesting that we should not be concerned about borrowing, but I am also saying who does not need the projects? Let us see the state from any of the 36 states here, is there a project in your own state that you want us to stop, because we will reduce the debt by that number,” Fashola asked the states’ commissioners of works in attendance. He also said the Federal Government has been able to deliver more than 1,800 kilometers of roads across the six geopolitical zones so far, and is determined to complete all the ongoing projects before the expiration of their tenure in May next year. The Minister also said the best way to legitimately distribute money to the economy is through infrastructure, adding that their projects have revived over 320,000 jobs who were laid off by previous administrations for relegating works. Also speaking, Kano state Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said there is need for synergy between the federal highways and states and thanked the Buhari administration for initiating projects in Kano state. He, however, lamented that Nigeria could have benefited positively from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war if previous administration had provided the needed infrastructure to transport Nigeria’s gas to other countries, especially through the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline and Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail line. Daily Trust reports that the five-day council meeting which started on Monday brought together different stakeholders.

  A Chinese court on Thursday upheld the death penalty for a US citizen over the murder of his girlfriend, calling the conviction “accurate” and sentence “appropriate”. Shadeed Abdulmateen had been found guilty in April of stabbing the 21-year-old woman in the face and neck multiple times when they met to talk about disagreements in their relationship. He appealed against the death sentence handed to him at the time. But a higher court in eastern China on Thursday rebuffed Abdulmateen’s appeal, according to an official statement. The Zhejiang High People’s Court said Abdulmateen had threatened the woman after she told him multiple times that she wanted to break up. On the night of the murder in June 2021 they met near a bus stop in Ningbo, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of Shanghai. Abdulmateen turned up with a folding knife and “stabbed Chen’s neck and face multiple times, causing Chen to lose a large volume of blood and die on the spot”. The court on Thursday said the initial conviction was “accurate, the sentencing was appropriate, and the trial procedure was legal”. The US embassy in Beijing did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Human rights groups say China executes more prisoners every year than any other country, but executions of Westerners are rare. The most recent case involving a Westerner is believed to be that of Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen put to death in 2009 for heroin trafficking, according to state news agency Xinhua.

  The white paper committee set up by the federal government to review the parastatals, agencies and commissions created since 2014 has submitted a draft report. Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), inaugurated the committee on July 1 in Abuja. The committee was given a six-week time frame to submit its report. Ebele Okeke, former head of service, was appointed to chair the committee. Submitting the report at the office of the SGF on Thursday, Okeke said in carrying out the assignment, “the committee considered the current economic challenges and the requirement for government to utilize resources more efficiently in order to reduce cost of governance”. Other factors considered include “the need to develop diverse sources of revenue for government as well as encourage some agencies of government to be self-funding; the principle of building strong institutions to guarantee service delivery to the populace and the imperative to grow the economy, create employment and stay on the critical path to achieve development objectives”. Okeke said the committee also carried out a “content analysis of the legal framework setting up the PAS under review, analysis of the budgetary provisions of the PACs for the period under consideration”.   She said the committee “observed that the legal framework/enabling Act of some of the PACs did not clearly define structure, management and oversight,” adding that “most of the laws used agency, commission and board interchangeably”. “For instance, where the organization is defined as a commission, the provisions of the law did not support the structure of a commission. In this regard, where the committee recommended change in status/name, amendment of the Act/Law 1s also recommended, accordingly,” she added. Okeke said the committee also observed that most of the agencies created — especially under education and health — were through bills that emanated from the national assembly. She therefore recommended that “it is important to engage and dialogue with the NASS to generate an understanding to streamline the creation of new PACs”. The committee said some of the recommendations can be considered low-hanging fruits that can be implemented immediately after approval of the white paper.   Noting that the draft white paper is made up of three parts, the committee chairman said: “Part I has introduction and purpose; Part II shows the PACs, the recommendations and remarks of the review committee, comments and recommendations by this committee for consideration of the federal government and Part III is the implementation plan and key performance indicators.”

  More than 180 people have been killed and 3,000 homes destroyed by floods in Afghanistan over the past month, a government spokesman said Thursday. Zabihullah Mujahid said the scale of the damage had been worse because of the mismanagement of infrastructure by the previous government. However, the hardline Taliban regime that returned to power a year ago is also struggling to cope. “If the floods and the losses increase, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not have that many resources to respond to all of it,” Mujahid told a press conference in Kabul. Heavy rains have lashed several provinces, with the worst of the flooding in the east of the country. Dozens of Afghans die every year in torrential rains — especially in poor rural areas where badly constructed houses can easily collapse. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan the country has been plunged further into economic and humanitarian crises, worsened by the freezing of billions in assets held abroad and a slash in aid funding. The Taliban called on the international community, particularly Muslim countries, to help the government meet the needs of flood victims.

  Malawian authorities at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Service in Lilongwe have deported a Nigerian man Kelly Kayode Adedokuni for trying to acquire a Malawi national identity card. According to Face of Malawi, the 44-year-old was arrested earlier this month when he tried to acquire a Malawi national identity card through the National Registration Bureau (NRB) office in the capital city. The Regional Immigration Office spokesperson, Inspector Pasqually Zulu said, “the deportee was charged with an offence of false declaration for obtaining a Malawi national ID and then attempting to acquire a Malawi passport. Being a foreign national, a deportation order was made on the 15th August, 2022 by the country’s Homeland Security Minister Jean Sendeza who gave Adedokuni three days ultimatum to leave Malawi.” Zulu disclosed to journalists on Wednesday that Adedokuni was deported by Immigration officials this week through the Kamuzu International Airport, in a development that is in line with Section 4 Subsection (1) of the Immigration act. Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has appealed to all foreign nationals residing in Malawi to respect the rule of law saying they risk deportation if they fail to comply

  The Bishop of Ekwulobia, Peter Okpaleke, is scheduled to be one of 20 new cardinals to be sworn in on Saturday by the Catholic church. Pope Francis had earlier named Okpaleke as one of the new cardinals – many of whom could one day choose his successor. It is the eighth consistory since the 85-year-old Pope was elected in 2013, but is being particularly closely watched for signs of the kind of Catholic Church he hopes to leave behind. The new cardinals include men known for their progressive views and their pastoral work, and they hail from around the world: from Brazil to Nigeria, India, Singapore and East Timor. After Saturday’s swearing-in at St Peter’s Basilica, they will join a two-day meeting of all cardinals starting Monday. The gathering was called earlier this year to discuss the pope’s new constitution for the governance of the church — but has only fuelled speculation he is on his way out. Francis, who has cancelled numerous events in recent months and been forced to use a wheelchair due to knee pain, said last month “the door is open” to stepping down. If he did follow his predecessor Benedict XVI and resign, a conclave involving all cardinals aged under 80 would be called to choose a successor. After this weekend, Francis will have chosen around 90 out of the 132 cardinals eligible to elect a new pope, around two-thirds of the total — precisely the percentage needed for any proposed name to pass. Global choices The naming of cardinals, normally an annual event, is always scrutinised as an indication of the future direction of the Catholic Church and its priorities for its 1.3 billion faithful. But Francis’s choices for cardinals do not automatically guarantee that the next pope would be someone reflecting his own priorities, Vatican specialist Bernard Lecomte told AFP. “We always have the impression there will be continuity, but in reality, history has shown the opposite,” said Lecomte, citing the “balancing” from one pope to the next throughout the 20th century. Francis’ papacy has been defined by efforts to make the Church more inclusive, transparent and focused on the most vulnerable members of society. This year the Argentine pontiff completed a major shake-up of the Vatican’s powerful governing body, the Roman Curia, which makes winning new converts a priority. He has named cardinals who have rejected Church hierarchy and status quo and helped to counter the centuries-long hegemony of Europeans. Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva, the archbishop of Dili, will on Saturday become the first cardinal of tiny East Timor, an overwhelmingly Catholic nation in Southeast Asia. Another new appointment is Robert McElroy, the 68-year-old bishop of San Diego, California, who has supported gay Catholics and criticised moves to deny Communion to US politicians — like President Joe Biden — who support abortion. Two years ago, the pope made history by creating the first African-American cardinal — Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington. And Saturday will also see the creation of the youngest cardinal in the world, 48-year-old Italian missionary Giorgio Marengo, who works in Mongolia. Curia insiders The group also includes Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, archbishop of Manaus, Brazil. Three future cardinals already hold positions in the Curia: Arthur Roche of Britain, Lazzaro You Heung-sik of South Korea, and Fernando Vergez Alzaga of Spain. Lucas Van Looy, the 80-year-old bishop emeritus of Ghent, was nominated as a cardinal but asked to be exempted following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse by priests in Belgium. On Saturday, the future cardinals will kneel one by one at the feet of the pontiff, who will place on their heads the quadrangular scarlet cap, or biretta. The ceremony will be followed by the Vatican’s traditional “courtesy visit,” in which the new cardinals greet the general public.