Author: Helen Okechukwu

The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, has reiterated warnings against counterfeit and unregistered products following the arrest of a local footballer in Abuja for allegedly operating an illegal chemical factory. In a statement issued on Friday by the agency’s Deputy Director of Public Relations and Protocol, Adegboyega Osiyemi, NAFDAC disclosed that Ikechukwu Elijah was apprehended in the Apo-Waru area for manufacturing and distributing hazardous, unregistered chemicals to unsuspecting members of the public. According to the statement, Elijah was initially evasive during interrogation but later admitted to running the facility after…

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that mpox is no longer a global public health emergency, citing a steady fall in infections and fatalities across Africa. WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus confirmed the decision on Friday after the agency’s emergency committee reviewed the situation at its quarterly meeting. “This decision is based on sustained declines in cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in other affected countries, including Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda,” Tedros told reporters in Geneva. He stressed, however, that the end of the emergency designation did not signal the end of the threat.…

A fresh outbreak of the Ebola virus has been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 15 deaths have been reported in Kasai Province since late August. Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba told journalists in Kinshasa on Thursday that this is the country’s 16th Ebola outbreak. The last one, three years ago, killed six people. So far, 28 suspected cases have been documented in Kasai, with the first infection traced to a 34-year-old pregnant woman admitted to hospital on 20 August. A report from the National Library of Medicine in 2022 noted that, from May 2018 to September 2022,…

Youths in Shagari Local Government Area (LGA) of Sokoto State say they are ready to arm themselves against bandits after repeated attacks and kidnappings. The decision followed an online meeting, with details released on Thursday in a statement by youth activist Bello Shagari, grandson of former President Shehu Shagari. They accused the government of failing to protect lives and property, noting that attacks have displaced families, halted farming, and left villages living in fear. Mr Shagari said the youths had taken “a last-resort decision” to defend their communities. “The government has done little to protect us. We cannot sit idle…

A recent study has revealed that life expectancy for people with a rare, untreatable blood cancer has almost doubled over the past 20 years. The study, led by the University of York and funded by Cancer Research UK and Blood Cancer UK, analysed records from more than 3,700 people in England diagnosed with multiple myeloma between 2005 and 2019. Findings, published in Haematologica, show that advances in treatment are giving patients considerably longer survival than in the early 2000s. Multiple myeloma develops when abnormal plasma cells form in the bone marrow. It cannot be cured, but treatments can control the…

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged the Nigerian government at all levels to intensify efforts in tackling the worsening malnutrition crisis, warning that millions of children remain at risk of stunted growth, disease, and death. The agency emphasised that only sustained investment, stronger government commitment, and community-led prevention can halt the spiral. Chief of UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, Nuzhat Rafique, stressed that malnutrition “slows development and leads directly to suffering and death,” calling for expanded therapeutic feeding programmes, increased local food production, better vaccine coverage, and restoration of security to reverse the trend. Rafique spoke on Wednesday in…

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has expressed confidence that the introduction of the National Single Window project will reshape the country’s trade environment and strengthen its economic stability. Edun, who addressed journalists on Tuesday, after presiding over the 63rd quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Board in Abuja, said the platform, set for rollout in the first quarter of 2026, will streamline import and export operations through digital automation. Describing the initiative as one of the signature reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the minister explained that the system is designed…

Macmillan Cancer Support has called for swift intervention to tackle inequalities in cancer care, warning that too many patients are being denied timely access to treatment because of where they live. The charity findings indicated that almost four in ten people with a cancer diagnosis have faced barriers to care linked to geography, with some forced to decline essential tests or therapies due to the travel involved. It warned that such disparities could cost lives if not urgently addressed. Macmillan estimates this equates to nearly 1.4 million people, a figure it describes as “deeply alarming.” A YouGov poll of 2,002…

To avert the resurgence of the polio outbreak in Nigeria after being declared  polio-free since 2020, Rotary International’s President-elect, Yinka Babalola, has warned that children in Nigeria remain exposed to the threat of polio unless routine immunisation rates are significantly increased. Babalola, whose election was confirmed last Thursday, will take office on 1 July 2026 as Rotary International President for the 2026/2027 year, becoming only the second Nigerian and the second African to lead the global humanitarian body. Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Babalola reminded Nigerians that the country’s polio-free certification does not mean the virus is gone for…

A former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche, has launched a scathing critique against the newly formed opposition coalition, Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), dismissing its members as individuals “united by their hunger for power” without any genuine intentions for development.” Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Ochigbo, Rivers State, organized to rally support for President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, Nwuche stated emphatically that the coalition poses no threat to President Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. The coalition, which reportedly includes prominent figures such as former Vice President Atiku…