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All is now set for the Fidelity International Trade and Creative Connect (FITCC) billed for Houston, Texas in the United States of America.

Labeled as FITCC Houston, the second edition of the international expo will take place from the 24th to 25th of October, 2023 at the plush George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas.

Following the successful maiden edition that held last November in London with over $200million worth of deals closed, the bank is set for another edition of the globally rated expo. This year’s edition follows the tradition of promoting Nigeria’s non-oil exports as well as facilitating integrations to global supply-chain networks.

“Fidelity Bank is very much invested in supporting export trade and has consistently demonstrated this by the interventions and innovations that we bring to the space,” Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe talks up the motivation behind FITCC 2023:

“Beyond the instrument of financing, some of our key interventions in the space revolve around business management capacity development with initiatives like the Export Management Programme (EMP) which we host in partnership with the Lagos Business School and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and market access development initiatives like FITCC.”

Over the course of two-days, guests would be exposed to exhibitions by some of the very best of Nigerian businesses operating in the commodities, agriculture, FINTECH, fashion, arts, and allied sectors. Similarly, several panel discussions would hold across the various halls at the venue as stakeholders and leaders in the business, regulatory and investment sectors of the US and Nigerian economies share ideas on bilateral trade opportunities.
FITCC Houston would climax with a gala dinner on Wednesday, 25 October 2023 which would feature award-winning Nigerian hip-hop star, Kcee amongst other entertainers. Registration for this event is still open at www.fitccusa.com.

Ranked as one of the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged customer commercial bank with over 8 million customers serviced across its 251 business offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom as well as on digital banking channels.

The bank was recognized as the Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023 and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards. The bank has also won awards for the “Fastest Growing Bank” and “MSME & Entrepreneurship Financing Bank of the Year” at the 2021 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.

A total of 471 Palestinians were killed in a devastating blast at a hospital in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.

Another 324 people were injured in the explosion, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Wednesday, releasing its first official figures following the explosion late on Tuesday.

Twenty-eight people are said to be in critical condition.
It was not possible to independently verify the figures.

Israel, which has been pounding Gaza with retaliatory airstrikes since Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli border communities on October 7, denied it attacked the hospital.

According to Israeli authorities, a misguided missile by the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad group was responsible for the blast.

Israel also provided evidence to back up its claim.

However, Hamas and several Arab countries say Israel is to blame. (NAN

A police inspector identified as Istifanus Kwanchi is in trouble for firing shots in celebration of the Ladipo Market reopening.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Wednesday, said the officer has been brought in for disciplinary actions.

Recall that the state’s Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, had on September 29, ordered the closure of the market for several environmental offences including, reckless waste disposal, unhygienic premises, and non-payment of waste bills, among others.

However, the state government on Monday reopened the market, after more than two weeks that it was shut. According to the government, the market was reopened for business activities after meeting the most essential criteria set for reopening sealed markets.

In celebration of the reopening, the police officer was seen in a video that has gone viral, firing shots into the air, while some obviously excited men suspected to be traders at the market cheered him up.

“The police officer in this video, Inspector Istifanus Kwanchi, serving with the Mobile Police (MOPOL), has been brought in for appropriate disciplinary actions.

“@LagosPoliceNG condemns in its entirety all forms of unprofessional and unethical behaviour on the part of its officers and men; and will definitely bring to book anyone found culpable,” Hundeyin said via his X handle @BenHundeyin.

The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Mr Ola Olukoyede as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Senators also confirmed the appointment of Muhammad Hammajoda as the Secretary of the anti-graft agency.

The confirmation of both men followed their screening by the upper chamber on Wednesday afternoon.

This comes barely a week after they were appointed by President Bola Tinubu.

More to follow…
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Shamsuddeen Malumfashi, a Senior Special Assistant on Islamic Education to Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State, is dead.

Channels Television reports that Malumfashi died on Tuesday afternoon in an auto crash around the Rigachikun area in Kaduna State and was buried at a cemetery behind Kwandala General Hospital in Malumfashi town.

He is survived by his father, Abubakar Yusuf, and his mother, Jamila, together with three wives and four children.

Governor Radda, in the company of the member representing Malumfashi Constituency in the Katsina State House of Assembly, Aminu Ibrahim; Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning, Bello Kagara, and some of his aides attended the funeral prayer and interment of the deceased on Tuesday.

They were received at the family house of the deceased at Layin Yan Bori, in Malumfashi, by the Galadiman Katsina, District Head of Malumfashi, Sadik Mahuta, alongside the District Head of Mahuta, Bello Yan Mama.

Also at the family house to receive the governor were the father of the deceased and the Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Area, Maharazu Dayi.

A district head and about 50 others, mostly women and children, were abducted while three others were killed in an attack by bandits in Bagega, a mining village in Zamfara state.

Residents of the village said that the gunmen stormed the village on motorcycles Tuesday morning, shooting indiscriminately and setting houses on fire.

The Village Head, Malam Abubakar Uba, told Reuters that the gunmen kidnapped the district head before proceeding to kidnap dozen others in the village.

“They stormed the village on dozen motorcycles and their first stop was the District’s Head residence. A few of them took him away with three members of his household before they entered the town and unleashed more harm”, Uba stated

The Zamfara state police command have not confirmed the incident.

Mrs. Amma Buwa, daughter of a member of the Borno State House of Assembly representing Ngala local government area, Hon Bukar Abacha, has been strangulated to death by unknown persons in Maiduguri.

Sources said the incident took place around 6:30pm on Tuesday, when the husband was said to have left the compound to a nearby mosque for prayers.

The husband of the victim who took the corpse to the police station said he found her lifeless body in his house with her hand and legs tied behind her back while her two years old child was crying beside.

The Gwange police Division evacuated the corps to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for autopsy and investigation.

The incident which caused tension and pandemonium in the area attracted a large crowd of residents who thronged the scene to catch a glimpse.

According to a family source who shared the news of the incident on his facebook page said, the remains of the deceased would be buried today (Wednesday) morning in Maiduguri.

“Inna lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Raji’un. Mrs Amma Buwa is killed by some hoodlums earlier today after isha prayer, where some unknown men invaded into her house after her husband left to the masjid for isha prayer.

“Amma is the daughter of member Representing Ngala at the state house of Assembly.

The janaiza (burial) will take place at 777 Housing Estate by 10am in Maiduguri.

“May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace,” he wrote.

The Benue State Government has accused the immediate past administration of ex-overnor Ortom of operating 600 accounts during his eight-year term in office.

Addressing the State Correspondents’ Chapel members of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) during a visit to his office in Makurdi on Tuesday, Commissioner for Finance and Budget Planning, Michael Oglegba, said that was why Governor Hyacinth Alia froze all government accounts on assumption of office.

The finance commissioner said Governor Alia was shown only 25 accounts when he took over office but information at the Nigerian Inter Bank System, however, showed that the state had over 600 accounts.

“When we came in, we asked for the accounts and bank statements and we were presented with about 25 bank accounts. A causal look at the Nigerian Inter Bank System showed that Benue Government had more than 600 accounts,” the commissioner said.

Oglegba while commenting on the state debts profile, insisted that the Alia government inherited over N359 billion debts which included that of the local government arrears.

He said, “The debts owed by the state itself was in excess of N200bn. This includes local and foreign debts. However, the LGAs also have their own debts, unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities and local contractors that made up the other N150 billion.

“So the Alia administration has no reason to lie about the state debts. We will be doing ourselves a great disservice if we say we own monies that we do not own. When we need loans for example who will give us?”

Ortom, who exited office in May this year, had denied leaving a debt of N359 billion.

The former governor, who spoke through his media aide, Terver Akase, had said the allegation was a mischief levelled against him and his eight years’ administration.

“The present government of Benue State is selling a narrative to unsuspecting people of the state that they inherited N359 billion as debt from the previous government led by Chief Ortom.

“This narrative is not only false but is also a deliberate stratagem to snooker the people. Governor Ortom was explicit in his handover speech that though the debt situation of the State Government at the time of his exit from office might appear to be on the high side (N187.56 billion).”

The Senate has issued a plea to the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in response to the escalating crisis of drugs and narcotics abuse within Nigeria.

Furthermore, the Red Chamber has instructed its National Agency for Administration Control, Drugs and Narcotics committee to collaborate with pertinent federal agencies in convening a National Summit addressing the issue of drugs and narcotics abuse in the nation.

These decisions were reached during the Senate’s deliberation on a motion titled: “Immediate Intervention Required to Combat Drug Abuse in Nigeria” during its plenary session. The motion was introduced by Senator Babangida Uba Hussaini of the APC representing Jigawa Northwest.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio emphasised the critical nature of the drug abuse crisis in the country. He expressed alarm at the extent to which some young individuals have resorted to drilling holes in soakaway pits to inhale vapours for a high. He urged parents to regularly inspect their soakaways to ensure they are intact.

Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau underscored the significance of youth to a country’s future, noting that when the youth are adversely affected, it jeopardises the nation’s prospects.

He highlighted that drug abuse permeates various segments of society, including celebrities and politicians. While commending the efforts of the NDLEA, Barau called for heightened vigilance from all parties responsible for addressing this issue.

He said, “The future of every country lies in its youth and when you have something that is destroying your youth, it shows that your future is in jeopardy.

“This scourge is everywhere, even celebrities who are supposed to be role models, be exemplary and show the way for others to follow are also into it. Politicians alike and indeed, all spheres of our life.”

He added, “The NDLEA is doing very well but the motion is a wake-up call for all those that have the responsibility for making sure that we deal with this matter to wake up and make sure that they do the needful in getting this matter dealt with properly.

“We must include this phenomenon in our school curriculum to begin to teach our children from the primary school level, the negative effects of drug abuse. Elsewhere, like in the United States, there are courses even in the universities that deal with abuse. We need to put that on the front burner in our higher institutions so that people will be aware of the harmful effects of drug abuse.

“It is a sad commentary on the way things are done in this country. Human capital is what drives a good economy and we have an abundance of population but we are allowing it to get destroyed through the intake of illicit drugs.”

“We must all join hands and work together to make sure we deal with the menace of drug abuse,” Barau stated.

Senator Hussaini, in his lead argument, highlighted the unprecedented surge in drug abuse in Nigeria.

He pointed out that what was once a transit route in the 1990s has now transformed into a nation grappling with drug abuse and trafficking. He drew attention to the substantial expenditure on psychotropic drugs and alcoholic beverages, emphasising the urgency of the situation.

Hussaini cited a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the European Union, revealing that approximately 14.3 million Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64 are engaged in drug abuse. He provided a breakdown of drug usage across various geopolitical zones, painting a stark picture of the extent of the problem.

He said, “Nigeria is currently facing a rise in drug abuse which has reached an unprecedented level transforming from a mere transit route in the 1990s, into a country filled with drug abusers and drug traffickers all over its land space, while a population of 30 to 35 million spends approximately $15,000 and $30,000annually on psychotropic drugs and alcoholic beverages, respectively.

The lawmaker added, “Also note that according to a report by the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime and the European Union on drug use in Nigeria, about 14.3 million Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64, are drug abusers;

“The report stated that 10.6 million addicts were cannabis users, 4.6 addicts used pharmaceutical opioids and 238,000 drug abusers used amphetamines;

“The report further revealed that the prevalence of drug use per geopolitical zone as far back as 2017 shows that the North-West zone accounted for 12% (3,000,000), North-East zone 13.6% (2,090,000), North-Central zone 10.0% (1,500,000), South-West zone 22.4% (4,382,000), South-South zone 16.6% (2,124,000), and the South-East zone 13.8% (1,550,000).”

He lamented that the main drugs abused in Nigeria are mood-altering or psychoactive drugs, performance-enhancing drugs, dependency drugs, as well as prescription drugs, “whose side effects include addiction, trauma, mental illness and often times resulting in ill health, violence and involvement in criminal activities.”

He said the Senate is disturbed that a significant number of deaths from accidents and violent crimes have been traced to the activities of persons under the influence of drugs “especially the discovery of more dangerous substances called ‘Kurkura’ in the North and ‘Umkpromiri’ in the South.”

The motion reads in part: “Worried that the prevalence of drug abuse in Nigeria is a public health challenge which seems to be on the increase despite intervention by international, regional, federal and state bodies through laws, policies, and technical supports;

“Also worried that the war against drug abuse carried out by the NDLEA and other relevant institutions of both state and federal governments are not providing the required result, hence the need to include special drug education as a compulsory subject in Nigerian basic education;

“Alarmed that the consequences of drug abuse will continue to endanger our national development, public safety and family system if urgent action is not taken to strengthen existing legal, policy and institutional frameworks to face the challenges with all sense of responsibility.”

Senator Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo also supported the motion.