Author: News Room

The Gates Foundation has invested $27m in Nigeria’s Primary Health Care Challenge Fund over the past four years, with the bulk of the funding deployed as performance-based awards to drive reforms and improve service delivery at the state level. According to the foundation, about 70 per cent of the $27m investment was dedicated to performance awards under the Challenge Fund, which was designed as a proof of concept to incentivise state governments to prioritise, reform and sustainably finance primary health care. Speaking on behalf of the foundation during the Nigeria PHC Challenge Fund event in Abuja on Friday evening, the…

Celtic have been criticised for their treatment of Kelechi Iheanacho after the Nigerian striker suffered his second hamstring injury since joining the Scottish club in August. Iheanacho lasted just 30 minutes during Celtic’s League Cup final defeat to St Mirren on Sunday before pulling his hamstring, having been Celtic’s best performer before the injury. Football pundits Peter Martin and Tam McManus described the former Leicester City striker as a “panic buy” and accused Celtic of “battering” him with fitness work despite his lack of match sharpness after leaving Sevilla. “Iheanacho does have good movement. Can hold the ball up. Can…

Lagos nightlife came alive over the weekend as American rapper Rick Ross made an unexpected appearance at a crowded club, leaving partygoers in awe. The Miami-born artiste, who was in the city for the TAPE Lagos pop-up event, took the stage on Saturday night, igniting the room with his presence. Guests danced under sparkling chandeliers, while the energy on the dance floor reached a fever pitch. The night’s excitement was amplified by Israel DMW, whose high-energy moves and dramatic leaps caught the attention of fans and quickly went viral on social media. Although the club played popular Afrobeats hits from…

Uncertainty continues to loom over the fate of 115 students still in captivity in Niger State, with families and communities remaining on edge, even as 100 schoolchildren were recently freed from abductors, writes Chika Otuchikere For Niger State residents and the government of Governor Mohammed Bago, the waiting is not over, even after 100 school children regained their freedom from dreaded terrorists. An estimated 115 abductees, including pupils, students, and teachers of St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State, are still languishing in the terrorists’ den somewhere in Niger State or…

After briefly going dark in the US to comply with the divest-or-ban law targeting ByteDance that went into effect on January 19th, TikTok quickly came back online. It eventually reappeared in the App Store and Google Play as negotiations between the US and China continued, and Donald Trump continued to sign extensions directing officials not to apply the law’s penalties.Finally, in mid-December, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told employees that the agreements for selling stakes to create a joint venture that includes Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX as part owners have been signed, and the deal is expected to close…

Coinbase, the largest US-based crypto exchange, has appointed George Osborne, a former United Kingdom chancellor of the exchequer, to run the company’s internal advisory council.The decision to appoint Osborne, who began working as a Coinbase advisor in 2024 during its battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is part of Coinbase’s strategy of expanding its influence with foreign governments, according to Reuters.Osborne announced the new lead position on Thursday, framing it as a learning opportunity. He said:“Serving on Coinbase’s advisory council for over two years, I have seen the blockchain revolution and the potential to spread ownership to…

Hallmark Channel is known for its Christmas movies, but the network has expanded to Hanukkah-themed features as well. In 2012, Hitched for the Holidays paid homage to several Hanukkah traditions, but it wasn’t until 2019 that Hallmark started making at least one Judaism-focused holiday movie for the season. Both Double Holiday and Holiday Date focused on Hanukkah festivities in 2019 before Love, Lights, Hanukkah! continued the tradition in 2020. The network has since given viewers a closer look at the religious celebration with 2021’s Eight Gifts of Hanukkah and 2022’s Hanukkah on Rye. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. In…

Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State on Thursday appointed Abdulkadir Muhammed as the new Head of Service. The appointment was announced in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Abubakar Bawa. The appointment of the new Head of Service follows the retirement of his predecessor, Suleiman Ahmad, from the state civil service. In addition to the Head of Service, Governor Aliyu approved the appointment of Special Advisers: Umar Oro, Faruku Labbo, Zainab Dasuki, and Kammaluddeen Lemi. Also appointed as permanent secretaries are Abubakar Bello, Kabiru Labaran, and Sani Bingi, while Salihu Galadanci and Kasimu Sadiq were appointed as…

If anybody deserved to be called Mr PUNCH, it would undoubtedly be this Ijebu-born, Lagos city boy, who undeniably gave his all to an organisation that took him from ‘nothing’ to something regal and admirable… His reputation had been out there for years before I joined The PUNCH in 2003, for professional, and undeniably, for economic reasons. Punch Newspaper Ltd was synonymous with its Ibadan roots and its amiable founder and publisher, Chief Olu Aboderin, of blessed memory. At its old headquarters in Onipetesi-Mangoro, a suburban Lagos area, it was for a reason of heritage that the private estate in…

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, has dismissed growing speculation that he intends to contest the Bauchi State governorship in 2027. Mr Pate said his full attention remains on implementing health sector reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He made the clarification on Sunday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he was asked directly about recurring discussions linking him to Bauchi State politics. Mr Pate said he is 1,000 per cent focused and committed to delivering on the president’s health transformation agenda. Tinubu agenda Mr Pate stressed that he remains firmly aligned with…