Welcome to the Development Diaries weekly roundup of top stories for Sunday, 27 November, 2022.
During the week, we reported the mixed reactions that trailed the unveiling of the redesigned naira notes; the Student Loan Bill recently passed by federal lawmakers in Nigeria; former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s comments about out-of-school children; concerns over use of BVAS for Nigeria’s 2023 elections, COP27 gains for Africa among other top stories.
Buhari Unveils Redesigned Naira Notes
President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the redesigned 1,000, 500 and 200 naira notes in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Wednesday. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the redesigned notes, produced by the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, have new security features. Read more
Naira Redesign Criticisms, Prospects
Mixed reactions trailed the unveiling of the new naira notes on Wednesday, with many Nigerians on social media joking that Snapchat was used for the redesign. Read more
Student Loans: How Realistic in Nigeria?
Nigeria’s National Assembly passed the Students’ Loan Bill sponsored by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila. Read more
2023 Elections: Adamu’s BVAS ‘Concern’ Needless
Chairman of Nigeria‘s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, questioned the readiness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal for the 2023 elections. Read more
Out-of-School Children and Obasanjo’s Boko Haram Fears
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo warned that the about 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria present a fertile ground for breeding another insurgency in the country in the future. Read more
CSOs Appeal for Increase in PHC Funding
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) and People’s Rights Organisation (PRO) have appealed to the Nigerian government to increase the budget for Nigeria’s primary health care sector. Read more
Did COP27 Deliver for Africa?
The ‘Africa COP’ brought to the fore issues of critical importance to developing economies, including climate adaptation and loss and damage. Read more
Malawi: Plans to Alleviate ‘Food Shock’ Underway
Malawi is set to receive U.S.$88.327 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to aid the response to the acute food insecurity in the country. Read more
UNESCO Provides Update on Tech4All Project
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in collaboration with Huawei, announced plans to begin the ‘Technology-enabled Open School for All’ project in Ghana, Egypt and Ethiopia. Read more
Ethiopia: EU Explains New Donation Targets
Through its partnership with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), the EU’s new donation aims to help restore education services and implement school feeding programmes across the country. Read more
That is the roundup of some stories that made headlines last week. More newspaper headlines are available on Development Diaries.
Photo source: Presidency Nigeria
