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German govt, Business community storm Enugu for economic cooperation

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…Laud improved ease of doing business

… Target agricultural, energy, trade and investment opportunities

…Nigerian economy can only grow from the states – Mbah

The government of Germany has expressed its eagerness to strengthen economic cooperation with the government and people of Enugu State, especially in the areas of agriculture, energy, trade and investment.

The industrial giant said that it chose Enugu State as one of its three business and investment destinations in the entire southern Nigeria given its findings on improved ease-of-doing-business under the Dr. Peter Mbah Administration and affirmation by the Nigerian media.

The German government spoke through its Consul General, Mr. Weert Börner, who led a delegation of the German business community and the German Corporation for International Cooperation, GIZ, on a working visit to Governor Peter Mbah at Government House, Enugu.

Börner said the visit was in continuation of discussions that started in Lagos in 2023 on increasing German cooperation with Enugu State in the aforementioned sectors.

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“So, I am very happy to be here in Enugu city to increase and deepen our conversation on this cooperation. I am also very happy that the delegation with me is comprised of representatives of the DHK (Deutsche Handels Kompetenz), which is our chamber in Lagos for industry and commerce; GIZ, our international cooperation agency and Siemens Energy, a private company that is already doing a lot in Nigeria to improve electricity and energy sector.

“We get a lot of news by the Nigerian media and through our own office that Enugu State and its own government have improved a lot in the sense of structuring process to get business easier done to improve the infrastructural basis for joint engagement.

“We are actually very happy about this development. The German government decided to concentrate more on specific states within the Nigerian federal system. And those states from the south are Ogun, Abia, and Enugu State. So, this is why I am here to get our cooperation on a higher and more intense level,” the envoy stated.

While appreciating the Germans for choosing Enugu State as one of their economic partners, Governor Peter Mbah said his administration was very ready and willing to partner with German government and businesses.

Mbah emphasised that the $30bn GDP target his administration set for itself, though high, was realisable through private sector investments and international cooperation, adding also that Nigeria’s much-needed economic growth could only come from the states, not the centre.

“I want to put on record our deep appreciation to you for selecting Enugu as one of the three southern states you want to partner with.

“We are really excited about this essentially because though we are subnational, our ambition and the goals we have set for ourselves are national in scale.

“We plan to grow the economy to a point that is unprecedented. If you look at the target, we set for ourselves to grow the economy from $4.4bn to $30bn in the next seven years. It appears too ambitious because you are talking about a sevenfold growth and you are looking at a compounded annual growth rate of 27 per cent, but we think it is realisable because we are looking at unlocking a lot of the economic potentials of the state that have not been touched.

“So, before now, we have also been working very hard, preparing ourselves for a day like this because the economic growth of this nation will not come from top to the bottom. I have always been an ardent advocate that growth will come from the periphery. It will come from the bottom-up,” he said.

The governor assured the German government and businesses of massive opportunities in the areas of agriculture, energy, trade and investment.

“We see agriculture as one of the major sectors that we can use to rapidly grow our economy. For us, agriculture is beyond food security.

“We are also putting together the Special Agro Processing Zones to meet up with our consumption and begin to package for local market and export. The ultimate goal is to be able to develop these produce into products, standardise them, and have them exported,” he stated.

Mbah said the government was in the advanced stages of getting the international wing of Akanu Ibiam International Airport completed and operationalised as well as build a cargo terminal to facilitate exports.

Still on agriculture, he said the state had acquired about 300,000 hectres of land to attract commercial farmers, while also seeking partnerships in the development of the livestock industry where the administration had taken steps to better structure and modernise the industry by initiating and signing the Ranch Management Agency Law.

The governor said the state had embarked on an aggressive development of road infrastructure so that investors would not have to worry about access to farmlands and evacuation of farm produce and processed products.

He equally urged the German delegation to take advantage of the extensive work already done by the state in the form of institutional strengthening, progressive policies, and improved regulations in the electricity sector through partnership and investment.

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2027: Atiku’s Son Pledges 10 Buses for Tinubu’s Re-election Campaign

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Abba Atiku Abubakar speaks during a visit to the APC National Secretariat in Abuja, where he pledged 10 buses for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign. Photo: Hon Yusi Buba/Facebook
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Abba Atiku Abubakar, son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has pledged 10 buses to support mobilisation for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Abba made the pledge during a visit to the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretariat in Abuja on Friday, according to a statement issued by Yusi Buba, Senior Special Assistant on Youth Mobilisation to the party’s Deputy National Chairman.

He was received by the APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Bukar Dalori.

Buba said Abba commended the party’s leadership and Tinubu’s administration, expressing support for the President’s continued stay in office.

“In a demonstration of his commitment to the political engagement ahead of the 2027 general elections, Hon. Abba Atiku Abubakar announced the donation of ten buses to support activities aimed at mobilising support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in 2027,” the statement said.

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The APC aide said Dalori welcomed Abba and acknowledged his pledge, describing it as support for the party’s mobilisation efforts ahead of the elections.

The development followed Abba’s announcement of a nationwide mobilisation campaign for Tinubu’s re-election and the unveiling of the Haske Bola Tinubu Organisation, a political support group established to advance the President’s second-term ambition.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Abba said the organisation would commence activities in the Federal Capital Territory before expanding to other parts of the country.

He also announced plans for a two-million-man mobilisation march across the six geopolitical zones, with the exercise scheduled to begin in Abuja.

Abba defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in January, declaring his support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.

His father, Atiku Abubakar, is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election.

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NCDC Identifies Two Suspected Ebola Cases In North-East

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Two suspected cases of Ebola disease have been identified in the North-East region of the country.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) disclosed this in a post via its official X handle on Saturday, adding that both individuals had been isolated.
It also said contact identification and listing are ongoing, and laboratory testing is underway.

According to the agency, confirmation is subject to laboratory results.
Two suspected cases of Ebola disease have been identified in Nigeria’s North-East region. Both individuals have been isolated, contact identification and listing is ongoing, and laboratory testing is being conducted,” the NCDC said.

“Being classified as suspected cases does not mean they are confirmed Ebola cases; confirmation is subject to laboratory results.

“The public is advised to maintain good hand hygiene, practise enhanced sanitation and follow guidance from public health authorities. Further updates will be provided as verified information becomes available.”

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The latest update by the NCDC came days after it said it identified another contact, an e-hailing driver, linked to the confirmed case of the recent Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, increasing the number of primary contacts to 54.

The NCDC Director-General, Dr. Jide Idris, told Channels Television on October 26 that efforts were ongoing to identify the secondary contacts.

“So we are not out of the woods yet until we are sure that we have all the contacts, and they have been followed up. So we are still not out of the woods; because the index case is out doesn’t mean that we don’t have that,” he said.

The Federal Government had announced Nigeria’s first confirmed case of the Bundibugyo strain in Abuja on October 20, 2026, identifying the patient as a woman with a recent travel history to Uganda, who returned to Nigeria with symptoms on October 7, but the Ugandan authorities denied reports of an Ebola outbreak in the East African country.

The index patient was later flown to Switzerland along with her husband.

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Troops kill 71 terrorists in Borno, Yobe offensive

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Soldiers kill 964 terrorists in February- DHQ
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Nigerian troops have neutralised no fewer than 71 terrorists in coordinated ground and air operations across Borno and Yobe, while recovering weapons and ammunition and disrupting terrorist logistics networks.

The operations include a five-hour counter-offensive at Buni Yadi, Yobe, which reportedly accounted for 48 ISWAP fighters, as well as separate air and maritime strikes that neutralised 23 terrorists.

An operational report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday, said the Buni Yadi operation followed an attack on troops at the North-East Theatre Training School in Gujba Local Government Area.

The report said the troops repelled the assault and neutralised 48 terrorists during the ensuing counter-offensives, recovering 42 AK-47 rifles, five PKT machine guns, four general-purpose machine guns and one 60mm mortar.

It added that other recovered items include 105 AK-47 magazines, two video cameras and thousands of rounds of ammunition of different calibres.

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The report said one soldier was killed during the engagements, while two others sustained minor injuries.

According to the report, the maritime component, supported by an armed unmanned aerial vehicle, had in another operation on Oct. 28, struck terrorist targets across Lake Chad.

“Preliminary battle damage assessment indicates that eight terrorists were neutralised, while 10 others sustained injuries.

“Similarly, an air operation near Ngirmishi settlement, north of Kerenoa, reportedly neutralised about 15 terrorists.

“The operation followed the sighting of suspected terrorists around a structure believed to be a logistics base, which was subsequently struck in a precision attack.”

The report said that in Borno, army troops of 5 Brigade arrested seven suspected terrorist collaborators, informants and logistics suppliers at Damasak, Mobbar Local Government Area, on Oct. 28.

Items recovered, according to the report include mobile phones, food supplies, drinks, blankets, cooking oil and other household materials, alongside N483,550.

It added that troops of 112 Task Force Battalion, working with Hybrid Forces, also ambushed suspected terrorists attempting to cross the Mafa-Ajiri road at Kassasewa, Mafa Local Government Area, on Oct. 27.

The report revealed that the suspected terrorists fled, abandoning five rocket-propelled grenade bombs and 175 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

The report added that in another development, troops of 202 Battalion apprehended a suspected terrorist informant and logistics supplier attempting to infiltrate Bama town.

“The troops also intercepted a suspected member of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) who reportedly escaped from a terrorist enclave in Bama and was on his way to surrender.

“Meanwhile, troops of 403 Amphibious Brigade, working with the Multinational Joint Task Force and Civilian Joint Task Force, discovered an improvised explosive device along the Baga-Cross road in Kukawa Local Government Area on Oct. 29,” it said.

In Plateau, the report said troops of Operation Enduring Peace foiled a kidnapping attempt at the ECWA Staff Quarters in Jos North Local Government Area in the early hours of Friday.

It said that the troops responded to a distress call and forced the suspected kidnappers to abandon their operation and flee.

According to the report, troops also arrested a suspected kidnapper at Akwaba, Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area of Nasarawa, during a joint operation with the Department of State Services.

“The suspect and N200,000 recovered during the operation were handed over to the DSS for further investigation.

“In Ondo, troops of 322 Artillery Regiment, working with the Nigeria Police, raided a suspected criminal and ritualists’ hideout at Kajola Camp.

“Three suspects were arrested, while counterfeit United States dollars and other foreign currencies were recovered.

“The suspects and recovered items were handed over to the police in Ore for further action,” it also said. (NAN)

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