Tag: Nigeria

Breaking Nigeria news and analysis — politics, the economy, security and business across Abuja, Lagos and the 36 states, from West Africa News Agency.

West African Politics

ECOWAS Statistics Directorate Urges Bigger Budget, Regional Data Governance Framework After Seminar

By Harouna Mayaki12 hours ago

A strategic seminar of the ECOWAS Directorate of Research and Statistics has recommended a larger Commission budget allocation to cut reliance on development partners, and a regional data governance framework as a precondition for expanding AI-based platforms. The directorate was also urged to set up a regional technical working group and upgrade its servers, software and data management practices.

Technology & Innovation

Fact-Checkers in Four African Countries Describe Roles Shaped by Political Systems

By Chikezie E. Uzuegbunam, Senior Lecturer in Media and Digital Studies and Deputy Head of School, Rhodes University, Chinedu Richard Ononiwu, Lecturer, Department of Broadcasting, Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Masaki Magack, Teaching Associate in Communication, Culture & Media Studies, Howard UniversityOctober 25, 2026

A study interviewing 19 fact-checkers in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa found that political systems shape both what they can check and how they define their role. Cameroonian respondents described avoiding politics out of fear, while Kenyan and South African fact-checkers described broader public-service roles and Nigerian respondents described a split between newsroom verification and a wider accountability mission.

Health Care Programmes

ECOWAS Reports Renovated Treatment Centres, Trained Staff at Abuja Conference

By Harouna MayakiOctober 24, 2026

ECOWAS says 12 drug treatment and rehabilitation centres in 10 member states have been renovated and equipped, and more than 300 professionals trained, as of September 2026. The figures were presented at a two-day conference in Abuja on substance use research and data systems, held with CRISA on 21 and 22 October.

West African Politics

ECOWAS Research and Statistics Directorate Opens Four-Day Seminar to Plan 2027–2030 Strategy

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff LimitedOctober 23, 2026

The ECOWAS Directorate of Research and Statistics opened a four-day seminar in Zuma Rock, Niger State, on October 20, 2026, to review its mandate and plan for 2027–2030. The meeting covers program evaluation, institutional capacity, performance review and alignment with the Commission's new strategic priorities.

Climate & Environment

ECOWAS Delegation Studies EU Civil Protection Model in Bonn and Brussels

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff LimitedOctober 21, 2026

A five-day ECOWAS Commission study visit to Bonn and Brussels examined EU civil protection coordination, early warning systems and space-based disaster response. The delegation included representatives from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo, and the lessons will feed into the ECOWAS Emergency Operations Centre and a DG ECHO-funded regional preparedness project.

Business & Economy

ECOWAS Business Council Taps Dangote to Lead ‘Power W.A.’ Industrialisation Push

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff LimitedOctober 20, 2026

The ECOWAS Business Council has unveiled "Power W.A.," a private-sector-led initiative to prioritise regional energy sufficiency for industrial growth, finalised at a meeting in Lagos between Commissioner Dehpue Yenpea Zuo and Prof. Hassan Mahmud, focal person for chairman Aliko Dangote. The plan will establish industrial power corridors backed by a regional electricity demand-and-supply gap study and engage lenders including Afreximbank, the AFC and the IFC, with an inaugural council meeting set for late October to early November 2026.

Health Care Programmes

Mapping the Unvaccinated: Why 13.5 Million Zero-Dose Children Remain Hard to Find

By Ann Muthoni NjoguOctober 19, 2026

A review of 102 studies across 68 low- and lower-middle-income countries finds that geospatial tools are mostly applied to routine immunisation coverage rather than to the 13.5 million children who have never received a vaccine. Researchers point to survey gaps, thin evidence in high-burden countries and a need for better routine data.

Health Care Programmes

Lagos Blood Pressure Screening Finds More Than Half of Adults Tested Had Hypertension

By Amam MbawkemOctober 18, 2026

A three-month screening exercise in Lagos tested about 1,500 adults and found that 52.5% had hypertension, with 65.3% of those unaware of their condition. The cardiologists behind the study also report low treatment and control rates and call for routine checks in primary care.

Defense and Security

ECOWAS Defence Chiefs Chair Handover Takes Delegation to Abuja

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff LimitedOctober 15, 2026

The outgoing and incoming chairs of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff visited Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff in Abuja on 13 October 2026 as the committee's leadership passed from Sierra Leone to Senegal. Lieutenant General Amara Idara Bangoura and Vice Admiral Oumar Wade sought continued Nigerian support for the committee's work. General O. O. Oloyede commended the outgoing chair and pledged support to his successor.

West African Politics

ECOWAS Commission Launches Automated Platform for Community Development Programme

By Daniel Inaju - Challydoff LimitedOctober 14, 2026

The ECOWAS Commission has launched an automated platform for its Community Development Programme at an event in Abuja, Nigeria, held from 5 to 9 October 2026. The platform is designed to support the coordination, programming and monitoring of regional development projects and to improve public access to project information. Operationalisation has begun with ECOWAS institutions and technical entities populating the system.