President Tinubu Appoints Eight New Permanent Secretaries.

President Bola Tinubu has appointed eight new permanent secretaries in the federal civil service to fill existing and upcoming vacancies across various states and geopolitical zones.

This marks the second set of eight permanent secretaries appointed by President Tinubu.

The new appointments follow those made last June, which included individuals from Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Jigawa, Ondo, Zamfara, the South East, and the South-South regions.

The information was provided by Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President’s spokesman, in a statement regarding the latest appointments.

“The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation recommended the new appointments after a thorough selection process,” the statement said.

The new appointees are: Onwusoro Ihemelandu (Abia), Ndiomu Philip (Bayelsa), Anuma Nlia (Ebonyi), Ogbodo Nnam (Enugu), Kalba Usman (Gombe), Usman Aminu (Kebbi), Oyekunle Nwakuso (Rivers), and Nadungu Gagare (Kaduna).

President Tinubu urged the new permanent secretaries to demonstrate increased commitment, diligence, and innovation in their service to the nation.

Army Dismisses Dlaims Of French Military Base In Maiduguri.

The Headquarters, Theatre Command, Joint Task Force, North East, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) of the Nigerian Army, has dismissed claims of the establishment of a French military base in Maiduguri.

In a statement on Monday, Capt. Reuben Kovangiya, Army Public Relations, OPHK, described the claims as baseless and misleading.

The clarification followed allegations by a social media influencer, Mahdi Shehu, on his X handle, claiming that a French military base had been established in Maiduguri.

Shehu supported his claim with a video showing the acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Brig.-Gen. Abubakar Haruna, alongside a foreign officer, who he alleged to be a French military representative.

Kovangiya, however, clarified that the video in question was recorded during a recent press briefing at Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri, after the donation of equipment to the army by the British Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT).

“The officer seen in the video is a representative of BMATT, not a French military official.

“The donation, received by the Theatre Commander, Maj.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, on Oct. 25, was part of an ongoing military partnership with BMATT to strengthen counter-IED capabilities in the theatre of operations,” he said.

Kovangiya emphasised that there was no French military presence in Maiduguri, nor any plans to establish one.

He accused Shehu of deliberately spreading falsehoods and attempting to manipulate public opinion through the use of doctored content.

ECOWAS Says Two Million Women Benefit From $365m SWEDD Project.

Vice-President of ECOWAS Commission, Damtien Tchintchibidja, says about two million West/Central African women and girls have benefited from Sub-Saharan Africa Women’s Empowerment Demographic Dividend plus (SWEDD) project in 10 years.

Tchintchibidja made this known while officially inaugurating a new phase of the project tagged: SWEDD+, on Monday, in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that SWEDD is a World Bank-sponsored project aimed at promoting inter-regional, inter-institutional cooperation and collaboration for empowering West and Central African women and girls.

According to her, the SWEDD project, funded with 365 million dollars by the World Bank, has transformed the lives of women and girls in five countries in its initial phase.

The ECOWAS VP listed the beneficiary countries to include Burkina Faso, Chad, The Gambia, Senegal, and Togo, cutting across West African (ECOWAS) and Central African (ECCAS) subregions.

She described the project as a significant milestone in the collective efforts to unlock the full potential of women and girls in the subregion.

“This groundbreaking initiative SWEDD+ project is building on the success of the previous phases of the project in the Sahel, which are known to have transformed the lives of about two million women and girls in the last decade.

“Women and girls are the backbone of our societies, and for that reason their empowerment is crucial to achieving sustainable development, economic growth, and social progress.

“The demographic dividend offers a unique opportunity for our region to harness the energy, the creativity, and the capabilities of our young people, particularly women.

“By investing in their education, health, and economic empowerment, we can create a virtuous cycle of growth, prosperity, and social cohesion,” Tchintchibidja said.

These, she said, included gender-transformative interventions; the strengthening of health services; as well as policy advocacy and institutional strengthening.

“Women and girls of Sub-Saharan Africa, this project is for you. It is a recognition of your struggles, your resilience, and your aspirations.

“We believe in your potential to drive change, to innovate, and to lead,” she added.

NAN reports that the initiative, which is also supported by the UN Fund for Population Activities, offers a unique opportunity for ECOWAS and the bloc’s leaders to harness the energy, creativity, and capabilities of women and girls.

This entails investing in their education, health, and economic empowerment, with a view to creating a virtuous cycle of growth, prosperity, and social cohesion.

The event was graced by Prof. Fatou Sarr, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs; Mrs Fatima Acyl, representing the Minister of Finance, Economy and Planning of Chad; Dr Sennen Hounton, Director, UN Population Fund Regional Office, West and Central Africa.

Others are Ms Eleonora Cavagnero, Project Team Leader, World Bank; Dr Melchior Aissi, Director General, West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and representatives of the Ministers of Health and Social Affairs of Nigeria, Togo and Senegal, among others.

14,500 youngsters killed in Gaza as death toll passes 45,000.

No fewer than 14,500 youngsters have been killed in Gaza in the past 14 months, as humanitarians condemned new deadly airstrikes across the war-torn Strip, including on a UN school-turned-shelter.

Many thousands more are believed buried under the rubble, according to UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) while no fewer than 45,000 people have been killed in the enclave.

Images taken at the school in Khan Younis showed the apparent impact point of one shell in a concrete upper floor where people had been living at the time of the attack late Sunday night.

Meanwhile, famine “continues to loom in the north” and humanitarian access remains “severely restricted”, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, said in a post on social media.

“Virtually all 1.1 million children in Gaza are in urgent need of protection and mental health support,” she added, amid media reports that Israeli military activity in the last 24 hours has left at least 69 Palestinians dead, from Beit Lahia in the north to Rafah in the south.

Echoing those concerns, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that Gazans were now desperately worried about not getting enough to eat.

In the absence of a ceasefire, “we need to find a way of getting all the food that we have outside Gaza in”, WFP’s Head of Emergency Communications, Jonathan Dumont, said.

UN Envoy Calls For Increased Aid For Syria.

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has called for increased humanitarian aid in Syria amid “immense” changes that offer hope to a nation emerging from a 13-year-long war.

Pedersen arrived in Damascus over the weekend and held meetings on Sunday with key figures in the region. Among those he met was Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the new administration, who previously went by the nom de guerre Mohammad Al-Jolani.

Additionally, Pedersen met with Mohammed al-Bashir, the prime minister of the caretaker government. These discussions highlight ongoing political developments in the area.

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, arrived there a week after President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebel forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTC).

Pedersen noted the “immense” change since the fall of the Assad regime.

“This change in itself creates great hopes, but we all know that many challenges still lie ahead. So we have to get it right from the beginning,” he said in a statement.

He considered it necessary to launch a political process that includes all Syrians and which “must obviously be led by the Syrians themselves.”

The second challenge is to ensure that state institutions are operational, he said, with service delivery, public order and security being “extremely important”.

On the humanitarian crisis, he said it was necessary to ensure that Syria receives “immediate increased humanitarian assistance” for the population and for all refugees who want to return.

Top UN envoy stresses need for credible, inclusive, ‘Syrian owned’ transition

The UN’s top Syria envoy, Geir Pedersen has held talks in Damascus with the head of the new administration as well as the prime minister of the caretaker Government, calling for ‘Syrian owned transition.’

Pedersen, in a statement on Monday, stressed the imperative for a “credible and inclusive Syrian owned and led political transition.”

The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria also called on Monday for all parties to prioritise the protection of civilians as the country grapples with a worsening humanitarian crisis and ongoing violence, including in the Golan.

Special Envoy Pedersen arrived in Damascus over the weekend, and on Sunday held meetings with key figures including leader of the new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa – who formerly went by the nom de guerre, Mohammad Al-Jolani – and Mohammed al-Bashir, prime minister of the caretaker Government.

Pedersen emphasised the need for a credible and inclusive Syrian-owned and led political transition based on the principles of Security Council resolution 2254 (2015)

“The United Nations is committed to rendering all assistance to the Syrian people,’’ he said.

Pedersen also visited the notorious prison complex of Sednaya, where thousands of Syrians were detained and tortured by the former regime, prompting many families to go in search of missing relatives in recent days.

He also met with a delegation of the Syrian Negotiations Commission (SNC) comprising its different components of the SNC, including military representatives who have taken part in the recent military operations in Syria.

Meanwhile, fighting continues in the northern, eastern and northeastern parts of the country, while Israeli forces have advanced beyond the zone established by the May 1974 Agreement on Disengagement for the first time in 50 years, reportedly carried out more than 500 airstrikes since the overthrow of the Assad regime.

United States forces also conducted dozens of airstrikes on alleged ISIL – or Dae’sh – terrorist group targets since 8 December, while reported airstrikes by Türkiye continued against targets linked to United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast.

The UN Human Right Council -mandated Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria called on all parties to the conflict in Syria to protect civilians, and to treat those who have laid down their arms humanely.

“The caretaker Government in Damascus as well as other parties in the Syrian conflict should ensure that their forces are abiding by their stated commitments to prevent violence and protect civilians, in particular the most vulnerable communities,” Commission Chair Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, said.

The Independent Commission also stressed the need to safeguard evidence and crime scenes, including mass grave sites, for forensic documentation and analysis, as well as to help ensure future accountability.

Thousands of civilians were killed after civil conflict erupted in the country in 2011 and countless more suffered gross human rights violations and abuses, including enforced disappearance.

Commissioner Hanny Megally underscored the gravity of the situation, stating: “Syrians deserve justice after near 14 years of brutal war, where almost every crime listed in the Rome Statute has been committed.

The humanitarian crisis remains dire, with over one million displaced since late November and 17 million in urgent need of assistance. Capacity to support those newly displaced, as well as those returning, is overstretched and more support from the international community is urgently needed.

The Independent Commission called on all Member States to support aid efforts, calling for the review and suspension of existing sanctions regimes, to ensure they are not impeding humanitarian efforts.