By Janet Sam The Christian Care for Widows, Widowers, Orphans and the Aged (CCWA) has called on government agencies, corporate organizations, embassies, and well-meaning individuals to support its 2025 Annual Convention and Exhibition, scheduled for Saturday, November 15, 2025, at the Women Development Centre, Abuja. Founded 33 years ago by Professor Deborah Ajakaiye, CCWA has impacted thousands of lives across Nigeria through skill empowerment, education, healthcare, and emotional support. After a seven-year hiatus due to insecurity and funding challenges, this year’s convention, themed “Embracing the Forgotten,” aims to reunite and celebrate over 125,000 widows and orphans under the organisation’s care.…
Author: National Update
The Pentagon has received contingency plans for potential air operations in Nigeria — from intelligence support to carrier-based strikes — after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the Defense Department to “prepare to intervene” to protect Christians there, The New York Times reports. The options, provided by U.S. Africa Command at the request of Defense officials, outline three levels of involvement — “light,” “medium” and “heavy” — each spelling out progressively deeper U.S. military action on Nigerian soil and in the surrounding region. Under the most robust “heavy” option, planners describe deploying a carrier strike group to the Gulf of Guinea…
In a political move set to reshape Kogi State’s landscape, all opposition leaders from Imane District, Olamaboro LGA, have formally rejoined the All Progressives Congress (APC), signaling a new chapter of unity and collaboration. The grand event, which took place on Sunday, was hosted by Hon. Ogwu Alhassan, Zonal Chairman of APC for Kogi East, who received the decampees on behalf of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo. He described the return of the leaders as a milestone for both democracy and the APC’s growth in the state and nation. “The APC has come to stay,” Alhassan said. “All returning members will…
By Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko Around the 22nd of January 2022, Mr. Earl Timothy, a thinker penned a piece on the redefination of Leadership vis-a-vis analysing leadership values from the perspective of the new normal and then he posed a significant question thus: what is the new leadership approach? This profoundly excellent thinker then gave the following views: “Over the past months, a new leadership style has begun to appear. This new practice to leadership reflects the uncertainty of the pandemic epoch, and it comes with two elements that seem conflicting but bring them all together. First is the capability to…
Written by Stacey Ukaobasi, Founder of the Forum for Child Rights Promotion. Inside the hidden struggles, heartbreak, and awakening of African immigrant wives who seek love abroad but find control instead. The conversation is a factual presentation of what a lot of African girls married by men who live abroad and then move to live in their new homes that they merely know much about. It is not meant to scare anyone but this is just a warning note of what some ladies confront in their new homes abroad. Across African diaspora communities, a quiet tragedy unfolds — a story…
By Fatima Ndagi Chairman of the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee, Hon. Bamidele Salam, says Africa’s destiny will be determined not by its natural resources but by the quality of values and vision instilled in its children today. Speaking ahead of the 2025 National Children’s Leadership Conference (NCLC), Salam said the initiative is designed to raise a new generation of digitally skilled, socially responsible, and ethically grounded young Africans. Addressing journalists in Abuja on Monday, the lawmaker explained that the five-day conference, organised by the Children of Africa Leadership and Values Development Initiative (CALDEV), will run from November 17…
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) has called on traditional rulers across Nigeria to invoke spiritual guidance in tackling the country’s escalating security challenges. While commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for strengthening the national security apparatus, the forum said the current situation demands additional spiritual intervention to complement existing measures. The forum’s Chairman, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, made the appeal on Monday in Minna, Niger State, during a solidarity visit to Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago, following floods in Mokwa earlier this year and persistent bandit attacks across the state. “We want to call on traditional rulers in the country…
The Alternative Bank is rewriting the rules of agricultural financing in Nigeria — and this time, women and young people are in the driver’s seat. At the Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) 2025 in Abuja, the Bank’s Executive Director (South), Korede Demola-Adeniyi, unveiled an ambitious expansion of non-interest financial facilities designed to give women and youth a stronger foothold in agriculture through accessible funding, financial literacy, and risk-sharing partnerships. “We don’t call what we do loans because we work hand-in-hand with beneficiaries,” she explained. “We provide facilities at next to nothing, particularly to support women. Since we share both the risk…
***Pledges Ethical Roadmap for Africa’s Food Future The Alternative Bank has thrown down a bold challenge to Africa’s financial sector — to stop exploiting farmers and start empowering them. At the Agriculture Summit Africa 2025 in Abuja, the Bank unveiled an ethical agri-finance framework designed to rewrite how food production is funded across the continent. Speaking on the theme “Survival of the Greenest: Reclaiming Africa’s Food Destiny,” the Bank’s Executive Director (North), Garba Mohammed, said Africa’s future prosperity depends not only on how food is grown but on how it is financed. He was represented by his Chief of Staff,…
By: Adamu Muhd Usman The Executive Chairman of Gagarawa Local Government Area, Hon. Barr. Abubakar Idriss, has set a new standard for grassroots economic empowerment through the launch of the Gagarawa Mega Economic Empowerment Program, a bold and inclusive initiative that has directly touched the lives of hundreds of residents across the local government. The program, spanning multiple sectors, provided tangible support to almost three thousand (3,000) beneficiaries. Cash empowerment included ₦200,000 to 200 people, ₦100,000 to another 200 people, and ₦50,000 to an additional 200 individuals to boost small-scale enterprises and self-reliance. In addition, beneficiaries received bicycles for school…