To Yahoo-Yahoo or Enter Tech?
+ Covid mandates & Edo's open-grazing stance
* The Naira/Dollar rate was calculated by averaging buying rates from several Nigerian FinTech startups.
Good morning.
Welcome to the Thursday briefing. This newsletter keeps you updated with the latest news from Nigeria. Don’t forget to subscribe to receive it in your email before 7 am (WAT) every weekday.
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FG mandates Covid vaccine for civil servants
Every federal government worker, by December 1, will be required to present proof of Covid vaccination or a negative Covid test done within 72 hours before being allowed to access their offices.
Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid, Boss Mustapha, announced this at a briefing on Wednesday in Abuja.
The Nigerian Medical Association has supported the order, noting that it will reduce vaccine hesitancy.
But the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) believes the available vaccines in the country are not enough, yet.
More time: The federal government is likely to extend the December 1 deadline, but the requirement is consistent with its proactive policies in managing the pandemic since the first Covid case was reported in February 2020.
Related: Nigeria has taken South Africa, Brazil and Turkey off the list of countries whose travellers are restricted from entering Nigeria due to Covid fears. Only India is now left on the restriction list.
Obaseki seeks funding for private ranches
Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki visited President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday and requested funding for private ranches.
Edo, unlike many of its southern counterparts, is yet to pass an anti-grazing law because it believes ranches need to be set up before such a law can be enforced.
Quote: “ . . . since the people of Edo would rather invest privately . . . then the National Livestock Transformation Programme, which is now being implemented by the federal government, should acknowledge our model, and should also be able to help people benefit from the funding that is now being made available for people who want to go into the livestock business and make investments in ranches and other similar livestock programmes,” Obaseki said.
Douye Diri: The Bayelsa State Governor, who has passed a law banning open grazing, says herders should not be allowed to use their business to destroy that of farmers. But he didn’t comment on the implementation of the open-grazing law in his state.
To Yahoo-Yahoo or Enter Tech?
A discussion around young people’s preference for Internet fraud schemes, also known as Yahoo Yahoo, rather than working in the blossoming - and licit - technology space gained traction on Twitter on Wednesday.
A co-founder at decentralised venture capital startup GetEquity, Jude Dike had wondered how to “create granular systems” for teaching “kids how to code” when he learnt of the existence of schools tailored to teach Internet fraud.
As often happens on Twitter, the conversation devolved into two feisty camps: the first arguing that people who choose to become Internet fraudsters would not be interested in learning how to code because of their ‘greed’.
The second camp maintained that young people are more likely to choose to work in licit tech if the right structures and opportunities are put in place.
I don’t think they are opposite arguments in principle: there are people who will always choose a life of crime, but it is society’s responsibility to keep expanding the opportunity to choose right.
What else is happening?
Nkem Okeke: The Anambra deputy governor has defected from APGA to APC, in what appears a significant move ahead of the November 6 governorship election in the South-East state.
2022 budget: The appropriation bill has passed the second reading in the Senate, barely a week after it was presented by President Buhari. The National Assembly had earlier committed to approving the budget before the year runs out.
Ahmed Lawan: The Senate President believes some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are attempting to sabotage the federal government’s efforts to provide critical infrastructure in the country.
Femi Fani-Kayode: A judge has ordered the former Minister of Aviation to pay a N200,000 fine after he failed, for the umpteenth time, to appear before the court for a money laundering case.
Pandora Papers: An exposé has linked Sambo Dasuki to the opening of multi-million offshore accounts during his tenure as National Security Adviser.
Hope Uzodimma: The Imo State Governor has called for the establishment of a special fund to compensate the south-east for the devastation incurred during the civil war.
Sunday Igboho: A lawyer representing the Yoruba Nation separatist says he has been rushed to the hospital after falling sick in a Benin Republic detention centre.
And there we go for today. The weekend is upon us. Who’s excited?