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Ghana Commends Nigeria’s Breakthrough In Biotechnology

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A high-powered delegation of biotechnology and biosafety team members on a study tour from Ghana has applauded Nigeria’s success story in the areas of biotechnology and biosafety.

Ghanaian parliamentarian, Dr. Emmanuel Marfo made this disclosure during a courtesy call to the National Biotechnology Development Agency in Abuja on Monday.

Marfo, who is Chairman, Parliamentary Select Committee on Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Ghana, expressed satisfaction on behalf of the team, for being among people doing a qualitative job of trying to feed the nation, noting that the visit would help to broaden their scope in biotechnology.

The parliamentarian also said the meeting enabled him to understand the activities of science and also speak for science, ditto effective representation at the parliament or anywhere else.

“Parliamentarians who do oversight must be conversant with the sector,’’ Marfo remarked.

In his own expert reaction, the Chairman of the National Biosafety Authority of Ghana, Prof. Charles Antwi-Boasiako, also commended the great strides of the National Biosafety Management Agency of Nigeria.

Boasiako spoke about the biosafety framework of Ghana and its applicability thereof, stressing the need for public enlightenment for accurate knowledge.

Earlier, Dr. Francis Onyekachi, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation Representative in West Africa, said that the biotechnology infrastructure was properly developed in Nigeria.

He equally hinted that Nigeria was foremost in biosafety regulations, in addition to biotech cowpea and cotton which had been released for commercialization – and that biotech maize was coming next.

Onyekachi told the visitors that Nigeria’s biosafety agency coordinated all risk assessments, adding that policies and regulatory systems were all well-developed instruments of commercialization put in place.

He said the biotech cowpea and cotton were presently in the hands of Nigerian farmers.

Director-General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, threw the visitors into a light-bulb moment by giving an overview of the mandates and achievements of the agency.

Mustapha spoke extensively on the role of biotechnology in national development and how agricultural biotechnology could be harnessed to help feed the nation.

“We must all be on our feet to see that we feed our nation and biotechnology is the answer to feeding ourselves on this continent of Africa,” he affirmed.

Speaking, Dr. Rose Gidado, Country Coordinator, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology, eulogized Nigeria’s story on biotechnology and biosafety space as full of successes.

She said that though there were challenges the country had always overcome these challenges to come out even stronger.

She said the delegation found the need to inquire how Nigeria made it to this level and had come to exchange ideas, knowledge, and information in order to build on the bilateral strengths of both countries.

Gidado attributed Nigeria’s success story to pragmatic partnerships.

“We have a strong relationship existing between the regulators in Nigeria and the promoters,’’ she averred.

(NAN)

BIG STORY

Usyk Defeats Fury, Becomes Undisputed Heavyweight Champion

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Oleksandr Usyk emerged as the world’s undisputed heavyweight boxing champion adter defeating Tyson Fury.

On Saturday night, Fury and Usyk engaged in combat at the Kingdom Arena located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Usyk defeated the British fighter 115-112, 113-114, and 114-113 on the scorecards to win the fight by split decision.

In the first several rounds of the battle, Fury came out swinging, but Usyk was able to withstand the British fighter’s assault.

As the battle went on, the Ukrainian gained momentum because of his excellent movement and technical proficiency, which allowed him to block Fury’s strong attacks and land accurate shots of his own.

The highly anticipated battle took a turn for the better when the Ukrainian stopped Fury in the ninth round.

Despite Fury’s valiant effort to recover in the final rounds, Usyk’s dominance had already sealed the victory.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian is the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago. He has now unified the WBA, WBO, IBF, and WBC titles.

For Fury, it is the first loss in his 16-year professional career, but he will have a chance at a rematch before the end of the year.

In his post-fight interview, the British boxer accused the judges of giving the victory to Usyk because of the war in Ukraine.

“His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war,” he said.

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Nigeria’s Boniface Scores As Leverkusen Make History With Unbeaten Bundesliga Season

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In the final game of the 2023–24 German Bundesliga season, Bayer Leverkusen defeated Augsburg 2-1 in the BayArena on Saturday thanks to an early goal by Victor Boniface.

In lieu of this victory, Leverkusen, who had already won the Bundesliga, would end the season unbeaten in the league.

In the 34-match league, the unbeaten streak that led to the league title consists of 28 wins and 6 draws.

It made history and cemented the names of Boniface and his colleagues in the Bundesliga as the first team to finish the season undefeated.

Boniface, who won the Bundesliga Rookie of the Year award earlier in the week, started the party atmosphere when he slotted home an Amaine Chadli pass inside the area in the 12th minute before Robert Andrich doubled the lead before the half-hour mark.

Mert Komur’s goal on 62 minutes proved only a consolation for Augsburg as Leverkusen sealed victory in front of their passionate fans.

The Levekusen side is led by Xabi Alonso, who is only into his second year but first full season as coach of a senior team.

The team remains unbeaten in all competitions, with the win over Augsburg extending the run to 51 matches.

They have the chance to finish the season unbeaten in all competitions with victories over Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday and Kaiserslautern three days later.

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FBI Lauds EFCC, Promises Support As Agency Hands Over Recovered $22k From Convicted Fraudster

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has handed over $22,000 recovered from Hakeem Olanrewaju, a convicted internet scammer, to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

The EFCC, in a statement on Saturday,said the money was handed over to the FBI in Lagos, as the victim, who was defrauded, lives in the US.

Nicholas Oweibo, the judge of the federal high court in Ikoyi, sentenced Olanrewaju to two years imprisonment for identity theft and impersonation in August 2023.

The judge also ordered that the money recovered from him be restituted to his victim.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Lagos on Friday, Michael Wetkas, acting director of the Lagos zonal command of the EFCC, said the commission remains dedicated to combating crimes and restoring sanity to the nation.

“We are delighted to be handing over this proceeds of crime today,” Wetkas said, adding that “the EFCC is willing and always ready to do more”.

Charles Smith, FBI legal attaché in Nigeria, thanked the EFCC for facilitating the recovery of the money.

“This type of crime cripples businesses in the US, and for them to recover the money within one to two years gives hope to the affected companies and brings some level of justice, even if not all subjects have been identified,” Smith said.

“We hope our relationship continues and fosters a more cohesive partnership between the two agencies.”

Smith added that the FBI is willing to support the investigation in any way possible.

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