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Trump’s Election Victory Could Derail Global Climate Action, Activists Warn

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Environmentalists are concerned that Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential election could undermine global efforts to address climate change.

On Wednesday, Trump defeated Vice-President Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the US.

His win has sparked reactions from climate advocates, who fear that his return to power could weaken international climate commitments, especially as the world prepares for the COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Daniel Gwary, director of arid zone studies at the University of Maiduguri, warned that Trump’s victory could dampen enthusiasm among nations attending COP29 to increase their emission reduction commitments.

Gwary cautioned that developed countries might be less inclined to provide greater financial support for loss and damage, as well as adaptation, which are key concerns for developing nations.

“He cannot continue to be in self-denial that we now have a climate emergency that requires united global action under the Paris Agreement to protect our planet,” Gwary said.

“Analysts believe that Mr Trump is likely to revise the US climate law and strike a cautious balance of staying with some commitment to reduce carbon emissions but not accepting his country to take the expected leadership of driving climate action.

“The European Union and China will have to drive the tricycle without the US under the Trump administration.”

Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, warned that Trump’s victory could lead to higher emissions and widen financial gaps in addressing climate change.

“It will be a sad day if Trump again pulls away from climate negotiations as he did during his first coming,” Bassey said.

“His campaign promises to ‘drill baby drill’ will also compound the climate crisis, seeing that existing oil reserves are unburnable if the world hopes to avoid catastrophic global warming.

“His victory will already damper whatever hopes some may have had on COP29, delivering any serious signals that the widening emissions and financial gaps would be narrowed.”

Faten Aggad, executive director of the African Future Policies Hub, expressed concerns about the potential consequences of Trump’s policies on Africa, particularly in relation to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which aims to enhance trade relations between the US and sub-Saharan Africa.

Aggad warned that a trade war with China could disrupt supply chains and impact access to key green technologies, making a successful green transition more difficult for developing nations.

“One of the key questions for Africa relates to the trade agenda of the Trump administration,” Aggad said.

“Specifically, how his administration will handle the negotiations around AGOA and what impact would a likely acceleration of the trade war with China have on supply chains—and, therefore, the affordability and access to key green technologies? A successful green transition hinges on trade cooperation, and the likely increased protectionism in the US, which is likely to be mimicked in the EU, is a concern.”

One of the most pressing fears surrounding Trump’s second term is the potential for a second US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, a treaty in which nations committed to limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

In 2017, during his first presidency, Trump announced the US’s departure from the accord, a decision that was met with global criticism.

Although Trump’s inauguration is not set until January 2025, his election has cast a shadow over the upcoming COP29, which is being billed as a “finance COP.”

The summit will see Global South countries, including those in Africa, calling for a new $1 trillion climate finance goal to help them adapt to climate change.

Mohamed Adow, founder of the climate think tank Power Shift Africa, said Trump’s victory “puts COP29 in great limbo,” noting that the world could not afford another US exit from the Paris Agreement.

He called for continued climate action and justice, as millions of vulnerable people are facing the impacts of climate change globally.

“The gavel has fallen on the US elections. The uncertainty of this election has disrupted progress in climate negotiations for months. At the Bonn session in June, developed countries were too cautious to pledge any money for climate finance,” Adow said.

“The victory of President-elect Donald Trump puts increased scrutiny on this COP.

“Baku is expected to and must deliver a clear plan for climate finance for the vulnerable communities of the world.

“Only an ambitious new finance goal in Baku will protect the current climate momentum from a potentially disastrous Trump presidency.

“This is a moment of profound apprehension in global climate diplomacy. But not one to cower from in dread.”

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga also weighed in, emphasizing the importance of US leadership in providing grants-based climate finance to meet the adaptation and mitigation needs of developing countries.

“Actions of the United States on climate change at home and globally will shape how Africa, a continent that is least responsible for the climate crisis yet suffering most from climate impacts, will navigate its development path, deliver energy access to over 600 million people who are without electricity access today,” Odinga said.

“Climate negotiations at COP29 in Baku, coming on the back of US elections, is a perfect opportunity for the US to step up and be a global steward of the planet.”

BIG STORY

65% Of Nigerian Households Can’t Afford Healthy Meals — NBS

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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that food scarcity, insecurity, and high prices have led Nigerian households to reduce consumption, with 65 percent unable to afford healthy meals due to financial constraints.

These findings were released in the NBS’s latest General Household Survey Panel (Wave 5) report, conducted in partnership with the World Bank.

The report reveals that 71 percent of households were affected by rising prices of major food items, while food shortages impacted more than a third of households over the past year. These shortages were particularly severe in June, July, and August, worsening the food insecurity crisis.

As a result, 48.8 percent of households reported cutting back on food consumption, according to the NBS data.

“In the past 12 months, more than one-third of households faced food shortages, which occurred more frequently in the months of June, July, and August,” the report states.

“Price increases on major food items were the most prevalent shock reported by households, affecting 71.0 percent of surveyed households.”

“Households’ main reported mechanism for coping with shocks was reducing food consumption (48.8 percent).”

  • ‘62.4% Nigerian Households Secured Less Food’

The report also notes a significant increase in the number of households concerned about not having enough food to eat, with the figure rising from 36.9 percent in Wave 4 (conducted in 2019) to 62.4 percent in Wave 5.

According to the NBS, this surge reflects a rise in food insecurity, with more than half of Nigerian families struggling to meet their dietary needs.

“Approximately two out of three households (65.8 percent) reported being unable to eat healthy, nutritious, or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days. 63.8 percent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to lack of money, 62.4 percent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 percent ate less than they thought they should,” the report adds.

“Furthermore, 12.3 percent reported that at least one person in the household went without eating for a whole day, and 20.8 percent of households had to borrow food or rely on help from friends or relatives.”

“In general, households in the southern zones report more incidents related to food security than those in northern zones.”

“For example, in the southern zones, the proportion of households reporting that they had to skip a meal ranged from 50.1 percent in South West to 62.4 percent in South East, while in the northern zones this share varied from 34.0 percent in North Central to 48.3 percent in North East.”

The report further highlights that residents in the south-south zone experienced the highest rates of food insecurity across five out of eight indicators. In contrast, the north-central zone had the lowest rates in six of the eight indicators.

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BIG STORY

POLITICS: Rest 31-Year Presidential Ambition — Bode George Tells Atiku Abubakar

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A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has advised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to end his 31-year-long bid to be President.

Noting that Atiku’s bid to be President dated back to 1993, George said it was high time the former Vice President retired from such a contest, especially in the 2027 election.

Addressing a press conference at his Ikoyi, Lagos office, on Thursday, George urged Atiku to assume the position of an elder in the nation and leave his bid to posterity.

“To Atiku, my advice is this, you will be 81 years old in 2027, and you have been contesting for the presidency since 1993. This is the time for you to calm down and act like an elder. I appeal to you in the name of the Almighty Allah, that you serve, to take it easy and leave everything for posterity,” George said.

George decried that the PDP was on the verge of crumbling because people uplifted their personal interests and individual ambitions above national interest.

He criticised the “divisive, arrogant, haughty” members of the party romancing the ruling All Progressives Congress yet failing to defect from the PDP, describing them as cowards.

“We are where we are today because of a self-inflicted crisis; we should bury our individual ambitions now and not allow the PDP to crumble, please. Elders of the party should tell some of these funny characters to cool off and think of our national interest instead of their personal interest.

“Nigerians are angry and hungry. Instead of telling the APC the truth, some divisive, arrogant and haughty members are busy romancing the ruling party and they are quick to refer to themselves as elder statesmen. Instead of instigating a crisis in our party, why are they not bold enough to defect to the APC? Do they really fear God at all? No member is big enough to hold the party to ransom,” George added.

Particularly pointing to the crisis between Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, George urged Wike to immediately “cool off” from wanting to “bring down” Fubara.

George said it was worrisome that some party members, rather than bringing the two parties to mediation, further fuelled the Fubara/Wike crisis for their selfish interests.

“My advice to Wike is very simple. You are my political son. I am therefore appealing to him to cool off immediately. I know he was injured by friends during the last PDP presidential contest, but I am advising him as a father to please take it easy. Nobody is bigger than any party. Forget what happened in the past and let us work together in the interest of this party.

“I want to ask the elders at the helm of affairs of our party today, ‘What exactly is the offence of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State?’ What exactly is the offence of this gentleman that some elders of our party are trying to throw him under the bus because of political expediency? What exactly is going on that some party members don’t feel bothered about the happenings in Rivers State? Governor Fubara was helped by Governor Wike to become the number one citizen of the oil-bearing state. The governor himself acknowledged this on several occasions.

“Must the governor now behave like a slave to his predecessor and other characters because of this concept of godfatherism which is a misnomer in our politics? Why are some party members encouraging his predecessor to bring him down? He is in Abuja; he wants to control what goes on in Rivers State.

“Did the governors before him behave this way? Why are the party leaders not eager to mediate and bring both groups to normalcy? The PDP cannot continue like this. Why can’t we learn from our past mistakes? Is our party jinxed? Why can’t we tell all these troublemakers to go and sit down if they don’t want this party to move forward?”

The National Assembly has amended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, prescribing life imprisonment for drug offenders and traffickers.

This decision followed the adoption of the harmonised report by the Senate and House of Representatives on the NDLEA Act amendment.

Presenting the report, the Chairman of the Senate Conference Committee, Senator Tahir Monguno, explained that the amendment sought to impose stricter penalties to deter illegal drug activities.

The amendment specifically stated: “Any person who unlawfully engages in the storage, custody, movement, carriage, or concealment of dangerous drugs or controlled substances and, while doing so, is armed with an offensive weapon or disguised in any manner, commits an offence under this Act and is liable, upon conviction, to life imprisonment.”

The Senate approved the recommendation through a voice vote during Thursday’s plenary, presided over by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin.

In addition to the NDLEA amendment, the Senate also passed a bill to empower the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission.

The proposed legislation, known as the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission Bill of 2024, sought to replace the existing RMAFC Act of 2004.

The updated law revises the commission’s composition and operational framework to ensure federal, state, and local governments receive constitutionally mandated resources to address governance and developmental challenges.

Presenting the bill, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs, Yahaya Abdullahi, highlighted the urgency of reforming the commission in light of Nigeria’s dwindling revenues and growing population.

Abdullahi explained that the bill aims to strengthen RMAFC’s mandate as the constitutionally recognised body responsible for monitoring revenue generation and ensuring its equitable distribution among the three tiers of government.

“The Act, last revised over 20 years ago, no longer reflects Nigeria’s evolving economic realities. This bill proposes additional funding and a restructured operational framework for the commission to improve its efficiency,” he said.

He further emphasised that adequate funding from the Federation Account was critical for RMAFC to perform its constitutional responsibilities effectively, noting that funding challenges had previously hindered its performance.

The Senate endorsed the bill following deliberations and a majority vote.

It now awaits President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent to become law.

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Man, Girlfriend Arrested For Kidnapping, Murder Of 70-Yr-Old Woman In Enugu

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A 33-year-old man, Ikechukwu Okoye, and his 39-year-old girlfriend, Juliet Ogbodo, have been arrested by the Enugu State Police Command for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a 70-year-old woman, Mrs. Mary Nwatu.

The suspects, both from Onuorie-Obuno in Akpugo Community, Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state, are accused of killing the victim and burying her in a shallow grave before demanding a ransom of N6 million from her children.

They were apprehended after receiving N20,000 from the family, ostensibly to facilitate a phone call with the victim.

In a statement issued Thursday night, the command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, revealed that the arrest was made by the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad, based on credible intelligence.

According to Ndukwe, preliminary investigations showed that Mrs. Nwatu was reported missing on September 15, 2024.

“On October 5, 2024, the principal suspect, Ikechukwu Okoye, who is also a kinsman of the victim, contacted her children, demanding a ransom of N6 million,” Ndukwe stated.

Okoye was later arrested and reportedly confessed to the crime.

“He admitted abducting Mrs. Nwatu on September 14, 2024, at about 8 am when she came to their house to look for his mother.

“He further confessed to killing her and burying her in a shallow grave inside an uncompleted building in the compound,” the police officer said.

The suspect also admitted to demanding a ransom from the victim’s children, initially requesting N6 million before negotiating it down to N3 million.

However, he accepted an initial payment of N20,000 on the condition that the family would hear their mother’s voice over the phone before making further payments.

Juliet Ogbodo, Okoye’s girlfriend, also confessed during interrogation that she was aware of the crime but claimed she did not report it to authorities out of fear.

The victim’s remains have since been exhumed and taken to a mortuary for preservation and autopsy.

Ndukwe assured the public that the suspects, along with any others found complicit, would be arraigned in court once investigations are concluded.

“The Enugu State Police Command remains committed to ensuring justice for the victim and her family,” Ndukwe said.

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