Day: December 5, 2023

The Lagos State Government has concluded plans to hold a hitch-free 2023 Food Festival aimed to create over 1,000 job opportunities to participants.

The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Bisola Olusanya, disclosed this at a media briefing, on Thursday, held at “The Good Beach,” Victoria Island, on the highlights of the event, tagged: “Fusion of Different Flavours.”

Olusanya, said the annual festival which evolves from “Sea Foods Festival,” is to showcase the huge potentials of the state to the outside world.

According to her, the event scheduled for December 10 at the Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island, will showcase high level of tourism, entertainment, lifestyle, music and different affordable foods to the delight of the attendees.

Olusanya stressed, “The 2023 Lagos Food Festival is coming with a bang as families will have access to Continental delicacies from: Asia, Brazil, Europe and Africa.

“The Lagos Food Festival is an all-inclusive event that project the diverse of the state. It connects those in the food and entertainment industry and the enthusiasts. The testimony that touches me is the fact that it creates opportunity for people to earn money in legit way as well as provide foodstuffs at subsidized rates.”

The commissioner stated that “the event has continued to transform the lives of people and over 1000 jobs are expected to be created since the event is free for all.”

Olusanya, described the event as a wonderful platform for the youths in the state since it is organised close to the end of the year and holiday period.

Bisola Olusanya said that collaboration ahead of this year’s event is impressive despite the economic challenges in the country.

According to her, “Participants and visitors to the Festival will be thrilled by line-up of great artistes, such as Tuface Idibia, Crayon, comedians and Chef, while prices are up for grab from a dancing and family cooking competition.

“The Lagos Food Festival will create a friendly ambience for those that will be attending while the vendors are expected to sell at an affordable prices to the guests. At least 10,000 people are expected at the event,” she added.

On his part, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Dr Oluwarotimi Fashola, who expressed gratitude to the Governor for regular support to the ministry, assured that December 10 event will be rewarding.

He also thanked the Commissioner for taking the lead always in the implementation of policy and programmes of the ministry, the media and partners in ensuring success of the programme annu

ally.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has put up the Falcon 900B aircraft for sale, which is a part of the presidential air fleet, calling on interested buyers to submit their bids.

Information about the sale was contained in a flyer shared on the official X page of the NAF on Monday.

The announcement partly reads: “The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the sale of Falcon 900B aircraft owned by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

In compliance with provisions of the public procurement Act 2007, the NAF hereby invites all interested parties to submit bids for purchase of the aircraft. The bids can be submitted by email or physically.

“If submitted by email, the bids are to be password protected and sent to dproc@airforce.mil.ng while the password is to be sent separately to d proc2@ airforce.miI.ng.

“For physical submission, the quotations are to be enclosed in an envelope and sealed while the envelope is to bear the name and address of the interested company/entity as well as the description and reference to the request.

“It should also bear the statement, ‘DO NOT OPEN BEFORE 24 DECEMBER 2023’.

“Please note that the bids would be processed immediately after expiration of the deadline for submission.

RE: NIGERIA AT COP-28

The Federal Government has noted with interest the public conversation on the number of delegates from Nigeria attending the ongoing Climate Summit in Dubai, otherwise called COP-28, and the need to provide clarity in line with a standing pledge to conduct itself with transparency and accessibility regarding public information.

The Convention of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the world’s pre-eminent Climate Change Conference, attended this year (COP-28) by more than 70,000 participants and delegates from over 100 countries. Nigeria’s representation is very much in line with our status as Africa’s leading Sovereign voice and player in climate action.

Parties to this Convention from Nigeria include government officials, representatives from the private sector, civil society, the voluntary sector, state governments, media, multilateral institutions, representatives of marginalised communities, and many others.

It is imperative to point out that the overall Nigerian delegation to COP-28 comprises Government-sponsored (Federal and State Governments) and non-government-sponsored participants (from Private Companies, NGOs, CSOs, Media, academia, etc).

The Federal Government-funded delegation is made up of a total of 422 persons, as follows:

1. National Council on Climate Change = 32
2. Federal Ministry of Environment = 34
3. All Ministries = 167
4. Presidency = 67
5. Office of the Vice President = 9
6. National Assembly = 40
7. Federal Parastatals/Agencies = 73

As the biggest economy and most populous country in Africa, with a substantial extractive economy and extensive vulnerability to climate change, Nigeria has a significant stake in climate action, and our active and robust participation at COP is therefore not unwarranted.
COP-28 presents an array of investment and partnership opportunities for the various sectors affected by climate change, and Nigeria is already benefiting from its ongoing participation, as demonstrated by the following:

1. Nigeria and Germany signed an accelerated performance agreement to expedite the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) to improve Nigeria’s electricity supply. The agreement was signed by Mr. Kenny Anuwe, the Managing Director and CEO of FGN Power Company, and Ms. Nadja Haakansson, Siemens Energy’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Africa, at a ceremony witnessed by President Tinubu and Chancellor Scholz.

2. President Tinubu hosted a high-level meeting with stakeholders and investors on the Nigeria Carbon Market and the Electric Buses Rollout Programme on the margins of the COP28 climate summit.

a. The President unveiled the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Plan, co-chaired by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Zacch Adedeji, and the Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Dr. Dahiru Salisu.

b. The Electric Buses program is only the first step in a series of innovative, clean, modern, and sustainable initiatives across diverse sectors, all aimed at simultaneously addressing climate change-related challenges, reducing carbon footprint, modernizing infrastructure systems, and positioning Nigeria as an attractive destination for global investments.

3. Nigeria stands to benefit from the Loss and Damage Fund established during COP-27 in Egypt and formally operationalized at the opening plenary of COP-28 in Dubai. The Fund will provide substantial non-debt financing to support countries most affected by the impact of climate change. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been pledged as contributions to the Fund.

4. The President also met the President of UAE to concretize engagements between the two countries. This is aside from the bilateral talks held with several countries and multilateral partners. (Flowerbudnews)