President Muhammadu Buhari showered praises on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday in Abuja for opening his borders to accommodate millions of refugees, fleeing from conflict areas, particularly Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, who are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. President Buhari while describing Erdogan as an exemplary leader for setting an example to the rest of the world described their meeting together as “robust, warm and cordial bilateral relation.” Recall that vigil360 reported that the Turkish leader was in Nigeria for a two-day official visit. The visiting Turkish President, during his meeting with President Buhari raised an alarm over the presence of a terror group hibernating in Nigeria, Fetullah Terrorism Organisation (FETO), as both nations, yesterday, signed eight critical bilateral agreements on energy, defence and hydrocarbon, among others. He said FETO, an atypical, armed terror group, exploiting religious sentiments of the people, was said to be behind the failed 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. “Turkey has been fighting against terrorist organisations for many decades, such as the PKK, PYD, FETO, DASH and other terrorist organisations.

President Muhammadu Buhari is holding a meeting with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Erdogan, accompanied by the first lady, Mrs. Emine Erdogan, arrived Nigeria on Tuesday for a two-day official visit. He is expected to hold bilateral talks with President Buhari, as the two leaders are expected to consider about 24 bilateral agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) among other issues.

The authorities of the Nigerian Police have reportedly opened a probe on a Police Inspector, Bashir Mohammed, who was seen in a viral picture voting during the recently concluded state congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in kano.
A statement by the Zonal Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Zayyanu Ambursa, revealed that Mohammed of the Special Protection Unit, Base 1, Kano is attached to the Government House, Kano, from where he was deployed to work with Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas as a security aide. The statement reads in part “The attention of the Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone One Headquarters Kano has been drawn to a trending picture on social media of an inspector of police casting vote at the recently conducted congress of the APC along with his principal the state party chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas.

The death toll from the COVID¬-19 indicated an increase with 33 deaths recorded from Saturday after infection and death rates in Nigeria slowed down last week. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced this on Sunday, saying that 33 people had died from the COVID-19 on Sunday with a difference of two deaths when compared to Saturday. This brings the total death toll to 2,837 deaths. According to NCDC, 125 new infections were recorded across 9 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), totaling the country's infection toll to 209,298 cases.

The Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 has announced an updated international travel protocol for passengers travelling to Nigeria. The revised travel advisory states that all travellers to Nigeria must present a negative COVID-19 test done not more than 72 hours prior to boarding, whether the traveller has taken COVID-19 vaccination or not. This was disclosed in a statement on Friday by the Chairman, PSC on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha.

The Federal Government (FG) has disclosed that plans are in place to set up mass vaccination centres across the country. Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib made the disclosure on Thursday, during a press briefing in Abuja. Dr. Shuaib said “The objective of this strategy is to vaccinate a high volume of individuals through large sites such as federal institutions (universities, polytechnics), shopping malls, religious centers, sporting events, conference centers, and markets, etc.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that it would support students in tertiary institutions with grants aimed at promoting entrepreneurship, therefore reducing unemployment. This was disclosed on Wednesday by the CBN in a report titled, ‘Guidelines for the implementation of Tertiary Institutions Entrepreneurship Scheme (TIES).’ CBN said, “The Scheme is designed to create a paradigm shift among undergraduates and graduates from the pursuit of white-collar jobs to a culture of entrepreneurship development for economic development and job creation.”

The Federal Government says it has officially scrapped the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), and the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) as required under the new petroleum law. Following the passage and implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA) are to perform the duties of the three defunct agencies. The FG also said while workers of the three agencies would be protected, their chief executives had been relieved of their various appointments. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Silva, made these known on Monday while speaking on the side-lines of the inauguration of the boards of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission in Abuja. Responding to a question on what would happen to DPR following the inauguration of the board of NURC, Sylva said, “It is now a matter of law. “The law states that all the assets and even the staff of the DPR are to be invested on the commission and also in the authority. So that means the DPR doesn’t exist anymore.

President Muhammadu Buhari approved the appointment of Dr. Ezra Yakusak as the new Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC). This was disclosed on Tuesday by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu. According to the presidential aide, the appointment is for an initial term of four years and would take effect from November 27, 2021. 

Kenya’s world record holder Agnes Tirop, two-times a world championship bronze medalist, has been found dead at her home. The 25-year-old distance runner represented Kenya in the 5,000m event at the Tokyo Olympics and finished fourth in the final after clocking 14:39.62. The country’s athletic body said in a statement on Wednesday said Kenya has lost a jewel. They added that they are still investigating the circumstances surrounding her death, with crime scene investigators at her house on Wednesday. “Athletics Kenya are this afternoon distraught to learn about the untimely death of World 10,000m bronze medalist Agnes Tirop.” “We are still working to unearth more details surrounding her demise. Kenya has lost a jewel who was one of the fastest-rising athletics giants on the international stage, thanks to her eye-catching performances on the track.”

Tyson Fury retained his WBC heavyweight title on Saturday in a fierce performance, knocking Deontay Wilder out in the 11th round concluding the trilogy fight between the two boxers. Both opponents performed spectacularly at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with both Fury and Wilder getting knocked out, however, the Gypsy King dominated the fight landing three knockouts, after recovering from two KOs landed by Wilder.

Former Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua is set for a rematch against Heavyweight rival, Oleksandr Usyk, Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter confirmed. Hearn said the fight is expected to take place in March, next year in the UK. “He (Joshua) has got his head back in the game,” Hearn told DAZN on Saturday.