My Election As ECOWAS Chair Unexpected — Tinubu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said his election to chair the body of the 16 West African heads of government was unexpected and unanimous, stating that it was a call to service that requires more hard work.

He said this on Wednesday in Abuja when he received leaders of the Senate led by its president, Godswill Akpabio, who were at the State House to congratulate him on his emergence as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

Tinubu said for Nigeria and the rest of Africa to make genuine progress and development, democracy must be nurtured and sustained.

“Democracy must survive. We need it to make progress. We have to send the right signal to the rest of the world particularly outside Africa that we mean business,” he said in a statement issued Thursday by his spokesman, Dele Alake.

Tinubu promised not to let Nigerians down in the discharge of his responsibilities in spite of the current challenges.

Earlier, Senator Akpabio said the election of Tinubu during his first outing with the regional body was a testament to the high esteem in which his colleagues hold him.

He said the Senate and the entire National Assembly would continue to support the President to deliver on his mandate and accomplish his vision for a more prosperous Nigeria.

Source: Daily Trust

Nigerians to pay more as UK announces hike in visa fees, health surcharge

Rishi Sunak, the UK prime minister, says the surcharge paid for the state-funded national health service (NHS) by visa applicants from around the world will “increase significantly”. 

Sunak, who spoke on Thursday during a Downing Street press conference, said migrants will also pay more for visa applications.

The development is set to hit Nigeria with one of the highest numbers of migrants to the UK. 

The British-Indian leader, who was under pressure to accept the recommendation of an independent review of pay for teachers, police, junior doctors and other public sector workers, confirmed a hike between 5 percent and 7 percent across the board.

“If we’re going to prioritise paying public sector workers more, that money has to come from somewhere else because I’m not prepared to put up people’s taxes and I don’t think it would be responsible or right to borrow more because that would just make inflation worse,” Sunak said.

“So, what we have done are two things to find this money. The first is, we are going to increase the charges that we have for migrants who are coming to this country when they apply for visas and indeed something called the immigration health surcharge (IHS), which is the levy that they pay to access the NHS.

“All of those fees are going to go up and that will raise over £1 billion. So, across the board visa application fees are going to go up significantly and similarly for the IHS.

Source: The Cable

GWR RECEIVES 1,500 APPLICATIONS FROM NIGERIANS IN TWO MONTHS

The Guinness World Records (GWR) has revealed that they have received over 1,500 applications from Nigerians in the past two months. This is a significant increase in the number of applications from Nigeria, which is typically one of the top countries for GWR submissions.

The surge in applications from Nigeria is likely due to a number of factors, including the recent success of Nigerian chef Hilda Baci, who broke the GWR for the longest cooking marathon. Baci’s feat has inspired many other Nigerians to attempt their own record-breaking feats.

In addition, the GWR has been actively promoting their brand in Nigeria in recent years. They have held a number of events in the country, and they have also partnered with local media outlets to raise awareness of the GWR.

The GWR is excited about the increased interest from Nigeria, and they are looking forward to reviewing the applications and seeing what amazing feats Nigerians can achieve.

The Guinness World Records is a prestigious organization that recognizes extraordinary achievements from around the world. If you are thinking about applying for a GWR, there are a few things you need to keep in mind:

Your feat must be measurable and verifiable.

You must provide evidence to support your claim.

You must be able to complete your feat in a safe and ethical manner.

Source: Guardian

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