Big Gist Africa

Nigerian farmers must shift from open-pollinated variety seeds to hybrid varieties such as Tela maize to cut production costs and strengthen the country’s food security, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) has said. Sylvia Kyeyune, Vice Chairman of the AATF Board, gave the advice while leading a high-powered delegation on a visit to Kaduna State recently. She observed that Nigeria’s vast land resources have encouraged a mindset that tolerates low productivity, as farmers can plant large areas even with modest yields per acre. “You’re assuming that you have a lot of land and therefore productivity is not a very big deal,” Kyeyune said. “Someone can produce very little on a very large portion of land because they have the big land. But a country that has very small land must maximize the yield per acre... so in Nigeria because you have big land you somehow overlook productivity. That is why you end up using low yielding open pollinated varieties.” She explai...

The Budget Office of the Federation has clarified that no funds appropriated for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PEAC/PFIPC) were ever spent, insisting that Nigeria's public finance control system prevented the appropriation from becoming public expenditure. In a statement issued on Friday, Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, said the controversy surrounding the council was based on a misunderstanding of the difference between budget appropriation and actual government spending. According to him, although the National Assembly appropriated ₦1.302 billion for PEAC/PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act, the legal and administrative requirements needed to convert the allocation into expenditure were never fulfilled. Yakubu explained that public funds can only be spent after several statutory conditions have been met, including financial clearance, lawful recruitment, payroll enrolment, treasury...

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has successfully concluded the distribution of 24,302 food baskets donated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) to vulnerable households in Yobe, Benue, Kebbi, Anambra and Taraba States. The humanitarian intervention, which was flagged off by the Director General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, on Thursday, 18th June, 2026, in Damaturu, Yobe State, was completed through direct distribution to profiled vulnerable households across the beneficiary states. A statement signed by Manzo Ezekiel on behalf of the Press Unit, NEMA, Abuja, dated  July 23,  2026, said that  a total of 6,403 food baskets were distributed in Benue State, 6,000 in Yobe State, 4,399 in Kebbi State, 4,000 in Anambra State and 3,500 in Taraba State, bringing the total number of distributed food baskets to 24,302. Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, Mrs. Zubaida Umar described the donation as another demonstration of the str...

*Passes vote of confidence on INEC Chairman, Prof Amupitan *Urges political stakeholders to support electoral reforms The Arewa Youth Forum, the umbrella body of youth organizations across the 19 Northern States and FCT, has expressed full support for the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, and called on the opposition, civil society, and all Nigerians with political interests to put partisanship aside and rally behind the commission as it prepares for the 2027 electoral cycle. In a statement signed by its National President,  Ahmed Mohammed Zagi made available on Tuesday July 21, 2026, AYF called on opposition to stop henceforth, campaign of calumny against INEC. According to the statement, since his swearing-in by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Prof. Amupitan has demonstrated clear commitment to defending the Constitution and upholding the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.  "In his first months in office,...

  The lawmaker representing Otukpo/Ohimini Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Onuh Onyeche Blessing, has condemned the latest killings in parts of her constituency, declaring that the bloodshed must end. Reacting to reports that nine persons were killed in Otukpo-Nobi, two in Akpachi, Ugboju-Eha, and one in Ondu, Ugboju-Eha, the lawmaker described the attacks as barbaric and heartbreaking.  She noted that many residents remain missing, while 11 injured victims are receiving treatment in hospital. Onuh called on the Federal Government and security chiefs to urgently deploy more troops to the area and establish permanent military bases, particularly in Okwudu Community, Ugboju District, to prevent further attacks. She also appealed to residents to shun reprisal attacks, warning that revenge would only worsen the crisis. "We must not take the law into our own hands. Violence cannot be the solution to violence," she said. The lawmaker renew...

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command, has seized twenty-six billion, five hundred and sixty-five nine million, eight hundred and forty-seven thousand, seven hundred and seventy-one Naira (₦26,569,847,771) only worth of Cannabis Indica weighing 4,143.5 kilogramnes during a routine examination together with the personnel of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Command’s Enforcement Unit. This was contained in a statement signed by Customs Public Relations Officer Apapa Area Command, Chief Superintendent of Custom Isah Sulaiman, dated July 14, 2026. It said that relying on credible intelligence together with the NDLEA, the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba had  directed that the 1×40ft container number FANU1933352, be subjected to thorough examination which resulted in the discovery on Friday, 10 July 2026. The container was found to contain Three (3)  used vehicles- Red Nissan Micra (2015 model) Black Toyo...