News / politics / Stories

Mali suspended over second coup in nine months by ECOWAS

West African leaders suspended Mali from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at an extraordinary summit Sunday but stopped short of reimposed sanctions, after a second military coup in nine months.

The putsch had sparked deep concerns over stability in the volatile Sahel region and warnings of fresh economic penalties.

Ten regional heads of state and three foreign ministers attended the summit in the Ghanaian capital Accra, with former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan serving as a mediator in the crisis.

“The suspension from ECOWAS takes immediate effect until the deadline of the end of February 2022 when they are supposed to hand over to a democratically elected government,” Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said after the meeting.

The final declaration called for the immediate appointment of a new civilian prime minister and the formation of an “inclusive” government.

In a statement, ECOWAS also reiterated that “the head of the transition, the vice-president and the prime minister of the transition must under no circumstances be a candidate for the future presidential election”.…

Foreign / News / Stories

China allows couples to have three children: State Media

China will allow couples to have three children after a census showed its population is rapidly ageing, state media said Monday, further unwinding four decades of strict family planning controls in the world’s most populous nation which have strangled the birthrate.

In 2016 China relaxed its controversial “one-child policy” — one of the world’s strictest family planning regulations — to a “two-child policy” due to widespread concerns over an ageing workforce and economic stagnation.

Despite government efforts to encourage couples to have children, China’s annual births have continued to plummet to a record low of 12 million in 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics said last month, as the cost of living rises and women increasingly make their own family planning choices.

The slump threatens a demographic crisis which has alarmed the ruling Communist Party headed by President Xi Jinping, booking in a shortage of young workers to drive an economy experts say will by 2050 will have to support hundreds of millions of elderly.

A Monday meeting of the elite Politburo leadership committee hosted by Xi announced a further loosening of the state’s control over the size of families.

“To actively respond to the ageing population … a couple can have three children,” state media Xinhua reported.

The Politburo meeting also promised “accompanying support measures” that are also “conducive to the country’s population structure”, though these were left unspecified.

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News

Nigeria police disperse protesters wounding one: Activist

 

Nigerian police dispersed a crowd of protesters Monday in the capital Abuja, injuring one, according to activists.

It was unclear what the protest was about or how many people were present but activist Omoyele Sowore, a well-known opposition figure who has organised previous protests against bad governance said he was wounded by a police officer.

Sowore posted a picture of a wound on Twitter but police have denied the reports that he was shot, saying there was “no record of such incident” at this time.

“Contrary to the speculation, police operatives professionally restored calm at the Unity Fountain following attempts by a group of protesters to incite public disturbance,” police spokeswoman Mariam Yusuf said in a statement.

“The protesters who went on the rampage were resisted by police operatives in order to prevent them from causing a breakdown of law and order,” Yusuf added.

Nigerian police dispersed a crowd of protesters Monday in the capital Abuja, injuring one, according to activists.It was unclear what the protest was about or how many people were present but activist Omoyele Sowore, a well-known opposition figure who has organised previous protests against bad governance said he was wounded by a police officer.

Sowore posted a picture of a wound on Twitter but police have denied the reports that he was shot, saying there was “no record of such incident” at this time.

“Contrary to the speculation, police operatives professionally restored calm at the Unity Fountain following attempts by a group of protesters to incite public disturbance,” police spokeswoman Mariam Yusuf said in a statement.

“The protesters who went on the rampage were resisted by police operatives in order to prevent them from causing a breakdown of law and order,” Yusuf added.

“Sowore has just been shot by a female police officer… She fired a teargas cannister directly at Sowore,” activist Inibehe Effiong said on Twitter.

One of his lawyers Marshall Abubakar told AFP he had been rushed to hospital.

“I am with him at the (hospital) theatre now trying to ascertain but it

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News

Concerns over alleged re-looting of over $1.5b Abacha Loot

Economists, legal practitioners as well as other professionals and civil society organisations have expressed concerns over the poor management of returned looted funds, especially the money stolen by former Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.Disturbed by increasing wave of corruption across the country, despite the much-talked about anti-corruption campaign of the present administration, the experts are further piqued about indications that returned loot were being re-looted, especially as the financial transactions remained opaque, lacking in transparency and accountability.

This growing fear, perhaps, recently forced the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III to ask the Federal Government to explain to Nigerians how much of the country’s looted funds it has so far recovered.

While the Federal and Delta State governments continue to lock horns over the returned £4.2m stolen by former governor James Onanefe Ibori, the experts stressed that there was every justification to return the stolen money to the state in the spirit of true federalism.

 

Last month, the Federal Government stated that the actual money stolen under Abacha and the amount recovered were unclear. As much as $5b was reportedly stolen by the deceased leader alone.

The funds, basically from oil and gas, which go out of the country as Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) hover around N103t in the last 15 years, The Guardian had earlier reported.

From 2007 to 2020, about $1.5b has been returned to Nigeria from different parts of the world. Also, between 2007 and 2018, Switzerland returned over $1b to the Nigerian government, and in June 2014, Liechtenstein sent $277m to Nigeria.

In May 2020, $308m held in accounts based in the Channel Island of Jersey, were sent to Nigeria. The returned monies brought the total of returned Abacha loot to $1.5b.

At the Ministry of Finance, Nwodo Charles, the ministry’s spokesperson said he needed time to get accurate information on the matter.

On the state of the projects where part of the fu116.72b for the much-politicised second Niger Bridge, a project valued at N414b, and expected to be delivered next year.

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News / politics

Ripples over Southwest APC leaders’ position on Oduduwa Republic

Recently some Southwest leaders in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) met in Lagos and implored groups involved in agitations for self-determination to desist forthwith. Their position have, however, triggered several reactions form concerned Yoruba groups and individuals.

In the second of nine resolutions arrived at the meeting, convener, Chief Bisi Akande expressed strong opposition to separatist agitations and hate speeches. The leaders directed those indulging in such to desist forthwith while expressing their belief in the unity, stability and sustainability of the country.

But there have been mixed feelings that the Southwest leaders failed to engage the separatists groups on how take the country out of its present security predicament, which is believed to have been aggravated by the menace of armed Fulani herdsmen,whose activities have been perceived as threat to the existence of other ethnic groups in the country, especially the southern region.

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Covid 19 / News / politics

Buhari receives second dose of COVID-19 vaccine

President Muhammadu Buhari has taken the second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the State House, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that president’s personal physician, Dr Suhayb Rafidadi, administered the vaccine on the president at his official residence, State House, Abuja on Saturday.

Buhari had received the first jab of the vaccination on March 6 where he was presented with his COVID-19 vaccination card by officials of the Federal Ministry of Health, who supervised the exercise.
The President is the ECOWAS Champion on the Fight against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) had disclosed that 1,945, 273 eligible Nigerians had so far taken the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

It also said that 22,162 of Nigerians vaccinated with the first dose had also taken the second dose.

NAN reports that Nigeria has so far received over 3.92 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines delivered under the international Covax scheme.

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News / Stories / Wildlife

Colorado woman killed in suspected bear attack, wildlife officials say

A Colorado woman out walking her dogs died of a suspected bear attack, officials said.

The 39-year-old woman was found Friday night by her boyfriend, who went searching for her when he discovered the two dogs alone outside their home in Durango, in southwestern Colorado, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a statement Saturday.

He found her body around 9:30 p.m. local time off U.S. Highway 550 near Trimble, north of Durango, and called 911, officials said. The woman and her boyfriend haven’t been publicly identified.

Responding wildlife officers “observed signs of consumption on the body and an abundance of bear scat and hair at the scene,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a statement.

Wildlife officials believe the woman died of a bear attack, though the local coroner’s office will determine the official cause of death. An autopsy will be performed by the La Plata County coroner early next week, officials said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials urged the public to avoid the area as the investigation continues and asked people to report any encounter with an aggressive bear to the agency.

“Bear attacks are extremely rare,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife Southwest Region manager Cory Chick said in a statement. “This is a tragic event and a sad reminder that bears are wild and potentially dangerous.”…

International / News

Blinken claims progress in effort to boost Israel-Hamas truce

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has wrapped up a two-day visit to the Middle East, winning diplomatic support and hundreds of millions of dollars of pledges from Arab countries as he moved to shore up the ceasefire that ended an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group which rules the Gaza Strip.

But the mission made little headway in resolving the deeper issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the tensions in occupied East Jerusalem that played a key role in triggering the latest violence.…

News / Stories

Nigeria university celebrates Islamic clothe after student harassed

A university in Nigeria’s northern Kano state has suspended male students who harassed a female student for her outfit.

In a viral online video, the students can be seen taunting the female student dressed in the Arabian clothe called abaya, a loose fitting long garment that reaches to the ankles.

It is popular for women in predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria.

The Kano State University of Technology described the actions of the male students as shameful and said their suspension was to serve as a warning to others.

Seventeen male students are under investigation for their role in the incident and at least five have been suspended.

The university has also declared 27 May every year to celebrate the abaya and students were asked to wear the outfit on Thursday.

The victim told the BBC that she cried after the incident as it was the first time she was subjected to such because of her outfit.

“I cried because I don’t dress indecently and the abaya covered my body properly,” she said.

It is rare for Muslim women in northern Nigeria to be harassed for their outfits and this harassment is linked to posts on social media from two weeks ago.

Ahead of the Salah celebrations, some northern young women took to social media to say they were willing to do anything to be rewarded with the outfit, says the BBC’s Mansur Abubakar in Kano.

This prompted some men to begin to mock women seen in the outfit with shouts of “abaya”, he said.

Hisbah, the Sharia police in the state, has also warned men that they face arrest and prosecution if they harass women wearing the abaya.

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News / Security

SARS disbandment creating security challege, IGP cries out

Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alkali Usman, yesterday, said the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) had weakened efforts by the force to confront insecurity frontally in Nigeria.

 

This came, as he also announced that his men had arrested those involved in the March 20, 2021, failed attack on Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State.

He said the morale of his men had been seriously dampened by the #EndSARS protests and subsequent attacks in the South East.

The IGP, who spoke yesterday during a press briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the State House, Abuja, stated that the Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) squad, established in October 2020 to bridge the vacuum created by the disbanded FSARS, was yet to take off.…

Breaking News / News

Sixty Bodies Recovered from 200+ Onboard Passengers in Boat Accident

The rescue operation in Nigeria’s Kebbi state has entered day three with 60 bodies having been recovered so far.

The authorities say the number of survivors still stands at 22 with some of them still being treated at the hospital.

Authorities say chances of finding more people alive are low.

Ngaski local government chairman Abdullahi Buhari Warra said five people had been buried.

A survivor said that the boat crashed midway through the journey and split into two.

President Muhammadu Buhari described the accident as devastating.…

News / Stories

King Alfred Diete Spiff Palace destroyed in Town brass

One person was reportedly shot when a mob protesting against the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) over years of neglect attacked the palace of the Amayanabo of Twon Brass, King Alfred Diete-Spiff in Brass Council of Bayelsa State.

Indigenes of NAOC’s host community were protesting against protracted power outage, refusal to pay indigenous contractors and failure to meet its corporate social responsibility (CSR).

The Guardian learnt that the protest, which began on Sunday, May 16, 2020 and lasted till Tuesday, snowballed into chaos where some youths hijacked the rally and attacked Diete-Spiff, during a meeting with the protesters.

It was also learnt that after soldiers attached to Diete-Spiff, a former military administrator of old Rivers State took him to the palace, the mob still proceeded to attack there.

We learnt that the mob destroyed some property, while a soldier, who tried to disperse the mob, shot one of the protesters on the leg.

Responding to the incident, the Brass chapter of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) condemned the attack on Diete-Spiff, saying it would not condone any disrespect for the monarch from indigenes or foreigners.

In statement issued by its Chairman, Hello Richard and representative of the Ijaw clan, Benjamin Tustin, the group said: “Our attention has been drawn to the shooting of a protester by a military personnel during a peaceful protest by the people of Twon Brass Kingdom in Brass Council against Agip.

“From our findings, the protest, triggered into chaos after some persons hijacked it and started fomenting trouble in the process, which eventually led to the attack on Diete-Spiff.

“We further learnt that while trying to protect the monarch, a soldier shot one of the protesters in the leg and the situation generated tension in the community. The shooting took place when some persons hijacked the protest and destroyed part of the palace.”

The group stressed that it had become expedient that the leadership of Brass Clan of IYC should appeal to the people of Brass Kingdom to remain calm and urged security agencies to find

…
News / politics

Zuma pleads not guilty to arms and corruption scandals

The corruption trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma began Wednesday more than 25 years after some of his alleged offenses.

Zuma, who was president from 2009 until he was forced out in 2018 amid multiple graft scandals, pleaded not guilty to corruption, racketeering, fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering at Pietermaritzburg High Court.

Among the charges, Zuma is accused of taking bribes from French company Thales to ensure that South Africa signed a multi-billion dollar arms deal with the company in 1999. Zuma was deputy president of South Africa from 1999 until 2005 when he was fired from that role amid allegations of corruption.

Thales, also accused in the trial, pleaded not guilty to racketeering and money laundering.

Zuma was first implicated in corruption by prosecutors in 2005 but charges against him have been dropped and reinstated several times over the years amid allegations of political interference. Most recently they were reinstated in 2018.

Some of the charges against the 79-year-old Zuma date back to the mid-1990s. Prosecutors allege between 1995 and 2001 Zuma and Thales were involved in an organized criminal enterprise. They also accuse Zuma of taking bribes from a former financial advisor as far back as 1995 in exchange for using his political power to advance the advisor’s business interests. That corrupt relationship lasted for 10 years, prosecutors said.

Zuma could be jailed for 25 years if convicted.

On Wednesday, Zuma’s lawyer filed papers calling for the removal of the chief prosecutor in the case, claiming he was biased and Zuma’s right to a fair trial was threatened. The judge said he would consider the application.

Zuma is also facing allegations of corruption while he was president at a separate and ongoing state inquiry into widespread government graft. Zuma has been ordered to appear and testify but has refused to do so, leading the judge overseeing the inquiry to ask South Africa’s highest court to jail Zuma for two years for contempt of court.…

Business / News / Oil & Gas

N320 billion earned by NNPC in Bonga PSC deal

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Bonga Production Sharing Contract (PSC) partners, have signed watershed agreements to unlock $700m (about N320bn) revenue to the federation.

The revenue is expected to be generated by way of gas revenue and lease renewal fees, adding that the pact would also unlock about two billion barrels of oil for Nigeria under the Oil Mining Lease 118.

Under the arrangement, the NNPC and Bonga PSC partners will be executing five agreements that will deliver about $700m of immediate benefit to Nigeria.

The five agreements signed include, dispute settlement agreement, settlement agreement, historical gas agreement, escrow agreement and renewed psc agreement.

It will also help to ensure $6bn savings of arbitral liability on the Federal Government and unlock 10 000 direct and indirect employment opportunities to Nigeria

This new agreement will also help to re-balance fiscal terms and address global competition in prioritization of investments by key players.

The OML 118 with its straddle fields, boast of the presence of the five Major Players in the deep water space not only in Nigeria but also globally.…

Business / News

Nigeria’s External Loans have caused CBN to adopts market-led FX rate

The burden of external debts on the country could worsen, as the Federal Government would need more amount of Naira than previously required for servicing or liquidating existing loans and others being processed.

The increase is occasioned by the adoption of the market-led Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX) window as the country’s official exchange rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The apex bank, yesterday, replaced the official exchange rate with the NAFEX, otherwise known as the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I & E) window. The action came over a week after the monetary authority yanked off the CBN rate from its home page, a decision interpreted as an indication of the adoption of NAFEX rate.

 

Yesterday, Vice Chairman of Highcap Securities Limited, David Adonri, insisted the most expedient option is a full liberalisation of the market, a policy stance that would allow a natural market clearance as obtained in other comparative African economies such as South Africa.

concern about rising external loans came a day after the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) disclosed the search for private sector funds for the financing of infrastructure.

…
News / Stories

21-year-old arrested for N2 billion fraud

21-yr-old Nigerian “investment expert’ arrested for allegedly diverting investors’ N2b.

The Special Fraud Unit, Lagos, has arrested one Dominic Ngene Joshua, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Brisk Capital Limited, for allegedly diverting investors’ fund worth over N2 billion.
Twenty-one-year-old Mr Joshua, an indigene of Ebonyi State but who operates from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, was arrested following petitions to the unit by several investors. Joshua lures his victims via social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as newspaper publications where he claimed to be a financial investor that manages funds for individuals and companies.


Victims were conned to invest in Bitcoin, FOREX trading, real estate and oil and gas, with a promise of quick and 60 per cent Return On Investment per month on every fund invested. Funds belonging to over 500 investors were diverted to sponsor extravagant lifestyle, exotic cars, luxury watches, real estates in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
The suspect has confessed to the crime, but pleaded to be given time to return the money .The SFU said some of the properties and items purchased with the diverted funds have been recovered from him, and he will be charged at the Federal High Court soon.…

News

Super Blood Moon

Stargazers across the Pacific Rim can cast their eyes skyward on Wednesday night and behold a “Super Blood Moon”, as the heavens align to bring a rare celestial twin treat.

The first total lunar eclipse in two years is happening at the same time as the moon is closest to Earth, in what astronomers say will be a once-in-a-decade show.

If the skies are clear, anyone living between Australia and the central United States will be able to see an enormous, bright, orangey-red moon.

The main event will be between 1111-1125 GMT — late evening in Sydney and pre-dawn in Los Angeles — when the moon will be entirely in the Earth’s shadow.

The moon will darken and turn red — a result of sunlight refracting off the Earth’s rim onto the lunar surface — basking our satellite in a sunrise- or sunset-tinged glow.

Unlike a solar eclipse, the phenomenon will be safely visible to the naked eye.

This eclipse will be different because it happens during a “super moon”, when the moon passes a mere 360,000 kilometres (225,000 miles) from Earth.

At that point, it can appear 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than at its farthest point — a difference of around 50,000 kilometres (30,000 miles).

“Interest has been high,” said Andrew Jacobs curator of astronomy at Sydney Observatory, who is hosting a Covid-safe viewing event with telescopes and expert speakers. “I’m expecting a clear night.”

The event will also be live-streamed, and 20,000 users have already registered.

For those wanting to see the event in person, Jacobs predicted the best view will be in “Australia, New Zealand, and large parts of the Pacific. New Guinea also gets a good view.”

“The Americas see it in the early morning, but they don’t necessarily see all parts of the eclipse,” he said.

“Europe and Africa and the Middle East are missing out completely, on this particular one.”

According to NASA’s Bill Cooke, “folks in Hawaii and the Aleutian Islands will get to see the entirety of this eclipse

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News / Stories

Nigerians demonstrate over rise in kidnappings

Hundreds of angry protesters in Nigeria have burnt tyres and blocked a major road leading from Niger State to the capital Abuja to condemn a rise in kidnappings in the area.

The residents of Gauraka town north-west of the capital called on the government to offer better protection and demanded the immediate release of 12 hostages who had just been seized by men on motorbikes.

The protest blocked dozens of vehicles including fuel trucks.

Local media in Nigeria reported that at least 14 people were kidnapped in nearby towns last week.

President Muhammadu Buhari has been under increasing pressure to address the country’s numerous security challenges, including frequent mass kidnappings for ransom.…

News

NGO recommends agriculture as Nigeria’s new oil in post COVID-19 era

An NGO, the Face of Agriculture Nigeria (FOAN), has recommended agriculture as Nigeria’s new oil in a post COVID-19 era.

Mr Oti Egwu, the Content Manager of FOAN, made this recommendation in a statement to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.

Egwu said that the need for Nigeria to diversify its economy and place agriculture on top of the pile of its economic agenda demanded urgent attention.

He said that the danger in the country of putting all of its economic eggs in one basket had long been foretold by experts with the third eye.

“The warnings were given, the risk factors analysed, and the call for diversification was sung as music to the ears.

“But given the familiarity of the Nigerian condition, those cautions made no impact. Today, it can be remarked that a virus that walked into town few months back had stolen the show, reiterating in action all that had been spelt out.

“The virus in question COVID-19, needs no introduction. Its effects in the global space are speaking more volume hellishly beyond what the current crop of the human race can comprehend.

“Governmental wheels are beginning to fall off, economies around the world are being crippled and heading toward the brink and overall, humanity currently hangs by a thread,” the FOAN manager said.

Egwu said that the evolving dynamics suggested that some countries and their economies might survive the onslaught of the doom and gloom of the coronavirus, stepping out of it almost unscathed.

He, however, noted that the same could not be said about fragile economies like that of Nigeria.

Egwu said that the drastic fall in the global oil price as a result of the impact of the virus lent credence to this fact as the future for Nigeria’s sweet oil looked even bleaker.

He said that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic era was radicalising and revolutionising systems, thought patterns, work patterns, adding that its aftermaths were likely to open up frontiers in spontaneous forms that would change the rules of …

Entertainment / News

Kairos Events and Entertainment announces the first ever Face of Agric Nigeria Reality Show

Kairos Events & Entertainment wishes to announce the first ever Agritainment Face of Agric Nigeria (FOAN) Reality Show in Nigeria.

It is a concept aimed at changing the narrative of youths in their lackluster attitude towards agriculture.

The Face of Agric Reality TV Show 2020 is an Agritainment Show that seeks to discover, showcase, harness and empower the youth in the practice and business of Agriculture.

Face Of Agric Nigeria (FOAN) is an agritainment project and the first of its kind. It is a strategic project to be used as a tool to attract the Nigerian youths into agriculture putting in view the youths interest in entertainment related projects. The event targets the Nigerian youths resident in the urban centers.

Face Of Agric Nigeria (FOAN) 2020 targets the Nigerian youths aged 18-32. A total of 48 contestants are selected from the six geo-political zones in Nigeria.

These 48 contestants would be housed in a boot camp for 90 days. Participants would be put through the technological know-how in various agricultural practices from ground to the final consumer and hopefully they will become proficient.

This will proselytize business and economic opportunities, both local and international. It will encourage community development and cultural exchange amongst the participants. Another objective of the project FOAN is to support the government in achieving exceptional milestone in agriculture which would have profound effect on the growth of the economy.

The agricultural sector is one of the most important sectors in the economy of any Nation, it should provoke a tangible economic development.

So many years ago Agriculture was one of the primary drivers of the economy of this nation, the discovery of oil in the mid-fifties gradually pushed agriculture to the back burner, attention was shifted to crude oil as our number one source of revenue.

Mono economy would not suffice in a country with a teeming population as Nigeria, it is therefore pertinent to shift from a single income source to multiple income sources. This is achievable by economic diversification.

One of the central points …