Photo: The President was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, alongside AMSG Chairman and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake.

President Bola Tinubu has called for a fresh continental push to end the historical exploitation of Africa’s critical mineral resources, urging African nations to unite and halt the export of raw materials.

President Tinubu made the call in New York, United States, during the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, held on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

He called for an aggressive alliance among African countries to ensure that the continent transitions from a mere supplier of raw minerals to a hub for local processing, manufacturing and value addition.

The President was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, alongside AMSG Chairman and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake.

The dialogue, themed, “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition, Data Sovereignty, Innovative Financing and Critical Minerals Security,” focused on transforming Africa’s mineral wealth into sustainable economic growth.

President Tinubu told African leaders and other stakeholders that “the continent could not claim to be wealthy while its children wallowed in poverty amid mines that enrich the world.”

He noted that critical minerals such as cobalt, copper, lithium and rare earth elements had become indispensable to global supply chains and economic security.

According to him, the answer to the deprivation “must be processing, refining, batteries, components, African technologies and competitive skills”.

Football fans were shown a “constant bombardment” of advertisements promoting junk food and drinks during matches at the 2026 Fifa World Cup, according to a new study.

BBC reported that researchers at the University of Bristol and University of Oxford created an AI tool to analyse ads which were visible to television viewers during live play in the tournament’s 104 matches, mostly displayed on pitchside advertising boards and around stadiums in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

They found that logos and products for brands that produce junk food and drinks – defined by the UK government as being high in fat, salt or sugar – were displayed 65,722 times in total.

And the study also found that those adverts were visible for 28.1 hours’ time across the tournament, or just over 16% of the total time that matches were being played.

The ads were all shown on the international feed of matches during play – meaning they were visible to every viewer in every country broadcasting matches – and do not include ads shown during pre-match coverage, half-time commercial breaks, or the controversial in-match hydration breaks.

The model used by the researchers estimated that there were an average of 576 visible ads for junk food and drink shown during each individual match.

Coca-Cola had the highest number (21,893), followed by McDonald’s (13,915), Powerade (12,777), and Lay’s – the crisps manufacturer known as Walkers in the UK – (12,087).

All four brands are official partners of world football governing body Fifa, with the Powerade energy drink owned by the Coca-Cola company.

In response to the findings, Fifa argued that the vast majority of its revenue is put back into football, including on projects promoting health and wellbeing in which thousands of people participate.

The Central Bank of The Gambia has ordered commercial banks, including Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), FirstBank, Zenith Bank and Ecobank, to replace non-Gambian employees with suitably qualified Gambian nationals by December 31, 2026.

The directive came in a circular dated September 16 and signed by CBG Second Deputy Governor Dr Paul J. Mendy.

The order followed a meeting between the central bank and managing directors of commercial banks on August 27, as well as an industry-wide review of how banks employ foreign personnel.

The CBG said the review uncovered a “relatively high number” of non-Gambians working in banks beyond those covered by recognised expatriate arrangements.

The regulator said the situation violates The Gambia’s Labour Act 2023 and is inconsistent with Guideline 9, which governs how banks employ expatriate staff.

It directed all banks to adopt a phased approach to replacing existing non-Gambian staff with qualified Gambian nationals.

The CBG said: “Consequently, all banks are required to adopt a phased approach to replacing existing non-Gambian staff with suitably qualified Gambian nationals, with appropriate arrangements for skills transfer and continuity of operations.

“Banks must also ensure that as positions are localised, the transition does not cause the loss of critical institutional knowledge or disrupt day-to-day banking services.

Each bank is expected to identify suitably qualified Gambian nationals who can fill affected roles as the transition progresses.

Credit: Abokiforex.com