Nation
FG Restates Commitment To Effective Border Relations With Neighbours
The Federal Government has restated commitment to a more effective border relations with neighbouring countries.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustafa, stated this at the inauguration of the three-day Local Bilateral Committee (LBC) meeting of Borno, Yobe States and Diffa Region of Niger Republic, on Monday in Maiduguri.
The meeting was organised under the auspices of the Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission for Cooperation (NNJC).
Mustafa, represented by Mr Andrew David, Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs in the SGF’s office, said that the LBC meeting was convened to foster unity and promote closer relationship with Niger Republic, as part of measures to further friendly relationships with international communities.
“It is expected that at the end of this meeting there will be more effective border relationship, improved revenue generation and cooperation in agriculture, healthcare, commerce and industry as well as support for security agencies in curbing crimes and criminalities,” he said.
He said that all decisions reached during the meeting would be accorded appropriate considerations by the federal government, noting that the inactivity of the LBC over the years had contributed to high rate of insecurity in frontline states in the two countries.
In his remarks, Amb. Rabiu Akawu, Secretary-General of the NNJC, said the LBC was established to promote good neighbourliness to jointly address common problems facing people along the borders of the two countries.
“The resuscitation of the LBC meeting by Gov. Babagana Zulum, who spearheaded the convening of this meeting which was last held 10 years ago is, therefore, an affirmation of the pivotal role that Borno State is known for in the promotion of cooperation and brotherly relations between Nigeria and Niger Republic.
“Today’s meeting is very important for obvious reason of the security challenges being faced by our people in this part of our two countries, for a very long time now.
“The issue, therefore, called for a collective action, a bottom-up approach and trans-boundary synergy and solution,” he said.
In their seperate remarks, Gov. Babagana Zulum and his Yobe counterpart, Mai Mala Buni, highlighted some of the activities of thier administrations geared towards strengthening ties between the two countries in areas of road transportation, healthcare, trade, commerce and livestock development.
Zulum was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Umar Kadafur, while Alhaji Mohammed Liman, represented Mala Buni at the meeting.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
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