Nation

THE STATES

Published

16 years ago

June 7, 2010

Adamawa

Prof. Isa Chiroma of the University of Maiduguri has called for the introduction of e-learning and distant programmes in polytechnics and universities.

Chiroma made the call at a pre-convocation lecture entitled: “Challenges Facing Tertiary Education Adminstration in Nigeria” on Friday in Mubi, Adamawa.

He said it was high time to change the pattern of tertiary education to meet the socio-economic and technological demand of the country.

Chiroma said e-learning would address inadequate funding militating against smooth operations of the institutions.

“Since funding and infrastructure are the challenges, tertiary institutions should consider e-learning and distance learning programmes with sister institutions.”

Bauchi

Bauchi state Ministry of Education has set up a committee to investigate Sunday’s demonstration at the Government Technical College, Gumau.

The Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Aminu Ibrahim, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi on Friday.

Ibrahim said that in spite of the committee, the college had also constituted its own internal panel to probe the incident.

On Sunday, students of the college protested against “a strange man” who had allegedly been sneaking into the girls’ hostel.

The Commissioner said he had visited the college and met with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Gumau town.

FCT

The Federal Government on Friday said it was committed to the dual task of reviving and creating an enabling environment for the smooth functioning of existing automobile industries in Nigeria.

A statement signed by Alhaji Umar Sani, the Senior Special Assistant to Vice President Namadi Sambo, said Sambo made the statement at a forum in Abuja.

It said the forum was a meeting between the management of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) and Bank of Industry (BOI), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) and Union Bank Nigeria (UBN) PLC.

Kaduna

Zaria Local Government Education Authority in Kaduna State has introduced a new system of checking the performance of teachers, the council’s Secretary, Alhaji Mustapha Umar, said on Friday.

He told newsmen in Zaria that the measure would ensure

effective teaching and learning in primary schools.

He, however, expressed concern over the poor performance of class five and six pupils, and stressed that most of them could not even write a sentence in English.

He said: “It is unfortunate that some primary five and six pupils cannot write a sentence in English and some cannot even write their names correctly”.

Kano

Rep. Faruk Lawan, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Education, has joined the governorship race in Kano State on PDP platform.

He presented his letter of request to the PDP state’s executive committee members in Kano on Friday.

Lawan, who represents Bagawai/Shanono federal constituency, said his decision to run for the governorship post was informed by his desire to “restore the glory” of the state.

He particularly expressed concern over the high rate of drug abuse, especially among youths in the state as well as the ‘sorry state of education.’

He said such issues would be tackled if given the opportunity to govern the state.

Katsina

The Federal Government is to establish legal aid centres in 72 local government areas across the country this year.

Already, government has earmarked N300 million in the 2010 budget for the project.

The Director-General of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Mrs Nwaka Akinlami, said this in Katsina shortly after paying a condolence visit to the former First Lady, Hajiya Turai Yar’Adua.

“With this development, each of the 36 states of the federation will have three legal aid offices; one in the state capital while the remaining two will be in local government areas,”she said.

Kebbi

The Kebbi Government has spent N15 million on the formulation of a 10-year strategic plan to develop the education sector.

The Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Sani Rukubulo, made the announcement in Birnin Kebbi on Friday, when he addressed stakeholders, serving and retired educationists.

Rukubulo said the plan was targeted at upgrading 1,476 primary schools, 228 Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), 90 Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) and six tertiary institutions in the state.

He said the policy was also to improve the one teacher to 100 pupils ratio as well as the one teacher to 75 students to improve learning in schools.

Lagos

The immediate past Chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadbu returned to Nigeria on Friday through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The Delta Airline aircraft with registration number DL 053, which he travelled in from the US , touched down at exactly 4.40pm.

Ribadu simply said, “wonderful, wonderful, wonderful,’’ when asked by journalists how he felt coming back home.

“I am very happy, I feel very great, I am happy to be back home. I am just coming now, I am happy to be back home,’’ Ribadu said when pressed further.

The Tide’s source reports that the EFCC’s former chairman was received by his wife and three children.

Niger

The Concerned NITEL/MTEL Staff Association of Nigeria (CNSAN), Niger chapter, on Friday, protested the non-payment of their 26 months salary arrears and pension entitlements.

The Tide’s source reports that members of the association carried placards calling for the payment of their life pension scheme to reduce their suffering.

One of the placards read: “26 months without salaries; 308 dead.”

Mr Oluti Gabriel, President of the association told the source in Minna on Friday that, “members want to be returned to life pension agreement we signed with the Federal Government.”

“Government should pay for declaring us redundant and asking us to go before our time.”

Ogun

A don, Prof. Labode Popoola, has appealed to the Federal Government to show serious concern to the catastrophe posed by climate change.

Popoola, a professor of forest economics and the Dean of Post Graduate School at the University of Ibadan, gave the warning on Thursday in Ota, Ogun State, at a capacity building workshop on climate.

In his paper ,“Understanding Climate Change: Context, Drivers and Impacts”, Popoola, represented by Dr. Jimoh Saka, a lecturer in the university, said that 80 per cent of the inhabitants of the Niger stood the risk of being displaced as a result of climate change.

Plateau

The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Plateau, on Friday in Jos, presented working tools to 30 women under the 4,700 jobs scheme.

The disbursement is in addition to the recent training of 50 persons on information and communication technology and events management, while 30 people were trained in agriculture.

Speaking shortly after the Friday event, the Plateau NDE Coordinator, Mr Monday Dalyop, said that 20 other women penciled to receive the tools could not do so because they could not present guarantors.

Sokoto

A Non-Governmental Organisation under the aegis, “Unity Education Empowerment Initiative,” has donated 10 wheelchairs worth over N160,000 to physically–challenged students of Abdulrashid Adisa Raji Special School,Sokoto.

Its Chairman, Sqn.Ldr Aminu Bala-Sokoto(rtd),told newsmen in Sokoto, that the beneficiaries included seven female and three male students respectively.

“They were drawn from the nursery, primary and secondary sections of the school. They were hitherto crawling to their classes from their hostels.”

“The gesture is aimed at alleviating their suffering. We have plans to donate crutches, brail machines, walking sticks and hearing aids to more students of the school soon,’’ he said.

Yobe

The Yobe House of Assembly has passed into law a bill compelling every household in the state to plant trees in its environment.

The law also prohibits illegal felling of trees.

The state Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Wakil Sarki, announced the enactment on Friday in Damaturu at a news conference to mark the World Environment Day.

He said the law was aimed at inculcating the habit of collective environmental sustainability in the people and also giving them acceptable guiding principles.

According to him, the law will teach them how to plant trees and spell out punishment for anyone found guilty of cutting trees illegally.

Nation

HYPREP Marks 15 Years Of UNEP Report, Highlights Major Cleanup Milestones

Published

3 days ago

August 10, 2026

The Tide

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has commemorated the 15th anniversary of the release of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Assessment Report on Ogoniland, reaffirming its commitment to restoring the environment and improving the livelihoods of affected communities.

In a statement signed by the Project Coordinator, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, to commemorate the anniversary, HYPREP described the anniversary as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s environmental restoration efforts, noting that the project has made remarkable progress in implementing the recommendations of the landmark UNEP report released on August 4, 2011.

The UNEP report had revealed extensive oil pollution across Ogoniland, severe environmental degradation, and serious public health risks resulting from decades of petroleum operations. It also recommended an initial $1 billion fund to commence the cleanup of the affected communities.

According to HYPREP, the Federal Government formally launched the Ogoni clean-up in 2016, while the Project Coordination Office was established in 2017 to drive the implementation of UNEP’s recommendations.
Zabbey said the current administration has continued to prioritise the project under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Providing an update on the cleanup, the Project Coordinator disclosed that 30 of the 65 contaminated sites identified by UNEP have been fully remediated, while work is ongoing at several medium- and high-risk locations. It also stated that more than 1.5 million mangrove seedlings have been planted as part of what it described as the world’s largest restoration of oil-degraded mangroves, with over 1,000 hectares of shoreline already rehabilitated.

Zabbey further revealed that 49 Ogoni communities have been connected to potable water schemes through multiple water projects and booster stations aimed at providing safe drinking water across the region.

In the health sector, he said the 100-bed Ogoni Specialist Hospital in Kpite and the 43-bed Cottage Hospital in Buan are nearing completion, adding that several existing health facilities have been upgraded with modern medical equipment, while five ambulances have been donated to improve emergency healthcare services. The Project Coordinator also disclosed that a three-year human health biomonitoring study is being conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

On economic empowerment, Zabbey stated that the Project has created more than 8,000 direct jobs and trained thousands of Ogoni youths and women in various vocational and technical skills, including software development, cybersecurity, aviation, commercial diving, seafaring, mechatronics, and creative arts. The project also reported awarding scholarships to more than 1,000 students, providing grants to small businesses, and supporting persons living with special needs through skills acquisition programmes.

The statement further highlighted ongoing legacy projects, including the Ogoni Power Project and the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, which it said is about 96 per cent complete. HYPREP also welcomed the recent designation of the Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site of International Importance and pledged to continue promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of the ecosystem.

Marking the anniversary, Zabbey said the progress achieved over the past 15 years demonstrates the collective commitment of government, development partners, stakeholders, and local communities to restoring Ogoniland. He called for renewed collaboration to sustain the cleanup effort, promote environmental sustainability, and support the long-term development of the region. 3

Nation

REAN, SON synergise to curb fake renewable energy product

Published

2 months ago

June 29, 2026

The Tide

The Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) says it has strengthened collaboration with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to enhance quality control and enforcement frameworks.

Mr Oisereime Lloyd-Dietake, the Head of Communications, REAN, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said the collaboration would also involve stakeholder engagement on testing, certification and capacity building in Nigeria.

He said the synergy would strengthen quality control and enforcement frameworks, promote policy alignment, and ensure stronger regulation across the renewable energy value chain.

“REAN reaffirms its commitment to standardisation and quality assurance; tighter collaboration with SON is critical to eliminating fake and substandard renewable energy products from the Nigerian market.

“Enforcement and gaps in existing standards have continued to allow inferior products to circulate, undermining consumer confidence and slowing sector growth.”

Lloyd-Dietake said that at high-level discussions, REAN also highlighted the need for stronger regulatory coordination to address emerging challenges in the renewable energy space.

According to him, the issues include inconsistencies in standards, affordability issues linked to certification processes; and the increasing presence of substandard solar and renewable energy equipment in the country.

“The association further raised concerns about delays in product testing and approval, calling for the establishment of more testing laboratories and certification facilities to improve efficiency and reduce bottlenecks in the system,’’ he said.

Lloyd-Dietake urged closer collaboration among key regulatory bodies, including the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and the Rural Electrification Agency.

He said such team work would ensure harmonised standards and more effective enforcement against fake renewable energy products in the Nigerian market.

In response, SON acknowledged the important role REAN continued to play in supporting standardisation within Nigeria’s renewable energy industry and reaffirmed its willingness to deepen collaboration with the association.

SON further confirmed that REAN would be actively involved in future standard review processes and upcoming stakeholder engagements related to renewable energy and electric mobility standards development.

Lloyd-Dietake said REAN affirmed its willingness to formalise the partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

He said the MoU is aimed at deepening cooperation, promoting quality assurance, and accelerating Nigeria’s transition towards reliable and standardised renewable energy solutions.

Nation

Self Help Africa programme expands water access for 320,000 Nigerians

Published

2 months ago

June 29, 2026

The Tide

The WASH Systems for Health (WS4H) Programme, implemented by Self Help Africa, has expanded access to safe water and sanitation services for more than 320,000 people in Kano and Cross River States.

The organisation disclosed this on Tuesday at the WS4H National Results and Learning Workshop in Abuja, where stakeholders reviewed achievements and lessons from the intervention.

Speaking at the event, Self Help Africa Country Director, Joy Aderele, said the programme demonstrated that sustainable WASH improvements require strong institutions, effective governance, adequate financing and collaboration.

Aderele said the UK-funded programme was designed to strengthen systems that support sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.

According to her, the intervention focused on improving governance, planning, financing, accountability and sector coordination to ensure resilient service delivery.

“More than 320,000 people now have improved or restored access to water services through programme-supported interventions,” she said.

She added that more than 5,520 household toilets were constructed in Yala and Makoda Local Government Areas, boosting sanitation, public health and efforts to end open defecation.

Aderele said the programme also strengthened public investment in WASH, with Cross River increasing its sector budget by 211 per cent in 2026 and Kano by 169.07 per cent.

She added that dedicated WASH budget lines had been established across 40 Ministries, Departments and Agencies in both states, strengthening accountability and institutional commitment.

According to her, both states reviewed and adopted updated WASH policies, while key planning documents were developed to guide future investments and service delivery.

She said Cross River also recorded a major legislative milestone through the passage of the Water Law and Open Defecation Prohibition Bill.

Aderele added that lessons from interventions in Yala LGA were already informing expansion efforts in Obubra Local Government Area.

While commending the achievements, she noted that capacity gaps, resource constraints and climate-related pressures remained challenges to sustainable WASH services.

“The sustainability of these gains will depend on continued government leadership, adequate financing, strong partnerships and investment in institutional capacity,” she said.

Also speaking, the Programme Manager of WS4H, Mr Timothy Ibeawuchi, said the intervention focused on strengthening systems needed to sustain gains and attract future investments.

According to him, the programme engages stakeholders in developing strategies that preserve achievements and support long-term service delivery.

“System strengthening work takes time because it addresses the fundamental issues responsible for sustainable and resilient service delivery,” he said.

Ibeawuchi said the programme strengthened policy development, planning, financing, monitoring and evaluation systems across the WASH sector.

He said two pilot local government areas were supported to develop WASH strategic plans outlining sector goals, targets and activities between 2026 and 2030.

According to him, the plans will guide future interventions and improve service delivery in the affected councils.

Earlier, the representative of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Chidera Chukwu, reaffirmed support for Nigeria’s development efforts in spite of the programme nearing completion.

Chukwu commended the Self Help Africa-led consortium for delivering the programme with professionalism and a strong focus on systems strengthening.

He said the consortium contributed greatly to strengthening Nigeria’s WASH sector through policy reforms, improved coordination and enhanced accountability.

“Together, we have advanced key policy and legislative reforms, including open defecation-free laws and strengthened state WASH frameworks,” he said.

According to him, the reforms represent enduring system-level changes that will continue delivering benefits beyond the programme’s lifespan.

In his remarks, Mr Jamilu Habu, Director of Water Quality Control and Sanitation, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, commended the programme’s achievements.

Habu, who represented the Permanent Secretary, said the intervention strengthened governance, coordination, evidence-based planning and institutional capacity in the WASH sector.

He described the workshop as an opportunity to review achievements, share lessons and identify pathways for sustaining and scaling successful interventions.

According to him, the programme’s innovations and best practices will guide future policies and investments aimed at expanding access to safe WASH services.

Habu stressed the need for continued collaboration among governments, development partners, civil society organisations, the private sector and communities.

He said stronger partnerships remained essential to achieving universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene services and meeting Sustainable Development Goal 6.