Nation

THE STATES

Published

16 years ago

January 7, 2011

Bauchi

The Bauchi Territorial Headquarters of the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) said it generated over N25 million as revenue in 2010.

The Area Postal Manager, Alhaji Dauda Musa, made the disclosure on Wednesday in an interview with our correspondent in Bauchi.

He said that the increase in the use of mobile telecommunications had not affected the services rendered by NIPOST.

Musa explained further that the organisation was able to meet its financial target in 2010.

He also confirmed that about 300 cargo luggages belonging to Bauchi State Muslim Pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia had been dispatched to their owners.

“In 2010, we were able to achieve our target because people continued to patronise our services.

“The existence of mobile telecommunications did not make our customers stop patronising us and as a result, 2010 was a successful year for us,” he said.

The NIPOST Territorial Manager expressed gratitude to the Bauchi State Government for its continued support and patronage.

Ekiti

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ekiti State yesterday secured the conviction of 275 persons who contravened road traffic laws during the yuletide.

They were among the 310 offenders arrested by the Ekiti command of the corps.

Seven mobile courts, headed by magistrates, sat simultaneously in Ado-Ekiti, Ikole-Ekiti, Ifaki-Ekiti, Aramoko-Ekiti, Ido-Ekiti, Omuo-Ekiti and Ado/Ikare road to try the offenders.

During the trial, 120 persons were convicted for riding motorcycles without helmets while 155 were found guilty of violating the seat belt and number plate rules as well as overloading.

The magistrates fined the convicts between N500 and N3,000 as stipulated in the road safety laws.

Speaking with our correspondent after the trial, the Sector Commander of the corps, Mr Francis Udoma, said the offenders were arrested by officials of the command at various locations in the state.

FCT

The Minister of Finance, Dr Olusegun Aganga, has described a recent letter by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to President Goodluck Jonathan on the state of the nation’s economy as “mischievous and a deliberate misrepresentation of facts”.

He told State House Correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday that the letter, dated Jan. 2, was “a desperate attempt to mislead the electorate with a view to making political gains ahead of the 2011 general elections”.

Aganga said: “Atiku, who is contesting the PDP presidential primaries with Jonathan, purportedly wrote the letter berating the Nigerian economy.

“I will not want to believe that the letter was written by Abubakar. For an individual with aspirations to govern the country to resort to outright lies and misrepresentation to seek cheap political points, is regrettable,” he said.

The minister said Nigerian economy had continued to grow, both the oil and non-oil sectors, and outperformed many global economies.

Kaduna

The Kaduna State Agricultural Development Project (KADP) has said that the targets of the Community Based Agricultural and Rural Development (CBARD) programme for 2010 were achieved.

The KADP Programme Manager, Alhaji Abdulkadir Kasum, spoke through the Head of the Media Unit, Mr Shehu Aliyu.

Kasum told newsmen in Kaduna yesterday that the targets included equipment procurement, capacity building and production development.

Others were provision and distribution of farm inputs, community development and extension services.

Kasum said that the KADP carried out a successful management, monitoring and evaluation services in the participating local governments of the state.

Kano

The Kano State Governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, says he has administered the state to the best of his ability.

Shekarau, at an interactive session with newsmen on Wednesday in Kano, expressed satisfaction with the way and manner he discharged his mandate to the people of the state.

The two-term governor, however, noted that governance was a continuous affair, saying that subsequent administrations would build on his achievements.

“I am aware of criticisms of my administration by some people but there will always be agitations for more service.

“I am sure by the time we leave government, there will still be a lot of things undone; there will still be a lot of things we would have wished to do, but probably we are unable to do,” the governor said.

He expressed happiness for improving the situation he met “in virtually all sectors”.

Katsina

A Malumfashi Chief Magistrate’s Court in Katsina State, has sentenced a 30-year-old commercial vehicle driver, Nasiru Lawal, to 14 months imprisonment for mischief and breach of trust.

Lawal, a resident of Kurnan Asabe, Kano was convicted on Wednesday by the court after he had pleaded guilty to the two-count charges.

The Prosecuting Police Officer, Mr Garba Magaji, had earlier told the court that one Alhaji Sani Bature of Aston Road, Kano, complained to the police that he entrusted his articulated tanker with registration number XE 253 GWL to the convict.

Magaji said the convict stopped a tanker loaded with petroleum product from Lagos to Kano on the way and dishonestly dispossessed part of the product valued at N390,000 at Yar’tasha Village in Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Lagos

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it is discussing with the Italian government on partnering for effective anti-money laundering and global drugs control.

In a statement by the NDLEA spokesman Mitchell Ofoyeju, the Agency’s Chairman, Mr Ahmed Giade was quoted as saying the move was aimed at tightening the noose on illicit drug syndicates seeking to operate in Nigeria.

The two parties, the statement said, had already had a first round of discussions where Giade was represented by the Agency’s Director of Administration and Finance, Dr. Daniel Ismaila.

Sokoto

The ECWA Church located in Wuse II, Abuja, has donated food items, clothing and foot wears worth more than N500,000 to the Sokoto flood victims.

The items were delivered to Dr Kulu Haruna, the Special Adviser to Governor Aliyu Wamakko on Relief Matters in Sokoto late on Tuesday.

Mr Mike Achimugu, the elder in charge of welfare at the church, presented the items to the governor’s aide on behalf of the Senior Pastor of the church, Rev. Barje Maigadi.

Achimugu said the donation was aimed at alleviating the suffering of the victims.

He prayed God to prevent a recurrence of the disaster.

While receiving the materials, Haruna commended the church for the provisions and gave assurance that they would be distributed to the victims equitably.

The items donated included 45 pieces of 50kg bags of rice , one carton of three-litre gallons of vegetable oil, six bags of used clothes as well as shoes and hand bags.

Yobe

One corps member died while 17 others sustained various degrees of injury in a road accident on Jos-Bauchi-Damaturu-Maiduguri Federal Highway.

The accident occurred on Tuesday, when the bus conveying the corps members to Damaturu from Jos, after the New Year holidays had a burst tyre and somersaulted.

Alhaji Habu Sani, Secretary of Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu, told our correspondent that one of the corps members died on the spot.

He said two of the corps members sustained serious injuries while others suffered various degrees of injury.

The accident occurred at about three kilometers to Damaturu following a burst tyre.

”They were said to have hired the bus in Jos to convey them to Damaturu and Maiduguri but unfortunately they had the accident just before reaching Damaturu,” Sani said.

He said some of the victims were receiving treatment at the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu, while the two with severe injuries had been referred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

Nation

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

Published

1 week 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.