News
Nigeria To Receive $9.98m For WASH Projects In N’West
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has supported Nigeria with $9.98million to improve Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects.
This is contained in a statement issued by USAID Mission Director, Dr Anne Patterson in Kaduna, yesterday.
Patterson said the support was to improve WASH services in Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states for the next three years.
She said the funds would provide lifesaving WASH services to more than 300,000 people in need of assistance.
According to her, the assistance will help to build community-centred approaches to deliver, operate and manage sustainable WASH services in rural areas and foster resilience in communities.
“It will also help rebuild dilapidated infrastructure and support community efforts to increase access to proper sanitation, adopt good hygiene practices and improve water quality.
“This new activity with UNICEF will help reduce waterborne diseases to keep more people, especially children, healthy.
“USAID is dedicated to ensuring clean water for more Nigerians.”
She pointed out that the 2019 National Outcome Routine Mapping of WASH services showed that 30 per cent of Nigerians lacked access to basic water services and less than 10 per cent had access to safely managed water services.
She added that the mapping also showed that while 44 per cent of Nigerians had access to basic sanitation services, 23 per cent, representing 46million people that lack access to proper sanitation.
“Sokoto and Kebbi have the lowest levels of access to basic water services at 38 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively.
“Similarly, access to basic sanitation is also low in Kebbi, Zamfara and Sokoto state at 35 per cent, 38 per cent, and 41 per cent, respectively.
“Only five per cent of people in Sokoto and one per cent in Kebbi have access to safely managed water services.
“This severe shortage of clean water supply, toilets and handwashing facilities in households across Nigeria presents a formidable challenge,” she said.
On his part, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins said poor access to WASH services was the major cause of diarrhoea morbidity and mortality in Nigeria.
Hawkins added that poor access to WASH services was associated with at least 70,000 deaths in children under five each year.
He said that lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic had also reinforced the importance of adequate and safe water, basic sanitation and proper hygiene practices to stem the spread of the disease in Nigeria.
“We are extremely grateful for the timely and much-needed WASH support from the U.S. Government.
“The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with prevailing challenges and gaps in WASH services in North-West Nigeria is detrimental to the development of children and rural communities.
“This assistance is a testament to USAID’s commitment to the children and people of Nigeria,” Hawkins said.
The Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) has urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to forestall economic hardship occasioned by the recent increase in pump price of petrol.
The President of NIM, Dr Christiana Atako, made the call in a statement by the institute’s registrar, Mrs Taiwo Olusesi in Lagos.
Atako said that it was important to mitigate the harsh effects of the latest increase in the price of fuel on both the economy and Nigerians.
She said that the long fuel queues that resurfaced in various cities had attendant consequences on Nigerians whose cost of living was shrinking by the day.
“The Institute supports the current efforts by the Federal Government to kick-start the nation’s weak economy and put it on a good footing.
“However, NIM is an organisation committed to promoting good governance and sound management practices.
“We believe that government should do everything within its power to give the nation’s economic policies a human face,” she said.
The NIM president urged the Federal Government to continue working with the greater interest of Nigerians at heart by taking more proactive measures to impact the welfare of the citizenry.
She called on government to, especially, address fuel scarcity, the hunger in the land, as well as tackle the myriad of economic issues facing the country.
“The Institute concedes that the decision to remove fuel subsidy has come with some pains,.
“It is, however, a necessary step towards the nation’s economic stability as it will help to curb the mismanagement of scarce resources
“It will also reduce corruption in the oil sector, and ensure that the benefits of government spending are felt by all Nigerians.
“Since the removal of subsidy is a difficult decision with significant impact on the masses, it is essential that the Federal Government implements measures to mitigate its effects,” she said.
Atako suggested measures like providing a safety tax net for those who would be most impacted by the subsidy removal, greater government intervention in agricultural produce, public transportation and youth employment programmes.
She also enjoined Nigerians to be patient with the Federal Government, and called for more understanding.
She said that the NIM believed that the nation would soon turn the bend and start reaping the benefits of the present sacrifices.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has destroyed over 100,000kg of cannabis spread across 51 hectares of farm land in Ekiti State.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi yesterday, in Abuja.
Babafemi said that NDLEA operatives supported by men of the Nigerian Army on Tuesday Sept. 3 and Wednesday Sept. 4 stormed three camps inside the Ise-Ekiti forest reserve, in Ise/Orun Local Government Area of the state.
He named the affected areas to include: Aba Saalaja with 23 hectares; Aba Paanu with 12 hectares and Aba Arogunmatidi with 16 hectares, all within Ise-Ekiti forest reserve.
He also said two suspects: were arrested on the Toro-Jos road, Kaduna with 305kg cannabis (Indian hemp) concealed in false compartment of a J5 boxer bus marked YLA 682 XM.
Babafemi said that another suspect was arrested in possession of 18 kilograms of same substance at Makarfi town.
“Two other suspects others: were arrested on the Zaria- Kaduna highway in possession of 1300 tablets of Tramadol, all same day,”he said.
Also, in Jigawa state, a 30-year-old man was nabbed with 32.6kg of cannabis (Indian hemp) at Koran Shehu.
Babafemi said that operatives in Kogi intercepted 77,300 pills of Tramadol, Diazepam and Exol-5 with 1,230 bottles of Codeine in a commercial bus driven by Attai Okolo, 68, along Aloma – Ejule road, Ofu LGA, Kogi.
“Another was nabbed on the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway with 42.400kg cannabis (Indian hemp) coming from Lagos enroute Kano.
“NDLEA operatives in Borno arrested a 40-year-old man at Ramat area of Maiduguri with 13,100 pills of Tramadol.
“Also, operatives in Kano nabbed a man with 25.8kg cannabis and 3,000 pills of Diazepam along Kano – Daura road,”he said.
The NDLEA spokesman said that no fewer than 87,790 pills of Tramadol were recovered from Musa Adamu, 30, when he was arrested in Zing, Taraba state.
Babafemi said that a raid on the home of a drug kingpin, Mayowa Abayomi Awe (a.k.a Bishop) in Ilesa, Osun state led to the seizure of 43grams of crack cocaine, 23grams of Methamphetamine, 17.126kg cannabis and a locally made pistol.
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