Nation
Commissioner Charges CDOs On Responsibility
The Kwara State Commissioner for Environment, Malam Shehu Ndanusa, has charged Community Development Officers (CDOs) from the state’s 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) to be alive to their responsibilities.
He made the call on Friday in Ilorin during a meeting with the staff of Labour Intensive Public Workfare (LIPW), Delivery Platform and CDOs across the LGAs.
The TIde’s source reports that CDOs are under the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES).
“The purpose of the scheme is to alleviate the suffering of the poor and the vulnerable, as a result of the incidence of COVID-19 pandemic.
“Also, it is to increase the standard of living of our people for economic development”, the Commissioner said.
Ndanusa, however, said it was surprising that the scheme was not properly managed by CDOs saddled with the responsibility in their various localities.
He further said some of the beneficiaries were not properly documented, while few have not been reporting at their duty posts but still collecting monthly stipends.
The Commissioner then advised the CDOs to turn a new leaf, by taking charge in their respective LGAs.
He urged them to continue monitoring the activities of beneficiaries under their jurisdiction for proper accountability.
“All beneficiaries should be working at any of the government establishments in their communities for a maximum period of four hours per day.
“Government will soon commence the monitoring of the programme across the LGAs to ascertain the level of compliance on the part of the LIPW beneficiaries”, Ndanusa said.
The Commissioner appreciated the Technical Head, LIPW Delivery Platform, Alhaji Shamsideen Aregbe, for the laudable achievements of the programme in the state.
Earlier, Aregbe had lauded the State Government for engaging in various schemes and programmes which had contributed to the upliftment of the standard of living of the poor.
He said NG-CARES has changed the story of more than 5,000 households across the LGAs, stating that some of the beneficiaries were the vulnerable who could not afford three square meals.
On proper monitoring of the beneficiaries, Aregbe implored the CDOs to redouble their efforts to achieve optimum results.
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.
