Nation
THE STATES
Bauchi
The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) has donated 45 scanning machines to Bauchi State Government for Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the state to reduce pregnancy related complications.
The machines were last Wednesday presented to Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSHCDA) by NPHCDA in Bauchi at the end of a 10-day training for midwives in Bauchi.
Reports indicate that the scanning machines were earlier donated by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) named GE Healthcare supported by USAID.
Handing over the equipment to the state, the Coordinator of NPHCDA in the state, Mr Bashir Maidabino said the equipment would go a long way to improve maternal health in the state.
Borno
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State says President Muhammadu Buhari’s appeal to the World Bank is to address economic rebuilding and humanitarian crisis in the North-East.
Shettima said while reacting to reports alleging that the president called on the World Bank to focus its interventions to the northern region.
A statement signed by the governor’s Special Adviser, Communication and Media Strategy Isa Gusau,in Maiduguri, said the presidential appeal was aimed at addressing the destruction by the insurgency in the region.
“The request was made by the President in the open and everyone thought it was the right thing. States in the northeast like Borno have been working with the World Bank, putting all the collaborative machinery in place.
FCT
The Monkey Pox virus outbreak has spread to 11States with 74 suspected cases recorded, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has said.
Adewole made the disclosure in Abuja last Wednesday when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
President Muhammadu Buhari chaired the meeting held at the State House Council Chamber, Abuja.
The Federal Government, on October 11 confirmed that 33 suspected cases of the virus were recorded in seven states.
Monkeypox is a rare viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms in humans similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although less severe.
Gombe
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has assisted 5,623 disaster and crisis victims in Gombe State between March and July this year.
The Head of Operations, Gombe and Bauchi NEMA office, Malam Abani Imam disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Gombe State last Thursday.
Imam said that 4,200 were affected by flood in Akko, Kaltungo and Yamaltu Deba Local Government, while 1,148 were victims of Billiri/Shongom Local Government communal clash.
He said that 231 people in Dadin-Kowa community were also affected by flood, while 44 others were victims of inferno at Gombe Timber markets.
Kano
Two brothers who allegedly strangled their father are to cool their heels in prison until November, a Kano Chief Magistrates’ Court ruled last Wednesday.
The duo of Rabiu Adamu, 27, and Auwal Adamu, 26, had strangled their 55-year-old father, Adamu Gamji, in Sumaila Local Government Area of Kano, the prosecution said.
The accused pleaded not guilty.
Chief Magistrate Muhammad Jibril, ordered that the accused should remain in prison until next date of adjournment.
The accused are facing a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide punishable under Section 97 and 221 of the Penal Code, Laws of Kano State.
Kwara
The Kwara State Government has denied rumours that soldiers are injecting school pupils in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of the state with killer vaccines.
The Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, Alhaji Amusa Bello made the denial in a statement last Wednesday in Ilorin.
Our correspondent reports that parents and guardians had on hearing the rumour rushed to schools to withdraw their wards.
They besieged both private and public schools in the area as early 9 a.m. on hearing the rumour of the presence of vaccine injection team allegedly accompanied by soldiers in the town.
Lagos
A media consultant, Adebisi Boboye has called on the three tiers of government to partner with the mass media to inculcate the right values in young people.
Boboye told newsmen last Wednesday in Lagos that the partnership would go a long way to orientate the youth properly on leadership and some other responsibilities.
According to him, the media remained the best tool for such orientation.
“In recent times, the media through technology have become the biggest platform that can be used to either make or mar.
“Government must find means through which it can partner with the media as well as control what it puts out for public consumption.
Niger
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has urged rural communities in Niger State to support the fight against corruption.
“We have embarked on a crusade against corruption and want everyone, especially rural dwellers, to be part of the effort to rid Nigeria of the menace,” ICPC acting chairman Bako Abdullahi said last Wednesday in Minna.
He spoke at a one-day engagement with Community Development Associations (CDAs), organised in partnership with a democracy action group, Dispute Resolution and Development Initiative.
Represented by Mr Baba Ashiru, the commission’s Head of Education, Abdullahi asked rural communities to assist the commission with useful information about corrupt practices in their localities.
Oyo
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba last Wednesday urged workers not to lose hope on the actualisation of proposed minimum wage.
Wabba made the call at the National Delegates’ Conference (NDC) of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) in Ibadan.
He said NLC would not rest on its oars until the current minimum wage was reviewed upward and workers’ welfare ascertained.
He added that “I assure you that this struggle will take us to the promise land; be determined for a people determined can’t be defeated.
Plateau
Worried by the incessant midnight attacks on Plateau State rural communities, Chief Alexander Mwolwus, a PDP chieftain has urged the state government and security agencies to “act decisively” to end the trend.
“The attacks are frightening; they have become a daily affair. Governor Simon Lalong must rise to the challenge because we cannot continue like this,” Molwus told newsmen in Pankshin.
According to reports, 35 people had been killed and several others injured in midnight attacks on Bassa rural communities in the last three weeks.
According to figures released by the Plateau State Police Command, 25 people were killed at Ncha village, six in Taegbe, while four were killed in Jebu-Miango.
Last Friday, the attackers visited Wereh, a village in Barkin-Ladi Local Government and killed four persons, including an unnamed soldier and former Plateau State Head of Civil Service, Mr Moses Gwom.
Sokoto
The newly-established 8 Division of the Nigerian Army, Sokoto has taken off with the assumption of duty of its pioneer General Officer Commanding (GOC), Brig.-Gen. Olabanji Samuel,
Samuel disclosed this when he paid a courtesy visit to Governor Aminu Tambuwal at Government House in Sokoto last Wednesday.
He said necessary arrangements had been put in place to ensure the smooth take off of the new division.
He said the bulk of the men and officers of the division had now been mobilised to ensure its proper take off .
“As you may recall, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Yusuf Burutai, announced the establishment of this division when he visited Sokoto earlier this year.
Taraba
The wife of Taraba State Governor, Mrs Anna Ishaku last Wednesday launched the payment of N5,000 stipend to 4,350 destitutes in the state under the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme.
Speaking at the inauguration of the programme in Ardo-Kola, Ishaku commended the Federal Government and the World Bank for collaborating with the state to support its poorest citizens.
She urged the officials disbursing the funds to fear God and ensure that due process was followed in the disbursement.
“I urge you to avoid sentiments in the disbursement and focus only on the poorest of the poor who are the target of this programme.
“Be mindful of the fact that if you select people who are not poor, you are leaving the state with a high burden of poor people,” Ishaku said.
The governor’s wife urged the beneficiaries not to misuse the stipend but rather to invest it wisely to improve their living conditions.
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