Nation

THE STATES

Published

11 years ago

February 4, 2013

FCT

Nigeria polio population immunity has increased from 50 per cent to 80 per cent. The Executive Secretary of the National Primary Health care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Ado Mohammed, said in an interview at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, that the latest analysis by the World Health Organisation (WHO) showed the increase in the country’s polio population immunity.

“We shared with the President, the global goal analysis done by WHO which showed that population immunity has increased in Nigeria from about 50 per cent to 80 per cent.

“What this means is that even if the polio virus finds itself in any particular location in the country, it may not be able to paralyse the affected child.

“Even when it paralyzes the child, other children in that particular area will be secured; this is because population immunity has improved,’’ Mohammed said.

He noted that the country had not recorded any case of polio virus in the last two months.

Mohammed said that another survey carried out by WHO adjudged Nigeria to be the next country after India “that will exit as a polio endemic nation’’.

He gave assurance that Jonathan’s promise to eradicate polio from the country by 2015 would be kept, and said that any child below age five coming into Nigeria must be stopped and immunised before being allowed entry.

Katsina

A 60-year-old man, Muhammadu Sani, has been arrested by the NDLEA in Katsina with 167 kilograms of cannabis sativa.

Parading the suspect on Thursday in Katsina, the NDLEA Commandant, Hajiya Maryam Gambo lamented the rate at which aged persons, children and women were being involved in drug abuse and trafficking in the state.

When interviewed by newsmen, the suspect said he had been in the illegal business for four years.

Sani said that he transported the items from the southern parts of the country to Katsina, where he was arrested by the operatives of NDLEA.

The command also arrested one Tasiu Salisu, 35, with 40 kilograms of cannabis sativa tucked inside a Television set.

Salisu confessed that he wanted to deceive NDLEA and other security agents by hiding the substance in the TV set.

Kebbi

The Suru Local Government Area of Kebbi State bought 3,500 water pumping machines for distribution to dry season farmers to boost food production.

The council Chairman, Alhaji Sahabi Danbaba said in Suru on Thursday that the machines would be distributed free of charge to deserving farmers, noting that the council’s Department of Agriculture had been mandated to ensure equitable distribution of the machines.

The chairman said that the council had also prepared 2,000 hectares of cultivable land for dry season farming, and declared that the council had cleared the land to promote agriculture beyond subsistence level as well as generate employment and improve the economic well-being of farmers.

The chairman said the council would work out the modalities for farmers to benefit from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) agriculture loan.

“Most of our farmers are not conversant with the loan procedure and we will encourage improvement in agricultural production,’’ he said

Kogi

The Kogi Deputy Governor, Mr Yomi Awoniyi, says agriculture is the major fulcrum that will drive the industrial development of the state.

Awoniyi stated this at the presentation and commissioning of 10 tractors purchased by the government for rice farmers as part of its flood recovery programme.

He said that the government was resolute to tap into the Federal Government’s agenda for rice farming, adding that 10,000 hectares of land had been cleared for rice farming while another for cassava.

He stated that the Korean Government had helped the state in establishing rice mills, while an approval for the purchase and erection of four cassava mills was in progress.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Femi Abolarin commended the administration for its determination to reposition the sector.

Kwara

The Etsu Patigi in Kwara, Alhaji Ibrahim Umar, on Thursday rejected the call for constitutional roles for traditional rulers in the country.

He said if the leaders were given roles under the constitution, it would deny them of their primary responsibilities.

Speaking when members of the state House of Assembly, led by the Speaker, Razaq Atunwa, paid him a courtesy visit during their oversight function to Patigi Local Government Area, the monarch said people might use the opportunity of such recognition to challenge traditional institutions in the courts while trying to perform their primary roles.

“I am not in support of clamour for constitutional responsibilities for traditional rulers because it would only tie them down. “Also it will impinge on their primary responsibility which is to advise people in government and tell them the truth all the times. “We should only be recognised constitutionally but not given constitutional roles. “We are neither looking for executive nor legislative powers but we should be recognised in the constitution. “The kingmakers cannot be the king to avoid a collapsed system”, the royal father said.

Lagos

The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has alleged that the suspected vandals that destroyed NNPC pipelines at Arepo village, Ogun, were recruited from Ondo State riverine areas.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of the Inspector-General of Police Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism, Mr Friday Ibadin, disclosed this to the newsmen in Lagos.

He said that preliminary investigations into the last pipeline explosion revealed that some young men were brought to Lagos from riverine areas of Ondo State, to replace the dead members of the group.

“One of the suspects arrested after the last explosion in Arepo, who identified himself as Computer, claimed that himself and two others were invited to Lagos on January10, to work,by one Igbekorowa, (suspected ring leader of pipeline vandals).

Ibadin said that the suspect claimed that the first place their leader took them to was the creeks in Ikorodu area, where he (leader) requested them to stay on the road.

Nasarawa

The Nasarawa State deputy governor, Mr Damishi Luka-Barau, has pledged the government’s commitment to ensure adequate medical services to enhance the wellbeing of the people in the state.

Luka-Barau made the declaration recently at a one-day free medical care at Ningo in the Akwanga Local Government Area of the state.

He commended members of the Nasarawa State Association of Pharmacy Students (NASAPS) at the University of Jos for their foresight in offering free medical care in conjunction with his office, and said that the CPC-led administration in the state had placed high premium on the health sector.

Niger

The Officer- in-Charge of Minna Orphanage, Hajiya Ladidi Mohammed, on Wednesday said the home had produced two undergraduates in two institutions of higher learning.

Mohammed told newsmen in Minna that, the orphans were currently studying in the state’s College of Administrative and Business Studies, Bida and College of Education, Minna.

She said that the students, Haruna Abdullahi, 30 and Useni Abdullahi, 28, who were in their second and first year respectively, were being sponsored by the Niger State Government.

Mohammed said the home catered for a total of 21 orphans including the two students adding that 15 of them are males while six are females.

She said that the orphans were mainly from broken homes, mentally-deranged women or lunatics, adding that the mode of adoption was based on legal procedure.

Ondo

Ondo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Alhaji Yekini Olanipekun, has directed contractors refurbishing the Akure Township Stadium to get the facility ready for the 2012/2013 football season.

The ministry’s Media Officer, Anota Adebayo, said on Thursday in Akure that the commissioner gave the directive at a stakeholders meeting with the contractors of the project.

It said the stadium project had caused a lot of embarrassment to the government, noting that the contractors had been fully paid for the job.

“The project was supposed to have been completed before the end of 2012, but suffered some setback because of the lackadaisical attitude of the contractors,” the statement said.

It said the commissioner urged the stakeholders involved in renovating the stadium to quickly complete the project ahead of the coming Nigeria Premier League, beginning on February 16.

Sokoto

Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State on Wednesday ordered the redeployment of the Director of Agriculture; all the six deputy directors as well as the cashier of Kware Local Government Council of the state for absenteeism.

Wamakko gave the directive when he paid an unscheduled visit to the local government secretariat at about 8.35 a.m. Apparently enraged by their absence, the governor ordered the state Local Government Service Commission to effect the redeployment with immediate effect.

During the visit, the governor met the council staff officer and other directors in their offices while the chairman and secretary were said to be away on official assignment.

Similarly, the governor visited Government Day Secondary School, Dundaye at about 7.50 a.m where he met only seven teachers present out of the 23.

Other schools visited by the governor included Gidan Sarkin Dinki, and Tangwale Primary Schools, among others.

Plateau

The Commissioner for Health in Plateau, Dr Fom Dakwak, has confirmed the death of two persons from Lassa fever in Plateau.

Dakwak said on Wednesday in Jos that the first victim, a woman, died at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, while the other, a man, died at the Vom Christian Hospital.

According to him, the ministry has sent out epidemiologists to sensitise people at COCIN Pastoral School, Kanke, where a student died of the disease sometime ago, stating that two other victims of the disease in the Kanke area were currently on admission.

According to the commissioner, the epidemiologists conducting a sensitisation workshop at the school are focusing on the steps that must be taken to contain the spread of the disease.

He stated that the Lassa virus was usually transmitted to human when the saliva, urine and excreta of the multi-mammalian rats come in contact with humans through either their food or water.

Nation

95% Of Small Businesses Should Be Off Tax – Oyedele

Published

6 days ago

May 13, 2024

The Tide

The Federal Government is working on a system that will provide tax relief to 95 per cent of the informal sector of the economy in the country.
Mr Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, said this at the closing session of the committee on Sunday in Abuja.
He said this would be achieved through the exemption of businesses earning N25 million a year or less from the various taxes hindering their progress over time.
‘’So, we think that 95 per cent of the informal sector should be legally exempted from all taxes; withholding tax, company income tax, even payee on their staff.
‘’We’re using data to inform our decisions. Currently, if you earn N25 million a year or less, you don’t have to pay company income tax, you don’t have to worry about VAT.
‘’We think that the informal sector are people who are trying to earn legitimate living, we should allow them be and support them to grow to a point where they can then have the ability to pay taxes,” he said.
Oyedele said the new reforms being proposed would focus on the top 5 per cent of that sector, the middle class and the elite for taxes.
He said the committee was drafting the laws to effect the necessary changes in the fiscal policy and tax reform ecosystem of the country.
According to the chairman, the new laws will ensure that reviews become sustained by all governments coming in, adding that: “we don’t want this whole effort to go down the drain, after one or two years.”
On compliance, he urged all stakeholders to fully cooperate with the government in implementing a new fiscal and tax policy that would be used for the general good of the citizens.
‘’We think that the days of being above the law in paying taxes are over. The same thing we’re saying to our leaders, whether they are elected or appointed.
‘’We think they have to lead by example by showing that they have paid the taxes, not only on time, but correctly to the lawful authorities as contained in the various laws,” he said.
He said explained that some of the taxes complained about by Nigerians were those already in the constitution, which the committee had looked at and called for their review.
Oyedele said the committee report would be made to pass through the normal process of legislation in order to give it the full legal backing.
‘’So, our expectation is, as we progress now from ideation, proposal to implementation, you’ll see less and less of those issues and then you’ll see harmony in the direction of the fiscal system.
‘’Not only in the number of taxes we collect, you will also see an improvement in how those monies are being spent.
‘’In terms of priority of spending, in terms of the efficiency of spending and in terms of focusing on what impacts on the lives of majority of our population that live in multi-dimensional poverty,” he said.
Oyedele added that the committee had been working with the sub-nationals and the local government councils in its task of harmonising the taxes into a single digit in the country.
‘’So, we’re convinced, and that’s what the data tells us, that the right path we need to follow, is the path where we repeal many of these taxes, harmonise whatever is left.
‘’We think we can keep that within single digit across local government, state and federal government combined, and then improve the efficiency of collecting those taxes.
‘’We are also very convinced that we need to increase the threshold of exemption for small businesses, for low income earners because if you can’t make ends meet, the last thing you want is someone asking you to pay tax.
‘’We think in fact, when our nation gets to the level we need to be, we should be able to even add money to those who have very little or nothing,” said Oyedele.
At the ceremony, Vice-President Kashim Shettima restated President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to revitalise revenue generation in the country.
“Our aim remains the revitalisation of revenue generation in Nigeria, while sustaining an investment-friendly and globally competitive business environment.
“Contrary to speculations in some quarters, we are not here to frustrate any sector of our economy but to create an administrative system that ensures the benefits of a thriving tax system for all our citizens,” he said.
He said the dynamics of the nation’s fiscal landscape prompted the Tinubu administration to pause and reconsider the direction it was going.
“I am confident that both the Federal and State Governments stand ready to ensure the effective implementation of your reform proposals.
“We shall provide the institutional framework to guarantee the adoption of the consensus of this committee, aligning them with our economic agenda,”said Shettima.

Nation

138.9m Nigerians Need Interventions Against Tropical Diseases -WHO

Published

6 days ago

May 13, 2024

The Tide

Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that 138.9 million Nigerians require interventions against Neglected Tropical Diseases.
This is according to the latest epidemiological and programmatic data for 2022, which were gathered, compiled, and analysed in 2023, and obtained from the WHO on Saturday.
The body also said NTDs are endemic in Nigeria as it ranks first in the African region and second globally after India.
WHO defined NTDs as a diverse group of conditions of parasitic, bacterial, viral, fungal, and non-communicable origin, noting that there are more than 15 NTDs in Nigeria.
The report stated, “They prevent children from going to school and adults from going to work, trapping communities in cycles of poverty and inequity. People affected by disabilities and impairments caused by NTDs often experience stigma within their communities, hindering their access to needed care and leading to social isolation.
“Nigeria is endemic for several NTDs. The only disease eliminated was dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease) in 2013. The population requiring interventions against NTDs was approximately 138.9 million in 2022, ranking first in the African region and second globally after India.
“This includes 138.9 million requiring treatment for lymphatic filariasis through mass drug administration; 48.7 million requiring treatment for soil-transmitted helminthiases through mass drug administration; and 43.5 million requiring treatment for onchocerciasis through mass drug administration.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government had in 2023 said it would eradicate NTDs in the country by 2027.
The Director of the WHO Global Neglected Tropical Diseases Programme, Dr Ibrahima Fall, said, “With a renewed focus on strategic priorities addressing advocacy for action, partnership, costing and accelerated implementation, technical gaps including research and development and leadership.
“We must intensify our collective action to address the deep-rooted inequalities that fuel the transmission of NTDs in the populations where they persist.”

Nation

NDLEA Intercepts Three Trailer Loads Of Opioids, Others, Arrests Suspects

Published

6 days ago

May 13, 2024

The Tide

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted three trailer loads of opioids, comprising 3,450,000 pills and 344,000 bottles of codeine syrup.
The agency said the illegal drugs at Abule Ado in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, last Thursday.
The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, yesterday, adding that three suspects were also arrested in connection with the seizure.
The statement partly read, “The multi-billion naira consignments were loaded into two 40-ft container trucks and another 20-ft truck at the AML bonded terminal, Abule-Osun, near the International Trade Fair complex before heading to a large warehouse at Abule-Ado, where NDLEA officers eventually arrested the suspects and recovered the opioid consignments on Thursday, May 9, 2024.
“Those arrested include the warehouse agent, Cosmas Obiajulu, 51; Ridwan Balogun, 25, and Banjo Tayo, 30, both drivers of two of the trucks, while the third driver jumped off to escape arrest.”
The statement also revealed that in Ekiti State, a 75-year-old grandpa, Jibril Audu, was arrested on Friday with 7.5 kilogrammes of cannabis at Oke-asa village, Ijero-Ekiti, during a raid operation, while a 70-year-old grandma, Tikwase Nytor, was nabbed with 15.6 kilogrammes of the same substance on Thursday during a raid operation at Achusa and International Market Road, Makurdi, Benue State.
“It also stated that in a separate operation on Tuesday, NDLEA operatives arrested a suspect, Nwankwo Ejike, in the Coker area of Lagos, where 100 litres of codeine syrup were recovered from him, while 60 litres of the same substance were seized from one Clinton Akinye in the same area on the same day.
The statement added, “Not less than 37.5kg of cannabis sativa loaded in a Toyota Camry car was recovered from another suspect, Adegbola Segun, 47, when the car was intercepted at Mile 12 area of Lagos on Monday, May 6th.
“Another consignment of opioids consisting of 59,106 pills of tramadol and different quantities of codeine syrup and Rohypnol being taken across the border to Garua, Cameroon, was intercepted by NDLEA officers on Monday, May 6th, along Mubi-Yola Road, Adamawa State.
“Two suspects linked to the drugs: Abubakar Auwal, 39, and Adamu Abubakar, 25, (a.k.a. Bamanga), a trans-border trafficker who was to take the consignment from Mubi across to Cameroon, were promptly arrested.”
Similarly, NDLEA officers in Edo State were reported to have raided the Iguiye forest in Ovia North East LGA on Saturday, “where a total of 11, 636.185 kg of cannabis was destroyed on three farms measuring 4.654474 hectares, while an additional 188kg of the same psychoactive substance was recovered, and a suspect, Itah Nyong, was arrested during the overnight operation.”
In the statement, the NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa commended the officers for their efforts and pledged continued collaboration with local and international partners to combat drug trade in Nigeria.