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  • APC pledges to revisit zoning amid lawmakers’ protest

    APC pledges to revisit zoning amid lawmakers’ protest

    • Adamu pacifies aggrieved aspirants for speaker
    • More complaints trail recommendation on N’Assembly leadership
    • Akeredolu calls for NEC intervention

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday began moves to douse the tension generated by the zoning and endorsement of candidates for National Assembly principal offices.

    In reaction to the protests by aggrieved Senators and House of Representatives members, the party’s National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, said the National Working Committee (NWC) may revisit the zoning formula.

    He also said the protests have imposed on the party leadership the urgency of extensive consultations over zoning.

    APC had on Monday zoned the Senate President to the Southsouth, Deputy Senate President to the Northwest, House Speaker to the Northwest and Deputy Speaker to Southeast.

    Also, the ruling party endorsed Senator Godswill Akpabio for Senate President, Barau Jibrin for Deputy Senate President, Tajudeen Abbas for Speaker and Benjamin Kalu for Deputy Speaker.

    Yesterday, aggrieved aspirants for Speaker –Idris Wase, Aliyu Betera and Yusuf Gagdi – visited the APC National Secretariat in Abuja to protest against zoning and endorsement.

    Also, Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu rejected the zoning of two principal offices to one zone. He urged the NWC to review its positions.

    Senator Osita Izunaso, who is eying the Senate President, urged President Muhammadu Buhari, President-elect Bola Tinubu and Adamu to come up with an acceptable zoning formula in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice.

    But, Abbas and Kalu, who had been nominated by the party, intensified their lobbying and mobilisation of House of Representatives members-elect from the Southeast ahead of next month’s inauguration of the National Assembly.

    Wase complained about the micro-zoning of the presiding offices without consultation, urging the party to review its stand.

    He came in the company with other aspirants: Sani Jaji (Zamfara), Yusuf Gagdyi (Plateau), Muktar Betera (Bornu), Mariam Onuoha (Imo) and Sada Soli (Kastina).

    Also on the entourage were Femi Bamishile (Ekiti), Abubakar Hassan (Nasarawa) and Ahmed Jaha (Borno).

    Rejecting the formula, Wase said: “While we are expecting the zoning arrangement, we heard that the offices had been micro-zoned. None of us was consulted. We only heard that a list has been produced on TV. It is unfortunate. This is one party that enjoys the support of Nigerians.

    “We feel betrayed as if our contributions are not recognised as if we are not members of this party. We don’t know what the party is turning out to be.”

    Wase added: “Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila called for a meeting of the aspirants for consensus. I challenged him that he was working for a candidate. The Speaker alone cannot produce the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

    “I don’t want to believe that Tinubu is behind this.

    Mr. Chairman, we have worked for the party. We are here to protest and to appeal to you that what has been released would not stand.”

    Commending the lawmakers, Adamu assured that the NWC will look into their request.

    He said: “We have listened to you. We don’t intend to open discussions right now with you in respect of your submissions until we agree we are going to change. If we don’t agree, we would not change.

    “Like some of you who listened to a release from this office, we did say very clearly, that we would endeavour to do more consultations so that we can carry with us the greater number of the members of our great party.

    “There is nothing we do that may not be challenged here and there. But, we should consult with people, giving them their right to a fair hearing before we can say, yes, we are changing positions or we are not changing positions.

    “So, I want to thank you for coming. And you didn’t come with this kind of ‘wuruwuru’ underground, but you chose to come very openly, very straight in broad daylight. The stakeholders are more than the National Working Committee here. Nigerians will hear better what we have just said. 

    “I plead with you in good conscience to give us a little time to take a good and better look at your presentation and open our ears and our eyes more to hear more and see more before we can come up with the finality of your submission and the outcome of it. I thank you for your approach.”

    Akeredolu rejects zoning

    Akeredolu faulted the zoning formula, saying the contents, intentions and motives represented early signs of steps aimed at caging the hard-earned Tinubu Presidency by a few individuals with eyes on Aso Rock power buttons.

    Akeredolu, in a statement he personally signed in Akure, said it stood logic on the head that the Northwest region would be favoured with two presiding officers out of four while the Northcentral was left to suffer the consequences of its innocence and loyalty by having none.

    He said: “The move to zone the National Assembly leadership positions at the behest of interested personalities with perceived closeness to the President-elect, lays the dangerous foundation of distrust, needless suspicion even as it structures nothing but a combination of booby traps. We must avoid all these.

    “Let the North play a stronger, more robust and all-inclusive role in the emergence of the positions zoned to the region, especially the Speakership.

    “Furthermore, it strikes a huge ingratitude that the role of the Progressive Governors Forum appears unimportant. 

    “As leaders of the party in their respective states, there cannot be a greater disservice to them that a consensus was yet to be reached when the NWC hurriedly released a dangerous tool for the opposition in the guise of a zoning formula. To me, even on this note, it’s unacceptable.

    “Does it not also exude a serious discomfort that the aspirants to the Speakership were not consulted, approached and effectively engaged before the purported zoning formula? It does, and clearly so.”

    He added: “It is in this regard that I salute the courage of the Speakership aspirants for their show of solidarity, companionship and applaudable love for the party in their rejection, resentment and objection to the brazenly teleguided zoning arrangement that is skewed and targeted against some zones and identified individuals. 

    “Their action is commendable just as they are urged to ensure they pursue this to a logical conclusion. This is an unworkable arrangement that reinforces injustice and enhances inequity, and I join them in rejecting this zoning formula.”

    Zoning unacceptable,

    says Izunaso

    Izunaso urged the President-elect, President Buhari and Adamu to come up with a new and acceptable zoning formula.

    He said his aspiration to preside over the Red Chamber of the 10th National Assembly is in the best interest of the nation.

    Izunaso spoke during a parley with reporters in Abuja, according to a statement by his media aide, Kehinde Olaosebikan.

    Izunaso said: “Tinubu, Buhari and Adamu should as a matter of importance come up with a new zoning arrangement that would not only produce the best among the senators and House of Representatives members-elect as their presiding officers, but also be seen by Nigerians and the world at large as meeting the best practices in legislative norms and satisfying the political exigencies of the present Nigeria.”

    Abbas, Kalu intensifies lobby

    Abbas and Kalu yesterday urged lawmakers from the Southeast to support their aspirations.

    Anchoring their campaigns is the “Joint Task”, a group of lawmakers-elect rooting for their candidature, following their endorsement by the party.

    Speaking after the meeting of the campaign group, which was also attended by Gbajabiamila, Abbas said he was the right person for the job based on his competence.

    He added: “I feel elated, I feel inspired because I believe that if the party is going use competence as its yardstick, I’m the right person to actually be picked. So, for the fact that they did what I expected they would do, I feel very elated and satisfied.”

    Abbas said he will reach out to other contenders and all the lawmakers-elect in a bid to secure their support.

    Kalu said: “The party has started the strategy for the 2027 elections by making sure that they have a foot in the Southeastern region. What they have done with these nominations is in the spirit of inclusion.

    “The Southeast is going to feel the power of cohesion, and national loyalty is going to be driven by virtue of this that has taken place. 

    “So, it’s a wise decision to include the Southeasterners in the structure of the government that’s being formed.”

  • Tribunal dismisses another party’s petition against Tinubu, APC

    Tribunal dismisses another party’s petition against Tinubu, APC

    Another petition against the election of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu was dismissed yesterday.

    The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) voided the petition by the Action Peoples Party (APP), after it was withdrawn.

    It is the second of such petitions to be dismissed after that of the Action Alliance (AA).

    APP’s lawyer, Obed Agwu, said his client filed a March 9 motion on notice to withdraw the petition, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as respondents.

    He prayed the court to strike it out.

    Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) for Tinubu, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) for the APC and Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) for INEC did not object.

    Read Also: JUST IN: PEPC dismisses APP’s petition against Tinubu, APC, others

    Justice Tsammani ruled: “Having considered the application and response of the respondents, we are satisfied that there was no collision on the part of the respondents, the petition numbered CA/PEPC/02/2023 is hereby dismissed having been withdrawn.”

    Also yesterday, Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, backed the application by his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart Atiku Abubakar for a live broadcast of the proceedings.

    LP/Obi’s lawyer, Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), told reporters that his clients believe Nigerians should observe the proceedings first-hand.

    He said the live broadcast of court proceedings was jettisoned when Nigeria got independence.

    Uzoukwu noted that the courtroom could not conveniently accommodate 200 people, adding that even if that was possible, they would not adequately represent Nigerians.

    Responses are yet to be filed on the live telecast application by Atiku and the PDP.

    The court shifted further pre-hearing session by Obi and his party to next Wednesday after the lawyers agreed they needed time to file and exchange documents.

    Justice Tsammani ordered parties to also identify issues for determination and file them before then.

  • ‘Why annual budgets fail to perform’

    ‘Why annual budgets fail to perform’

    • Buhari seeks Senate’s nod for $800m loan

    Abandoned federal projects that littered length and breadth of the nation has been blamed on the  called “unimplementable” annual budgets.

    Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, who stated this yesterday, identified lack of organic law to guide budgeting process, budgets not being anchored on development plan as factors against budget implementation.

    Akabueze who also said that the country was  “in trouble”  due to its shrinking borrowing space, warned that it was wrong for anyone to assume that  Nigeria was a rich nation.

    It added that $100 billion was needed annually to meet  20,000 abandoned projects nationwide.

    The DG stated spoke in a speech at the ongoing induction of National Assembly members-elect in Abuja.

    Also yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari sought the approval of the Senate for a fresh $800 million loan from the World Bank

    At the lecture, Akabueze challenged the lawmakers-elect to place national interests above constituency interests in their demands.

    He said: “The Federal Government of Nigeria does not have an organic budget law. It is really unfortunate that we don’t have an organic budget law,”

    “There is one in the works in the 9th Assembly and hopefully will be passed before the Assembly winds down. I don’t know any serious country in the world that does not have an organic budget law.

    “We are not a rich nation especially when you look at the parameters with which rich nations are determined. We are not even an oil-rich economy.

    “To classify oil-rich economies, you talk of countries like Saudi Arabia where they are 34 million of them and pump 10 million barrels of crude per day or Kuwait where there are 3 million of them and pump 3 million barrels per day. There are over 200 million of us and we are currently pumping about 1.9 million barrels per day.

    “So, we are not a rich economy and must resist the temptation that we are an oil-rich economy. Let me make it clear that we are a potentially rich country, but we are not rich.

    “I often hear people say that Nigeria is not short of a development plan, but that the problem is implementation.   I disagree with that because a plan that cannot speak to implementation is not a good plan.

    “Development plan in Nigeria dates back to the early 90s, but you can argue that it has not been successful in the desired manner. Annual budgets are essentially bite-sizes of development plans. They contain achievable objectives within a year. A budget that sits outside the development plan is not a good budget.

    “For us to be able to fix the infrastructural needs of the country, we need to be spending about $100 billion annually as a country, including private spending on infrastructure.

    “The aggregate budget of the Federal Government is only about $30 billion and the aggregate of the states and FCT(Federal Capital Territory) budget don’t even add up to the federal budget. This means that even if we spend everything, we will still be left with a huge infrastructural deficit.

    “Each country has to determine its budget system that works for it. Budget is multi-dimensional in coverage. One, it is political because it allocates scarce resources of the country among multiple competing and sometimes, competing interest.

    “You may have heard that we have one of the lowest GDP(Gross Domestic Product)  to debt ratios in the world. While the size of the Federal Government budget for 2023 created some excitement, the aggregate budget of all governments in the country amounts to about N30 trillion. That is less than 15 percent in terms. of ration to GDP.

    “Even on the African continent, the ratio of spending is about 20 percent. South Africa is about 30 percent, Morocco is about 40 percent and at 15 percent, that is too small for our needs. That is why there is fierce competition for the limited resources. That can determine how much we can borrow relatively.

    “We now have very limited borrowing space, not because our debt to GDP is high, but because our revenue is too small to sustain the size of our debt. That explains our high debt service ratio.

    “Once a country’s debt service ratio exceeds 30 percent, that country is in trouble and we are pushing towards 100 percent and that tells you how much trouble we are in. We have limited space to borrow.

    “Budget is not a shopping list. In the past   budget only contained expenditure, but we have changed that.’’

    “I,  therefore, urge the incoming members of the National Assembly to balance national and regional interests. As it is right now, we have practically unimplementable budget. Every year, we have over 20,000 abandoned projects and that is because they are not properly monitored.

    “Today, we are scored low in the budget credibility index and this is measured.”

    Buhari seeks Senate’s not for  $800m loan

    Buhari, in a letter to the Senate said his administration needed another $800 million loan to scale up the National Social Safety Net Programme (NASSP).

    The letter titled  Request for approval for additional financing of the National Social Safety Net Programme scale-up by the National Assembly was read before members by Senate President Ahmad Lawan during yesterday’s plenary.

    The President explained that the cash would stimulate activities in the informal sector and improve nutrition, health, education, and human capital development.

    The letter reads: “Please note that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved an additional loan facility to the tune of USD800 million to be secured from the World Bank for the National Social Safety Net Programme.

    “This request is for your consideration and approval to ensure early implementation. The Senate may wish to know that the programme is intended to expand coverage of shock-responsive Safety Net support among the poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

    “This will assist them in coping with the cost of meeting basic needs. You may wish to note that the Federal Government of Nigeria under the conditional cash transfer window of the programme will transfer the sum of N5,000 to 10.2 million poor and low-income households for a period of six months with a multiplier effect of about 60 million individuals.

    “In order to guarantee the credibility of the process, digital transfers would be made directly to beneficiaries’ accounts and mobile wallets.

    “The NASSP being a social intervention programme will stimulate activities in the informal sector, and improve nutrition, health, education, and human capital development for beneficiary households.

    “Given the above, I wish this $800 million to be secured from the World Bank  for the  NASSP.”

  • Beyond fantasy

    Beyond fantasy

    Fantasy is escapist and that is its grandeur. The fantasist sees reality as his captor thus his desire to escape. But the paths to freedom unspool, like a hypnotic daydream, in the end.
    Yet Nigerians live their fantasies. Wrapped in their carnal shell, some wield their imagination like a shield; some swing it like a sword – all fencing off a universe of realities.
    Fantasy has uses beyond viewing life through the wrong end of a telescope; it enables you to laugh at reality, argues Seuss.
    In Nigeria, fantasy is the hovel many run into, to escape reality’s tedious pangs. We covet distractions. Life is hard thus many would retreat to a world of magic and lies, the type celebrated on breakfast TV, political and pornographic reality shows.
    We live for illusions and covet the spectacle of shadows cast on the walls of our minds, like the cave dwellers of Plato’s Republic. In The Republic, Socrates explains that the cave represents the world revealed to us only through the sense of sight. The ascent out of the cave is the journey of the soul into the region of the intelligible, and it requires that the enlightened mind endures four stages of transformation.
    The first involves his imprisonment in the cave; that is our fascination with materialism and our world of illusions. The second involves his release from chains; that is, our contact with the real, sensual world. Third, he makes his ascent out of the cave; that is, our flirtation with knowledge and the world of ideas. Fourth, he finds his way back into the cave to help his fellows while wrapped in a beam of light.
    But what if the supposedly enlightened mind could only deign his fellow cave dwellers shiny, grey beams resonant of darkness? What if, like the sullied press, the shady revolutionary and corrupt oligarch, he comes shining in brilliant spokes of ambiguity?
    The process of progressing out of the cave is about getting educated and it is a difficult process requiring assistance and sometimes, force. This encapsulates the struggle involved in acquiring beneficial education or ridding a country of dark tyranny. The allegory of the cave intones our struggle to see the truth, to be critical thinkers.
    Millions of Nigerians would resist tyranny if they weren’t enslaved to tokens. The struggle for freedom is often a painful experience. Dreams die and lives get lost, for instance, as Nigeria flounders to insecurity and misgovernance.
    Against this backdrop, the person leaving the cave may question his beliefs whereas the people in the cave simply accept what they are shown. They rarely question the reality doctored to them.
    The allegory of the cave shows us the relationship between education and truth, bondage and freedom. The battle for freedom and its sustenance is, however, best prosecuted by men and women of catholicity of will, higher learning, and culture. I speak of true patriots and statesmen, ambassadors of Nigerianness and native intelligence. Have we such patriots? Have we such men and women of deep culture?
    The most pernicious aspect of our plight is the disintegration of our cultural and moral complex. A land without both is dead to feeling; it becomes prone to rape and colonisation by cultural sovereigns.
    The history of the world pulses with subtle and bodacious seizures of sovereignty by global superpowers, who dominate the ‘third world’ through cultural, political imperialism. The latter often succeeds the former, where they aren’t launched from twin barrels of an imperialist shotgun.
    While it is fool-hardy to categorise the world into first, second, and third worlds, such specious and flawed taxonomy of nations – perpetuated by the media, INGOs, and the academia – facilitates easier recolonisation of poorly governed, impoverished nations of Africa and the Middle East.
    Yet nations of the so-called ‘First World’ are nothing but varnished tombs of the imperial greatness they hitherto symbolised; scared by their imminent collapse, they craftily recolonise Africa, in particular – plundering her bowels to sustain their fading economies and social systems.
    Having reclassified Africa as the ‘third world,’ they lay siege to the continent, plundering her resources; it’s a familiar plot in which Africans’ greed and ignorance lay the continent open to pillage and trans-generational slavery.
    Nigeria’s lack of a humane, visionary leadership, for so long, rendered her an unbidden offering on an altar of imperialist vultures.
    New President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu must take purposive steps to liberate the country from predatory superpowers and their conspirators among INGOs and international lenders.
    Nigeria must rejig her cultural foundations and moral complex. She must rise from her knees, and quit sucking the rusted end of the wrong spigot. The result of such endeavour would excite a social re-engineering built on character mending and economic restoration in consonance with our peculiar strengths and weaknesses.
    Restoring our cultural dominance would facilitate easier salvage of our society, particularly the engine wheels of our industrial complex. China, Japan, Germany, Indonesia, Sweden, among others, attained progress by founding their governance on a cultural experience indigenous to them.
    Nigeria, however, encounters her nemesis in materialism – the wild pursuit of status. A large percentage of the business and political elite live on ill-gotten wealth. Their lives are funded by stolen money and beastly monopolies facilitated by heinous social and political contracts.
    The middle and the working classes contract as they struggle to maintain membership in the informal social castes imposed upon them by a raptorial ruling class.
    The general run of the masses supposedly dissent but many do so without real awareness of the actuality of forms that define their existence. Plato’s allegory of the cave was meant to explain this. In the allegory, he likens people untutored in the Theory of Forms to prisoners chained in a cave, unable to turn their heads. Plato’s allegory speaks to our individual and collective fate as a nation.
    For Socrates, all virtues were forms of knowledge thus to train someone to manage a business account for PWC, for instance, is to educate him or her in skill. To train them to debate the ethics of a business venture is to educate them on values and morals. A culture that disregards the vital interplay between morality and power writes Hedges, condemns itself to death.
    Such existential truths are scorned by the modern fortune hunter. This disconnect subsists across professions, government, and academia. Nigerian economists, for instance, chant elaborate theoretical models yet know little of how their fancy, soulless economics impacts rural poetry and suburban lives.
    Our education and social systems must quit churning out such products of a cultural void, casualties of a system that produces graduates to serve the corrupted system; individuals who have been taught to cheat the system and applaud theft as a shrewd corporate strategy.
    The true purpose of education must be to make minds, not social cannibals. It must be divorced from a system that bullies the populace to pacify and please authority.
    En route to the 2023 elections, we hoped the process would furnish us with patriots capable of leading Nigeria’s charge back to rebirth. We hoped to elect the aspirants who had proved their mettle in private and public service.
    In four years, we would know if we chose the ones whose antecedent excite the fervent tribute of a cheer, or those whose past and present incite the passing tribute of a sigh.

  • Russia: Of neo-Hitler and neo-Nazis

    Russia: Of neo-Hitler and neo-Nazis

    May 9: The irony was completely lost on President Vladimir Putin and his captive Russian crowd, desperate to celebrate any triumph.

    Since 1945, Russia has seized every May 9 to celebrate its great World War 2 victory over Hitler and Nazi Germany.  May 8, 1945 (May 9, old Soviet Union: the surrender happened after 12 midnight, local time) was when Germany surrendered in Berlin. 

    But after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea (International law and boundaries be damned); and Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, now one year and counting, even Putin’s inner voice would blare at him how he had become Russia’s Hitler; and his regime a neo-Nazi one. 

    Which is why Putin, at this year’s victory parade, sounded so hollow: branding Ukraine a Nazi criminal state;  and Russia, some Salvation Army.  Yet, it’s Putin — not Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy — that has International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant over his head.

    Indeed, the stark parallel, between Nazi Germany and neo-Nazi Russia; and Hitler and Putin, appears completely lost on Putin and regime hench(wo)men, as their February 2022 invasion of Ukraine continues to stutter.

    For starters, Soviet Union (incidentally containing Ukraine, next to only Russia; Belarus, Georgia and others) lost 27 million souls in what the defunct superpower behemoth dubbed the “Great Patriotic War”, but still vanquished Hitler.

    It’s not clear how many defenceless Ukrainians invading Russia has despatched — especially in reckless, devil-may-care bombings of civilian areas.  Yet, by its troops’ faltering on the fronts proper, Russia’s victory is not at all assured — in an ill-advised invasion planned to last no more than one week, at most, but which now drags.

    Besides, the tragic collapse of Hitler and cult appears a riveting nightmare for Putin and co.  Like Hitler, Putin annexed international territories.  Like Nazis, Russia ogles Ukraine’s land, wealth and even children, thus landing Putin in ICC, in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    For whatever reason — genuine or pretext — Putin’s Russia lash out at a weaker Ukraine, because it felt it could and get away with it: just as Nazi Germany, at Poland et al.

    Yes, Russia may have had legit security fears, of a NATO expansion sucking in Ukraine, a clear goal of the Zelenskyy order. 

    Yet, by blundering into the invasion of 2022, after the Cremia annexation of 2014, Putin not only exhibited the neo-Nazi in him, he also put Russia exactly where the America and Europe, hiding behind international law and order, want him.

    It’s self-imposed tragedy for Putin which may well crash his regime and bring Russia further woes — no tears from here. 

    The alternative would have been 1946, when the League of Nations (1920-1946) collapsed, just because belligerent powers (feigning national hurt and pride: then, Hitler and his Nazi Germany; now, Putin and neo-Nazi Russia), couldn’t resist bullying weaker nations, thus causing World War 2. 

    That catastrophe should not happen to the UN.  So,  let Russia carry its can.

  • 152 million preterm babies born in 10years- UN

    152 million preterm babies born in 10years- UN

    A new report by United Nations (UN)  agencies and partners reveal that about 152 million babies where born preterm in the last ten years.

    The report released by the Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) says an estimated 13.4 million babies were born pre-term in 2020, with nearly 1 million dying from preterm complications.

    It adds that this is an equivalent to around 1 in 10 babies born early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy worldwide.

    The report says of every 10 babies born, 1 is preterm and every 40 seconds, 1 of those babies dies.

    PMNCH says the report is titled: ‘Born too soon: decade of action on preterm birth’ and produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) together with PMNCH.

    Director for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing at WHO, Dr Anshu Banerjee said, “Ensuring quality care for these tiniest, most vulnerable babies and their families is absolutely imperative for improving child health and survival. Progress is also needed to help prevent preterm births this means every woman must be able to access quality health services before and during pregnancy to identify and manage risks.”

    On his part, Steven Lauwerier, Director of Health (a.i.), UNICEF said “After every preterm death is a trail of loss and heartbreak. Despite the many advances the world has made in the past decade, we have made no progress in reducing the number of small babies born too soon or averting the risk of their death. The toll is devasting. It’s time we improve access to care for pregnant mothers and preterm infants and ensure every child gets a healthy start and thrives in life.”

    Read Also: International Day of Education and the Nigerian child

    Executive Director, PMNCH Helga Fogstad stated, “Born too soon underlines why we must increase investment and accountability for preterm birth the world’s largest cause of death of children under the age of five. Progress is flatlining for maternal and newborn health, as well as the prevention of stillbirths, and is now pushed back further through the devastating combination of COVID-19, climate change, expanding conflicts and rising living costs.

    The report includes updated estimates from WHO and UNICEF, prepared with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, on the prevalence of preterm births. Overall, it finds that preterm birth rates have not changed in any region in the world in the past decade, with 152 million vulnerable babies born too soon from 2010 to 2020.

    Preterm birth is now the leading cause of child deaths, accounting for more than 1 in 5 of all deaths of children occurring before their 5th birthday. Preterm survivors can face lifelong health consequences, with an increased likelihood of disability and developmental delays.

    Too often, where babies are born determines if they survive. The report notes that only 1 in 10 extremely preterm babies (<28 weeks) survive in low-income countries, compared to more than 9 in 10 in high-income countries. Gaping inequalities related to race, ethnicity, income, and access to quality care determine the likelihood of preterm birth, death, and disability, even in high-income countries.

  • Tackling e-payment fraud with technology

    Tackling e-payment fraud with technology

    Banks have continued to deploy diverse products and services to tackle e-payment frauds and keep their customers’ transactions safe. To ensure security of customers’ transactions, Access Bank Plc has deployed a tech-tool that allows its customers to deactivate Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) profile automatically and lock out fraudsters from their accounts. COLLINS NWEZE captures the bank’s commitment to providing e-payment channels that are safe and secured for its customers’ transactions.

    As the world switched to social distancing and remote working, learning, shopping and electronic financial transactions, more opportunities have opened up for cyber criminals to prey on unsuspecting citizens and businesses.

    Banks have therefore come to realise that  more people will adopt e-payment channels that are safe and secured for their transactions.

    That explains why many lenders are prioritizing bank account protection and provision of right information to customers for the safety of their  transactions.

    Banks are also making more investments in technology and replacing e-payment users’ fears on adopting digital channels with confidence in their products and services.

    Access Bank Plc is therefore seeking best-in-class ways to safeguard the resources of its customers and sustain their confidence in its operations.

    To achieve this, the bank has introduced the *901*911# USSD code, a solution that allows customers act swiftly to prevent fraudulent activities on their accounts.

    According to the bank, the service allows customers of all account types to deactivate a USSD profile simply by dialing *901*911# from any phone, inputting the registered phone number for the account to be protected and this automatically locks out fraudsters from the individual’s account.

    Besides, over the years, Access Bank has remained committed to educating its customers, informing and protecting them from fraudsters.

    “We have created dedicated pages on our official website that constantly update customers on the schemes fraudsters employ to defraud them while bringing to public notice the quickest platforms to access help in the event of any suspected fraud case. In our promise to offer customers more than banking, we have not wavered in our drive to not only deliver speedy services but also security for all, the bank assured.

    Besides, Access Bank’s customers can report any suspected fraudulent activity immediately to the bank’s dedicated fraud desk or by calling  its helpline.

    Group Managing Director/CEO Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe said the lender would continue to reposition its operations and payment platforms  to  serve more customers in Nigeria and across Africa.

    He said the Access Bank Group has over time, delivered growth and created value to its customers. The bank has  large customer base in Africa, with a significant share of digitally active clients.

    “The bank is becoming an aggregator in Africa by building a global payments gateway, offering holistic trade finance support and offering correspondent banking services.

    It is also focusing on key markets to support regional trade by targeting new opportunity markets and positioning as a trade and payments gateway to the world,” he said.

    More lending opportunities for SMEs

    Access Bank said it is providing more access to credit to SMEs.

    In an emailed note to customers, the bank disclosed that it understands challenges SMEs face in accessing finance at a favourable interest rate and repayment period.

    The bank is working on the intervention fund support for healthcare sector created by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to ameliorate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

    It has also partnered with CBN, Lagos State, and other institutions to show commitment to giving SMEs the best advantage to grow.

    The bank said that aside its digital lending platform it created for customers’ convenience, it also offers loans at a favourable interest rate, flexible repayment period with no collateral.

    “This year, we are committed to providing finance to over 6,000 SMEs in Nigeria worth over N12 billion via the  the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI)  which  is an intervention fund from the CBN for creative businesses (Music, Fashion, Information Technology and Film) at five per cent (all interest and fees inclusive) with a repayment period of up to 10 years,” the bank said.

    The bank is also working with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund  to provide access to discounted financing, capacity building for Women SMEs operating in Lagos State.

    The Access Bank W Power Loan is specially designed to provide financial support for female-owned businesses at a discounted rate with a flexible collateral structure while its Instant Business Loans provides finance of up to N5 million for SMEs via the Quickbucks app at a rate of three per cent with no collateral.

    Likewise, the Access Bank cashflow loans provides finance for SMEs and new to bank customers via the cashflow portal at a favourable rate with no collateral.

    Energising technology with partnership

    The African Fintech Foundry (AFF), an initiative of Access Bank, has continued to promote Nigerian startups to attract new investors.

    The AFF and Access Bank’s ‘W’ Initiative recently hosted  a fireside chat for ‘Women in Tech’ with theme ‘Women in Tech: Driving diversity in the African tech industry’.

    Head of the African Fintech Foundry, Daniel Awe, said: “The African Fintech Foundry has always been committed to leading disruptions in the fintech ecosystem by leveraging digital transformations across board. As a result, championing a cause that focuses on inclusion and diversity in the technology industry is, for us, a necessity.

    “The current trajectory of the technology industry shows that a non-proactive approach to gender diversity will lead to a reduction in the number of women involved in the tech space 10 years from now. This is why African Fintech Foundry has decided to host ‘Women in Tech’ to encourage more female participation in this sector.’’

    The Group Head/Coordinator, “W” Initiative, Access Bank, Ayona Trimnell, added: “Gender diversity and inclusion has improved in many industries but tech is still lagging behind in this regard. Considering the crucial role technological innovation will play in most sectors of the economy, the prolonged underrepresentation of women in tech will present a major challenge to the economy if left unaddressed. Hence, partnering with the African Fintech Foundry to increase the participation of women in the technology industry is timely and we are excited about the prospects this event presents.”

    Awe said the AFF runs an Accelerator Programme, which helps young and budding business enterprises form and nurture promising startups.

    He listed some companies that have gone through the Accelerator Programme.

    “We have Paystack Payment Limited, which is a company of about $200 million. For some reasons, Paystack started with Access Bank before they got to where they are. We have Flutterwave, which is valued at about $300 million,” he said.

    He continued: “It is an environment where we pick an idea, where we pick startups and put them in an Accelerator Programme of about  17 weeks, depending on what model they want to run and teach them how to run a successful business.

    Oluwaseun Babatunde of Rentgage, one of the companies that made presentations at the event, said the intention of the company was to create a company that will help people in the country and Africa as a continent to be able to afford ideal housing units.

    “We are coming with a financial solution. Instead of people finding it hard to get ideal housing units, we will help get affordable housing units where they will pay not annually but at piecemeal and at their convenience with a negligible interest”, Babatunde said.

    Love Udoma of Farm Delite, who also made a presentation, said her company, a networking platform for agriculturists, “connects all the players in the agricultural value chain from production to distribution to consumption using technology. So, you can trace what you eat right from the farmer to your table. You can trace the condition it was planted”.

    Value addition to customers

    Access bank Plc, has successfully commissioned and empowered 74,000 Access Closa agents to provide financial services to customers across Nigeria.

    This aligns with its mission to deliver superior value to its customers and provide innovative solutions for the markets and communities it serves.

    The bank in a statement stated that these Access Closa Agents are spread across the 774 Local Government Areas in the country, the bank has significantly grown access to finance and banking services to Millions of previously underbanked Nigerians, provided alternate streams of income for MSMEs, promoted financially literacy and also advanced its ambition to bank one in every two Nigerians by 2025.

    Senior Banking Advisor, Retail, Access Bank plc, Robert Giles said the bank’s agent network was part of the its promise to ensure easier and safer access to financial services for every Nigerian.

    He said: “As a bank driven by innovation, we must deliver better outcomes for customers in terms of speed, security and service to enhance customer experience in all the locations that we operate. With the recent mapping of over 70,000 Access Closa Agents, customers and non-customers of the Bank who are travelling for Business, events or to visit loved ones in any location in Nigeria will continue to enjoy uninterrupted banking services as our Closa agents are available in several rural and semi-urban locations across the country.

    “They can also access financial services from a Closa agent near them, by simply searching for “Access Closa Agent” on Google Map instead of walking long distances in search of a branch.”  Head, Agency Banking, Access Bank Plc, Tolulope Oyeyipo, said: “The Access Closa agent network is a bespoke channel through which Access Bank expresses her passion and commitment to broadening the opportunities and access to financial services for every Nigerian and African, irrespective of where they might be.”

    With over 70,000 agent locations spread across every neighborhood in the country, we are making sure our customers and indeed customers of other banks can enjoy seamless banking services close to where they live and work, in a safe and convenient manner. By offering basic financial services such as cash withdrawal, cash deposit, bill payments and account opening, our continuously growing agent network is increasingly making the need to visit a bank branch unnecessary for everyone. We are committed to being at the forefront of providing digital financial services in Nigeria,” Tolulope concluded.

    State of the industry

    Cyber-related risks have been a systemic concern for stakeholders since the turn of the century. The deepening integration of digital technologies into almost every facet of people’s lives has transformed the way they communicate, socialise, learn do business and conduct financial transactions.

    With over 50 per cent of the world’s population online and about one million joining each day, these risk exposures can only better be imagined.

    The CBN data showed that internet/online-banking and automated teller machine/card-related fraud-types reported constituted 92.68 per cent of all the reported cases worth N15 billion yearly.

    Other miscellaneous crimes such as fraudulent transfers/withdrawals, cash suppression, unauthorised credits, fraudulent conversion of cheques, diversion of customer deposits, diversion of bank charges, presentation of forged or stolen-cheques, among others, also made the list of malpractices.

    Despite these challenges, the CBN said it was committed to strengthening its regulatory and supervisory framework to boost the resilience of the financial system against cybercrime.

    The apex bank issued a Risk-Based Cyber Security Framework for deposit money banks and payment service providers, which among others, prescribes yearly cyber resilience self-assessments for proactive identification and remediation of weaknesses and mandatory incident reporting to normalise sharing of best practices across the industry.

  • Syria receives Saudi invitation to attend upcoming Arab Summit

    Syria receives Saudi invitation to attend upcoming Arab Summit

    Syria on Wednesday received an official invitation from Saudi Arabia to attend the upcoming Arab Summit, just days after Syria returned to the Arab League (AL).

    The Syrian presidency said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received an invitation from the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

    The invitation was for al-Assad to attend the 32nd regular session of the Arab League Council’s meeting at the summit level.

    The meeting would be held in Jeddah city of Saudi Arabia on May 19.

    The invitation was handed to Assad by the Saudi ambassador to Jordan Naif bin Bandar Al-Sudairi.

    During the meeting with Al-Sudairi, Assad stressed that the upcoming summit would enhance joint Arab action to achieve the aspirations of the Arab people.

    The Syrian foreign ministry announced on Tuesday night the resumption of its diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia following a reciprocal move from the kingdom.

    In a statement released before midnight, the ministry said the decision emanated from the deep ties between the two countries.

    The people’s aspirations, and the importance of enhancing bilateral relations between Arab countries to serve the joint Arab work.

    The Syrian move came after Saudi Arabia announced the continuation of its diplomatic mission in Syria earlier on Tuesday.

    This came  as the two countries had  normalised bilateral relations and recently exchanged visits of foreign ministers.

    On Sunday, Arab foreign ministers decided during a meeting in Cairo to readmit Syria to the Arab League (AL) after 12 years of suspension.

    On April 12, the Syrian foreign ministry announced that Syria and Saudi Arabia had agreed to resume the consular services and air flights between the two countries.

    There was a move which was a prelude to restoring full diplomatic representation on Tuesday. (Xinhua/NAN)

  • Zimbabwe confirms 215 cholera cases

    Zimbabwe confirms 215 cholera cases

    Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care on Wednesday,  said at least 215 laboratory-confirmed cholera cases has been recorded since the latest outbreak on Feb. 12.

     The ministry said all the country’s 10 provinces were affected, but there was no epidemiological link to each other.

     “As of May 9, a cumulative total of 766 suspected cholera cases, five laboratory-confirmed deaths, 16 suspected cholera deaths, and 215 laboratory-confirmed cases were reported,” the ministry said.  Monica Mutsvangwa of Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, stated this at a post-cabinet meeting media briefing on Tuesday in Harare.

     He  said the government would avail funds to bolster the country’s response to the outbreak.

     “Cabinet assures the nation that the cholera risk assessment, which should guide the application of the oral cholera vaccination, has been completed across the country’s 10 provinces.

     “Active surveillance of points of entry and exit is continuing as part of a multi-sectoral approach in the response to the cholera outbreak.’’ (Xinhua/NAN)Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care on Wednesday,  said at least 215 laboratory-confirmed cholera cases has been recorded since the latest outbreak on Feb. 12.

     The ministry said all the country’s 10 provinces were affected, but there was no epidemiological link to each other.

     “As of May 9, a cumulative total of 766 suspected cholera cases, five laboratory-confirmed deaths, 16 suspected cholera deaths, and 215 laboratory-confirmed cases were reported,” the ministry said.  Monica Mutsvangwa of Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, stated this at a post-cabinet meeting media briefing on Tuesday in Harare.

     He  said the government would avail funds to bolster the country’s response to the outbreak.

     “Cabinet assures the nation that the cholera risk assessment, which should guide the application of the oral cholera vaccination, has been completed across the country’s 10 provinces.

     “Active surveillance of points of entry and exit is continuing as part of a multi-sectoral approach in the response to the cholera outbreak.’’ (Xinhua/NAN)

  • Overuse of antibiotics dangerous, experts warn

    Overuse of antibiotics dangerous, experts warn

    • ‘700,000 die yearly from drug-resistant diseases

    Experts have warned against the overuse of antibiotics.

    They said it is creating stronger germs, while some bacteria are already “resistant” to common medications.

    According to them, when bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, the infection becomes harder and more expensive to treat.

    The experts noted that losing the ability to treat serious bacterial infections is a major threat to public health.

    At least 700,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant diseases, they noted.

    They spoke at a virtual media roundtable hosted by Pfizer to raise awareness about Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) aimed at maintaining the future effectiveness of antibiotics.

    Speakers included Prof Oyinlola Oduyebo of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and Prof. Kennedy Tamunoimiegbam Wariso of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).

    Participants discussed the need for AMS, as treatment of infections is becoming more difficult due to the widespread emergence of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).  

    Antimicrobial stewardship is a coordinated programme that promotes the appropriate use of antimicrobials (including antibiotics), improves patient outcomes, reduces microbial resistance, and decreases the spread of infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms.

    Pfizer’s position is that governments and the public health community must work together with the health industry to take further action and support measures that will enable continued innovation in the development of new antibiotics and vaccines to help curb the spread of AMR.

    Read Also: Antibiotics resistance killing many Nigerians, NCDC, WHO raise the alarm

    The United Nations, it said, estimates that by 2050, up to 10 million deaths could be caused by superbugs and associated forms of antimicrobial resistance, matching the annual global death toll of cancer.

    Pfizer Medical Director, West Africa, Dr. Kodjo Soroh, was of the view that AMR is a silent threat and needs urgent attention.

    He said: “If AMR continues to rise unchecked, formerly minor infections could become life-threatening, serious infections could become superbugs that are impossible to treat, and many routine medical procedures could become too risky to perform.

    “AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.

    “AMR is one of the biggest threats to global health today and can affect anyone, of any age, in any country.

    “Without action by governments, industry, and society, AMR is expected to cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050.”

    Prof Oduyebo warned about the seriousness of AMR.

    She said: “AMR is a serious threat to global public health. It increases morbidity and mortality and is associated with high economic costs due to its healthcare burden.

    “Infections with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria also have substantial implications on clinical and economic outcomes.”

    Prof Wariso believes the “one health”, holistic and multisectoral approach is needed to address AMR’s rising threat.

    He said: “With rates of AMR increasing worldwide, and very few new antibiotics being developed, existing antibiotics are becoming a limited resource.

    “It is therefore essential that antibiotics only be prescribed and that last-resort antibiotics be reserved for patients who truly need them.”