Category: Northern Report

  • FERMA begins rehabilitation of N300m roads in Adamawa

    FERMA begins rehabilitation of N300m roads in Adamawa

    The National office of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) said it had begun the rehabilitation of N300 million roads in Adamawa.

    Acting Zonal Director in charge of the northeast, Irikepe -Eugene Baror, told newsmen during the inauguration of the project in Yola yesterday.

    He said the project was 1km road rehabilitation from Shehu Street to Jijji Mansur Street in Yola metropolis aimed at bringing development to the communities.

    “The scope of the project includes cutting of potholes, Stonebase on Potholes, priming with MC1, patching of potholes with Asphaltic Concrete Wearing Course on potholes and failed sections of the road,” he added.

    “The project was part of the 2023 agency’s intervention project which is expected to be completed in three months period,” he said.

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    He added that the agency had also embarked on the rehabilitation of the damaged portion of the 1km Mayobelwa to Ngurore road through direct labour.

    Federal Roads Maintenance Engineer in charge of Adamawa State, Babangida Kawuwa, expressed gratitude of the agency to the benefiting communities for their understanding and cooperation over the project.

    “We call on the residents to provide feedback and report any issue that may arise during the project as open lines of communication will be maintained to address concerns and keep the community well-informed,” he said.

    He emphasised that FERMA remained committed to enhancing Nigeria’s road infrastructure as the project was a testimony to the commitment and dedication towards improving the lives of citizens through better transportation networks.

  • Commission restates commitment to new energy economy

    Commission restates commitment to new energy economy

    The Director-General, Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Dr. Mustapha Abdullåhi, has assured world leaders of Nigeria’s commitment to Clean Cooling, an energy initiative adopted at the ongoing UN Climate Change Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

    The Global Cooling Pledge is an initiative that would see to the reduction in carbon emissions and bring Minimum Energy Performance (MEP) to 1.5°C across the globe.

    He said as the head of the country’s lead agency on energy, his commitment to drive a new energy economy that would be in line with the global best practices was unwavering.

    Abdullahi gave the assurance in an address he delivered at a high-level meeting attended by world leaders and other critical stakeholders on climate change.

    Speaking at the event which witnessed the launch of the Global Cooling Pledge, Dr Abdullahi was emphatic on Nigeria’s commitment to the initiative as recently championed by the commission in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

    He said: “In our capacity as the lead agency in the energy sector in Nigeria, we recently hosted a one-day workshop on Air Conditioners Monitoring, Verification and Enforcement (MVE) for government officials saddled with the responsibility of ensuring standards.

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    “This was done in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with the overall objective of accelerating the transition to energy-efficient air-conditioners (ACs) with climate-friendly (low – GWP refrigerant) in residential and commercial buildings.

    “Such an initiative actually aligns with my country’s climate targets in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

    “However, the ongoing climate change summit here in Dubai has further broadened the scope of our work not only as a country, but also as a leading voice in Africa.

    “I can assure you all that Nigeria will take the lead in advocating for this global pledge among other African nations in order to mitigate the devastating effect of global warming occasioned by climate change.”

    The ECN Director-General also used the roundtable discussion to affirm President Bola Tinubu’s resolve to aggressively pursue a climate-friendly energy policy in the face of global warming and emissions.

    Participants at the session include former United States Secretary of State, John Kerry who is now the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Ms Inger Anderson, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Mrs Damilola Ogunbiyi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) amongst others.

  • ‘It’s difficult to remove sitting president’

    ‘It’s difficult to remove sitting president’

    A Lawyer, Chief Owolabi Salis, yesterday, said it is impossible for the courts including the Supreme Court, to remove any sitting President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces after they might have been sworn into office.

    Salis, who contested for Lagos State governor under the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 2019, said it was necessary for Nigerians to know that under the presidential system, the President has two offices, which are the President and the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Armed Forces.

    “These are two but separate offices combined in one. While you have to go through some written procedures to acquire the power of President cum Chief Executive, there is no effective written procedure for acquiring the power of the Commander-in-Chief.

    “When the President travels, he can only hand over and or delegate the power of the President to his vice but not that of the Commander-in-Chief otherwise he could be overthrown easily. The guards can be changed before he returns,” he said.

    Salis said no Nigerian leader either under the military or democratic system, has ever handed over the power of Commander-in-Chief to his vice when he is not around.

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     The chartered accountant and an expert in diversity management, said: “A sitting President needs to have effective control of the service chiefs and be truly a Commander-in-Chief. Some sitting presidents don’t understand this and make some military commanders act for them as Commander-in-Chief. Such sitting Presidents end up being overthrown.

     “We are all respecting the decisions of the judges and other bodies because of the transferred enforcement powers of the Commander-in-Chief. If the judge says I jailed you and you refuse to go, there is nothing the judge will do, The judge cannot lock you up himself. The judge can’t do anything except through the transferred enforcement powers of the Commander-in-Chief

      “When the judge swears in a Commander-in-Chief, it will be difficult for the same judge to remove him. We are all respecting the judges because of the transferred enforcement powers of the Commander-in-Chief.”

  • Kaduna seals hospital for doing surgery without theatre

    Kaduna seals hospital for doing surgery without theatre

    – Expectant dies in process

    Kaduna State Government yesterday sealed off a medical facility for carrying out a major operation of Caesarean Section (CS), without an operation theatre, leading to the death of a woman.

    The health facility, Lafiya Bestcare Specialist Hospital, located on Kinshasha road, Ungwan Rimi in Kaduna North Local Government Area, at the weekend did a CS operation without a theatre which led to the death of the woman but saved the baby.

    Speaking during the exercise, Chairman Kaduna State Private Health Establishment Committee, Dr Mark Anthony, noted that the hospital was not certified to carry out any major operation by the Ministry of Health, because they lack the basic requirements to do that, especially an operation theatre.

    He said the committee got a tip off from an anonymous that a woman that gone through a major operation at the hospital died within 12 hours.

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    “After carrying out our preliminary investigation, we realised that though the facility was accredited by the ministry of health, but based on their structure and minimum standard they have, they do not have a theatre but they can carry out minimal surgeries that they can meet up with.

    “But unfortunately, they had a major surgery and a caesarean section was done and after delivery the mother died but the baby is alive and was taken to another hospital where they manage paediatric patients.

    “So in view of what has happened we have to seal off the hospital in order to allow for further investigation to actually confirm why they did. Kaduna State cannot condone a situation where facilities will be going beyond approvals of what services they should provide,” he said.

    Dr. Mark hinted that if the doctor who carried out the operation is found wanting after further investigation, he would be reported to all the regulatory bodies for sanctioning.

    Contacted, the doctor in charge of the hospital promised to call back for his reaction.

  • Fed Govt, MSIN partner on manufacturing, distribution of contraceptive products

    Fed Govt, MSIN partner on manufacturing, distribution of contraceptive products

    The Federal Government said it will partner MSI Nigeria Reproductive Choices (MSIN), an NGO, to manufacture and distribute family planning commodities to scale-up Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Services (SRH) in the country.

    Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, stated this yesterday in Abuja at the rebranding of the Marie Stopes International Organisation in Nigeria to MSIN.

    Pate, represented by Mrs Jummai Bako-Aiyegbusi, Director Nutrition, reiterated government commitment to unhindered access to SRH and family planning commodities for Nigerians of reproductive age to choose, obtain and use.

    “The ministry is working to deepen collaboration with the private sector in several aspects including manufacturing, procurement, storage and distribution of family planning commodities.

    “Strengthening private sector involvement in Nigeria on SRH care has become more imperative given the rapid increase in the demand for services and commodities is predicted by the rapid growing populations.

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    “We believe that by working together, we will address challenges and provide a quality environment for SRH services and explore ways to address the barriers to Universal Health Coverage (UHC),’’she said.

    Special Adviser to the President on Health, Dr Salma Anas, said the rebranding of the organisation would promote the provision of quality SRH services for those in need irrespective of their location or socio-economic status.

    “MSIN has been a leading provider of sexual and reproductive health care services for women and families across communities supporting over 30 per cent of Family Planning users in the country,’’ she said.

    Anas added that the rebranding would reposition MSIN with other partners to consolidate the successes made towards ensuring every woman and girl have access to a contraceptive  method of her choice irrespective of her location or economic power.

    Country Director, MSIN, Emmanuel Ajah, said in 2022, they contributed over 30 per cent of all family planning services and supported 3.3 million clients with various SRH services.

    Ajah added that these efforts had translated to the prevention of 3.1 million unintended pregnancies while saving the lives of 17,050 women and girls from maternal mortality.

    Chairman on the occasion, Prof. Bryan Adinma, stressed the need for SRH rights of every person of reproductive age to ensure they make their choices.

    Speaking on behalf of partners, Mr Charles Usie, Country Director, Plan International, reiterated their commitment towards supporting MSIN in providing SRH and contraception services.

  • Kano govt slammed for refusal to sign VAPP act

    Kano govt slammed for refusal to sign VAPP act

    Kano State has been accused of refusing to sign the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act.

    So far, 35 States (including Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have passed the VAPP or at least have adopted legislations to protect women from GBV.

    Wife of former Ekiti State Governor and Co-Founder, African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), Erelu Bisi Fayemi, said Kano has to be called out for its refusal.

    She said women have given enough room about the issue and tried being diplomatic about it but hope things can change in the coming months.

    She spoke in Abuja, at the launch of the Womanity index report of Gender Based Violence (GBV), compiled by Invictus Africa in collaboration with Budglt, with support from Ford Foundation.

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    She said: “In June 2020, only 14 states had passed the VAPP Act. Now, 35 States (including FCT) have passed the VAPP or at least have legislation to protect women from GBV. This is evidence that the June 2020 GBV State of Emergency declared by the Nigeria Governors Forum at the insistence of the NIGSF and the advocacy that has sustained it is working.

    “So which means every single state except for one and we will name them because we have now given ourselves enough room and being diplomatic enough to be able to accommodate people to get on the right track. So there’s one state and that state is Kano state. We are still hoping that in due course over the next couple of months, this will be done.”

    She also said gender equality and women’s empowerment continues to remain a priority.

    Executive Director, Invictus Africa, Bukky Shonibare said the idea for Womanity index was to have an index that is produced on an annual basis on different domains of gender equality.

    She said the idea develops five different domains that can be used to measure the essence the national government deals with gender equality within their states.

    Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of Police in charge of the Department of Training and Development (DTD), Frank Mba said: “The Nigerian police has actually taken the lead; we are the first law enforcement agency to develop an agenda-based policy. We also have desk officers for gender based crimes. We also have family support units in some of the states of the federation, actually not in all the states. And then we have the Human Rights desk across all the 36 states of the federation.

    “What we need to do is to continue to increase the level of training for middle level officers. We also need to empower our female officers to take the front row in strategies that are designed to actually counter gender based violence. We also need to deal with issues of trust. We need to make the police friendlier and more receptive and being able to also handle issue that touches on the confidentiality of some of the victims.”

  • Fed Govt urged to promote inclusivity for persons with disabilities

    Fed Govt urged to promote inclusivity for persons with disabilities

    The Federal Government has been urged to promote inclusivity for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the country.

    Such disabilities include persons living with autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

    It can also include persons born with Fragile X syndrome, developmental delays, Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and a lot more.

    National President, Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities of Nigeria (AIDDN), Mrs Joko Dawodo-Omotola made the call yesterday in Abuja at the end of a two-day event to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD).

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    She said: “In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the challenges faced by persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities worldwide. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, sets forth a comprehensive framework with 17 Sustainable Development Goals aimed at fostering global progress. However, true inclusivity can only be achieved when vulnerable populations, such as persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, are at the center of these efforts.

    “Collaboration lies at the heart of achieving the SDGs. By joining hands and working together, we can create an environment where persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities are given equal opportunities to thrive and contribute to society.

    “We must bridge the gap between different sectors government, civil society organizations, healthcare professionals, and academia – to ensure a coordinated and holistic approach towards inclusive sustainable development.”

    President, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Abdullahi Aliyu, urged parents to ensure they train and educate their children and wards with any form of disabilities to enable them become independent later in life.

  • Assembly passes bill raising judicial officers’ retirement age to 65

    Assembly passes bill raising judicial officers’ retirement age to 65

    The Adamawa State House of Assembly has enacted a bill for a law to increase the retirement age of judicial officers to 65 years

    The bill, passed yesterday, also stipulates that the benefitting officers can now spend 40 years in service.

    Until now, such officers spend a maximum of 35 years in service or 60 years of age, depending on which one occurs first.

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    The passage of the bill followed a motion to that effect by the Majority Leader, Kate Raymond Mamuno (Demsa) and seconded by the Minority Leader, Umar Suleiman Alkali (Yola North).

    After the passage of the bill, Speaker Bathiya Wesley directed the clerk of the House to prepare a clean copy for the attention of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri.

  • NGO team up with NDLEA, others to fight drug abuse

    NGO team up with NDLEA, others to fight drug abuse

    A non-governmental organisation, Re-Orientation Advocacy of Nigeria RAN has teamed up with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to fight drug abuse.

    Executive Director, Re-Orientation Advocacy of Nigeria, Charles Folayan said a joint task committee on drug prevention, treatment and care programme has been set up to this effect.

    Folayan, who is the Coordinator of the task force, said, this was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s administration statement and commitment to tackling the drug abuse menace and its associated consequences in all forms by working with civil stakeholders who are compassionate and eager to take urgent actions necessary to save and protect our communities, societies and all our people.

    He said this during the first joint stakeholder’s engagement after unveiling the task force in Abuja.

    He said the coalition was to bridge the gap and disconnect between stakeholders working on drug demand reduction and to build collaboration for holistic evidence based interventions on drug prevention, treatment and care.

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    Other members of the task force are: the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency NPHCDA, the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control NAFDAC, the Nigeria Police Force NPF, the National Agency on Control of AIDS NACA and the Nigerian Correctional Service NCS, Annmom Foundation USA among others.

    He said the joint task force was in agreement with the resolution of the House of Representatives for Nigeria to declare an emergency on the drug abuse menace.

    He noted that research showed that drug abuse was a major challenge confronting Nigeria, saying: “it is already a menace among the youth and women. And the precursor to all forms of indiscipline, lawlessness and crimes which have resulted into huge economic, social, political and environmental problems.”

    He lamented that the streets of many towns and cities in Nigeria are littered with youth and women immersed in drug and substance abuse activities.

    “These experiences predispose them to armed robbery, vandalism, sexual assault, insurgency, banditry, domestic abuse and violence, HIV and AIDS, accidents among others,” he said.

    While commending the effort of the various stakeholders so far, he noted that solving the challenges of drug abuse in Nigeria demanded a workable strategy and team work.

  • Alleged attack on Tribunal Secretary: SDP exposing atrocities, says APC

    Alleged attack on Tribunal Secretary: SDP exposing atrocities, says APC

    The Kogi APC Governorship Campaign Council has taken a swipe at the Social Democratic Party(SDP) accusing the horse-symboled party of exposing its atrocities against democracy. 

    The APC Campaign Council, in a statement on Tuesday, said it has noticed the desperation with which the SDP and some ethnic jingoists are trying to paint Kogi State as unsafe.

    The statement signed  by the spokesman for the Campaign Council, Kingsley Fanwo, alleged that the SDP orchestrated the supposed attacks on the Secretary of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, Mr. Mike David, in other to cover up the already exposed plans of filing petitions through the backdoor. 

    Noting the SDP is desperate to file petition against the November 11 election outside the period allowed under the Electoral Act, the APC recalled that some patriotic lawyers, from across the three senatorial districts of the state, on Monday, alerted the public to the clandestine plan of the SDP and its Governorship candidate to file their petition through the backdoor and backdate same in order to circumvent the provisions of the Electoral Act.

    “It is not hard for the discerning to see through the concocted lies and warped strategy of the SDP, as the purpoted attack on the Tribunal Secretary was said to have occurred on the day their dubious, anti-democratic plan was exposed”. 

    Raising some posers, Fanwo queried: “Why was he not attacked before the midnight of December 3, 2023, when the 21 days window closed? Why is the SDP the first to know about the purported attack? How did they know that he was working on their so called petition at the time he was allegedly attacked? Why has the SDP turned themselves to the advocate for the Secretary?” 

    He however alerted the public not  to be misled because the people know exactly what is happening. 

    He reiterated the call on security agencies to swing into action and look into the numerous petitions before them. 

    “We have called endlessly on the security agencies in the state to act on series of petitions before them against the criminalities being perpetrated by the SDP and its thugs all in the name of politics. 

    “They commit heinous crimes, kill innocent citizens, heighten tension in the state with hate speeches under a rejected ethnic agenda and turn around to play the victims through senseless propaganda. 

    “They even blatantly accuse the security agencies of committing crimes without any arrests being made.

    “The inaction of the security agencies in the face of glaring atrocities being perpetrated by these desperate politicians and ethnic jingoists has further emboldened their thugs to attack the residence of the Resident Electoral Commissioner in charge of Kogi State, something that has never happened in the history of our dear state. 

    “And now, they and their collaborators in crime have conjured a “dead on arrival” script on the attack of the Tribunal Secretary. 

    “As we write, the lawyer, who led others to expose the SDP’s backdoor filing plans, in collaboration with some staff of the Tribunal, is being threatened by the SDP camp, even on public platforms, and this complaint is before the security agencies. 

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    “When SDP threatens, they attack. That was how they threatened the Resident Electoral Commissioner and followed up their threats with a gruesome attack on his residence. Those who act within the precinct of the rule of law must be protected by the law. 

    “We await the reports of the security agencies on the true situation of things and once again call on our President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to direct the Department of State Services and the Police to leave no stone unturned in apprehending the criminals terrorising the state and waging fruitless war against democracy. 

    “The Governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, CON, laid a solid foundation in terms of security. Criminals had no hiding place in the state for over seven years. We cannot at this point sacrifice these widely acknowledged wins on the slab of politics,” the statement concluded.