Category: Northern Reports

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has charged stakeholders in Zamfara to accelerate efforts toward promoting universal health coverage in the state.

Chief of Party of the USAID-funded Local Health System Sustainability Project (LHSS), Dr Bolanle Olusola-Faleye, yesterday in Kaduna spoke during the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) Gateways Forum and State Oversight Committee meeting for the state.

The meeting, organised by the state Ministry of Health with the support of USAID-LHSS, had participants from the health sector within and outside the state.

According to Olusola-Faleye, Zamfara is among the beneficiaries of the USAID-LHSS project aimed at strengthening the local health system toward achieving universal health coverage.

She said: “You know, this project took off in Nigeria in June 2022 in Nasarawa, Plateau, Zamfara, Kano and Lagos states. In the first three states, we supported their governments to expand the financial risk protection to reduce financial barriers and out-of-pocket payment so that the poor and vulnerable can obtain healthcare services without financial hardship.

“We also support the government to increase the coverage of health services, especially for the poor and vulnerable, by supporting effective financial protection health schemes. One of our major objectives is to ensure effective implementation of the Basic HealthCare Provision Fund. Our focus is to ensure that the fund is being implemented effectively and judiciously at both the State and Federal Government levels.”

Olusola-Faleye urged participants to maximise their support and cooperation toward achieving universal health coverage.

Executive Secretary of Zamfara Contributory Healthcare Management Agency, Dr Abdulkadir Shinkafi, described the LHSS project as a welcome development to the state.

“We achieved a lot in the areas of enrollment and awareness creation as regards universal health coverage. We recorded tremendous achievements in our activities for the implementation of Basic HealthCare Provision Funds in the state,” Shinkafi said.

The Executive Director, Research Impact Knowledge and Economy (RIKE SD), Mustapha Ayo Poopola has called on the federal government to consider including researchers as part of diplomatic corp attached to Nigerian embassies around the world.

Poopola at a briefing in Abuja stated that their engagement with embassies in foreign countries should be a knowledge base, as governments need to wake up to use the talents in the country for diaspora purposes.

He said the RIKE SD group are change agents that have resolved to change the negative development narratives of Sub Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa using the instrumentality of research, innovation, creativity, inventions and discoveries for sustainable community and enterprise development.

He noted that the RIKE SD domain of activities resides with the global science, technology and innovation ecosystem with functional tangential interlinks including various activity sectors of national economies.

The Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) has expressed concern overwhat it called  the harassment of journalists, media houses and content creators by governments in the country.

The organisation called on all well-meaning Nigerians to join hands in standing up for the press and protecting them from undue interference.

Executive Director, CTA, Faith Nwadishi made the call during a press conference jointly addressed by the Coordinator, University of Calabar Theatre Arts Alumni Association (UCTAA) Abuja Chapter, MacDonald Ekemezie on Thursday in Abuja as part of activities to mark this year’s International Press Freedom Day.

According to Nwadishi, the press should be allowed to discharge its roles to the citizens without hindrance.

She said: “We are deeply concerned by the constant harassment of journalists, media houses, and content creators by the government under flimsy excuses. We call on all well-meaning Nigerians to join us in standing up for the press and protecting them from undue interference.

“It is concerning to hear that Nigeria’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has fallen further to 123 out of 180 countries in 2023. This reinforces the urgent need to address the challenges facing the press and protect their rights to operate freely without fear of intimidation or harassment.

“As we mark World Press Freedom Day, we must reaffirm our commitment to upholding the fundamental right to freedom of expression and ensuring that journalists can carry out their critical work without undue interference or censorship. The press is a vital component of any democratic society, and we must work together to protect and promote press freedom.

“Let us challenge ourselves to weather the storm and ensure a society where the press can lead the way by discharging their duties without fear or hindrance. A free press is critical to any democratic society, and we must do all we can to protect and promote it.”

The House of Representatives has urged the Nigerian government to take immediate action to end the unrest in Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State that led to the death of three persons.

The Lower chamber called on the relevant security agencies to carry out immediate investigations and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The House also called the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide immediate intervention for those affected and the internally displaced persons.

It also called on the Federal Government to have a more proactive approach geared at beefing up security in rural areas and thereby forestalling future recurrence of the dastardly act.

The House observed a minute of silence in honour of those who lost their lives.

These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance on the need to investigate the unrest between three communities in Kokona Local Government Area which led to the torching of two villages and the death of 14 persons sponsored by Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi yesterday.

The House noted that there has been a recent unrest in Tattara and two other communities in Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa which has resulted in the loss of lives, destruction of properties and displacement of members of the communities.

The motion reads: “The House also notes that reports and investigative assessments indicate that the incident is between Mada communities and Fulani Herdsmen.

“Aware that the government and security agencies have been making frantic efforts to provide lasting solutions to the menace of such incidents in the region and other parts of the country but more work needs to be done in such regard.

“Worried about the complaints of the Tattara inhabitants who observed that the deadly escapades of the attackers were increasingly unsettling the Western part of Nasarawa state after leaving their unpleasant footprints in the Southern part of the state… Cognizant that this Hallowed Chamber has always taken as a matter of national importance, all necessary steps by way of legislative action to ensure the security and safety of Nigerians remain a top priority of the National Assembly.”

Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Monday said the administration is committed to making the business climate more friendly for investments, commending the establishment of a new multimillion naira cashew processing factory in the state.

AbdulRazaq said the agenda, among other things, is to make Kwara a hub for cashew nuts processing in Nigeria.

The Governor was speaking in Ilorin, the capital city, during a working visit to the Annie Glidden Commodities (AG) Nig. Ltd at Eiyenkorin, a newly established cashew processing plant in the state.

“My coming here is to encourage local investment. As you know, Kwara is a major producer of cashew nuts, and Nigeria is putting more interest in cashew processing. So it is a good thing to have a local production and make sure we export processed cashew nuts, rather than raw cashew nuts. So this investment is a major one. I think this is about the third major cashew company in the state,” he told reporters shortly after touring the facility.

He said it is logical and will be more lucrative to have the cashew nuts processed locally for export than to ferry out the raw nuts, adding that the government will leave no stone unturned to encourage all cashew processing companies in the state to thrive.

AbdulRazaq acknowledged the commitment of AG Commodities Nig Ltd to grow the local economy through their investment, and congratulated them on the start of operation, saying the administration is open for partnership.

“Our vision is to have Kwara as the leading processor of cashew in Nigeria. So this is another step to come here and look at their investment and encourage the company, and to also see how the state can partner with the company to scale up the processes,” he added.

Managing Director AG Commodities Nig Ltd, Ademola Adesokan, for his part, said they located the company in Kwara because of its strategic location in the cashew belt, its good road network, as well as the business friendly policies of the government.

He said at least 120 Kwarans have been engaged in the company for manual handling of the cashew nuts daily.

“With the road network, we feel like Kwara state is a very strategic position to site our company. It is in the middle of Kogi, Ogbomosho, and Kwara region. You can see we are on Ogbomoso road, which is a very strategic place and good for our business. So we are happy to be here and we thank the Governor for this visit,” he said.

“It is very manual intensive. Even after we must have processed with our automated processing machines, we still have to deal with about 25 percent of the cashew nuts manually. Every single cashew nut has to be held by hand. A lot of the time we have 120 to 130 working here everyday.

“We have ready-made markets in the US and UK. We also have a local line that will be in stock very shortly.”

The Governor has said Kwara will focus on agroprocessing as a strategic roadmap to economic growth and prosperity. The government itself had approved the establishment of a shea butter processing firm in Kaiama local government area in the northern part of the state.i

The Conference of Civil Societies for Transparency and Accountability, has described the expulsion of a frontline governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba state, David Sabo-Kente, as illegal and unfortunate.

National Convener of the group, Haruna Abdulsalam, who stated this in a news conference yesterday in Abuja, said the action was the handiwork of APC detractors, who were bent on destroying the party for their selfish gains.

It will be recalled that the embattled chairman of APC in the state, Ibrahim El-Sudi, who announced the expulsion of Sabo-Kente on Tuesday, had also called on the National Executive Committee of the party, to immediately suspend Jimkuta, the Senator-Elect for Taraba South.

Sabo-Kente said: “We received the news of the purported suspension of the leader of APC in Taraba, Chief David Sabo-Kente with shock and disbelief.

“We are taken aback as to how possible it is for an embattled chairman of the party in the state, who suddenly appeared on the scheme of things with so much confidence to announce the expulsion of not just anyone, but the leader of the party.

“This really proves that some people are just out to bring down the APC and destroy the democratic tenets it has built in Taraba and its achievements in the country.”  

Sabo-Kente, who blamed APC’s loss during the general election on the internal crisis, said the issues were not resolved at the appropriate time.  

President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, joined others in extending his birthday wishes to Ambassador Bagudu Hirse, as the veteran of diplomatic service turned 77.

The president’s congratulatory message is contained in a statement issued by his Spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu in Abuja.

Buhari said: “Best wishes to Ambassador Hirse on his birthday. The nation has benefited greatly from his wisdom and perspectives on various issues of diplomacy and international relations.

”As a distinguished citizen, he has connected very well with every section of our society.

”He has received great honour throughout the world for his diplomatic experience and other activities.

”I sincerely wish him good health and prosperity.”

The president congratulated the ambassador on sharing his birthday with historically-important events.

He noted that the Second World War began on April 30, 1939 and ended the same day in 1945.

The president, therefore, expressed the wish that Hirse would continue to offer his best, as he had done all his life, for the benefit of the country and its people.