Several communities in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State were, on Monday, wrecked by flood. Properties worth millions of naira were also destroyed, even as hundreds of people were rendered homeless.

Our correspondent gathered that the flood affected 13 communities, submerging about 220 houses and several farmlands.

It was further gathered that some bridges connecting the areas to some other communities were also damaged.

Residents of the affected communities told our correspondent that heavy rainfall which lasted several hours on Monday night led to the destruction of the properties.

Read Also: Flood kills 10, displaces scores in Adamawa

Emmanuel Nanpak, a resident of Mabudi told The Nation that several homes were submerged in Mabudi, Lashel, Turaki, Gehetu, and Karkasi Magama, among several other communities.

Nanpak, who claimed he lost all his life’s savings to the flood appealed for the government’s assistance.

Another citizen who identified himself as Nankar Adams said the flood disaster signalled “an impending hunger in the locality,” because several major farmers were affected.

The Chairman of Langtang South Local Government Area, Vincent Venman Bulus, on his Facebook page said: “It’s sad to hear about the flood that swept the Mabudi community of Langtang South which resulted in the destruction of properties worth millions of naira.

“I sympathise with the victims of the flood and the entire Mabudi community.

As part of efforts to reduce the mortality and morbidity caused by rotavirus infections across the country, the Federal Government yesterday officially introduced the rotavirus vaccine into its routine immunisation programme.

While stating that children can now take the rotavirus vaccine at 6, 10 and 14 weeks as they take other life-saving vaccines, it noted that the vaccine is of great importance because it is expected to avert over 110,000 deaths of children under the age of five in the next 10 years.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, who was represented by the Director of Public Health, Morenikeji Alex-Okoh, made this known in Abuja during the launch of the vaccine and flag-off of this year’s African Vaccination Week.

He said: “The government, with the support of our donors and partners, especially GAVI has spent huge amounts to procure routine immunisation vaccines for children. This is because; improving the health of our children remains a priority for this administration.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Dr Faisal Shuaib, said: “Nigeria has the second highest number of deaths from rotavirus, accounting for 14 per cent of all childhood rotavirus deaths worldwide.

Introduction of the rotavirus vaccine is a huge investment due to its substantial economic impact and number of lives that the country is going to save from the introduction.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative, Dr Walter Mulombo said: “The introduction of the Rotavirus Vaccine provides the opportunity to reduce the number of children dying every day from diarrhoea disease caused by rotavirus. The public health impact of rotavirus vaccine introduction has been demonstrated in several countries with as much as 50 per cent deaths from diarrhoeal diseases averted in some.”

The Vice-President of the Islamic Development Bank Dr Mansur Mukhtar has praised the Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP) for meeting the expectations of the Islamic Bank, which is the sponsor of KSADP, whose objective is to reduce poverty by strengthening food security in the land.

Mukhtar gave the commendation when he visited the office of Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project in Kano City.

He said his unscheduled visit, which was his first to the project office, was to enable him to familiarise with its activities, which focus on improving crop production and enhancing livestock productivity in Kano State.

Funded by the Islamic Development Bank and the Lives and Livelihood Funds (LLF), the KSADP’s overall objective is to contribute to reduction of poverty and strengthening food and nutrition security in the state.

“This will be achieved by developing agro-pastoral production systems and targeting mainly smallholder farmers and pastoralists as well as crucial actors in the value chain of agro-pastoralism. These include agricultural produce processors, marketers, input suppliers, and financial institutions,” Mukhtar said.

The Vice-President said: “The bank has been monitoring your (Kano’s) performance and your example has been showcased a number of times during our meetings with the LLF.

“I am surprised that the Project Management Unit is working almost full house. I am impressed that you are working very hard to meet the bank’s expectations.

“I am here to see how you work. I’m pleased that you are taking your work seriously. From the reports we have received so far, your project is moving on well.”

While urging the project management unit to maintain the work culture, Dr Mukhtar assured them of the bank’s determination to address their challenges, if any, to ensure the project’s continuous success.

Project Coordinator of Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project, Ibrahim Garba Muhammad said the visit would give impetus to drive the project.

In a statement by the Project Communication Specialist, Ameen Yassar Muhammad added that the “Kano project is making steady progress to impact the lives of farmers and pastoralists in the state, in line with the IsDB/LLF theory of change.”

The coordinator said he was, however, concerned that inflation is affecting the awards of projects’ contract, adding that this and the issue of co-financing needed to be addressed by the bank, so as not to impede the pace of the overall project delivery.

It was a black Saturday in Lafia. The presidential candidate of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) and former Governor of Kano State, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso in his convoy visited Lafia, Nasarawa State capital. His visit was to inaugurate his presidential campaign office in the state.

One of the drivers of the busses conveying his supporters lost control of the steering summersaulted and four people died instantly while two later died at the hospital.

Several occupants of the vehicle sustained various degrees of injury and were rushed to an undisclosed hospital for medical attention.

Kwankwaso has condoled with the people of Nasarawa State, families of the deceased and the NNPP over the unfortunate incident.

Read Also: Kwankwaso to NASS: Tread softly on Buhari impeachment threat

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule expressed sadness over the unfortunate incident that led to the death of some party supporters with others injured.

Governor Sule, in a statement through his Chief Press Secretary Ibrahim Addra yesterday in Lafia, described the loss of lives of citizens under such circumstances as lamentable, urging caution at all times.

Sule conveyed his condolences to the families and friends of the deceased as well as the leadership of the NNPP at the state and national levels.

He prayed for the repose of the souls of the departed while wishing those injured a speedy recovery.

The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Katsina State Area Command has attributed the decline in its revenue generation in Katsina command to incessant banditry attacks being experienced along Jibia axis in recent times.

This, the Comptroller, Katsina Area Command, NCS, Dalha Wada Chedi, said has led to the command realising N99.7 million revenue within the period under review, a far cry from what the command realised last June.

Chedi who made the above disclosure at the command headquarters in Katsina at a press conference, however maintained that there was no cause for alarm, as the command in conjunction with other sister security agencies have adopted new strategies to curb the twin evil of banditry and smuggling along the Jibia/Niger Republic border.

Read Also: Customs seizes four tanker loads of petrol at Seme

He announced that his command generated N538.4 million as Free on Board (FOB) value for the exportation of 10,827.40 metric tons of items such as cement, hibiscus flower, chili pepper, animal feeds, tamarind, and beverages among others.

The Command also announced that N99.7 million was generated as revenue from July to August 11, 2022.

He said, “the smuggled items seized by the command within the period under review were to the tune of N73.6 million. The seized items includes: food items, motorcycles, reconstructed vehicles used as a means of conveyance for smuggled items, among others”.

The agency also intercepted vehicles, including truck and grader caterpillar worth more than N45.5 million, used motorcycle with the duty value of N60,000 and 447 bags of foreign rice worth more than N13.2 million.

“We seized 337 cartons of Spaghetti worth more than N2 million, 32 cartons of Macaroni worth N192,000, 115 kegs of petrol and 89 kegs of diesel amounting to more than N1.7 million,” Chedi stated.

As part of efforts to improve access to education among rural and indigent girls in Plateau State, Governor Simon Bako Lalong has flagged off the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) as well as the Conditional Cash Transfer to facilitate the education of girls from poor backgrounds.

While performing the flagging off at the Victoria Gowon Hall, New Government House, Little Rayfield Jos, Governor Lalong said the programme which is a partnership between the World Bank, the Federal Government and Plateau State was initiated to encourage and restore hope to girls that have dropped out of school as a result of lack of fund, cultural hindrances to education, or non-availability of schools in their immediate communities.

He said the Rescue Administration places high value on the girl-child education, hence the commitment in seeing to the successful launching of the conditional cash transfer and school improvement grant.

Read Also: Plateau set to rebuild main market

He said over the past seven years, his administration has made frantic efforts in providing safe and accessible learning spaces, fostering an enabling environment for girls, and in the recent past, signed into law bills passed by the Plateau State House of Assembly to protect girls, children, womanhood and the vulnerable in general from molestations of any kind.

Lalong explained that, “The World Bank in collaboration with the state and the federal government intervention facilitated this counterpart arrangement, which involves large expansion in infrastructure which is intended to support adolescent girls in Junior and Senior Secondary Schools to enjoy special scholarship programmes. The programme is also meant to provide conducive learning environment for the girls in the pursuance of their education career”.

While commending the World Bank for extending this timely funding partnership to Plateau State, Lalong said the state will eventually benefit from a total sum of $3,972,000 dollars in scholarship and infrastructural expansion.

Plateau State Commissioner for Secondary Education Mrs. Elizabeth Wapmuk disclosed that the first tranche of the disbursement covers nine selected local governments with funds to be disbursed for School Improvement Grant, and Conditional Cash Transfer to adolescent girls of between 10 and 20 years in both junior and secondary schools.

Principal GSTC, BUKURU & ANCOPSS President Plateau State said the step taken by the governor will revolutionise education in the state.