To inculcate in children the knowledge to make better nutrition choices, Nestle Nigeria, in collaboration with the Federal Government, has organised the nutrition quiz competition for kids in Ogun State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The nutrition quizzes competition was aimed at testing children’s knowledge and practice of healthy nutrition. It was also designed to enhance recall and retention in class lessons.

The Gado Nasko Science Primary School, Gwagwalada, Abuja and St Paul’s Primary School, Orile Imo, and Ogun State emerged winners of the nutrition quiz competition.

Other winners of the competition were Salvation Army Primary School, Edu Agbara, Ogun State and Model Primary School, Bwari, Abuja came second place, and Methodist Primary School Abeokuta and Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School, Jiwa Abuja came third.

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Relaunched in Nigeria in 2018, the education programme is supported by the Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), FCT Universal Basic Education Board, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of Health.

On the objectives of the competition, the Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Nestlé Nigeria, Mrs Victoria Uwadoka said: “Nestlé for Healthier Kids is aligned with our goal of helping children to live healthier lives by raising awareness of the benefits of healthy nutrition and an active lifestyle.

“The Nutrition quiz competition drives home these lessons to boost, recall, and practice. We are delighted with the performance of all the participating schools this year. The learners proved that they had understood the various topics.”

The Deputy Director, School Health, FCT UBEB, Alhaji Aboki Danladi said: “We are proud of the outstanding performance of the children in the competition. The Board appreciates Nestlé for its consistent investment in the education and welfare of children over the years. The Nestlé for Healthier Kids Programme is a laudable project, which is positively impacting our children.”

The Chairman of the Ogun State chapter of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Oluseye Onabanjo said: “Malnutrition among school-age children is a major public health concern. Improving the quality of children’s foods and continuous education on feeding practices in the early years of life are cornerstones in addressing the challenge of malnutrition.”

The Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development (SFPD), an organisation working to protect gender safety in Adamawa State has taken the campaign against gender violence to students in their schools.

The foundation, supported by Spotlight Initiative, a development agency is currently running a series of workshops for which 10 secondary schools in the state were selected.

The foundation was at the General Murtala Mohammed College (GMMC), Yola, yesterday where resource people lectured no fewer than 100 students picked from senior and junior classes on how they are expected to protect gender sanctity.

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The workshop featured lecture presentations on Gender-based Violence (GBV), following which students were given time to make some contributions to their impressions of the event or to ask questions.

The Programme Officer of the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development Dr Ahmed Ibrahim told reporters that five-boys-only secondary schools and five-girls-only colleges were being visited for similar GBV interactive sessions.

Ahmed Ibrahim said: “By involving students, we are trying to leave no one behind because these young ones have their part in the quest to inculcate gender safety in our people.”

He said the reach out to students in the anti-GBV campaign falls within Phase 2 of the Spotlight Initiative programme, noting that “in phase 1, we targeted adults, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and community mobilisers.”

The Nigeria Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project says it has concluded plans to support the National Population Commission towards digitizing its Civil Registration processes.

Manager, Communications, Nigeria Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project, Dr Walter Duru, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

According to the statement, ID4D’s Project Coordinator, Musa Odole Solomon disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Alhaji Isa Kwarra, at the Commission’s headquarters, Abuja.

Solomon described the National Population Commission a critical partner in the ID4D project implementation, assuring the Commission of the project’s support.

He said, “Nigeria Digital ID4D is a Nigerian project, jointly funded by the World Bank, European Investment Bank and the French Development Agency. The Project Development Objective is to increase the number of persons with a National Identity Number (NIN), issued by a robust and inclusive foundational Identity system, that facilitates their access to services.”

“The project is designed, following an Ecosystem model and not limited to any single organisation. It therefore involves different agencies of government, the private sector and civil society. The project had since identified the National Population Commission as an important ecosystem partner, hence this visit.”

“The Nigeria Digital ID4D project would finance technical assistance to create the enabling legal and regulatory environment for the development of a digital Civil Register and strengthen its role in the country’s foundational ID ecosystem, including the digitization of existing birth registration processes.”

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On training, he said that “the project has made adequate provisions for financing institutional capacity development, aimed at building trust and credibility within the country’s ID ecosystem.

“We are determined to invest in the Civil Registry system to reinforce the foundational ID ecosystem by delivering National Identity Numbers at birth, as part of the birth registration process through links with the digitized Civil Register.

“We therefore seek your collaboration and active participation in the implementation process.”

Responding, Chairman, National Population Commission, Alhaji Nasir Isa Kwarra stated that the Commission is a willing partner in the country’s Identity project, even as he pledged the support and cooperation of the Commission to the Nigeria ID4D project.

Kwarra expressed delight at the project’s readiness to support the digitization of the civil register, as well as capacity development, describing them as critical needs of the commission.

“We are trying to modernize our civil registration systems. We register births and deaths. We are supposed to be registering marriages and divorce, etc. Modernizing and digitizing our processes is very important and that is where you come in.”

“We are willing to partner with you 100%. We are also involved in national identity coverage. I assure you of our total support and collaboration.”

Speaking on the planned National Census, Kwarra said that “we are planning to conduct the first Digital Census in Nigeria.”

Acting Director General of the Commission, Ugoeze (Mrs.) Patience Mbagwu lauded the ID4D delegation for the efforts, reiterating the Commission’s readiness to partner the project.

Highlights of the meeting were exchange of souvenirs and gift items, among others.

In attendance at the meeting were the Commission’s Federal Commissioners from different states of the federation, while the ID4D delegation was made up of top members of the management team.

The Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly Alhaji Abdullahi Balarabe has donated various food items and livestock to constituents to enable them to celebrate this year’s Eid-el-Kabir.

The items included 200 bags of 50kg of rice, 30 rams and five cows.

The gesture was part of efforts to assist the Muslim Ummah in his constituency to celebrate the forthcoming Sallah.

Balarabe (APC-Umaisha/Ugya) made the donation in Umasiha in the Toto Local Government Area of the state yesterday.

He said the donation was aimed at making his people to mark joyful and fulfilled Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.

The Speaker said the support was also in the spirit of love and to as well share with the less-privileged in society.

“In keeping to the tradition of reaching out to the poor and the less-privileged, I have donated rams and bags of rice to the Muslim Ummah in my constituency,” he said.

Balarabe, who was represented by his Campaign Director-General, Mr Adamu Abubakar, said that the gesture was part of his commitment to improving the lives of the people.

He urged them not to sell the items, but to use them to improve their standard of living and that of their family members.

“I will continue to put smiles on your faces and the faces of other people of my constituency.

“I want to assure you that I will continue to represent you well at all times,” he said.

The Jigawa State Government, in partnership with Malaria Consortium, yesterday, inaugurated the 2022 Seasonal Malaria Chemo-prevention (SMC) campaign. The exercise targets more than 1.5 million children.

The Coordinator of the Malaria Control Programme in the state, Malam Bilya Haruna described SMC as the administration of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine to children less than five years to protect them from malaria during the peak period of its transmission between July and October.

The coordinator urged parents and guardians to avail their children of the exercise to ensure a malaria-free society.

According to him, all hands must be on the deck to ensure smooth execution of the exercise to save children’s lives.

Bilya added that 10,000 ad hoc members of staff were engaged to conduct the exercise, from June 4 to October 4.

“More than 10,000 ad hoc members of staff were recruited and will go from house to house to administer the malaria preventive drugs to the targeted children,” he added.

He reiterated the commitment of the state government toward eliminating malaria in several ways, including the provision of insecticide-treated nets to residents, the administration of anti-malarial drugs to children and expectant mothers.

Host communities of Mambilla Beverages Limited, producers of Highland Tea, have kicked against the move by the Taraba State Government to privatise the company.

In a statement on behalf of the Kakara host community, Abdullahi Abdulkarim and Usman Laido, Chairman and Secretary respectively, insisted the host communities never agreed for the company to be privatised as claimed by the Taraba State Government.

“The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Taraba Investment and Property Limited, Mr Iliya Ezekiel Sunday was in Kakara when he met the host communities, who were demonstrating in front of the company’s headquarters in Kakara against the Taraba State Government on June 30, 2022. While at Mbondua Palace, he pleaded with the protesters to put it on hold pending the outcome of their discussion with the State Governor or when the host community fully understands the full benefit as canvassed by the M.D.

“We categorically state here that no member of the host communities welcome the idea of the privatisation and are happy with anything about the so call privatisation,” the statement read.

They accused the government of selective treatment in appointment into administrative positions while leaving menial jobs for members of the host community.

According to the statement, the company remains the most efficient in terms of service delivery and the creation of job opportunities for the people of Taraba.

“It is the highest in terms of employment in Taraba state after State government and this is because of the low cost of production,” the statement added.

According to the statement, if the government was interested in privatisation for “profitability, productivity efficiency,” it should go on and privatise the Greenhouse in Jalingo, Kurmi Timber factory, Taraba Motel Jalingo, Jalingo new market, Cassava industry and Gassol Rice Mills.

The community expressed their fear of a political undertone to the planned privatisation aimed at shortchanging and impoverishing them.

They also alleged that the land on which the company stands today was taken over from them without compensation and therefore asked to be compensated.

“We have a right to adequate compensation for any land taken over from us in accordance with domestic and international laws and socio-economic best practices.

“We reject the plan in its entirety and caution you on the ripple effects which include short-change and impoverishment of the people of the area.

“The host community must be compensated for their lands taken over since 1975 and be paid the cumulative value to date at the current rate,” the statement read.

The community also demanded the payment of a backlog of salaries and wages of all workers laid off or still in service, running for up to three years.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Taraba Investment and Property Development Limited (TIPDL) Ezekiel Iliya last week said the government intends to privatise the company in order to improve profitability, productivity and efficiency.

He also added that the government had commenced sensitisation of the communities on the privatisation of the company.

In a secret memo, Iliya said the company belongs to the Taraba State government and not the host community as rumoured.

“Mambilla Beverages Nig. Ltd is solely owned by the Taraba government. In order to improve profitability, productivity, efficiency and job opportunities for the benefit of the people of Taraba, the government is proposing to privatise the company to ensure efficient management devoid of government interference and bureaucracies.

“The interest of the workers and host community are adequately protected within the confines of the Law in the privatisation process,” the memo stated.

Iliya also asked the public to “disregard the rumours that the company belongs to a particular community.”