The Kano State Government said it has spent N800 million on the procurement of insecticide-treated nets and other anti-malarial materials this year.

The Commissioner for Health Dr Aminu Tsanyawa stated this yesterday at the inauguration of the second round of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention and Maternal Newborn and Child Health in Kano.

He said the state procured the long-lasting Insecticide-treated mosquito nets and would be distributed to 1,586 health centres, including pregnant women and children.

“The government has concluded all arrangements for the long-lasting nets mass replacement campaign, where more than eight million pieces of the nets will be distributed free,” he said.

Tsanyawa further said the state had recorded 336,896 uncomplicated malaria cases in the first quarter of 2022.

“All the recorded cases were treated while 96 deaths were recorded in the first quarter,” he said.

The commissioner, however, said that malaria had remained the most common disease for hospital outpatients.

“It accounted for 60 per cent of outpatient visits and consultations as well as 30 per cent of hospital admissions in the state,’’ Tsanyawa said.

He said the State Government spent more than N3 billion on the administration of 13.9 million doses of malaria prevention drugs within four months last year.

“The drugs were Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and Amodiaquine SP+AQ, all meant to prevent malaria cases and deaths among children below the age of five,” he said.

He called on parents to avail their children of 3–59 months of access to House to House free mass drug distribution for malaria prevention.

The four-day exercise will be conducted in the 44 local government areas of the state, from July to October.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration said it will continue to dialogue with parks and creation operators in Abuja to enforce its decision to shut parks by 7:00 p.m.

The Minister of the FCT, Malam Muhammad Bello had, on Monday, given a directive for all recreational parks in the territory to be closed for operations at 7:00 p.m. daily.

Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah said enforcing the policy was not meant to kill people’s businesses, but to instil a sense of sanity in the parks and recreation sector.

While regretting that the good intention of the administration in allocating parks and gardens has been abused, he called for understanding and compliance.

He, however, assured that the administration will continue to dialogue with owners and operators of parks, to fine-tune the processes, to ensure seamless implementation.

“We came out this night for advocacy enforcement; we have gone round some gardens to ensure compliance to FCTA Park policy 2005 that states that parks should close by 7:00 p.m. That is why we appear to be very soft.

“Everyone is concerned about park operators, we really want them to make money, but we still need orderliness. Parks are not lounges, nightclubs and hotels. They have specific guidelines on how they should operate. I think with time, everyone will begin to adjust.”

The Katsina Emirate Council has announced the suspension of durbar during the Eid-el-Kabir festivity slated for Saturday.

The suspension was announced in a statement in Katsina yesterday by the Council’s Assistant Secretary, Alhaji Sule Mamman-Dee.

He said the suspension was due to the current security situation in the state.

According to Mamman-Dee, the Emir, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir-Usman expressed deep concern over the security situation in parts of the emirate and said he would only attend the Eid prayers on Saturday.

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He said the Emir advised Muslims to continue to pray for the return of peace to the state and the country in general.

The Durbar festival dates back hundreds of years and it involves the display of horse-riding skills by districts and nobility households, who pay homage to the Emir on Eid Day, known in Katsina as “Hawan Daushe.”

The Emir leads a contingent of members of the Emirate Council, district and village heads in a procession of horses, known as “Hawan Bariki” to pay homage to the state governor, a day after Eid.

The spokesperson of the Daura Emirate Council, Alhaji Usman Ibrahim told reporters that the council had also suspended the Sallah durbar across the emirate.

According to Ibrahim, the Emir Alhaji Faruk Umar-Faruk has directed all the district heads under the emirate to perform their Eid-El Kabir prayers in their domains.

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has urged the National Assembly to enact legislation that will rejuvenate the polytechnic education system, saying that only such can lead to the desired technological revolution in the country.

The union stated that a situation where the polytechnic sector is deprived of funding and discriminated against in favour of the university will keep under-developing the country.

A one-time Chairman of ASUP in Kaduna Polytechnic, Malam Mustapha Yahaya Bida stated these in Kaduna yesterday while delivering a paper as the Guest Speaker, during the ASUP Week organised by the Kaduna Polytechnic chapter of the union.

“We need an attitudinal change that shows that we have realized that it is only technical education that can give us a new direction in Nigeria. There is a need for the legislative arm of government to rejuvenate the Polytechnic education system, so that, we can really have a new technological revolution we have been clamouring for, that will lead to technological development of Nigeria. Only the Polytechnic can provide that.

“Polytechnic education is the basis for technological development. The sector is very creative and the government has forgotten that it is most costly to run.

“Even the press has given much attention to the university, immediately they cry out the press is there to support them; traditional institutions, religious leaders always support the university forgetting that the polytechnic is in dire need of reactivation of laboratories, workshops, at times those in the sciences, especially those in the chemical engineering, applied sciences, don’t  have access to the agents they require at times.

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Sometimes, the institutions will go and look for internally generated resources and try to augment, so that these laboratories can run so that the students can learn.

“Polytechnic education is practically oriented. When students go on SIWES, the polytechnic students are more productive because of our nature but the government is not giving attention to polytechnic education. Twice the government has intervened directly or indirectly to fund the universities, and rehabilitate universities, when you go round some of the universities are surviving because of the state funds. There is lopsidedness, for example, one university that is not even up to a college in Kaduna Polytechnic will receive N200 million in a year while the Polytechnic counterpart will get less than half of it because of the lopsided policy.

“Again what the polytechnic gets for academic staff training development and research is always 50 per cent of what is given to the universities, why this kind of lopsidedness? The implication is that the government is not out to see the productive nature of the polytechnic system; the technological reactivation of our system.

“We have had innovations not from the universities but from the polytechnic. The polytechnic programs have won even at the world body because of the skills, and attention. Polytechnic education is trying to link theory with practical but universities rely on literature.

“ASUP tried recently to get the approval of N15 billion, but it has not seen the light of the day up till this very moment. Why this kind of discrimination? Polytechnic can change the structure of this country, and the dependence on foreign products,” he said.

In a chat with reporters at the exhibition stand where some of the Kaduna Polytechnic’s technological innovations were on display, Deputy Rector Academics, Dr Rosemary Kato called on the Federal Government to do all it can to improve the funding for the technical education sector to enable Nigeria to achieve its goals of technological development.

She said: “When we don’t fund technology, it means our dreams are not realized at the end of the day, we are not able to go beyond a particular limit. The better we improve the finding, the better our chances of meeting our national goals.”

The ASUP chapter Chairman, Comrade Mohammed Mohammed said the week-long event with the theme “Broadening the Frontiers of our Bond” was designed to further promote and entrench the existence of brotherhood among members.

The Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB) is set to recruit 2,912 Adhoc facilitators for its 838 Non-Formal Learning Centres.

The centres were established under the World Bank-supported Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA).

Mr Tijjani Abdullahi, the Executive Chairman, KADSUBEB said this in a statement issued in Kaduna yesterday.

Abdullahi said the ad-hoc facilitators would work for the reintegration of out–of–school children that would be enrolled into the 838 Non-Formal Learning Centres.

He said the centres cut across the 23 local government areas of the state.

According to him, applicants found suitable will be engaged as facilitators and will work for six hours per week for a period of six months in any of the centres nearest to them.

“The Board wishes to draw the attention of interested candidates and the 23 acting education secretaries in the councils that the last day for submission of all application letters is today.

“July 7 has been scheduled for the conduct of aptitude test while July 12 to July 14 is scheduled for interview of shortlisted candidates.

“Based on the foregoing, the Board is, therefore, urging all applicants to submit their application letters on or before July five to the Education Secretaries of their respective council areas,” he said.

The BESDA programme is aimed at increasing access for out-of-school children and ensuring that children who attend school could read, write and manipulate figures.

The board has concluded plans to recruit 10,000 teachers for its public primary schools after sacking 2,357 teachers for allegedly failing a competency test.

The Jigawa State and Local Government Contributory Pension Scheme Board has disbursed N1.2 billion entitlements to 550 retirees.

The Executive Secretary of the board, Alhaji Kamilu Aliyu said this in a chat with reporters in Dutse yesterday.

He said the amount would cover payments to workers who retired from service between March and June this year at the state, local government and local education authorities (LEAs).

Aliyu further said the payment included retirement benefit, death benefit, death pension balance and refund of eight per cent contribution.

The executive secretary stated that 191 of the beneficiaries were from state service, 146 local governments and 214 from LEAs.

He said N501 million would be disbursed to 191 beneficiaries from the state service, and N213 million to 145 beneficiaries from local government service while 214 beneficiaries of the LEAs to receive N500 million.

According to him, the board is up-to-date in the payment of entitlements to retirees, including those who died in active service.

He reiterated the commitment of the state government toward improving the welfare of workers to enhance service delivery as well as the well-being of retirees to enjoy a fulfilled life after service.

Reports of the 2021 Almajiri Census conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Katsina State Agency for Mass Education on 18, 000 Islamiya/Qur’anic schools in the state have shown that Katsina State has a population of 243,000 Almajiri children.

The Director for Literacy, Katsina Agency for Mass Education, who is also a UNICEF Focal Person, Bala Abdullahi who said this during an exclusive chat with The Nation in his office in Katsina yesterday said the state has organised Almajiri Literacy Programmes supported by the UNICEF, under integrated Qur’anic Education that is equivalent to primaries one to three.

He said: “There are 186 pilot centres in Kafur, Malumfashi, and Safana where about 2,300 Almajiri children have been captured in the three local government areas.

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“There are two facilitators in each school who were trained by UNICEF on reading and writing on numeracy and health issues as well as hand washing points.”

On the literacy campaigns, Alhaji Bashiru also said the campaigns were being coordinated by area and zonal coordinators in four zones of Funtua, Daura, Katsina and Dutsinma.

He further said the literacy classes were being conducted on a quarterly basis and that a massive turnout and enrollment of the student learners are being recorded.

He stated that apart from security challenges, particularly in Safana and the uncooperative attitudes of some Malams, the intervention by the state government and other agencies helped out.

Another challenge encountered in the literacy campaign programme is the demand by participants for payments and sundry allowances and the threat to abandon classes if their demands are not granted.

He said: “The facilitators are regularly paid their allowances by the state government; also they are well trained by UNICEF.

“The students are offered different basic classes, including post-literacy, continuous education; skills acquisition and catering for women.

A civil society group, Yiaga Africa, in collaboration with Nigerian Bar Association Young Lawyers’ Forum, has concluded plans to set up an Election Law Clinic ahead of next year’s general election.

The organisations urged young lawyers who are interested in specialising in election law to express their interest to join the Election Law Clinic, which is a cohort of young lawyers who will provide pro bono legal services to young Nigerian adults participating in the electoral process and other young persons with disabilities who require pro bono legal advice as a way of supporting the electoral aspirations of young Nigerian candidates.

Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo and Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association Young Lawyers Forum, Muntasir Adamu announced this in a joint statement in Abuja.

“The Election Law Clinic, which is part of the ‘Turn Up Democracy’ project that is being funded by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and implemented by Yiaga Africa, is designed to train the next generation of lawyers who are interested in specializing in Election Law, deepen the understanding of women and youth aspirants and candidates on the new electoral legal framework and provide legal advisory services and support to young and women candidates.

“The E-Law Clinic is driven by a specially designed module informed by both the challenges identified by young men and women who contested in previous elections and the trends in election litigation.

“Young lawyers who participate in the Clinic will receive virtual and physical training on the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 using a carefully developed curriculum.

“The Clinic will also provide opportunities for young lawyers to attend national, regional, and state meetings that bring together lawyers, politicians, members of political parties, other stakeholders in the electoral sector and development partners,” the statement said.

It said 3,959 election petitions were filed in the general elections between 2003 till date.

According to the organisations, 3,193 election petitions were filed between 2003 to 2015 and 766 petitions in 2019.

“A total of 3,193 election petitions were filed in the general elections conducted between 2003 and 2015.

“In the 2019 general elections, 766 petitions were filed which brings the total number of petitions filed to date to 3,959.

“Section 133(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 clearly states that participation in an election is the condition precedent to presenting an election petition by candidates and political parties,” the statement added.

By Sola Shittu, Gombe, David Adenuga, Bauchi, and Onimisi Alao, Yola

The Northeast Development Commission, NEDC yesterday said no fewer than 1,000 youths and Kalari boys are to be taken off the streets through its waste-to-wealth training programme embarked upon by the commission.

NEDC Head of Environment and Natural Resources, Adamu Lawan who stated this at the commencement of “One Week Training in Efficient Waste Management Practices and A-Z of recycling” said the programme is designed to address the insecurity problems plaguing the Northeast and empower the youth in Gombe State so that they can give meaning to their lives and society.

According to him, 50 youths who will train another 100 youths will benefit from the train-the-trainer programme which started yesterday in Gombe.

“We have two layers of this training. First is the train-the-trainers who are 50 in number and second is the scavengers who will be 100. The train-the-trainers are mostly graduates and NCE holders who have certificates but the scavengers are made up of Kalari Boys. We want to pull them off the streets and get them engaged so that they will be able to earn living through the waste-to-wealth programme,” he said.

He said the programme will be extended to the senatorial districts and the local government areas with the intention of having recycling plants where the recycling materials will be taken to and recycled for a more useful purposes.

Adamu added that the scavengers will be trained in how to know those waste that are recyclable and those that are not recyclable and what to do about them.

The State Director-General and Focal Person for NEDC, Malam Shehu Yerima Abdulahi said the state government has a symbiosis relationship with the NEDC which has brought about collaboration in all NEDC programmes.

“The relationship between the state government and the NEDC is a work in progress and we cannot thank them more. We are always grateful to the NEDC, they are always at hand. Of course, the state government is always at hand too to ensure that the NEDC succeeded in all its developmental activities in the state,” he said.

He said the state government is planning to integrate the trained youths into the activities of the Gombe State Environmental Protection Agency, (GOSEPA) so that they can have a joint venture.

According to him, there is a ready market for recycled materials in the state because most of the plastic and rubber products from Kano and Lagos are from recycled materials.

“The materials used in producing those plastic and rubber products are no longer hundred per cent virgin materials. Forty per cent is recycled materials and 60 per cent is virgin materials. So, the market is already there,” he said.

A Professor of Environmental Resources Management from the Federal University Kashere, Prof. Umar Mohammed said one of the major problems in the country is the issue of waste management.

He added that the existing established authorities are handicapped and lack the technical capabilities and resources to maintain efficient waste management.

He said there is a huge wealth in waste management which cannot be quantified and which made the scavengers earn more than the people in the formal sector.

Also in Bauchi, the NEDC, in partnership with Bauchi State Government, has commenced training of 100 youths who are mainly waste scavengers on effective waste management.

At the seven-day training workshop held in Bauchi yesterday, the representative of the NEDC, Dr Muhammad Sanusi Ibrahim said the NEDC organised the training to acquaint the participants, particularly scavengers, with the new development in the waste to wealth scheme.

According to him, the main focus of the training is to educate the participants on change of attitude toward waste generation in the waste to wealth project through the 3Rs which are reducing waste, reusing waste, and recycling waste.

He stated that the NEDC is also partnering with the Bauchi State Government to have a workable recycling plant in the state, adding that the trainees will be trained by the NEDC to improve their scavenging skills to boost the economy and create more job opportunities in the state.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Environment, Suleiman M. Babaji said the workshop is not only aimed at training the youth on how to harness this waste and convert them to wealth but also boosting their capacity by taking them through the fundamental principles of how it is done in a safe way.

In Adamawa State, the NEDC has commenced a week-long training programme for 150 young men and women in waste disposal skills.

The training, which began yesterday in Yola, the state capital, is being handled by a consulting firm, Hifindahl-Idex. It will provide resources for people and the NEDC will provide the fund for the programme.

The 150 participants comprise 50 people already into recycling and termed trainers who are supposed to be further enabled to spread their knowledge to their communities, as well as 100 fresh waste disposal practitioners termed scavengers who are to be impacted with waste disposal and recycling skills.

The objectives of the training were articulated by Mrs Fatima Bakari who represented the NEDC at the opening of the “One Week Training for Youths on Efficient Waste Management and Practices and A-Z of Recycling.” The event was held at the Federal College of Education (FCE) Yola auditorium in Jimeta, Yola.

The Adamawa State Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources Development, Alhaji Shuaibu Audu, said in a message that training in better waste handling is vital.

“The rate of waste generation has increased tremendously and unfortunately the method by which the waste is handled is too poor,” the commissioner said in the message delivered by his Permanent Secretary, Mr Cletus Gwatel.