The Speaker of Borno State Children’s Parliament Ibrahim Sunoma has urged the Federal Government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to end all forms of abuse of children.

Sunoma noted that to help prevent abuse, there should be stronger laws against sexual abuse targeted at children.

He also called for the rehabilitation of children who were sexually abused, even as he called for the reporting of such abuse.

Sunoma stated these in a communique jointly issued at the end of a two-day capacity building training for State Children Parliaments and Girl Ambassadors organised by Save the Children International Nigeria.

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Sunoma, who read the recommendations of the Speaker and girl Ambassadors, said there should be legislation and implementation of the Child Rights Act (CRA) and free education for all.

He also said awareness should be raised on the consequences of early marriage which he said alters the course of a girl’s life and her potential.

Other demands of the girl ambassadors and state children parliaments included: the provision of medical supplies and compensation of doctors to address health challenges children face, an increase in budgetary allocation for children’s health care.

Equipment of security agents to protect children from attacks, and adoption of stronger security strategies in affected areas.

The Federal Government has said that the ongoing 284km Kano-Dutse-Jibia (Katsina State)-Maradi in the Niger Republic will link Sokoto and Yola in Adamawa to boost the economy of the states.

The Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said this yesterday during a media tour of the five-million tons per annum BUA Cement Factory in Sokoto.

The minister was on a tour of the facility accompanied by more than 30 reporters drawn from print, electronic and social media.

“I have just confirmed that the Kano-Kataina-Jibiya-Maradi rail is going to have branches in Sokoto and Yola.

“This means that by the time the section of the rail is completed, it will be cheaper to transport cement from Sokoto to all parts of the North and Nigeria as a whole.

“It will also help in bringing down the cost of energy because they can use rail to bring liquefied natural gas for electricity use in the plant.

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“We are very confident that in a few years’ time, the challenge relating to the transportation of cement will be overcome and we can look forward to a crash in the price of cement,” he said.

Mohammed said BUA Cement factory was the first cement plant in Nigeria to use liquefied natural gas to generate electricity for its production, thereby replacing coal in its kiln.

According to him, it has made the plant environmentally friendly to also curb climate change.

The minister, however, expressed worry over the haulage of LPG from Port Harcourt to the Sokoto plant by road.

He assured them that the rail project would ease the burden.

According to Mohammed, when the AKK gas pipeline project is completed, it will drastically reduce the time and cost of transporting the gas currently being trucked from Port Harcourt to the plant.

“At least, 20 trucks of LNG are brought here daily from Port Harcourt. Imagine the costs and the logistic challenges involved in this,” he said.

The Managing Director and CEO of BUA Cement factory, Mr Yusuf Binji said they resorted to using LNG instead of diesel because of the reliability in the supply chain.

“The LNG is a much cleaner fuel with fewer carbon emissions and our equipment and generators run better on gas than LPPO, diesel.

“The LNG cannot be contaminated and it is also cheaper than diesel,” he said.

The member of the Kano State House of Assembly representing Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso’s constituency, Madobi Kabiru Yusuf Isma’il has defected from the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A statement by the Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, said the APC, under the chairmanship of Abdullahi Abbas, has received the defectors.

Garba said the member representing Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area Mu’azzam El-Yakubu has also dumped Kwankwaso’s NNPP for the APC.

He said: “The gale of defection has recently swept across the NNPP, particularly members of the state and National Assembly.”

Malam Garba said already a member of the state legislature representing Bagwai/Shanono, Isa Ali rejoined the APC days after decamping to the NNPP.

Garba said his colleague at the State Assembly representing Dambatta State Constituency Murtala Kore also renounced his membership of the NNPP to remain in the APC.

Kebbi State youths, under the aegis of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Youths Support (KYS) yesterday staged a peaceful protest demanding that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami should contest for the governorship position.

The youth carried placards with inscriptions such as “We in Kebbi are Unanimous for Malami’s Project,” “Constitution is Superior to Electoral Act,” “Malami is Kebbian” and “Baba Buhari, Please Allow Malami to Run,” among others.

The Chairman of the group, Malam Muhammand Ruwa, who made their demand known at the end of the protest in Birnin-Kebbi, the state capital, said the youth are pleading with Malami to rescind his earlier decision not to contest.

“We are calling on Malami as youths from the 21 local government areas of the state to listen to our demands and recant his earlier decision. We want him to contest in order to continue with the developmental projects the APC-led government has started,” he said.

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The group threatened to use legal action to press home their demands if Malami refuses to heed their demand.

Ruwa described Malami as a person with sterling leadership qualities and who assisted his people tremendously.

On behalf of women members of the group, the Woman Leader, Hussaina Sa’idu called on Malami to contest the governorship position.

She said the minister, through his non-governmental organisations (NGOs), had impacted the children and empowered the people, especially women.

“His programmes empowered and have continued to mobilise the people of the state, especially the women to improve their standard of living,” Sa’idu said.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it has provided access to inclusive, equitable and quality education for 102,859 children in Borno State in the past three years.

The Education Manager of UNICEF, Maiduguri Field Office Paola Ripamonti stated this during a news conference in Maiduguri, on Tuesday.

Ripamonti said UNICEF supported 29,985 out-of-school youths and adolescents with vocational skills, including poultry farming, shoemaking, soap and bag production, tailoring, painting, and interlock tiles production, among others.

She said the project “EduTrac System and the Mainstreaming of Psychosocial Support into Formal Education in Borno State,” which will be wrapped up by the end of this month, was supported by the European Union (EU).

Ripamonti said the interventions were landmarks to improve educational planning, expand access to education for conflict-affected children and strengthen learning.

According to her, the interventions supported no fewer than 300,000 children and youths.

She said 52 per cent of females among them were 20,104 out-of-school children who now access informal learning classes and 16,630 children who transitioned into the formal education system.

She also said that no fewer than 29,000 youths out of which 55 per cent were females, gained employable skills through vocational training.

President Muhammadu Bihari yesterday assured the Bauchi State Government that his administration will give attention to its request for the completion of ongoing Federal Government projects that will enhance the well-being of the people of the state.

The President gave the assurance when he received the state’s governor, Bala Mohammed who led a delegation to visit him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The governor and members of the delegation were at the Presidential Villa on a thank-you visit in the aftermath of the presidential inauguration of the N23.5 billion World Bank-assisted Upgraded Bauchi Township Water Supply Scheme.

According to a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the inauguration of the project at the Gubi Water Treatment Plant in Bauchi was performed on May 19, 2022, by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha, who represented the President.

Addressing the delegation led by the governor, President Buhari thanked him for assembling a high-powered delegation for the visit and promised to look into requests by the state government to complete ongoing Federal Government projects.

The President commended Bauchi State for providing illustrious sons and daughters who are making invaluable contributions to his government and national development, singling out the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, for special mention.

“He has been my close associate for a very long time and he is a son of Bauchi,” President Buhari told the delegation.

The Bauchi State Governor said the state has ‘‘benefited so much’’ under the present administration, highlighting significant projects in the education sector, youth development, industrial training fund, agro-processing, infrastructure and housing scheme.

He commended the President for the establishment of the Federal College of Education, Jama’are, Air Force Institute of Technology Complex, Tafawa Balewa, Federal Government Science and Technical College Misau, Federal University of Health, Nutrition and Medical Sciences, Azare and support for primary education through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

The governor declared that through the support of the Federal Government, Bauchi State received N12 billion to build 2,500 houses across the emirates in the state.

“This is the first time we have a housing scheme running across the emirates and I know our monarchs here with me are most grateful to you and the Federal Government for this gesture,” he said.

Governor Mohammed told the President that, despite party differences, he is ‘‘loved and cherished’’ in the state because of his patriotism and insistence on prioritising the development of infrastructure in the country.

‘‘On oil exploration, we thank you for prioritising the exploration activities in the Benue trough and with this Bauchi and Gombe have been out on the map. We thank you for visiting the location of the exploration and your passion for its development,” he said.

The governor appealed to the Federal Government to construct the road from Alkaleri to Gombe-Abba because of oil exploration in the area and converting the Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Road to a dual carriageway.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Kaduna State, obtained the commitment of the Zazzau Emirate Council to reduce the rate of malnutrition in the state.

The NOA Director in Kaduna State, Alhaji Zubair Soba made this known yesterday after the advocacy campaign to Malam Ahmed Bamalli, the Emir of Zazzau in Zaria.

Soba said the advocacy visit was to seek the support of the council to work toward curtailing malnutrition and strengthening infant and maternal health in the state.

He said the advocacy became imperative “because the infant and maternal indices in Kaduna State are alarming, despite investments by the state government and development partners to tackle the challenge.

“The advocacy team intends to obtain suggestions from the council on better ways of encouraging men to key into the fight against malnutrition and other good reproductive health practices.”

He, therefore, commended the Emir for the warm reception given to the nutrition committee, which included officials from Kaduna State Government and relevant stakeholders.

Ms Chinwe Ezeife, the UNICEF Nutrition Specialist in Kaduna Field Office said the advocacy visit was to promote the consumption of nutritious foods that would enhance the health of women and children.

She noted that the advocacy had achieved remarkable successes in many areas, saying that the royal father’s pledge to influence behavioural change was a huge leap to healthy living.

She said the team was pleased that it had a dialogue with the Zazzau Emir and the entire district heads of the emirate, adding that “the district heads will, in turn, go to their districts, communities and catchment areas to mobilise other influencers to promote key messages with a view to reducing the malnutrition scourge.

“The advocacy was to create awareness on nutrition and utilisation of good natural foods and encourage breastfeeding in the first one hour of birth and exclusive breastfeeding for six months.”

The Technical Adviser Kaduna State Nutrition Action Plan Malam Sani Hassan said “99 per cent of women in Kaduna State are aware of the benefits of early initiation to breastfeeding and dangers of early weaning to the brain development of infants.

“Only 27 per cent of women practice exclusive breastfeeding in the state, while less than 50 per cent initiate breastfeeding within the first one hour after birth of a child.

“There is a huge gap between knowledge and practice, hence the need for your intervention to encourage and enlighten husbands to key into this initiative.”

In his remarks, the Emir of Zazzau, Malam Ahmad Bamalli, said the council has a good health structure and will deploy a similar strategy as used in polio to reduce malnutrition and improve maternal mortality indices in the state.

He said: “We will always support these kinds of initiatives, which are aimed at improving the health and welfare of our people, especially women and children.

The National Industrial Court yesterday ordered the Taraba State Government to immediately pay former Governor Jolly Nyame and three others, arrears of their pensions.

The other judgment creditors in the suit are Uba Ahmadu, Abubakar Armayau and Bilkisu Danboyi.

The court, in addition, awarded the sum of N500, 000 to the state government.

While delivering judgment on the matter, Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae held that the judgment debtors did not contest owing to the judgment creditors, having entered and signed an undertaking to pay their pension arrears.

The judge said the undertaking was signed in order to stop the enforcement of the judgment when the movable properties of the judgment debtors were taken by court officials.

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She further held that the judgment debtors submitted the same argument and authorities as cited by the garnishee debtor.

The judge, therefore, stated that there was no merit in their submissions.

Obaseki-Osaghae had earlier in the judgment, addressed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) preliminary objection.

According to the court, the objection raised by the apex bank that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the suit does not have merit.

CBN, in its objection, had argued that as an agency of the Federal Government, only a High Court could carry out a garnishee proceeding against it, as provided by Section 251, 1(d) of the 1999 Constitution, and Section 84 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act, which rules 2 and 3 of the Judgment Enforcement Rule, is attached to.

A garnishee proceeding is a judicial process of execution, or enforcement of the monetary judgment, by the seizure or attachment of debts due or accruing to the judgment debtor, which forms part of his property available in execution.

The court, in response, held that the court was not enforcing a Federal High Court judgment, but rather a judgment that was delivered by the same court.

The court equally held that it had the power to enforce the monetary judgment through a garnishee proceeding.

The judge also stated that the NICN had the same ranking as any High Court, and its judgment could be enforced in a garnishee proceeding.