Category: Northern Reports

Immediate past Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, Hon Wafarninyi Theman, has unveiled an 8-point agenda, promising one million jobs within four years if he is elected Governor.

Theman, who was a Minority Leader in the House of Assembly from 2011-2015 when he represented Hong constituency, said he would provide skills and entrepreneurial training as well as create a small business loans guarantee scheme to facilitate job creation.

Wafarninyi, at the official declaration of his governorship ambition in Yola on Saturday, said his agricultural model would be to modernise the sector and move Adamawa farmers from subsistence to medium/commercial scale farming by injecting N30 billion into a mechanisation programme to create agro-allied jobs.

He indicated that he would do all within his 8-point agenda covering human capital development, job creation, economy, health and environment, security and governance, educational technology, agriculture and food security as well as sports/entertainment/tourism.

In a separate development, a senatorial aspirant for Adamawa South District under Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Peter Fwa, has dismissed a rumour that he had dropped his ambition.

“I am still in the race and have not withdrawn on anybody’s instruction whether expressedly or impliedly,” Fwa said.

He told newsmen in Yola that he was resolute in his quest to be the next Senator for the southern zone and will not step down for anyone.

Fwa, a former official of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA), did not elaborate but our correspondent reports he has allegedly been asked to suspend his ambition for incumbent Senator Binos Yaroe who has gained some popularity in a serial free health outreach that has covered some 70,000 people in all the nine LGAs under the Adamawa South district.

Stakeholders in the health sector have advocated for a better accountability framework in order to guarantee better health care financing across the country.

They stressed that there is need to improve efficiency in the utilisation of public funds spent in the sector through the development and operationalisation of an accountability framework.

They further noted that while there are efforts geared toward raising the accountability bar for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and health financing by different stakeholders, there is an urgent need to harmonise and integrate existing accountability frameworks into one.

During a workshop tagged “Stakeholders’ Forum on Raising the Health Sector Accountability Bar,” organised by the Health Reform Foundation, the Executive Secretary of HERFUN Dr Celestine Okorie said: “Proper accountability will reposition the health care financing and go a long way to solving the inefficiencies in the health financing landscape.”

Dr Dogara Okara, who represented the Federal Ministry of Health, said the ministry identified that every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,800 under-five-year-olds, 110 women of childbearing age, making the country the second largest contributor to the under-five and maternal mortality rate.

He stated that the discovery led to the appropriation of funds by the Federal Government for the first time in 2018.

The Director of Special Duties from the Centre for Disease Control, (CDC) Dr Priscilla Ibekwe identified that the country is at risk of infectious diseases outbreak. She called for the conduction of Joint External Evaluations of Internal Health Regulations core capacities.

The Katsina State Pilgrims Board yesterday reminded intending pilgrims above the age of 65 that they would not be allowed into Saudi Arabia.

This is contained in a statement by the board’s Public Relations Officer, Alhaji Badaru Bello-Karofi in Katsina.

The board made this known during orientation for intending pilgrims and Islamic scholars in the state ahead of the 2022 Hajj operations.

The exercise, organised in Kankia and Dutsinma Zonal Centres, was aimed at enlightening the intending pilgrims on how to purify themselves ahead of the Hajj.

”Saudi Arabia has indicated that people above 65 years must not be allowed to perform Hajj this year and also reminded all intending pilgrims that full COVID-19 vaccination is compulsory.

“By full vaccination, I mean the three doses and of course PCR is mandatory,” the Chairman said.

”Saudi Arabia has indicated that anybody above 65 years must not be allowed to perform Hajj.

”All intending pilgrims must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. By full vaccination I mean the three doses and, of course, PCR is mandatory,” he said.

The Executive Director of the board Alhaji Suleiman Nuhu-Kuki commended the smooth conduct of the ongoing exercise in the Kankia and Dutsinma Zonal Centres of the state.

Nuhu-Kuki stressed the need for them to purify themselves ahead of the holy pilgrimage.

He said the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has fixed N2.5 million as a deposit for each intending pilgrim.

He said about 2,146 seats have been allocated to the state for this year’s Hajj operation.

Nuhu-Kuki said the increase in Hajj fare followed the hike in airfare and exchange rates of dollars.

On April 10, Saudi Arabia set an age limit of 65 for those travelling to the holy city of Mecca this year.

Nigeria has been allocated 43,008 hajj slots for 2022 with the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory getting 33,976 seats and private tour operators sharing 9,032 seats.

Kaduna State got the highest allocation of 2,491 seats while Abia got six with zero allocation to Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa.

The 2022 seat allocation was based on the performance of each state in the 2019 Hajj airlift.

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Northwest Zone yesterday commended the reconciliation initiative by the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

The reconciliation aimed at addressing internal disputes in the party in Zamfara State and in some states in the zone.

The Zonal Vice-Chairman and Secretary of the party, Malam Salihu Lukman and Bello Muhammad respectively commended Adamu’s overtures, the Zonal Publicity Secretary, Musa Mailafiya stated in Gusau.

He stated that the initiative recorded tremendous success in Zamfara as it resolved prolonged disputes between the factions of Governor Bello Matawalle and that of the former Governor Abdulaziz Yari.

“We extend our appreciation to the APC National Secretariat led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu and President Muhammadu Buhari for the significant role they played to actualise the reconciliation.

“We convey the gratitude and appreciation of APC leaders and members in the Northwest Zone for the exemplary leadership demonstrated in resolving the lingering crisis in Zamfara State.

“We acknowledge the role of all our leaders in Zamfara, notably, Governor Matawalle and former Governor Abdulaziz Yari, for accepting to negotiate and for accepting to make the needed sacrifices,’’ Mailafiya stated.

He stressed that the Zamfara agreement was a pathfinder for all states in the Northwest and, by extension, every part of the country with similar leadership challenges.

“We appeal to all party leaders to imbibe the spirit of give-and-take based on a commitment to provide selfless leadership to the APC and to Nigerians.

“The Northwest leadership of the party welcomes the Zamfara agreement as to the new political pathfinder for the APC in the country.

“We convey the commitment of all party members and leaders in the zone to replicate it in every state with similar challenges.

Youth leaders from the Southsouth yesterday called for the immediate payment of compensation to the people of Ogoni land for the loss of their livelihoods.

While appealing to the Federal Government to speed up the cleaning process, the youth leaders urged the government to support the vision of the people to stimulate economic activities.

They made this position known at the end of a one-day engagement on the United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) report on Ogoni clean-up yesterday in Abuja.

The leaders demanded a probe of the $366 million earmarked for the cleaning programme.

The communique was jointly signed by President and Chief Executive Officer, Ogoni Liberation Initiative, Dr Fabeke Douglas; Coordinator, Restore Nigeria Integrity Initiative, Comrade Victor Itsede; Executive Director, Initiative for Leadership and Economic Watch,Ambassador Splendour Agbonkpolor; President, Civil Society  Group for Good Governance, Comrade Dominic Ogakwu; Executive Director, Centre for Peace, Transparency and Accountability, Comrade Patrick Ogheneyero, etc. among others and Executive Director, Beam TV, Blessing Ambrose.

The youths bemoaned the nonchalant attitude of the government to the cries of the Ogoni people despite several court judgments in favour of their struggle.

They also called for a forensic audit of the UNEP initiated the programme as executed by the Hydrocarbon Remediation Program (HYPREP).

In its recommendations, the youth leaders urged the government to investigate the final declaration of the $366 million programmes and publish the names of all the companies involved in the final clean-up.

The communique added: “The government should carry out Field assessments of projects of HYPREP in Ogoniland to ascertain its adherence to the UNEP recommendations.”