Category: Northern Reports

The National Youth Service Corps has appealed to the National Assembly for support to establish a national trust fund which will provide capital for serving corps members to begin their businesses.

The organisation said a National Youth Service Corps Trust Fund (NYSCTF) will help to accelerate the growth of the country’s economy as well as drastically reduce restiveness, violence and criminal tendencies among the youth.

Director-General of the NYSC, Brig-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim said this at a symposium on the establishment of NYSCTF in Abuja.

The D-G said the outcome of the symposium will be forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration.

He said: “We have already forwarded a letter to the National Assembly and the communique from this symposium will be sent as well. This symposium will further buttress our zeal of establishing a Trust Fund but we need to let the public know and seek their support on the need to support the NYSC on this initiative.”

According to the D-G, the Trust Fund would support corps members trained under the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Programme (SAED) with start-up capital to establish their businesses.

He said: “We introduced the SAED for corps members so that as they exit the service year, they will have something to take home.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello said the NYSC has the capacity to drive Nigeria’s economic recovery process, especially through the empowerment of youths.

The Adamawa State Government has said it has detected four new cases of polio virus cases in the state.

The Executive Chairman of Adamawa State Primary Health care Development Agency (ADPHCDA), Dr Sulaiman Bashir, made the announcement of the fresh cases at a news briefing in the state capital, Yola to mark the 2021 World Polio Day.

Dr Bashie said: “Although, 99.9 per cent of polio has been wiped out with the oral polio vaccine, in rare cases when enough children are not reached, other forms of the virus will continue to circulate.”

According to him, although Nigeria was certified a wild polio-free country on August 25, 2020, the state recently recorded four new cases.

Our correspondent reports that the state had first announced polio case in August this year.

Read Also: 23 die of cholera in Adamawa

Dr Bashir said during the briefing yesterday that, “sadly, four cases of Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus type 2 (CVDPV) were reported in Adamawa.

He explained that one case was noted in Gombi Local Government Area (in the Northern part of the state) and three cases in Yola South Local Government Area (in the central zone of the state).

Bashir also said to overcome the problem of the spread of polio, two rounds of polio vaccination campaign which included outbreak response with the NOPV2 vaccine were conducted in the state.

He assured that his agency is committed to continue working with stakeholders at all levels to ensure vaccination of every child in the state.

The state coordinator of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Semeeh Omoleke affirmed the four cases of polio.

He said: “Nigeria is currently facing outbreaks of Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus and four cases were confirmed in Adamawa State.

Niger State Government and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) have reached a mutual agreement to move agricultural produce from the state to the Lagos Ports and markets by rail.

The agreement, when operational, would put an end to moving the farm produce exclusively by road.

Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani, who dropped this hint in Lagos yesterday during a visit to the NRC Managing Director Fidet Okhiria at the Corporation’s Lagos headquarters, said the purpose of the visit was to restart operations within Niger State.

“There are some areas in Niger State where vehicles cannot access, but trains can access such locations,” he said, adding that if the frequency of trains is increased, farmers will have access to train service, and this will help increase productivity.

He noted that if farm products are moved by rail, it will reduce farmers’ dependence on roads and, by extension, increase the lifespan of our roads, many of which are damaged by heavy-duty trucks.

Sani said NRC has an existing partnership with Niger State on passenger train operations from Minna to Kaduna and back, but that the purpose of the meeting was to see how the frequency and comfortability can be increased and improved respectively.

He said based on the partnership agreement under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), NRC is the operator while Niger State Government is the facilitator.

Sani described the recent train track explosion as unfortunate, saying the government is doing everything to ensure that security is strengthened on all the rail networks in the country.

The NRC Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, said the management has been discussing with Niger State Government on the Public-Private-Partnership with a view to delivering frequent service from Minna to Kaduna and Minna to the Inland Port facility at Baro.

He disclosed that the corporation plans to increase the frequency of its freight train service and maintenance of tracks and patrol.

Federal lawmakers from Gombe South Senatorial District have kicked against what they described as a “divisive plot by Senator Danjuma Goje to subvert a bill passed by the House for the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre in Billiri, Gombe State.

The members called on the Senate to stop further deliberations on a duplicate bill which seeks to establish the Federal Medical Centre in Deba instead of Billiri.

The members, in a statement, expressed strong condemnation of the new bill for a federal medical centre in Deba sponsored by Goje, in the same Gombe State whereas there is an already passed bill by the House of Representatives which is awaiting Senate’s concurrence.

The statement jointly signed by Victor Mela Danzaria, representing Billiri Federal Constituency, Karu Simon Elisha, representing Kaltungo Shongom and Senator Bulus Amos who represents Gombe South, urged the Senate not to be misled into perpetuating an injustice against the people of Balanga, Kaltungo, Shongom, Billiri and Akko who are the target beneficiaries of the FMC.

Read Also; Take-over of FMC by Katsina varsity for teaching hospital 75% done

“Senator Goje knows too well that the Federal Government cannot afford two federal medical centres in Gombe State,” they said.

The members wondered why Senator Goje would sponsor a duplicate bill that would deny the people in the affected five local government areas access to tertiary health care.

“Siting the FMC in Deba will only serve Gombe Central which comprised Yamaltu Debate and Akko both of which are only 20 minutes’ drive from Gombe town which has two existing medical centres, namely FMC Gombe which has been upgraded to a Teaching Hospital and a State Specialist Hospital.

Northwest states yesterday demanded the lion shares of Revenue Allocation for both states and local government areas, saying that the two arms of government should take 60 per cent while the Federal Government takes 40 per cent.

The Northwestern states consisting of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kebbi and Zamfara made this demand in their respective presentations at the zonal public hearing on the review of the current Revenue Allocation Formula, which held in Kaduna yesterday.

Kano State’s Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, expressed worry that the Federal Government was taking too much of the revenue than the states and local government areas, adding that “the Federal Government should take 41 per cent, states 34 per cent, and local councils  24 per cent. We need an independent one per cent for Kano State because it is a mini-Nigeria.”

Katsina State also called for 35 per cent for states, 25 per cent for local government areas and 40 per cent for the Federal Government, according to its Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Farouk Jobe.

Jigawa State Commissioner for Finance and Budget, Alhaji Ibrahim Babangida Umar  said states and local councils should take lion shares of the allocation for rapid development, proposing 44 per cent for the Federal Government, 34 per cent for states and 22 per cent for local councils.

Kaduna State Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mohammed Shuaibu said: “Certain percentage should be set aside for poverty/insecurity-ridden states, and 13 per cent derivation should remain, but extend to mineral resources also.”

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe said: “The Federal Government has acquired powers and resources similar to those exercised by the sovereign in unitary systems.”

Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Elias Mbam gave reasons revenue allocation has not been reviewed for 29 years contrary to constitutional provisions of every five year review.

Mbam disclosed that  the allocation was last reviewed in 1992.

Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 650 Pharmacies and Patent Medicines outlets in Kaduna State, some of which it said were illegally selling substances of abuse to the public, which in turn get to the hands of criminals.

The Council’s Registrar, Pharm. Elijah Mohammed, who announced this while addressing a press conference in Kaduna, said activities of many patent medicine shop owners and other medicine dealers have contributed in no small way to the security challenges across the country.

The PCN Registrar, who was represented by the council’s Director of Enforcement, Pharm. Stephen Esumobi, stated categorically that, “Some of the sealed stores illegally sell substances of abuse to members of the public for financial gains. Some of these substances eventually get into the hands of criminal elements who take them as confidence boosters before carrying out their operations.”

Mohammed disclosed that a particular drug which ought not to be dispensed over the counter has now found its way into the hands of criminals. “When they use this drug, they become very powerful; they can trek hundreds of kilometres; they don’t feel hungry or pain of any kind. That is why even when they are shot, they still keep fighting and don’t feel pain until they die.”

He said, “The PCN enforcement team has been on the field throughout the week visiting Zaria, Kaduna and environs. Observations from the field patent medicine shops revealed that owners of many patent medicine shops are engaged in the sale of medicines without regard to laid down guidelines.

“Many of the patent medicine vendors in the state are either unregistered or registered but operating far beyond their approved scope. Many of them sell medicines beyond their approved drug list, and since they do not have the requisite knowledge to handle ethical medicines and substances of abuse, the health of members of the public who patronise them is at risk.

“Furthermore, activities of many patent medicine shop owners and other medicine dealers have contributed in no small way to the security challenges across the country.

“At the end of the exercise, a total of nine hundred and twenty three (923) premises comprising seven hundred and ninety nine (799) patent and proprietary medicines vendors shops (POMVs) and one hundred and twenty four (124) Pharmacies were visited. Six hundred and fifty (650) premises, comprising sixty two (62) pharmacies and five hundred eighty eight (588) patent medicine vendors’ shops were sealed.

“Six (6) compliance directives were issued to premises for various offences, which include non-display of premises and pharmacists annual license, poor documentation and inadequate storage facilities while two arrests were made….”

The Federal Government has been urged to investigate its numerous youth empowerment programmes and interventions over lack of transparency and accountability.

Transparency organisation, Connected Development (CODE), who made the call said although most of these programmes and initiatives have good intentions, the implementation processes seem unclear to some Nigerian youths.

CODE said the programmes need to be straightened out to avoid demographic bomb with the growing population of youths in the country.

CODE’s Community Engagement Officer, Mukhtar Modibbo, made this call in Abuja at a one-day Public Hearing with the theme ‘Enhancing Youth Participation For Sustainable Development’.

According to him, report from CODE’s tracking of government projects in Akwa-lbom, Enugu, Borno, Kaduna, Lagos and Abuja uncovered lack of transparency on federal scholarship processes and list of beneficiaries.

He said, “The challenge of sustainability must come into play, as these initiatives would be at the mercy of every new government administration. There is the challenge of absence of transparency and accountability in these government initiative processes, as there have been claims and allegations of corrupt and sharp practices in the implementation of the initiatives and programmes.

“Although most of these programmes and initiatives have good and great intentions, the implementation processes seem unclear and uncertain to some Nigerian youths, who ought to be direct beneficiaries of these programmes.

“There has been so much focus at the national level and some bit of negligence at the sub-national level of government.

“The Nigerian government will have to triple its efforts in order to catch up with the rising population.

“Youth Schemes and Programmes such as the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund, COVID-Survival Fund and the most recent Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme as well as the states’ youth initiatives and empowerment programmes may be great steps towards solving enormous challenges before the Nigerian government but they are certainly not the holistic approach to solving the challenge of a demographic population that is on the constant rise.

Earlier in his welcome remarks CODE, Chief Executive, Hamzat Lawal disclosed that the body, with support from ActionAid, is leading the campaign using the Follow The Money (FTM) model to increase youth participation in governance processes.