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The police in Niger State have confirmed that gunmen killed two people at Kawure village in Shiroro Local Government on Sunday.

Police Commissioner Mr. Adamu Usman said that the gunmen came on more than 15 motorcycles to attack the village at about 8am.

“An old man, Gajere of about 65 years, a market chief and one Anatu, 46, first sighted the bandits and raised the alarm.

READ ALSO: Nigeria may lose Niger Republic’s $665m yearly energy cash

“The gunmen have camps in Rigeya and Shalope, which are mountainous in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. They came to the village on motorcycles,” he said.

Usman said that the command and military had launched a manhunt to track the attackers.

“We are doing everything possible to bring those behind the incident to justice,” he added.

He appealed to rural communities to report to the nearest security agency, any person or group of people with questionable character for prompt security response.

David Adenuga, Bauchi

Shelim, a rural settlement in Gamawa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, is a rustic backwater with over 1,000 residents.

It has been without any infrastructure for nearly 50 years

The dwellers in Shelim community are nomadic farmers, occupying a savanna farmland. They live mostly in huts and mud houses.

Only the village head owns a motorcycle with which he assists inhabitants during medical emergencies.

According to the village head, Saleh Ibrahim, the inaccessible health care facility in the settlement has posed a challenge for them.

” We have to go to Taranka or Bulkwachua to access health facility, which is almost 4 hours journey.

“The women in labour at times die on the way while some go unconscious become getting to the facility.”

But all of that have changed courtesy of the EU/ UNICEF Hard to Reach Services.

Through it, they access antenatal care and receive malaria, typhoid and pneumonia treatment.

They also get immunisation for the children.

”Our wives, children are being treated here , we don’t have to stress ourselves  to go into town, maternal mortality has reduced drastically since EU/ UNICEF intervention and our children no longer suffer from malnutrition,” he stated.

A mother of two in Shelim village,  Ramatua  Adamu, (22) said  at times they trek to access health facility until now.

Ramatua said: ” Now I get free drugs , we no longer trek to access health facility due to EU/UNICEF intervention”

Adiza Garba gave birth two months ago with the assistance of UNICEF midwives at home.

She said there was no way she could make it to the nearest health facility with the distance and the unmotorable road.

She said the antenatal care and drugs given by EU/ UNICEF aided the  safe delivery of her twin babies.

15-year-old Karamatu Idris said she delivered her two- month -old baby at home.

She said though she gave birth to her first child at a health facility, her second child was delivered at home with the assistancd of a UNICEF midwife.

She said the UNICEF Hard to Reach Mobile teams aided her safe delivery with the services rendered.

The Chairman Gamawa Local Government, Alh.Ado Lele   blamed paucity of funds for the inability of the council to attend to the plight of the dwellers in Shelim.

Speaking with our correspondent in a telephone interview, he said: ” We don’t have money to support them that is why we keep silent on this matter. Getting finance has been our major challenge.”

When asked if any attempt has be made to get assistance from the State Government, he said:  ” I don’t know if any letter has been written so far.  Let me contact the local government Director of Primary health care first and i will get back to you.”

The  Maternal and Child Health MCH) Coordinator of the UNICEF Hard to Reach Mobile Team in Gamawa LG, Sugura Umar,  said the EU/ UNICEF has made  tremendous efforts in reducing maternal mortality in the settlement.

She said: ” EU/UNICEF has made giant strides in seeing that there is a reduction in maternal mortality rate in the LG in developmental aspect especially in terms of  capacity building.

“Various programs like the  The Modified Life Saving Scheme ( MLSS) and prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV ( PMTCT), recruitment of  Community Resource Oriented Persons. (CORPs) and Hard to Reach teams have immensely contributed towards the reduction of maternal mortality by making health services available to the people in remote settlement.”

She added that EU/ UNICEF supply equipment to each health facility especially those in one Primary health care (PHC) per ward.

She said further that all coordinators of the UNICEF team are trained on mentorship and so many areas of intervention.

”Where a pregnant woman is enrolled into ANC ( Antenatal care) she is  given transport fare of N1,000.

“In  each of her recommended 4 ANC visits, she gets N4,000 when she delivers in the health facility and child receives first immunisation vaccines and N1,000 in each of the next 4 immunization schedules for the child.

“These amount to a total of N12,000 for one woman from pregnancy stage, through delivery to fully immunised stage of the infant.

”This strategy is designed to bridge the gap of financial barriers hindering pregnant women in remote communities from attending ANC; delivering in the hospital or fully immunizing their children against preventable diseases. Over 3,500 women have benefitted from the scheme in the 3 supported PHCs.”

Briefing newsmen at the UNICEF headquarters in Bauchi, The Chief of Field Office,UNICEF, Mr. Bhanu Pathak, disclosed that the EU-UNICEF Maternal, New-born, Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) Project in the state  UNICEF was funded  by  the European Union (EU) in 2017 to support Bauchi State implement health care services under the project Strengthening Primary Health Care and Community Resilience for Improved Maternal, New-born, Child Health & Nutrition (MNCHN) Outcomes in three Northern States of Nigeria.

READ ALSO: UNICEF laments high level of malnutrition in Bauchi

He said the 54-million-euro multisectoral health and nutrition project were being implemented across the three states of Adamawa, Bauchi and Kebbi by EU-UNICEF, supports Adamawa, Bauchi and Kebbi States to strengthen Primary Health Care (PHC) and Community Resilience for Improved Maternal, New-born, Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) Outcomes in the 3 States.

According to him, the goal is to significantly contribute to the reduction of maternal, new-born and child mortality and morbidity in the 3 States towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, with overall objective of improving the nutrition and health status of women and children through a sustainable primary health care delivery system and improved community resilience.

He mentioned several interventions being carried out to meet this objective in the state.

He said: “They include: Supply of standard equipment to all 323 main PHCs in the state (1 PHC/ward).

”Health workers were also trained to improve their capacities in delivering quality of care services in the PHCs, including Modified Life Saving Skills (MLSS), Quality of Care, Prevention of Mother-to-Child transmission (PMTCT), Integrated Management of Common Childhood illnesses (IMCI), Integrated PHC services, Health Management Information Systems”

”Free commodities  were also supplied to the main PHCs to ensure free treatment for all under 5-year-old children; free Ante-natal Care (ANC), hospital deliveries and post-natal care (PNC), including screening of every pregnant woman for HIV; and providing the ones confirmed positive with Antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission.

”Several integrated services including antenatcat care (ANC) management of labour and deliveries of pregnant women, immunization, nutritional screening,  among others were provided at the community level”

He further disclosed that 9 teams in these LGAs have attended to over 90,900 under 5 children, and over 8,500 pregnant women who have benefitted from one or more of the integrated services being provided.

Meanwhile, to address the challenges bedevilling the  heath sector Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State of recent  presented a total sum of N167b  for 2020 budget proposal before the Bauchi state House of Assembly.

The Ministry of Health has the second largest share with a total budget of N25.7bn to provide adequate  heath services for the people of Bauchi state.

The governor in his  first 100 days in office had said he will declare a state of emergency in the health sector .

He lamented the deteriorating state of the health care system in the state where he cited the dearth of manpower in health facilities across the state

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it will conduct its 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) between March 14 and April 4.

Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, JAMB Registrar, disclosed this while hosting State Commissioners of Education on Monday in Abuja.

Oloyede also said the registrations for its mock examinations would hold between Jan. 13 and Feb. 1, 2020 while the mock examinations would hold on Feb. 18, 2020.

He explained that the registration for the 2020 UTME and Direct Entry would also run simultaneously between Jan. 13 and Feb. 17, 2020.

According to him, the board is bringing in the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), as directed by the National Assembly and Federal Executive Council, to conduct the 2020 UTME.

He, therefore, urged prospective candidates to approach any NIMC enrollment centre to obtain the NIN to enable them register for the examinations.

“Everybody must rise up and support NIMC. We are also bringing in Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) to help in monitoring the Computer Based Centres (CBT).

“We also have the advantage of the Galaxy Backbone. Each of the CBT centres has been mapped with NIMC enrollment centres.

“Meanwhile, over 40 per cent of the candidates have already obtained their NIN.

“This will ease our job because those who have not been able to register can now be transported to NIMC centres at the point of registration,’’ the Jamb boss said.

The registrar also said the importance of a candidate registering with NIN was to eliminate multiple registration which was a problem during the 2019 registrations.

“Our experience last year showed that some candidates registered multiple times so as to perpetrate impersonation. We are aware that examination malpractices start at the point of registration.

“JAMB needs full collaborations of states education commissioners to help sensitise candidates in their various states on the need and importance of the NIN for 2020 registration.

“We have called you to inform you about our preparedness towards the conduct of the 2020 UTME and to pay attention to public examinations in your states and be conscious of proliferation of examination centres to perpetrate malpractices,’’ Oloyede said.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: 2020 UTME begins March 14, says JAMB

He explained that the board had put in place a Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) designed to prevent institutions from unilaterally changing or proposing a candidate for admission into the programme or courses other than his/her chosen course.

He explained that some institutions had devised a method of offering admission to candidates outside CAPS on their designated portals, saying any institution doing this was putting the future of such candidates into jeopardy.

He, therefore, said JAMB had mandated institutions to give preference to the candidates’ chosen courses.

On the news reverberated on social media of how one Miss Goodness Thomas who scored 302 was denied admission by the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Oloyede said she did not meet the merit score for admission for the chosen course.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Thomas had applied to study Medicine but was instead given Human Anatomy by the university.

Oloyede said: “The university did well by offering her Human Anatomy. She came third from Niger and the university picked the first two candidates from her state so she did not meet the merit score for ABU’’.

(NAN)

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met behind closed doors with the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Kayode Fayemi, as well as the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Sen. Atiku Bagudu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the president met separately with the two governors, with the first meeting with Fayemi at the president’s office.

Buhari later met with Bagudu, who was accompanied by his Jigawa counterpart, Abubakar Badaru.

NAN reports that the agenda of the two meetings were unknown to newsmen as at the time of filing this report.

The Faculty of Clinical Sciences, University of Ilorin, has introduced electronic attendance registration for students at lecture rooms and clinical activities.

Prof. Ibrahim Katibi, the Dean of the faculty, told newsmen on Monday that the e-attendance register was introduced to address students’ absenteeism and lateness to class.

Katibi said that learning medicine is, essentially, by observing and doing, reading and memorising.

“It is an art because you need to acquire some basic tools aside from the theoretical knowledge.

“If a student did not come around and watch how things are done, he or she won’t be able to acquire those skills,’’ he said.

READ ALSO: Tinubu, Onaiyekan, FRSC chief, others bag UNILORIN awards

The dean said that some students were found to have smuggled their friends’ names into the attendance list when the faculty was writing the attendance manually in notebooks.

According to him, this decision will stop that and everyone will be properly monitored.

He described the electronic attendance registration at lectures and clinical activities as a lofty one.

Katibi said that it would be difficult for anybody to sign on behalf of another with electronic registration, .

“Every student must be there personally to be captured.’’

 

(NAN)

The Federal Ministry of Health says it will implement the 2020 National Oral Health Policy, which will address the burden of oral diseases in the country.

An oral health policy helps to harness political, economic and socio-cultural factors at the individual, family, community, national and international levels.

Dr Bola Alonge, Head of Dentistry Division in the ministry gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Alonge said that stakeholders had on Dec. 17, reviewed the draft policy that was developed in 2012 and expired in 2015.

According to her, the policy when finalized, will produce 2020 National Oral Health Policy.

She said that the policy would be ready before the next National Council on Health in June, 2020.

In addition, she said that the ministry had been promoting oral hygiene across the country through its partners-Colgate and Unilever.

Meanwhile, according to the draft policy, since the development of the 2012 National Oral Policy, there have been more research-based evidence showing the rising prevalence and burden of oral health problems.

Oral diseases are most common non-communicable disease. They affect at least 3.58 billion people worldwide.

Caries(tooth decay) of the permanent teeth, being the most common caries of the primary teeth being the 10th most common of 328 conditions.

An estimated 2.4 billion people globally suffer from caries of permanent teeth, and 486 million children suffer caries of primary teeth.

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The prevalence of dental caries in Nigeria, ages five to 74 years old, from 5.5 per cent in Osun to 49.4 per cent in Kaduna State.

Also, epidemiology and clinical profile of oral cancer, shows that the disease is the sixth commonest cancer globally and the most common head and neck cancer, with a low five-year survival rate.

The reported prevalence of oral cancer, ranges from 2.7 per cent in South-East, to 7.6 per cent in North-Central, 19.5 per cent in North-West, 9.7 per cent -36.8 per cent in South-West and 18.7 per cent -21.1 per cent is South-South.

Most oral cancers can be prevented by avoiding risk factors, such as tobacco and alcohol use, excessive sun exposure, sexual acquisition of human papilloma virus, HIV, ingestion of smoked fish, dietary deficiencies and industrial pollution. (NAN)

Nicolas Kalu, Abuja

The Police Service Commission (PSC) has approved the promotion of 623 senior police officers to higher ranks.

A statement by the commission’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, said 40 Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) were elevated to Commissioners of Police (CPs); 98 Assistant Commissioners (ACPs) were promoted to Deputy Commissioners (DCPs) while 150 Chief Superintendents (CSP) were promoted Assistant Commissioners (ACPs).

READ ALSO: Yuletide: Kano police ready to provide security.

Also, 335 Superintendents (SPs) were elevated to the rank of Chief Superintendents (CSPs). The statement said the promotions were based on seniority, merit, availability of vacancies and clean record of service.

“The promotions were one of the highpoints of the seventh plenary meeting of the commission in Abuja between Friday, December 20 and Saturday, December 21, 2019 and presided over by the PSC Chairman Musiliu Smith, retired Inspector General of Police (IGP),” it said.

Smith urged the beneficiaries to rededicate themselves to greater commitment to national development by upholding the ethics and rules of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
He promised that the commission would continue to ensure that deserving police officers are promoted as and when due.

NO fewer than 60 children were abused by Marcial Maciel, founder of the ultra-conservative Catholic order Legionaries of Christ, an investigation has found.

The report, published by the Roman Catholic group, said 33 priests in the order abused at least 175 minors since it was founded in 1941.

In 2006, Maciel was ordered to retire to a life of penitence after years of allegations of sexual abuse of minors.

He died two years later at the age of 87 without facing his accusers.

“There are probably more cases of abuse than those in the report and the statistics will have to be updated regularly,” the report said.

READ ALSO: Kidnapped Catholic Priest regains freedom in Delta

It added that a process of “reparation and reconciliation” had begun with 45 of the victims.

According to the report, six of the 33 accused priests died without being tried, one was convicted, and one is currently awaiting trial – and has “already (been) removed from clerical status”.

Another 18 are still part of the organisation, but they have been removed from tasks where they interact with the public or with children.

The report added that 14 of the 33 priests were also victims themselves, which it said highlighted the “chains of abuse”, where “a victim of a Legionnaire, over time, becomes in turn an aggressor”.

After Maciel’s death in 2008, it was discovered that he had also fathered several children.

On Tuesday, Pope Francis declared that the rule of pontifical secrecy would no longer apply to the sexual abuse of minors.

The Church previously shrouded sexual abuse cases in secrecy, in what it said was an effort to protect the privacy of victims and reputations of the accused.

By Wilfred Frank Ogbotobo

As the All Progressive Congress (APC) prepares to take over the helms in Bayelsa State, all eyes are on the oil-rich enclave to see how the promised change shall begin to manifest. For a state that has had its own fair share of socio-political decadence and infrastructural decay orchestrated by bad leadership, Bayelsa is about to become the personification of the proverbial “silver lining”.

The Cambridge online dictionary defines silver lining as “a sign of hope in an unfortunate or gloomy situation”. On Saturday, November 16, 2019, Bayelsans in their God-given wisdom, decided to halt the 20-year-reign of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, and open a new vista to political equity and socio-economic security. As one of the founding members of the APC in Bayelsa, starting right from the days of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), I am convinced that we have a grip on the real situation in the state, and are ready to make a fundamental difference.

However, the ascendance of the APC and the new political trajectory did not happen in a vacuum. It took the hard work and political savvy of some key individuals to become a reality. Globally, in any movement there is always an arrow head. The set man that God used to give us this victory is the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and leader of APC in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva.

Many may not understand the crucial role that Sylva played for victory to come, until they call to mind that this is a man who is a privileged party leader and could decide to ride roughshod over others, as many politicians are wont to do in our clime. But he did not allow his position and influence to becloud his loyalty to his native land and to this party.

Even after growing the party from scratch to become a winning machine in the tortuous political terrain of the Niger Delta, Sylva yet found the finesse and wisdom to feel the pulse of the people and then sail with their wish. He then put his immense weight behind a seeming political feather weight, having the full philosophical consciousness that true democracy lies with the supremacy of the masses’ yearnings.

This is how history was made, and His Excellency, Governor-elect David Lyon, a beloved of the downtrodden and darling of the ordinary man, was chosen to lead our blessed state. To many, it was a shocking end to the ruling party, which had held sway unchallenged for close to two decades in a state that has always been of interest to Nigeria’s central government, because of its abundant oil and gas resources. The more reason why we shall count our blessings, bearing in mind that APC is also the party at the centre.

Therefore, now that we are triumphant, how would Bayelsans begin to see the silver lining in the horizon? First of all, I must state that everybody has a part to play. For the people, we must all deliberately wean ourselves of all the toxic modus vivendi of the outgoing government of the PDP, gathered and internalized in the past two decades. We must decide to look towards the future with hope, patriotism and equanimity. This is critical, because governance is a two-way road.

On the part of the political leaders and the incoming APC, they must embark on a deliberate reorientation to prepare for governance. Importantly, they must be ready to manage the expectations of the people that voted them. They cannot afford to take them for granted; there is so much at stake.

And for the privileged party leaders who have the influence to chart the course of progress, there is urgent need to understand the inherent greed of the elite. It is also germane to point out that the ordinary man in the street is now very politically aware, and their loyalty is volatile; this is basically how the recently concluded governorship election was won and lost. The actions and inactions of greedy elites is a crucial factor that could quickly erode the trust the incoming APC administration enjoys today. So, all efforts must be made to ensure that things are done differently to avoid the mistakes of past leaders.

Secondly, God has blessed our state with so much natural resources that it would require just little effort on the part of the incoming government to clean the flakes off the silver lining, and allow the people see their time of glory. This is why Governor-elect Lyon and his team need to live above the temptations of power. They should endeavor to avoid being dictated to by the appurtenances of office, which are transient, and listen only to the voice of the people that they are already used to. The truth is that it is actually easier to sustain the trust of the people – who genuinely voted for them – than to maintain the trappings of office – which is a stranger to them. Lyon’s new mantra should be, “no victor, no vanquished; Bayelsa first!”

Thirdly, the new APC government should concentrate on the economy, which is the livewire of good governance. We should deliberate on the areas where the state has a comparative advantage, that is agriculture and hydrocarbons. The state is littered with potential fishing hubs, with attendant characteristics and resources that can easily create robust agricultural value chain. What is needed is a holistic and people-focused development plan with a business model.

Similarly, in the area of hydrocarbon, the past administration neglected the transformation of the industry in preference for mainstreaming rent-seeking ideology. But we should do things differently, as hydrocarbon production has potential to ignite the development of a science and technology park in Bayelsa, bringing in international players and expertise. In this way, plastic, chemical and agro-allied products research and production will find an ecosystem to bloom, not only in the Niger Delta, but in the country in general.

Thankfully, the incoming government would have the ears of the federal government as our party is also the one in Abuja. A vertical development effort driven by Lyon and Buhari shall become a definite game-changer for Bayelsa and will catapult the young state into international limelight. This is the more reason why I suggest that President Muhammadu Buhari declare a state of emergency on Bayelsa Development. Moreover, it is also high time that the National Assembly also revisited the eight local governments of the state, and enlarge their number. In my view, the state was formed with less than the minimum required number of LGAs.

Finally, the incoming new administration must take advantage of the Brass liquefied natural gas. And, as the Senator representing Brass has already initiated in the National Assembly, it should be reassessed and action taken to utilize its every potential. This will create a lot of jobs and lift many people out of poverty, while assuaging the yearnings of restive Niger Delta youths.

In all, the APC led administration should adopt Bayelsa as its Niger Delta baby and adorn us with “coat of many colours” which will ignite the jealousy of non-APC states in southern Nigeria. It is our time to shine. And with our marine ecosystem, we are about to become the symbol of “resource blessing” and the Aberdeen of Nigeria.
•Ogbotobo, the DG of TimipreSylva Support Organisation (TSO), writes from Abuja.