The Nation Newspaper

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  • Court orders SSS, police to probe monarch’s kidnap

    The Federal High Court, Lagos, yesterday ordered the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Mr Ita Ekpenyong, and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, to investigate last year’s abduction of a monarch in Anambra State, Chief Lawrence Oragwu.

    Justice Mohammed Idris ordered the IGP to mandate a special unit of the police to begin or take over and conclude the investigation.

    He ordered the respondents to transmit to the court’s Registry a type-written report of their investigations “within three months”.

    Oragwu, a retired Deputy Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), was abducted with his driver by unknown gunmen on June 2, last year, in Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, on his way from a church.

    He was the acting Igwe of Adazi-Nnukwu in Anaocha Local Government Area.

    The judge noted that the respondents did not defend the action and, therefore, entered judgment in favour of the plaintiff, Mr Nnamdi Oragwu, a lawyer and the monarch’s son.

    Oragwu had told the court that a Toyota Hilux truck drove in front of his father’s car and blocked him and his driver. About four heavily armed men alighted, dragged the driver out, pushed the monarch into the truck and drove off.

    The abductors, he added, took away the monarch’s car.

    The monarch’s son said another person from a neighbouring village, who was also abducted by the same gang, escaped after disarming one of his abductors of an AK47 rifle, which had an inscription suspected to be from the military.

    The lawyer petitioned the SSS as well as the Chief of Army Staff on June 16 and June 21, last year. But they allegedly did not respond until a newspaper contacted the army.

    The family reportedly received an anonymous letter from someone claiming to be an army officer, who narrated how the kidnap plot was hatched and perpetrated, naming some participants.

    The letter, which was undated and unsigned, reads: “This is to inform the public and people of Adazi Nnukwu that the man they are looking for is dead. I am a soldier at Onitsha Barracks’ 302 Artillery Regiment. I participated in the assassination operation that was disguised as a kidnap.”

     

  • Ojudu mourns Sheila Solarin

    Senator Babafemi Ojudu (Ekiti Central District) has described the late Mrs. Sheila Solarin, wife of the late Dr. Tai Solarin, as “one of the people who took the Nigerian education system out of the doldrums”.

    In a statement yesterday, Ojudu said: “The late Sheila and her husband established Mayflower as the first secular school in Nigeria at a time when there was so much religious discrimination, thus giving every child access to quality education.

    “If not for Mayflower, many eminent Nigerians would not have been educated, owing to the religious discrimination in most schools at the time.

    “The late Sheila and her husband did not ask the pupils their tribe or religion. Everyone was welcome. They built the school with their sweat, including the furniture, which were later made from the trees the late Sheila planted.

    “Though a Briton, the late Sheila served Nigeria and Nigerians as though she ‘were one of us’. She and her husband were the voice of the downtrodden.

    Ojudu commiserated with the Solarin family, the Ogun State Government, Mayflower alumni and the staff and pupils of the school. He urged them to take consolation in the fact that the late Mrs. Solarin lives on in the hearts of all the kids she groomed into responsible adults.

     

  • ANA inaugurates teen authorship committee

    ANA inaugurates teen authorship committee

    At age 10, imagine how it would have been if you were holding the world in your hands. Well, even if such a dream had remained a wishful thinking that never came true for a grownup. It won’t be for children between the ages of 10 and 19 in secondary schools.

    “Now children the future is in your hands,” the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) General-Secretary, Baba Dzukogi told children at the inauguration of the National Teen Authorship Committee during the Writer-in-Focus organised by ANA Imo.

    “Now, you should not only dream of being a writer but you can now write and be published as a child in secondary school. ANA is out to encourage young creative minds. We are interested in investing in children for the development of tomorrow’s leaders.”

    According to Dzukogi, the major challenge facing a Nigerian child is the inability of leaders to create conducive atmosphere for him to explore his talent. He said while children must grow, teachers should equally be given full recognition to breed the children to a high pedestal.

    ANA executives urged older and established writers to be more involved in the mentoring younger and aspiring ones. Mentoring, they said, would encourage the young and aspiring writers in the development of their talents.

    ANA National Teen Authorship Scheme now gives children the opportunity of enjoying the mentorship from established writers, in addition to having their writings published and read by their mates and others at the young age.

    The scheme, Dzukogi, said, was inspired by its successful implementation in Niger State by the state’s chapter of ANA. Subsequently, he said ANA executives, led by Prof Remi Raji, decided to extend the project across other chapters. The nationwide project is sponsored the wife of the Niger State Governor, Hajiya Jummai Babangida Aliyu, who donated N1 million.

    The fund, according to Dzukogi, is being disbursed to the five benefiting states – Abia, Taraba, Katsina, Kogi and Osun. Each is given N150, 000 to publish anthologies for a selected secondary school in their states. He called for more sponsorship and partnership from corporate bodies and individuals to give boost the association’s various projects such as the scheme, adding that ANA hopes to extend it to other branches in future.

    Hence, he urged the beneficiaries to recoup the fund received. “The schools should see to the anthology of their students, sell to their students and the chapters is to recoup the money so that the money can be increased; and the scheme be extended to other chapters. Teen Authorship Scheme is meant to be in all the schools across the country. School management teams should assist in publishing the works of their students. You can set aside certain amount of money as a revolving scheme to the centre to publish students’ works either in anthology or individually in the name of your school. If you find it difficult to go about getting facilitators, ANA chapters will assist you” Dzukogi said.

    To coordinate the scheme, a four-man committee was inaugurated. It is headed by Kamar Hamza (ANA Niger) as the National Co-coordinator; and has Wale Adedoyin (ANA Oyo) as Secretary; Khalid Imam (ANA Kano) and Camillus Chima Ukah (ANA Imo).

    Hamza urged the children thus: “Creative writing is not magic, but a way of responding to issues in the environment.”

    The Vice President, Mallam Denja Abdullahi said members of the committee have been chosen because of their involvement in the mentoring of young writers. He added that the scheme is meant to ignite the spirit of creativity and culture of reading in children.

    He said: “The committee has been constituted on merit and members contributions to the development of teen authors in their state branches. By active and care mentoring of future writers, they stand inaugurated.”

    ANA, according to it executives, is set on mentoring younger writers. Aside the scheme’s inauguration, they also inaugurated art centres at CRM International College and Creativity Centre at the Logos International School, in the state.

    In their words: “Allowing children to grow creatively is the only way to proffer solutions to some of the problems faced in the country.”

    While inaugurating the centres, Abdullahi said such centres will go a long way in producing literary icons who will take after the elders. He called on the students to start contributing to the progress of the society through creative writing. Guests praised the former ANA Imo chair, Ukah, who established the centres, for his numerous contributions towards the promotion of creativity in schools.

    The event also featured interactions between staff, students and writers.

  • Police kill five ‘kidnappers’, ‘bank robbers’ in Rivers, Anambra

    Security operatives engaged in gun battles with suspected kidnappers and bank ‘robbers’ yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, and in Anambra State.

    At the end, five hoodlums – two bank robbers and three suspected kidnappers – were gunned down.

    The attempted robbery took place on Ada-George Road around noon yesterday. Bodies of the slain suspects were paraded at the headquarters of the Rivers Police on Moscow Road.

    The black Toyota Corolla car, with registration number: Rivers: BGM 896 AG, in which the suspected robbers were operating, was impounded, along with two AK-47 rifles and two fully-loaded magazines.

    Deputy Rivers Commissioner of Police Thomas Etomi, said riot policemen, well-trained in special protection, carried out the successful operation, without any casualty on the part of the security agents.

    Etomi said: “Enough is enough. A few criminals cannot continue to terrorise law-abiding people of the state. We have mapped out security system and strategies in Port Harcourt and its environs, to reduce criminal activities to the barest minimum, especially around commercial banks.

    “A vehicle with four men was suspected by policemen, but they verified what they saw. Two of them were displaying rifles. As the robbers were attempting to escape, our men shot at them and they returned fire. Two of them fell, while others escaped with bullet wounds.

    “Rivers State Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, is providing patrol vehicles for security agencies in the state. We must return Port Harcourt and its environs to the good old days and we are making progress, in our determination to make the state safe.”

    Etomi also admonished members of the public with useful information about criminals in their midst, to make such available.

    The Commander of the Nigerian Naval Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Commodore Vinci Fadeyi, has paraded four suspects who allegedly stole crude oil from a well head of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).

    The four suspects: Messrs. Richard Stawe Uwom, Daniel Godwin Pollyn, Jumbo Temple and Kayame Harry were immediately handed over to a team from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), led by Akubue Okechukwu, for further investigation and possible prosecution.

    The vessel used for the oil theft: MT African Hyacinth, formerly known as MT Oliver, which is a motor tanker, about 128 metres in length and 15 metres in breadth, flying Nigerian flag, was impounded by the navy.

    Commodore Fadeyi said: “The vessel has Mr. Adonye Wilcox Santos of Ship-Care Nigeria Limited as its agent. The ship allegedly sailed from Lagos to Port Harcourt for maintenance and anchored at Bonny (Island in Rivers State, base of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, NLNG).

    “On September 30, 2012, the vessel proceeded to Ererekiri Creek in Bonny and connected its hoses to SPDC’s well head 2, in an attempt to steal crude oil.

    “At about 0100 (1 am), while siphoning the crude oil, the vessel caught fire, the inferno that ensued, killed some of the perpetrators, while one sustained about 30 degree burns. The number of crew affected in the inferno could not be ascertained.”

    The commander also stated that the Base Intelligence Officer of Forward Operating Base (FOB), Bonny was informed that there was a patient in Channel Clinic with fire burn injury and on investigation, it was discovered that the patient was linked to the fire outbreak on the vessel.

    Upon further investigation, Fadeyi said four persons suspected to be linked with the fire incident were arrested and brought to NNS Pathfinder for investigation and were subjected to interrogation, to ascertain their level of involvement in the crude oil theft.

    While receiving the suspects, the leader of the EFCC team (Okechukwu) assured that the anti-graft agency would conduct further investigation and possible prosecution of the four suspects.

    All the suspects, in separate interviews with reporters, claimed that they were innocent and wrongly arrested for a crime they did not commit.

    Dare devil kidnappers engaged members of the Anambra State Anti robbery Squad (SARS) in a gun duel that lasted for over one hour, during which three suspected-kidnappers were killed.

    The police said, one of their victims, Rev. Fr. C. Okoye of the Catholic Arch Diocese of Onitsha was rescued with another victim Onyekwelu Jonathan Eledu.

    Also, six other kidnap suspects have been arrested by police in their different hide outs in the state.

    The police said the killed suspects were members of the dreaded gang of the Oraifite Kingpin, Olisa Ifedika (aka- Ofeakwu).

    They were said to be responsible for most kidnappings in the state and environs. The Orsumoghu detention camp of the suspects in Ihiala Local government area has been dismantled.

    Before the rescue of the priest, the hoodlums, it was gathered, demanded a ransom of N20 million from their victim’s family.

    The police said it had arrested fourteen armed robbery suspects in the state since October 1. Two other robbery suspects were killed in a gun battle.

    The items recovered from the kidnap suspects yesterday are two- AK 47 riffles, one rocket launcher, one rocket, four rocket propellers, 18 AK 47, magazines and 300 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition.

    Police spokesman Raphael Uzoigwe said the operatives are working to track down the fleeing wounded members of the syndicate.

    “We want to make sure that these hoodlums are all flushed out in Anambra state before the yuletide period, the state police is working every day and night on this issue.

    “We are not relenting in making sure that the state is free from all manner of crimes, this is just the beginning,” Uzoigwe said.

     

  • Many varsity teachers don’t have PhD, says Okojie

    The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Julius Okojie, yesterday said about 60 per cent of university teachers don’t have doctoral degrees.

    He added that the situation is worrisome and has been impacting negatively on research in the universities.

    Okojie said this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital at the 28th convocation of the University of Ilorin.

    He asked: “How can we do research? You cannot go to war without generals.

    “I am glad that UNILORIN has produced 83 PhDs today.

    “Recently government has thought of building capacity. You cannot give what you do not have. We must endeavour to ensure that we have what it takes to replicate ourselves.

    “Government is trying to revamp the university system.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Fashola renews fight against child-maternal mortality

    Fashola renews fight against child-maternal mortality

    The Lagos State Government said eight mother-child hospitals have taken off in the state to help fight high rate of infant and maternal mortality.

    While six of these hospitals have since taken off, contract for additional two located in Badagry and Epe have been awarded, and work is beginning soon.

    Giving a status report on the state’s preparedness to meeting the Millennium Development Goals IV and V, Governor Babatunde Fashola said never again would any mother be allowed to die in the process of giving birth in the state.

    He spoke to a large crowd of stakeholders and other health workers at the Blueroof auditorium of the LTV while presenting the status report on the sector last Friday.

    The governor said between 2010 and June this year, the five Mother and Child Hospitals have delivered 45,249 babies, out of which 15,050 were delivered through the caesarian section and 29,497 were normal deliveries. He said within the same period, a total of 415, 259 women have been attended to in ate-natal clinic visits.

    The hospitals already in operation, Fashola said are located at Gbaja, in Suru-Lere, Ikorodu, Ifako-Ijaiye, Isolo, Ajegunle, while work is ongoing at Amuwo-Odofin and Alimosho.

    Each of the hospital complex, he explained, is a four-storey building, designed to contains 110 beds, two surgical theatres and seven consulting rooms.

    Fashola said to further reduce the distance and access of expectant mothers and babies to hospitals government has concluded plans to upgrade at least one of the primary health care centres in all the 57 local councils in the state into a 24-hour health facility.

    Fashola who took a retrospective look at the programme said it is a project aimed at expanding the frontiers of the comprehensive health reforms that started in 2007.

    “The government intends to provide one model Primary Health Care Centre that will be open 24 hours everyday,in each of the 57 local councils. The first five are ready to take-off, while others are in various stages of renovations.

    Shedding more light on the other components of the health reform, Fashola said the state has enacted laws to protect pregnant women from being denied financial support which is critical to access to good nutrition by the men who impregnate them, just as there is also a law for the protection of women who suffer post-delivery depression.    The Governor said as progress is being made to overcome non-communicable diseases and the risk they pose to pregnant women, government would continue to reduce the distance between the pregnant woman and the hospital.  “At the time I was born, only the Lagos Island Maternity (where I was born); and Ayinke House in Ikeja were the preferred facilities for women who lived in places like Badagry, Ikorodu, Epe and other far flung places in Lagos. This would be corrected once these model PHCs takes off,” he said.

    He added that the government will not spare any tax payer’s income entrusted to it in order to give life to the vessels of life and protect God’s precious gifts to mankind.

    To further strengthen safe deliveries the government, Fashola said, has trained 2,350 traditional birth attendants, (TBA), and 231 other health workers on Emergency Obstetrics Care, 121 Local Government Health workers on Essential Newborn Care and 51 health workers on Contraceptive Logistics Management system.

    The Governor who also launched the home based Maternal and Child Health hand books as an integral part of sensitisation and enlightenment towards maternal and child mortality reduction directed that it should be issued free to any pregnant woman when they get registered for Ante-Natal care.    He explained that the Maternal Health handbook contains a complete medical and obstetric history of the woman for four pregnancies and thus ensure continuum of care wherever she seeks medical services and intervention and also provides information on danger signs in pregnancy, family planning, nutrition in pregnancy, exclusive breast feeding, birth preparedness and complication readiness which are all aimed at improving her knowledge and health seeking behaviours.  “Our women of reproductive age are advised to carry the handbooks at all times during pregnancy. If properly used by all mothers in the State, it could serve as an important means to assess epidemiological characteristics of the pregnant population, necessary for deciding priorities, planning and budgeting from a public health perspective.”

    He said the project launch would be followed by town hall meetings in all the Senatorial districts of the State to further disseminate the goals and objectives of the programme and encourage the use of the handbooks.  “Local Government Chairmen and their spouses are expected to mobilise their constituencies to translate to the utilisation of the services being made available”, he said while also expressing the hope that the Civil Society Organisations will continue to protect the interest of consumers by serving as independent monitors and watchdogs of the programme”.   Governor Fashola restated that the Millennium Development Goals number four and five are minimum development goals in Lagos State which would be achieved and also commended the Maternal and Child Mortality Reduction (MCMR) Ambassadors who have accepted to take on the task of championing the cause.

    Earlier in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris expressed optimism that with the formal launch, gaps in maternal, newborn and child health service delivery will be tackled, with resultant impact on the health indices of the mothers and children.

    He added that the State will continue to increase her investments in the human resources for health, infrastructural upgrade of health facilities and advocacy relevant to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health.

     

     

     

    The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu who was represented by the Chief Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Professor Akin Osibogun commended the efforts of the government of Lagos State for the well being of the mother and child.   The Minister said the Maternal mortality rate in Nigeria is one of the highest in the world and is one of the reasons that has compelled the Federal Government to put several measures in place to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

    In a message of goodwill from the United Nations Organisations like the United Nations Children Educational Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Olubunmi Asha, reiterated the commitment of the United Nations to continue to support the people and government of Lagos to ensure that every birth is safe and that every woman and girl child is treated with dignity and respect.   She added that the United Nations agencies will also ensure that every child is born safely to fulfill his purpose and destiny in life.

    Also speaking, one of the Maternal Child Care Reduction Ambassadors and former Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, congratulated the State Government for investing in Maternal and Child Care Mortality Reduction.   She also enjoined women to take advantage of several Primary Health Centres around them and urged the women to ensure that as they leave the venue of the programme, they spread the news on behalf of the government to others.

    The overview on the Maternal and Child Mortality Reduction Programme was presented by Professor Bamdele Osinusi while the overview on Maternal Booklet and Child Booklets were presented by Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora and Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa respectively.   Prominent among those who attended the programme were the First Lady Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, former Deputy Governor, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, members of the State Executive Council including the Special Adviser on Public Health, Dr Yewande Adeshina, House of Assembly member, Hon Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, Chairman of Local Government Councils, the Akran of Badagry, Aholu Menu Toyi I, other traditional rulers and several stakeholders in the health sector.

     

  • Collapsed bridge delays train services

    The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC)has said that the collapse of the a railway bridge in Minna, had stalled the movement of goods and passenger services train from Lagos to Kano.

    The Managing Director of the corporation,Mr Adeseyi Sijuade, disclosed this when the Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, led the Good Governance Team on a visit to the area.

    The team visited the completed project site of the two railway bridges that were washed away by flood three years ago.

    Sijuade said that the two collapsed railway bridges at Akere,had now been completed and certified by the government inspector of railway.

    “The good news is that it was earlier this week that the government inspector of railway certified the completion of the Akere Bridge.

    “Starting from next week, we will introduce our goods and passenger services train from Lagos to Zungeru.

    According to him, trains currently move from Minna to Kano.

    He, however, said that the current problem was the collapsed bridge at Minna.

    “The problem now is a collapsed railway bridge at Minna which is being addressed.

    “Once it is done in the next three weeks, trains can now move from Lagos to Kano,’’

    Responding, Maku said that the visit had shown that the Federal Government was sincere in its promise of reviving the rail transport system in order to ease pressure on the roads and boost economic activities in the country.

    “What we did today was a demonstration ride to confirm to Nigerians that the rehabilitation of the railway has moved from Lagos to Zungeru in Niger state.

    “It means that we can now move our goods and services regularly from Lagos to Zungeru due to the completion of the rehabilitation of Akere bridge,’’ he said.

    The minister expressed optimism that by the end of November, the rehabilitation work would be completed between Zungeru and Minna, to enable trains to move directly from Lagos to Kano.

    Also speaking, Malam Mohammed Garba, the National President of the NUJ, praised the Federal Government for reviving the rail transport to ease pressure on the roads, thereby boosting economic activities in the country.

    “The NUJ strongly believes that if there is one area where Mr President is doing well, it is in the area of rail transport.

    “We are really impressed with the high quality job,” Garba said.

     

  • Nigeria to hold oil licensing round by year-end, says Alison-Madueke

    Nigeria will hold its first oil exploration bidding round in the last five years by the end of this year.

    The licence renewal talks with Shell and Chevron on existing onshore fields are in their final stages, the Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke said yesterday.

    The country’s light, low sulphur crude oil is popular with United States and Asian buyers, but oil majors say uncertainty over changes in regulation in a proposed oil bill and insecurity in the onshore Niger Delta are holding back new investment.

    “We expect within the next couple of months a marginal bid round will be announced. We hope a major bid round will follow before the end of the year,” Diezani Alison-Madueke told Reuters in an interview.

    Some industry experts have questioned why licences are being renewed before parliament has passed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which will adjust terms on these types of contracts. “It would have become slightly cumbersome to keep waiting on the PIB before the renewals,” Alison-Madueke said in reply.

    Meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell cannot yet say when a force majeure on two grades of Nigerian crude oil will be lifted, after production stoppages caused by theft and flooding cut up to 20 percent of exports from Africa’s top supplier.

    Shell said its Nigerian venture had declared force majeure on exports of the Bonny and Forcados crudes on Friday, citing damage caused by thieves and flooding affecting a third-party supplier it did not identify.

    “Shell cannot yet say at this time when the force majeure will be lifted,” Shell spokesman Precious Okolobo said by telephone on Tuesday, declining to give further details. Shell is Nigeria’s biggest oil operator. Nigeria’s oil is exported to the United States, Asia and Europe and supply disruptions can affect world prices because it is priced against the Brent oil benchmark. Brent fell by $1.70 a barrel to below $108 on Tuesday, a smaller decline than the U.S. crude benchmark.

    Separately, French oil company Total on Tuesday told Reuters it had stopped oil and gas production from its onshore OML 58 block due to flooding. The block, in which Total has a 40 percent stake, normally produces the equivalent of 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil.

  • Police release detained journalist in Osun

    Mr Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Osun State Correspondent of The Sun Newspaper, who was arrested and detained on Monday by the state Police command, has been released.

    Gbolagunte was detained for several hours at the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Osogbo over a report which the Police criticised.

    Mrs Kalafite Adeyemi, the Commissioner of Police, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the matter had been settled while the case file had been closed.

    Mrs. Adeyemi said Gbolagunte was arrested in connection with the aftermath of students’ protest in Ila-Orangun College of Education in which he reported that one policeman died.

    She clarified that no officer died and no corpse was found anywhere in the town as reported in the newspaper, stressing that the report jolted the police.

    The commissioner, who cautioned reporters in their news reportage, called for full investigation of stories so as to avoid publishing lies to the public.

    Gbolagunte had recalled how the Police asked him to write a statement on what he knew about a story captioned: “Police Officer found dead after Osun students riot” on Friday.

    He recalled how he was arrested and whisked away by detectives without telling him his offence and how he was lumped up with suspected criminals in a cell.

    “The suspects gave me two slaps and hit me in the chest for not giving them the money they demanded as a new comer in the cell,” the journalist lamented.

    Gbolagunte said his release was due to the intervention of Alhaji Ismaila Ayodele, the chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), top government officials and fellow journalists.

  • Kogi to re-organise emergency agency

    Kogi to re-organise emergency agency

    Kogi Deputy Governor Mr Yomi Awoniyi, says the state government will reorganise its Emergency Management Agency to increase its capacity to respond to emergencies and disasters.

    Awoniyi, in a press statement issued by his Press Secretary, Mr Michael Abu, in Lokoja, said this when he received a delegation of UNICEF officials from Kaduna State.

    The UNICEF officials were in the state to assess the current flood disaster which ravaged parts of the state.

    Awoniyi disclosed that the state government had concluded arrangements to begin the process of cooking for displaced victims within their camps, rather than the daily sharing of raw foodstuffs.

    “We discovered that people now impersonate to collect food stuffs,” he said.

    The deputy governor said the state had prepared ahead for the flood but its magnitude was beyond its capacity.

    He disclosed that the state would partner with both the Federal Government and UNICEF to expand and strengthen of the State Emergency Management Agency to be more proactive.

    Awoniyi thanked the Red Cross International which had been assisting the state to build new camps with the use of tents, across the state.

    Earlier while speaking, the leader of the UNICEF delegation, Mr. Raymon Akor, said he had visited several camps in the state.

    He promised that the organisation would give more assistance to the state towards the upkeep of the victims.