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Tag: Edo State

  • Shaibu advocates more budgetary allocation for military

    Edo State Acting Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, has called for more budgetary allocation for the Nigerian military to enable it effectively combat the security challenges confronting the country.

    The acting governor made the submission during a courtesy visit by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Yusuf Buratai, to the Government House, in Benin City, on Monday.

    He noted that the Nigerian Army has restored hope to Nigerians as a result of their role in sustaining peace and stability in the country, noting that their effort has contributed immensely to the peace enjoyed across the South-South.

    “Thank you for what you have done in the North-East and we also appreciate you for the peace in the South-South.

    “Your leadership has ensured a cordial relationship between the Army and civilians. You have reinforced the rules of engagement in our system and it has given us a good image in  the international community,” he said.

    On budgetary provision for the Army, the acting governor urged members of the National Assembly to increase funding for the military to enable them discharge their duties effectively.

    Read Also: Edo agog as Shaibu leads Buhari’s victory celebration

    “Edo State Government joins in the appeal to members of the National Assembly to increase the military budget so they can effectively deal with the security issues confronting the country,” he noted.

    He assured that the state government will contribute to ensuring a successful burial ceremony for late Gen. David Ejoor, who served as the sole administrator of old Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States).

    Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai, said he is on a visit to the state to deliver an inaugural lecture at the Center for Security Affairs, in Igbinedion University, Okada.

    He said he will also pay a condolence visit to the family of late Gen. David Ejoor, who served as Chief of Staff, Nigerian Army, between January 1971 to January 1975, adding, “The loss of late Gen. Ejoor is a sad moment not only for Edo and Delta states or the Army but for Nigeria. We request the full participation of the Edo State Government to ensure a successful burial.”

    Buratai noted that he will use the opportunity to tour some military formations and units in the South-South region to review their general administration and operational capabilities.

     

  • Edo 2020: APC passes vote of confidence on Obaseki

    Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has passed a vote of confidence on Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    It said the unprecedented achievements of winning all the 24 seats in the State House of Assembly was a referendum of the administration and performance of Governor Obaseki.

    This was contained in a statement signed by State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Chris Azebamwan after the APC’s State Executive Committee meeting.

    Read Also: APC’s claim on my birth is ridiculous, pedestrian, says Atiku

    The statement said the party would continue to sustain its commitment to give Obaseki the needed support to keep it focused and on track.

    It reads in parts: “Members congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari for his well -deserved victory and the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for the overall success of the Party in the general elections nationwide.

    “Members also noted the role of the party’s leadership in guiding our members at the National Assembly in relation to their leadership as both desirable and commendable.”

  • ‘Edo is investing in Primary Healthcare to address basic health needs’

    Edo State Acting Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, has said the state government’s focus on the primary healthcare sector is aimed at meeting basic health needs and relieving pressure on tertiary healthcare institutions in the state.

    Shaibu said this during a courtesy visit by a delegation of the Congolese Embassy led by the Congolese Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Jacques Obinza, at the Government House, in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

    The acting governor said any nation that wants to survive must invest in its people, noting, “We are taking our Primary healthcare seriously. We are experimenting with 20 Primary Healthcare Centres across the state. Our focus is to bring quality and affordable healthcare closer to the people. Success in this will mean a lot for the tertiary healthcare sector.”

    “We welcome you to our state and we are happy that you are here for a cause we believe in, which is bone marrow transplant. We are equally happy that our son is at the forefront, leading research on bone marrow transplant.”

    Read Also: Edo farmers get N5bn investment

    The acting governor assured the Congolese Ambassador of the state government’s readiness to collaborate with his country to drive development, noting, “We are building infrastructure to ensure we create the enabling environment to woo investors to the state. If we are able to collaborate and do exchange programmes, the African economy will certainly grow.”

    Ambassador Jacques Obinza said he is in the state to assess the facilities at the privately-managed sickle cell centre, CELLTEK Health Care Center, which has recorded successes in bone marrow transplant, so as finetune arrangement on collaboration and training, with a bid to ensuring a similar centre is established in Congo.

    Obinza said, “I am here to ensure improvement in the health sector of the Congo. I am here to visit the sickle cell centre in Benin City, to see the facilities on ground and possibly sign an agreement to train our people in bone marrow transplant.”

    Medical Director, CELLTEK, Prof. Godwin Bazuaye said the visit was a follow-up to his visit to the Congo where he delivered a paper on bone marrow transplant, which attracted the country’s interest in wanting to collaborate with Nigeria to assist them in establishing a sickle cell centre to treat bone marrow issues.

    Prof. Bazuaye said the first bone marrow transplant was done at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) Nigeria in 2011 on a seven-year-old girl. He said the process was on for four years but stopped due to funding and logistics.

    “We have done six successful bone marrow transplants in CELLTEK in Benin City and have achieved 100 per cent success. We have patients from Ghana and two other African countries. We intend to make Edo State a hub of bone marrow transplant in Africa,” he added.

     

  • Edo farmers get N5bn investment

    The Edo State Government has said it is investing N5 billion drawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchor Borrowers programme on development of over 10,600 hectares of land, which will guarantee farmers in the state access to funding to boost productivity.

    Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Prince Joe Okojie, disclosed this after sensitisation workshops for farmers who are to benefit from the programme in Ekpoma, Usogbenu and Illushi, during the Edo Central Senatorial district leg of engagement with the farmers. The farmers to benefit from the programme are drawn from all senatorial districts in the state.

    Okojie said N1.2 billion would be expended on rice farming in Iguariaki, Iguomon, Illushi, Agenebode and Warake and on maize cultivation in Ekpoma, Usugbenu and Sobe.

    “We have set a target to harvest 17,000 metric tons of rice by cultivating 4,000 hectares of land and 11,000 tons of maize by cultivating 6,600 hectares of land at the end of the planting season in 2019. We took about N5bn under the Commercial Agric Credit Scheme, about N2.2bn is for crop production, N2.3bn for land development and about N100m for irrigation,” he explained.

    Read Also: Edo debunks fake recruitment exercise

    He said the investment is aimed at producing millionaire agriprenuers by helping them scale up their production through mechanisation, noting, “We have employed the services of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) as our technical partner. NIRSAL is going to bring on board a lot of agronomists who will help our farmers.

    “We want to deploy best practices for the cultivation of the crops this season and hope that we get better yield than the one that we got two years ago.”

    Field Officer, NIRSAL, Mr. Paul Jatau, said NIRSAL is partnering with Edo State government to provide technical support and inputs to the farmers, urging farmers to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the programme to scale their operations into commercial enterprises.

     

  • Edo secures N5bn loan for rice, maize production

    Edo State Government has secured N5bn loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Commercial Agric Credit Scheme for rice and maize production across the three senatorial districts.

    It is targeting to harvest 17,000 tonnes of rice and 11,000 tonnes of maize by cultivating 6,600 hectares of land at the end of planting season in 2019.

    Giving a breakdown of how the loan would be expended, Special Adviser to Governor Obaseki on Agriculture, Food Security and Forestry, Prince Joe Okojie, said N2.2bn would be used for crop production, N2.3bn for land development and N100m for irrigation.

    Prince Okojie spoke to newsmen after sensitising 200 farmers at Illushi, Esan South East local government area on how they would assess the loan.

    He explained that N1.2bn would be used to cultivate rice in Iguoriakhi, Iguomon, Illushi, Warrake and Agenebode while Maize would be cultivated at Usugbenu, Sobe and Ekpoma.

    He said: “We hope to produce millionaire farmers this year. We do not anticipate a drop in the price of rice.

    Read Also: Edo debunks fake recruitment exercise

    “We are hoping that we are able to produce about 17,000 metric tonnes cultivating about 4,400 hectares of rice farm.

    “We took about N5bn under the Commercial Agric Credit Scheme. About N2.2bn is for crop production, N2.3bn is for land development and N100m for irrigation.

    “We are not doing cassava now but maize. We are looking to cultivate about 2,200 hectares and we are hoping that we will be able to harvest approximately 11,000 metric tonnes.

    “We have engaged a lot of agronomists. We have employed the services of NIRSAL (Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending) that is going to be our technical partner and they are going to bring on board, a lot of agronomists that will help us.

    “We are trying to see how we can deploy best practices for the cultivation of the crops this season and hope that we get better yield than the one that we got two years ago.”

     

     

  • Edo boosts WASH programme in three LGAs

    Edo State Acting Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu has presented keys of three Hilux Vans and three motorcycles to the chairmen of Orhionmwon, Uhunwonde and Owan West Local Government Areas, to strengthen the delivery capacity of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme in the councils.

    During the presentation of the vehicles and motorcycles, at Government House, in Benin City, Shaibu urged the local councils and other government officials to make judicious use of the vehicles and motorcycles for the benefit of their people.

    He noted, “These vehicles and motorcycles are meant for WASH unit coordinators in the various councils and it is strictly for monitoring WASH programmes in the various LGAs. The coordinator should know the importance as the vehicles are not ceremonial but meant for monitoring and reporting findings of the progress of the programmes to provide succour to the people.”

    Read Also: Obaseki harps on restoring Edo’s glory in sports development

    Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, Mrs. Akongie Usiriedo Oboh said the vehicles and motorcycles were procured through a collaboration between Edo State Government, European Union (EU) and UNICEF as part of efforts to provide water in rural areas and small towns in the state.

    She noted, “We have been able to provide sanitation and water facilities in Ovia South West, Etsako West, Orhionmwon, Uhunwonde and Owan West LGAs. We have been able to provide over 200 sanitation facilities, 60 water facilities in the two phases in the mentioned LGAs.”

    Chairman, Uhunwonde local council, Napoleon Agbama expressed appreciation to the acting governor for the vehicles and motorcycles, assuring that the councils will ensure they are put to proper use.

    Agbama added the chairmen of the benefitting councils

     

     

  • Lawmaker drums support for Obaseki’s second term

    Chief Whip and member of the Edo State House of Assembly representing Oredo East Constituency, Hon. Osaigbovo Iyoha has applauded Governor Godwin Obaseki for the even spread of development across the state, which he said contributed to the overwhelming victory recorded by the All Progressives in the State House of Assembly elections.

    Iyoha made the submission at an event to celebrate the landslide victory of the APC in the March 9, 2019 State House of Assembly polls in the state.

    Iyoha and other leaders of the APC in Oredo ward II pledged continued support for the success of the Governor Obaseki-led administration in the state.

    He said “APC candidates for the State House of Assembly, emerged victorious in the election, so we are here to thank our ward members for producing the highest number of votes. Their overwhelming votes show that they truly support Governor Obaseki.”

    Read Also: Can Obaseki win the war on cultism?

    The lawmaker said members of the APC in Oredo Ward II have resolved to support Governor Obaseki for a second term based on his track record, adding, “For the first time in the state, we are seeing sanity restored to the public space. There is also ample infrastructural development. We are telling the governor that we support him and will mobilise everybody to support his re-election.”

    Ward 2 Chairman of the APC in Oredo LGA, Hon. Osagie Edosomwan, said the victory party was organised by leaders of the party in the area to appreciate members and supporters for their hard work, dedication and commitment in ensuring the victory of the party during the State House of Assembly polls.

     

  • Obaseki harps on attaining Universal Health Coverage in Edo

    Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has assured of his administration’s commitment to attain Universal Health Coverage with ongoing reforms in the health sector, which are geared towards providing access to responsive, affordable, efficient health services especially at the primary healthcare centers across the state.

    The governor stated this in commemoration of the World Health Day, celebrated every April 7, to mark the founding of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    According to Obaseki, “As we mark the founding of WHO, we are emboldened to press on with our mission to provide access to qualitative, responsive and efficient healthcare services, at the primary healthcare to all Edo residents. We have begun by gradually overhauling the primary healthcare system, a move that brings us closer to attaining Universal Health Coverage in Edo.”

    The governor explained that the state government’s healthcare reforms are holistic and far-reaching, and got a boost recently with the right institutional framework, to be driven by the 17-member Edo State Primary Healthcare Board. He noted that the board was inaugurated with a mandate to ensure revamp of the state’s primary healthcare system to be responsive, efficient and effective, in delivering affordable and accessible healthcare.

    Read Also: Obaseki boosts LG workers’ capacity on budget preparation

    The governor added that part of his administration’s commitment to providing access to quality healthcare to Edo people and residents is expressed in the payment of counterpart funding for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), “which will enable Edo State fully benefit from the implementation of the BHCPF, a fundamental funding provision under the National Health Act signed in 2014.”

    “In Edo State, we are revamping our Primary Healthcare system which is being built on several pillars, including human capacity, provision of technology and data, quality assurance, financing and infrastructure of the healthcare system to provide a well-package preventive, curative and rehabilitative healthcare services to our citizens,” he added.

    In a statement to mark the 2019 World Health Day, in Geneva, Director-General, WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, said in 2019 it is simply unacceptable that “half the world’s population cannot access essential health services. Millions of women give birth without help from a skilled attendant; millions of children miss out on vaccinations against killer diseases, and millions suffer and die because they can’t get treatment for HIV, TB, and malaria.”

     

     

  • Edo SEEFOR Plus: Shaibu assures on opening more frontiers in rural areas

    Edo State Acting Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, has assured that the state government will not compromise on quality in road constructions across the state, as part of renewed drive to open more parts of the state to economic activities.

    Shaibu gave the assurance when he inspected road construction work in Kings Garden Road, Jattu, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.

    Addressing journalists after inspecting the road construction, the acting governor said the work is being carried out through the Ministry of Infrastructure and the State Employment and Expenditure for Results (SEEFOR) Plus, a new scheme wholly funded by the state government using the World Bank template to intensify road construction across the state.

    He said, “The Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration will ensure standard and quality work is done on the road to meet international standards.

    Shaibu added that the state government through the Ministry of Infrastructure has mandated the construction of standard drainage system for every road construction project.

    The acting governor also inspected remediation work at the Ewu Gully Erosion site in Esan Central Local Government Area of the state.

    Ewu gully erosion remediation project is being executed by the state government and the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP).

     

     

  • Obaseki harps on restoring Edo’s glory in sports development

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has assured that the state would stage a comeback to the limelight in Nigeria’s sporting scene, as ongoing reforms in the state would engender a robust structure for sports development in the state.

    The governor said this in commemoration of the International Day of Sports for Development and Peace, marked every April 6, by the United Nations and its organs.

    According to him, “The International Day of Sports for Development and Peace reflects our strategy to deploy sports to drive development in urban and rural areas. As a state with immense sports potential, we have laid out a plan to tap from the talent of our people to drive sustainable development and foster peace. We are going to do this by putting the right structures in place for grooming talent and providing youths with the opportunity to showcase their talent.

    “This is why we decided to bid for the hosting rights of the National Sports Festival, which we have now gotten. With the festival, we intend to rally talent from the nooks and crannies of Edo State and bring them to national limelight.”

    Noting that some of the structures to drive development are already in place, he said, “We are a committed to the holistic development of the sporting scene in the state as shown with the setting up of the Edo State Sports Commission, which brings stability and focus to sports administration.”

    The governor added that ongoing renovation of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium will be completed in time for the National Sports Festival, and that other venues for the annual sports festival will be ready for the games, as work have commenced at the sites.

    According to the United Nations, “Due to its vast reach, unparalleled popularity and foundation of positive values, sport is ideally positioned to contribute towards the United Nations’ objectives for development and peace.

    “To raise awareness of this potential, 6 April was declared as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) by the UN General Assembly. The adoption of this Day signifies the increasing recognition by the UN of the positive influence that sport can have on the advancement of human rights, and social and economic development.”