Tag: FG

The federal government has commenced a holistic approach to curb the menace of antibiotic-resistant pathogens being the cause of the greatest threat to human and animal health as well as the environment.

Four out of 15 priority antibiotic-resistant pathogens have been detected in Nigeria according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens when antibiotics are no longer effective in the treatment of ailments that were previously addressed by antibiotics.

For emphasis, according to WHO, in Nigeria alone, in 2019, there were 64,500 deaths attributable and 263,400 deaths associated with AMR from pathogens such as S. pneumoniae, K. pneumoniae, E.coli, Staph aureus, etc.

AMR remained at the top of the list as the biggest contributor to overall child mortality in Nigeria than HIV, TB, or Malaria.

GDP loss attributable to AMR in developing countries like Nigeria has been forecasted to be at 5-7% by 2050. 

While kicking off the Global Community to Commemorate World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) in Abuja on Monday, the Director General (DG) of the Nigeria Commission on Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Ifedayo Adetifa said the steps taken by the government became imperative because every year, AMR directly causes 1.27 million deaths and is associated with an additional 3.7 million deaths.

He said: “According to the WHO, there are 15 priority antibiotic-resistant pathogens causing the greatest threat to human and animal health and 4 of them have been detected in Nigeria.

“The impact of AMR on the economy, health systems, and the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is enormous”.

Given this, the DG noted that since 2017, Nigeria, through the NCDC in collaboration with the tripartite sectors, set up the AMR surveillance network, antimicrobial stewardship, and awareness programs across the country creating awareness of AMR among healthcare professionals, farmers, and the public.

Accordingly, he said amongst other steps, Nigeria has inaugurated the National One Health Steering Committee co-chaired by Ministers from all relevant One Health stakeholders, while including more stakeholders in the AMR technical working group for better collaboration.

He said the country has also deployed a national Community of Practice for stakeholders in the AMR response space, in addition to expanding AMR surveillance sites in Nigeria in the human, animal, and environmental sectors.

This is in addition to the establishment of the national antimicrobial stewardship program, Adetifa added, saying that more action is required to combat this challenge despite the modest progress made so far, Ifedayo the celebration of the WAAM becomes necessary because of to raise awareness of the dangers of misuse or overuse of antimicrobials and promote collaboration across sectors to preserve the efficacy of these critical medicines.

He said the effort to meet the 2023 target of fighting AMR is truly a global endeavour that must be addressed through a One Health approach, adding, “To effectively curb this menace, all sectors must join forces and encourage the prudent use of antimicrobials and preventive measures.

“We continue to urge Nigerians to handle antimicrobials with care by doing the following.

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“Seek professional consultation to conduct a laboratory test to guide the use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents, e.g., antimalarials for yourself, your family, your pets, and other animals you care for.

“Complete the dose of antibiotics as prescribed by a licensed health worker or veterinarian in the case of use on animals. Farmers must observe withdrawal periods for animals of food origin before slaughtering.

“Do not share or use leftover antibiotics. Dispose of leftover antibiotics properly. Practice hand hygiene and environmental sanitation consistently.

“Vaccinate your family, children, and animals appropriately.

“The federal government of Nigeria remains committed to contributing to the global response to AMR and sustaining advocacy towards the responsible use of antimicrobials guided by a one-health approach.”

The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for March 13 next year in a suit originally filed in 2008 by the Attorney General of Lagos State against the federal government over the dispute as to who has the power to control and regulate gaming and lottery businesses in each state.

Ekiti state was joined as co-plaintiff in the suit following an order of the court made on October 6, 2020.

The Attorneys General of the other 34 states were joined as defendants by the Supreme Court on November 15, 2022.

The suit has the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the National Assembly listed as the first and second defendants.

A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, chose the date during the court’s sitting on Monday after resolving some preliminary issues relating to processes filed.

Bode Olanipekun (SAN) announced an appearance for the Lagos State Government while Adetunji Osho appeared for Ekiti State.

The AGF was represented by Innocent Daa’gba, while Ifeanyi Mrialike represented the National Assembly.

The Attorneys General of the 33 states were also represented. Kwara was not represented, while the court directed the governments of Jigawa and Kaduna states to put their houses in order by resolving the confusion over legal representation before the next hearing date.

During Monday’s proceedings, the court deemed all the processes filed out of time by the defendants as duly and properly filed upon their being regularized.

The Attorney General of Oyo State withdrew the application it filed to be joined as a co-plaintiff, following which the court struck it out.

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Justice Kekere-Ekun advised that all the State Governments that are on one side in accordance with their respective interests should present a common argument in order to save the time of the court on the hearing date.

In their amended originating summons marked SC/1/2008, the plaintiffs – Lagos and Ekiti states – want the apex court to declare “that lottery is not one of the 68 items in respect of which the National Assembly has the Exclusive vires to make laws under Part 1 of the Second Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

They also want a declaration that having regard to the clear provisions of Section 4(2) and (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the National Assembly lacks the vires to legally and constitutionally make any Law to regulate and control the operation of lottery in Nigeria.

Lagos and Ekiti are equally praying the court to declare that l, having regard to the clear provisions of Section 4(7)(a) and (c) of the Constitution,  the Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State House of Assembly, has the power to the exclusion of the National Assembly, to make Laws to regulate and control the operation of lottery within Lagos State.

They want an order nullifying Sections 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the National Lottery Act CAP N145, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria as well as an order nullifying the entirety of the National Lottery Act CAP N145, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

The plaintiffs also seek “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st Defendant either by himself, agents privies, agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria or Federation of Nigeria through anybody acting on their behalf from implementing the provisions of Sections 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the National Lottery Act CAP N145, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, within the territory, of Lagos State.”

The Nigerian Government is yet to sign the New Partnership Agreement, known as the Samoa Agreement, between the Member States of the Organization of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union (EU).

According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria was not represented at the SAMOA meeting leading to the new agreement.

Consequently, the government is still studying the instrument so as not to contravene the country’s constitution.

The statement which was signed by Mrs. Francisca K. Omayuli, Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads: “The attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria has been drawn to diverse pronouncements and publications on the implication of Nigeria signing the New Partnership Agreement, known as the Samoa Agreement, between the Member States of the Organization of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union (EU).

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“The Samoa Agreement, covers six (6) key priority areas of Human Rights, Democracy and Governance; Peace and Security; Human and Social Development; Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change; Inclusive Sustainable Economic Growth; and Development, Migration and Mobility. The Agreement supersedes and replaces the Cotonou Agreement (2000), which in turn was preceded by several other agreements aimed at bolstering relations between the OACPS and EU.

“The general public is invited to note that Nigeria was not represented at the Signing Ceremony, which took place in Samoa on Wednesday, 15th November, 2023 and hence has not signed the Agreement. Relevant Nigerian stakeholders are currently studying the Instrument with a view to ensuring that its provisions do not contravene Nigeria’s domestic legislation.”

National Action on Sugar Reduction Coalition (NASR) has called on the Federal government to prioritize the urgent need to raise the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax from the extant 10% to 20%.

President Muhammadu Buhari signed the SSB tax (an excise duty of N10 per liter) into law as part of the 2021 Finance Act to be implemented in 2022.

The coalition said with over 11 million affected Nigerians who spend over $4.5b out-of-pocket to treat the disease annually, the situation can no longer be left unattended to by the government because of the impact on the economic well-being of Nigerians.

The coalition which includes the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, the Nigeria Cancer Society, GHAI’s Prevent Epidemics partner, and the Nigeria Health Watch Foundation among several others, organized a photo exhibition to celebrate individuals and groups that have broken grounds and also spread awareness of the disease in Abuja on Monday in commemoration of this year’s World Diabetes Day, themed ‘Know your risk, know your response’.

According to the President of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, Mohammed Alkali, an increased SSB tax will not only boost government revenue but will most likely lead to a drop in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages like soft drinks, packet juices, and energy drinks that increase risks of type 2 diabetes.

More importantly, the utilization of the Sugary drink tax by the federal government is a source of concern because the main reason (diabetes) behind the tax has been excluded from benefitting from it.

He said the National Assembly has an important role to play by defining the scope of the utilization of the fund generated with emphasis on Diabetes to avoid its misapplication.

He said: “The purpose of the tax is two-fold. One, it is hoped that with the tax, the cost will increase and it will discourage people from consuming and that is our target number one because we want to make the population healthier.

“Secondly, the increased tax will raise some revenue for the government but that’s where we have slight issues with the government, the fact that these taxes have been collected, but the government has not defined the utilization, it is just added as part of the general increase of revenue in the country.

“What we are saying is that this money generated as part of the effort to control the NCDs, a significant part of it, probably at least 60% of it should be dedicated to diabetes, one increase public enlightenment about the risk factors and how to prevent the contraction of the NCDs and then to dedicate a part of it to enroll some Nigerians that have NCDs on the health insurance scheme.

“And then three, some of it should be applied towards subsidizing drugs for the management of NCDs with a focus on diabetes”.

He said the burden of managing the disease on the patient and the National economy is enormous which makes it expedient for the government to be proactive about it.

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According to him, complicated diabetes can affect any organ in the body which translates to added cost to treating diabetes because the other organs that were affected by diabetes must also be treated.

He said the loss of over $4.2b by diabetic patients yearly to manage the incurable disease should be of concern to the government as it is a major source of deepening poverty in the country.

Alkali urged Nigerians to be attentive to their health and make efforts to arm themselves from contracting the disease with increased physical activity through avoiding sedentary life; healthy diets, that is reduction in refined carbohydrates, sugars, and fast food that will increase the blood sugar level and also lead to obesity; cessation of smoking; and moderate or minimum alcohol ingestion.

The federal government says it would begin charging triple ground rent on estates and houses left unoccupied after three months.

In its bid to rectify the country’s housing deficit, it said it would be taking stock of all abandoned and unoccupied houses and estates in Abuja, its environs, and other states.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Dangiwa who made the disclosure said this administration is passionate about completing all abandoned projects at all costs.

The Minister made this known in Abuja, after a tour of three housing projects in Suleja Dikko prototype Public-Private Partnership (PPP) cooperatives, Gwagwalada NPH PPP and the Guzape Federal Housing Authority (FHA) estates.

Dangiwa said his ministry would interface with the owners of the buildings and they would be charging the triple ground rent if they insist on leaving the buildings unoccupied.

He said the move would force them to either put it out for rent at whatever amount or sell it off because the country cannot keep saying it has housing deficits while it has a lot of empty houses that are completed and left unoccupied.

He stated: “This administration is passionate about completing all abandoned projects at all costs, even if it means rescoping the projects and in the aspect of land bank, what we intend to do is use lands that the Ministry have in states, which is why we are tasking all our state controllers of housing to ensure they give us a catalog of all of the lands.

“There are a lot of abandoned estates, especially here in Abuja and its vicinity, I think we also have a few in some other states, we want to take Stoke of all those abandoned houses and interface with the owners and ask them, what do you want? Do you want to keep these houses? If you want to keep them unoccupied, the government would start charging you triple ground rent instead of the single ground rent that we charge. That would force them to either put it on rent at whatever amount or sell it off because we cannot keep saying we have housing deficits while we have a lot of empty houses that are completed and left unoccupied.

“We have tasked the Department of lands and Urban and Regional Planning in our ministry to take stock of those estates, to give us the names of the proprietors or owners of the estates, any estate that stayed more than three months unoccupied, then we would start charging them triple ground rent.

“The three sites we visited have their different peculiarities, the one in Gwagwalada the contractors are ready to work but the Ministry couldn’t provide the funding so we are going to rescope the project. The one in Suleja is abandoned and dilapidated in most parts, we would sell them as they are, we can’t put money in those kinds of buildings now because we have people willing to buy them and we would sell them at the price that we constructed them years ago, we don’t intend to increase the price.

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“The site at Guzape shows the power of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), they were built without government funding, which is what we want to emphasize to ensure Nigerians are provided with decent and affordable housing.”

On the aspect of the renewed hope mega cities in the pipeline, the Minister said, “The first phase of the 40,000 housing units across the Federation would commence in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), right now we are on the supplementary budget, and within a couple of weeks, we would commence the ground-breaking of some of the houses we intend to construct, we intend to construct six megacities, the renewed hope cities around the country, one in each geopolitical zone of the country.

“We also intend to construct the renewed hope estates, in the remaining 30 states of the Federation, so depending on the outlay, we would commence the construction. We are also engaging Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with some of the developers who would provide funding and then we provide an enabling environment for that to happen. For the FCT, we are thinking of constructing about 10,000 housing units and the off-takers are already on the ground for the high-earned, low and medium-income earners.”

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa says the Federal Government will no longer tolerate abandoned projects across the country.

Dangiwa, who said this during the familiarisation visit of project sites awarded in 2019, constructed by the government and its agencies in Abuja on Thursday, said that unserious developers and contractors would be edged out.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the projects inspected were the 1,250 units Estate, Jibi, FCT and a condominium of 24 units of flats, comprising 1, 2 and 3 bedroom flats also in FCT.

The minister said the attitude of developers abandoning project sites would no longer be tolerated and advised that every project site should be cleared of weeds.

“As of the moment, what we are telling most of the contractors is that we will no more tolerate any abandoned projects, we intend to recoup the investment done by the government earlier on.

“So all construction sites that have been abandoned, we are inviting all the developers to come and sit down with us and know the reason why they abandoned it.’’

He said that developers or contractors who did not have the managerial or financial capacity would be edged out while the serious ones would be brought in for constructions to take off.

Dangiwa said the aim was to ensure that Nigerians were better as there are millions of Nigerians that need the houses, adding, ‘’President Bola Tinubu is passionate about providing affordable houses for Nigerians.’’

He added that the action was one of the renewed efforts to ensure that all Nigerians could be accommodated with an affordable housing, high earn housing or social housing.

“We are here in Brains and Hammers Estate, funded by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria; I think it’s one of the biggest estates (1,250 units) they have ever funded.

“The impression now is that the houses are almost fully completed and off-takers have been gotten, that is the most important thing and the houses look affordable to Nigerians since it has been taken by Nigerians.’’

Dangiwa commended the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for upscaling its performance to ensure that it provided more of such affordable houses for Nigerians and that they were fully completed within time.

Speaking on challenge of variation of prices of materials that had affected the delivery time of the houses, Dangiwa advised the developers to engage FMBN that might have given them loans on reasons for the delay.

He gave an insight into the intention of government to house citizens of all categories of earning and said that the ministry would soon commence ground breaking for the renewed cities project.

“We are already on the supplementary budget, so within the couple of weeks, we will start ground breaking of some of the houses we intend to construct.

“We intend to construct six mega cities, Renewed Hope cities round the country, one in each geopolitical zone of the country and we intend to construct the Renewed Hope estates in the remaining 30 states of the federation.

“So depending on the regulatory outlay will we commence that construction.’’

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Dangiwa added that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with some of the developers who would provide funding would be engaged while the ministry would provide enabling environment for the project.

According to him, we have already gone far with that, in FCT we are thinking about 10,000 housing units because the off-takers are already on ground both the high earners, middle and low income earners.

Also, speaking at the inspection, the Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Mr Madu Hamman, the project financier, said the first phase of the project (Brains and Hammers Estate) would be ready for off-take by December.

According to Hamman, for the entire estate of 1250, the first phase of it which is 800 has been packaged while the delivery of the 450 units must be concluded as well.

‘’So the entire 1250 will be delivered; beyond that, we have the ministerial pilot housing scheme which is equally under the cluster 1 section,” he said.

(NAN)

President Bola Tinubu has said that the National Population Commission (NPC) will get assistance from the federal government in conducting the next census. 

The president gave a speech on Wednesday at the National Geospatial Data Repository and Digital Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System launches at the State House in Abuja.

He, however, did not announce a specific date for the “next census.”

He said: “Our population remains the greatest asset of the nation in the development process.

“Collecting accurate and reliable information on the size, distribution, composition, and characteristics of the population is an essential governance activity that is also consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration.

“The Commission will therefore be supported in the conduct of the next census,” Tinubu said.

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The President went on to say that precise data on the number, makeup, and distribution of the country’s population is essential for planning purposes as well as for the efficient provision of public services to Nigerians.

According to him, Nigeria’s population continues to be its most valuable resource as it pursues its larger goal of becoming one of the world’s largest economies.

“Coming at a time when the Commission has made substantial progress in its quest to deliver the first digital population and housing census, it is my hope that the result of the census will provide the nation with much-needed data for development planning and the enthronement of good governance.”

The federal government has upgraded the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education (AIFCE) to a university status.

This was disclosed by the former provost of the AIFCE who is now the acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Stella Lemchi.

She said: “We bring you warm greetings from the entire Community of Alvan Ikoku University of Education, Owerri. This is to acquaint you with the current reality and status of our institution formerly known as Alvan Ikoku College of Education, and now the Alvan Ikoku University of Education, Owerri”. 

The DVC thanked President Bola Tinubu for the consistent policy of his administration to ensure that the journey that started 60 years ago came to reality. Lemchi also expressed the institution’s gratitude to the State Governor, Hope Uzodimma.

On the history of the institution, Lemchi added: “The journey that recently culminated in the upgrade of our institution started in 1963, when, on the recommendation of the Ashby Commission, the institution was established as the Advanced Teacher Training College, Owerri under the auspices of UNESCO on behalf of the United Nations (Special Funds), and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

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“The College was established as one of the four projects aimed at expanding facilities for the training of secondary school teachers in Nigeria, which envisaged one Federal Training College at the National level in Lagos, and three Colleges to serve the Eastern, Western, and Northern Regions, respectively.

“The government of the East Central State of Nigeria, by Edict No. 11 of May 31, 1973, upgraded the Advanced Teacher Training College Owerri to the status of a full-fledged College of Education named in honour of the great educationist, Alvan Ikoku, a former leader of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and proprietor of the first indigenous privately-owned secondary school in Nigeria.”

The Federal Government has announced preparedness to open up interstate water transportation system to curb high cost of fare following the removal of fuel subsidy. 

It noted that 28 States of the Federation are navigable and its decision to explore interstate water transportation will easily come to fruition. 

Speaking with newsmen over the weekend, the Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of National Inland Waterways Authority(NIWA), Bola Oyebamiji stated the Federal Government will efficiently manage water ways to add value to the country’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP). 

According to him: “Certainly, in this period of high cost of transportation and all, we are exploring water ways as means of transportation. 28 out of 36 states if properly handled are navigable to enhance our water transportation, you can be rest assure that we are going to work on that and make use of our waterways.

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“We will ensure that our waterways is efficiently managed so that we can add value to our GDP. We are going to maximize the opportunity of our water ways. Apart from transportations, there are a lot of benefits in our water systems that we can tap into. We are going ensure that we add values to our water ways.”

Oyebamiji also stressed that the economy reforms by President Bola Tinubu will later put laughter on the faces of all Nigerians. 

He said: “Nigerians have forgotten that the economy challenges have been existing in the country for a very long time. Since we took over from the British, we have not gotten our economy policy right, this is the only time that we have gotten our economy policy right. If you look back, we have a lot of challenges and to correct it, it will take time. The suffering might be big now but I am very sure that our people will laugh last.”