The Nation Newspaper

Tag: group

  • Group to commission veterinary laboratory

    Chi Farms Limited, a subsidiary of TGI Group, in partnership with ZOETIS, is set to commission an ultra-modern animal care veterinary centre in Ibadan, Oyo State.

    The commissioning is scheduled to take place on September 12.

    The project which was executed under ZOETIS’s African Livestock Productivity and Health Advancement initiative (A.L.P.H.A.) aims at establishing sustainable veterinary diagnostic networks and animal health infrastructure in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. It   will  also execute scientific research programmes, deliver quality diagnostic products, medicines and vaccines as well as carry out genetic tests, bio devices and a range of other animal care services.

    According to the Country Lead of Zoetis/ALPHA Initiative, Mr. Joshua Olorungbemi, the technical capacity of ZOETIS as the world leader inanimal health endeared them to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,who are co-funders of the ALPHA initiative.”We are committed to supporting similar laboratory network acrossNigeria to enable Farmers get access to veterinary diagnostic services,”he said.

    The General Manager of Chi Farms Limited, Dr. Tunji Olaitan said despite Chi Farms’ standing at the pinnacle of the Nigerian poultry industry as the most viable and successful grand parent integrator both for meat and layer lines, the organisation has progressively evolved to consistently offer Nigeria livestock farmers premium products and services.

    According to him, CHI Farms’ selection as one of the two executors of Project A.L.P.H.A by ZOETIS is a welcome development. The organisation is always willing to form alliances with like minds in order to create value for our farmers and ultimately the nation.

    He further stated that “with ZOETIS providing technical expertise as well as materials and equipment needed for education and training, coupled with our own experience, facility and reach, the impact of this project will be fulfilling”.

     

  • Group obtains N45m APC form for Buhari

    •‘Why the President deserves support’

    A group of Nigerians under the auspices of the Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN) yesterday paid for the Presidential nomination form for President Muhammadu Buhari.

    They issued a N45 million dummy cheque in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to offset the cost of the Nomination and Expressision of Interest forms.

    Also at the APC national secretariat yesterday, an Enugu-based businessman who identified himself as Chief David Ibe, presented a cheque of N5 million to APC national Chairman Adams Oshiomhole being the cost of the Expression of Interest form for the President.

    Speaking while presenting the dummy cheque to the APC Chairman, National Coordinator of the Group Sanusi Musa said the group which was formed in 2017 to propagate the second term bid of the President, decided to pool resources together to purchase the nomination form for the President.

    He said they were aware that the President was not a millionaire, but has millions of supporters across the country, angling for him to continue in office.

    He said: “We believe in the leadership of President Buhari; we can count on him to consolidate the good work he has started for another four more years.

    It is for this reason we have decided to “pool our meagre resources together and purchase the expression of interest and nomination form for the President.

    “Our members from the various villages, local governments and states hawe contributed to making this happen. We know President Buhari is not a multi-millionaire in cash, but he has millions of supporters who are always ready to come together to pay for his nomination form.”

    He added: “Members of our great party across the country are in unison on the applause you deserve for the work you have started towards redemption of the party. Your leadership has brought the stability. the revolution of ideas and the tme spirit of change that is needed in this journey of making Nigeria great.”

    Reeling out the “good work” that the President has done to warrant their administration for his regime, Musa said under his administration, Nigeria had become a country sought after for investments in the world having assumed its leadership role in not justAfrica but the world.

    “Nigeria‘s moribund infrastructure is being revived. There is no state In Nigena that does not have several major Fedelal Government infrastructure project either completed or being, executed. Under President Buhari.

    “We have a stable and steadily growing economy that is departing from the monotonic oii dependence: Agriculture is now an attractive venture as farmers are becoming multi-millionaires Nigeria is now an exporter of Agricultural products as Oppose to what it was three years ago.

    “For the first time since the return of democracy, Nigerians have a President who can beat his chest and state that he has never stolen from the purse of government.

    “We have a President who is not having meetings at night to strike shady personal deals but rather is ensuring that every agreement entered into by Nigeria is in the interest of the country and for its generations unborn.

    “This has indeed bosted the confidence of investors hence the increase in flow of Direct Foreign Investment into the country. Looted funds are being recovered and ploughed back to developing our country’s deficit infrastructure.

    “Almost a million farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Programme are benefiting from low interest loans that they accessed without “chua chua”. 500 000 previouslv unemployed graduates me now employed under the NPower Scheme; 400,000 extremely poor families are receiviiig_5,000 Naira monthly and that is changing, their lives. Over 8 million children are being fed daily in our public schools across the country.

    “Today, and for the lirst time in our history, we have a government that is honest and sincere in investing in the lives of the poor, the masses and the underprivileged.”

  • Group trains 800 pupils

    The Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Kaduna State chapter, has trained over 800 pupils in primary and secondary schools on job creation towards making them employers of labour.

    Its President, Malam Suleiman Mohammed-Umar, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Giwa.

    NAN reports that Mohammed-Umar spoke on the sidelines of a six-day training workshop on skills acquisition organised by the body.

    It covered training on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), sewing, knitting, tiling, soap making among others.

    He said the essence was to improve the morals of the future leaders and educate them on self-reliance.

    He said that apart from skills acquisition, the event would also include classroom instructions, tutorial and public lecture on good governance.

    Mohammed-Umar said the ultimate goal was to shape the moral of youths to be good ambassadors of their respective families.

    He urged individuals, corporate organisations and all other relevant stakeholders to support the society to discharge its duties diligently.

    Political Adviser to Governor Nasiru El-Rufa’i, Alhaji Uba Sani, said the training was timely and would help in making the participants to become useful to themselves and the nation.

    Sani urged Muslims to focus more on the search for knowledge and stand on their feet to enable them compete with others across the country.

    He said: “I must confess that the programme is timely in view of the fact that the young generation are gathered here to be educated, enlightened and to enable them understand some of the tasks ahead of them.

    “I must, therefore, appreciate the wonderful initiative of MSSN for the young people to be oriented and acquainted with skills, as well as some of the fundamental objectives and teachings of Islam.

    “I want to encourage Muslims to be peaceful wherever they find themselves; this is a time for real sacrifice where Muslims need to be consolidated irrespective of their differences.

    “We must, therefore, consider ourselves as one family that need to foster unity and promote peace among ourselves and other religions.”

  • Group urges INEC to support people with disabilities

    A non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Citizens With Disabilities, has appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide support for people with disabilities in the September 22 Osun governorship election.

    The Executive Director of the Centre, David Anyaele, advised the INEC to have proper data of people with disabilities to be able to provide adequate electoral materials for them.

    He also advised the electoral body to train its staff and deploy some of them to where there would be special needs for people with disabilities.

    Anyaele who was represented by Senior Programme Officer, Mr. Kola Ogunbiyi, said past experience has shown some of the challenges people with disabilities face during elections as a result of lack of provision for them by the INEC.

    He said: “We have made recommendations to INEC to provide separate ballot papers for the blind but up till now there is no positive response. Also, we asked INEC to have proper data of people with disabilities in the provision of electoral materials for them. We believe INEC should be made to train their staff and employ sign interpreters, as well as provide Braille in future elections.

     

  • Group to embark on biometric capture of members

    A GROUP, Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM), is to embark on a biometric data capturing of its members to identify bonafide members.

    Its leaders said this is the best solution to problems affecting the group.

    At a seminar in Lagos, the group’s world leader, Felix Kupa, said the exercise which the body is doing in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, became inevitable because of the challenges the organisation was facing, especially the embarrassment of its members.

    He identified the challenges as the proliferation of misinformation, impersonation, mistaken identity or acts of sabotage by individuals and groups aimed at tarnishing the image of the organisation.

    Kupa said his newly re-elected administration’s pledged to regain the organisation’s good name to carry its social responsibility to the society. He buttressed that with the arrangement in place, it would no longer be business as usual for criminals and other criminal minded individuals to infiltrate or use the name of the organisation to carry out their nefarious activities. The advantages of a biometric database in this context will include prospects of a proper membership recertification, effective control and management of the activities of members and chapters from the national, zonal and local level, he said.

    He announced NBM’s plan to apply for the status of election observer like other monitoring non- governmental bodies. The group leader argued that the organisation was poised with the needed requirements to serve as a watchdog in carrying out this exercise in terms of its  personnel experience, its reach out, and the perfect understanding of the key terrains that would require key attention based on the past election experiences across country.

  • Rivers 2019: Group insists on power rotation

    •Kicks against zoning to Kalabari

    Some politicians in Rivers State have appealed to political parties to allow the riverine people of the Rivers Southeast Senatorial District to produce the next governor.

    The politicians, who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke under the aegis of the Rivers Upland Patriotic Assembly (RUPA).

    In a statement yesterday by its President and Secretary, Christian Gaimi and Obinna Allison respecrtively, the group said the power shift deal was reached by the party prior to the last general elections and that the deal still stands.

    The statement said the agitation for a Kalabari governor next year makes no sense, because it negates the provision of the agreement and constitutes an injustice to the riverine people who are yet to govern the state.

    They called on the leadership of the APC, especially the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, to keep to the agreement by ensuring that the party’s governorship ticket was given to a riverine person for fairness, justice equity.

    The statement reads: “RUPA is a socio-political group.  We want to use this medium to state that we maintain our stand and  total support for the call for power rotation from Upland to Riverine by our dear party.

    “This position follows the agreement we reached before the 2015 general elections, captured in a communique we signed and issued on December 3, 2014 and published in the Nigerian Tide newspaper.

    “We are appealing to the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, to ignore other agitations from any other part of the state and maintain the existing agreement to give the APC ticket to a member from the Rivers Southeast zone.

    “It will amount to sheer hypocrisy if the senatorial district that is yet to produce governor is ignored again.” for others, that will certainly make mockery of the 2014 agreement of the party.” they stated.

    Corroborating the Gaimi, Alison call on those agitating for a Kalabari Governor next year to have a rethink and support any riverine candidate from the Rivers South-East senatorial District for the party’s governorship ticket and also work in support to ensure the APC wins the seat in the elections.

     

    The group however noted that every qualified member of the party has the right to for contest seat,  irrespective of his,  her ethnicity but prayed for understanding from all stakeholders and consider the need to give the riverine  people of the “Rivers South-East” opportunity to govern the state for  lasting peace and unity in the state.

     

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  • 2019: Buhari will win, says group

    The national coordinator of the Buhari–Osinbajo Mandate Group, Prince Ebunola Martins, has predicted that President Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, would win the 2019 presidential poll.

    Martins, who addressed reporters in Lagos, said the achievements of the Buhari administration in the past three years have increased the popularity of the president among the Nigerian people. According to him, Buhari has done more than previous administrations within three years. He has been able to block all loop holes through which looters siphon the money meant for the provision of basic amenities for the people.

    He lamented that the $42 billion in the national foreign reserve was squandered by former President Goodluck Jonathan before he left office in 2015. “All incomes generated by Customs Service, proceeds from Value Added Tax (VAT) and excess earning from crude export when crude oil was selling for over $100 per barrel were not saved for the raining day by the Jonathan administration.

    “But, under Buhari when the crude is selling for about $50 the national reserve has risen to $52 billion today. With little resources President Buhari has embarked on road constructions across the six geo political zones. About 56 projects are on-going in the South-East and South-South regions. The second Niger Bridge; the Enugu –Port Harcourt road and many other roads in the country that had been abandoned over the years by the previous administrations are now under reconstruction. The refineries are working; the power supply has improved considerably all over the country”.

    He said that the emergence of many presidential aspirants from the north was being driven by selfish interest. According to him, “the aspirants knew if Buhari wins in 2019, the presidency would go to the South in 2023; that is to say, the northern aspirants would have to wait for another 12 years to contest, he fear is that they would be out of equation by then”.

    On security challenges in the country, he said it was unfair to say Buhari was not doing anything to arrest the situation or that the Fulani herdsmen were responsible for the killings in the country.

    He said “those who killed the Reverend Fathers in Benue State were not Fulanis. One of them was a political aide of Governor Sam Ortom. The suspects are in police custody. Are the Fulanis responsible for arms and ammunitions seized by Customs at the airports including a Nigerian bound ship loaded with ammunition from Russia which was intercepted in South Africa? We need to tell ourselves the truth.  Non-Fulani are involved in the senseless killings of innocent Nigerians.

  • Group trains observers to monitor pre-election environment

    Ahead of Osun governorship election, a civil society organisation, YIAGA AFRICA, has trained 31 long term observers to monitor the pre-election environment in the state.

    In a statement by its Executive Director, Samson Itodo, the group said the pre-election observation will help Yiaga Africa detect early warning signals which may affect the credibility of the process.

    According to the statement, the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, witnessed the training for long term observers in the state.

    During the training in Osogbo, Agbaje expressed appreciation to Yiaga Africa for her collaborative role with the commission over the years as part of efforts towards building a true and lasting democracy in Nigeria.

    Meanwhile, YIAGA AFRICA has said timely receipt of the non sensitive materials by INEC would enhance its performance.

     

  • Group partners Lagos on school gardening

    Concerned about rising cases of malnutrition among children in public primary schools in Lagos State, the Helen Keller International, (HKI) Nigeria with funding from Mondelçz International Foundation in partnership with the Lagos State Government, has launched the school gardening programme in nine schools in Ikeja and Ojodu local government area of Lagos State.

    Present at the event which held at the school garden sites of Agindigbi Primary School were officials from Cadbury Nigeria Plc, a subsidiary of Mondelçz International Foundation, pupils, teachers, parents, local government officials and officials of local government education authority (LGEA).

    Also present were officials of Ministry of Agriculture, Department for Development Partnerships and community leaders as a result of lack of programmes that promote healthy lifestyle and address the issue of obesity among children.

    Speaking at the event, the HKI Country Director, Philomena Orji said the ceremony was aimed at drawing the attention of the people to the importance of good food and nutrition as well as physical fitness in government primary schools and communities in Ikeja Local Government Area. The project would run from January, 2018 to December 2020.

    She said: “The new programme is a demonstration of our commitment to help communities thrive and improve the well-being of school-age children and their families.”

    She added that the gardening activities will provide a platform for children to participate in school gardening, thereby helping them plant, weed and harvest nutritious crops.

    “A school gardening and health club will be established thereafter to help maintain the gardens, promote nutrition and fitness activities and ongoing student participation,” she said.

    She noted that the Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyle project was aimed at bringing nutrition education, active play and fresh foods to underserved children and their families in Ikeja LGA. The project is part of the Mondelez International Foundation’s multi-year $50 million commitments to promote healthy lifestyle and address the issue of obesity in nine countries, including Nigeria.

    Orji stated that HKI will teach over 6,000 children in public primary schools the importance of proper nutrition, physical activity and gardening through in-school and after-school activities.

    “The project is also expected to have direct impact on 48,000 out-of-school children and their families over the next three years across the community development areas (CDAs)”, she said.

    Continuing, she said: “We will track progress against a universal set of metrics that the Mondelez International Foundation will develop in collaboration with its community partners and a public health expert from Yale School of Public Health. Metrics measure improvements in nutrition education, physical activity and access to nutritious foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables”.

    Speaking in the same manner, the State Lead, Healthy Lifestyle Project, HKI, Olukemi Adeyoju said: “In our bid to prevent malnutrition, we are not afraid to get our hands dirty. We are doing this in Lagos State through the Healthy Lifestyle Project in public primary schools to provide nutrition education, physical exercise through active play, and cultivate gardens for diverse diet quality.”

    Also speaking, the Director, Corporate and Government Affairs, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Bala Yesufu, noted that Mondelçz International, a global snacking firm with an unrivalled portfolio of brands, owns 74.99 per cent of shares in Cadbury Nigeria. He added that “the Mondelçz International Foundation is the community partnership arm of our company.”

    Continuing, he maintained that “the foundation is focused on three pillars which are investing in community programmes that promote active, healthy lifestyles to help improve the lives of children and their families around the world; providing humanitarian aids when disaster strikes; and inspiring our colleagues to contribute their time and talent to charitable causes.

    “The community partnerships are transforming the lives of more than one million children in 14 countries on five continents.

  • Group supports Osun APC candidate Oyetola 

    Osun State Governorship Election coming on September 22, yesterday took a new dimension, as Muslims across the globe celebrated Eid Mubarak.

    Members of a social development group, Development Advocacy Group (DAG), in their hundreds stormed Muslim prayer grounds in the nine federal constituencies to canvass support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Gboyega Oyetola.

    The group distributed leaflets in Osogbo, the state capital, Ife, Ilesha, Iwo, Ede, Ikire, Ikirun, Iwo, Ibokun and other major towns  bearing Oyetola’s picture.

    Members said residents should use the festival to reflect on the coming election and take the right decision in the interest of the state.

    DAG, which congratulated Muslims on the Eid Mubarak, appealed to the electorate to vote for Gboyega Oyetola as governor and Benedict Alabi as deputy governor.

    The group said in a statement by its spokesman, Wasiu Ibraheem:  “The last seven and a half years journey of the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration has witnessed what can be likened to the renaissance journey of the Western Nigeria frontiers, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Bola Ige of the old Western Region and old Oyo state, with massive infrastructure and social investments, which is second to none. Thus, in Osun, we shall never be guided by the invaluable. The job at hand is too urgent to be left alone for just anyone unprepared. Rather, it will be for the best and not the rest.

    ”No hesitation with all mental, political, economic and developmental measurements to strongly assert,  Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the best to occupy the Bola Ige White House from November 27 when Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola would have successfully completed his outstanding eight years prosperous journey.  Gboyega Oyetola, Ileri Oluwa, is the man of the moment. He has the experience. He has the pedigree. He is dependable, accessible and most of all, that person that will voice your concerns and represent each and everyone of you at the right places. He will serve you diligently.  He has the consummate private sector pedigree, exposure and network and would leverage this for monumental economic growth and development.

    ”His diligence and dexterity in public service contributed substantially to the implementation of the six-point Integral Action Plan of banishing hunger, poverty, unemployment, restore healthy living, promote functional education and enhancement of communal peace and progress, enunciated by Aregbesola- led administration.

     

    ”In fact, many refer to him as the heart of Aregbesola transformation. The manifestation are the state of the art model schools, thousands of kilometres of standard roads, perfect and active security artillery, social investment programmes, O’ MEAL, O’ YES, among other outstanding achievements.

     

    “Osogbo today, is adjudged the fastest growing developing state capital and this is just the beginning with Oyetola as your governor. He is out to review the six-integral Action Plan as the best and outstanding template for development, to sustain the best among the programmes and improve on those challenges. He has a blueprint to build on the existing infrastructures and aggressively drive industrialisation and economic expansion.

    ”Oyetola is the most trusted worker- friendly governorship candidate, his integrity in honouring labour agreements and implementations has been attested to by Labour Movement. He has successfully interfaced with the labour and government till the moment, he understands their challenges, the government past, present and future vision and commitments. The welfare of the workers tops the list of his priorities.

    ”Gboyega Oyetola will run a transparent and accountable government, steeped in single-minded pursuit of reducing dependence on federal allocation as a means of funding the government.

    ”Osun must never return to the years of locust, never and never again! Vote the best, to protect our future, vote Gboyega Oyetola and Benedict Gboyega Alabi as your incoming governor and deputy governor.”